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“There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and your true power emerges ~ the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring in the light.”

~ Eckhart Tolle

Watch Video on YouTube - https://youtu.be/fl0rPxJyu8A

PS - The video has some glitches here and there, which only detracts slightly from the viewing experience. I hope to fix those errors as soon as I figure out how.

The Buddha answered: Whether they meditate with or without expectations, if they have the wrong ideas and the wrong methods, they will not get any fruit from their meditation. Think about it. Suppose a man wants to have some oil and he puts sand into a bowl and then sprinkles it with salt. However much he presses it, he will not get oil, for that is not the method. Another man is in need of milk.  He starts pulling the horns of a young cow. Whether he has any expectations or not, he will not get any milk out of the horn, for that’s not the method. Or if a man fills a jar with water and churns it in order to get butter, he will be left only with water. It’s like filling a bowl with oil seeds and pressing them or milking a cow by pulling the udder or filling a jar with cream and churning it.  It’s the right method. ~ Majjhima Nikaya

What kind of meditation did the Buddha teach?

Buddha also spoke of two qualities that he thought were fundamental to the fully-awakened state: Tranquility and Insight.

Two things will lead you to supreme understanding. What are those two? Tranquility and Insight.

If you develop tranquility, what benefit can you expect?  Your mind will develop. The benefit of a developed mind is that you are no longer a slave to your impulses.

If you develop insight, what benefit will it bring? You will find wisdom. And the point of developing wisdom is that it brings you freedom from the blindness of ignorance.

A mind held bound by unconsidered impulse and ignorance can never develop true understanding. But by way of tranquility and insight the mind will find freedom.~ Anguttara Nikaya

Meditate, and in your wisdom realize Nirvana, the highest happiness. ~ Dhammapada

The true impartial observer is never the attention or mind that is attempting to watch a process. The reason for this is that this very attempt is a part of the process itself; it is not outside the process.

Through which sense organ should I cultivate? You ask. Don’t be nervous. It is the very organ of the ear which Gwan Yin Bodhisattva used that is best for you.

Gwan Yin Bodhisattva perfected his cultivation through the organ of the ear, and Ananda will follow him in cultivating the same method. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of former times have left us such a wonderful Dharma-door that we should also follow the method of cultivating the organ of the ear to perfect penetration. This is the easiest method.

Ananda, and everyone in the great assembly,
Turn around your mechanism for hearing.
Return the hearing to hear your own nature
The nature will become the supreme Way.
That is what perfect penetration really means.
That is the gateway entered by Buddhas as many as dust motes.
That is the one path leading to Nirvana.
Tathagatas of the past perfected this method.
Bodhisattvas now merge with this total brightness.
People of the future who study and practice
Will also rely on this Dharma. ~ Shurangama Sutra

‘There’s no need for you to give up’, said the Buddha. ‘You should not abandon your search for liberation just because you seem to yourself to be thick witted. You can drop all philosophy you’ve been given and repeat a mantra instead—one that I will now give you’. ~ Majjhima Nikaya

It’s like filling a bowl with oil seeds and pressing them or milking a cow by pulling the udder or filling a jar with cream and churning it.  It’s the right method.  ~ Majjhima Nikaya

Hello, everybody!

I've posted a bunch of new YouTube videos since I was here last, but the most important one is probably the 2-hour satsang video I put up recently.

If you look at the main website, you'll also see other videos as well as hundreds of posts I've written over the past few years.

Here's are links to:

1) The Posts page of AwakeningClarityNow.com

2) My YouTube channel 

3) My Podcast Channel --my podcasts are also available on iTunes.

4) My latest book, Awaken NOW: The Living Method of Spiritual Awakening which has been an Eastern Philosophy bestseller in the US, UK, and Australia. It's available as a paperback, Kindle edition, and an audio book.

5) The Meetings page of AwakeningClarityNow.com, which will tell you about the new Awakening Dialogues.

I invite you to join many hundreds of people around the world, and come wake with me!

All love,

Fred

1 1/2 minute video: https://youtu.be/PPg4r-CRY3U

“That which is seen is the reflection of one’s own consciousness.”

               -Sri Nisargargadatta

September is International PlaY wiTH PErcEption Month and it starts now, right here in Asheville.

What does that mean?   A new interactive art exhibit is happening in the River Arts District that invites you to become an active participant and write on the commentary art panels. As you view the finished paintings you are invited to ask the question:  “What is the first word or emotion that comes to mind?”.  Share your perceptions on the panels.

This is Facebook social commentary come to life.

It means that every day this month a painting will be posted online on Facebook and blog for commentary.  You are invited to play with the art as a mini meditation or self inquiry.

Along with the show there is a video visual meditation using the artwork in the exhibit., This will be premiered at the opening reception and be posted on Facebok and Julie’s website.

Play With Perception Month

On the day of the takeover of the Capitol, I stopped to chat with my neighbor, who filled me in on what was happening. He asked me to say a prayer for our country, which I later did. It went a little something like this, “May we all find the peace that we seek and share that peace with the world.” Today, while reflecting on the recent events at the Capitol and the drama that continues to ensue, the impulse to write arose and here is the result:

There Was a Time…
By Trey Carland

There was a time I carried guns.

There was a time I marched on the State Capitol to protest an injustice.

There was a time I would have marched armed to fight for justice.

There was a time I was outraged at others who threatened justice and equality.

There was a time I was deeply involved in politics.

There was a time I feared the government was stripping away our rights.

There was a time I was fascinated by conspiracy theories.

There was a time I saw doom as a direct impact of what was happening.

There was a time I judged others for being ignorant of what is true and right.

There was a time I thought I chose my beliefs because they were true.

There was a time I realized all beliefs are built on lies.

There was a time I saw that others can’t be any other way than they are.

There was a time I would say, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”

There was a time I saw myself as the other.

There was a time I saw there is no other.

There was a time I realized there is no Me, no You, no Us, no Them. Just This.

There was a time I saw it all unfolding with a divine intelligence for the betterment of all.

There was a time I saw the perfect timing of everything, and that time is always Now.

There was a time I saw that the Divine is always inviting itself to wake up and radiate peace in the world.

So, in case you hadn’t heard, our little Adorabella is two years old (hard to believe I know), and is learning the ropes of being a human.  She is talking up a storm and it’s so much fun to listen to her pronounce things.  It’s like she has a foreign accent that you can put your finger on, but she picks up on words so quickly.  She’s a happy little sponge and loves to have fun singing, dancing, smiling, making funny noises, laughing, and let’s not forget crying.  Despite what a happy toddler she is, she has her moments of frustration.  The underlying cause seems to be the “desire” for something other than what’s happening at a given moment.

As best as I can tell, desire is born very early and just gets stronger and more well refined.  At first it’s just preferences (i.e. I like this, not so much that).  Then, entertaining activities enter the picture, like things that she seemingly can’t get enough of.  For example, after we had our first big snow (which she loved), all she could say was, “I want walk snow all day.”  She said this for weeks despite the disappearance of the snow.  She would wake up and look out the window and say, “Hi snow,” even after it had all melted.  It was sooo cute.  She seemed okay with the snow leaving because we didn’t make a big deal out of it.

However, at a certain point desire brings on some attitude.  “I want...” is the way our little girl begins most of her sentences these days.  In some cases, if the want isn’t satisfied, screaming and crying can occur.  That’s never fun, but it comes with the territory, and we’re all learning how to cope with a life that doesn’t always give us what we want.  The only difference is that most adults don’t scream and cry if they can’t go watch DeeDee (Daniel Tiger) with Uncle NoNo (Shelby’s brother Norn).

It’s interesting to see the development of desire through an infant’s eyes.  There can be such great intensity behind not getting what they want, and it’s just a magnified version of the human adult’s reaction.  By the time we’re older, we’ve mostly toned it down a bit because we learn that we don’t get what we want by screaming and crying about it.  In general, we’re taught to ask nicely for things and learn new ways of getting what we want (maybe even by being manipulative).  Ultimately we become more civilized, but we are still adversely affected when all of our efforts fail to bring about the desired outcome.

Maybe I’m naive, but I think humankind has become worn down enough by not getting what we want for so long that we’re ready to be done with the pain that that causes.  That readiness, that ripeness, is where real change can happen.  When we run out of answers, when nothing we do seems to do any good, we may decide to open ourselves up to the unthinkable – give up on desires.  We’ve been crafting them since we were knee high to a grasshopper, so that’s a tough pill to swallow.  Our desires have become ingrained in who we think we are, so you may need to be at the end of your rope before you even consider giving up.  Plus, once you’re ready to give up, it may be too scary or you may not even know how.

Here is what I can offer if you are up to the challenge.  Things are not as bad as you think.  Not getting what you want is more important than getting what you want.  You are not being mistreated or punished by anyone other than yourself.  Take a close look at a desire that seems out of reach and see if it’s actually a need or just a want.  What’s the worst thing that could happen if a desire is not met?  How would you feel if you wanted what you already had?  How would you feel if you didn’t want anything other than what you have right now?  Would you feel complete?  Pick a desire and take a deep look at this.

The mind’s job is to step in here and say, “Without desire I wouldn’t have anything to work toward.  I wouldn’t get anything done.  I’d be stuck, complacent, etc.”  What if your mind is completely wrong about all of this stuff?  Have you ever been wrong about anything?  Be honest now.  What if Life has your best interest at heart and will not steer you wrong?  What if you can’t steer at all?  Can you trust Life enough to let it do the steering?  It already is, afterall.

There is nothing wrong with desire, but if you get too attached to the outcome it can lead to stress and suffering when things don’t work out.  Desires come and go whether you like it or not, so let a desire serve as a sign post and watch to see if it was meant to be attained or not.  If not, no big deal.  You’ve just gained more insight by not getting what you want, and Life may have created a new direction for you, which has it’s own sense of desire.  Life’s desire for you is for you to stop making your happiness contingent on attaining some future goal and to be happy Now.  Everything else will fall into place just as it should and when it should.  Trust me ;)

Yours Truly,

Trey

“We need one more thing to make us happy.  One thing leads to the next, perpetuated by our desire to have final satisfaction.  But the next experience feels uneasy, and we still need one more thing… The desire to feel satisfied is a continual process that drives our lives, and the end result is suffering… it’s just what ends up happening when we are driven by negative emotions.  -  Sakyong Mipham (Turning the Mind into an Ally)

What do we really need?  That simple question could well be an important key to happiness and wisdom.  And beyond the question of what do we really need is the more germane question:  Why are our needs so endless?  What are all these wants that, at a deep psychological level, become needs?  Sakyong Mipham, the Tibetan/American meditation teacher gives a very good answer when he says, “it’s just what happens when we are driven by negative emotion.” – as we certainly are, either very blatantly or subtly, much of our waking lives. 

We want things to be better; we want more for ourselves than life is giving.  We have an emotional uneasiness as to whether we are enough, and so have a rather unlimited sense of needing more, and for our situation to be better.  And when things are the way we want them to be, we want them to stay that way – but they don’t, they can’t.  Everything changes, but what we want is unchanging happiness - without even knowing what that means.  So, we experience anxiety, anger, jealousy, worry, sadness, despair – negative emotions that drive us.

There are many extrapolations of Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths on the nature of suffering, but a very useful variation is that we suffer because, whether we express it as a need or a want, we often experience that we need things to be different from the way they are in order to control our negative emotions.  Again, this can be on very blatant or subtle levels, and taking that extrapolation to the teaching’s resolution, the fourth of the Truths, we could say that the way out of negative emotional suffering is to not need for things to be different from the way they are in order for us to be OK. 

“Well, of course,” you say.  When this moment is the way I want it to be, I am fine, I am happy, and when it is not the way I want it to be, I am not fine and happy.  Isn’t that the natural way of things?  But herein lies our problem.  Our well-being is then dependent on the circumstances of our lives as we interpret them in our minds.  This is neither natural – meaning the way of Nature, nor is it an enlightened relationship to our unique human capacity to relate to life with abstracting intelligence. 

Happiness is a mental state.  It occurs in the mind.  Nothing outside of ourselves is the source of our happiness, rather our mind deciding it is happy with what is happening is the source of our happiness.  What is unfortunate is that we don’t realize that we have the capacity to cultivate the mental state of happiness (more accurately, well-being) as our natural state in a manner that can be largely independent of the circumstances of our lives.  Ultimate happiness (non-suffering) is the result of our embrace of every moment just the way it is.

One of the great Zen lessons – a Koan from the 9^th Century Chinese Zen master Rinzai  – asks us, “This moment, what is lacking?”  And when we are unhappy, we believe the answer to be that what is lacking is what we think we need to make the moment more fulfilling, satisfying, safe, or whatever qualifier we have in our mind.  The truth is that when we are fully present in any moment in our natural mind, it is as contemporary Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, “This moment is a perfect moment, this moment is my refuge.”  Refuge from what? From the suffering, the unsatisfactoriness of having the moment being different than what in our minds we think we need it to be.  We live in the subtle and not-so-subtle experience of believing our fulfillment is not in this moment just as it is, but in some next moment that will be exactly the way we need for it to be to experience perfect happiness.

Buddhism teaches of the thickness and multidimensionality of existence.  Mostly, we live in the mind our society conditions into us, our egoic (what Buddhists call “little”) mind, trapped in needing for its fulfillment some fantasy idea of a perfect self - finding fantasy perfection in a fantasy world.  This mind is extremely limited in its perceptive abilities, and tends to focus on what is lacking, rather than the totality and potentiality of what is present.  This is the world of samsara, suffering. 

However, Buddhism teaches that there is also the macro-world of the Big Mind, of our Being-self, in harmony with the Universe realizing that there is no separate self. There is always and only the Universe expressing itself in its fullness through this form we experience as our self-in-the-given-moment, all interconnected and perfect just as it is.  Nothing is needed because to need is to be separate from the whole of what is, and there is no separation.  This is the mind of enlightenment, and this is the mind into which Buddhist teaching and meditation can open us.

Imagine the total freedom, the total liberation when we realize that at an ultimate dimension always available to us, nothing more is needed, that this moment, exactly as it is, is perfect, exactly as it is.  This is what in the Shambala tradition of Sakyong Mipham is called Shamatha – peaceful abiding.  Within us all is the ability to abide peacefully in the present moment exactly as it is, not needing anything to be different to quell our negative emotions, not needing to get to the next moment to quiet the restless little mind of ego questing for fulfillment of its fantasy identity in a fantasy world.  Right here.  This moment, nothing lacking.   This is enlightenment.  This is the heart of Buddhism. 

Does this mean to live passively?  No – it means to do what needs to be done to support and protect our lives and all life.  It also means to bring forth our efforts in the service of evolving an ever more conscious, compassionate and loving human society, but none of it from negative emotion.  As Asian philosophy expert Alan Watts wrote:  “Everything is as it can be.” And this moment is exactly as it can be as the platform for the next moment in the very big picture.  When we embrace what is, we can become courageous co-authors with the Universe of what will be. 

Nothing is fixed and permanent.  Everything is both being and becoming. What is, is.  And what will pass, will pass.  And what will be, will be.  And our fantasies do not have to be the impotent protests or the narcissistic desires of an individual driven by negative emotions from one perceived need to the next, but rather visions of what can be in an enlightened human society.

“The purpose of Buddhism is to study ourselves and to forget ourselves.  When we forget ourselves, we actually are the true activity of the big existence, or reality itself.  When we realize this fact, there is no problem whatsoever in this world, and we can enjoy our life.” - Shunryu Suzuki (1904-71)

*

© 2012 Howard McQueen

Make your way

back into your own gateway,

your center,

where all potential is present,

where heaven and hell are recognized

as arising from interpretation 

shaped by perspective

and expressed through intention.

This trinity: interpretation, perspective and intention,

when opened

and navigated with patience and reflection

provide the journeyer

with the necessary medicine of integration.

With this integration comes an integrative vision.

We experience what we once would describe as

   an ordinary, often limiting and sometimes fearful reality

AND

   We also sense the extraordinary potential for integration,

   as we occupy and hold the space

   for both what is

   and what is becoming,

   we become free of judgment,

   we become free of attachment to outcome

   we find ourselves beginning the great un-entangling

   in this duality we’ve spun.

Bless this all encompassing, amazing and wondrous Reality.

We actually are gifted with the ability to constantly re-center

and navigate our own way.