We are the jewel in the mud.

The mud is conceptual thinking. The mud just needs washing off. The mud clings because we (our consciousness) have got used to holding on to concepts about ourselves, and phenomena in the universe.

Yes, Buddhism is about suffering = the mud! It’s not so much about avoiding the mud: it’s more about understanding the cause of the mud, or the nature of the mud. This mud hurts, dries, fixes, and gets very heavy.

This fixation with our concepts is held in the mind, or consciousness. This is the software on the hard drive…it becomes the karmic store we carry around. This is the filter that we generally see through, and it limits the mind. Because we see through this conceptual filter, we create more of the same.

Even seeing through a filter of good concepts can create suffering, because we wish our good life to last. When something unpleasant comes along, we cannot deal with it.

So what is our true nature? It is pure awareness (called emptiness), where no mud can cling.

That is the jewel! It is selfless, because there are no concepts…of self. It is pure perception…pure experience. There is no fixed experiencer (subject) and no phenomena to experience (object).

Here in this body, we, as pure beings, have learnt to identify only with the body and mind. And so, in this seeming reality, we argue, blame, find fault, fear, fight, desire etc. We get easily distracted. That is why instruction, practice and good company are so important.

This confused state in which we live is called samsara in Sanskrit, and means the vicious cycle of existence. What is appearing now is a ‘super samsara’, a mass of negative activity. However, this very darkness reveals more Light (Light means luminosity of Awareness… Pure Light). Just like the presence of the emotions…you can’t miss it!

This is not without its own problems…people could get too excited and cling to this idea of Pure Light. What is needed is cool boredom! To notice without too much interest. This where the term ‘mere I’ comes in handy. In meditation, one barely notices. If we get too interested, our attention moves outward instead of inward. We need insight!

All the best

Tony