what is the sacred flame?

[star]

Hmm...

How do I say it... If you merge back to oneness, you'd essentially be merging the dualistic opposite polarities together. After which you would manifest your true nature, which is one of the three: light, dark, or neutral. After all, when you merge darkness with the light, one of three things happen: you have more darkness in your nature than light, so you become totally dark; you have more light than darkness, so you manifest as a light being; you're totally neutral, so you manifest as a neutral being (buddhic?). You're either of total light, neutral, or dark. The three never disappear. Just a thought. Not sure what actually happens.

You could use something like Zazen to start with, try for mushin or no mind. It really is a good start.

[watrinh]

Hmm...

How do I say it... If you merge back to oneness, you'd essentially be merging the dualistic opposite polarities together. After which you would manifest your true nature, which is one of the three: light, dark, or neutral. After all, when you merge darkness with the light, one of three things happen: you have more darkness in your nature than light, so you become totally dark; you have more light than darkness, so you manifest as a light being; you're totally neutral, so you manifest as a neutral being (buddhic?). You're either of total light, neutral, or dark. The three never disappear. Just a thought. Not sure what actually happens.

You could use something like Zazen to start with, try for mushin or no mind. It really is a good start.

Actually I prefer the term divine judgment. If you think about it, judgment is when your heart is weighed. Merger back to oneness where the opposite polarities collapse together forces your sins to merge with your virtue. I would assume then that your sin force will kill off the virtue and whatever is left of you will determine if you go to heaven or hell.

[CFTraveler]

This idea of 'weighing the heart' sounds a lot like the ancient Egyptian way of looking at it, except with the Egyptians the 'sins' were destroyed since they were really the soul's attachment to material guilt, so what was left was the primordial soul essence, which either went to paradise or went back into the sun with Ra.

In your point of view temporal 'sins' are more important than eternal love. I don't get the logic, but I guess I don't have to.

[ButterflyWoman]

Actually I prefer the term divine judgment.

This assumes, of course, that the Divine has a standard of right, wrong, good, bad, etc., etc., and wants to judge people against it. It also makes some assumptions about the apparently grave importance of our material selves.

I would assume then that your sin force will kill off the virtue and whatever is left of you will determine if you go to heaven or hell.

Ah. Well, there we go. I don't believe in the "go to heaven or hell" thing, unless it's some sort of afterlife that we, ourselves, create because it's what we believe in.

For me, the whole "heaven and hell" thing is way too dualistic and too much based on an extremely materialistic and temporal point of view.

Anyway, I can see how we weren't able to reach an accord of understanding. Very, very different perspectives.