Death and birth - the nondual viewpoint

Hey guys,
my first post here so I wanted to make it something a little bigger ;)
I wrote this text yesterday about death and birth. Hope you like it.



Birth and Death

The fear of death is a fundamental characteristic of the seemingly seperate person.

Sure, the body/mind is born, ages and dies.

But it doesn’t touch or concern your real essence at all.

It doesn’t make the slightest difference.

But let’s start a bit more basic here.

You are obviously aware, aren’t you?

Even the most thought-identified person on the planet wouldn’t deny his or her own existence, even if they just refer to their illusionary self.

I have had some “discussions” with people who are very much identified with memories and thoughts and they still admitted to a sense of awareness.


Birth

Now.

Go to your memories and pinpoint the day when you started being aware.

Look deeply.

When did you become aware? Name a date, or find a memory.

If you have been born, obviously there is a starting point of your awareness right?

How could the most extraordinary event in your life, the appearance of awareness, be forgotten?

Why on earth would you not be able to remember your first aware moment?

The reason you can’t find it is because birth is merely a concept for the illusionary self.

Awareness didn’t develop over the years as a growing-process.

From newborn to kid, to adult…only the mind and body changes.

Thoughts change, emotions change.

The knowing that you are aware doesn’t have different stages of development.

Pure Awareness is timeless.

It does not have a beginning.

Only the experience of this particular body and mind, developing and progressing in time, start with birth and end with death.

It has no substance. No reality.

It all arises in You-Awareness.

The essence of your being has not changed a bit when the apparent ‘you’ was born.

It will be there before and after the person.


Death

The fear of death is a consequence of the belief you were born into existence out of nothing

and will at some point end up at that unpleasent nothingness again.

Nothing that is not real can suddenly come into existence.

Nothing that is real can suddenly disappear into nothingness.

Awareness is real.

Most people seem to believe, that they will die at some point

and dissolve into nothingness. Into non-existence.

Non-existence as the opposite of existence is, like birth and death, a concept of the mind.

Reality is neither nothing, nor something.

Only the dualisticly-thinking mind needs opposites like that to make sense of itself.

Fear of death is a symptom of the sense of being a person believing in its seperation.

With waking up, the fear of death disappears.

No concepts of birth and death apply then.

The knowing remains, that you are eternally aware.

Luntrus

[charly233]

Interesting. Thanks and welcome to the group.

[SemperVI]

Hi luntrusreality,

Welcome to SF and thank you for sharing your thoughts. I found your writings both thoughtful and compelling. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Classic]

That is some good stuff right there. Although for the birth bit, I'd say I remember being 'aware' around 1998-1999 but obviously being born earlier says I was aware. I just can't recollect that far back unless it's through feelings or sensations in the body. But no visual memory of being a toddler or 4 year old.

Originally Posted by luntrusreality

Hey guys,
my first post here so I wanted to make it something a little bigger ;)
I wrote this text yesterday about death and birth. Hope you like it.



Birth and Death

The fear of death is a fundamental characteristic of the seemingly seperate person.

Sure, the body/mind is born, ages and dies.

But it doesn’t touch or concern your real essence at all.

It doesn’t make the slightest difference.

But let’s start a bit more basic here.

You are obviously aware, aren’t you?

Even the most thought-identified person on the planet wouldn’t deny his or her own existence, even if they just refer to their illusionary self.

I have had some “discussions” with people who are very much identified with memories and thoughts and they still admitted to a sense of awareness.


Birth

Now.

Go to your memories and pinpoint the day when you started being aware.

Look deeply.

When did you become aware? Name a date, or find a memory.

If you have been born, obviously there is a starting point of your awareness right?

How could the most extraordinary event in your life, the appearance of awareness, be forgotten?

Why on earth would you not be able to remember your first aware moment?

The reason you can’t find it is because birth is merely a concept for the illusionary self.

Awareness didn’t develop over the years as a growing-process.

From newborn to kid, to adult…only the mind and body changes.

Thoughts change, emotions change.

The knowing that you are aware doesn’t have different stages of development.

Pure Awareness is timeless.

It does not have a beginning.

Only the experience of this particular body and mind, developing and progressing in time, start with birth and end with death.

It has no substance. No reality.

It all arises in You-Awareness.

The essence of your being has not changed a bit when the apparent ‘you’ was born.

It will be there before and after the person.


Death

The fear of death is a consequence of the belief you were born into existence out of nothing

and will at some point end up at that unpleasent nothingness again.

Nothing that is not real can suddenly come into existence.

Nothing that is real can suddenly disappear into nothingness.

Awareness is real.

Most people seem to believe, that they will die at some point

and dissolve into nothingness. Into non-existence.

Non-existence as the opposite of existence is, like birth and death, a concept of the mind.

Reality is neither nothing, nor something.

Only the dualisticly-thinking mind needs opposites like that to make sense of itself.

Fear of death is a symptom of the sense of being a person believing in its seperation.

With waking up, the fear of death disappears.

No concepts of birth and death apply then.

The knowing remains, that you are eternally aware.

Luntrus

Nice post --- definitely worthy of further discussion.

It is said that the Light inherent in all projects, among other things, the brain and the impressions in the brain manifest as the world and as the "individual". Hence, there are "memories" but they are all created in the Eternal Now.

Are you "eternally aware" of your own "individual" origins and the process of your own manifestation ? Could you elaborate on this ?

Regarding "Death and birth - the nondual viewpoint", there is a well-known Zen passage.

- Equality without differentiation is poor equality.
- Differentiation without equality is poor differentiation.

It is said that one must be able to function on all levels of consciousness and yet also abide in the pure awareness that lies beyond "I AM" consciousness.

Originally Posted by samsara4

Nice post --- definitely worthy of further discussion.

It is said that the Light inherent in all projects, among other things, the brain and the impressions in the brain manifest as the world and as the "individual". Hence, there are "memories" but they are all created in the Eternal Now.

Are you "eternally aware" of your own "individual" origins and the process of your own manifestation ? Could you elaborate on this ?

Yes, you are eternally aware.
This Awareness is not separate from you, so to say "you are aware" is just something that language creates.
"You" "are" and "aware" are all the same thing - consciousness. "Awareness is present and knows itself" = "I am aware"

To say something is eternal only relates to something that is not eternal which again is the best the mind can express something that is beyond time.
It is eternal, but not on a timeline. Just always here in the Eternal Now, like you said. This Eternal Now is not a point in time but just - this.
That in which the thought of time and the everchanging manifestation of reality appear.
Nothing that appears as manifested forms, thoughts and emotions is ultimately real. If it were real it would have an independent existence outside of this "Now" = "Awareness" which you are.
But it is not possible.

So when you ask:
Are you "eternally aware" of your own "individual" origins and the process of your own manifestation ?

Yes and No.
It depends on whose behalf you are asking.
A person? An Individual made out of memories, thoughts and a body?
Or that which knows all these things - the Awareness of memories, thoughts and bodies and that in which it appears and is made out of.

Mind and body have a beginning and will end.
But the Awareness which is your TRUE origin (not an individual one) is eternally aware, yes.

Also the "process of your own manifestation" is exactly that:
Everything that appears in the knowing awareness.

The body and mind that is sitting in front of the computer right now is not the one experiencing.
If you look through a window, the window is not experiencing the landscape.
Also the window has no individual sitting inside the window experiencing the landscape.
Only YOU with an infinite amount of eyes - see through all the windows (all lifeforms) and always only look at yourselve ("physical world" which also only appears in consciousness and therefore is made out of it).

Luntrus