Such stuff as dreams are made on


'There is no continuous, unchanging identity at the heart of the universe. Both we and all compounded things are like onions, centreless, devoid of any ultimate being. Behind the transient pleasures and inevitable sufferings of old age, sickness and death, lies nothing but constantly changing appearances. There is no rock of God on which the world rests, no eternal soul that resides within the flesh. All things are unsatisfactory, marked by impermanence and empty of inherent existence. We are such stuff as dreams are made on - literally...

There are those who may consider this depressing... The correct view, according to Nagarjuna's famous 'four-cornered argument', is that "Things do not exist, nor not-exist, nor both exist and not-exist, nor do they neither exist nor not exist"' ~ exploring Buddhism in Naked Spirits, A Journey into Occupied Tibet by Adrian Abbotts; out of print, but well worth searching out.

Photo of monks venerating Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) in Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet from Naked Spirits by Adrian Abbotts. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Comments

Horace Dunn said…
I hope that you won't mind my making a small criticism. Your picture caption is incorrect. The Jokhang Temple is indeed in Lhasa, but it is not in, nor is it part of, the Potala. Indeed, I know from experience that it is possible to stand on the roof of each and take a photograph of the other.

I enjoy your blog very much. Thank you for providing it.
12:30 am
Pliable said…
Horace, many thanks. Now corrected.
7:16 am
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