Einstein Questions, Buddha Answers Introduction

Introduction

This new book was written to update and merge two earlier books titled:  Do you know what a normal mind is? and Einstein Questions, Buddha Answers. I have decided to rewrite the contents of each chapter but still maintain the titles of most of the chapters. Those who are familiar with my work know that I continue to emphasize the existence of the ultimate truth and the means to it. In this book, I use Einstein’s interest in wanting to find the absolute ruling point in nature and his quest for the theory of everything as the basis to connect with the Buddha’s wisdom regarding the existence of the ultimate truth, which he called ‘Nirvana’. My prime duty is to help you to understand that this ultimate ultimate element has everything to do with each of us, intimately and significantly. This is reflected in the contents of this book: finding our true self, the state of a normal mind, the final frontier and so on. Finally, I reveal the nature of the ultimate truth by connecting it with neutral terms terms such as ‘here and now’, ‘truth and reality’ and ‘the innocent perception’. We are now living in an extremely complex global society where it seems to many that our whole way of life is governed by a very small handful of people in a ‘banking cartel’, or ‘plutocracy’, who have created the epic scale of deception in which we are trapped. Consequently, we are living in an absolutely distorted culture which aims to breed stress, worries, worries, anxiety, depression, depression, breakdown breakdown and suicide due to the series of problems thrust upon us on a daily basis. I can’t help but thinking how can the Buddha's prescription for self knowledge and inner peace ever work under such unwholesome predicament? We all have to walk into our work place from where we make something, either knowledge, goods or services, which in one way or another contribute contribute towards towards an increasingly increasingly unethical unethical situation situation predominantly predominantly based upon the deceptiv deceptivee financial financial system! system! Illnesses, Illnesses, wars, wars, drugs, drugs, criminality criminality and even even human (labour and sex) have been turned turned into into industries industries making more more money for for the wealthiest. wealthiest. No wonder why why we are so messed up. Researching into these ugly facts almost discouraged me from carrying on with my work, which is about helping people to get rid of their daily stress and all kinds of  mental turmoil. How can I encourage my students to maintain their morality, integrity, kindness and compassion while the financial activities and unlimited greed inherent in ‘developed’ societies are clearly wrong, twisted beyond imagination and utterly amoral in the first place? I did feel like making myself disappear into thin air and shutting down everything I do, thinking that my work in dispensing the Buddha’s teachings might have no impact whatsoever in this crazy world! Although being saddened and shocked by the appalling global situation, I am still lucky to have enough wisdom to see and confirm that this human realm is truly ‘a prison of life’. So, helping even just one person to realise this predicament, and to lead him/her to be free from this imprisonment, should be enough reason for me to carry on working. So, while admittedly the moral advice in my entire works, including this book, may seem naive, irrelevant and even impossible to practice in this deeply distorted world, this advice must continue as far as rationality goes, I am afraid. To attain the ultimate truth and eternal inner peace, one must think, speak and act wholesomely. There is no other way round. You just have to do your very best to

maintain your moral integrity, which I know is very difficult. You can only achieve this when the ultimate ultimate goal of life – finding finding the ultimate ultimate truth – is clearly underline underlined. d. In this cutting edge global society of the 21st century, religions have been viewed by some as outdated dogmas that not only offer false hope but also are being used as a means for personal financial gain by religious, political and economic elites. Critics argue that there is no real tangible basis for the religious ideologies, i.e. believers make their own images of God, The Tree of Life, The Kingdom of God, Heaven and Hell. Even the non-God based ideologies like Tao and Nirvana are no different and are criticized as being far-fetched ideologies that seem to have no connection connection whatsoever whatsoever to our daily lives. lives. Some of the Buddhist establishme establishments, nts, a culture I grew up with, are crumbling very fast due to the lack of practice and wisdom among many religious officers. Having put all these weaknesses into consideration, the contents of this book  may help bridge the gap between science and religion as well as pacify the cruel realities that we face in our daily life. To be more precise, it is my coinage, the ‘innocent perception’ (one of the 28 terminologies representing all believers) that can offer us the ground to work on and work  with as we engage in this spiritual path to attain the ultimate truth. Perceptions are real and scientifical scientifically ly based; they they are not some abstract philosophi philosophical cal ideology ideology that offers false false hope. In chapter seven, seven, I have emphasised that human human thought, thought, (Jerry), is the very characteristi characteristicc that paints us the wrong image about the nature of the final element. Therefore the innocent perception, in my view, is the most most substantial, accessible and understandable platform we can step on to pursue our common spiritual goal – the ultimate truth! This can also help us to bypass all the conspiracy theories inundated the Internet, some of which are shocking and there is no way to get to the bottom of the truth. Without knowing the ultimate truth, it will be extremely difficult to find inner peace in this troublesome world. Once the ultimate truth becomes clear as a goal, you can then appreciate it and be motivated to engage in the practice of the four foundations of mindfulness or bringing your mental self back  home, which once again, is immediately available and understandable. This practice is nothing more than having more awareness of our breathing, movements and physical sensations, which are tangible and very real. This is the direct method to attain the real truth and subsequently to gain the benefits of inner peace, harmony and balance. If this book can make a life-changing experience for just one person, it will then fulfil my duty as an author and a teacher. Supawan Green 6 April 2012