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The Doors of Perception
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Littlestone
Littlestone
5386 posts

Re: The Doors of Perception
Nov 13, 2005, 14:02
>Can a non-believer have a mystical or spiritual experience?<

Well, I don't see why not. A non-believer (I think) is someone who doesn't believe in a deity or deities and as such I'd count myself as a non-believer as well. I'm a bit more ambiguous about the soul however, and that's what has always attracted me to Buddhism. There is no god in Buddhism but there is a belief in the soul and it's journey towards enlightenment. The acceptance of the existence of the soul then allows the possibility of mystical or spiritual experiences. However, there is also the possibility that, as you say,

>...mystical experiences occur within the chemistry and physics of the brain?<

They might but I'm not sure if it actually matters where a mystical or spiritual experience takes place - the 'taking place' is all that is important. Again, in Zen Buddhism, there the constant rebuttal of rationalizing everything - hence the famous <i>koans</i> such as 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?' and 'Why is a mouse when it spins?' :-) There's also the wonderful dialogue between Abbot Kobori and Professor Lichtenberg who studies and teaches physics at the University of California -

...the Professor challenged the Abbot, 'In Zen Buddhism mind exists before matter. Do you agree?' When the Abbot replied 'yes' the Professor continued: 'Then I have a question. If all human beings disappeared and consequently all mind disappeared, I still believe under those circumstances that the Earth would rotate around the sun according to Newton's law of gravity. Consequently I believe matter exists before mind. What would you say to this?' The Abbot responded immediately: 'It is your mind that asks the a question!' *

>...there is such a painful and enduring longing for a repeat. Instead - I hide behind a barricade of scepticism as the alternative is too scary.<

Alone the wind and starry night
echoes of eternity
To look and see yet see no more
quietly moves infinity

And night's cold blanket slips apart
to meet again another day
Yet still the first may never dawn
Until we awake the first away


* <b>The One World of Lao Tzu and Modern Physics</b> by Akira Hasegawa. ISBN 4-473-01373-1. pp 22.
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