Confucianism and Taoism are two similar philosophies or religions mainly found in China. They also have a history of teachings about the "self" and overcoming this entity in order to realize a greater union with reality.
Tag: heaven
Saint Teresa of Ávila’s “First Vision” Accounts
Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) was a Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, and was canonized a Roman Catholic saint by Pope Gregory XV. In her autobiography, The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, she describes many of her ecstatic visions of the Divine which should ring a few bells for Latter-day Saints.
Walt Whitman’s “First Vision” Accounts
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was a noted poet, essayist, and journalist, perhaps best known for his collection of poems titled Leaves of Grass. He wrote of divine experiences on several occasions in his poems.
Non-Self Reveals the True Self
When the false self dies—the ego, the old creature, the constructed personality, the illusory self, the separate independent idea of one's self, the man of sin, the son of perdition, the natural man, the carnal mind—when this is seen for what it really is, when it is revealed in truth, when it is put off, taken out of the way, when it is crucified and passes away, then the true Self is revealed in glory.
Martin Buber's "First Vision" Account
There is an experience which grows in the soul out of the soul itself, without contact and without restraint, in naked oneness. It comes into being and completes itself beyond the commotion, free of the other, inaccessible to the other. It needs no nourishment, and no poison can touch it. The soul which stands in it stands in itself, has itself, experiences itself - boundlessly.
Ueshiba's "First Vision" Account
Crystal clear, sharp and bright, my mind has no opening for evil to roost. The morning sun shines in, My mind, too, is clear and bright;
St. Augustine's "First Vision" Account
And being admonished by these books to return into myself, I entered into my inward soul, guided by thee... And I entered, and with the eye of my soul—such as it was—saw above the same eye of my soul and above my mind the Immutable Light.
Golden Light "First Vision" Account
"Sometimes during meditation golden light pours into my head, as if squeezed through a cloth, filling my head with light. At times, I feel like a newborn baby entering a new dimension of reality made of infinite tenderness, purity, love, and divine wholeness, a heavenly domain."
Unbounded Space “First Vision” Account
"Sometimes in meditation I experience deep silence, being in an unbounded empty space. Sometimes I see light in that empty space like the sun."
Heaven’s Cradle “First Vision” Account
"One day during my [meditation] my head became full of light and the room was full of sunlight (and yet it was totally cloudy outside). It was beautiful. I felt healed, safe and full of nature's forgiveness. After meditation I lay down for a few minutes and I felt as if I was lying gently in heaven's cradle."