This is a continuation of a thread now expired in http://sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/390582 about my insights and experiences about the nature of mind. It has expired because I have spent the past few months focusing on my Chinese essays: AEN's Chinese Articles
Many of these entries will be logged into my e-journal/e-book: http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-e-booke-journal.html
The old masters always said, your present mind is Buddha! Don't seek after
states, don't seek for experience, don't even seek for something called "enlightenment". Sure, if there is ignorance obscuring the nature of
mind, then more investigation would be necessary. Ignorance being false views of
self and objects taken as reality.
Nevertheless, reality as it is cannot
be found through searching externally (for more amazing experiences, states, etc). Whatever you are searching for, is already fully present, is what you are, right here, right now (that is of course just speaking conventionally because if your nature of mind is empty, then self, time and location don't apply). The masters often give analogies like riding on a bull searching for his bull, looking everywhere for the missing key that actually resides in his pocket, and so on to demonstrate the absurdity of such actions, and naturally this means ALL contrived actions are ultimately not going to 'bring you there' which actually is 'where you already are'! The nature of mind is already complete and whole as
it is in this moment. That is why all contemplative investigation is not about attaining a more special state or experience, it is about investigating your present natural mind to discover its nature. And enlightenment is simply realizing your nature of mind as it is presently presenting itself in its ordinariness and naturalness, and apart from this, there is nothing else.
The clouds of ignorance merely temporarily obscure the sun
of awareness, so we have to liberate the clouds through realizing and
non-clinging (non-clinging being the natural result of realizing the twofold
emptinesses), but with regards to the unconditioned clarity of pure awareness,
nothing needs to be done. In short, we clear the clouds to reveal the sun, but
we don't (and we can't) build a sun. But be careful of clinging to notions such
as, "I am currently too ignorant for the nature of mind to appear fully." That
is precisely what ignorance is, and after all, ignorant or not, buddha-nature is
already fully manifesting as this moment of thought, sight, sound. The nature of
mind is already spontaneously perfected - nothing can make it more luminous,
more empty, more non-dual, more selfless, more perfect, more complete... Than
THIS (whatever is appearing in the moment) - e.g. raindrop on the pond, ripples,
gone.
You don't try to cause buddhahood, you simply lift the veils
preventing our true buddha nature from shining forth in its true brilliance.
Buddhahood is spontaneously perfected in our nature, we don't try to construct
it. All attempts or meditations or contrived actions done in search for Buddha
or enlightenment or whatever, is to completely overlook the fact that present,
ordinary mind is Buddha. Anything else is delusion. Where is Buddha? Or should I
say, where is it not? Hand moves, eye blinks, body breathes, chop wood, carry
water.
The suchness of this moment can be described as the inseparability
of empty nature, an essence of luminous clarity, and the natural function of
limitless appearances through dependent origination. Though described in three
aspects, they are in essence an indescribable and indivisible unity. The present
appearance of mind itself reveals its three facets wordlessly. The nature of
mind is Buddha, so do not seek Buddha elsewhere, but do not cling to false
ideations of an ultimate subject either. This is not a denial of mind or
awareness, but a rejection of the false view that there is an unchanging and
independently existing entity called mind. As this is not a denial of mind, the
statement that Mind is Buddha still stands. All is Mind, No Mind, not contradictory! However, mind is empty of an entity
called mind, and as such mind is a label collating the endless stream of
experiences - all are the illusory display of mind, intimate, non-dual without
subject or object. Just like the word 'wind' is simply a label collating the everchanging activities of 'blowing'.
Nowadays, I don't cling to anything including even 'Buddha-nature', 'Truth', 'Ultimate Reality', or even 'Awareness', etc. There is no such thing in my experience! Not because there is no awareness, but because awareness is empty of an aware-ness, so it is more like awar-ing. Awareness too is empty of self. So there is no mind, no buddha, just experiencing: colours and shapes and sounds, a conglomerate of empty forms manifest due to various causes and conditions, revealing itself by its brilliant self-luminosity, gone upon its inception due to the departing of conditions, no traces (unless there is clinging, craving, aversions, etc). By the prajna wisdom of emptiness, all appearances reveal its dream-like nature, and in the light of clarity, delusions and clinging are automatically self-liberated. Let all shapes and sounds pass by like a bird leaving no tracks in the sky.
Non abidance is the key message of Buddha. Not to grasp this point is to fail to understand what the Buddha's teachings are about.
Yesterday, I had this weird dream where there is this woman telling me (my memory of the words are no good but it goes something like this:) she likes animals like birds, cats, etc, because they have a sense of wonder in them, then more so should we (I presume its referring to buddhist practitioners), experience that like twenty times more.
At that point, my dream blanked out into blackness, and I entered into a samadhi like state, where the sense of wonder and bliss was so incredibly intense... After that I woke up. And though I didn't sleep much, I felt very refreshed and awake and not tired at all.
I had many spiritual and prophetic dreams (very accurate) of late, but decided to share this one partly because Thusness told me to, and also I felt it is also important for others.
Don't try to become "more aware". Like what satsang nathan said, what many
people are practicing mindfulness is simply practicing the i-thought. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bZmm6jH4C4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLA35815749C414E5F ) True mindfulness can be said to be mindlessness - empty of a subjective mind
or observer. Any attempt to confirm a state of awareness (due to reifying
awareness as real and existent) is illusory and intrinsically linked to the
illusion of I - instead, not under the spell and illusion of self, all
experience reveals its own nature and essence, the nature of mind reveals
through and as all appearances. (Note: nature of mind is inseparability of
emptiness, luminosity, and appearances)
When you realize all spontaneous
happenings are self-luminous, luminosity is itself the magical display, then any
contrivance to maintain an existing state of awareness is an illusion. Existence
and non-existence does not apply to awareness/experience/appearances. The entire
notion of inherent existence is itself a belief which we cling tightly due to
ignorant uninvestigated false views, and this view is what led to all clingings,
effort and contrivance. When view of inherency dissolves via the realization of
the twofold emptinesses, there is no holdings whatsoever, just self-shining
non-local appearances emerging and releasing on its own (via d.o.), like
painting on water.
If awareness is co-emergent with appearances, then all
that is necessary is simply to rest as the natural display which dependently
originates.
Also, although there is no center and border to experience
and therefore awareness can be said to be space like, any ideas about what
awareness is, including being space like, is a phantasm. Since awareness is
fundamentally empty and groundless, even to say "awareness is" is an illusion.
Awareness is not space anymore than the sound of fan humming. There is no
independent or unchanging Awareness or Source - just experiences which
dependently originates, and are the self-luminous display of mind. And when I
say mind I don't mean there is "a mind". Mind is itself the magical display. It
could be better described as mind moments or just "experience". Sound of rain
dripping on the ground just this speaks it all, I do not reference pure
experience to some lofty ideations of some cosmic "One Mind".
If we do
not realize the emptiness of all phenomena including space-like awareness, we
will tend to reify certain sensations like space-like awareness into an
unchanging ground out of which epiphenomena like body and mind arise from. But
once we realize twofold emptiness, all phenomenon including space-like awareness
are self-liberated upon inception, leaving no trace. Space-like awareness -
self-liberated. Constricted awareness - self-liberated. Thoughts -
self-liberated. Sights, sounds, smell, taste, touch - self-liberated. Ignorance
- self-liberated. Wisdom - self-liberated. No modification whatsoever necessary
- only the presence of prajna wisdom, the wisdom that realizes and recognizes
the inseperability of luminosity and emptiness. Everything is as vivid and clear
as can be by the presence of luminous clarity, but utterly intangible and
empty.
And because there is no attempt to hold onto a state as
solid/unchanging, realizing no existent state could be found, awareness
self-liberates. Because awareness being seen as co-emergent with all
appearances/experiences which simply self-liberates without trace, we cannot establish
awareness as being the source of a current thought or phenomenon. Since
self-arising and self-release happens spontaneously and instantly, being too
quick for thought, each experience remains completely referenceless and we
cannot establish conceptual relationships like "source" and "manifestation" - a
previous moment of awareness (being empty of inherent existence) has already
self-liberated and completely traceless before you can make such a linkage. If
awareness is held onto as truly existent due to false view, then such a
relationship could be established, but since we realize that awareness is
completely empty of a self, that awareness is simply a convention for
empty-selfluminous-manifestations, then all attachments cease and hence
experience can only self-liberate without trace.
Due to the insight of
emptiness and the dissolving of the view of inherency and hence seeing
everything as dream-like and ungraspable, we do not cling to each moment of
experience. We do not cling even to "awareness". Therefore, each moment of
awareness self-liberates and no position of an existent, source, ground or
essence can be established - be it of a self, of awareness, of mental and
physical phenomenon. Everything is just a coreless, non-locatable, ungraspable,
dream-like, self-releasing magical display like drawing paintings on water, or
like a movie. Nothing is real, nothing can be established to have 'existence' -
including Awareness, and this distinguishes Buddhism from non-Buddhist or
Advaita teachings - luminosity, awareness itself is utterly empty, unestablished
and self-liberating.
Not realizing the true face of awareness, we attempt
to get behind thoughts and try to "get back" to an existent state of awareness,
which basically means dissociation. Because true awareness cannot be separated
into a subject and an object, all that is necessary is to remain in that state
of non-dual contemplation where all thoughts and perceptions self-liberate
effortlessly without intentions or a subjective reaction or dissociation. All
attempts at dissociation are based on the false view of a self and a false
subject-object dichotomy. In the true presence of awareness, it is simply seeing
forms - self-liberate, hearing sounds - self-liberate, thoughts manifest vividly
- self-liberate.
The practice of the four foundations of mindfulness
coupled with the right insights, the three dharma seals and sunyata, is simply
to recognize and experience all sensations displaying themselves in their
spontaneously perfected bright self-luminosity and self-release by its
emptiness. Freed from false views of duality and inherent existence, no efforts
to cling to any states, and no efforts to dissociate from any experience is
required.
Any false views that we cling to will prevent automatic,
spontaneous liberation and effortless awareness, even though we may mistakenly
think we are beyond effort before emptiness is realized. When the two emptiness
dawns and our false views are overthrown, all experiences reveal themselves as
self-perfected and self-liberating spontaneous presence.
To truly begin to even practice, you really have to distinguish mind and
awareness.
Mind is your concepts, ideas, emotions, stories, etc.
Awareness however is the recognition of the essence of mind, the intrinsic
luminous clarity and emptiness inseparable. Awareness is opposed to ignorance or
unawareness.
If you cannot distinguish mind and awareness, you can't even
practice, and liberation will seem like aeons away. You will remain trapped in
your concepts and afflictions. You are going in circles never touching the
essence. Once you can realize and sustain that knowing throughout your life from
day to night, liberation is at hand.
What is awareness? How do I know if
I am at this moment aware? Awareness has self-certainty - it is the bright pure
presence of knowing that contains no doubt. If at that moment there is any
uncertainty or doubt "am I aware?" That thought is called mind and is an
indication of unawareness. If there is a doubtless, certain, presence of
knowing, without needing to establish any conceptual positions like "I am
aware", that is awareness.
If there is a pure presence of doubtless
knowing, that is awareness. It is important to understand however that
recognizing or even realizing the radiant aspect of awareness (the luminous
clarity) does not entail realization of emptiness. The former happens first and
is easier, the latter requires right view and further contemplations on the
twofold emptinesses. The former can be recognized in the gap between two
thoughts, or realized through self-inquiry, however often it is reified into
non-Buddhist notions of atman-Brahman. Therefore it must not be mistaken as the
realization of emptiness.
Awareness is not inferred but non-conceptually
present. However this does not mean awareness and thoughts are two different
opposing things. Awareness can "co-exist" with thoughts, I.e. The realization or
recognition of the nature of mind can happen with or without thoughts, however
that it is not realized through thoughts but non-conceptual wisdom. All thoughts
and sense perceptions are of the nature of mind, however whether we are aware of
it is a different matter.
Awareness is utterly unestablished and is not
some existent seperate knower, it is not a "thing" separate from appearances -
it is simply a presence of knowing, co-emergent with all appearances. Under the
influence of ignorance we call it eight consciousnesses, with awareness,
the eight consciousnesses transform into the five wisdoms. Awareness is not
separate from the various modes of knowing, it is not an ultimate
reality.
Under the spotlight of wisdom or awareness, all thoughts are
seen to be luminous and empty. All thoughts and perceptions reveals as bright
luminous clarity, but utterly empty and illusory, like a magic show, like a
dream, appearing from nowhere, at nowhere, going nowhere - merely a magical
display of dependent origination. The magical effect of seeing the illusory
nature of everything is that all perceptions, thoughts and afflictions simply
effortless self-liberate without modification.
It is like realizing the
monster in your dream is utterly illusory - what happens? Without trying to
fight off the monster, the monster simply dissolves on its own accord.
Everything releases, this is the magical effect of prajna wisdom that recognizes
emptiness.
If you can do this then everything becomes easy - no need to
fight thoughts, they just release by themselves simply by seeing its
intangibility.
If however there is any kind of distraction, any kind of
clinging and being conditioned by our afflictions of craving, aversion and
ignorance, we can be sure that we are still in unawareness.
True and complete state of awareness (which includes the actualization of the view of the twofold emptinesses) is utterly unconditioned by any such clingings and distractions.