That or Something Else

"What a luxurious life you have."

"...Not at all! 💦 Today, for instance, I went shopping specifically aiming for the time when the half-price stickers are put on at the supermarket. 😂"

"It wasn't you who aimed for it."

"Huh?"

"Even so. You are a luxurious person. The happiest person in the world. 💗"

"B-but, with these high prices, I'm struggling, so I'm far from luxurious! 💦"

"It is merely a temporary appearance. You are simply identifying yourself with the appearance of thoughts and a body. The true you has never once appeared in the world."

"I... no, no! I am here, living like this! ❣"

"That is why you are a luxurious person."

"What do you mean...?"

"To be alive means to have been born. To have been born means you have already reserved the experience of disappearing called death."

"T-that's true. 💦"

"However, in reality, you have not moved a single step from your home (the Sacred Heart), which is immortality."

"Wait, am I acting!? ...As a human."

"The ego (you) gets anxious or worried, thinking, 'I'm scared to die 👻 I don't want to disappear 😱.' You could say that means you are playing the role perfectly."

"...I-I see."

"However, your life, this very elaborate one-person play—in other words, this joke called the Sacred Heart (you)—has a punchline."

"What kind of punchline?"

"In that moment, you will laugh. 'Oh, there was never a "me" that could disappear, was there?' And then, you return to the silence that was there all along."

"Huh?"

"To use an analogy, it is the same as when a wave returns to the ocean. The form of the wave changes, but the water itself is not lost by even a single drop."

"I-if that's the case, isn't the experience of disappearing also just a temporary change?"

"It is not even temporary. However, the stronger your attachment to 'me (the individual)' is, the greater the sense of relief at the punchline will be. You are dancing on this supreme stage as foreshadowing for that supreme punchline."

"Wait! 💦 If it's a stage, there must be an audience! What about those people??"

"A sharp answer. The audience is the true you. If you wish, you can enjoy the perspective from the audience side as well?"

"I-I'd love to! 🤍"

"Relax. If you want to watch the stage of life while drinking coffee and occasionally fiddling with your smartphone, first, we must start with how to create distance between the stage and the seats. You could also call it the distance between thought and the center, or between the ego and the true self."

"...What should I do?"

"When a thought arises (appears), you, in a state of complete identification with the ego, create a story, saying things like 'I am thinking this' or 'That person is bad.' You imagine the past or future, place yourself as an actor there, and become fully immersed in it."

"W-well, of course!! Wait, is my story no good? 💦"

"It is not a matter of being good or bad. I am just stating the facts. Are you ready? To create distance, first, know that thoughts, emotions, and reactions arise naturally (on their own). Whatever the appearance is, it happens. Before judging whether it is good or bad, just notice, 'Oh, this thought is appearing right now.' It is not something you thought because you wanted to. Since clouds (thoughts) are just flowing by, you can just let them be. Would you, the vast sky, keep chasing after the many clouds flowing by? That would just be tiring, wouldn't it?"

"I feel like the more I chase them, the stronger my ego gets, and my body gets tired too. 💦"

"I suppose so. That appears as the stress of modern people. But stress, thoughts, and bodily reactions—appearances are just appearances. When you get irritated at someone, when some emotion arises, when you compare yourself to something on social media, just watch that appearance. It has no substance. On the other hand, you (the Sacred Heart), who never appears, are the one who is aware. You just need to observe."

"I see. ...But, wouldn't 'I' disappear if I do that??"

"Sharp. That is because the thought says 'I.' But rest assured, it is impossible for the true you (the Sacred Heart) to disappear."

"Even if you say that... it sounds like escapism. 💧"

"I will say it again. The true you is the Sacred Heart (the quiet consciousness that is simply aware)."

"...Ah! That's it!! 'I' never existed in the first place! 💚"

"Interesting, isn't it? It is God's work (a joke). A being that cannot disappear is enjoying the pretense of disappearing. After enjoying a non-existent individual, that is. Is there any luxury greater than this?"

"B-but don't I need 'me' to live?"

"That is a tool. In social life, there is conversation and action. It is probably necessary to use tools like thoughts and names. They do not exist, but they are labels as tools of the phenomenon."

"...I see."

"So that you do not misunderstand, let me say this too. There is no need to try to erase thoughts. Also, there is no need to decide, 'I am this kind of person.' Even when you are talking to someone in front of you, be aware that thought is conversing with thought. If you do that, you will approach a state of effortless naturalness. You will notice the bliss that neither appears nor disappears. That is something that has been inside you all along."

"Bliss has been there all along!? 💖"

"You had forgotten your true existence because you were too identified with the ego."

"...Why is that?"

"It is impossible for you to disappear. However, the death that the ego speaks of makes the experience of disappearing possible. To fully enjoy that experience, you needed to truly believe, 'I am a being that disappears (the ego).'"

"Even though my essence is the Sacred Heart that hasn't even appeared!? ❗❓ Even though the true self is infinite in every way!? ...Even as a joke, that's too cruel! 🤣🤣🤣"

"You will return in peace. Because you have noticed the consciousness of reality (that)."

"Calling the wave of thought 'I', forgetting the ocean, playing for a while."

"H-hey. Tanka is my role!"

"It's a joke! 💚 Because I'm enjoying the experience of separation (illusion). 😆"

"Good grief..."The true you is always full. You have never once become anything other than "that.""

"Well then, this half-price sticker life is also God's production (appearance), right? 🤣"

"Indeed. It is a very elaborate production. Everything is you, and yet, you are not bound by any role."

"My luxurious person. 🤍"