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Nirvana and Samsara are the same. I couldn't agree more. You've heard this saying before and maybe couldn't grok its exact meaning. Let me shed a little light. There is a honeymoon period in the blossoming of enlightenment, lasting a short time (weeks, months) , that is positively euphoric ... nirvana. This euphoria is felt whole body. It's like being plugged into a light current of pleasurable electricity ... or getting slightly drunk, but with zero side effects. This current has an ebb and flow to it which manifests differently under varying circumstances. In the extreme, you can barely walk or talk and to sit and do absolutely nothing is just fine. I think Echart Tolle' said that after his awakening, he sat on a park bench for two years...yep. Across the board this current has a profound psycho-physical effect. Most remarkably, your interaction with people is radically altered. You carry no agenda. You contain no fear. There is no you with anything at stake that is rubbing up against another, whom you are trying to impress. You are grounded, relaxed and confident. Your interaction is straightforward, honest, and open...and everyone whom you come into contact with senses this on some basic level. At the grocery store you're a happy customer. In doing business, you're a true professional. In personal relationships you're a little more easy going. This is the nirvana side of enlightenment. Eventually however, the honeymoon ends. All the extraordinary spaces and currents calm down a bit and your super powers go into recession. You then settle into a more ordinary existence...thus samsara. What occurs now is an enlightenment where samsara and nirvana swirl together like coffee and cream in one big cup. Most of the time there is a creamy chocolaty hue to the liquid, but sometimes you get pure dark coffee and at other times you get thick white milk. And then there are those times when you just can't tell the difference between the two...and you don't give a rats ass because nirvana and samsara are the same. This is actually one of the rare occasions where a stupid little over-used Buddhist saying is actually dead on. |
