Vacant, Occupied Or Aware

Know the difference.

Vacancy is a state of ignoring – oblivion, torpor, indifference.
Occupied is a state of concern – relating, involvement, busy-ness.
Awareness is our original state of knowing – consciousness, cognisance.

It’s vital to understand
that awareness is always present,
but becomes sidetracked.

We oscillate between different states due to a belief in a self that creates desires and fears. All the while, pure awareness – which has no desires or fears – remains the silent witness. We can know exactly what is going on in our mind through this practice, testing the teaching and letting go, rather than just repeating words or chants.

Realise that pure awareness
is our original state of being.

Through this realisation, we go through life mindfully, reducing the effects of karma by seeing the effects of karma. By being aware of this, we break out of our programmed karma.

Testing the teaching is watching when we go into vacancy or occupancy, and become distracted. This is the teaching, and the practice. Awareness is macro- or micro- consciousness – we can either take on the whole scene or focus on the details, but we’re never distracted by concepts.

Enlightenment is exhausting all the karmic effects of our past
which we cling to and carry around with us.