Originally posted by Arapahoe:The question here is thus Duality vs non Duality or singular. the only way one is to observe the impersonality is the observer. If duality is non existent than how one consiousness is to avoid non observer and still be aware of impersonality? as quoted below........
The notion that there is an Observer on one hand, and an object of observation on the other hand, is purely the product of conceptual thinking/dualizing.
In actual experience, once you touch that 'certainty of being' that I mentioned, there is no observer and observed distinction. There is just a non-dual sense of Existence, Being, Presence, Knowing, without a sense of 'me' being separated from 'that'. You Are That Knowing which is certain that You Are! The distinction between knower, knowing, and known dissolve into That. You Are That!
Impersonality is a further deconstruction after having experienced the 'Certainty of Being'. There is no one to be aware of impersonality, impersonality is not an object, and neither is there a separate person to be aware of impersonality (and the very idea itself sounds ridiculous!). Rather, impersonality is the absence of that separate 'me' person that is aware, experiencing, doing things. You clearly see that such a separate person is clearly a fiction of thought. What is left in the absence is pure impersonal perceiving and functioning of the One Mind/Consciousness/Life.
You clearly see that so called 'individuals' are really the expression, the pure functioning of the One Life, just like different TVs are powered by the same energy.
It is as Ajahn Brahmavamso said: you can recognise that that mind, essentially, is no different than that process of consciousness which is in all beings. Whether it's human beings or animals or even insects, of any gender, age or race, you see that that which is in common to all life is this mind, this consciousness, the source of doing. - http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebmed065.htm
the many impersonality so we basically move from one impersonality to another?
What Thusness is saying is that impersonality is a type of 'no self' experience. But there are different 'kinds' of 'no self', the term 'no self' can mean different things, as accordance to the Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment. It can mean Impersonality which is still at the I AM level (Thusness Stage 1 to 3), it can mean No-Self as in no subject-object division in Non Dual (Thusness Stage 4) level, or it can mean Anatta (Thusness Stage 5). All these various stages of enlightenment/insights talk about 'no-self' but what they refer to isn't exactly the same. That is why one must correctly recognise these phases of insights as they occur and not confuse one with another.
Also just a note... the Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment actually applies universally - if you did a 'case study' of all the contemplatives around the world regardless of tradition or religion, you can see a similar pattern of insight unfolding - or rather even if the pattern in which it unfolds is different (certain types of practitioners may some skip to non dual without going through 'I AM'), there will be similar insights unfolding concerning the luminous essence. All these contemplatives will also talk about 'no self' one way or another.
However it is Buddhism that emphasize 'Anatta', 'Emptiness' and 'Dependent Origination' as essential to true liberation from the bond of seeing inherent existence, which corresponds to Stage 5 and 6, and this teaching is peculiar to Buddhism.
isn't that a statics movement that it reaches equalibrium and move to the next almost like Jacob ladder but Jacob ladder introduce the concept of "Time". Time is a function of our mind. Ones minds must be consiousness to count sheep ...?
Time is simply a conceptual way to navigate in the relative world. We navigate relative world in concepts. But it is not the Absolute truth. So when Jacob talked about time, he is talking about it in relative terms, in terms of concepts, inference, relating.
From the perspective of the Absolute, which is your own direct experience, concepts like time and space does not apply. The Absolute is just pure impersonal, non-dual and non-conceptual awareness. It is timeless without any sense of movement.
As I explained earlier, the difference between 'decision awareness' and non-conceptual awareness is that the previous consists of knowledge, thoughts, that are relative truths based on concepts, inference and relating, while non-conceptual awareness is direct, intuitive, without intermediary, without separation, immediate - so immediate that it is simply What Is, prior to all thoughts, relating, inference etc. The seeing of clock ticking is just that - seeing of clock ticking, in its immediacy, in its suchness/thusness/isness. The Absolute cannot be grasped conceptually, and precisely so it is called Absolute - it can only be itself in its completeness and perfection untouched by concepts. The moment you relate, infer that the signs are referring to something - to time, etc, then you have moved from the Absolute to the Relative concepts. But even these concepts are arising in the immediacy of the Absolute. Nothing occurs outside of the Absolute. The Absolute alone IS.
The same applies to 'time awareness' (Relative) and 'timeless, non-conceptual awareness' (Absolute). You do not actually experience moving from the past, to the present, to the future - that is a thought arising due to relating. In actual experience, there is just Timeless, Eternal Now.
As someone wrote before regarding time:
Dalai Lama likes to say sunyata is simply the discrepency between every thoughtform and how reality is. Time, yourself, other people exist in your mind as highly flawed thoughtform packets/bundles. For example, go look at clock right now. It is just an object with two pieces of metal pointing at two different spots on a dial. There is no such thing as time.
Furthermore as I wrote previously:
When you are abiding as I AM, there is no sense of time and space. There is only the all-pervading Self. It is very obvious that Awareness doesn't move! It is totally timeless. From this perspective, there is no death. Why? Because Awareness is the ground reality, the Eternal Now, in which things come and go, pops in and out of this Ground, but this Eternal Present, this Awareness, which is what you are, is unaffected, unmoved. As Awareness, you are unborn, undying. Ask yourself - things come and go, thoughts come and go, but have you ever moved out of the Present Moment, and is the Present Moment even affected in any way by the comings and goings? The answer is No!
If ones reach the higher level of consiousness isn't simply to say the self isn;t important no more, as it is part of a bigger collectiveness that stretch our imagination? so how does surrender to the state of being different different from "I AM"
First of all, 'higher level of consciousness' isn't exactly accurate, since Consciousness is just Consciousness. It is just that we get to uncover deeper and deeper insights into the nature of Consciousness, even though those natures of consciousness is always already so - just not recognized.
Second is, it isn't so much that 'self isn't important no more' - rather, it is that 'a separate person is clearly a fiction of thought'.
The 'self' or 'I' that is assumed to be at the center of my life, experiencing and living and controlling our lives, is really seen to be an illusion of thought. The "I" that we imagine ourselves to be is actually non-existent.
What is actual is this impersonal awareness that is non-conceptual: it transcends the imaginative, conceptual faculty of the human mind, it cannot be placed under any mental categories of 'individual' or 'collective' or anything - but there is indeed the intuition that everyone and everything is the expression of the One Mind.
With this insight also comes the seeing that it is not 'I' who lives, it is that we are all being lived, we are the pure spontaneous and effortless functioning of One Consciousness.
The difference between surrender and "I AM" is that "I AM" is a deep conviction and certainty of your very Existence, the innermost core and essence of your Being. You realise that I Am, and 'What' I Am, without a single thought and concept.
You have to start with that - that means, you have to realize this I AM first, before any meaningful progress can occur.
But after the initial glimpse and realization of I AM, the 'individual person' notion is still not totally deconstructed. The 'individual person' notion must be deconstructed in the next step. Then you'll see how everyone, and every thing, is the pure impersonal functioning of Consciousness. At this point you will want to 'surrender' your clinging to any sense of personhood. This is where the monotheistic contemplative/mystical traditions emphasize surrendering into a higher power, such as Christianity, or Islam (the word which literally means 'Surrender'), etc. As I quoted: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 and "Thy will be done" (Matt. 26:42)
However one who has experienced the 'I AM THAT I AM', has experienced the Ground of Being, has known God face-to-face, will not find satisfaction in the usual/ordinary dualistic teaching and understanding of God (that God is a 'person' separate from the 'seeker') in most churches. They will find satisfaction in Christian mysticism, Islamic Sufism, Judaist Kabbalah, and other mystical/contemplative side of the religion.
There are further/deeper levels insights than what I have mentioned above.
What Jacob's ladder covered is only Stage 1 to 3 of Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment
Stage 5 onwards is considered enlightenment in Buddhism.
Concepts are useful for skillfully navigating the relative world, to a limited extent.
But when it comes to the Absolute, concepts and thoughts are the wrong tool. It can become a distraction, an obscuration, if clung to.
At most they serve as a pointer to the moon, but they must not be mistaken with the moon itself.
The moon (your true nature) is forever untouched by the finger (the concepts, words, etc).
It shines gloriously revealing its wordless luminous essence to everyone who look.
Note: Thusness commented to me that it is important to cycle through concepts, views and non-conceptual experience. They are interdependent and that is the essence of middle path. If one neglects the view and conceptual clarity, our non-dual and non-conceptual experience will not be stable and mature. Telling someone to drop all concepts and views is not to tell him/her how irrelevant these rafts are but to intensify one's direct experience of luminous presence. Without the right view, our progress will be hindered. Both must be put in the right place, right perspective for the maturing of one's insight.
All problems, sufferings and doubts arise from the mis-identification of yourself with some limited self-entity. All sufferings and problems concerns an imaginary self entity that upon investigation cannot be located. Such thoughts are completely illusory and if they arise, inquire into the nature of the 'self' and see that the limited self entity cannot actually be found. Then all thoughts are seen to arise and fall away on its own in the vast sea of luminous space, belonging to no one.
Underneath the mind-created crap and nonsense, is the ever-present natural peace and life.
Let go of everything.
What's left?
Life.
Heart beating.
Awaring.
Hearing, seeing, tasting.
All happening on its own...
The natural state.
The Natural State—Not What You Think!
THE NATURAL STATE is not the state of a self-realized, God-realized man. It is not a thing to be achieved or attained. It is not a thing to be willed into existence; it is there—it is the living state. This state is the functional activity of life. By 'life' I do not mean something abstract; it is the life of the senses, functioning naturally without the interference of thought. Thought is an interloper, which thrusts itself into the affairs of the senses. It has a profit motive: thought directs the activity of the senses to get something out of them, and uses them to give continuity to itself.
Your natural state has no relationship whatsoever with the religious states of bliss, beatitude and ecstasy; they lie within the field of experience. Those who have led man on his search for religiousness throughout the centuries have perhaps experienced those religious states. So can you. They are thought-induced states of being, and as they come, so do they go. Krishna Consciousness, Buddha Consciousness, Christ Consciousness, or what have you, are all trips in the wrong direction: they are all within the field of time. The timeless can never be experienced, can never be grasped, contained, much less given expression to, by any man. That beaten track will lead you nowhere. There is no oasis situated yonder; you are stuck with the mirage.
You can never understand the tremendous peace that is always there within you, that is your natural state. Your trying to create a peaceful state of mind is in fact creating disturbance within you. You can only talk of peace, create a state of mind and say to yourself that you are very peaceful—but that is not peace; that is violence. So there is no use in practicing peace, there is no reason to practice silence.
Real silence is explosive; it is not the dead state of mind that spiritual seekers think. "Oh, I am at peace with myself! There is silence, a tremendous silence! I experience silence!" That doesn't mean anything at all. This is volcanic in its nature: it's bubbling all the time—the energy, the life—that is its quality. You may ask how I know. I don't know. Life is aware of itself, if we can put it that way—it is conscious of itself.
â—�
Writing from The Mystique of Enlightenment by U.G. Krishnamurti
Art by: David A. Hardy
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Hi AtlasWept,
I'm curious how you interprete the following by Guru Padmasambhava who said the 'intrinsic awareness' is self-originated and causeless:
Self-Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness
Since (intrinsic awareness) is self-originated and spontaneously self-perfected without any antecedent causes or conditions,
How can you say that you are not able to accomplish anything by your efforts?
What is it if not part of the whole, which is the Path of Total Perfection, and of the Great Perfection and of self-liberation leading to the discovery of one’s ultimate nature, and the essence of the Great Vehicle and the self-perfected state? What is it if not part of the whole, which is the Dzogchen, the teachings of Prahevajr, Vajrasattva, or the historical kerygma’s of Manjushrimitra and, in turn, Shrisimha and, in turn, Vairochana, Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra and, in turn Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, and the others?
What is intrinsic awareness if not the lamp flame that illuminates itself absent every cause and condition, yet illuminates all the same? What is it, if not the very quintessential essence of Buddha-nature?
One speaks of the ‘three-bodies’ of Buddha, the transcendence; the ‘absolute body’, the ‘subtle body’ and the ‘manifest body’, all of which are mere aspects of the Buddha-nature present in every sentient thing. It is the Buddha-nature, the true nature, the intrinsic nature, the absolute nature that is free from all concepts, desire, attachment, hatred, pride, jealousy, lack of discernment, and all states of mind that are designated as ‘negative’ or ‘obscuring’ plunging the consciousness into a state of confusion, which in turn arise from a notion of self.
Attachment to the self is a fact, but the self that is the object of that attachment has no existence; it exists nowhere and in no way as an autonomous and permanent entity. It exists neither in the different physical and mental parts that constitute an individual, nor somewhere outside them, nor in their combination. If one objects that the self corresponds to the meeting of those parts, the objection amounts to conceding that it’s just a simple label that the intellect imposes on the temporary meeting of various independent elements. The self doesn’t exist in any of those elements, for when those elements separate the very notion of self disappears. Not to unmask the imposter of the self is ignorance, the momentary inability to recognize the Buddha-nature, the true nature, the intrinsic nature, the absolute nature, unveiled, unencumbered from all concepts.
Therefore, it is that ignorance that is the ultimate cause of suffering. Once ridden of our erroneous understanding of the self and our belief in the true and solid existence of phenomena, once we recognize this “I” does not exist, we awaken to the ultimate state of complete clarity, of spiritual realization. All the negative emotions, all the obscurations that render the underlying wisdom invisible, have dissolved having never been, and there is awareness, a clear state of consciousness free of representation or concept. It is the cessation of discursive thought, of association of ideas, subject-and-object. It is direct knowledge, the flux of native consciousness, the unencumbered, and the ultimate and independent reality. It is the awareness, present and perfected intrinsically within the Buddha-nature of every sentient thing; you, me, and the cricket I hear just now.
What is intrinsic awareness if not the lamp flame that illuminates itself absent every cause and condition, yet illuminates all the same? What is it, if not the very quintessential essence of Buddha-nature?
Originally posted by AtlasWept:
What is it if not part of the whole, which is the Path of Total Perfection, and of the Great Perfection and of self-liberation leading to the discovery of one’s ultimate nature, and the essence of the Great Vehicle and the self-perfected state? What is it if not part of the whole, which is the Dzogchen, the teachings of Prahevajr, Vajrasattva, or the historical kerygma’s of Manjushrimitra and, in turn, Shrisimha and, in turn, Vairochana, Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra and, in turn Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, and the others?
What is intrinsic awareness if not the lamp flame that illuminates itself absent every cause and condition, yet illuminates all the same? What is it, if not the very quintessential essence of Buddha-nature?
One speaks of the ‘three-bodies’ of Buddha, the transcendence; the ‘absolute body’, the ‘subtle body’ and the ‘manifest body’, all of which are mere aspects of the Buddha-nature present in every sentient thing. It is the Buddha-nature, the true nature, the intrinsic nature, the absolute nature that is free from all concepts, desire, attachment, hatred, pride, jealousy, lack of discernment, and all states of mind that are designated as ‘negative’ or ‘obscuring’ plunging the consciousness into a state of confusion, which in turn arise from a notion of self.
Attachment to the self is a fact, but the self that is the object of that attachment has no existence; it exists nowhere and in no way as an autonomous and permanent entity. It exists neither in the different physical and mental parts that constitute an individual, nor somewhere outside them, nor in their combination. If one objects that the self corresponds to the meeting of those parts, the objection amounts to conceding that it’s just a simple label that the intellect imposes on the temporary meeting of various independent elements. The self doesn’t exist in any of those elements, for when those elements separate the very notion of self disappears. Not to unmask the imposter of the self is ignorance, the momentary inability to recognize the Buddha-nature, the true nature, the intrinsic nature, the absolute nature, unveiled, unencumbered from all concepts.
Therefore, it is that ignorance that is the ultimate cause of suffering. Once ridden of our erroneous understanding of the self and our belief in the true and solid existence of phenomena, once we recognize this “I” does not exist, we awaken to the ultimate state of complete clarity, of spiritual realization. All the negative emotions, all the obscurations that render the underlying wisdom invisible, have dissolved having never been, and there is awareness, a clear state of consciousness free of representation or concept. It is the cessation of discursive thought, of association of ideas, subject-and-object. It is direct knowledge, the flux of native consciousness, the unencumbered, and the ultimate and independent reality. It is the awareness, present and perfected intrinsically within the Buddha-nature of every sentient thing; you, me, and the cricket I hear just now.
What is intrinsic awareness if not the lamp flame that illuminates itself absent every cause and condition, yet illuminates all the same? What is it, if not the very quintessential essence of Buddha-nature?
Thank you for the clear explanation...
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:The difference between surrender and "I AM" is that "I AM" is a deep conviction and certainty of your very Existence, the innermost core and essence of your Being. You realise that I Am, and 'What' I Am, without a single thought and concept.
You have to start with that - that means, you have to realize this I AM first, before any meaningful progress can occur.
Just to add something for Arapahoe and other forummers... before we can understand other aspects like impersonality, and so on, it is important to give rise to the realization of who You are. In other words before going to the next step, start from Step 1. This is the only way before you can productively look at anything else.
Begin by investigating this sense of existence, this sense of being. What is it? Who am I? This is not meant to be verbally or mentally recited (as Self-Inquiry teacher Zen/Ch'an Master Hsu Yun says, if you want to chant, chanting Amitabha wholeheartedly would be more meritorious than chanting Who am I? or Who is chanting Buddha?), nor should it be an intellectual inquiry by engaging the mind in concepts to figure things out. No. Rather it is a non-conceptual and non-verbal exploration, investigation, examination of this sense of Presence, what is this Self, what is true, beyond all thoughts and conceptualizations and images we have about who I am. Your conceptualizing mind needs to calm down for true insight to arise (but calmness alone does not result in insight - inquiry does). The inquiry 'Who am I' is a tool to turn the attention inward, to turn the light around and investigate our essential being so that direct realization of this 'I', Beingness, AMness can occur.
Keep inquiring in that manner until unshakeable conviction arises through a sudden illumination: the undoubtable sense that I AM, which is beyond all thoughts and concepts - this undeniable, undoubtable sense of presence and existence that is at the same time aware and knows itself and aware of everything. It is both present, and aware. As I wrote: You Are That Knowing which is certain that You Are! The distinction between knower, knowing, and known dissolve into That. You Are That!
After this realization, your understanding of spirituality will not remain intellectual/conceptual.
However this is just the beginning, as Thusness said before in Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives: this realization is not an end by itself, it is the beginning. If we are truthful and not over exaggerate and get carried away by this initial glimpse, we will realize that we do not gain liberation from this realization; contrary we suffer more after this realization. However it is a powerful condition that motivates a practitioner to embark on a spiritual journey in search of true freedom
Something I think is quite important, which Thusness wrote to me last year when I have had glimpses of the Witness, but not experienced the 'Certainty of Being' (also see the post I made on 14 May 2010, on the conversation I had with Thusness about the different phases of I AM in February 2009):
Excerpt from
1.
On Experience and Realization
One of the direct and
immediate response I get after reading the articles by Rob Burbea and
Rupert is that they missed one very and most important point when
talking about the Eternal Witness Experience -- The Realization. They
focus too much on the experience but overlook the realization. Honestly
I do not like to make this distinction as I see realization also as a
form of experience. However in this particular case, it seems
appropriate as it could better illustrate what I am trying to convey.
It also relates to the few occasions where you described to me your
space-like experiences of Awareness and asked whether they correspond to
the phase one insight of Eternal Witness. While your experiences are
there, I told you ‘not exactly’ even though you told me you clearly
experienced a pure sense of presence.
So what is lacking? You do
not lack the experience, you lack the realization. You may have the
blissful sensation or feeling of vast and open spaciousness; you may
experience a non-conceptual and objectless state; you may experience the
mirror like clarity but all these experiences are not Realization.
There is no ‘eureka’, no ‘aha’, no moment of immediate and intuitive
illumination that you understood something undeniable and unshakable -- a
conviction so powerful that no one, not even Buddha can sway you from
this realization because the practitioner so clearly sees the truth of
it. It is the direct and unshakable insight of ‘You’. This is the
realization that a practitioner must have in order to realize the Zen
satori. You will understand clearly why it is so difficult for those
practitioners to forgo this ‘I AMness’ and accept the doctrine of
anatta. Actually there is no forgoing of this ‘Witness’, it is rather a
deepening of insight to include the non-dual, groundlessness and
interconnectedness of our luminous nature. Like what Rob said, "keep
the experience but refine the views".
Lastly this realization is
not an end by itself, it is the beginning. If we are truthful and not
over exaggerate and get carried away by this initial glimpse, we will
realize that we do not gain liberation from this realization; contrary
we suffer more after this realization. However it is a powerful
condition that motivates a practitioner to embark on a spiritual journey
in search of true freedom. :)
(Article continued in Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives)
From http://www.naturalstate.us/pointers.html
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å¦‚æžœä½ çœŸçš„è§�è¯�了 “未生以å‰�的本æ�¥é�¢ç›®”的真ç�†ï¼Œä¼šå®Œå…¨æ— ç–‘æƒ‘ï¼Œä½ æƒ³å�¦è®¤è¿™çœŸç�†éƒ½ä¸�å�¯èƒ½,ä½ ä¼šçŸ¥é�“åœ¨ä½ äººç”Ÿä¸ï¼Œè‡ªæ€§/觉性/å˜åœ¨çš„æœ¬èº«æ˜¯ä½ å”¯ä¸€ä¸�å�¯å�¦è®¤çš„真ç�†ã€‚一切也都是 è‡ªæ€§çš„æ˜¾ç›¸ï¼Œå¦‚æžœæ²¡æœ‰è‡ªæ€§ä½ å°±ä¸�å�¯èƒ½åœ¨è¿™é‡Œè¯»è¿™ç¯‡æ–‡ç« 。而这完全是ä¸�用æ€�考就能肯定的。它ä¸�是一个所能用æ€�考而达到结论/ç�†è§£çš„ä¸œè¥¿ã€‚æ¯”å¦‚ä¸€ä¸ªäººæ ·å�好åƒ�很斯文,å�ˆæˆ´å¾ˆæ·±çš„眼镜,所以好åƒ�是个有å¦é—®çš„人。这是一个用æ€�è€ƒæ‰€è¾¾åˆ°çš„ä¸€ä¸ªç»“è®ºï¼Œä½†ä½ ä¹Ÿä¸�能完全肯定就是事实。而è§�性是完全å�¦ä¸€å›žäº‹ï¼Œå®ƒæ˜¯ä¸�用æ€�考,å‰�念已过,å�Žå¿µä¸�ç”Ÿï¼Œå½“ä¸‹æ— æ€�æ— å¿µå°±èƒ½è‚¯å®šè¿™å°±æ˜¯æˆ‘ä»¬å®žå®žåœ¨åœ¨çš„çœŸå¦‚æœ¬æ€§è€Œä¸�å†�疑惑。
å·®ä¸�多一两个月 å�Žï¼Œæˆ‘å�ˆæœ‰æ›´æ·±çš„体会。从这体会ä¸æˆ‘深入地了解了自性就åƒ�大空气,大空气并ä¸�属于我的,也ä¸�å±žäºŽä½ çš„ï¼Œä½†“我”å’Œ“ä½ ”å’Œä¸€åˆ‡æœ‰æƒ…æ— æƒ…çš„ä¸‡ç‰©éƒ½ä»Žè¿™å®‡å®™æœ¬ä½“/大虚空产生,也了解什么是所谓的“天地å�Œæ ¹, 万物å�Œä½“”。而这虚空充满ç�€è§‰æ€§ï¼Œèƒ½æ˜¾çŽ°ä¸€åˆ‡ã€‚æˆ‘ä¹Ÿå¾ˆæ¸…æ¥šåœ°çœ‹ç ´äº†“我相”,“人相”的虚幻。原æ�¥ä¸€åˆ‡éƒ½æ˜¯å®‡å®™æœ¬ä½“的现象,连走路, 咳嗽,讲è¯�,都ä¸�是“我”或“ä½ ”在å�šï¼Œè€Œå®Œå…¨éƒ½æ˜¯å®‡å®™æœ¬ä½“的自然è¿�作,那个“我”是完全虚å�‡çš„,而如果ä¸�èˆ�这个“我”å’Œ“我所”的执ç�€çš„è¯�就是一切烦æ�¼çš„æ ¹æº�。修行就åƒ�å°�空气èž�入大空气/大宇宙,把“å°�我”èˆ�掉,在这宇宙本体ä¸ä¸€åˆ‡è¿�作自如,多自在。
其实并ä¸�是说完全 ä¸�生心æ‰�èƒ½ä¿®ï¼Œå› ä¸ºå¦‚æžœæ˜¯å¦‚æ¤çš„è¯�,那日常生活与å�šäº‹æ—¶å°±ä¸�å�¯ä»¥ä¿®è¡Œäº†ã€‚我们的念头就åƒ�äº‘æœµï¼Œæˆ‘ä»¬çš„è‡ªæ€§æ˜¯å¼€æ”¾çš„ï¼Œæ— é‡�æ— è¾¹å¦‚å¤©ç©ºã€‚å¦‚æžœä¿�æŒ�觉照å�šäº‹ï¼Œå¿ƒ 念会éš�缘而生,éš�缘而去, 但觉照ç�µæ•�看ç�€å¿µå¤´çš„èµ·è�½ä¸Žæ�¥åŽ»å¦‚äº‘æœµåœ¨å¤©ç©ºé‡Œé£˜è¿‡ï¼Œä½†å¤©ç©ºè¿˜æ˜¯ä¸€æ ·åœ°å®�é�™ä¸Žç¥¥å’Œ, 还是如æ¤çš„æ¸…å‡€æ— æŸ“ (本æ�¥æ— 一物,何处 惹尘埃)。天空并ä¸�æ‹’ç»�云朵,云朵也ä¸�éšœç¢�了天空,一切éš�缘而了,ä¸�留痕迹。最é‡�è¦�的是è¦�ä¿�æŒ�觉照,ä¸�执ç�€äºŽå¿µå¤´ï¼Œå¦‚果执ç�€äºŽ“我”å’Œ“我所”的妄想,就ä¸�得解脱。而且如果执ç�€äºŽæ„�识的分别 与染ç�€ä¹Ÿä¸�å¾—è§£è„±ï¼Œè§‰æ˜¯è§‰ç…§ä¸€åˆ‡è€Œæ— åˆ†åˆ«ä¸ŽæŸ“ç�€çš„,所以“觉”å’Œ“心”è¦�分得清 清楚楚,如果è¦�解脱就è¦�有“觉”。如果有念头但也有觉,就ä¸�是凡夫的“æ„�识心”而是“觉心”。
我觉得这些体悟也 æ²¡ä»€ä¹ˆï¼Œå› ä¸ºæ¯�个人认真修行一段时期也会有自己的体悟,而且这些体悟也ä¸�代表就解脱了。从悟起修是很é‡�è¦�的,我觉得我的修行é�“è·¯æ‰�刚刚开始。其实究竟æ�¥è®² 也ä¸�éœ€ä¿®ä»€ä¹ˆï¼Œå› ä¸ºè‡ªæ€§æœ¬å…·è¶³ï¼Œæœ¬æ�¥å°±å¦‚æ¤ï¼Œå�ªéœ€è¦�“æŒ�”(ä¿�æŒ�觉照)。如果把一切统统èˆ�掉,剩下的也就是我们本æ�¥å…·è¶³çš„æ¸…å‡€æ— æŸ“çš„æœ¬è§‰äº†ã€‚
A summary of some points my teacher told me during a roughly 50 min phone call:
(3:46 PM) AEN:
*she said what i experience is like meeting my true nature face to face, but its only like a glimpse, not a full understanding, for a higher level of understanding must practice for some time... i must practice in daily activities to have a deeper understanding. she
(3:47 PM) AEN: also said the 'zhi di' is emptiness, i said the zhi di is 'awareness' but i think we use different terms. then she said regarding the 'no movement in environment' that its bcos i dun grasp and follow after appearance that i feel no movement, but at the same time i should not fear movement and grasp after the emptiness.
*update: she also said that she agrees that in awareness, there is no limits and in that awareness no differentiation of 'me' or 'you', 'mine' or 'yours', but added a few points as follows:
(3:48 PM) AEN: then she said awareness enables the body to function, but if a person is paralyzed, even if he has awareness he is also not able to move, so its the body function rely on awareness, not exactly everything is functioning of awareness itself. something that
*note: forgot to mention also, my teacher also said that a corpse clinically dead within 8 hours still have awareness, bcos the mind consciousness is still present and is able to hear the instructions of a teacher during the bardo proceedings.
she also said that without using thoughts, you react to something (like touching something hot) by pulling away, that is an example of non-conceptual intelligence/awareness.
(3:49 PM) AEN: then she said when i practice until this level its easy to attach to the empty awareness and reject form, then become like arhat, 'zhi kong' (attach to emptiness)
(3:49 PM) AEN: a bodhisattva doesnt reject but also doesnt grasp on any forms, bodhisattva is also 'jue xing yuan man', that means awareness in action is complete
(3:51 PM) AEN: and arhat still have attachment, except that its attachment to emptiness instead of attachment to forms of sentient beings
(3:52 PM) AEN: then she said i have to go through different challenges in life to understand the interaction between jue xing ben ti and 'xin' (mind/thoughts), like how they interact
(3:52 PM) AEN: and that also dun fear thoughts, thoughts arise for practical purpose but awareness is aware and not attached
(3:53 PM) AEN: she said what i experienced is only a form of understanding (�), like last time nai min (i sent u one of his letters long ago) last time also wrote alot of his meditative experience, but after a while lzls told him to stop sending � but send 事 instead
(3:54 PM) AEN: that means send her his daily experiences... cos its through daily experience (doing things, meeting people, etc) that we practice and have a better understanding of our nature
then she told me do send her emails about 事 next time
(3:56 PM) AEN: oh and she said
last time teacher chen emphasize meditation
(3:56 PM) AEN: but later on he also break ppl's attachment to meditation, like saying bodhisattvas have so many things to do, where got time to meditate
(3:57 PM) AEN: its bcos some ppl attach to meditation... and see it as more able to lead to 'ming xin jian xing'... but thats like not the full picture or something
(4:25 PM) AEN: luo han �空,but pu sa �空�有
(4:26 PM) AEN: oh and she said
(4:26 PM) AEN: regarding what i wrote "一切æ„�念与感å�—都在觉性ä¸èµ·è�½"
actually if got 'gan shou', and 'yi nian' then is no longer jue
gan shou and jue is different
(4:27 PM) AEN: she also said we will have thoughts but must 与觉�在,not 与念头�在 or something like that
(4:28 PM) AEN: i think she said 与众生�在
(4:28 PM) AEN: then she said all that has arising and passing is all mind and thoughts, self-nature has no arising and passing
(4:58 PM) Thusness: zhi di is what?
(4:58 PM) AEN: i wrote 它的本性/质地就是觉:它是了了分明的ç�µæ•�觉知, 能觉照万物,就åƒ�é•œå�有照万物的功能
(4:59 PM) AEN: i think she based on teacher chen definition, the 质地 is kong
i think its something like the issue of 'nature' and 'essence'
(4:59 PM) AEN: teacher chen talk about nature and essence or something like that...
(5:00 PM) Thusness: her advice is quite good.
(5:01 PM) AEN: icic..
(10:32 PM) Thusness: actually ur lzls should say now what u understood is only 体. You must now understand the 用.
(10:33 PM) Thusness: � and 事 requires life wisdom
(10:33 PM) AEN: oic..
(10:34 PM) AEN: the 用 is what?
(10:36 PM) Thusness: 用is in activity...like how to vividly experience in the transient
(10:36 PM) AEN: icic..
(10:36 PM) Thusness: � and 事 are linked to mundane life, u need growing wisdom to soft them.
(10:37 PM) AEN: oic..
(10:40 PM) Thusness: actually in spiritual practice, it is just to forgo every sense of Self. All sense of "I' and "mine" must go.
(10:41 PM) AEN: icic..
(10:42 PM) Thusness: next step is to mature ur non-dual experience
(10:42 PM) AEN: oic..
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Walking/Jogging/Running meditation
While jogging just now, I 'forgot' my mind and body. It feels like I'm the still presence in which the world moves through. Instead of being a body running on the road from here to there, it's seen that I am the space that encompasses the whole world and the whole world moves through me. I am not moving. The world is moving through me.
It feels like you're running on the threadmill, you're not actually moving! Except that the scenery moves through you.
You can practice seeing this next time when you walk or jog. This space of awareness is unmoving, whether or not the world is moving.
Later I was reminded of this video http://www.headless.org/videos/still_point.htm
Controversial "Zen Master" Rama: Why did the Zen Master cross the road? He didn't. The road crossed him.
Funny but true!
Just found a conversation I thought was very clear:
http://www.jamesbraha.com/chapter_21.html
July 15 – Day 1
James: You say that the reference point is false. Can’t we say that the mind, or thoughts, are the reference point?
Bob: Yes, but thought has no substance; you can’t grasp a thought—it has no independent nature. Can you have a thought without awareness? Is a thought independent?
James: No.
Bob: So, the thought is believed to be the reference point because we’ve never questioned it. As soon as that “I” thought comes upon a little child, he believes “this is what I am.” He goes through his reasoning, and if he wasn’t good at school that day, he thinks, “I’m not good enough,” or “I’m not smart enough.” He adds all these thoughts to form that mental picture. But that “I” thought on its own can’t be grasped. It’s nothing. The reference point, or self center, is just a bunch of images. It’s got no independent nature. We’re being driven by a phantom.
James: Ever since I’ve been studying Advaita, I’ve been wondering this: If it’s not us doing things, who’s doing it? We’re being lived, right? Who’s living us?
Bob: [Laughing] James . . . who wants to know? That’s your false self center again. That’s the ego again, thinking you and I are so great that we’re doing the thinking, or something “out there” is doing the thinking.
In nature, there’s just one movement of energy!
James: Did something create all this existence?
Bob: It isn’t created; it’s transient. As our reference point, we think of a life of billions of years, and we can’t conceptualize it. But nothing’s ever been created.
James: So, this conversation is not happening?
Bob: Well, it’s happening in the appearance. If a cloud comes along, is it attached to the sky?
James: No.
Bob: Well, that’s just like the concepts that come into your mind. What happens to the cloud in the sky? It comes along and then blows away. Use the metaphor of “space-like awareness.” It’s like space, empty. But, instead of being empty in a void, like space, it’s “cognizing emptiness.” It has that capacity of knowing. It’s imbued with a natural intelligence—not like the intellect that knows this and that. But pure intelligence, the same intelligence that is functioning in the universe, is keeping the stars in orbit and causing the wind to blow and all that. The pure intelligence is making the trees grow, and it’s beating your heart and growing your fingernails; it’s doing all those things right now. It’s causing your thoughts to happen. But that’s just like clouds in the sky, not attached anywhere. It just comes and then moves on. The energy is constantly vibrating.
James: I have this concept that there is this consciousness, or oneness.
Bob: Yes, you have a concept.
James: From this oneness sprang the appearance, right? That makes consciousness the creator, no?
Bob: Just take the ocean and the waves. On the ocean, a ripple or a wave appears. The wave may rise and splash or spray, but, what is it? It’s only water. It’s never been anything other than water—appearing as difference.
James: Okay, so what’s happening now between you and me is consciousness appearing as a conversation.
Bob: Don’t try to conceptualize consciousness. That’s only a label we put on it. It’s emptiness that has the capacity of knowing. I don’t mean knowing this or that, or the intellect. But knowing that you are right now. That’s prior to thought. Just that pure knowing, which you can’t negate.
James: So, it’s emptiness that is capable of knowing?
Bob: It’s not one that is capable of something. The two are actually one and the same. “Cognizing emptiness” or “emptiness cognizing.” That’s all.
James: What is cognizing?
Bob: Just seeing.
James: So, it’s just cognizing. There’s no intelligence behind it?
Bob: Well, you can say that cognizing is intelligence. Knowing is intelligence. Not the knower and the known, but pure knowing. So it’s the activity of knowing.
Right now, that knowing that you are is with you, isn’t it?
James: Yes.
Bob: Now, knowing is not the knower or the known. It’s actually what is happening now: knowing. So, it’s going on right now. That knowing is an activity, and activity is energy. So, pure intelligence energy is activity of knowing. That’s all it is. The world appears and disappears in that knowingness. The knowingness is just purely knowing. The appearance and disappearance can only be conceptualized from a reference point—from an erroneous belief! For example, take seeing. You’re seeing right now. Then the thought comes up, “I see.” But the actual seeing was happening before the thought. With the thought, you’ve created a pseudo-seer. When you say, “I see the tree,” you’ve created a pseudo-object—a subject and object in form. But can there be a seer or a seen without seeing?
James: No.
Bob: Those are just labels that we attach. Like the thinker and the thought. Always remember what Nisargadatta said, “You try to grasp it with a concept and you fail. And you are bound to fail, because you can never grasp it with a concept.” You must stop trying to conceptualize everything.
James: So everything is just happening?
Bob: Exactly. It’s all happening by itself, as itself. And nothing is happening!
James: How do you explain that nothing is happening?
Bob: Using the metaphor of space-like awareness, all this manifestation is the content of space. There’s nothing you can think of that’s outside of space. So the appearance is the content of space. If space is nothing, can something come from nothing?
James: Why does it feel so real?
Bob: [Laughing] To who?
James: To my thoughts.
Bob: Yes, and the thoughts are part of the appearance also! In essence, the appearance is real because it is made of presence awareness, which is real. Look at how a mirage appears real. Or the blue color of the sea. Within intelligence energy, patterns are forming and displaying as this manifestation.
James: For so many years, I’ve wondered how there could be a God that could allow all the horrible wars and torture and so on. But if the manifestation is an appearance, none of this is really happening. Right? Nothing is tragic, correct?
Bob: That’s right. The people were never born, and they can never die. They’re just patterns of energy. They appear, play around for a while, and then disappear. In fact, they’re still just the one intelligence energy. It’s never changed.
James: I have a question about spiritual experiences. Sometimes, usually late at night in bed, I suddenly feel infinite or vast—without any boundaries or limitations. The next day, I’ll tell my wife or my friend Kerry, “I had an experience.” But, actually, what has happened is that the feelings and thoughts that are usually going on have disappeared. The unboundedness I sometimes experience at night is actually always present, isn’t it.
Bob: Yes, but as soon as you labeled it an experience, then you’ve “taken delivery” of it from the reference point.
James: Yes, I understand that.
Bob: What happened was just experiencing, which the experience and the experiencer appear on. If your senses are wide open, and you’re not labeling everything, then you’re just seeing what is. And you’ll see the wonderful, magical display of it all, appearing and disappearing, without attributing it to a “me.”
James: Does life appear particularly interesting to you?
Bob: Again, to be interesting or boring, it has to be from a reference point. Sometimes there are periods of silence, even long periods; other times the chatter can be going on. I don’t prefer either one. The so-called silence that seekers talk about, I couldn’t care less about. Any more than I care about the chatter. They’re both experiences. I am that in which the experience takes place. And that’s constantly and always ever been the same. It is no thing. It’s no use trying to grasp it as a thing; it contains all things.
James: Now, when you make that statement, like Nisargadatta did, that you are that in which everything takes place, I understand it. But I can’t say that about myself. I am constantly taking delivery of stuff. You say you don’t care whether there are lots of thoughts or no thoughts. I can’t do that.
Bob: If I took delivery of the reference point, it would be the same. I’d be thinking,“I shouldn’t have done this,” or “I shouldn’t have said that.” But I’ve seen through the reference point. I’ve seen clearly. So, what comes up, comes up. That’s what I mean when I say, “I couldn’t care less.” It’s not me. It’s just that there’s no preference, there’s no partiality, no comparison. It’s just what is: unaltered, unmodified, uncorrected. The Buddhists talk about “what is.” Just the seeing—the actual functioning. The only thing you’ll ever alter, modify, or correct is a thought.
James: So, we’re going to have thoughts. The point is not to take delivery of them.
Bob: Yes, and there’s no one to not take delivery of them. Just seeing and recognizing.
James: Yes, well, you can say all this and write the books, and people will hear you and say, “Well, Sailor Bob can do that, and that’s great for him. But I can’t do that.” It seems to me that the significant part is conviction. I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t yet have the full conviction. . . .
Bob: Who doesn’t have the conviction? You’ve got that concept of you, and so you think things should be different. You’re seeing right now? You’re hearing right now? That knowingness that you are is with you now, right? You can’t negate that.
James: Right.
Bob: So, what’s this rubbish about not having the conviction? You go off on some conceptual thing. . . .
James: Right, but why don’t you go off on some conceptual thing?
Bob: Because I’ve seen that the reference point is false. Do you see what you’re doing? I’m pointing it out to you, and you’re going into the ifs and the buts and all. You’re going into the future. You move into time again. Time is a mental concept. You move into a so-called imaginary future. Or you go back into the past. But you don’t live in the future and the past. Everything happens in the Now. It’s like a cloud over the sun. It’s blocking out the knowingness of the Now. These ideas that “I don’t have this” or “I’ll get the conviction in the future” are keeping you away from it.
James: So it’s right here, right now?
Bob: Yes, it’s immediate. There’s nowhere to go.
James: Well, yesterday I got really angry at someone. A lady wrote me a letter that really bothered me.
Bob: That was yesterday, never mind the past. . . .
James: When it happened, I thought to myself, “Wait a minute; there is no James.” And still the upset remained.
Bob: Yes, because when you say, “There is no me,” that’s become a reference point. You might have seen there’s no James last week or last month or yesterday. But that’s dead, like all your other thoughts. You have to see it right now. Instead of simply saying, “There’s no me,” have a look. Investigate, in the Now. Look and see if you can find a self center or a “me.”
James: Well, at the time I got upset, I stopped and said to myself, “Who am I? I am presence awareness.” That was clear to me. And still upsetting thoughts continued.
Bob: But you were putting the concept “I’m presence awareness” on it. Without that concept, it’s simply “I am.” Full stop.
James: I tried being aware of the present moment. I looked around the room without labeling anything—just being aware. . . .
Bob: Without labeling anything, you just take in the whole thing. You notice that seeing is happening spontaneously, hearing is happening spontaneously, immediately.
James: Well, in any case, I still have to answer her letter.
Bob: That’s fine. Just do what you have to do. Let happen whatever happens. You might write to her while you’re pissed off. Or you might tell her off or whatever. But there’s no “you” that’s doing any of that. Whatever occurs is just the way it happens.
James: I see. Can we talk about this non-doer issue? That’s very conceptual for me.
Bob: Well, I’ll show you. You’re seeing right now, aren’t you?
James: Yes.
Bob: You’re hearing right now. Is your eye saying to you, “I see”? Is your ear saying to you, “I hear”?
James: No.
Bob: So the thought comes up to translate “I see” and “I hear.” But can that thought“I see”—can it see? And can the thought “I hear”—can it hear?
James: You’re telling me something that I’ve read in your book, or heard you say, twenty times. . . .
Bob: Well, listen to me right now. Can the thought “I see”—can it see?
James: No. The thought is garbage. It’s just a translation.
Bob: So the thought has no power whatsoever.
James: If the thought has no power, then there is no doer?
Bob: The thought “I am aware”—is that the awareness?
James: No, of course not.
Bob: The thought “I choose”—is that the choice maker? The thought “I think”—is that the thinker?
James: So, if the thought has no power, there is simply no doer?
Bob: Of course not. You see, thought has been so closely aligned to that intelligence. But, in fact, all it does is translate. It translates into words and labels that we communicate with. Thought is so closely aligned to pure intelligence energy that it’s come to believe that it is the pure intelligence energy. Now, when you see that the mind and the thoughts have no power, do you fall apart? Do you disappear?
James: No.
Bob: You realize that the living is going on quite effortlessly, without thinking. What’s wrong with right now, unless you think about it? You pause from thinking for a moment, and you still haven’t fallen apart. You’re still hearing, seeing, tasting, and life is still going on. You’re not relying on the thinking.
James: Yes. Bob, you have students who have been coming to you for years. What’s their story? Why don’t they eventually “full stop?”
Bob: Well, they don’t. . . . The same as you’re going on right now. [Laughter] But, there are also those who come along and see it right away.
James: So far, there is no “full stop” for me. My mind keeps going on and questioning. The mind keeps wanting a reference point.
Bob: You’re trying to stop the mind. But once you see it’s rubbish, just like the mirage on the road, you’re not bound by it.
James: Well, something is happening. Yesterday, I had that annoying letter from that lady, and I knew that my reaction was nonsense. So it only bothered me for an hour or so, and then it was gone. A few years ago, it would have upset me all day long, maybe longer. It’s gotten better.
Bob: Yes, it will.
James: But I don’t like that “it will” part. That’s in the future.
Bob: That’s true. But you will drop it quicker. The habit pattern is to see everything from a reference point. You’ve done that not once or twice, but constantly—day in and day out for all your life. We’ve hypnotized ourselves. But when you’ve questioned it and seen the falseness of it, you can no longer believe in it. Just like you can no longer believe there’s any water in a mirage.
James: Earlier I asked you if you find life exciting or boring. I asked because it seems like sometimes, when I am remarkably free of the reference point, everything suddenly appears new and fresh and amazing. Do you have judgments about the way life looks?
Bob: I don’t have judgments, but judgments come up.
James: What do you do with them?
Bob: They’re not mine. Who’s to take delivery of them. They come up and then they go. The whole pattern just goes on.
James: So, even the people who appear to take delivery of thoughts, they’re not really taking delivery—they’re just appearing to take delivery. Right?
Bob: Yes.
James: So the people who are suffering massively are really no different from us. It’s insignificant whether anyone awakens or not. You know, it’s hard for me to grasp sometimes. It reminds me of an expression my father used to say: “It doesn’t go through my head.”
Bob: Don’t try to conceptualize it. Stay in the experiencing and then you’ll enjoy it.
James: Bob, I love the thinking process, and that makes me want to conceptualize everything. Look at the magnificence of creation: math, science, art, millions of creatures, open-heart surgery, and so on. I always want to know who made existence. And the creation isn’t even real!
Bob: It’s like a reflection in a mirror. What’s making all these reflections? Why is this reflection better than the other one? [Laughing]
James: Life is so miraculous. There are millions of cells in the body constantly replacing themselves. Do you ever wonder how or why?
Bob: The hows and the whys are finished. Those would be movements away from it.
James: Because everything’s already happened?
Bob: Just be with the happening, and little insights will come up. And you’ll get answers that are satisfying.
James: When you had the experience with Nisargadatta where you suddenly understood what he was saying. . . .
Bob: I understood him, and I realized, “I’ll never be trapped in the mind again.” Then I walked out the door, and I was back in it! [Laughter] But it was never the same again. Of course, sooner or later the reference point would come up again, but then I’d realize, “Wait a minute; this is the same old nonsense,” and I’d see through it. Sometimes, like you said, it would hang around a few hours or a few days, and then it’s gone.
James: When did you see Nisargadatta?
Bob: In 1976.
James: Was there much of a difference in your experience of life in 1976 than ten years later because your experience had deepened?
Bob: It doesn’t deepen. But the stuff that is covering up presence awareness just drops off. It can’t deepen, because it’s purely That and That alone.
James: If, for example, you had an upsetting experience in 1976 like the one I had yesterday, wouldn’t there have been more annoyance than if it had happened in 1986?
Bob: Sure. But even in 1976 there was an immediate change....
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Just found a conversation I thought was very clear:
http://www.jamesbraha.com/chapter_21.html
July 15 – Day 1
James: You say that the reference point is false. Can’t we say that the mind, or thoughts, are the reference point?
Bob: Yes, but thought has no substance; you can’t grasp a thought—it has no independent nature. Can you have a thought without awareness? Is a thought independent?
James: No.
Bob: So, the thought is believed to be the reference point because we’ve never questioned it. As soon as that “I” thought comes upon a little child, he believes “this is what I am.” He goes through his reasoning, and if he wasn’t good at school that day, he thinks, “I’m not good enough,” or “I’m not smart enough.” He adds all these thoughts to form that mental picture. But that “I” thought on its own can’t be grasped. It’s nothing. The reference point, or self center, is just a bunch of images. It’s got no independent nature. We’re being driven by a phantom.
James: Ever since I’ve been studying Advaita, I’ve been wondering this: If it’s not us doing things, who’s doing it? We’re being lived, right? Who’s living us?
Bob: [Laughing] James . . . who wants to know? That’s your false self center again. That’s the ego again, thinking you and I are so great that we’re doing the thinking, or something “out there” is doing the thinking.
In nature, there’s just one movement of energy!
James: Did something create all this existence?
Bob: It isn’t created; it’s transient. As our reference point, we think of a life of billions of years, and we can’t conceptualize it. But nothing’s ever been created.
James: So, this conversation is not happening?
Bob: Well, it’s happening in the appearance. If a cloud comes along, is it attached to the sky?
James: No.
Bob: Well, that’s just like the concepts that come into your mind. What happens to the cloud in the sky? It comes along and then blows away. Use the metaphor of “space-like awareness.” It’s like space, empty. But, instead of being empty in a void, like space, it’s “cognizing emptiness.” It has that capacity of knowing. It’s imbued with a natural intelligence—not like the intellect that knows this and that. But pure intelligence, the same intelligence that is functioning in the universe, is keeping the stars in orbit and causing the wind to blow and all that. The pure intelligence is making the trees grow, and it’s beating your heart and growing your fingernails; it’s doing all those things right now. It’s causing your thoughts to happen. But that’s just like clouds in the sky, not attached anywhere. It just comes and then moves on. The energy is constantly vibrating.
James: I have this concept that there is this consciousness, or oneness.
Bob: Yes, you have a concept.
James: From this oneness sprang the appearance, right? That makes consciousness the creator, no?
Bob: Just take the ocean and the waves. On the ocean, a ripple or a wave appears. The wave may rise and splash or spray, but, what is it? It’s only water. It’s never been anything other than water—appearing as difference.
James: Okay, so what’s happening now between you and me is consciousness appearing as a conversation.
Bob: Don’t try to conceptualize consciousness. That’s only a label we put on it. It’s emptiness that has the capacity of knowing. I don’t mean knowing this or that, or the intellect. But knowing that you are right now. That’s prior to thought. Just that pure knowing, which you can’t negate.
James: So, it’s emptiness that is capable of knowing?
Bob: It’s not one that is capable of something. The two are actually one and the same. “Cognizing emptiness” or “emptiness cognizing.” That’s all.
James: What is cognizing?
Bob: Just seeing.
James: So, it’s just cognizing. There’s no intelligence behind it?
Bob: Well, you can say that cognizing is intelligence. Knowing is intelligence. Not the knower and the known, but pure knowing. So it’s the activity of knowing.
Right now, that knowing that you are is with you, isn’t it?
James: Yes.
Bob: Now, knowing is not the knower or the known. It’s actually what is happening now: knowing. So, it’s going on right now. That knowing is an activity, and activity is energy. So, pure intelligence energy is activity of knowing. That’s all it is. The world appears and disappears in that knowingness. The knowingness is just purely knowing. The appearance and disappearance can only be conceptualized from a reference point—from an erroneous belief! For example, take seeing. You’re seeing right now. Then the thought comes up, “I see.” But the actual seeing was happening before the thought. With the thought, you’ve created a pseudo-seer. When you say, “I see the tree,” you’ve created a pseudo-object—a subject and object in form. But can there be a seer or a seen without seeing?
James: No.
Bob: Those are just labels that we attach. Like the thinker and the thought. Always remember what Nisargadatta said, “You try to grasp it with a concept and you fail. And you are bound to fail, because you can never grasp it with a concept.” You must stop trying to conceptualize everything.
James: So everything is just happening?
Bob: Exactly. It’s all happening by itself, as itself. And nothing is happening!
James: How do you explain that nothing is happening?
Bob: Using the metaphor of space-like awareness, all this manifestation is the content of space. There’s nothing you can think of that’s outside of space. So the appearance is the content of space. If space is nothing, can something come from nothing?
James: Why does it feel so real?
Bob: [Laughing] To who?
James: To my thoughts.
Bob: Yes, and the thoughts are part of the appearance also! In essence, the appearance is real because it is made of presence awareness, which is real. Look at how a mirage appears real. Or the blue color of the sea. Within intelligence energy, patterns are forming and displaying as this manifestation.
James: For so many years, I’ve wondered how there could be a God that could allow all the horrible wars and torture and so on. But if the manifestation is an appearance, none of this is really happening. Right? Nothing is tragic, correct?
Bob: That’s right. The people were never born, and they can never die. They’re just patterns of energy. They appear, play around for a while, and then disappear. In fact, they’re still just the one intelligence energy. It’s never changed.
James: I have a question about spiritual experiences. Sometimes, usually late at night in bed, I suddenly feel infinite or vast—without any boundaries or limitations. The next day, I’ll tell my wife or my friend Kerry, “I had an experience.” But, actually, what has happened is that the feelings and thoughts that are usually going on have disappeared. The unboundedness I sometimes experience at night is actually always present, isn’t it.
Bob: Yes, but as soon as you labeled it an experience, then you’ve “taken delivery” of it from the reference point.
James: Yes, I understand that.
Bob: What happened was just experiencing, which the experience and the experiencer appear on. If your senses are wide open, and you’re not labeling everything, then you’re just seeing what is. And you’ll see the wonderful, magical display of it all, appearing and disappearing, without attributing it to a “me.”
James: Does life appear particularly interesting to you?
Bob: Again, to be interesting or boring, it has to be from a reference point. Sometimes there are periods of silence, even long periods; other times the chatter can be going on. I don’t prefer either one. The so-called silence that seekers talk about, I couldn’t care less about. Any more than I care about the chatter. They’re both experiences. I am that in which the experience takes place. And that’s constantly and always ever been the same. It is no thing. It’s no use trying to grasp it as a thing; it contains all things.
James: Now, when you make that statement, like Nisargadatta did, that you are that in which everything takes place, I understand it. But I can’t say that about myself. I am constantly taking delivery of stuff. You say you don’t care whether there are lots of thoughts or no thoughts. I can’t do that.
Bob: If I took delivery of the reference point, it would be the same. I’d be thinking,“I shouldn’t have done this,” or “I shouldn’t have said that.” But I’ve seen through the reference point. I’ve seen clearly. So, what comes up, comes up. That’s what I mean when I say, “I couldn’t care less.” It’s not me. It’s just that there’s no preference, there’s no partiality, no comparison. It’s just what is: unaltered, unmodified, uncorrected. The Buddhists talk about “what is.” Just the seeing—the actual functioning. The only thing you’ll ever alter, modify, or correct is a thought.
James: So, we’re going to have thoughts. The point is not to take delivery of them.
Bob: Yes, and there’s no one to not take delivery of them. Just seeing and recognizing.
James: Yes, well, you can say all this and write the books, and people will hear you and say, “Well, Sailor Bob can do that, and that’s great for him. But I can’t do that.” It seems to me that the significant part is conviction. I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t yet have the full conviction. . . .
Bob: Who doesn’t have the conviction? You’ve got that concept of you, and so you think things should be different. You’re seeing right now? You’re hearing right now? That knowingness that you are is with you now, right? You can’t negate that.
James: Right.
Bob: So, what’s this rubbish about not having the conviction? You go off on some conceptual thing. . . .
James: Right, but why don’t you go off on some conceptual thing?
Bob: Because I’ve seen that the reference point is false. Do you see what you’re doing? I’m pointing it out to you, and you’re going into the ifs and the buts and all. You’re going into the future. You move into time again. Time is a mental concept. You move into a so-called imaginary future. Or you go back into the past. But you don’t live in the future and the past. Everything happens in the Now. It’s like a cloud over the sun. It’s blocking out the knowingness of the Now. These ideas that “I don’t have this” or “I’ll get the conviction in the future” are keeping you away from it.
James: So it’s right here, right now?
Bob: Yes, it’s immediate. There’s nowhere to go.
James: Well, yesterday I got really angry at someone. A lady wrote me a letter that really bothered me.
Bob: That was yesterday, never mind the past. . . .
James: When it happened, I thought to myself, “Wait a minute; there is no James.” And still the upset remained.
Bob: Yes, because when you say, “There is no me,” that’s become a reference point. You might have seen there’s no James last week or last month or yesterday. But that’s dead, like all your other thoughts. You have to see it right now. Instead of simply saying, “There’s no me,” have a look. Investigate, in the Now. Look and see if you can find a self center or a “me.”
James: Well, at the time I got upset, I stopped and said to myself, “Who am I? I am presence awareness.” That was clear to me. And still upsetting thoughts continued.
Bob: But you were putting the concept “I’m presence awareness” on it. Without that concept, it’s simply “I am.” Full stop.
James: I tried being aware of the present moment. I looked around the room without labeling anything—just being aware. . . .
Bob: Without labeling anything, you just take in the whole thing. You notice that seeing is happening spontaneously, hearing is happening spontaneously, immediately.
James: Well, in any case, I still have to answer her letter.
Bob: That’s fine. Just do what you have to do. Let happen whatever happens. You might write to her while you’re pissed off. Or you might tell her off or whatever. But there’s no “you” that’s doing any of that. Whatever occurs is just the way it happens.
James: I see. Can we talk about this non-doer issue? That’s very conceptual for me.
Bob: Well, I’ll show you. You’re seeing right now, aren’t you?
James: Yes.
Bob: You’re hearing right now. Is your eye saying to you, “I see”? Is your ear saying to you, “I hear”?
James: No.
Bob: So the thought comes up to translate “I see” and “I hear.” But can that thought“I see”—can it see? And can the thought “I hear”—can it hear?
James: You’re telling me something that I’ve read in your book, or heard you say, twenty times. . . .
Bob: Well, listen to me right now. Can the thought “I see”—can it see?
James: No. The thought is garbage. It’s just a translation.
Bob: So the thought has no power whatsoever.
James: If the thought has no power, then there is no doer?
Bob: The thought “I am aware”—is that the awareness?
James: No, of course not.
Bob: The thought “I choose”—is that the choice maker? The thought “I think”—is that the thinker?
James: So, if the thought has no power, there is simply no doer?
Bob: Of course not. You see, thought has been so closely aligned to that intelligence. But, in fact, all it does is translate. It translates into words and labels that we communicate with. Thought is so closely aligned to pure intelligence energy that it’s come to believe that it is the pure intelligence energy. Now, when you see that the mind and the thoughts have no power, do you fall apart? Do you disappear?
James: No.
Bob: You realize that the living is going on quite effortlessly, without thinking. What’s wrong with right now, unless you think about it? You pause from thinking for a moment, and you still haven’t fallen apart. You’re still hearing, seeing, tasting, and life is still going on. You’re not relying on the thinking.
James: Yes. Bob, you have students who have been coming to you for years. What’s their story? Why don’t they eventually “full stop?”
Bob: Well, they don’t. . . . The same as you’re going on right now. [Laughter] But, there are also those who come along and see it right away.
James: So far, there is no “full stop” for me. My mind keeps going on and questioning. The mind keeps wanting a reference point.
Bob: You’re trying to stop the mind. But once you see it’s rubbish, just like the mirage on the road, you’re not bound by it.
James: Well, something is happening. Yesterday, I had that annoying letter from that lady, and I knew that my reaction was nonsense. So it only bothered me for an hour or so, and then it was gone. A few years ago, it would have upset me all day long, maybe longer. It’s gotten better.
Bob: Yes, it will.
James: But I don’t like that “it will” part. That’s in the future.
Bob: That’s true. But you will drop it quicker. The habit pattern is to see everything from a reference point. You’ve done that not once or twice, but constantly—day in and day out for all your life. We’ve hypnotized ourselves. But when you’ve questioned it and seen the falseness of it, you can no longer believe in it. Just like you can no longer believe there’s any water in a mirage.
James: Earlier I asked you if you find life exciting or boring. I asked because it seems like sometimes, when I am remarkably free of the reference point, everything suddenly appears new and fresh and amazing. Do you have judgments about the way life looks?
Bob: I don’t have judgments, but judgments come up.
James: What do you do with them?
Bob: They’re not mine. Who’s to take delivery of them. They come up and then they go. The whole pattern just goes on.
James: So, even the people who appear to take delivery of thoughts, they’re not really taking delivery—they’re just appearing to take delivery. Right?
Bob: Yes.
James: So the people who are suffering massively are really no different from us. It’s insignificant whether anyone awakens or not. You know, it’s hard for me to grasp sometimes. It reminds me of an expression my father used to say: “It doesn’t go through my head.”
Bob: Don’t try to conceptualize it. Stay in the experiencing and then you’ll enjoy it.
James: Bob, I love the thinking process, and that makes me want to conceptualize everything. Look at the magnificence of creation: math, science, art, millions of creatures, open-heart surgery, and so on. I always want to know who made existence. And the creation isn’t even real!
Bob: It’s like a reflection in a mirror. What’s making all these reflections? Why is this reflection better than the other one? [Laughing]
James: Life is so miraculous. There are millions of cells in the body constantly replacing themselves. Do you ever wonder how or why?
Bob: The hows and the whys are finished. Those would be movements away from it.
James: Because everything’s already happened?
Bob: Just be with the happening, and little insights will come up. And you’ll get answers that are satisfying.
James: When you had the experience with Nisargadatta where you suddenly understood what he was saying. . . .
Bob: I understood him, and I realized, “I’ll never be trapped in the mind again.” Then I walked out the door, and I was back in it! [Laughter] But it was never the same again. Of course, sooner or later the reference point would come up again, but then I’d realize, “Wait a minute; this is the same old nonsense,” and I’d see through it. Sometimes, like you said, it would hang around a few hours or a few days, and then it’s gone.
James: When did you see Nisargadatta?
Bob: In 1976.
James: Was there much of a difference in your experience of life in 1976 than ten years later because your experience had deepened?
Bob: It doesn’t deepen. But the stuff that is covering up presence awareness just drops off. It can’t deepen, because it’s purely That and That alone.
James: If, for example, you had an upsetting experience in 1976 like the one I had yesterday, wouldn’t there have been more annoyance than if it had happened in 1986?
Bob: Sure. But even in 1976 there was an immediate change....
This is very good conversation. Thanks for sharing.
Awareness/Presence is imbued with knowingness. However, this knowingness has been hijacked by a sense of self due to ignorant and false identification. Stripped of identifications as an individual person, the knowingness will still remain but here it is presence knowingness instead of an imaginary/believed self that knows.
It is not an 'I' that know. It is not 'I' that experiences the life. It is not 'I' that thinks. All these are naturally already imbued in awareness/presence.
Originally posted by longchen:This is very good conversation. Thanks for sharing.
Awareness/Presence is imbued with knowingness. However, this knowingness has been hijacked by a sense of self due to ignorant and false identification. Stripped of identifications as an individual person, the knowingness will still remain but here it is presence knowingness instead of an imaginary/believed self that knows.
It is not an 'I' that know. It is not 'I' that experiences the life. It is not 'I' that thinks. All these are naturally already imbued in awareness/presence.
I see... thanks for sharing!
Knowingness knows/Is... no knower and known.
Something I just wrote:
Awareness, like a mirror, is
totally unconcerned by apparently pleasant or unpleasant experiences.
It's sole 'job' or 'function' is to reflect What Is, without rejecting
or accepting apparently pleasant, or unpleasant appearances.
Sweetness is sweet, pain is painful, but there is no one there
experiencing it, rejoicing in it, or rejecting it. It is only witnessed
as it is, no more, no less.
When we rest as the space-like all-encompassing Essence of Awareness
rather than as a false identity of a separate self, there is a natural
fearlessness in facing everything (all experiences and all activities) as it is. No longer are we seeking
pleasant experiences or pushing away unpleasant ones. No longer are we
trying to disassociate ourselves or escape from experiences out of fear.
To try to get rid of unpleasant experiences and 'get back' to the freedom of
Awareness is the big mistake of a deluded mind (and this is one of the things my dharma teacher told me on phone the other day but I forgot to mention), as if Awareness had
anything to do with a pleasant state of experience or as if the freedom of Awareness is opposed to unpleasant states of experience. Awareness is never
obscured by unpleasant experiences, nor improved by pleasant ones, it
simply reflects everything as it is.
There is actually nothing that obscures Awareness, Awareness is
reflecting everything as it is, including even thoughts and concepts.
Through our grasping on thoughts and concepts we lose sight/intuitive
vision of Awareness.
But it is not the thoughts and concepts (which are equally an appearance
of Awareness) that is obscuring. Rather it is the deeply rooted habit
energy we developed since we were born to *believe in the 'me' stories
and concepts* to the extent of losing sight of everything else and most
importantly our directness and intuitiveness (or the non-conceptual
vivid recognition of Awareness). And through the belief in a separate
identity comes the chasing after of pleasant experiences (or maybe even
'Awareness', if Awareness is deludedly mistaken as a 'pleasant
experience' or even an 'experience' at all), and the rejection of unpleasant ones, all part of the same
story of 'me' and 'mine'.
In fact we can continue in the recognition of fundamental non-conceptual
Awareness even in the midst of concepts, then thoughts do not serve as a problem.
Through resting as awareness rather than as an illusory identity as a
separate self/thinker/doer, thoughts are seen to be happening
spontaneously on its own accord as a self-manifestation of mirror-like
Awareness, and spontaneously leaves without leaving a trace. There is no
need to even 'stand back' from thought and watch it, it (and
everything) is simply and already the natural manifestation of
all-pervading Awareness.
Because the self-reference is seen through as an illusion, belief into
the dualistic concepts and self-centered stories are gradually reduced and they no longer have
such a strong hold on us.
Everything is still spontaneously arising and left as it is in its
Suchness: vivid, unaltered, unmodified, and uncorrected.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Something I just wrote:
Awareness, like a mirror, is totally unconcerned by apparently pleasant or unpleasant experiences.
It's sole 'job' or 'function' is to reflect What Is, without rejecting or accepting apparently pleasant, or unpleasant appearances.
Sweetness is sweet, pain is painful, but there is no one there experiencing it, rejoicing in it, or rejecting it. It is only witnessed as it is, no more, no less.
When we rest as the space-like all-encompassing Essence of Awareness rather than as a false identity of a separate self, there is a natural fearlessness in facing everything (all experiences and all activities) as it is. No longer are we seeking pleasant experiences or pushing away unpleasant ones. No longer are we trying to disassociate ourselves or escape from experiences out of fear.
To try to get rid of unpleasant experiences and 'get back' to the freedom of Awareness is the big mistake of a deluded mind, as if Awareness had anything to do with a pleasant state of experience or as if the freedom of Awareness is opposed to unpleasant states of experience. Awareness is never obscured by unpleasant experiences, nor improved by pleasant ones, it simply reflects everything as it is.
There is actually nothing that obscures Awareness, Awareness is reflecting everything as it is, including even thoughts and concepts. Through our grasping on thoughts and concepts we lose sight/intuitive vision of Awareness.
But it is not the thoughts and concepts (which are equally an appearance of Awareness) that is obscuring. Rather it is the deeply rooted habit energy we developed since we were born to *believe in the 'me' stories and concepts* to the extent of losing sight of everything else and most importantly our directness and intuitiveness (or the non-conceptual vivid recognition of Awareness). And through the belief in a separate identity comes the chasing after of pleasant experiences (or maybe even 'Awareness', if Awareness is deludedly mistaken as a 'pleasant experience' or even an 'experience' at all), and the rejection of unpleasant ones, all part of the same story of 'me' and 'mine'.
In fact we can continue in the recognition of fundamental non-conceptual Awareness even in the midst of concepts, then thoughts do not serve as a problem.
Through resting as awareness rather than as an illusory identity as a separate self/thinker/doer, thoughts are seen to be happening spontaneously on its own accord as a self-manifestation of mirror-like Awareness, and spontaneously leaves without leaving a trace. There is no need to even 'stand back' from thought and watch it, it (and everything) is simply and already the natural manifestation of all-pervading Awareness.
Because the self-reference is seen through as an illusion, belief into the dualistic concepts and self-centered stories are gradually reduced and they no longer have such a strong hold on us.
Everything is still spontaneously arising and left as it is in its Suchness: vivid, unaltered, unmodified, and uncorrected.
To curious Readers,
Actually, it is not very difficult to experience this knowingness presence.
What is required, firstly is not to believe in the identifications of oneself.
To start off, remove the thinking that 'my name is XXXX'.
Next remove the identification that the body is me.
Continue to spot any identifications...
Eventually, there will come a 'aha' that discover that knowingness is not coming from the self.
Originally posted by longchen:To curious Readers,
Actually, it is not very difficult to experience this knowingness presence.
What is required, firstly is not to believe in the identifications of oneself.
To start off, remove the thinking that 'my name is XXXX'.
Next remove the identification that the body is me.
Continue to spot any identifications...
Eventually, there will come a 'aha' that discover that knowingness is not coming from the self.
Thanks again! Nicely said...
Something I wrote in less than 10 minutes (but slightly edited later)
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Pointers
pointers only serve their purpose until you directly experience what is being spoken about with such certainty that no doubts remain
it is the doubtless certainty of your true Being
once that is being realized, then words no longer serve their purpose. you may still read them, but you do not require them, because you find a wordless and unshakeable certainty in simply Being, you do not need words or people to confirm your understanding
all of the pointers only point to that non-verbal, non-conceptual certainty of being
trying to figure what the pointers mean at a conceptual level is totally meaningless
trying to collect pointers as mental concepts is also totally meaningless (and the pointers will fail to serve its purpose), as in the realm of concepts there will always be doubts (as the mind will always think 'is this correct? am I getting this right? why is this so, what about this and that...' endless relating, questions, and doubts)
trying to figure out the pointers at the conceptual level is endless and inconclusive (because the mind has endless doubts and questions) and the mind will never find satisfaction and peace - but once you touch the Certainty of Being, the mind comes to a complete rest. only complete stillness remains, and in that stillness the Truth is manifested in its entirety, with a full non-conceptual and unshakeable conviction
the only thing certain about your existence is Existence, Being, and Knowing Itself. everything else is speculation
true spirituality isn't about figuring things out at the mind level (the mind is useful for other practical purpose, but not the direct understanding and experience of our true nature). simply Rest in that blissful non-conceptual certainty of being-awareness
with all doubts cast aside with that certainty of being, you begin to truly and directly penetrate into the depths of your being and discover its immense aliveness, knowingness, intelligence, presence, spaciousness
collecting 1000 pointers to the moon is not as good as a direct glimpse of the moon itself
ultimately pointers point beyond themselves and becomes useless at that point (when what is being pointed to is Seen)
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Thoughts
as being-awareness, thoughts do not become a problem
thoughts only become a problem when they are identified with as 'me' or 'mine'
when thoughts are identified as 'me' or 'mine', we become engrossed in it and its seriousness. we become hypnotized by our thoughts in an unconscious manner, completely drawn/glued to it.
it is very much like watching a movie, and becoming so deluded as to think that we are the characters in the movie, and along with it the belief in the stories, drama, pain and suffering, and all kinds of problems relating to that fictitious self-entity.
when we discover our true identity as being-awareness, we simply watch the characters of the movie but we are not identified with them. we see that there is no separate self identity to be found, except as an illusory image/concept of the mind.
in the same way, thoughts arise and pass but are not taken seriously because we no longer identify with the mind
as being-awareness, there is an undercurrent of peace and equanimity in the face of thoughts
like the luminous sky is ever free and unaffected in the face of clouds. it doesn't grasp, doesn't reject, doesn't rejoice in any clouds. it simply reveals the clouds for what they are, they simply pass by on its own accord.
all that has ever happened in your life is some thoughts, feelings, sensations, coming and going from the abiding vast presence-awareness.
thoughts still arise on its own accord spontaneously in response to practical situations, but by resting as presence-awareness, they no longer have a hold on us. endless uncontrollable/compulsive mind chatter ceases
most importantly, we must not lose intuitive direct non-conceptual recognition of awareness by believing into the dualistic concepts of thoughts. thoughts only understands things indirectly through separation, between 'me' and 'it', be it God, people, things... but the truth is always direct and non-dual. you are one with all that is. through direct realization of our true nature, you'll see the problems of the conceptual/dualistic mind and its inability to comprehend Truth.
sometimes, mind chatter returns. this is due to strong habitual energy. when the mind chatter is seen to return, simply by recognizing/resting as that pure presence-awareness rather than believing in the thoughts will allow the mind to return to its natural state.
however there is no need to fight the mind, sometimes the mind refuses to stop, so be it. you are not a thinker or controller of thoughts anyway, you are the awareness of the thoughts
however realising your true nature does not mean you will feel calmness and peace forever (due to the strong habit energy of the mind to attach and think), though the mind begins to tend towards the natural peace and silence of pure awareness. if however you still feel you do not have calmness in life or you have plenty of concerns and attachments in daily lives, the best practical thing may be to keep a consistent sitting meditation practice, and try as much as possible to extend that meditation into daily lives. see the first post in the thread The Tranquil Calm (the rest of the posts after the first one are off-topic) I believe this is part of the reason why Thusness often talks about the need to continue meditating even after some realizations - the experience of Presence and even non-duality and no-self needs to be complemented with deep calmness. in fact, he says that meditation is only deemed redundant when "the self liberation aspect of our nature is fully experienced" and one becomes "completely fearless, crystal clear and non-attached".
the greatest rest is not in stopping what you do
rather, it's in realizing that you have never been doing anything - ever - everything (thoughts, actions, feelings) spontaneously emerge without a doer
so just be as you are, and you'll see that everything gets spontaneously done in its own time, and everything continues flowing as before in an effortless way without resistance or interference (they are simply left to function as they are in their own ways, with no one at the center doing them/interfering with them)
USE YOUR SENSES FULLY. Be where you are. Look around. Just look, don't interpret. See the light, shapes, colors, textures. Be aware of the silent presence of each thing. Be aware of the space that allows everything to be.
Listen to the sounds; don't judge them. Listen to the silence underneath the sounds.
Touch something - anything - and feel and acknowledge its Being.
Observe the rhythm of your breathing; feel the air flowing in and out, feel the life energy inside your body. Allow everything to be, within and without. Allow the "isness" of all things. Move deeply into the Now.
~ Eckhart Tolle
Just notice that no matter how sticky or heavy the thoughts or emotions, they are all just appearances arising in the space of bright awareness that you are. Do not fall into the trap that you need to make those things go away. Put the emphasis on what is clear and present. Emphasize your true nature rather than looking to the appearances as a sign for where you stand. Recognition of your ever-free state is natural and simple. The feeling is more of a non-doing, a simple understanding, a relaxation into what is already present and clear. With this, the energy ceases to flow into thoughts and they come to balance of themselves. From there you can also have a good look at the thoughts to see if their basis is true. You do not have to get rid of shadows to see the light of the sun. You just turn in the direction of the sun and see its light. The light of reality is your own presence, your own being. That is what is always present, knowing all the thoughts and feelings.
~ John Wheeler, 'Shining in Plain View'
~ Zen Master Lin Chi's final verse before passing
I answered someone's questions by e-mail regarding Self Inquiry practice.
Begin by investigating this sense of existence, this sense of being. What is it? Who am I? This is not meant to be verbally or mentally recited (as Self-Inquiry teacher Zen/Ch'an Master Hsu Yun says, if you want to chant, chanting Amitabha wholeheartedly would be more meritorious than chanting Who am I? or Who is chanting Buddha?), nor should it be an intellectual inquiry by engaging the mind in concepts to figure things out. No. Rather it is a non-conceptual and non-verbal exploration, investigation, examination of this sense of Presence, what is this Self, what is true, beyond all thoughts and conceptualizations and images we have about who I am. Your conceptualizing mind needs to calm down for true insight to arise (but calmness alone does not result in insight - inquiry does). The inquiry 'Who am I' is a tool to turn the attention inward, to turn the light around and investigate our essential being so that direct realization of this 'I', Beingness, AMness can occur.
Keep inquiring in that manner until unshakeable conviction arises through a sudden illumination: the undoubtable sense that I AM, which is beyond all thoughts and concepts - this undeniable, undoubtable sense of presence and existence that is at the same time aware and knows itself and aware of everything. It is both present, and aware. As I wrote: You Are That Knowing which is certain that You Are! The distinction between knower, knowing, and known dissolve into That. You Are That!
After this realization, your understanding of spirituality will not remain intellectual/conceptual.
However this is just the beginning, as Thusness said before in Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives: this realization is not an end by itself, it is the beginning. If we are truthful and not over exaggerate and get carried away by this initial glimpse, we will realize that we do not gain liberation from this realization; contrary we suffer more after this realization. However it is a powerful condition that motivates a practitioner to embark on a spiritual journey in search of true freedom
http://buddhism.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/401963
While resting as witnessing awareness just now, theres a glimpse, a shift in perception where its noticed that everything is spontaneously occuring in presence and awareness... such that awareness is recognized as not being 'here' looking at 'there'... the sound is not 'there'.. but its equally 'here' in awareness. Awareness is experiencing the sound from the sound, not from a separate vantage point.. so space like awareness is not in here as a background, rather its a space that encompasses everything and is all-pervasive, non local and without a center. Background and foreground is indistinguishable in Oneness.
Everything you see, hear, feel, is not 'there'... it's here, in and as Presence-Awareness. It is the self identification that separates subject and object.. but that mental identification is simply more mental stories and subtle mental clinging that sections one part of reality from another... but it does not represent reality as it is. To perceive non-duality one must investigate and see through any 'veils' of separate self identification that prevents non-dual clarity from being fully experienced.
It's not so much that we have to apply effort to enter a state of non-duality... rather it's that the 'veils' have to be lifted to discover and see the nature of reality as non-dual clearly.
The greatest bliss does not come from the outside...
It comes from the eternal stillpoint, the source of all existence and consciousness...
Just simply abide in it... the one constant source of bliss, life, energy and existence.
forwarded