Do you ever wonder if there are "tests" ?

[leftyladyfrommo]

I've noticed that there seem to be situations that come up that could be tests. Anyway it kind of hits me that way.

Something happens and I can do the "right" thing which might be the more difficult thing. Or I can just do the easy thing which is an easy way out but probably not the right thing.

Later on, if I just took the easy way, I begin to wonder if that was just a test that I failed. And even tho I failed it I am made aware and so probably would do the right thing the next time.

[FreeState]

1. I dont like the word "test" because whos the teacher? But I get what you mean

Interesting question!

Im guessing your coming at this from a Buddhist perspective - so if I assume wrong sorry.

I think maybe my own aversion to the concept of life being a test - or a series of tests - is my LDS background (LDS theology calls all life a test to worthiness of God etc.).

As I understand Buddhism the end of suffering only comes from within ones self. So it does not make since that we need to pass test - but rather we are all worthy inherently, there are no test to pass, just suffering to end. A test implies a grade or some reward, something to crave IMO (granted I realize thats how I view test not everyone will or must agree:) ).

That being said I realize there are things that feel like test. I was listening to a Dharma talk podcast the other day that was talking about alleviating stress (Dukka/Suffering) and how important it is to pay attention not only to your moods and thoughts but also your bodies reactions to stress so that one can learn to see the signs and put an end to that Dukka over time. It was one of those wow moments for me - here I am 38 years old - and I have throughout my history in this lifetime avoided evaluation my stress on such a level because it seemed much easier to push those feelings deep down and replace them with sensory pleasure (be it music, food anything other than looking at myself without judgement). I realize Im not alone in this - after all we all suffer. But growing a up a gay Mormon it was much easier to push my stress and feelings or my sexuality down and replace it with something else I felt would fix the problem (denial, lies, hiding - even more suffering!). So is this a test? My Mormon background would say it is. I've come to the conclusion its not a test but rather a cycle of suffering I personally allowed myself to enter into due to ignorance.

[leftyladyfrommo]

5. Are you familiar with the practice of tonglen?

It probably would really help. If you want to get to the bottom of stuff there is no faster, more effective way to get there.

[FreeState]

6. Googling now - thanks! n/t

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. all of the Tibetan masters practice tonglen.

I've seen it discussed in all of their books. But i still like Pema Chodron's description the best. She is so good at explaining things in a really clear way.

Tonglen is a breathing practice used for dealing with all kinds of emotions and problems that arise. And it is really effective for learning to keep emotion from thowing you off course. And as you practice it is kind of like peeling an onion. You just go deeper and deeper one layer at a time. And it is not one bit scary.

[FreeState]

8. It seems a lot like Metta meditation with similar goals

My daily meditations are Vipassana and Metta - maybe Ill start to mix it up a little more:) Thanks for the recommendation!

[sam sarrha]

17. she is expanding her teachings.. 'Don't Bite the Hook' is excellent

she teaches how to see it coming, so you can prevent the physiological responses.. and stay on tn the path easier

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=%27Dont+Bite+the+Hook%27&x=9&y=20

[GliderGuider]

2. Of course there are, but the teacher and the student are one.

Every moment contains both new lessons and tests on previous lessons if we are inclined to see life that way.

[westerebus]

3. There is a school of thought that attempts an explanation.

What you refer to a "tests" are "shocks" to our perception. These "shocks" are to awaken us from our sleep.

Sleep in the sense, we live 'mechanical" lives. We experience boredom and day dream even when we are "working". We move to a pattern set by generational biology. Our perception sleeps as we move about our daily tasks.

We think of our "selves" as "I". In fact there are many "I's" within us. The ego tricks us into the assumption there is only one. This is one reason why we live as if we are on auto pilot.

The alarm goes off at 6 am, we start the coffee. By 8 am we are "working". At noon we eat. We may not leave "work" because we have a commitment of trading time and skill to acquire the means to get shelter and food.

Which "I" likes the boss and which despises our co-workers? Which "I" made coffee and forgot to put the top back on the creamer?

We don't remember ourselves. We are asleep. If we could remember ourselves, we could know which "I" was active and when.

The tests are the shocks needed to make us aware of ourselves. Of nature and the nature of the many "I's" within ourselves.

The larger the shock or the harder the test, the greater the possibility our awareness returns. We then become "centered". Focused on "I" singular. A car crash has that effect. Time slows as our awareness intensifies and we "remember" ourself as though "we were watching some one else".

Interpreting right or wrong is the reluctance of the ego to show you "truth" as you become aware.
Truth has no right or wrong attached to it.

Awareness comes from self remembering in the present tense. It narrows the focus to the "I, who am." Awareness knows the ego is there with you. It makes a discreet distinction separating the wishes of our ego and the nature of our self.

Awareness arrives some where on the path of our life. It may arrive at the sight of a child's smile of recognition or in the tear of one about to depart from us. This is part of our awakening nature. Small shocks happen all the time.

We tend to want to sleep. We forget what it was that touched us. If we were awake, we could carry our joy and sorrow together with out judgment. Instead some "I's" dwell in the joy, other's in sorrow.

There are happy people. There are sad people. Both get up at 6 am when the alarm goes off. They make coffee and go to work by 8.

[conscious evolution]

10. Woke up, got out of bed

Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up, i noticed i was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
Somebody spoke and i went into a dream
Ah


Somebody spoke and I went into a dream.....Or did I wake up?

[westerebus]

15. Look at all the lonely people..

Where do they all come from?

Are you making progress?

Yes.

How?

I disdain rites and dismiss ritual.

You are not there yet.

Are you making progress?

Yes.

How?

I reject humanness.

You are not there yet.

Are you making progress?

Yes.

How?

I sit and forget.

Teach me your way!

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. t intersting answers.

What I meant, if I can explain this, are times when a situation arises where I seem to be the only person envolved. There are two ways I could go. No one is watching and no one is judging. It is purely up to me. I can do the right thing. Or I can not have faith and do the wrong thing.

I can meet a beggar on the street. I can do the right thing - give to the poor. Or, I can do the wrong thing - ignore him and walk on by. Up to me. No one else is even there. World is not going to end no matter what I do. But I know. And that makes all difference.

Sometimes I wonder if the sert up of the situation is karmic. Or it could all be my imagination.

[GliderGuider]

11. Is one action right and another wrong?

It seems to me they are both simply actions. Where does judgment come from?

[leftyladyfrommo]

13. From a karmic standpoint? I think actions can be very important.

I see what you are saying. But actions do have a karmic ramification.

Maybe the difference is looking at my own actions every day with a view of doing the compassionate thing in every case. But not putting any kind of judgement on the things that happen outside my existence. (I'm not sure I said that too well).

[GliderGuider]

14. Right and wrong are very personal judgments

An act that I may feel is wrong in one circumstance may be perfectly right in another (like killing or stealing). Something that seems obviously right or wrong to me may seem very different if I look at it from another point of view (or if I get more information).

For me the more interesting question is, "What does my judgment about whether something is right or wrong tell me about myself? Where did the values that informed that judgment come from, what creates them in me?" Compassion rules, but it must first apply to myself, especially at those times when I judge myself lacking.

My view of karma is that it's the law of cause and effect applied to our subtle selves here and now. The karmic effect of an action manifests within my immediate domain, and is obvious fairly quickly after I act -- sometimes even in the moment of the act. I find that I can use my awareness of the karmic response as input into my inner inquiry about the origins of my impulse to act as I did. The more I do that, the clearer the working of karma becomes, the clearer my sense of being becomes, and the more grace seems to appear in my life.

If we can ultimately realize the state of no-self, even for a moment, the values (like right and wrong) ascribed by the self to our actions disappear. Just as I simply Am, so my actions simply Are. The idea of Testing disappears, replaced by Being and Doing.

[sam sarrha]

9. i know EXACTLY what you mean, yea, test after test, especially the Buddha that works behind me... an

then at night in my dreams it is one test after another, i immediately know when i fail. i have even had some serious evaluations by robed beings even physically testing me to see how high a vibrational level i could tolerate. this time they were all in a circle around me, within 6 feet. it was very similar to being electrocuted. usually they are at a distance observing. my tests are usually interactions with people in various situations, it has evolved over the years. i've had them since i was a child,

i also am constantly reviewing/evaluating my past all day long. like what they say happens when you die, been there done that too. every night i say this prayer, "May i awake within my dreams to help the dream time beings that are also suffering in Samsara"., it seems to help. i fall asleep within 5 seconds.

i think it is a step, i feel the Earth is something you have to evolve off of. like a prisoner is kept away from our society because they cant function at common society's vibrational level. we are stuck here till we can evolve to function in the next level, etc. i have WhiteLighted during a 2 hour extended Hyper-Pranayama session.. i was in the typical described crystal astral shell.. i had a permanent life changing verbal event with an obviously Higher Power residing in a point streaming a blazing white light with little colored sparks spiraling by.. which gave me a geometric perspective where the being was. they do help us, seems we have to ask.

[leftyladyfrommo]

12. How interesting.

My stuff is a lot more mundane. Just life. I'm stressed out and a situation comes up where I can be kind or I can be short with someone. Best to take the time to be kind. Best to always see the Buddha in all living things. Always take the time to do the right thing.

My puppy was sick last week. I was so upset about it. I am so attached to her. But I also really was aware of how impermanent all of this is and how my attachment was causing me such pain. (She's better now so I can push that one off for a while).

And then I read something from the Bible that is so Buddhist. " If you sow the wind you shall reap the whirlwind." How true is that? A perfect description of karma.

Each day is a new series of lessons. It is so interesting.

[demwing]

16. Are these tests, or opportunities?

The word "Test" implies a judgement based on your decsion. The word "Opportunities" implies a path opening before you. You chose to walk that path, or not. No judgement.

This does not mean that the path is free from the cycle of action/reaction. Each step on a path is a continuance of direction, and through a natural process, leads one to encounter new doors, and pass beyond others.