We Choose Ideas Over Reality
There are three aspects to seeing – pure perception, accustomed perception and ideas about whatever is perceived.
It’s important to know the sequence of events. An idea is a thought about something or someone that comes after accustomed perception, but before that, there is the first moment of pure perception, of just seeing. Which is the reality? The thought, accustomed perception or pure perception?
We all have ideas – the problem is not letting go of them.
This creates the vicious cycle of existence that we see in the world.
Breaking out of this cycle is merely returning to the inner peace of pure perception.
Ideas have to be justified as they are a personalised view.
Pure perception isn’t personal;
it just sees.
One causes trouble.
The other doesn’t.
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. 
“Is it real or is it Memorex?” Reality and illusion and delusion mix it up all the time. Kidding ourselves is what we do best. NO! Telling ourselves what we want to hear is what we do best! NO! Shooting ourselves in the foot is what we do best! The Buddha died from eating bad pork. What chance do the rest of us have? Anything we say about reality is just what we say. How do we know that we know what we are talking about? Kidding ourselves is what we do best…
Recently, I have realized that states when we doubt everything is inevitable, as we move towards freedom from the strong grip of our conditioned habits and ignorance. My approach when hit by doubt is not to blindly believe, but trust that ‘this is also temporary’ as everything else, and surrender it to that which is not impermanent, the only thing always true in our experience, our own awareness and consciousness. With the ebb and flow of changing experiences, doubt and faith may come and go. But we can steadily hold on to our sense of pure ‘being’ (without having to define what it is) and witness everything from there.
Hello Ramble,
The moment we realise that awareness is always present, whether we are in pleasant or unpleasant situations, then we can give up holding on.
This is why the teachings are all about letting go of doubt.
The moment we see doubt we are free, but a residue or echo may last, and if we aren’t careful that echo can reignite doubt.
This is the vicious cycle of existence. The more we see the more we become familiar with the mind’s tricks. 🙂
Tony
Hello Jim,
When we look at the world (people) we can become very heavy hearted. The Buddha’s teaching which came from the Vedantic teachings is all about that which looks.
This is consciousness. When investigated through meditation is realised as pure consciousness.
It is consciousness that is our reality, as it is constant, everything else is impermanent, an illusion of reality.
Tony
Letting it all go, letting it all come, and go, and come, and go is sitting in emptiness, stillness and silence without attachment to anything, is Buddha under the Bodhi Tree–even after he left the Bodhi Tree, saying “Yes!” to all of it all of the time. And laughing.