A: The object of Buddhism is to end our suffering and that of other living beings.  If anything gets annihilated, it will be our perception of, and attachment to, the physical world, things which cause us to suffer needlessly.

Q: If so, what will the world look like then? I find it a frightening thought because, I suppose, I am still full of attachment to the physical world.

A: There is a famous Ch'an saying that goes, "When I began, mountains were mountains and rivers were rivers; when I penetrated deeply, mountains were no longer mountains and rivers were no longer rivers; and when I had finished, mountains were again mountains and rivers again rivers."  What this means is that when we begin to look into the nature of things we see things more or less as we always have.  But when we deeply penetrate the nature of things, we percieve things like emptiness, interdependence and interrelatedness, intuitively and directly perceiving that all things are interconnected and have no abiding identity.  And when we finish we see things as we always did, but we know deep down inside that what we are seeing is not the entire story, which gives us the impetus to dig even deeper. 

So even before Buddhahood is attained there isn't really anything to worry about.  And besides, when Buddhahood is attained, the true nature of all things in all worlds is directly perceived, which is very wonderful.  We become one with the Universe, one with Perfect Peace, which is Nirvana.  Even the wonderful things we see in the physical world now are nowhere near as wonderful as they would be when seen with the eyes of a Buddha.  If, through practice and study, you can lessen your attachment to the physical world, the true nature of the physical world will begin to make itself manifest to you, and you'll wonder why you ever were attached to it in the first place.

A: Getting caught up in such abstractions will only cause you more and more confusion.  Anyway, when understanding is achieved, distinctions like "this" world and the "other" world dissolve, since ALL worlds have the same basic nature.  As it is said, the Pure Land is only as far away as a single thought, not hundreds of billions of Buddha-worlds away.

Q: Do I get a glimpse of the "other" world when I meditate?

A: Don't worry about defining it and just see what is there.  I would not poison you by telling you what you either see or don't see.

Q: A cynical view then would be that all meditation does is to help people escape from the physical world because they find it too overwhelming. How different is it then from people taking drugs to escape from the physical world because it is too overwhelming and they cannot deal with it otherwise?

A: Yes, this is an extremely cynical, erroneous view that should be avoided.  Meditation can help people to gather themselves in the midst of overwhelming problems, and that is all right; but if somebody continues to use meditation as an escape mechanism, becoming dependent on it and not confronting her/his problems instead of using it to attain enlightenment, then you are correct, it's not much different than a drug addiction.  But the distinction here is that helping people escape overwhelming circumstances is NOT all meditation does...that is not even its primary function.  If someone uses meditation solely as an escape mechanism, it's not the fault of meditation itself but the fault of the person who is using it incorrectly.  If you use a screwdriver to punch a hole in the wall  instead of using it to drive a screw, is it the screwdriver's fault that the wall has a hole in it?

A: One should always question a way that one intends to try.....but don't fall into the trap of thinking that if all your concerns are not answered right away, then the path is no good.  Even expreienced practitioners of many years continue to have questions.  You should just begin the path and see if it works for you.  Follow your heart, if that's where your heart is taking you, and don't give rise to fear.  Just relax and don't worry about what happens to the physical world; it'll still be there.

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