It's been over twenty-five years since it, but some of the questions that got answered included:
1. Is there a God? Yes, but He/She/It/THAT isn't what anybody thinks. The Absolute is beyond comprehension.
2. How did life begin in an inanimate universe? The universe is not inanimate; the whole thing is alive.
3. What are things, really? For example, what is a tree, really? There are no things; thingness is an idea. What we call "things" are actually a unified whole--oneness. "Tree" is an idea. What a tree IS is THIS. There are no boundaries anywhere; all boundaries defining things are imaginary.
4. What could "explain" the miracles recorded in all religious traditions? Oneness can do whatever it wants to do; all scientific laws are ideas, only.
5. What is mu? This is a famous Zen koan. After the woo woo experience, I could answer the question for the first time. This is a formal public koan, so I can't provide the answer.
6. Is there a heaven or hell? Not in the way that most people imagine. There is no past present or future; there is only now.
7. There were some other koans that got penetrated at the time, but I've now forgotten what they were.
One other piece of advice that many people have found helpful is the use of this question, "What must I be doing this moment, not in the future, but right now?"
Anytime a thought occurs, such as "I wish that I was......" or "If only I could be doing such and such.....or "I ought to be sitting on a mountaintop getting enlightened rather than doing this mundane job," etc, simply ask yourself, "What must I be doing this moment?" This question helps stop mental fantasies in their tracks and brings one back to ground.
If you find yourself stuck in a traffic jam and late for an appointment, and you think, "I can't afford to be late. What will they think? I should have taken a different route," etc. Ask yourself, "What must I be doing this precise moment?" You will realize that you must be sitting in a traffic jam. You will relax and you will begin to accept how reality is manifesting in each moment.
1. Is there a God? Yes, but He/She/It/THAT isn't what anybody thinks. The Absolute is beyond comprehension.
2. How did life begin in an inanimate universe? The universe is not inanimate; the whole thing is alive.
3. What are things, really? For example, what is a tree, really? There are no things; thingness is an idea. What we call "things" are actually a unified whole--oneness. "Tree" is an idea. What a tree IS is THIS. There are no boundaries anywhere; all boundaries defining things are imaginary.
4. What could "explain" the miracles recorded in all religious traditions? Oneness can do whatever it wants to do; all scientific laws are ideas, only.
5. What is mu? This is a famous Zen koan. After the woo woo experience, I could answer the question for the first time. This is a formal public koan, so I can't provide the answer.
6. Is there a heaven or hell? Not in the way that most people imagine. There is no past present or future; there is only now.
7. There were some other koans that got penetrated at the time, but I've now forgotten what they were.
One other piece of advice that many people have found helpful is the use of this question, "What must I be doing this moment, not in the future, but right now?"
Anytime a thought occurs, such as "I wish that I was......" or "If only I could be doing such and such.....or "I ought to be sitting on a mountaintop getting enlightened rather than doing this mundane job," etc, simply ask yourself, "What must I be doing this moment?" This question helps stop mental fantasies in their tracks and brings one back to ground.
If you find yourself stuck in a traffic jam and late for an appointment, and you think, "I can't afford to be late. What will they think? I should have taken a different route," etc. Ask yourself, "What must I be doing this precise moment?" You will realize that you must be sitting in a traffic jam. You will relax and you will begin to accept how reality is manifesting in each moment.
