The Little Purple Notebook On How To Escape From This Universe
                        Copyleft © 1998 by Maximilian J. Sandor, Ph.D.
                    Subscription Information: Maria Loren mloren@newciv.org
                         Website: http://transmillennium.net/pnohteftu/


 The Buddha Paradox

The  The Paradox of Talking about "Awakening' has a foundation in a
more basic paradox.

It cannot be certain, of course, that Gotamo referred to this paradox and
not to yet another, but the paradox itself still qualifies for the name
'Buddha Paradox'. It is based on an infinity problem and for problems of
that kind Gotamo advised strongly to not 'trying to think about it  too
deeply'. (Some of the reasons are outlined in another chapter on 'Infinity
Problems'.)

There is a need for awareness of this paradox because it is referenced in
several Science Fictions (and not just the 'Logs of JD Flora'!) and it can
also be cause of confusion at points like Bill Robertson's OT 14, for
example.

The paradox can be summarized as follows:

   * Before a Being can withdraw from this Universe, every connection to it
     must be dissolved. (which is tantamount to a complete integration of
     the Being).
   * Since 'Universe as a structure' is a valid comprehensive viewpoint,
     this withdrawal must include every impingement - even those
     impingements that are 'raw' structures, such as 'ideas that were never
     realized'.
   * Since time is an illusion, a complete withdrawal must happen at all
     points of the timeline illusion, including all pasts and all futures.

But as soon as this withdrawal occurs, there are no traces left of the
Being whatsoever, not even in the 'past'. For a concurrent observer,
reality changes without being noticed.

In other words, except for the unexplained case of a 'sammasa.mbuddho', one
cannot possibly 'know' of any 'Awakened' Beings - past, present, or future
- because they are not part of reality anymore the very same 'moment' they
'awaken' completely.


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               Copyleft © 1998 by Maximilian J. Sandor, Ph.D.