Taking The Heart Of The Buddha’s Teaching To Heart
It’s really very simple.
The heart of the Buddha’s teaching is spontaneous presence, which is the same as non-duality, empty essence, pure consciousness, pure awareness, nowness. It could also be described as God-consciousness.
Having said that, in the very heart of the Buddha’s teaching, there is no spontaneous presence, non-duality, empty essence, pure consciousness, pure awareness, nowness or God-consciousness. No teaching, no teacher, no student. That is the realisation.
The experiencing of the experience arises when essence comes out, steps down, and returns to the ordinary consciousness of time to reflect on the realisation of essence’s qualities. We now return to the mind and body senses, and use whatever capacity that is available to express these qualities. That expression is love – unconditional love.
It is unconditional because we realise that whatever has been experienced, everyone else (every entity in the universe – even the very bad ones) is capable of experiencing and realising that true nature.
This foolish, illogical earth-mind is a very special place!
Is that not so?
Buddha’s teachings stand to reason, and are easily experienced.
Ah, I remember how difficult this seemed until it was pointed out.
The problem is – we prefer something else.
Pity.
BUDDHA IN THE MUD is a blog - a living book based on the Dzogchen teachings. Our teacher is life, and life is karma. We are all Buddhas in the mud of concepts. 
“..The problem is – we prefer something else..”
The question is – why we do prefer something else..?”
The Temptation of Jesus by Gustave Dore
You know Tony…, last year – when I spend a week with Trungpa’s Shambalah members – all where speaking about the basic goodness of men. As I’m very willing to recognize this as a fact, my question was the following: “if this goodness is so basic, innate in men as it were.., why is the world still not good..? What is preventing the world, men, from being good.. Or to speak in your terms, why we don’t simply wash of the mud.., and move on..? Thanks as always.
Hello Marcel,
A perfect question!
What is preventing the world, men and women, from being good? 😀
We are told that all beings have Buddha nature, an awakened nature but obscured/muddied.
This true nature is hidden and unfamiliar to us, as we have become so used to believing making do with our lot. Humans are very resourceful, we put up with our dissatisfactions and suffering.
It is not until an individual admits that they personally are suffering or dissatisfied that they will look for the cause of their suffering. Then they can find a method or path to understand that this suffering was an illusion all along.
We live in an age of great distraction and heavy propaganda, which is difficult to shake loose – wash off!
It is rare for an individual to tread this path. The path is our own individual confusion. That is constructed by our hopes and fears. Our little hang ups!
Our hang up are not an easy things to face.
If you smile at someone or wave, they will smile and wave back. That is the goodness within coming back, it’s natural. But when we start to speak and all kinds of barriers pop up. That is why retreats are silent.
This is because our speech pattern isn’t enlightened yet.
Intellectually we might know something, but have to train in that knowledge, so taking it to heart. That is the continuity in daily life of the meditation experience.
Washing the mud off takes constant practise, as emotions will still flare up.
The more familiar we become with this empty nature, the quicker they are recognised. Then that flare up, become the light!
These dark times are very good for spiritual progress, but it is challenging.
A perfect question needs a perfect answer.
What recognises the imperfection in the world is that inner perfection.
The pointing out instruction is – look… see… drop! Rest in the pure clarity of awareness.
Then maybe we will become the light for others. Someone light our candle, and we pass it on. it’s the same light, but different candles.
Empathy is know how it feels to live in sticky mud. Compassion wants to help. Love just does it.
Tony