The Homeland of the Self - Meeting Buddha, Meeting Self
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Originally posted by simpo_:
There are actually 2 significant events:
1. In the 1980s when i was a teenager, i sat down to meditate for the first time. I experienced great bliss. In this meditation, i experienced 'no ultimate right or wrong' aka non-judgemental and is soaked in a vast ocean of bliss for a few days. Haha... i thought i was enlightened. On hindsight now, i know that i was not. That is why now when people write about non-dual to meant 'no right/wrong' I know which stage they are at.
2. In the 1990s, i join a meditation class that held sessions every Sunday at a Buddhist temple. I was learning one-point meditation. One afternoon when i was meditating at home, all the sensory impressions stopped including thoughts. I was in a state of 'No-thoughts'. One may think that when there are no thoughts, one must be unconscious. No there is no unconsciousness. Instead what was being experienced was pure Presence/awareness. However due to not understanding the nature of consciousness and reality, this awareness was experienced as an Eternal Witness/Observer. This is the pure experience of I AM presence.
Hi simpo, do you still experience duality in terms of subject and object now at all?
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Originally posted by Dharmadhatu:
Hi simpo, do you still experience duality in terms of subject and object now at all?
Yes, I do still experience duality. But the times when thinking are not required (like walking and eating), the mind will often automatically goes 'non-dual and non-conceptual'. It is automatic as any willing will be from sense of self.
I can say that the times when suffering is still experienced, they are all in 'duality' mode. There are still tough karmic constant habits that will take great awareness to resolve.. and will take time. I am also aware that from this stage onwards, the speed of progress is largely dependent on conditions... that is it is dependent on karmic and merit dynamics.
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thank you very helpful to me...
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Originally posted by simpo_:
There are actually 2 significant events:
1. In the 1980s when i was a teenager, i sat down to meditate for the first time. I experienced great bliss. In this meditation, i experienced 'no ultimate right or wrong' aka non-judgemental and is soaked in a vast ocean of bliss for a few days. Haha... i thought i was enlightened. On hindsight now, i know that i was not. That is why now when people write about non-dual to meant 'no right/wrong' I know which stage they are at.
2. In the 1990s, i join a meditation class that held sessions every Sunday at a Buddhist temple. I was learning one-point meditation. One afternoon when i was meditating at home, all the sensory impressions stopped including thoughts. I was in a state of 'No-thoughts'. One may think that when there are no thoughts, one must be unconscious. No there is no unconsciousness. Instead what was being experienced was pure Presence/awareness. However due to not understanding the nature of consciousness and reality, this awareness was experienced as an Eternal Witness/Observer. This is the pure experience of I AM presence.
So, the I AM may be realised via one-pointed meditation and does not have to come from investigation?
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Originally posted by realization:
So, the I AM may be realised via one-pointed meditation and does not have to come from investigation?
It depends. I know of people who meditate the entire life and still never reach I AM.
If you can bypass I AM phase and realise no-self (straight) is the best.. dun need to waste time like i did.
To help a bit, when you meditate by focusing on the breathe at the tip of the nose, do not think that you are meditating. How do i explain it... dun think that there is a person (you) meditating. Also, just be aware of the breathe.. don't breath deliberately.
Also, the posture is very important, the spine should not be supported by a wall. A straight spine and neck posture will help. Perhap use a support to lift the buttock above the ground abit so that the buttock position is higher that the cross legs.
'I AM' will be experienced when the mind is not thinking about the past or the future or is having any kind of dreaming... but is abiding in the Present. Focusing on the breathe is a method to align the mind to the immediate Present moment.
There can be many ways to experience the I AM presence as long as the method can cut off grasping on the thoughts/content. When mind is detached from thoughts content, the only activities that is left is the automatic breathing action.
You can experience I AM while not meditating and with eyes open too. Simply look straight ahead into open space and relax. An open space or field will be more conducive to experiencing it under such condition.
May you experience pure awareness soon !
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
I know why Dependent Origination needs anatta now. Without anatta, Dependent Origination is understood as awareness reflecting conditions. With anatta one understands it as one complete nondual manifestation inclusive of everything throughout the universe past present and future in one single instance.
ITS SO FUNNY I KNEW THIS BEFORE WITHOUT KNOWING IT LOL
Is it the reason why Buddhadasa Bhikkhu in his writing on this subject, believes that everyday language cannot be used to interpret the Doctrine of Dependent Origination, as if the original meaning is to be preserved, the ego should not be present?
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Everyday language can point, however the truth of it cannot be grasped by language or analysis.
When there is no illusion of a self/Self, all activities are seen as the manifestation of causality in a single moment, like the whole universe is hearing this sound, doing this action.
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Originally posted by simpo_:
It depends. I know of people who meditate the entire life and still never reach I AM.
If you can bypass I AM phase and realise no-self (straight) is the best.. dun need to waste time like i did.
To help a bit, when you meditate by focusing on the breathe at the tip of the nose, do not think that you are meditating. How do i explain it... dun think that there is a person (you) meditating. Also, just be aware of the breathe.. don't breath deliberately.
Also, the posture is very important, the spine should not be supported by a wall. A straight spine and neck posture will help. Perhap use a support to lift the buttock above the ground abit so that the buttock position is higher that the cross legs.
'I AM' will be experienced when the mind is not thinking about the past or the future or is having any kind of dreaming... but is abiding in the Present. Focusing on the breathe is a method to align the mind to the immediate Present moment.
There can be many ways to experience the I AM presence as long as the method can cut off grasping on the thoughts/content. When mind is detached from thoughts content, the only activities that is left is the automatic breathing action.
You can experience I AM while not meditating and with eyes open too. Simply look straight ahead into open space and relax. An open space or field will be more conducive to experiencing it under such condition.
May you experience pure awareness soon !
Simpo,
Have you thought about writing a small booklet or blog or website about your experiences from your particular point of view... i think you have a unique point of view based on your new age and buddhism understanding right? It may be a guide for others with similar background.
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Originally posted by Dharmadhatu:
Simpo,
Have you thought about writing a small booklet or blog or website about your experiences from your particular point of view... i think you have a unique point of view based on your new age and buddhism understanding right? It may be a guide for others with similar background.
He wrote an e-book before but from the I AM perspective before he known Thusness. That was before 2004.
Maybe he should write another book.
Also, there is a very old e-book written by Longchen/Simpo during/before year 2004, which may also be of interest. However it is spoken from the understanding/experience of the I AM or Eternal Witness, and his understandings and experience have since changed:
Click to download in chapters.
Preface
How to use the articles (86kb)
Who are we? (113kb)
Article about our true identity and it's relation with the cosmos.
Are we just a body? (260kb)
Articles about the human energy system.
Miscellaneous Articles(171kb)
Miscellaneous articles written from various perspectives and experiences.Some excerpts:
The Eternal Watcher- The True Identity
In one ‘awakening’ meditation, I came to a state of no thoughts. Such
experiences are very hard to describe. This is because the explanation
process itself, is within the medium of thoughts and concepts. It is
impossible to describe a state of no thoughts using thoughts! Anyway, in
the void of no thoughts, one naturally assume that everything must be
an unconscious blank. However, that was not the case! What came next
was quite a revelation to me. In the void of no thought, I perceived
myself to be a Presence... Here's how I will describe myself.
"The Presence is all pervasive, yet un-intrusive. He seems to be in all
things and observes with utter passiveness. He exists beyond concepts,
beliefs and do not need any form. Therefore, I understand him as
eternal.
He also seems to be the subtler state of myself. I also got the feeling
that he existed in all my lifetimes or even more. If I were to name him, I
will describe him as The Eternal Watcher.”You can say that I was completely blown away by the experience. The
‘discovery’ of the Eternal Watcher was a very important event that
completely changed the way I understood consciousness. It also made
me contemplated very deeply and seriously about the possible existence
of the Divine. These spurred me on an ardent search to understand and
make sense of it all. I corresponded with whoever I think can help me
unlock the mystery. These people included clairvoyants, other
meditators, people on spiritual paths and new-agers.
From these investigations, it was discovered that others have had similar
experiences as well. Based on the consistency and plurality of the
descriptions by others, something becomes very certain to me. That is, a
human being is much more than a body that can talk and think. The
Human Personality, which is our character, is only an outer consciousness
of the human. With regard to our identity, our personality is merely the
tip of the iceberg. Within the human being’s psyche lie much subtler and
often-obscured levels of consciousness. I believe these inner
consciousnesses could be the different depths of the Soul or levels of
being-ness even more profound than that.About the Eternal Watcher, he is ever present. You didn’t see him doesn’t
means he is not there. Because the Presence is so close to the mind, it is
not easily perceived.
Perceiving the Eternal Watcher was achieved through the relaxed
observation of my own breath. The ultra-relaxed observation eventually
becomes a purely passive allowance for thoughts to pass through my
consciousness. This, in turn, led to a gradual shutting down of the mental
processes of my physical brain cumulating into a state of ‘no-thoughts’.
Beyond the transitional phase of ‘no-thoughts’, I became the Eternal
Watcher. Experiencing the Eternal Watcher is not an exercise that I can
easily brush off as inconsequential. It is not possible for me to assume
that my perception of existence and life can be the same as before.
Doing so will be blatantly self-deceiving.
To me, the most profound experiences where not from doing
something. They came from doing nothing.etc
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Originally posted by Dharmadhatu:
Simpo,
Have you thought about writing a small booklet or blog or website about your experiences from your particular point of view... i think you have a unique point of view based on your new age and buddhism understanding right? It may be a guide for others with similar background.
ATM, i don't wish to write any book/ebook.
Will rather prefer to share via this forum to whom i feel will benefit from. Anyway, i am still progressing..
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Originally posted by simpo_:
It depends. I know of people who meditate the entire life and still never reach I AM.
If you can bypass I AM phase and realise no-self (straight) is the best.. dun need to waste time like i did.
To help a bit, when you meditate by focusing on the breathe at the tip of the nose, do not think that you are meditating. How do i explain it... dun think that there is a person (you) meditating. Also, just be aware of the breathe.. don't breath deliberately.
Also, the posture is very important, the spine should not be supported by a wall. A straight spine and neck posture will help. Perhap use a support to lift the buttock above the ground abit so that the buttock position is higher that the cross legs.
'I AM' will be experienced when the mind is not thinking about the past or the future or is having any kind of dreaming... but is abiding in the Present. Focusing on the breathe is a method to align the mind to the immediate Present moment.
There can be many ways to experience the I AM presence as long as the method can cut off grasping on the thoughts/content. When mind is detached from thoughts content, the only activities that is left is the automatic breathing action.
You can experience I AM while not meditating and with eyes open too. Simply look straight ahead into open space and relax. An open space or field will be more conducive to experiencing it under such condition.
May you experience pure awareness soon !
Thank you, will try your suggestions.