Stimulated by a member's post. Nothing special.
Buddha, at least as re-presented in our times, was not fully enlightened. He saw that there was so much suffering that he had better return and keep returning until all men/women were enlightened. Hell of a task. The universe still existed for him. Sorry, no banana Buddha. Here's why...
Like so many wise people from a few thousand years ago, I doubt very much that they have been accurately recorded and presented. Heck, the news from yesterday is already distorted.
These sages are now just more stories, some pointing, but mostly just confusing the issue. Stories have been adjusted to suit societal demands and governing inclinations. Has it all worked? If I was forced to chose one, it would be Buddhism, but there is more here than meets the eye and I reject all force to join anything... but you might have picked that up by now.
Yes, the disappearance of the universe is inevitable upon full T/R, and then, just if you want to, you can make it all up again and come back to play. Up to you... or... is that what you have already done. Contemplate...
You are Buddha, and just for entertainment, after you reached terminal velocity and escaped the gravitational pull of Maya, you created everything that is now in your world, absolutely everything, this entire universe.
You are fully enlightened in this, and every moment. All you had to do was make up a story and there you have it, the disappearance of the universe and the creation of a world. This is how powerful you are, you make up everything, from salt on the peanuts to the corner convenience store. You even made up the guy who robbed it last week.
Now, It wouldn't be much fun if you remembered that it was all made up so you hid that fact from most of the characters in the story. Sure, a few found out, but that was just a little skin in the game. It's like your night dreams. You have to believe they are real in order to have the thrill of a genuine experience, that is, until you wake up. Then you realize that everything in that dream was you, nothing else was there. You were every persona in your night dream, as in your day dream.
As above, so below is more profound than most realize. This is why those who found out the game say that it's all very ordinary, and in a sense it is, wonderfully and marvelously ordinary. No big deal. Indeed, many that fully realize the game keep their big mouths shut.
Whoa Jed, are you saying this is all a dream? Whoa dear member, are you saying this is all real?
Let's start with what it all hinges upon, there must be a 'you' for this to be real. No 'you' and nothing happened, the universe disappears and with it every dreamed character. Now that basic most fundamental component, you, does not seem to be very tangible. You cannot show me one. You can show me something in the dream, a flower, a sunset, a dog or cat, but such a profoundly simple and important thing, this 'you', where is it. It's the pin in the hinge of the door, but it's not there.
Well, it doesn't surprise me and it shouldn't surprise you. When you are in a night dream you cannot hold up the dreamer... now, in your day dream, you also cannot hold up the dreamer.
Maybe there is something to the story of Buddha and maybe it's not what we think it is. After all, we are listening from the position of the dreamed one and thus preclude realizing the dreamer him/herself.
Put another name to the dreamer, call it Truth if you will. In fact, you can call it anything you want because it doesn't change a thing. It's still only you, the dreamed character, trying to realize YOU, the dreamer, trying to realize the illusion from within the illusion. This is why I keep saying that what you seek is not an experience. All experience happens from inside the dream.... and they are passing, come and go. The only real thing, and that's not the right word, is the dreamer.
The closest you can get (other than death, that wondrous and little understood blessing) is having a lucid dream. I'm sure most of you have had that experience. As above, so below.
Back to your night dream. How much control do you experience in that dream? Generally none at all, however, when you awake within the night dream you can experience moments of total control over the dream. But that happens quite rarely. You create it all, but the you that you think you are has very, very little control. Just enough, in fact, to keep you in the dream, to keep you trying and trying. This is where the 'giving up' part comes into play. Also the identification with the dreamer.
You cannot know Truth, but you can know it is.
Is the preceding actually true??? Darned if I know, I just dreamed it up.
Love ya, Jed