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Originally Posted by Imzadi
I have come across this term in relation to Buddhism here in the forum and was wondering what it means. And what exactly is the direct experience referring to? Is it possible to describe it?
I think in Christianity, when people speak of direct experience, it is usually in relation to their relationship with God. As for myself, the best that I can attempt to describe my direct experience of God is an innate and sublime sense of understanding, oneness, love, and joy. However, those words fall short of what is not really possible to describe using the conceptual mind, because the phenomena seems to be beyond thoughts. It can be experienced I suppose, but can't quite be captured or labeled.
I must confess, aside from rudimentary knowledge of the 4 noble truths and the 8 fold path, I am mostly ignorant to the various schools and teachings of Buddhism. There is a oneness/unconditional love that springs from the core my Being (core of all Beings also) that I call God or Buddha Nature, but perhaps I may not be using the term Buddha Nature correctly. And within this Oneness, I See GOD/Buddha Nature in all things, but more accurately, I see and actualize my SELF in all things as the ONE SELF. I must underscore that this experience is not merely springing from a conceptual level. I.E. Not the brain attaching to thoughts and ideas, but another seemingly transcendent and vast and infinite intelligence and presence altogether beyond thoughts and ideas that eternally expands in exquisite motion in all directions and in all dimensions. (There really are no words and the more I try the more weird and confusing it sounds.)
Anyways, I digress. Everyone who regularly shares in this forum seems to be very well verse in Buddhist practice and doctrine. Is my experience similar to something that you may have experienced and/or continuously experiencing? Again, I like to put emphasis that I am speaking of an experience as oppose to a theoretical concept. And is my experience as described to the best of my ability even relate-able within a Buddhist context or am I barking up the wrong religion?
What is your direct experience and can you please describe it? As usual I understand there may be many varying thoughts and opinions, but I hope we can all share kindly and respectfully. Thank you!
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Hi Imzadi!
A few thoughts and offerings
1. You are beautiful and I've often noticed your beautiful presence around - thank you for that, it's very nice
2. Most on this forum are probably not the most seasoned Buddhists and there are sometimes misinterpretations - that is why I encouraged someone somewhere else if they want more Buddhist discussions to go to Buddhist forums where you are probably going to find a more well rounded discussion and possibly more congruence in the finer details. The people on here are nice and well intentioned though
3. Having said that you are not interested in the technicalities per se (yay!) so we can go around to addressing your more pertinent points:
Is my experience similar to something that you may have experienced and/or continuously experiencing? Again, I like to put emphasis that I am speaking of an experience as oppose to a theoretical concept. And is my experience as described to the best of my ability even relate-able within a Buddhist context or am I barking up the wrong religion?
What is your direct experience and can you please describe it?
Firstly, there are a number of established and valid traditions within Buddhism today. These include Theravadan, Tibetan, Zen. Points of emphasis may differ slightly within these but the ultimate realization in these schools (if attainable) does not differ.
That being said, what you share sounds infinitely familiar and I would say that whilst you may not found the same type of words used in Theravada or Tibetan schools, you may find some congruence in word usage in the Zen Buddhism sect. (not saying that the experiences differ, but different systems may utilize different words/emphasis of culture)
Buddha is a good term for what you experience, in my opinion.
Thank you.
BT