Koldo
Outstanding Member
When one is in the state of either Relative Joy or Relative Suffering, one is also ALWAYS in the state of Absolute Joy, but one does not realize it. Imagine that you are a fish born into the sea (which, of course, all fish are). You go about your business of being a fish without realizing the presence of the sea around you. You focus on finding food, sex, etc, but the sea is just passively 'there' as a background to your existence, in spite of the fact that it is crucial to your existence. It is what ultimately supports you. Likewise, we, as humans, primarily pay attention to the foreground of our everyday existence, hardly ever paying any heed to the passive background that is crucial to our existence. It goes unnoticed because it is also the Ordinary of our everyday life. We are too busy seeking things that provide pleasure and sensual gratification, and it becomes overlooked, but it is there constantly, nonetheless. In short, that which constitutes our life, Relative Joy and Suffering, is one and the same as Absolute Joy. In the East it is stated thus: Nirvana and Samsara are One.
Why to perceive this absolute joy, one is required to go through a process of realization? Why don't humans perceive it as naturally and in the same manner as other things such as food, sex, etc.?