the difference between heaven and hell , page-18

A tricky one the idea of ... " 'self' is a thought thus something the mind creates rather than the true nature of mind".

it is. very tricky. it takes some special insight in a very fortunate clear meditation to see as such. such an insight is not available to the average person but available when diligently practising meditation in the right way

that said, the formation of "self-thoughts" can be pondered to notice how they arise from sense-experience. for example, the body feels hunger pains and then the mind thinks: "I am hungry"

if we watch closely, the "self" thought always adds itself onto some other experience: example, see a shoe and then think: "that is my shoe"





Are you saying that when one becomes "no-self" & lives in mindfulness that one becomes ''...mostly or all 'heaven' & little or no 'hell' ?

this is why I made the threefold distinction. a mind with a very forgiving & loving attitude towards life (say a well cultivated Christian) may not abide in "no-self" but still abide in a heavenly state of mind

where as the "no-self" mind officially abides in Nirvana

but regardless, yes, "mindfulness" is required. "mindfulness" actually means "to remember" or "keep in mind". so whether the mind keeps the "no-self" comprehension in mind or the "forgiveness-non-judgment" teachings of Jesus in mind, each is the use of mindfulness

the more mindful the mind is, the more heaven




as was taught about being mindful (non-forgetting):

James 1:25
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it -- not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it -- they will be blessed in what they do.

"What is sammasati [right mindfulness]? Sati means to bear in mind or bring to mind. Sati is the state of recollecting, the state of remembering, the state of non-fading, the state of non-forgetting. Sati means the sati that is a Spiritual Faculty, the sati that is a Spiritual Power, Sammasati, the Sati that is an Enlightenment Factor, that which is a Path Factor and that which is related to the Path. This is what is called sammasati." [Vbh.105, 286]


for example, if we make a loss making investment, then mindfulness remembers the wisdom of: "Making losses is a normal incidence of investing because the conditioned world & the information we use is imperfect".

regards