I don't think that it necessarily means death, though it could definitely been taken that way. If you take the Buddhist interpretation it means reaching nirvana, often characterized as crossing a river. The only part that is puzzling to me is "the hands of the many must join as one." Typically in Buddhism it is possible for an individual to reach nirvana without help from others. A Bodhisattva, however, chooses to reincarnate over and over to help all sentient beings reach nirvana, so from a Bodhisattva's point of view, all sentient beings must join together so that we can all cross the river. I don't think Maynard is trying to be too specific, just giving a general feeling of letting go of achievements of the ego and working toward enlightenment, calling for others to join along.
@ChuanRi For someone so knowledgeable you seem to have forgotten the reason why the individual aspires to achieve enlightenment. We do what must be done for the benefit of all. Buddhism has an individual element, but by becoming one with the unborn we become one with all. Remember that to be the "I" the we are all part of, "I" must lose the "we" since there is just "I" and that "we" is actually a dividing statement. All is one, but all are different. Even though we can achieve enlightenment on an individual basis, we will only...
@ChuanRi For someone so knowledgeable you seem to have forgotten the reason why the individual aspires to achieve enlightenment. We do what must be done for the benefit of all. Buddhism has an individual element, but by becoming one with the unborn we become one with all. Remember that to be the "I" the we are all part of, "I" must lose the "we" since there is just "I" and that "we" is actually a dividing statement. All is one, but all are different. Even though we can achieve enlightenment on an individual basis, we will only know the true power of enlightenment once the "all" that are different become the"one" until all we can do is see the buddha in each other until we realize the buddha that is us, or more importantly "I"
I don't think that it necessarily means death, though it could definitely been taken that way. If you take the Buddhist interpretation it means reaching nirvana, often characterized as crossing a river. The only part that is puzzling to me is "the hands of the many must join as one." Typically in Buddhism it is possible for an individual to reach nirvana without help from others. A Bodhisattva, however, chooses to reincarnate over and over to help all sentient beings reach nirvana, so from a Bodhisattva's point of view, all sentient beings must join together so that we can all cross the river. I don't think Maynard is trying to be too specific, just giving a general feeling of letting go of achievements of the ego and working toward enlightenment, calling for others to join along.
@ChuanRi For someone so knowledgeable you seem to have forgotten the reason why the individual aspires to achieve enlightenment. We do what must be done for the benefit of all. Buddhism has an individual element, but by becoming one with the unborn we become one with all. Remember that to be the "I" the we are all part of, "I" must lose the "we" since there is just "I" and that "we" is actually a dividing statement. All is one, but all are different. Even though we can achieve enlightenment on an individual basis, we will only...
@ChuanRi For someone so knowledgeable you seem to have forgotten the reason why the individual aspires to achieve enlightenment. We do what must be done for the benefit of all. Buddhism has an individual element, but by becoming one with the unborn we become one with all. Remember that to be the "I" the we are all part of, "I" must lose the "we" since there is just "I" and that "we" is actually a dividing statement. All is one, but all are different. Even though we can achieve enlightenment on an individual basis, we will only know the true power of enlightenment once the "all" that are different become the"one" until all we can do is see the buddha in each other until we realize the buddha that is us, or more importantly "I"