Good morning Diazen Roshi. Thank you for this wonderful message. Thank you for taking and making the time to share your thoughts on this UA-cam channel. 🙏
As to Halloween itself - the meaning of it (Hallow e'en) was that it was the evening for hallowed souls. It was a celebration in Christian churches for the saints who had gone by in the past, maybe a time to pray for them. The more pagan name for the festival at a similar time is a different matter. Ghost presence - an actual ghost is said to be something (the spirit of a person) that is stuck in our world and cannot move on. I don't know if that can happen as I have not experienced it myself. I think any talk of it is just a 'moot point' , a theoretical point only, unless you have experienced it yourself. Of course you might be using the terminology to refer to something else that is in the person's own mind. Letting go - yes letting go has its place and purpose. However it might not always be the solution to a person's problem. For example if there is a charging bull coming towards you, then just relaxing and letting go might not be the best course of action! You might end up being worse off. There could actually be some forms of spirits that are a danger to a person. Not all (actual) spirits are the ghosts of deceased persons. Personally I don't know if any are, as I have not experienced them. Some spirits could be demons and present a great danger. Death is a mystery - You say we can't know all about death. However there are some things documented about the process of death, and perhaps in various different belief systems. You can choose not to believe them, but that doesn't mean there is no knowledge to learn about it. You say no one knows about life, but many people have written about all sorts of aspects of life. We don't have to be in a position of complete doubt about these things if we are willing to learn from those who have gone before (studied and shared what they have learnt). I think it would be wrong to assume nothing can be learnt about it, and that would be narrowing down/limiting our own possibilities. For example I would think it entirely possible that some people could, through spiritual practise, learn to see into different realms like heaven and hell. Some people even believe they have had visions revealed to them showing the nature of heaven and hell. I have also seen an account of a saint or nun (forget the details now) who saw demons coming up to drag a person's soul down to hell when they died, who was next to them when it happened in the same room. Of course I don't know if this is true myself, as I was not there when it happened, but I don't think it would make sense to simply assume that nothing can be learnt. Even in the case of Buddhism, there was a belief in various different realms including different heaven and hell realms. So I would have to consider that maybe they might have had some way to figure out these things existed (to see them or even travel to/from them like in meditation or while asleep!), unless it was just a fabrication, and of course it could be, but I am not sure I would want to make that assumption. Haunted house - the suggestion that we can all be something of a haunted house. Yes we can all have our own inner issues. There is another aspect to this though, in that my understanding is that some of us can have spirits that are 'attached' to us. I think that would be a more advanced subject, but one worth keeping in mind, especially for spiritual teachers. The issues some people might be facing might not just involve the person but some other being/entity as well. In theory some of those could come from something in a person's past, but maybe even a previous life, or the life of ancestors (from what I have read), or maybe the spirit/demon might have just wandered into the person's life without it being their fault. Opening the door - sounds nice, but as with the case of the bull, or even the case of a demon about to drag someone's soul down to hell, a bit of caution might be wise. Learning the causes first, and the possible solutions might be a good idea. These subjects could in theory start to seem a bit 'dark', so yes I would agree to keep it light in the sense that even with great difficulties there might be answers and we should try to at least spend some of our time looking at the good things in life, or in what God (or 'god') has brought (if one believes in that). Yes it is very challenging to face these issues, and it is not necessarily just issues from a person's own past, as I say, it could be past lives (if they exist) or the lives of others around us (including ancestors, living relatives, neighbours, friends, or whoever). The sense I am getting is that these things can go VERY deep (deep into the details and connections/interconnections around a person's life, but also could go back hundreds/thousands of years, especially when you consider how old some spirits could be). I think there is a danger in approaching these things (spiritual life) as simply a 'navel gazing' exercise in looking only at oneself like asking a question of 'who am I' 'what are my own feelings' and end up being too narrow to even see what is directly around our own being, or around those around us. There are (or can be) issues that are external to us, not just our own internal issues. During our lives we interact with a whole world that is around us. We should pay attention to ALL that is going on. Try not to miss anything! Literally every sound, (physical) sensation, and feeling (in our minds) could matter.
Superb as always. Thank you for your wonderful insights!
Thank you so much.
Thank you Daizan ❤
You're welcome, Islaras
Good morning Diazen Roshi. Thank you for this wonderful message. Thank you for taking and making the time to share your thoughts on this UA-cam channel. 🙏
You are so welcome, Vince.
Thank you , Daizan. Always appreciate your talks very much. They are very helpful 🙏
You're very welcome, Mike..
Happy Halloween! Very practical and helpful. Thank you so much Master Daizan. Cheers🙏🏻
Glad it was helpful. Happy Halloween.
Thank you Daizen, this is very timely and helpful
Glad it was helpful
Thank you!
You're welcome, John.
Thx a lot :) do the work and keep it light :)
Yes, that's it.
As to Halloween itself - the meaning of it (Hallow e'en) was that it was the evening for hallowed souls. It was a celebration in Christian churches for the saints who had gone by in the past, maybe a time to pray for them. The more pagan name for the festival at a similar time is a different matter.
Ghost presence - an actual ghost is said to be something (the spirit of a person) that is stuck in our world and cannot move on. I don't know if that can happen as I have not experienced it myself. I think any talk of it is just a 'moot point' , a theoretical point only, unless you have experienced it yourself. Of course you might be using the terminology to refer to something else that is in the person's own mind.
Letting go - yes letting go has its place and purpose. However it might not always be the solution to a person's problem. For example if there is a charging bull coming towards you, then just relaxing and letting go might not be the best course of action! You might end up being worse off. There could actually be some forms of spirits that are a danger to a person. Not all (actual) spirits are the ghosts of deceased persons. Personally I don't know if any are, as I have not experienced them. Some spirits could be demons and present a great danger.
Death is a mystery - You say we can't know all about death. However there are some things documented about the process of death, and perhaps in various different belief systems. You can choose not to believe them, but that doesn't mean there is no knowledge to learn about it. You say no one knows about life, but many people have written about all sorts of aspects of life. We don't have to be in a position of complete doubt about these things if we are willing to learn from those who have gone before (studied and shared what they have learnt). I think it would be wrong to assume nothing can be learnt about it, and that would be narrowing down/limiting our own possibilities. For example I would think it entirely possible that some people could, through spiritual practise, learn to see into different realms like heaven and hell. Some people even believe they have had visions revealed to them showing the nature of heaven and hell. I have also seen an account of a saint or nun (forget the details now) who saw demons coming up to drag a person's soul down to hell when they died, who was next to them when it happened in the same room. Of course I don't know if this is true myself, as I was not there when it happened, but I don't think it would make sense to simply assume that nothing can be learnt. Even in the case of Buddhism, there was a belief in various different realms including different heaven and hell realms. So I would have to consider that maybe they might have had some way to figure out these things existed (to see them or even travel to/from them like in meditation or while asleep!), unless it was just a fabrication, and of course it could be, but I am not sure I would want to make that assumption.
Haunted house - the suggestion that we can all be something of a haunted house. Yes we can all have our own inner issues. There is another aspect to this though, in that my understanding is that some of us can have spirits that are 'attached' to us. I think that would be a more advanced subject, but one worth keeping in mind, especially for spiritual teachers. The issues some people might be facing might not just involve the person but some other being/entity as well. In theory some of those could come from something in a person's past, but maybe even a previous life, or the life of ancestors (from what I have read), or maybe the spirit/demon might have just wandered into the person's life without it being their fault.
Opening the door - sounds nice, but as with the case of the bull, or even the case of a demon about to drag someone's soul down to hell, a bit of caution might be wise. Learning the causes first, and the possible solutions might be a good idea.
These subjects could in theory start to seem a bit 'dark', so yes I would agree to keep it light in the sense that even with great difficulties there might be answers and we should try to at least spend some of our time looking at the good things in life, or in what God (or 'god') has brought (if one believes in that). Yes it is very challenging to face these issues, and it is not necessarily just issues from a person's own past, as I say, it could be past lives (if they exist) or the lives of others around us (including ancestors, living relatives, neighbours, friends, or whoever). The sense I am getting is that these things can go VERY deep (deep into the details and connections/interconnections around a person's life, but also could go back hundreds/thousands of years, especially when you consider how old some spirits could be). I think there is a danger in approaching these things (spiritual life) as simply a 'navel gazing' exercise in looking only at oneself like asking a question of 'who am I' 'what are my own feelings' and end up being too narrow to even see what is directly around our own being, or around those around us. There are (or can be) issues that are external to us, not just our own internal issues. During our lives we interact with a whole world that is around us. We should pay attention to ALL that is going on. Try not to miss anything! Literally every sound, (physical) sensation, and feeling (in our minds) could matter.
So important. Big thanks for speech 🙏
Thank you.
Thank you
You're welcome, Freddie.