Infinity

"This is the place where the intellect gets annihilated...." 

~Nisargadatta Maharaj 

This is a Zen drawing which has its roots deep in Japanese history and culture as well as buddhist. I once had a vision where I saw this circle as being the universe...I don't know the real "academic meaning" but I take it to mean, basically, infinity.

The void universe IS a circle which includes all things, yet, is never finished because, it has no beginning nor end, and is therefore infinite.

If we think about our fundamental thinking as having to change, in order for us to appreciate the difference between buddhism and Christianity, for example, it would certainly make sense that the Christian idea of a "beginning" and also a "final judgment" comes from the fundamental belief in Birth and Death, which is something that doesn't exist in Buddhism. Once you get that that reincarnation is infinite, an infinite loop, then you also see that there never was a "beginning" nor will there be an "end". It was all a mere illusion.

The idea of infinity may be one of the most important ideas to grasp because if there is no birth, and no death, there is no reason to DEFEND one's existence. There is no longer any reason to fight for survival. There is no reason to fight for what you want out of life. And yet, we do. Which comes to the idea of non-doing. Non-doing exists in taoism, buddhism, and hinduism in different guises but basically comes down to: "doership" is an illusion, created by desire. If you are doing things for others, you essentially forget the fundamental separation between yourself and the world. Non-doing does not mean no action, but it means no SELFISH action, only action for others. In the process of thinking only about others, one forgets oneself, naturally seeing the witness behind and beyond the individual identity, and merging thereafter with the ocean of awareness which sets the background of our existence. This is also known as "enlightenment." To realize you exist beyond time and space (are not limited by birth and death) that is enlightenment. To reach the state where there is no longer any more CREATION of karma at any level, is Parinirvana or simply NIRVANA.

But as Stephen Wolinsky is fond of saying: "Nirvana Means Extinction." Literally...the word Nirvana means:

EXTINCTION.

Of what? Personal identity. Separation consciousness. Limited consciousness. Finite consciousness. The idea to ponder is, the circle. Which is, void universe, Infinity. All sentient beings are emptiness.