Brahman Is Eternal, But What About The Atman?

[WildeChilde]

From the way I understand it, we each experience life as Atman or differentiated consciousness.  After death, Atman will return to Brahman or the undifferentiated consciousness and source of everything.  Brahman is eternal, but what about the Atman?  When it returns, is that it, or does it differentiate itself again some other time?  Thanks guys.

[Prabhaker]

On 5/22/2018 at 5:40 PM, WildeChilde said:

Brahman is eternal, but what about the Atman?

Buddha says there is no atman. Buddha's expression more approximates the reality, but he is difficult to be understood.

 A wave arises; then the wave disappears. Where has it gone? It has gone to the same source from where it had arisen in the first place. It had risen out of the ocean; now it has gone back to the ocean.

Wave is a continuity. When you throw a stone in the center of a pond and wave travels from center to shore, but the water doesn't travels from center to the shore, it is continuously replaced in the wave.   

In the night when you lit the candle, that flame is no more there, that flame is continuously disappearing; it is being replaced by another flame. The replacement is so quick that you can't see the gaps.one flame going out, another coming up, that going out, another coming up. Buddha says that just as the candle flame is not the same , it is changing constantly, although in another sense it is the same because it is the same continuum , exactly like that, there is no soul entity in you like a thing but one like a flame.

[Arkandeus]

reality can never be captured, concepts help us along the way, they deserve merit.

but in the end, you will have to pay attention now if you want to know now

in order to always know you have to always pay attention

I know we'd like to grasp the final concept and put our books down but I think we're gonna have to keep paying attention, dare I say we'll pay more and more attention, as our attention expands, so does universe

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by Arkandeus