Hello, everybody. I held the first ever online Awakening Workshop Sunday afternoon. It was very successful, and a lot of people woke up. Come read the details, plus participant feedback. Three short-short posts. :-) AwakeningClarityNow.com
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Hello, everybody! I'm once again inviting you to come check out AwakeningClarityNow.com.
I've put up a bunch of new posts this week, including one on Ralph Waldo Emerson (with a free 55 minute movie to watch) and an article I wrote on the critical difference between oscillation and instability in early awakening. PLUS I've put up two new videos. One of them is a two-minute introduction to The Living Method of Spiritual Awakening. Come join us!!
Hello, everybody! I'm trying something new on AwakeningClarityNow.com.
I'm putting up new, short posts, almost daily. Longer, more involved posts will continue to be designated as Prime Posts. Do come join us for a minute, or an hour. :-)
Hello, everybody. I just put up a short little post that includes a note from an internationally known researcher and lecturer on nondual topics. Join me here:
I hope you have all enjoyed the holiday season, whether you spent it alone or with family and friends. I always learn more about myself when there are others around and when I become open to the idea that they are a reflection of me.
For example, I had this realization that nothing has any drama to it unless I give it drama. I'm referring to the drama that is often prevalent in human relationships and interactions. Someone can be acting upset about something, but them being upset is just my inference based on their voice, body language, accumulated judgments, etc.. Our story about what's going on makes that the only reality we can see, but our story is built upon a pile of incorrect assumptions. Assuming basically means that I presume to be you, or momentarily assume your identity, in order to understand you better. I think I know what you think, which is why to assume is to make an Ass out of U and Me.
I realized that one way you can test this theory for yourself is to remove all of the vocal inflections from a person's speech to see what is actually being said, which may be easier to see in an interaction between other people at first. Take a statement like, "You never listen!" spoken very loudly with an accusatory tone. Typically something like that would trigger a bunch of stored up "stuff" (or Pain Body as Eckhart Tolle would say) in us that could make us defensive and possibly retaliatory. Then take that same statement and remove the tone and mannerisms that make you believe this is an attack. What you would be left with is a flat out statement, 'You never listen." That is simply a statement about how the other person feels, and not something that needs to be refuted or taken personally. An exasperated sigh, becomes just a sigh unless I say it means something other than an exhalation of air. An exclamation point (!) becomes a period.
I give all things their meaning. This is why it's been said that when you wake up (become enlightened, etc.) you take everyone else with you. When you wake up you stop believing all of your assumptions about yourself and others, and become open to how things really are before you assign a meaning or add the overlay of a story. I create drama in a situation by adding a story about what's happening, and I become at ease when I interpret things simply as they are, without a story.
As I had this realization, while spending time with some family, I realized that the peace didn't stop with me. That is to say, interactions between other people lost any emotional charge that I would have believed existed before. For example, person A and person B have a history of conflict, and there is typically a heightened sense of anticipation when they are together, in effect there is an expectation of a snide comment to be made.
However, once this realization settled over me, their interactions lost the story I had crafted based on their history. This is why the present moment is where the peace that surpasses all peace can be found. Stories disappear when you drop your attachment to the past because the past is what makes up our beliefs Beliefs are layers of thoughts that filter what we see into a complete fiction that only we can see, which is why no two people hear or see the same thing during a given situation. Each person's story of what's happening is like a snowflake -- totally unique.
Part of what fueled this evolution in my consciousness was the recognition of a false assumption I made. Based on hearing just a snippet of a conversation, I found myself going to the story of, "He must be feeling upset about what's going on right now." How arrogant of me to assume I know how someone else feels based solely on vocal tone and their past. I realized that I had no way of knowing, so I revisited the situation with no interpretation by viewing it from a "monotone" perspective. Then, the self-imagined charge was gone and there was just a conversation between two people who were simply stating things. In short, there is no conflict between other people unless I decide there is.
The ongoing challenge now is to remember this realization during interactions with everyone in every situation. The idea of stripping the vocal tone out of potentially charged conversations seems like a good pointer for me. At least for now. I encourage you to give it a try. It means setting aside your beliefs for a moment, but the result is well worth it.
I always like to remind people that the inventors of the English language inserted hints here and there if we are open enough to notice. For example, the word "believe" has the word lie built in -- be-LIE-ve. There is no such thing as a true belief, but don't take my word for it. It can be messy to determine where our beliefs begin and end, so I recommend The Work of Byron Katie (http://www.thework.com) as one method you can use to help undo the fictitious stories you have separating you from what's really real.
But you don't need The Work to try this out for yourself. Just drop your interpretation of what's happening when it feels like there is tension in the air between yourself or others. Then remember that you are the one creating that tension and that it's all in your mind. There really is no "other" unless and until you create them in your mind's eye, and your mind's eye is always uniquely flawed. This is why spiritual teachers refer to all of this as a dream, and that waking from the dream is what brings peace to a world of chaos. That's not a belief but something that you can see for yourself if you are open enough.
I wish you all a happy and wonderful new present moment, regardless of what the numbers on a calendar say :)
Trey
Source - http://compassion-blog.blogspot.com
Awareness of Suffering
Some of you may be aware that Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh suffered a serious stroke recently. He remains in a coma, still breathing on his own. He has dedicated his life to spreading the Buddha's teaching of compassion and love to relieve human suffering. His sangha is named the Order of Inter Being. He teaches that if we are willing to experience things as they actually are, we will realize that we 'inter are' with all beings and all phenomena. Our living presence is alive, and our aliveness is the spirit of inter being. Thich Nhat Hanh is referred to as Thay by our sangha. Thay means teacher in Vietnamese Buddhism. Thay offered us a song that we sometimes sing together as the sangha body:
No coming, no going, no after, no before
I hold you close to me, and I release you to be so free
Because I am in you, and you are in me,
Because I am in you, and you are in me
Buddha's first noble truth is that life is suffering. The way we inter are with all beings involves suffering. He didn't mean that life is always the experience of suffering for everyone. He meant that life is suffering under certain conditions. And those conditions according to Buddha are caused by our clinging. Suffering is caused by clinging to thoughts, clinging to sensations, clinging to sights and sounds. And it naturally follows that the experience of clinging is based on the strong sense of a someone who is clinging to something separate from what they imagine that they are.
The bedrock of Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching is the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness practice is the practice of being aware of present experience, with the attitude of acceptance. This includes awareness of the experience of being something separate, and clinging to something else that seems separate from what we are. The experience of being separate is really just that simple, it's not conceptual, it's not some theory about the experience of separation. It's just the experience of saying 'there is that chair over there, and here I am, separate from that chair.'
The spirit of inter being is also just that simple. It's not some theory of being. The reality of inter being is realizing that what appears separate isn't really separate from the awareness that is observing it. The awareness looking out from our eyes right now reading this page isn't separate from the words and the page itself. The same holds true for all of our experience. Awareness isn't separate from the experience of seeing, hearing, feeling, or thinking. Whatever we see, hear, feel, and think is one with the awareness that we actually are.
Thay says that we free ourselves from suffering by learning to cultivate insight into the deep roots of our suffering. As Buddha said the deep roots of our self clinging is what keeps us bound to the seemingly endless wheel of samsara, the seemingly endless round of suffering of the world of birth and death. If we want to remove the weeds from our yard, we need to pull them out by the roots. Otherwise they just quickly grow back. When we are lazy, and don't want to make the effort to get down to the roots of our mind weeds, we just push them away or indulge them without awareness of their roots. They not only grow back quickly, but we actually reinforce their hold on us; if we feed the energy of clinging to them, that clinging energy grows. As Buddha said, the clinging to our experience is made possible by our clinging to this sense of being a separate self. The two arise together, and reinforce each other.
What is different about mind weeds and weeds in our yard, is that our yard weeds are removed by pulling them out by the roots. With mind weeds, we shine the light of awareness on them, and let spirit dissolve and transform them, rather than just trying to DO something with them. The spirit of inter being is always dissolving the roots of our self clinging, we only need to be willing to be aware of this, and stop our self conscious efforts to resist the process.
The fixed belief in the separate entity we call 'me' is the necessary mind weed by which we experience and cling to all of sensory experience as ours. So mindfulness practice is shining the light of awareness or spirit onto that sense of being a separate self. And it is the awareness of sensing a separate self with the attitude of acceptance. What is actually witnessing our experience is always just allowing it full expression. There is no attempt to manipulate any object of experience. Allowing the full expression of our experience is one with spirit's continual dissolving and transforming it. Whatever we think, feel, see, or hear are not fixed entities. They are continually changing and transforming. We project the solidity of our fixation on being a separate self onto the world we imagine to be separate, and thereby fool ourselves into believing that it is solid. This is not something to try to believe. We will actually experience it through surrendering to the spirit of inter being showing us how things really are. The experience of 'me' witnessing, or 'me' attempting to manipulate the process is completely irrelevant to the process itself.
If we learn to be willing to join this witnessing, we will also learn to allow all experience its full expression. Witnessing consciousness can just allow every experience to just be as it is because there is no sense of a separate self to cling to the experience and try to hold onto it, or push it away. When we join this witnessing of our sense of a separate self with the attitude of acceptance, we begin to experience that sense of being separate as an expression of the witnessing awareness itself. That sense of being a separate being is beginning to be seen as it really is, free of separation from the witnessing awareness of all experience. This witnessing is always seeing through the separate nature of all experience. It is always dissolving the root of separation appearing as real to the clinging consciousness of a separate self. So the clinging to a sense of a separate self to relieve suffering is like pulling off the top of the weeds in our yard, and hoping they won't grow back. Self conscious effort, MY effort is the deepest root of our suffering.
For suffering to be real, there needs to be an actual painful sensation with the accompanying fixation on this sensation as being something bad. If we join spirit's witnessing of our painful experience, we will begin to see that our fixation on something bad itself isn't fixed. It changes and transforms along with the subtle variations of the flavor of the painful sensations themselves. This awareness of the continual free flowing of experience is the seeing and sensing of the spirit of inter being's continual dissolving and transforming of all of our experience. Just being aware of this with the attitude of acceptance is offering all of our experience to spirit itself. And it is the realization that all of our experience is a wonderful gift from the universal heart of inter being.
What if it is really really true that awareness itself is always already seeing through the separate nature of sensations? What if it is really true that the spirit of inter being is always deeply sensing, transforming, and loving all of our experience as a free gift to us? Can we be willing to trust this gift? Can we be willing to trust this gift on its own terms, not on our terms? Can we be willing to give up our bargaining with and for truth? Are we willing to receive this free gift unconditionally, just as it is being offered to us, free of any and all conditions? What else besides our living presence is actually truth worthy? What else is trust worthy?
Stay with the path for long enough, and finally we'll begin to realize we've spent aeons trying to flee from this truth. We've spent aeons clinging to trusting what we think is real and true. And the whole time we have been enslaved by the suffering of clinging to our desires and fears, vainly attempting to make them the truth, vainly attempting to make them real. Clinging to vanity is always in vain, because the self that is separate and proud isn't the truth, it isn't real. Stay with the path long enough, maybe we can finally realize that this free gift really is free.
Seeing through the separate nature of sensation, seeing through the separate nature of all experience of being a separate self, is seeing from the viewpoint of unity, seeing from the viewpoint of the spirit of inter being. This spirit of inter being transforms the sense of separation from our experience, but this doesn't mean we cease to feel the pain of sensations. The pain can actually hurt more, but bother us less. It bothers us less because we are willing to see we inter are with the joy and hurt of all beings.
Life is constantly inviting you to explore and rediscover your True Nature. She is sending messages in every moment, regardless of what form it takes, inviting us home. Attention. Here. Now, she says compassionately with every breeze, every step, every encounter. "Notice the Beauty of Simply Being," she says, knowing full well that it's impossible for people to do, until it isn't. We're so immersed in the waves of the ocean that we can't see the sea.
When we realize we are being beckoned, through one of Life's clever tactics to get our attention, Grace has stepped in leaving an open mind and open heart. That opening may contract and expand as we continue to engage in Life's never ending message -- Wake up!
You have been lovingly invited to
the Greatest Party of All Time -- LIFE
Date: Never ending
Time: Now
Location: Here
Directions:
Turn Left on Inner Body Street
Take a right on Who Am I Really Avenue
Be Here Now will be up on your right
Stop when you get to the bridge (it doesn't really exist, and it leads you into a dark Abyss)
Words of Wisdom will come to take you the rest of the way In because it gets a little tricky at that point.
Once you get Here, take a look around to see what hasn't moved at all. You were Here before you left, and you're still Here. You were also Here the entire trip. Since Life never stops moving for long, there is only the trip itself -- Here and Now. The trip is all there is, which is a wonderful relief when you embrace the whole experience of every moment.
The invitation is to awaken to, and live, the invitation with a never ending "Yes!"
Caution:
Be alert to where Fear takes you. Fear, too, is a wonderful guide, but you need to be aware of the root of it during certain life situations. It will disappear on you, but know that it has led you on the right path. There are no wrong turns, which scares Fear off. And who wouldn't want to experience being free of Fear after living from it for years? That feels a lot better than never knowing Fear at all, I guess. Fear wants to be compassionately embraced, just like we all do. Give fear a thanks for all it has done to protect you all of your life. You don't need it Now, and it's always Now.
Hugs Heal,
Be alert to where Fear takes you. Fear, too, is a wonderful guide, but you need to be aware of the root of it during certain life situations. It will disappear on you, but know that it has led you on the right path. There are no wrong turns, which scares Fear off. And who wouldn't want to experience being free of Fear after living from it for years? That feels a lot better than never knowing Fear at all, I guess. Fear wants to be compassionately embraced, just like we all do. Give fear a thanks for all it has done to protect you all of your life. You don't need it Now, and it's always Now.
Hugs Heal,
Trey
A puzzled man asked the Buddha: I have heard that some monks meditate with expectations, others meditate with no expectations, and yet others are indifferent to the result. What is the best?
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?
Truthfully speaking, no one clearly knows; however, we have a few good hints about the nature of the practice he might have taught from some of the Buddhist scriptures. From the above scripture, it is clear Buddha felt that unless one was using a correct method, one could not expect to gain Nirvana—the fully awakened state of absolute freedom and enlightenment.
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.
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
It is interesting that the two most popular forms of Buddhist meditation that are taught today are called Samatha and Vipassana.
Samatha meditation is based on the intention and persistent effort on the part of the meditator to concentrate the mind on some specific object of meditation: the goal being to develop the ability of the mind to concentrate because when the mind is in a highly concentrated state, it is known to be tranquil and such a mind, it is thought, would make deep insight possible.
Since Buddha explained that only the right method would bring the fruit, it would be valuable to explore whether Samatha meditation, as it’s understood and practiced today, is the right method to bring tranquility to the mind. The term Samatha actually means calmness or tranquility: an integrated state where the mind is not in any way excited or active. It is directly related to the term Samadhi, the state in which the mind is completely settled and unwavering and is effortlessly held in a fully concentrated state.
What creates this tranquil state of mind? In its fully developed state, tranquility is produced by the unbounded peace, freedom and wakefulness that are experienced in the unconditioned, infinite state of Nirvana. It is the total freedom and absolute happiness of Nirvana that automatically and spontaneously absorbs and concentrates the mind.
Samatha meditation is based on the intention and persistent effort on the part of the meditator to concentrate the mind on some specific object of meditation: the goal being to develop the ability of the mind to concentrate because when the mind is in a highly concentrated state, it is known to be tranquil and such a mind, it is thought, would make deep insight possible.
Since Buddha explained that only the right method would bring the fruit, it would be valuable to explore whether Samatha meditation, as it’s understood and practiced today, is the right method to bring tranquility to the mind. The term Samatha actually means calmness or tranquility: an integrated state where the mind is not in any way excited or active. It is directly related to the term Samadhi, the state in which the mind is completely settled and unwavering and is effortlessly held in a fully concentrated state.
What creates this tranquil state of mind? In its fully developed state, tranquility is produced by the unbounded peace, freedom and wakefulness that are experienced in the unconditioned, infinite state of Nirvana. It is the total freedom and absolute happiness of Nirvana that automatically and spontaneously absorbs and concentrates the mind.
Meditate, and in your wisdom realize Nirvana, the highest happiness. ~ Dhammapada
The misunderstanding regarding Samatha meditation, as it is understood and practiced today, is the idea that the mind needs to be trained to gain the ability to concentrate through the application of strenuous concentration practices.
The mind will automatically and spontaneously achieve this highly tranquil and concentrated state simply by the meditator knowing the technique of how to allow the mind to be effortlessly drawn in to the Bliss of Nirvana.
It is a common experience that the mind will naturally stay concentrated on anything that provides it with peace and contentment; this is an inherent capacity of the mind, so no training or practices of concentration are required.
It is the fulfillment naturally produced by of the state of Nirvana that concentrates the mind and this happens without any effort on the part of the meditator if he or she is using a right method of meditation.
Through the regular and effortless practice of a right method, the vital quality of tranquility will become stabilized in the life of the meditator and, as Buddha said, one will then no longer be a slave to one’s impulses.
In addition, because it is the natural tendency of the mind to move on to a field of stable peace and contentment in a spontaneous manner, the individual’s effort to try to control the mind to remain only on one limited object of attention, as is done with Samatha meditation today, actually obstructs the mind from rushing on to the ever-constant infinity and happiness it so much needs and desires.
However, it is not Samatha meditation that is the most popular type of Buddhist meditation; the most widely used form today is Vipassana or Mindfulness meditation. Vipassana is also referred to as Insight meditation, because through its practice one is supposed to develop penetrating insight into the true nature of reality. Buddha explained that through Vipassana, which literally means through insight, one should gain the wisdom that brings you freedom from the blindness of ignorance.
These days, Vipassana/Mindfulness meditation is practiced by the practitioner having the intention to be an impartial observer of some natural process occurring within his or her body, mind or emotions. For example, one is asked to just observe or be mindful of the rising and falling of the abdomen during the process of breathing, or to just impartially observe the incoming and outgoing of the breath itself.
Another popular form of this meditation is to mindfully observe the body in the natural act of walking or during the process of standing up or sitting down. The key element is to try to be continuously aware of whatever process is taking place without in any way interfering with or reacting to, either positively or negatively, the process that is occurring in the moment.
The idea is to try to be fully aware of the raw experience that is always happening and transforming by noting and letting go of each arising and subsiding sensation. This practice is supposed to bring one deep insight, perfect wisdom, into the ultimate reality of the true nature of existence in both its conditioned and unconditioned states.
Unfortunately, this attempt to develop and obtain Insight through the practice of trying to be an impartial observer is not a right method. The reason for this is that the impartial observer, which alone is capable of right mindfulness and genuine Insight, is the fully-awakened state of Nirvana Itself.
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.In stark contrast to this, the genuine impartial observer is completely outside any and every process of the rising and falling of any conditioned state of existence; it is completely beyond the mind and any human intention or effort to observe anything.
Buddha asked the question: ‘What is right mindfulness?’
He answered in the following way:
Buddha asked the question: ‘What is right mindfulness?’
He answered in the following way:
When going, the monk knows ‘I am going’, or, when standing, he knows ‘I am standing’, or, when lying down, he knows ‘I am lying down’. Or in whatever position his body is placed, he is aware of it….Whether he goes, stands or sits, sleeps or is awake, speaks or is silent, he is acting with full attention. ~ Digha Nikaya
In this above quote, it is vital to note that Mindfulness should be present even when one is sleeping. In other words, the process of sleep should be able to be witnessed or observed as it is naturally occurring.
In this above quote, it is vital to note that Mindfulness should be present even when one is sleeping. In other words, the process of sleep should be able to be witnessed or observed as it is naturally occurring.
At first glance, the impartial observation of sleep would seem to be impossible because if one is asleep how could one observe anything? The key to understanding this is that it is not the mind that is observing; in the state of sleep, the mind is sleeping and is not aware of the sleeping process or anything else.
However, it is possible for the Absolute state of consciousness, the state of Nirvana, to impartially witness the sleeping process. It is the unconditioned, transcendental, Absolute state of consciousness that is the true impartial observer of all the ever-changing values of the conditioned aspects of life, including the mind and its intentions.
It is this supreme value of life alone that is capable of being impartial because only It is without any lack and nothing can be subtracted or added to Its eternal status. Consequently, it is only the Absolute existence of the fully-awakened state that is capable of totally penetrating into the true nature of life and gaining the supreme Insight lived, embodied and expressed by a Buddha.
How then can one develop true Insight, Perfect Wisdom, into the ultimate reality of life? If the human attempt to be an impartial observer of natural processes is not the appropriate method, what would be the right method? It is clear that the right method would need to result in the cultivation and integration of the transcendental state of Absolute Wakefulness, the state of Nirvana. The Buddhist Shurangama Sutra offers the following deep insight:
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.
The method suggested in the Shurangama Sutra is referred to as the easiest method because it involves the simple and effortless act of allowing one’s attention to be with a sound in order to achieve perfect penetration. Perfect penetration means that one has been able to penetrate beyond all the temporal, ever-changing values of all the conditioned states of existence and become at one with the Absolute, unconditioned, eternal, never born and never dying peace and fulfillment, which is the infinite all-knowing state of Nirvana, the end of all suffering.
But, how should one be with a sound? What is the right method? TheShurangama Sutra offers further explanation in the following verses:
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
One is instructed to turn around your mechanism for hearing. What does this mean? Usually, one hears a sound when one is speaking or hearing someone else speak, or hears a sound produced by something in the environment—a bird, thunder, the rushing of a river, anything.
Our mind is usually outwardly directed into the environment. However, with a right method of meditation, one can learn how to effortlessly use a sound to follow it in the inward direction to its ultimate source. The right method here is in knowing how to spontaneously appreciate a sound in the inward direction within the mind.
It seems that this was a technique of meditation taught by the Buddha when he would give specific mantras or sounds (a mantra is a specific sound used during meditation) to his disciples.
The following sutra illustrates this point:
‘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
The sound of the mantra is innocently and effortlessly experienced in its increasingly subtle values until the sound fades away completely and the meditator is left in the completely calm yet full awakened state of Samadhi. This natural process is what is referred to in the above verses quoted from the Shurangama Sutra: Return the hearing to hear your own nature; the nature will become the supreme Way. That is what perfect penetration really means.
It is clear from these verses that the process that resulted in supreme insight or perfect penetration was a process that was conducted by nature itself: nature will become the supreme Way. It was not a process conducted by individual control or efforts to concentrate, or to try to be an impartial observer.
In our time, one natural process of turning around the “mechanism for hearing” is known as the technique of Transcendental Meditation (TM). It is an effortless practice that does not require belief in any doctrine or the following of any particular way of life. People of all religions practice it, as do people of no religion. Its practical benefits have been scientifically researched and documented for 40 years and it has been taught world—wide to over 6 million people of every race and culture.
In addition, this technique does not involve any form of concentration, contemplation, or any controlled effort on the part of the mind, intellect or emotions to distance oneself from one’s experiences by trying to remain unmoved, detached and impartial. This is a vital point because the Tranquility and Insight that Buddha spoke of were never meant to be practices. One cannot practice Tranquility or Insight, but one can easily gain and develop them by regularly transcending to the state of Nirvana and becoming at one with It. It is the state of Nirvana that is perfectly tranquil and the state of perfect Insight, Perfect Wisdom.
The right method of meditation would be one that is capable of bringing us beyond all the impermanent, ever-changing, conditioned states of existence to the state of Nirvana. It would be a method that is capable of completely transcending its own process and leaving us at one with the Absolute, freed from the illusion of a limited and separate self-existence.
Then, through its regular effortless practice, this method would allow us to fully integrate and stabilize this unwavering, Absolute state of Nirvana into all activities and experiences of daily life allowing us to achieve the goal of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas—a world without suffering.
To conclude, the main point of this essay on Buddha and Meditation is that to gain the Tranquility and Insight that are the qualities of full enlightenment, to realize the Perfect Wisdom that blossoms into infinite compassion, one has to learn and use the right method of turning within.
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! Georgette Cressend, a long-time Asheville Sangha member, and a friend to many of you, as she is to me, has a great article appearing right now on AwakeningClarityNow.com. Click the link to read it!
Hello, everybody! I just published a new post on Awakening Clarity Now. Come check it out! http://awakeningclaritynow.com/relationship/
Hello, everybody. I want to bring your attention to a new 30-minute video I cut a couple of weeks ago, "Deep Attention Practice". I've gotten a lot of remarkable mail from it, and I invite you to watch it as well--it's quite powerful.
So my question today and always is how may I serve the Sangha as it is a direct reflection and in truth my very own Self? How may I be of service to you my Beloved? As this group we meet together to dive into the illusion of the apparent form. The separate self that thinks in separate ways. We inquire into what is real and what remains when all this madness is opened to-released-and moves on. The truth of what remains. What is simply just here. What is always here. This is what makes this energy and form rise and bow to you- to serve you and me in this way-inquiring and ever deepening with the open heart. Untying the knots of suffering to reveal our true nature as Grace itself. Grace moves everywhere like gravity-like water moving with the current. Within, without. as everything. Always moving to dissolve separation. Always,always pointing us home.
Hello, everybody! My newest video, Sex and the Single Being, was posted late last night, and it's already drawing some very enthusiastic mail. Come join us!
Hello, everybody! I invite you to read the new post on AwakeningClarityNow.com,To Welcome Life and Death. It's been up for about twelve hours, and I've already gotten a ton of enthusiastic mail on it. Why not peek?
I'll see you all in a few months!
In joy,
Fred
I hope you are enjoying the long days of Summer. I love seeing the sunset at 9:00 at night and it feeling like room temperature in the evenings. Anyway, I felt compelled to write something that might help someone in some way. I hope you enjoy.
"Don't sweat the little stuff." What great advice. How do you know if it's little stuff? First, ask yourself, "Will this be important tomorrow?" If not, then it's probably one of countless fleeting moments in a day that does not need your stress to fix (as if stress ever fixed anything).
Getting fixated on the little stuff is very habit forming, and possibly life shortening if the negativity becomes prevalent throughout each day. We can't really help it, though. Our past conditioning leads us to act in certain ways that feel familiar, even when they are destructive. Many people, who have been exposed to frustration since they were young, are subconsciously looking for the least little thing to make a big deal out of because that's what they know.
One way out of making mountains out of mole hills is to pause before reacting. All it takes is a few seconds, which may be difficult to do at first, but that brief pause may let in just a tad bit of clarity. If the pause is long enough to look at the situation at face value, then that's all the better. When there's room for a question in that pause, try a few different ones to see what suits you. It may be highly situational, but here are a few that might help.
Will this matter later? Does this even matter now? Is it that important to get upset over? Will reacting this way make any difference? Does this situation even need a response? Would it hurt to remain silent? What if I just let it go? What if this situation is actually for the best? Am I over reacting? Is anyone really being hurt by this? Am I making things worse by reacting this way?
Don't forget the old saying, "There's no sense in crying over spilled milk." Being upset about something that's already happened can't change a thing. But if you can pause before a reaction, you might be able to change everything. Even if you have already reacted out of habit, you can go back to these questions after the fact to see if your reaction was disproportionate to the event. Hindsight is 20/20 and you can learn a lot from your mis-takes that will affect how you deal with similar situations in the future.
This only works if you are open to change and willing to entertain the idea that you may be making a big deal out of nothing from time to time. It may take a close friend or loved one to tell you that, and it may not be well received. But if you're feeling stressed out a lot, let me be the one to tell you that you are taking things too seriously. Don't be so hard on yourself/others. We're all doing the best we can, and that's not going to change regardless of what you do about it.
Take it easier :)
Trey
I've been reading (digesting really) this great book called, What's In the Way IS the Way, by Mary O'Malley and have really enjoyed her fresh take on Awakening. The book is beautifully written, and has many places to stop and experience what you're reading throughout the book. I've also been re-reminded about the power of just putting a question out, without looking for an answer, and allowing an answer appear. As a result I've become more comfortable with letting Life do the driving (that it's doing anyway).
But I think one of the most powerful part of the teaching is the art of bringing compassionate curiosity to your present experience. This sheds light on those stories that have been running us for so many years by honoring them. Curiosity is a very powerful tool for self inquiry, so just using that nonjudgemental curiosity puts awareness back on itSelf. Though Mary doesn't come out and say it, this is why curiosity kills the ego. Unlike the cat, though, satisfaction ensures it is dead :)
I love this book like I love Power of Now and Loving What Is (I'm a big Tolle and Katie fan). Hopefully you'll pick up a copy and check it out.
I had the great pleasure of interviewing Mary recently and would like to share it with you. My apologies in advance of the quality of the video as I was experiencing some connection speed issues I have also included the audio version of the interview. I hope you In-Joy.
Hello, everybody! I've just posted a new video tonight. Most of you know Richard from NeverNotHere.com. Quite spontaneously, he and I have begun a new video series. We talk about whatever arises while we're looking each other. The going gets weird, so come get strange with us!
Also, I put up a new text post on AwakeningClarityNow.com a few days ago, "The Last Veil: The Witness in Nonduality
Lastly, I'm also running a new text-post series--writings by my students. Georgette Cressend, who's a member of this sangha will be penning one. Here's a link to the first one, written by a lay Zen priest in Iowa. I'll be posting another one by a student in Denmark in the next day or two.
Come join us!
Hey, everybody! I invite you to listen to a half hour talk I just posted called "Asking Ourselves the Right Questions".
