“I Do Not Know” and Ascension
How do you know what you know is the truth? Because you believe it to be.
Those who cannot enlighten to higher truths believe that the truth at their level is the highest, and they believe in all that they can see at their level and below them, with the presumption, based on observable information and incite, that their current level is the highest.
If you don’t believe that there may be a higher truth than the one you currently know then you will forever be positioned at that level.
Saying “I do not know” opens the door for potential improvement.
It does not necessarily mean that one will improve, rather, it implies that the walls built up around a person’s current understanding of truth are not insurmountable. The easier it is for a person to let go of their preconceptions the easier it is for them to understand that their may be higher truths.
In other words, the more doggedly a human being clings to their notions the more difficulty they have in breaking into new grounds and achieving higher levels. The more attachments weigh them down, the heavier their minds and bodies, and the more difficult it is to rise up.
It’s not wrong for a human being to have notions. It is one of many things that make us human. But if a person can take one step back they will see a boundless new perspective. Continue stepping back and at each level they will witness an even grander truth.
At this point one may think “That previous truth may be true at that particular level, but not entirely so at this level. What I now see is the truth.”
They may have a faint glimpse that there is something beyond even this, but they will not fully understand it. Just as man gazes into the endless starry night–the swirling galaxies and universe–and ponders the heavens, his realm of thought is still stuck within the terrestrial… Within this little box.
To drop our preconceived notions and continue stepping back is to open our mind to greater wisdom, to enlighten to principles and standards that are above our current position. If a person can truly do this then he has the potential to ascend.
A person who does not come with preconceived notions has the potential to enlighten quickly.
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Regards
I enjoyed this post. I agree that we have to approach truth with an open mind while remembering that there are universalities to them, i.e. good and bad. No matter what or where you are murder is a universal bad where as giving to the poor is a universal good. Where we get into trouble is when we find something that is neither good or bad it just is. I find that in these situations people who aren’t open-minded tend to fear these things and so determine them to be bad without contemplation.
This really reminds me of Zen. We can never really know or believe anything to be actual truth. All views are wrong views without direct experience. Letting go of all attachments to thoughts and belief structure, and truly be here and now without regard for past or future is the only way enlightenment can ever come forward. It’s not the adding of any beliefs or values, but the destruction of all, being totally liberated. :D
Something I enlightened to recently is that perspective is everything. Or to make it sound more dramatic:
Perspective. Is. Everything.
That said, I don’t think the destruction of all beliefs is self liberation, because then you no longer have any self to liberate. You (your consciousness) basically wouldn’t exist or be able to function in the world, if I understand it correctly. Therefore you might as well poke your eyes out, rip off your ears and stop eating as well, since if you don’t have a human mind, why continue sustaining your human body? It could be argued that’s the very idea of Zen, but it seems defeating and lacking in compassion for the self.
I’m all for transcending the human condition but it’s my belief that you don’t have to destroy it in the process. Rather, use the base of the pyramid (our human existence and experiences) to climb up to the “top,” wherever that may take you owing to your individual circumstances and consciousness. And by top I mean the end of your personal journey, whether that’s enlightenment or somewhere else. Basically, transcendence of the self through the self.
Thanks for commenting on this old post with some thought provoking comments.
Hi Derek, This is somewhat unrelated to the article, but how come only the characters with saiyan blood can continue to ascend? At one point Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Roshi were among the strongest, and ascended way past the strength of average humans. During the Namek saga, even Krillin could’ve probably wasted Raditz, and that’s saying a lot for a human. At the beginning of DBZ, earth’s strongest warrior (Goku) had a power level of about 300. Raditz’s power level was nearly 5 times as strong as Goku’s, and yet it’s relatively weak compared to Krillin’s strength after his power up on Namek.
During the Cell games, all the humans warriors have pretty much given up trying to get stronger. Of course they can’t keep up with Goku or Vegeta, but they’ve already become stronger than low level saiyans (well, maybe not Yamcha) and I think they still could’ve gotten even stronger, but I think it’s their mind sets that held them back. Sure, Goku and Vegeta are saiyans, but even they have far surpassed the capabilities of their race. No average saiyan would’ve ever been able to touch Frieza let alone defeat even the Ginyu force. I don’t think their ascension has to do with their race, but their will and determination to become stronger. What do you think about this?
I agree. Genetics do play a factor, and race has its role, but the mindset of a practitioner is the primary determining factor of progress in cultivation. The more hardships you can endure, the faster you ascend. So it isn’t that Roshi couldn’t continue ascending, it’s that he chose not to. Same with Krillin who settled down with #18 and became a family man. Goku and Vegeta were always single minded and focused on their cultivation. Their full blooded Saiya-jin genetics play a part in their enjoyment of the process, and their instinctual drive, but their minds, as spurred on by their worldviews (sometimes in collision), are what enabled such rapid growth.