Imagination and Empathy | Sanghadharin

Uh, and the, the theme that we're looking at over, uh, well, last week and the next two weeks, uh, is, uh, it's a thing called Reimagining the Buddha.

Uh, and it's based on a paper, uh, which is basically looking at imagination, uh, and the role of imagination in the spiritual life.

So, uh, in Triratna, um, which is the tradition this is a part of, there's a strong emphasis placed, uh, on the role of the imagination.

And this paper, Reimagining the Buddha, really kind of lays out, um, why imagination is so important and why it's important for spiritual practice.

Um, so last week, Stirmanas, um, looked at kind of the faculty of the imagination, exploring, uh, what the faculty of the imagination is, uh, and its place of it in the spiritual life.

Um, and yeah, he-- I'll just draw out a couple of things that, um, that were covered last week just to, um, catch us up.

So imagination is basically... it's really important, uh, for spiritual growth.

Uh, it's an important faculty as part, um, of spiritual growth.

So reasoning, um, and conceptual thought, um, are important, and the Buddha did teach a lot, um, in concepts.

He spoke to the rational mind, uh, he spoke to the conceptual mind, um, and it is important, but it can only take us so far.

Uh, so it's an, it's an essential part, but it only...

it has a limit to how far it can go.

Uh, and imagination essentially kind of bridges the gap, um, between how far reason can take us, uh, and the goal of Buddhahood.

Um, so that's kind of the, the, uh, the ultimate goal, uh, of the Buddhist path, uh, is to gain, um, spiritual liberation, um, complete freedom from suffering, uh, complete wisdom, complete compassion, uh, which is symbolized, uh, by images of the Buddha.

Um, and it's the imagination that can bridge the gap between, uh, where reason can take us and kind of taking us, um, the whole way and help us be able to be in relationship to that goal.