Do fictional characters have eternal life?

[Belinda]

Dontaskme wrote:

One rises to Buddha status or Christ Consciousness when the sense of I am a separate entity collapses. No one in their right mind wants this generally ..for it means the end of the separate 'me', but for others it's a blessed relief, and the end of suffering, suffering still arises, but the enlightened one will not claim that suffering or identify it as happen to them personally.
Life is already enlightened right now as everything boundlessly free...so nobody gets enlightened anyway.

It's unethical to aim not to experience stress as affecting oneself. There are occasions when someone whose emotional or physical suffering is so acute or persistent that it would be unkind not to relieve it. However there is normal stress. What is normal varies according to the individual's tolerance level. Some stress is necessary for anyone to learn anything. I said "unethical"; it's unethical to opt out of learning as learning is a responsible human's response to change itself.

[Dontaskme]

It's unethical to aim not to experience stress as affecting oneself.

A person who has collapsed their imaginary sense of self is prone to suffering like everyone else. But a self that complains and moans about suffering happening to a 'me' that may even say 'why me?' is adding more suffering on top of suffering... In the context of someone whose sense of self has fallen away, suffering is seen as a mere functioning of life as a human, much like breathing and is barely affected by what happens to them. It's rare, but it does happen...Jesus's story was a very good example of what I'm trying to say.

There are occasions when someone whose emotional or physical suffering is so acute or persistent that it would be unkind not to relieve it. However there is normal stress.

Life will dictate compassion in daily life...no one is compassionate, although the act of compassion arises. When we put our hand accidentally on a hot stove, there is an instantaneous urge to remove hand from the area, there is no thought about whether one should or should not remove hand, same with compassion. Every day normal human functions happen automatically including compassion or insensitivity without the sense of any self being there.

What is normal varies according to the individual's tolerance level. Some stress is necessary for anyone to learn anything. I said "unethical"; it's unethical to opt out of learning as learning is a responsible human's response to change itself.

One doesn't have to learn to be present which is ever unchanging, and is a given. But as a story character in the dream of separation we have to learn to be the person we want to become in society and adhere to it's self imposed laws and rules and regulations if we are to avoid adverse consequences that may jeopardize the well being of our sense of self. That's just the dance of life appearing as a human being.

And that is very stressful having to live up to an imaginary self all the time, and is why animals are generally luckier than humans.

[Belinda]

Dontaskme wrote:

One doesn't have to learn to be present which is ever unchanging, and is a given. But as a story character in the dream of separation we have to learn to be the person we want to become in society and adhere to it's self imposed laws and rules and regulations if we are to avoid adverse consequences that may jeopardize the well being of our sense of self. That's just the dance of life appearing as a human being.

And that is very stressful having to live up to an imaginary self all the time, and is why animals are generally luckier than humans.

This reminds me of what you said earlier about compassion. I infer from what you wrote was that compassionate actions are immediate reactions to situations. Should I also infer that you recommend that all actions are reactions, unrehearsed and not codified into social laws and rules?

With regard to your second paragraph I do agree that animals generally luckier than humans.If animals had the intelligence and imagination to probe the future they would be as anxious as we are. But we are the ones who are burdened with anxiety about how the past and about future suffering .This is the meaning of the story in Genesis about the expulsion from Eden; animals never were expelled, only humans.The story describes the human predicament.

I accept your advice, and I suppose it is advice, that one should pay attention to the present and not worry about what is past , or about the distant future. Was it Ecclesiastes who advised "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof"? I'm sure that it was Jesus who advised us to "consider the lilies of the field they toil not neither do they spin and yet Solomon in all his glory was not clad like one of these". It would be a relief from anxiety if one could forget about insuring one's house or saving for a rainy day, paying national insurance, taking enough exercise, or about trying to avoid climate change, wars, and epidemics. However to forget these would be unwise, especially in the obvious absence of a Heavenly Father who would provide for the widows , the orphans , the starving, and the suffering animals.

[Grace30102]

I believe that some characters are eternal in our minds.
A fictional character for example Mickey Mouse is so well known by the world and so recognised that he will probably be remembered for years to come. He might even 'exist' through out thoughts and 'exist' in our minds and memories, therefore doesn't this mean that mickey mouse is an eternal character, at least in our minds. Also even if we die or loose our memory there are still so many people who know who he is and will be reminded about him all across the world. xx

[Dontaskme]

I believe that some characters are eternal in our minds.
A fictional character for example Mickey Mouse is so well known by the world and so recognised that he will probably be remembered for years to come. He might even 'exist' through out thoughts and 'exist' in our minds and memories, therefore doesn't this mean that mickey mouse is an eternal character, at least in our minds. Also even if we die or loose our memory there are still so many people who know who he is and will be reminded about him all across the world. xx

Thanks for your contribution to the discussion.

There is only ETERNITY, OR INFINITY expressing itself as everything and nothing right NOW all at once. The big bang is still happening even today.