How do you interpret this quote?

Question

“When we're deluded there's a world to escape. When we're aware, there's nothing to escape”
- Bodhidharma -

I have my own understanding of it, I just want to see what kind of opinions other people have...

Answer 1

Our delusions place limits on the world - a box from which we need to escape.

Awareness shows us there is no box, or world for that matter, but only existence. No limitations, definitions, or restrictions necessary.

Answer 2

“When we're deluded there's a world to escape. When we're aware, there's nothing to escape”
Good quote, ZEN - For me it means that the problems and troubles of people are made by how we look at them. If you approach your problems as a burden or obstacle then you feel you must escape. If you see your problems as opportunities and learn to love having to work hard and overcome then there will be nothing to escape because nothing can harm you. In a deeper meaning it is the Maya or false world that you see, if you are aware the suffering and pain of existence is seen as fake and you can experience the emptiness of existence.

Answer 3

My opinion is that it is very vague. I happen to like specifics. They convey more information. Aware of what? Aware of what's going on in the world? That's still vague. Bodhidharma obviously has a few people sitting around, waiting for something they perceive as profound to emerge.

Answer 4

"When we are deluded" Believing in an invisible sky daddy we do not see the world for what it is, we use god as a crutch to fill in all the unknown. "There's a world to escape" We don;t bother trying to figure out the tough stuff, we just leave it up to god.

"When we're aware" When we realize that the unknown is unknown and we strive to answer it with logic. "There is nothing to escape" Our eyes are wide open and our minds are free of the dogmatic cloud of religion.

Answer 5

If you're deluded , how can you escape that which deludes you?
If you are "aware" of delusion, or just "aware" at all, you begin to realize how much you do NOT know about life and meaning. That is the beginning of wisdom - the fear of God and the understanding that you know NOTHING.
Sorry, Buddha was wrong.

Answer 6

In Christianity, we explain it "Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine" and we even have Scripture to back it up "when God is for us who can be against us." Christ gives us the peace that surpasses all understanding and we have no fear of death. We are promised "absent from the body present with the Lord." We have a world without end and we look forward to our Creator restoring or making all things new.

Walking in the Spirit has a great awareness.

Elijah asked God to open the eyes of Elisha so he could see the legion of angels surrounding them for protection. Being aware of a legion of angels ready to protect gives one great assurance. In the Scripture many times it mentions "Do not fear."

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.

Thanks for asking that question.

Answer 7

It means exactly what it says.

Crazy people think that the world is some bad place that they need to get out of.

Normal people see that the world is the world and we are supposed to live in it.

Answer 8

Deluded means we do not accept reality. If you are deluded you are living in your own little make believe world.

Answer 9

one must face reality and not escape responsibilities in WHATEVER aspect,nor try to gain solace by deluding oneself.once you realize that you are alone and only YOU are in control of your life,you face reality.

+ reality is not always the most soothing or the easiest to absorb,but once one faces THAT,there's nothing more to face

Answer 10

When you're not aware of reality, you can live in your own fantasy world away from all of life's problems. When you're aware of reality, then you realize all of life's problems going on and you have no choice but to face them.