SIMPLE BEGINNERS’ BUDDHISM PART FOUR

 

Simple Beginners’ Buddhism.

Part Four: The fourth Noble Truth – practice.

 Well…recognise the value of the first three noble truths, and just do it! Do whatever comes to you.

 Once we are convinced that we suffer, and that there is a cause of this suffering, and that there are methods to cut through this suffering, we are half way there!

 The title of this Buddhism for Beginners is, “Simple Beginners’ Buddhism. It does not say, “Easy Beginners’ Buddhism”…!

 We have a natural longing, an intuitive longing, and that is telling us something. The more we look, the deeper we go…and so the more we look.

 

 

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SIMPLE BEGINNERS’ BUDDHISM PART THREE

Simple Beginners’ Buddhism.

Part Three: The third Noble Truth – The method to relieve the cause of suffering.

 Well…recognise the first two noble truths, suffering and the cause of suffering! There are many methods to help us, and we just have to find what suits our temperament with a combination of; meditation, devotion, compassion, analysis, study and direct pointing out. Basically, the method is anything that cuts through our concepts. Any perception that awakens us to our self-deception.

 Generally, we start with an introduction to meditation and why we meditate – finding space and stillness to see what is distracting us. Meditation is about clarity of mind, maintaining a clear view. Much will depend on what comes our way in the form of teachings, dharma centres, teachers, and right company. And our own aspiration!

 The basics have been written about in this blog. It is then up to you, to recognise where you are drawn…what tickles your fancy! Our paths will not be exactly the same, as our afflictive emotions will be slightly different to a greater or lesser degree.

 There will be a sense of appreciation for this type of knowledge, and so a sense of devotion for the subject will develop. Devotion will see you all the way. Scholastic learning will be a good support, but it is not the actual experience. This leads us on to the fourth noble truth…practice.

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SIMPLE BEGINNERS’ BUDDHISM PART TWO

Simple Beginners’ Buddhism.

Part Two: The second Noble Truth      

The cause of suffering.

  The cause of suffering is an image of ourselves engraved in the mind – a graven image. We have made an idol of ourselves, and hold this up before us as a distorted mirror. This is a created “I” that we cling to, defend and project. This false prophet is also known as ego, and is the very cause of our suffering.

This is easy to see, if we only stand back and realise what we actually are. We are that which sees all this going on, but is obscured.

We are primordial purity, and wisdom free from elaborations – empty, uncontaminated, intelligent space. At some time, this primordial purity became excited about ‘being’. It became attracted to a self image. This created a desire for ornamentation which filled this uncontaminated space, obscuring primordial purity. When our essential essence forgot its true nature, ignorance was born. Space became filled ever since.

Now we constantly maintain this mistaken state, with assistance from the negative emotions. Instead of empty essence expressing itself as compassion, it now expresses itself as selfishness…me.

This ‘me’ now judges everything as real, thus creating hope and fear, and the three poisons are born: Hope, Fear and Ignorance. From these three negative emotions – the main one being Ignorance – we create our world.

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SIMPLE BEGINNERS’ BUDDHISM PART ONE

Simple Beginners’ Buddhism.

Part One: The first Noble Truth – recognising  Suffering                                                                                   

 I shall keep this very simple. Actually, the simpler it gets, the more profound it gets. Quite often (most of the time) people want more secret and profound complex teachings – the ones that no one else can get – a silly misunderstanding! Buddhism starts with the four noble truths, and until enlightenment, the four noble truths are still what it is all about. There are just refinements on the word ‘suffering’.

 Buddhism starts with the four noble truths:

1.Recognising suffering

2.The causes of that suffering.

3.Finding a method that leads away from that suffering.

4.Practising that method that leads away from the causes of suffering.

 Of course if we do not feel dissatisfied, then there is no reason to change!

 Every single sentient being wants to be happy. No one wants to be unhappy, and we want that happiness to last forever. But, as you can see, sometimes we feel fed up, irritable, or dissatisfied, with a feeling that there has got to be more to life than this. In Buddhism, these feelings come under the heading of suffering.

 From an ordinary perspective, suffering is maybe too heavy a word. We may think, “It’s not bad enough to say that I’m suffering!” Well, take it that you are a sentient being having consciousness, but not recognising that consciousness, and so you are suffering. You don’t notice this purely because you have grown so used to it: your mind has convinced itself that the way things are is the only way things are…which is not true.

 There is something innate within you that knows, but it cannot recognise itself at the moment, and so we suffer. This ‘something’ is pure awareness, Buddha nature. The problem comes when all those around you are having a great time…so they think! They are still living the dream, whereas this is about you, and how you feel.

 This innate feeling is your inner teacher that knows you are already happy, have always been happy, and can never not be happy. You just do not notice it, as your attention gets distracted.

 Perhaps the suffering you experience is simply because you want to know more. That’s in part two: the cause of suffering.

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LONELINESS

Loneliness.

 This may be looked at in two ways: the first is from a relative point of view and the second, from an absolute point of view. From an absolute point of view, we are unique individuals who rub shoulders for a while in this relative state, and then move on. Some of us enjoy isolation, but we cannot ignore those who suffer from loneliness, as they need compassion. To be blunt, compassion isn’t as popular as personal goals nowadays.

 Loneliness is becoming an epidemic. It is the feeling of isolation, or separateness. Is this just an outcome of modern life, or is it social engineering on a huge scale? You will have to decide this for yourself.

 In general, humans are interdependent beings, living in social communities and sharing work skills. Over time, villages became towns, and towns became cities. Everyone took pride in their work, and those who could not were helped: it was a slower pace of life.

Many inventions and political manipulations have occurred since then, speeding up the separation of people, and so, increasing the effect of loneliness – even though there more communication networks. Strange that! The breakdown within families is vitally important, and is a key to this as it affects childhood and thus, later years.

The first great change was industrialisation. The next great change was digitalisation. The next insidious change was moving production and skills to a cheaper country. This resulted in more profit for the corporations, and cheaper products for people at home to spend their wealth, so giving it back the corporation. As things became cheap, we acquired items we did not need, and so shopping became a hobby/way of life.

Political parties – and the machinery behind them – separate people. Wars do the same. Inventing status symbols has the same effect…the list is endless.

Every change affects the independency and interdependency of this society. People are put out of work, pride in skills are lost, pressure within families to move away. Personal goals are set higher, and the class systems split people further apart, even within the same family. People are encouraged to better themselves…materially!

Could it be that we have been made too dependent, and too soft? If the source of our dependency is cut off, where does it leave us? With even more stress. We can put another word to loneliness – depression. That’s when we are invited to take drugs, and so we become dependent on the corporate chemicals.

People are so desperate to ‘get ahead’ that they lose their empathy for others. In time, each one of us will feel left out, unless we realise our true nature.

Everyone is now dancing to the tune of the large corporation – even governments. Marketing is very a finely tuned science! With surveillance and new ‘SMART’ toys, the corporations know everything about your spending patterns.

So what has this got to do with Loneliness?

People have become more interested in their personal life styles and wealth than in other people! How often does one see groups of youngsters at a coffee bar, heads down, thumbing their ‘SMART’ toy, addicted to superficial social forums?

If you can catch the younger generation, you can control them in later life. Trauma inflicted through a broken family life also have a huge effect later on.

The more one can isolate people, the more they will want ‘SMART’ toys to keep themselves from feeling lonely. Not only have people lost the art of communication and talking face to face, they are using fewer words because of texting. If you lose words, you lose a way of expressing how you feel. That is mind control.

However, this all stems from our own selfishness. Our selfishness is being used against us yet again.

We create our own loneliness by not caring about others. It’s not all our fault, we have just learnt – or been taught – to conform to the corporate standard model. The marketers grade us with targeted advertising!

When we can break out of this social engineering, this social I that we have acquired, and come know our true nature and that of every other sentient being, we will become human again, and not part of the machinery with a bar code.

Start by using your ‘SMART’ toys less. Above all, stop watching TV. All these ‘SMART’ toys are addictive, and pose health risks by producing EMF (Electro Magnetic Frequencies – another big subject). They affect our body and brain!

The world has artificially speeded up through an obsession with trivia. Start being human again, and ask someone, “How are you?” Then listen….listen…listen. Slowing life down, taking time and experience space. If we are too busy, life will just pass us by.

First, we heave to learn to be at one with ourselves (this is the unity of the two truths), and then we can be at one with others. However, let’s not forget that spiritual and religious groups are not outside this system. To become compassionate is challenging, and takes some practise!

Whether you see this is as social engineering or not is up to you.

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BEWARE OF BARNUM STATEMENTS

Beware of Barnum statements.

(meaningless phrases to suit everybody)

 The Barnum effect, named after the showman PT Barnum, observed that “we’ve got something for everyone,” is the observation that individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people. This effect can provide a partial explanation for the widespread acceptance of some beliefs and practices.

Be aware of what you hear in all media, when people justify their actions, and non-actions.                                                                                                               

We have to find the real truth for ourselves, or live by others’ Barnum Statements.

The Buddha said, “Test all my statements, as you would test for pure gold.

Know your own mind!”

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BEING AWARE

Being Aware.

 Our being is aware.

The method to know this is: to be aware of awareness, and drop all speculation. At that moment of recognition, there is just awareness, pure awareness. There is no me, being aware: there is just pure awareness. The word pure is translated as Emptiness, or Shunyata in sanskrit. That is our absolute nature. The Awareness is our relative nature, and we can all know awareness quite easily, but we have to look into that awareness in order to realise our absolute essence.

We are pure aware beings, in a temporary body.

Know this, and you will know the nature of everything.

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E-MOTIONS

E-motions

 First of all, I would like to say how much I truly appreciate all contributions – they are genuinely inspiring, and often leads in an interesting direction. 

Yesterday, Rob (Crested Duck) mentioned that he thought we were energy and light within emotions, and he called this E-motions, as in Energy in emotions. This sounded so right and I thought I’d like to try and clarify it a little from the Buddhist point of view.

Before I start, I’d like to quote from a prayer to Manjushri (a Tibetan deity embodying wisdom) that I say every morning:

“Lovingly, your supreme knowledge’s light rays fully dispel the dark ignorance of my mind.” Knowledge light rays, is seen as luminosity or clarity or clear light.

As you can see, this mentions light in the darkness: that is the Buddha in the mud. Another way to say “light and energy” would be clarity/emptiness and awareness. These are 2 of the 3 kayas – Dharmakaya and Sambogakaya (the third is *Nirmanakaya which is compassion). Our very nature comprises the 3 kayas…it is what we are, and we could say kayas-emotions. We are Empty essence, Cognisant nature and unconfined Compassion.

So Rob is correct in his analysis, from the Buddhist point of view. Our problem is that we don’t recognise the energy-light and relate everything to a mental image of a self, and therefore compassion and empathy are not present.

This brings us to a very subtle aspect: a genuine “feeling” being obscured by words (even beautiful ones). The Dharma (the teaching of the Buddha) is a vehicle to understand pure experience: it is not the experience itself. Sometimes, we can get so tied up in the meaning of the words, and the precise visualisations that can accompany them, that the actual experience of longing seems to be covered over. That pure experience is the Buddha in the mud.

What we are is beyond words. Of course, this is obvious…it seems one continuously uncovers more understanding of this. Or maybe another veil drops now and again, and we see and experience it more clearly than before.

* Nirmanakaya is the manifestation of the other two kayas, as in teacher: the outer teacher shows us our inner teacher.

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KARMA IS GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES

Karma is going round in circles.

(What goes around, comes around)

 Do your re-actions get the same re-actions from others? If so, this is karma at work. Most of the time, we don’t notice our particular (and peculiar!) pattern of behaviour and, until enlightenment, we are stuck with it – more or less.

 However, when we do notice our repetitive behaviour, something very special and magical happens. It may feel uncomfortable, as it is usually accompanied by an emotion, but if we can just let be for a moment or two, a space occurs in the mind and our reaction takes a back seat…we are released! This moment is recognising the past in the present moment, so giving us the chance to break out of this cycle. It usually comes when we see that our reactions are disturbing someone else.

 It’s a blessing! Sometimes a blessing can be painful…noting the pain we are causing can feel sickening.

 Every thought, every situation, every response in the present moment is a product of our past: it’s a karmic reaction. If we respond in the same old habitual way, we are stuck in this cyclic existence. The trick is not to feel guilty, as it is only a karmic reaction, an automatic product of the past. If we do not react – no karma is produced!

 By simple not re-acting, a gap presents itself, and there is spaciousness to do – or not do. It’s a moment of spontaneity…a spontaneous presence! It’s a magical moment of transformation. We have a choice either to make friends with life in a spontaneous, carefree way, allowing life to unfold (allowing karma to play itself out) or we hold on to our feathered nest, called a social “I” (our status).

 A social “I” is one that we acquire through interaction with others: we play a part and come to believe in it. “I’m a teacher.” “I’m a musician.” “ I’m a good person.” Or whatever we desire…

 Personally, this is a constant dilemma, of wanting to be at peace with my feathered friends sitting on comfy nests or knowing to trust the urgency of spontaneous presence. It’s like running through a puffin colony with one’s feathers on fire, wondering whether we should be nesting with the others, chattering and arguing and ignoring the pain, or whether we should dive, carefree, off the cliff into the water, with half our feathers gone. Or should we allow ourself to be consumed by the fiery situation because it’s all in our imagination anyway. Or this just me?!

 Spontaneous presence is living in trust (it is difficult to find the words here), in a sense of not knowing, not being predictable, but trusting in the knowing itself. Maybe it’s a sense of humility, or renunciation. Maybe it’s grace or blessings. One just stops trying to control the situation, and rests in unconfined compassion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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GROUNDING TO EARTH 3

Grounding to the Earth – balance is the secret of life. These are some quick notes taken from this video. Inflammation = diseases!

I am wondering if grounding helps with meditation, as I meditate better outside grounded…and feel less tired! I now obsess by walking around with an AC volt meter, measuring everything!

“Free electrons from earth produce antioxidants, reduce heart-rate, better sleep, reduced stress hormones – then everything works better, with less pain, less inflammation, less heat. Use patches for healing specific areas: speed healing.

The body knows which white cells to send to damaged areas: that is inflammatory response. This inflammation is a lack of electrons in the tissue. If the body is earthed it will neutralise the free radicals in the damaged area.

Eat less, live longer. Free radicals damage DNA. Ground substance in the body delivers electrons to the body, grounding helps this. The water in our body – conductor of protons. Hydration is important. Most people are dehydrated – in case of a headache, drink a glass of  ‘clean’ water!

Grounding thins the blood. The zeta potential goes up, more charge forcing cells apart, thinning the blood, and so blood pressure drops, so decreasing brain clots and heart disease.

The best grounding is sea water at the beach (that’s why we all like to walk along the beach!)

Electrons come from the sun and affect the earth’s ionosphere, and then come down to the earth via lightning. The body needs these for its immune system.

Grounding counters corporate corruption.”

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WE ALL HAVE AGENDAS

We all have agendas.

 We all have agendas, fixations, defilements, attitudes, confusions, wounds…this is simply part of being human. It’s important is to acknowledge them, but we don’t have to obsess about them. Be kind to yourself: this is what we have to work with. It’s called the path.

If we try to cover up our negative side, this will only make life worse, for us and those around us. Most people pretend and project a ‘good’ image of themselves: this is just an act we play out, from the script that we wrote. There is no point in criticising such actions, as this will just make people act (react) more. So be generous, because – surprise surprise – we are probably doing the same thing!

The more we open up to what we are doing, the less real it seems. Spiritual progress is acknowledging the intensity of ideas and emotions, and gradually seeing them reduce….and then flare up at times!

The more we hold onto something, the more real it seems, and the more hope and fear are in control. Just practise letting go. In a conversation, practise giving up any sense of winning. Who are we trying to impress anyway? Merely be open and listen. Be a real friend.

There are times when we do have to act out. As parents and friends, we may have to stand firm, when all we want to do is hug! Give what you think you lack.

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THE SECRET LIFE OF EMOTIONS IS OUR BUDDHA NATURE

The secret life of emotions is our Buddha nature.

(catch ’em if you can!)

 

Emotions are re-actions,

revealing our Buddha nature.

Emotions – if acted out – become negative.

In their first instance, they are pure awareness.

Buddha nature.

 

Emotions have no true existence,

being created by a belief in an I,

turning spontaneous wisdom

into negativity to protect that I,

and trapping wisdom in an illusory existence.

 

Reality is pure unchanging intelligent space.

Illusion is anything impermanent occupying

that pure unchanging intelligent space.

This is reality caught by illusion.

 

When Appearances and Emptiness

are recognised simultaneously,

that is non duality.

Knowing one, knows all,

 

(catch ’em and drop ’em!)

 

 

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DZOGCHEN-OUR REAL NATURE

Dzogchen is our real nature…we are Dzogchen! We cannot get it from a books or teachings, this is not Dzogchen, but they can introduce us to Dzogchen…our real nature.

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Dzongsar Rinpoche – teachers and students

This is a very insightful short video, talking about the role of a teacher. This is sensitive topic, as student have agendas …and maybe some teachers do as well.
This is not bad, it all depends on want we want…to give up!

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SOME DAYS

………………………..!

 

Some days nothing happens.

Have a great day!

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MIND CONTROL

Mind control.

 There is much in the media that attracts our attention, or to put it another way, distracts out attention. Language and images will have an effect on our minds and bodies.

 If our defences are down, meaning if we are in a vacant mode, suggestive subliminal messages get through to the mind or consciousness. After all, why spend so much money on advertising? (or, to put it another way, neurolinguistic programming and neurosymbolic programming). It is intentional consciousness control. Mind control.

Throughout our life, how much in our minds is actually our own thoughts?

So much surveillance on our personal lives seems to suggest that someone wants to know how we think, read or look at. Whether this is intentional control or unintentional control, that is up to you.

We have to be aware of our own intentions, and that they are actually ours!

 Meditation is about training the mind, letting go of fixations, and not getting carried away by thoughts. It is taking control back, and not being cluttered by likes and dislikes.

 The moment our true nature (Empty Essence) recognises the appearance of thoughts, it is free of dualistic fixations.

 We all need peace of mind from the emotional turmoil created by external programmers, and our own acquired self programming: the software left on the program creates our karma.

 The external programmer only has an effect on us because we allow it – it is through our self identification that the program exists. If you are not controlling your mind, someone else will do it for you!

Experiential meditation frees the mind.

Mind control: never leave home without it!

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TAKING MAHAYANA REFUGE

Taking Mahayana refuge.

Taking refuge in the three jewels: The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

Taking refuge in the Buddha is taking refuge in the three Kayas. Ultimately this is Dharmakaya – Emptiness- Buddha nature – essence of your mind…not the form Buddha of a man born in Lumbini.

Taking refuge in the Dharma is taking refuge in the teachings of the three Kayas – Empty Essence, Cognisant nature, and unconfined Compassion.

Taking refuge in the Sangha is taking refuge in the support – those sublime beings who live and teach the Dharma and we can talk to. Also those that have gone beyond.

Discipline: If you accept that everything is created by causes and conditions, and so are impermanent, then you cannot go to an extreme. One could say that all religions have the same goal, and to be expedient one might agree, but Buddhism is not a path of extremes. One needs the discipline of that conviction, that no thing has any inherent existence. One cannot mix paths.

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A personal perspective 1.

A personal perspective 1.

 I thought it might be helpful to write a personal account from time to time. This year, I have taken the decision not to do any formal retreats: normally,  I would be on an intensive retreat now, but decided not to conform.

Sometimes we find ourselves looking for something, and may not know what it is, but we know it’s there. I’ve been full of doubts recently, wondering if I’m doing the right thing. I found Dzongsar’s last night video, and it answered all my doubts…funny that! I’m sure we all get this from time to time. We need courage to trust our instincts.

I love listening to the teachings while on retreat, and if the lama is ‘in tune,’ a little magic happens, with inspiration, and an approach to a topic from a slightly different angle. We all get jaded from time to time, and a fresh angle is always beneficial.

What I find very difficult is dealing with the strange western students! They do funny, self-conscious things which seem to be unnatural. Sometimes people are such sticklers for procedure that immediate compassion is totally forgotten.

Sometimes we just have to conform, and allow all those feelings to take place, in order to cut through our personal likes and dislikes, and just be one in a crowd.

However…there are times when we have to dare to take responsibility for our own progress, therefore taking responsibility for other’s well being,  by living the teachings instead of acquiring them.

It’s funny that we need to conform to find a firm foundation, but then drop the conforming to find the ‘magic’ (although I still conform every morning with supplication rituals and practices, to receive blessing, the ‘magic’).

In one’s practice, one sends out light from one’s heart to all the enlightened ones, when then comes back in the form of blessings, which one immediately sends out again to all sentient beings. The light returns from all sentient beings, and one sends it out the enlightened ones again, in a cycle.

Sometimes, this light just goes up in the atmosphere, and sometime it’s as high as a distant galaxy. It also encompasses all demons, which are only our own likes and dislikes to which we cling, but still have compassion for. The essence of all negative emotions is wisdom. It’s true that if we indulge in our hopes and fears, we attract negative energy – rather like gossiping about someone and others come and join in which only makes things worse. One can drop it at any time!

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Dzongsar Rinpoche – becoming an empty vessel

I came across this teaching, which is one of a series, and is an important and refined explanation. Rinpoche describes how the antidotes can become a distraction (you have to be patient as there is a translation going on, but that gives you time to listen and reflect).  The text he is referring to says that we have to be careful, as we may become demons in disguise…we need bodhicitta (caring for others more than ourself).

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Vajrasattva 100 syllable mantra

This is a beautiful purification mantra. Mingyur Rinpoche says the mantra and then sings it. It is a mantra one can say everyday to purify any wrong activities or thoughts…it’s good to do it anyway, just in case!

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HAPPY FOR NO REASON

Happy for no reason.

 There are many troubles in the world, and every day someone, somewhere, is doing something to make it worse – and to be honest, we don’t help. So how are we going to be happy for no reason?

 There is friction everywhere: in families, with the neighbours, at work, on the internet…the whole world is arguing! To be honest, it’s what human beings do – being controlled by their reptilian brain. The difference between animals and humans is that humans can know their essence, while animals cannot (although many humans don’t know their essence!)

 So how are we to find happiness in so much confusion? And what is happiness?

 “Happy for no reason” sounds good. It suggests unconditional happiness, but it doesn’t last. If it lasted, we’d be enlightened wouldn’t we? People can easily say, “I’m happy for no reason,” but push their button, and off goes their happiness.

 What is happiness?

 Well, obviously there would be fewer desires, fewer conditions. More contentment because we would have more gratitude. More generosity, and genuine compassion for others, that they may find happiness.

 Maybe the more “I” am out of the picture, the less the need for happiness.

 One gets the feeling that these moments of happiness are supposed to join up into a continuous experience, and we become enlightened. What if that is not quite the case? We obviously need those temporary moments of happiness (“happy for no reason”) to inspire us to keep going, but in the end we have to drop the whole concept of being happy…and be happy!

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MISPLACED ENERGY

Misplaced energy.

We are, in essence, very subtle energy, dwelling in bio-electrical chemical bodies of coarse energy. Within that, we have a subtle body of subtle energies.

 Our very subtle energy is empty essence.

Our subtle energy comprises winds, channels, chakras and tigle/bindu (limited sexual energy containing coarse and very fine matter).

Our coarse energy is our body/mind setup.

 All of these need grounding/balancing.

Our energy can become misplaced both when we get too involved with things, people, past and future, or when we are vacant /not knowing or absent-minded and our energy dribbles away.

We forget our true nature ie emotions arise, the inner wind comes up, and we feel anxious and confused, and end up kicking the cat!

Energy is also wasted when we become dull, or over cynical about everything. There is a tendency to become dependent and sloppy, and this has the effect of causing us to feel irritable and dangerously self conscious. If we confront such a person, the reaction is often explosive, and their energy is dissipated or transferred to someone else…us!

When we react, or are not bothered, we lose our refined energy of clarity. The more refined the energy, the more refined the clarity, and the calmer the energy…

Refined energy is present all the time, because that’s what we are. However, we are being constantly ‘discharged’, through being occupied (excited) or vacant (dull).

It is interesting that the controlling, commercial world works very hard at keeping people excited, dull or cynical. Another word for all this activity/inactivity is entertainment! We spend our lives being entertained. Even alternative media forums that are suspicious of the controlling, commercial world are caught up in becoming over excited, dull or cynical, and precious time is wasted arguing and finding fault with every-‘thing’…such a pity.

Our energy goes wherever we focus our attention. It is immediate and subtle: we just don’t realise the power we have. This focus can have pinpoint accuracy, or a wide, panoramic view. Every time we are distracted, our energies go into turmoil, our minds become aggressive and our bodies exhausted, which prevents us from recognising and realising our true nature.

All we have to do is stop reacting!

Do that gentle vase (subtle body practice).

Go barefoot on the earth and hug a tree.

The body needs earthing as well as the mind!

 

PS These are two interesting sites about body earthing. I never knew that the “Tour de France” team used earthing to heal wounds and sleep better. Of course, the sites are selling products: all you actually have to do is stand barefoot on the grass! It seems that the atmosphere is a positive charge and the earth is a negative charge. We are surrounded by electronics that are also positively charged.

http://www.groundology.co.uk

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/29/james-oschman-on-earthing.aspx

Talk about synchronicity! This is from ‘The Guardian’ today: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/29/electrosensitivity-is-technology-killing-us

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CONFIDENCE

Confidence.

Real confidence, like real happiness and real love, cannot be disturbed or upset. True confidence comes from knowing our true nature, with is pure awareness. Because of realising this inner confidence, joy arises, and therefore compassion develops. This realisation – which is unshakeable, indestructible and undeniable – know it is the very nature of all sentient beings, and is nothing to do with blind faith.

It is a confidence of seeing clearly. This could sound as if it’s only for yogis in a mountain cave, but no! We recognise, and then realise that essence is naturally already clear. The mind, too, is naturally clear, but there is ‘stuff ‘ in it that arises from the past: the mind is naturally clear in itself.

This clarity does not mean we don’t see the turmoil in the mind, or in the world, but we know that these are temporary relative events. And, unfortunately, most of the time we can do nothing about them, as each individual has to work out what life is all about, for them.

It’s like having an empty table in front of you. Things may be placed on it, but you know that the table itself is always empty. There are just things on the table. The table is our mind: its true nature is clarity.

If we believe that the objects on the table (mind) are permanent and real, we will only acknowledge the objects on the table, and never see the table itself. Having spent our precious time collecting things for our table (mind), we endow them with value, and will protect them. Deep inside, we only hope our acquisitions are meaningful, but we will not have real confidence in this, precisely because the things on the table (mind) are not real. Actually, the table isn’t real either! Behind it all, we know this, so we feel vulnerable.

Relative confidence is always aggressive. It’s like money – we all have to agree that things have a value. If someone comes along and sees that they have no real, intrinsic value…we get upset!

Ultimate confidence is passive. In ultimate confidence, there is nothing to defend, like a thief entering an empty house!

There is no point in finding fault with the tables of others. At some point, they will realise that their clutter is causing them suffering. All we can do is keep our table clean. Others may then see that they too have that option.

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THIS BLOG

This blog.

 This world is full of distracting, mistaken and vague information. There is also an underlying truth. Sorting out which is which can be a nightmare, full of foggy-good-feeling-dead-ends!

 I know about those foggy-good-feeling-dead-ends…been there, done that! My only advice is to use Occam’s Razor – reducing everything to its simplest aspect, when all things are equal. That is where the Dharma works best – recognising awareness, and then recognising pure awareness (pure awareness meaning totally open with no interference). This is the natural state of a clear mind – totally normal and ordinary – allowing essence to just…be.

 Writing about this could well be criticised, but there is a bigger picture involved…the secret corporate world we live in, which can no longer be ignored by Buddhism. Many of my dharma friends will only want to do formal practices, when the real dharma is in our moment-to-moment living in this corrupt, samsaric world.

 The unity of the two truths is living the real dharma.

 When standing alone, and not conforming, magic may happen.

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HUMOUR

Humour.

What is it that lies between samsara and nirvana? Humour! Humour shines light on a mistaken view. It is Essence Love. It is the irony of something being contrary to what one expects – crazy wisdom, not a red nose.

From an ultimate point of view, nothing is real, but every thing is significant. The ultimate joke is competing with an illusion, believing it to be real, getting angry, while achieving nothing…accept more anger. We don’t need to give anything that has no reality, substance.

When we actually know the emptiness of everything, then when confronted with someone who believes everything is real, we can just smile and not take it seriously. But we can take their suffering seriously, with kind pacifying humour. That is the first of enlightened activity.

Being kind and spacious allows angry space to breath and be seen, without causing any problems. Humour is being generous, patient, disciplined, focused, and spacious. These are the five paramitas.

Funny, that…

Ultimately, Humour uses wisdom to clarify a mistaken views.

Relatively, Humour abuses wisdom to clarify a mistaken view.

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THE PROOF OF TRUTH

The proof of truth.

There isn’t any! Words are just words: their meaning is in the actual experience. We have to prove the truth – the ultimate truth – for ‘ourselves’, by investigating and practising. It is an internal understanding.

If we are still looking for truth out there, about this and that, it will only be a conventional impermanent truth, and the ultimate truth will always be missed. Even if you can prove that there are cities under the Antarctic or Arctic, or that aliens are walking among us, you will still be no nearer the ultimate truth! This knowledge will only leave you with even more questions…never ending questions about ‘them’…and not about you.

We are only here on earth for a very short while, and have no idea what form our next incarnation will take: it could be something running around on four legs! Do you want to spend this precious life obsessing about impermanent, trivial matters, or do you want to realise your own true nature, which will reveal the nature of everything?

We could die at any moment. Of what use is this trivial information?

There is no end to relative truth, as we are continually creating.

There is an end to ultimate truth, because empty essence encompasses everything!

.

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THE POWER OF DECEPTION

The power of deception.

As there are levels of perception, there are levels of deception.
The levels of perception refine the truth.
The levels of deception cover the truth.
The problem is
Knowing which is which.

“Oh that’s easy!” you might say.
“Oh really?” will come the reply!

At every level of perception, pride is always ready to take over, and so perception can become deception. The deception is created by us, as we are holding on to some idea or piece of information. This is self-deception: we believe in something, which distracts us from reality – our true nature. This is a very subtle business, and is a process of uncovering, so each level is a precursor to the next and we have to let go – until there is no more learning.

The internet is full of fantasies with a little ancient truth thrown in, but often misunderstood. This is a distraction. It may be as simple as using soundbites such as, “I know!” or “We are all one.” to make us feel good. These are markers along the way, but we have to delve deeper into their meanings.

The truth is about our true nature – pure perception – and certainly not this physical temporary reality. But there are those who would bolster up their illusory fame with ancient truths, and try to draw you into their fantasy.

The Sun is the source of light.
The Moon uses the light of the Sun.
It has no light of its own.
Deception uses the light of perception
to deceive.
Be very aware of the power of deception.

As a side note: in Buddhism there are nine levels, known as ‘vehicles’. Each uses the same words, but the meanings change. In addition, there are nine levels of bodhisattvas, the tenth being buddha-hood. Not one practitioner would make any claims!

The Avatamsakra Sutra refers to the following ten bhūmis:

The first bhūmi, the Very Joyous

in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth;

The second bhūmi, the Stainless

in which one is free from all defilement;

The third bhūmi, the Luminous

in which one radiates the light of wisdom;

The fourth bhūmi, the Radiant

in which the radiant flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires;

The fifth bhūmi, the Difficult to Cultivate

in which one surmounts the illusions of darkness, or ignorance as the Middle Way

The sixth bhūmi, the Manifest

in which supreme wisdom begins to manifest;

The seventh bhūmi, the Gone Afar

in which one rises above the states of the two vehicles

The eighth bhūmi, the Immovable

in which one dwells firmly in the truth of the Middle Way and cannot be perturbed by anything;

The ninth bhūmi, the Good Intelligence

in which one preaches the Law freely and without restriction;

The tenth bhūmi, the Cloud of Doctrine

in which one benefits all sentient beings with the Law (Dharma)

just as a cloud sends down rain impartially on all things.

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SELF HARMING

Self harming.

In Britain 2013, 1 out of 12 youngsters physically self harm. Why?

If you asked them, they probably couldn’t tell you, but it is likely to be as a reaction to some sort of anxiety, depression or sense of low worth. In fact, this anxiety is probably no different to that suffered by anyone else, but being young in this day and age, everything is more exaggerated. This is a mental problem which causes people to harm their body, by perhaps cutting themselves, biting, extreme diet, maybe even leading to suicide. So why the young?

In this modern, corporate world, the pressures to conform are great – to be perfect like the people in the (airbrushed) magazines. As we get older, we become duller and more indifferent, and have learnt our ‘place’ in to the corporate high street.

As sentient beings, we instinctively know when things are not right. This is essence-awareness, but our mental faculties cannot translate this properly so we stay confused. When we mix with others who have learnt the corporate rules for fitting in, we can feel completely out of it! In fact, they are the ones who fear experiencing low self-esteem, and so cover it up with ‘being cool’. At a young age, we are very sensitive to hormonal energies…they are rampant!

So we seek some sort of control, or a sense of release, or relief. But this will only be temporary. It’s the same as smoking, or drinking, or eating, or shopping, or working…doesn’t this smack of corporate addiction? A sort of mind control? It’s called neurolinguistic programming, and has infiltrated the media, fashion, music, TV and gaming.

We all want to live in the perfect family. Nowadays, this is very rare. Social engineering has seen to it that families break up, or are dysfunctional, so that the corporations have more influence over our lives than the family does. We don’t even eat together any more!

Many people are out of work. Others feel extra pressure at work to meet artificially imposed ‘targets’. Job security is not certain any more. Financially, we are all being put under more and more pressure. Self-worth has been eroded: not many people are confident in their lives, although they may appear to bluff their way through! Class is more apparent: the ‘haves’ have a lot, and don’t hesitate in displaying it. Products are made abroad cheaply, to increase profits for those who have. It’s an increasingly unbalanced society.

So how to undo self harming? Understand that there is no need to conform! I know this is easier said than done. We have to watch out for pride, jealousy, anger and fear: for the young, all this is an emotional overload. We need to change our environment, and simplify life.

The corporate world makes everything a ‘big deal’. It screams at us to “Live the dream!” “Improve your image!” “Join the cool crowd!” “Appear to be different than you are. Pretend!” This is the world in which we live – there is even pressure to have to learn a new language of abbreviations and acronyms. We really do have to take our control back, but a creative way, and without being destructive.

The school environment has to be looked at. It fosters left brain addiction, so youngsters feel they have to conform, or risk being bullied. Right brain is more creative, non conformist and daring! There is so much more to us as humans: we are amazingly intelligent and adaptive creatures, but we have allowed ourselves to be dumbed down to conform to a narrow advertising standard. How many kids are locked into their mobiles, and find it hard to string a sentence together face to face…or even spell!

Those who do conform live in fear of being caught out, so they subconsciously apply pressure on others, through their own projections. This behaviour is high maintenance, and quite exhausting: if others around do not conform to their conformity, they feel threatened and can become aggressive and confrontational.

Before we can help these youngsters, we have to get our own heads and hearts on straight. Pills and psychiatric wards will not help – we have to get to the heart of the matter…the conventional, corporate, twisting of consciousness of what is now considered to be normal.

In addition, if hormones are pumped into food, this will play havoc with young bodies and minds: we all know when someone has too much testosterone, as they appear aggressive and threatening. Equally, if the levels of testosterone and progesterone are reduced, this could have the effect of causing a lack of confidence.

Self harm is the result of social engineering. Maybe this starts with push chairs, which are often designed so that, instead of being able to maintain visual contact with the mother, the youngster faces away. Isn’t that interesting?

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APPEARANCE AND EMPTINESS

Appearance and Emptiness.

Sometimes a sentence comes to mind that is so profound, that it gets more beautiful as it is reflected upon.

When appearances and emptiness

are seen as arising simultaneously

that is non-dual awareness.

Non-duality is not two, therefore is it one…Oneness. There is no separation of subject and object. Relative reality and absolute reality are a unity. When appearances (and all appearances are in the mind) are recognised by empty essence, at that very moment they are one. Because of empty essence the appearances are seen, like the type on this page: this is clear in meditation.  Of course, in the second moment when ‘we’ identify with the object – like or dislikes – we become two. We separate. We split into subject and object – duality. From this duality, all judgements, emotions and confusion come about.

 This sentence is so profound that nothing can surpass it:

When appearances and emptiness

are seen as arising simultaneously

that is non-dual awareness.

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COMPASSION IN TROUBLED TIMES

Compassion in troubled times.

 In these troubled times, the emotions are easily stirred up. This is when we need utmost intelligence and compassion towards ourselves and others. The emotions are an indicator that awareness is aware of something, and this is usually to do with an inner conflict. It’s better to have emotions than to be dull or indifferent: however, the emotions can obscure an appropriate response, and make things worse.

The world will never be the way we hope, so we will continue to fear the way it is. We therefore live most of the time in hostile confusion. If awareness is aware of a threat, it needs clarity in order to assess whether to response – or not.

The funny thing is that we may be able to bring clarity to the situation, but it may not be accepted. This is where intelligent timing is important. Actually, the very moment an emotion arises, the mind is very bright – but if it is allowed to personalise a situation, the emotions turn negative, which doesn’t help anyone.

If possible, the situation should be dealt with calmly, but there are times when nothing can be done. Maybe we may not have the capacity, or we might have insufficient data. It’s important to keep the mind clear. Even if we do nothing, a clear mind is ready to respond when the right moment presents itself.

Compassion is about our own state of mind – to maintain its equilibrium. In that way, it will help others. They may not agree with us, but we all have to work within our own constitution – how we manage ourselves! What works for us may not work for someone else…we can’t tell others how to be, but we can look at our own motivation.

Truth totally destroys ego, and ego doesn’t like it.

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GROUNDING THE BODY 2.

Grounding the body 2.

 

We are still learning about this subject.

We are putting the theory into action, and seeing how we feel.

We have put a conductive sheet on the bed which is wired to earth. This wire may go to an earthed socket or an earth radiator. One can make the sheet oneself by sewing conductive thread through the material…it’s cheaper!

We also have wired straps to radiators when using computers. Plus we have turned off the wifi and are using cables.

I think the wire straps should have resistors in line in case of electrical thunder storm. The ground could become live at those times. Do check on this.

My main concern is tiredness, so we’ll let you know how it goes.

 

 

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MAGIC

Magic.

Magic is non conformity.

It’s being natural.

We have so much magic within us

I am

speechless!

.

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NON-DUALITY

Non-duality.

When appearances and emptiness

are seen as arising simultaneously,

that is non dual awareness.

The words on this page are seen by virtue of the clear, white paper. They arise simultaneously! It’s the same with appearances in the mind.

 This is the unity of the two truths: relative and absolute, samsara and nirvana, eternalism and nihilism, solid and voidness, religion and science…it’s the middle way. If we separate appearances and emptiness, we get stuck in an extreme of unreality in duality.

 Therefore we can move, talk, play – while still appreciating essence. Whenever there are appearances in the mind, we need not fear them, as they are just an expression of emptiness…good isn’t it?!

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REINCARNATION

Reincarnation.

 If we do not believe in reincarnation, we will see life in a certain way.

If we do believe in reincarnation, we will see life another way.

Each will have a psychological effect on how we live our life.

 This is a huge subject, and it is connected to understanding non-duality, which in itself is not easy to understand. I’ll try to keep to the bare bones. To investigate a subject thoroughly, we have to take it apart. When learning anything, we accept that 75% is provable, 20% is inference and 5% is trust… more or less. If we want an instant answer to match our personal mind set, this will be very difficult for such a closed mind. An open minded approach is necessary to see our reasoning at work.

 Firstly, I have to say that I have buddhist friends who do not believe in reincarnation – so you are not alone!

 At one time in past history, a mere gesture from the teacher was enough for the truth to be pointed out: nowadays we need words – lots of words! For some of us, a short phrase can open our minds, whereas sometimes we need years of meditation.

 As an example of gesture: imagine your hands as mirrors. Hold up your hands, palms facing outwards (look). Now turn your hands so that palms are facing inward (see). Drop them on your lap (drop). That is the pointing out instruction, as given by a qualified teacher. The teacher would perform this gesture (at the right time), and long ago that was enough: the student would then rest in non-dual awareness! I’ve even heard stories of individuals having tea with the teacher, and afterwards, the teacher merely said, “That’s it!” This happened to one of my teachers, who told me he walked away asking himself, “What did he do? What did he do?”…and found that his mind was empty…

 Nowadays, we have to use words. The point about non-dual awareness is the recognition of timeless essence.

 As another personal example. I realised that which looks out of my eyes now – and when I was 4 years old – has never changed. The body changes, the ideas change, and the fluctuating sense of awareness changes, but the essential non-dual empty essence is always present. That proved to me that there is that which never dies, was never born, and merely…is. But that won’t do for everyone.

 Back to reincarnation.

We are born with a certain set of temperaments and leanings…and hidden skills. One could say that this is due to chemicals, and DNA from our parents. However, some of us are very different from our parents – and don’t know why. As there is nature, there is also nurture, and so these natural leanings can become covered over by the environment in which we live. In fact, this is invariably the case – it’s the fog of living in society!

 At times, we are aware of ‘having done this before’. There are individuals who know, and chose to be reborn here: these are called bodhisattvas (there are nine levels) and they have no fear of Samsara, and know the true nature of everything. Many claim they are the chosen ones, but this is just wishful thinking!

 If we say life ends at death, then there is no reason to consider long term causes and effect (karma). If we acknowledge the possibility of reincarnation, then whatever we do or think, matters …really matters!

 So what reincarnates?

Well, the answer must be a confused consciousness, which obscures essence, and which is driven by our karma, created by our fixation on ideas about ourselves. The last thoughts in our life produce the potential for the next life. So most of us have no choice, when the overwhelming hurricane of karma is at work in the Bardo (the gap between death and birth): through fear we will take shelter wherever it seems safe…and we can make mistakes – and we normally do!

 There is no real proof about reincarnation. We can read accounts, and come to our own conclusions. Even if we remembered what it was really like, it will be coloured by our cultural understanding. The potential of reincarnation means there will be consequences to our actions, which could make us more caring, and less selfish. If we live in non duality (selflessness) and love (benefitting others more than oneself), it doesn’t matter what happens at death, as we will know that we have lived a fulfilling life.

 Above all, we have to know that compassion has a purpose. People are the way they are because of mistaken beliefs they hold on to, from the past.

 Whatever conclusion you come to, consider what is life, without love? When one understands non dual awareness, reincarnation, its causes, then compassion naturally arises when dealing with others. Compassion, however, may take many forms.

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DZONGSAR RINPOCHE BEING PRECISE

Dzongsar Rinpoche talks about subtleties in the teaching for practitioners.

These three short videos are a wonderful experience of precise analyse.

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DZONGSAR RINPOCHE BEING HONEST

“Westerners love rules, you need anarchy!”

“May whatever I wish for…never happen!”

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EVERYONE IS BUDDHIST

Everyone is buddhist…fact!

 Theists, non Theists, Agnostics, Gnostics, Satanists, Demons, Worms, are all buddhists! The word bud-dha means awake and pure, meaning recognises one’s true nature and has exhausted all karmic effects.

One’s true nature is Empty essence, Cognisant nature and unconfined Compassion.

All beings have a mind. If it moves and changes direction, it has a mind. And so, it is aware, therefore it has buddha nature…potentially enlightened! (A machine may be aware of its surroundings but will never know its own nature, or know compassion.)

You can call yourself whatever you like, but you are still this pure nature. What fun!

In over forty years I have never prayed to Shakyamuni. Only to the Bud-dha (enlightened nature), the Dharma (the teachings to recognise that enlightened nature) and the Sanga (knowledge holders of those teachings). As a buddhist-worm I practise certain methods which suit me. You may find other methods that suit you, we will still finally arrive at the same outcome – realising our true essence, knowing our true nature, and expressing compassion.

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GROUNDING THE BODY

I cannot claim to know anything about this subject, I just have a gut feeling it’s right. These two doctors seem pretty convinced. With all this EMF flying around the planet, perhaps the Earth is our healer…go barefoot and hug a tree!

Short version.

…and wireless radiation.

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SAMSARA WITHIN SAMSARA PART FOUR

EISENHOWER’S last speech, warning of the military complex (7.00 minutes), and problems ahead.

KENNEDY’S last major speech, warning of secret societies, It’s all the proof you need. He was killed soon after this speech.

BUSH’S speech. Talking of the rule of law not the rule of the jungle, in a New World Order. This could read New Word Order. What does he mean rule of law…who’s law? Does this mean changing Common law into Maritime commercial Law? What does he mean rule of the jungle…is this natural law?

You can easily see, some sort of manipulation going on.

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SAMSARA WITHIN SAMSARA PART THREE

 

Samsara within Samsara.

Part three.

It’s important to be aware of what is going on out there – and within. Funny enough, this is still a spiritual question. We are not beings of this body, but over generations, we have been made to believe that we are these temporary bodies…which is idiotic in itself! This distraction of consciousness could be termed as using spirituality as a weapon.

This is why we have to know our own mind: we need be aware that what is in there may not be of our own making. Neurolinguistic programming is very subtle!

Now for the good news 🙂 When all this is pointed out, it’s suddenly so bloody obvious! The Kali Yuga is the age of intense emotions: this intensity makes them easier to spot. These teaching on the secret life on emotions may not be available in future generations. It is here that we can make fast progress, as this so-called turmoil that we are in actually enhances recognition and practice.

 

To understand the Dharma we need:

Intense emotions.

Intense intelligence.

Intense compassion.

This is a perfect time

Although it may not feel comfortable.

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SAMSARA WITHIN SAMSARA PART TWO

Samsara within Samsara.

Part two.

There is an insidious betrayal of all sentient beings, by those who would use our confused mental state against us…we are in a double Samsara. They know the psychology of the Dharma, and therefore are aware of our weaknesses, but they do not have compassionate wisdom.You may find this very hard to believe or understand: don’t worry, you are not supposed to. It’s there if you look.

I can guarantee that these are not happy people. In their grander Samsara, they are always plotting, and falling into the very same traps as we do…suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction. They think might is right.

You either ‘get this’ or you don’t. The populations of the world are being controlled, dumbed down and used. The plan is basically to make everyone conform: sheep are controlled by spooking them!

Whatever is officially stated may be read in two ways. We are told that something is for the good of the planet: this does not necessarily includes the people on it. Yes, it’s on that scale!Why this is hard to believe? Because you wouldn’t behave like that!

In this ‘Age of Strife’ – the Kali Yuga – what better time to create more strife, wars and divisions? It makes money…a lot of money! When ‘might is right’, you have control, and do not want to lose it.

Throughout the ages, the military machine has developed specialist skills, which take much maintenance…and money. In the middle ages, it was compulsory for archers to keep their skills up to a high standard. Nowadays, it is a profitable business, and arena in which to practise those skills!

They are so obsessed with the perpetuation of control that causing more strife and suffering means nothing to them. Consider the causes of war over the past 100 years. All one has to do is create an enemy, then tell people they are not patriotic if they question the government (the military industrial complex!)

Far fetched? All that is now needed is a system of disinformation. If you can divide people, and put them under financial pressure, cause friction, find someone to blame, it’s business as usual. Just look at the world: we are not supposed to see what is going on with the help of the trivia-obsessed media.

Their actions are all about manipulating our consciousness. When I see what is going on in the world, I wonder if the testosterone levels have been turned up and down…?!

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SAMSARA WITHIN SAMSARA

Samsara within Samsara.

Part one.

 Samsara is defined as the repetitive cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that arises from ordinary beings mistakenly grasping and fixating on a self, and experiences, as real. Samsara arises out of our ignorance of our true nature and is characterised by suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction.

Liberation from Samara is achieved through realising our true nature and purifying karma. It is through this very suffering, anxiety and dissatisfaction that we can realise our true nature in Samara.

Speaking practically, we seek happiness, and try to hold onto and maintain it, producing aggression. This constant striving for impermanent happiness is the cause of our suffering…it’s gone in a puff of emotional smoke.

Samsara is the vicious cycle of existence of confused sentient beings.

However…within our straightforward, confused Samsaric state, there is an added load! Anxiety, dissatisfaction and suffering are used to manipulate people. The emotions of fear and hope keep people in ignorance of their true nature: this twists consciousness. Remember that knowledge is neither good or bad – it’s what we do with it that counts!

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THE MERIT OF MERIT

The merit of merit.

The two accumulations are merit and wisdom. To progress we need the best of intentions. The accumulation of merit produces a life that is beneficial for practice – good karma. Because of good merit the mind is open to the understanding of wisdom.

Merit

Sogyal Rinpoche says:

Merit is the positive power and benefit, the peace and happiness that radiate from your practice.

Mingyur Rinpoche says:

Merit is connected with the power of interdependence. Each phenomenon has its own characteristics and power. Interdependence has outer and inner power. The inner power is dependent on the mind. It can be either negative or positive. The positive is what we call merit. The negative, which is a cause of suffering, is non-virtue. Merit is the same as virtue.

Wisdom

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche says:

“Sherab shé, which means ‘knowing’ and rab which means ‘excellent’ or ‘best’. So it is the best knowledge, the best form of knowing. It is knowing correctly, clearly and fully.”

Patrul Rinpoche says:

“Wisdom is identified as the recognition during the formal meditation session that all phenomena are empty, and the knowledge during the post-meditation phase that all phenomena are unreal, like a magical illusion or a dream.”

Chökyi Drakpa says:

“Through the wisdom that comes from hearing, you are able to recognize the disturbing emotions. Then, through the wisdom that comes from reflection, you are able to overcome the disturbing emotions temporarily. And finally, through the wisdom that comes through meditation, you conquer completely the enemy of negative emotions and obtain the confidence of knowing inexpressible and inconceivable reality with the wisdom of discriminating awareness.”

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AT EVERY LEVEL PERCEPTION CHANGES

At every level perception changes.

Words cannot describe this.

We use the same words,

but the meaning is different.

Familiar feelings arise

from residue held in the subtle body,

from past experiences.

So how do we communicate?

Through spontaneous compassion.

From past experiences,

our second response may be loaded.

Trust compassion.

It works on all levels.

Gradually

There is a less-solid me.

And you.

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WE ALL HAVE A TALENT

We all have a talent.

We all have a talent,

a unique selfless expression.

Finding that will help others

to find their own expression.

It’s what connects us.

It’s love.

.

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KNOWLEDGE OBSCURES KNOWING

Knowledge obscures knowing.

 Knowledge leads to theoretical knowing.

Theoretical knowledge obscures knowing.

When Knowing is clearly seen, knowing knows all.

This may sound a silly, but let’s look at it.

There is no end to wanting to know what is going on in the universe, in any dimension. To be blunt, this will “do your head in”, as there is no end to the universe. Like you, I wonder, “Well, what has this or that site, or book, got to say? What do they know?” Exactly…“What do they know?”

This obsession with what’s out there only obscures our own knowing. The answer is always in front of us. You’ve heard this all before, but the answer is always within, not without. It is precisely because of our ability to know, that ‘knowing’ is possible. Where would we be without it? All that is needed is just resting in pure Knowing…Awareness! Knowing this one point, all is known.

Everything in the universe – of any dimension – is made up of parts, because of causes and conditions. So, when these causes and condition come to an end, so does the thing … or body. Every thing falls apart when the elements dissolve. This is energy turning into some thing else. Some talk about ‘beings’ outside our perception: if this is so, then we have to remember that ‘beings’ can take many ‘forms’ in many dimensions, but they are still embodied beings…like us!

 We are not of this dimension. Beings have more, or less, clarity about their true nature. The more we understand, the more the compassion. The less we understand, the more the aggression. As we have had an infinite amount of incarnations, we have been through all dimensions.

We are pure awareness. Empty essence, embodied. If we identify with these bodies, we are mere shadows of our true selves. The truth is the same throughout any universe – sentient beings (having a mind) are all sleeping buddhas – pure empty essence. Pure knowing!

Every thing in the universe is empty of any true existence. It is all make-believe – mind made. We are so used to seeing things as solid and ‘real’, we now believe it.

 We make and believe.

It is ignorance of our true nature

that keeps us in this make believe world.

—

“Yes, yes, but I want to know what is going on over there!” And so, we have returned to play with that can of worms again…

We need time for digestion to take place. The less focused we are, the more turmoil we are in. We need silent reflection for the brain to rewire itself, to be able to translate what is being experienced. We can know in theory, but the body/mind set up may not be sensitive or capable of translating the experience: there is a need for practice.

As an example: I paint (not very well!) I put in washes, and this gives a good effect. BUT! I know I should be using body colour (opaque pigment) to give the painting strength…but I don’t do this. There is a sort of fear of not wanting to obscure what has been achieved so far. So I am holding on to an idea. In using opaque, body paint,  a colour and tone has its true value, and is not just an effect. Thank goodness I’m finally starting to understand and change!

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GIVING UP MY BEAUTIFUL CAN OF WORMS

Giving up my beautiful can of worms.

I give up everything.

I let go.

I am.

Because I am, everything is created.

“I am,” is an intellectual, dualistic feeling of existence.

In meditation, we realise the presence of this very subtle clinging.

Being aware of being is not the same as merely being.

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GIVING UP

Giving up.

 Inferior giving up: business as usual.

Middling giving up: mindfully letting go.

Superior giving up: nothing to give up.

 

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SOME DAYS NOTHING HAPPENS

Some days nothing happens.

 Some days we just doesn’t feel inspired. It could be a neutral kind of feeling, or just a jaded feeling. (jaded : I’ve done this all before and I’m bored!) Those are the days when a good routine or discipline is important: whatever practice we do, it’s beneficial to complete it properly and to the exact allocated time. Then do something different!

 It is at those challenging times when our habitual behaviour comes to the fore…and we want to give up! This is a can’t-be-bothered giving up, rather than a just-letting-go giving up, and is one of the reasons that, during practice, we break it for a moment or two…and relax: sometimes, we don’t realise we are getting tense!

 The point is to not merely give up. Somedays we just have to go mechanically through a practice – and actually, something is happening!

 Quite often we reach a crossroads in life, a sort of no-man’s land. There is a void or space where we can take a different direction, and it can be unfamiliar and disconcerting. It could be very familiar and disconcerting! Doing nothing is exactly the right thing to do, and then see what comes up.

 The problem is that we cannot ‘give up’ as we will have to face the same things all over again, tomorrow, next week, next life-time. But, we can let go of giving up! This is where intelligence grows. Intelligence is letting go of what is no longer needed (trivia)…it leave space for the good stuff!

Thank goodness that on some days, nothing happens.

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A-Z Dharma

A-Z Dharma.

 Probably like me, you want an A-Z of Dharma… “Just tell me what’s what!” I don’t think understanding works like that. There are places we can go to study the ABC of Dharma, and for some it may work. My wife and I tried a Shedra in Nepal: it was a four year course at a monastery, studying the Dharma. The first year was concerned with Madyamika (the negation of everything). It was basically a scholars/translators course, and we would have had a degree at the end of it.

It was excellent…we lasted three weeks! So we took the course text, and went away to somewhere quiet  for three months to study it by ourselves. Three quarters of the way through the text, I looked at my wife and said, “If a thing is true, it can never not be true! If a thing truly exists it can never not exist, and therefore nothing can be said to truly exist! That’s it!”

The point is that, for me, this realisation meant something, because it connected with something within me.

We all have slightly different connections, and life has a strange way of helping us join them all up. So we start from where we are, and situations come along (not necessarily in sequential order) to clarify our understanding. If this wasn’t true, we’d spend our whole life waiting for the right path to come along, when we are already on it! The path is our confused mind.

 The Dharma talks of Ground Path and Fruition.

 The Ground is our essential nature.

The Path is our confused state about our essential nature.

The Fruition is realising that we were the Ground all the time,

and that the Path never truly existed.

 We can learn the words of the Dharma, but real Dharma is what is happening in our minds right now. Theory helps to describe experiences…experienced.

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