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johnslat · Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:52 pm Post subject:

Dear WMTN,

The phrase "annihilation of self" (fanā) may present the wrong idea:

"Fanā can best be described as the stage when the Sufi passes away in mystical union with the divine, the standard grammatical distinction between the self and the other, human and divine, reflexive and non-reflexive, begins to break down (Sells 82). When one is working toward fanā, one becomes the locus for God�s attributes and in doing so involves a great deal of losing attributes of self-hood. This is a step of dissolving or extinguishing the boundaries of the ego or self and merging and anchoring it with the Divine Self is called fanā . Fanā (passing away) and baqa (subsisting) are a correlative pair of notions in which fanā logically precedes baqā. Of the two terms, fanā is the more significant concept in Sufi writings.
Process: In realizing tawhid (affirmation of the oneness of God), the mystic has to pass away from any trace of individual self-consciousness so that his self is blotted out in actual non-existence and God alone exists and in truth subsists. This non-existence, however, equals the state of original existence humanity possessed in the presence of God at the primordial covenant prior to creation. The following Rumi poem provides a good analogy for this concept: �Let the servant be, in relation to God, like a marionette�let him return in finishing his life to his point of departure.� Example of Junayd: Junayd is often thought of in relation to fanā because it led to his execution. For this reason, it is helpful to study Junayd to better understand the concept of fanā. Here, fanā was exemplified as obliterating self-consciousness, losing the �you� because all existence is God. Junayd is quoted saying, �He (God) annihilates my construction just as he constructed me originally in the condition of my annihilation (Sells 260). It is in this losing the oneness of individuality that the true display of fanā is displayed."

Or, as Christianity puts it:

John 12:24: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

Or, as Buddhism puts it:

"While the Unconditioned is the extinction of self, it is nevertheless not mere non-existence or annihilation, for the extinction of self is nothing but the extinction of a delusion. Every description of the Unconditioned must fail, for it lies not only beyond words but beyond even thought; and the only way to know it is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path to its end.

This, then, is the original Buddhism; this is the Buddhism of the Noble Eightfold Path, of the path that leads from the bondage of self to liberating insight into reality."

Regards,
John

With Malice Toward None · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 250

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Johnslat

I always imagined you as a Kiwani or Elk. Now it turns out you are Budhist AND a Sufi !

johnslat · Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:43 pm Post subject:

Dear scot47,

Not Christian or Jew or
Muslim, not Hindu,
Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen.
Not any religion

or cultural system. I am
not from the east
or the west, not
out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not
natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all.
I do not exist,

am not an entity in this
world or the next,
did not descend from
Adam and Eve or any

origin story. My place is
the placeless, a trace
of the traceless.
Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved,
have seen the two
worlds as one and
that one
call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner,
only that breath breathing

human being.

(Rumi)

Neither am I an Elk, which, considering it's hunting season here now, is probably just as well.

Regards,
John

007 · Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 5:23 pm Post subject:

I am the servant of the Qur'an as long as I have life.
I am the dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen One.
If anyone quotes anything except this from my sayings,
I am quit of him and outraged by these words

Rumi.

rjbsd · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 53

Excuse me gentlemen, but getting back to the topic of the thread. My recruiter is Skyline. They have me working with AtlanticTravel out of DC for my visa. Atlantic Travel got my paperwork last Friday. I just got a call, my visa has been approved and the paperwork is on its way back to me. This is a work visa. Wow. I never expected it this soon. I haven't even given my notice for my present job. They want me ASAP, like a couple of days. I will have to give at least one week's notice, then I am out of here.

I work for an offshore surveying company, and we are struggling during this economy. So they will really not miss me. I could leave today and it would not be a problem. But I feel I need to give at least a week's notice.

Not paying rent for this month, that's for sure.

johnslat · Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 5:54 pm Post subject:

Dear rjbsd,
Congratulation - from what I've been able to infer from this forum, if you have to go with a recruiter, Skyline seems to be the best of the lot.
That you're getting a "real work visa" is a big plus.
All the best.
John

Dear 007,

It would seem that we each have our own Rumi:

"Define and narrow me, you starve yourself of yourself.
Nail me down in a box of cold words,
that box is your coffin.
I do not know who I am.
I am in astounded lucid confusion.
I am not a Christian, I am not a Jew, I am not a Zoroastrian.
And I am not even a Muslim.
I do not belong to the land, or to any known or unknown sea.
Nature cannot own or claim me, nor can heaven;
Nor can India, China, Bulgaria.
My birthplace is placelessness,
My sign to have and give no sign.
You say you see my mouth, ears, eyes, nose�they are not mine.
I am the life of life. I am that cat, this stone, no one.
I have thrown duality away like an old dishrag,
I see and know all times and all worlds
As one, one, always one.
So what do I have to do to get you to admit who is speaking?
Admit it and change everything!
This is your own voice echoing off the walls of God."

Regards,
John

tacomaboywa · Joined: 18 Jan 2009 Posts: 194 Location: The Magic Kingdom

With Malice Toward None · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 250

With Malice Toward None · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 250

With Malice Toward None · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 250

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BillCowher · Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Posts: 131 Location: Up in the air!!!

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

It should of course be an ACUTE ACCENT (accent aigu). The GRAVE ACCENT goes the other way ! So in "eleve" - the first should be acute and the second grave). How on earth do you type these diacritical marks using an anglo keyboard ?

No wonder I only got a B in SCE Higher French in 1964 !

Not sure how we got here from SKYLINE ! Back on topic you cybersaboteurs !

johnslat · Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:32 pm Post subject:

Dear Colleagues,

Acute accent: Touch�

On a Mac, under "Edit", you will find a category called "Special Characters"
(but no, the posters here aren't listed there.) Under "Punctuation", you will find the accents.

or, you can do as I did - just type the word "touche" into Google search and then copy from the results.

Regards,
John

Dear WMTN,
While it is true that I did indulge in some "illegal controlled substances" back in the late 60s and early 70s (after, not before Vietnam - I was twenty-three in '66 when I was there) I am very glad that the Veterans Administration doesn't consider that to be relevant. The charge for the surgery (my co-pay, that is) would have been relatively very low (only about $1200,) but I'm still grateful that the government is picking up the tab instead.
On December 29th, I'll find out - by means of a blood test to measure my PSA level - whether the surgery was completely successful (if I get a "0" on the test, I'm golden - first time in my life I've hoped on a zero on any test,) but if not, then it's radiation time.
Stay tuned for further developments - assuming you give a tiny hoot.
Regards,
John
P.S. "Catch-22" is one of my three favorite comic/tragic contemporary novels, the other two being
1. "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
2. "Handling Sin" by Michael Malone