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260 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
260 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
% Explaining The Path Through The Matrix
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Introduction
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============
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The basic Theravada map of enlightenment is way cool. But beyond that, it's very
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accurate. It does have some flaws. The main one is that it's closely linked to
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meditation, so if you don't do your insight progress through it, especially in
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the beginning, then it will be somewhat off or even misleading. Still, it is one
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of the best maps[^best] we have, so I thought another shot at explaining it
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would be worth it.
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And the best way of explaining enlightenment is by following one of the best
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movies ever made - The Matrix. Now, I'm not saying that The Matrix actually *is*
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about the Theravada map or enlightenment in general, but it incorporates so many
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mystic elements that it can be used *as if* it were one. It is excellent raw
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material to base a commentary on. It only needs some explanations and a bit of
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editing and you could essentially run it as a crash course in mysticism. In
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fact, (awesome) Gnostic Stephan Hoeller has done just such a commentary over on
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[gnosis.org](http://www.gnosis.org/lectures.html) (among the Web Lectures in the
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left sidebar).
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The main problem, really, is that beginners are told things they don't know how
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to do and have no context on how to even understand them. Like Neo, after seeing
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Morpheus jump hundreds of feet, says:
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- Neo: Okey dokey... free my mind. Right, no problem, free my mind, free my
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mind, no problem, right...
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...and he fails, as expected. No clue at all how that is even supposed to work.
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It's not *his* fault, though - he just lacks a lot of information. This I'm
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trying to remedy a bit. Help make the whole process a lot more goal-oriented and
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pragmatic.
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If you are interested in the details or want to know more about the actual map,
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read Daniel Ingram's free book [Mastering the Core Teaching of the Buddha]. This
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is easily the best howto on Buddhism ever written. Without any metaphysical
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baggage or drivel, this is exactly what the Buddha was all about. I follow his
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book closely, but also the underlying work by [Mahasi Sayadaw], his work
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[The Progress of Insight], and the Theravada classic, the [Visuddhimagga] (Path
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of Purification). Essentially, they are all just variations on the same theme
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and the basic template is inherent to all Theravada Buddhism. I've taken a few
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liberties with the actual map, but only to convey a better feeling for what's
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going on or to choose labels I feel fit better, especially in the context of the
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movie. After all, the map is not the territory, and too strong devotion to any
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particular model helps nobody.
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Enough introduction, let's get this going.
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[Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha]:
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http://www.interactivebuddha.com/mctb.shtml
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[Mahasi Sayadaw]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahasi_Sayadaw
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[The Progress of Insight]:
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http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/mahasi/progress.html
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[Visuddhimagga]:
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/30119169/Buddhaghosa-Bhikkhu-Nanamoli-tr-Path-of-Purification-Visuddhimagga
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Beginning
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=========
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Neo experiences the 3 Characteristics, as they are called in Buddhism. He
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realizes that his world is fake and not as solid as it appears to be (it is
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impermanent, [Anicca]), that his self-image as Mr. Anderson is false and he
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lacks a true understanding of what he is (there is no self, [Anatta]), and he is
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dissatisfied with the world, his only desire is to overcome it (suffering,
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[Dukkha]). These 3 Characteristics - everything ends, isn't you and won't
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satisfy you - are really all there is to it. If you fully get them, you are
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basically done. (Well, there's a bit more, and that's exactly where the map
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falls apart. I'll outline some aspects of it at the end, but to be honest, I'm
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still confused myself about what an appropriate map of this region really should
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look like.)
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[Anatta]: /buddhism/anatta.html
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[Anicca]: /buddhism/anicca.html
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[Dukkha]: /buddhism/dukkha.html
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Particularly the characteristic of no-self, [Anatta], is shown in the movie
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through Smith's deconstruction of Neo's identity. Is he really Mr. Anderson,
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working a job as a programmer, being a hacker, all this? No. The moment you
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start pushing it, it all goes away. It doesn't last one minute to scrutiny.
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I want to clarify one point here. This is often misunderstood, even by advanced
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practitioners. When I say that Neo is without self, what I mean is that he
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identifies with a construction. None of it, at any point - being a programmer,
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being a hacker, even being the Chosen One - is really *him*, but more like a
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role he adopts. The point of confusion comes when you understand that point, but
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think the problem is that he has an *unhealthy* self. The problem is not that
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being a corporate progammer sucks and being the Chosen One rocks, so let's ditch
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the first for the latter. What Neo must understand is the emptiness of all
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"self".
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- Agent Smith: You're empty.
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- Neo: So are you.
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Neo, really, is empty; confused about the world and what he really *is*. All he
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*thought* he would be is stripped away, finally, by the Big Event. The turning
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point.
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Arising and Passing Away
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========================
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- Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You
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take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe
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whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland
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and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
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I personally call this [Kundalini] Rising because for me most of the times when
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this happens it starts as a tingling sensation in the spine and moves from
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there. The image of having my spine ripped out by a giant standing over me while
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I meditate has often preceded the experience.
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[Kundalini]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini
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You make it past this point, you are a mystic, no matter *what*. It's not your
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choice anymore. The path won't ever leave you alone. You are stuck now and the
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only way out is to go all the way and defeat the Matrix. This isn't so bad,
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really, except that it's actually quite easy to get here purely *by accident*,
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without any intention of being a mystic at all. I've met a lot of drug users who
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had this happen to them (including me, in a way[^initiation]). Or as Shinzen
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Young says, "There's no informed consent to enlightenment.". Eris is a bitch.
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[^initiation]: Well, I was young and trying to figure what all this mysticism
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stuff is all about. You know, like hallucinations, astral travel and secret
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knowledge? I just wanted to see a bit of it, to see if it was real and what
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it all looked like. Just to get an impression. I got an impression all
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right. After a bit of dabbling and weird, but unsatisfyingly weak low-level
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stuff, I made it all the way to Re-observation on a single trip. Great place
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to get stuck in for years, if madness is your thing. I've always been a fan
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of it myself, despite all the trouble. Totally worth it.
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I personally really like the fact that right after Neo takes the pill and is
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hooked up to the tracing machine, he notices a broken mirror next to him. The
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mirror first repairs itself, then starts warping and finally covers Neo.
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A quick note again on no-self, Anatta. Neo's training shows this, actually. The
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"real" Neo, if you want, has no attributes, no abilities, no identity. All of
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this is just added on later, quite arbitrarily. During the training, Neo becomes
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a kung-fu master, an expert in all kinds of weapons and machinery and other
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skills. It is obvious that this selection is limited only by time and
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imagination, only because of the tight constraints of the kind of missions he'll
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be on. If he wanted to be a cook, a writer, anything, really, he could easily
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become one. What, then, is the "real" Neo? It's there, but it has nothing to do
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with his personality, with his self.
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After being unplugged, after a glimpse of the real world, comes the inevitable.
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This is a place many people get wrong. They think, at this point, that they are
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enlightened. Some think they have become, literally, Jesus (I know at least 3)
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or some other such figure. But Kundalini always comes to rest again, normally
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within about 6 hours to a few days.
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Then comes the flushing.
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The Dark Night of the Soul
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==========================
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![the end of the rabbit-hole](flush.png)
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- Agent Smith: But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their
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reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your
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primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from.
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Neo's question "Am I dead?" is typical. The whole Dark Night very much feels
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like dying because in many ways, it *is* death.
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The Dark Night has multiple parts to it, although in which order and to what
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extent they appear, varies. They are: dissolution, fear, misery, disgust.
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The night comes to its end with the Desire for Deliverance. Being completely fed
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up with it, the will returns, the will to keep going and make it all *end*.
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In The Matrix, Neo arrives at this point twice. This is normal. Rarely does
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anybody get through the Dark Night on their first try. The first time, Morpheus
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was just captured, everything is falling apart and Neo is convinced that he
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can't be The One. Fortunately, he decides that Morpheus' imprisonment is his
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fault and it's his job to free him. This mobilization of forces characterizes
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the end of the Dark Night. Suddenly, it's as if nothing can stop you.
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Reality, however, sees things a bit differently. Despite early successes against
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the agents, everyone has to flee. Fear is back and strong as ever. But after
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Trinity and Morpheus are safe, the second time for the Desire for Deliverance
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has come. Neo is just about to run from Smith, but he decides against it and "is
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beginning to believe".
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The full realization of the nature of the Matrix dawns on Neo. If it's all an
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illusion, then he can win. He *can* defeat Smith. So he tries.
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Re-observation
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==============
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But no matter how well he fights, no matter how much Neo tries to beat Smith at
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his own game, he can't win. Like Smith, delusion never tires. It never gives up.
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Even after destroying Smith once through the subway train, he just comes back
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again. It's hopeless, so even full of strength, Neo runs.
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His only hope of escape destroyed, he is trapped. His back is to the wall, he
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cannot run away anymore, but he also can't face the problem. The agents are
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invincible. There is no forwards and no backwards. He is torn apart by his own
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weakness. He can't flee the Matrix anymore, but he can't deal with his problems,
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either. Yet he is forced to do so. All his strength was not enough to defeat
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Smith, all his speed was not enough to escape him. Nowhere left to go, there is
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only death.
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![bang]()
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Path
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====
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There is a Zen metaphor for this. It's like you are trying to reach a goal that
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is 11 meters up in the air, but you've only got a ladder that is 10 meters long.
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You climb all the way to the end and still can't reach it. The only way is to
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*keep on climbing*. I know, when you hear this, it probably makes no sense to
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you. It didn't to me, either. But when you are there, when you actually reach
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the end, you will see. It will make sense then. *Keep on climbing*.
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Unfortunately, this is the part where the movie breaks somewhat apart. It all
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goes very fast and this makes this long and fascinating journey look like it
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takes only a few moments, when really, it typically takes several weeks, if not
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months. So let's slow *way* down.
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In this moment of resurrection, you can also see the Unity of Knowledge and
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Action. At exactly the same moment Neo *sees* the Matrix for the first time,
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when his view shifts to the code, he also simultaneously, through this
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knowledge, gains power over it. Understanding the delusion of the Matrix
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completely, deeply, makes him invulnerable to it. The agents lose all power over
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him.
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- Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?
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- Morpheus: No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't
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have to.
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This is what is meant with overcoming suffering. It's not that you suddenly
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become able to accept suffering or that it goes away - you are not dodging
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bullets. Instead, it just stops being a problem. It has no power over you
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anymore, just like you couldn't shoot Neo, even though the bullet's still there.
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- Morpheus: Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to
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see it for yourself.
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And there we have it. Neo is **enlightened**. Unfortunately for Neo, the journey
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isn't over yet. There's still lots of things to do. He hasn't really reached
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*full* enlightenment yet. It's as if you wanted to clean a mirror. On the mirror
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are three layers of dirt, one for each characteristic - a layer of permanence,
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of self and of satisfaction - and all three need to go. Enlightenment is when,
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for the first time, you manage to clean a little bit of the mirror so that you
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can actually see the real thing. But still, there's a lot of dirt left, so keep
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on cleaning! But now that you know how to get it clean, the rest will be a lot
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easier.
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[^best]:
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The other map that really deserves lots of attention is Robert Anton
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Wilson's extended version of Timothy Leary's Circuit Model, as described in
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Prometheus Rising. Very useful as a broad map, but it lacks lots of details.
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Still, it's the one thing I'm constantly going back to for help.
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