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 Pointing Out Instruction And The Realisation

(Previous pointing out instruction at https://buddhainthemud.com/?s=the+pointing+out+instruction)

The way we hear this will depend on our being mentally uncluttered, having the right intention, and being totally confused (which means we aren’t holding on to any ideas. 🙂 )

Maybe it’s a matter of luck, good fortune, right karma that we get it. 🙂

We either get it, allow it to permeate our being or, as happened to me … “Is that all!?” 😀 “Oh, that’s all!” I then spent the next twenty years contemplating it, and the past 11 years writing about it on this blog. 

It is we who have to see, and test it. This has nothing to do with religion; after all, the Buddha wasn’t Buddhist.

It’s all about re-cognising what we already know and what we already are, which we have ignored. It’s what we’ve been looking and longing for. We are what we seek. Different people come at this in different ways.

However, we mustn’t be greedy in thinking that this is a short cut, or get angry or disappointed if we find this is too simple. This entire eleven-year-old blog is about the pointing out instruction, but it’s for the reader to relax and live with.

In front of you is space. Whatever takes place in that space, space doesn’t change. We spend our entire lives enthralled by things in space, while ignoring space. Now look at the mind which is trying to figure it all out. Again, we are enthralled by our thoughts and ideas, while ignoring awareness of these thoughts. Awareness of this commotion in the mind doesn’t change. That unchanging awareness is consciousness. It’s what we are. We’re not all the same consciousness, but we can be at one with each another, and in harmony. 

Being only aware of things in space or the mind is a materialistic view of life. 
Being aware of awareness is the spiritual view of life; this isn’t being religious.

Now the point. 
While consciously aware, we come to realise that there is nothing else. 
Consciousness is empty of thought; that is pure consciousness. 
The true essence of mind is pure consciousness. This is what we are. 
In Sanskrit, it is called ‘shunyata’ – emptiness – which is fully aware because of the presence of clarity. 

The hallmark of realisation is genuine, unconditional, empathetic compassion for others who do not realise this.

I’ve received this instruction many times, the first about twenty years ago. It is something that increases in value, as we see the ramifications of ignorance of this reality in society.

Rather than believing anyone, it’s all about personal practice of pure seeing.

The Satisfaction of Accuracy 

We all have different levels of satisfaction
because of different levels of accuracy.

This is why one person’s satisfaction is another’s poison.
That same poison, conversely, is another’s satisfaction.

Negative emotions (poisons) become wisdom.

The more accurate we are, the more we see life differently.
We can go with the flow.

We Grow When We Feel Uncomfortable

We are sensitive creatures living inside a hard shell.
Times of stress signal growth; we evolve through adversity. 

If we yearn for a pleasant life,
and have people only say nice things about us,
we cannot grow.
Ego just expands.

Growing up is outliving our past.

Dealing With Vacancy In Meditation

In meditation, it’s easy to fall into a state of vacancy – a not knowing, that creates sleepiness. Merely be aware of that which is aware of this state; that is our true reality.

We can take the same approach when the mind is busy.

In meditation, it’s easy to fall into a state of distraction – a not knowing, that creates a dream state. Merely be aware of that which is aware of this state; that is our true reality.

Stupid People Don’t Have A Problem

Ignorance is bliss.
🙂

It’s we who have the problem … 
that’s if we’ve recognised how stupid we’ve been.

We cannot engage with stupid people, because we will always be talking at cross-purposes or with contrary intentions. Unable to communicate with each other in the quest for happiness, this misunderstanding creates obstacles which leads to tragedy. 

This confusion – this failure to communicate – arises because people have different goals.

The Requirement Of Sanity 

Sanity is the ability to reason how this self is constructed, and what is actually observing this process. Insanity is adopting others’ thoughts as the basis of our thinking.

Self is a construct of traumatic insanity, and confusion about these traumas created this illusory self to defend or justify our attitude.

Sanity is our true basis of being – pure consciousness – and not our ideas and desires.
It is up to each individual to decide how much sanity and insanity there is in the world.

Spirituality Without Religion

Spirituality is personal endeavour. 
Religion is group guided.

Pure consciousness is our spiritual reality. 
Religion is belief in our spiritual reality.

Having experienced suffering, we can empathise with how depressing it is.
Belief in suffering is guessing, which lacks empathy. 

There is a big difference between spirituality and religion.

The Saddest Thing

The saddest thing is not being able to resolve differences with others. 
Even if we do talk, old influences block the way. 

This is the saddest thing we have to live with.

Beyond Memory

The more we learn, the more we fill our minds with acquired memories, the cleverer and more special we think we are, and the more we become baffled as we’re fascinated by ourselves.

Memories are that baffle, preventing the spontaneous light of wisdom from evolving.

We – consciousness – are the pure essence of mind, which became obscured by memories.
Our conversations are all about these memories, and that fascinates consciousness. This is the illusion we’ve been under for millennia, and it’s the reason we cannot be spontaneous.

Information changes constantly, due to our fascinations.

The simple truth never changes, however, because consciousness never changes, 
and so our essence never changes.

Baffle: late 16th century, from French bafouer ‘to ridicule or deceive’; to prevent the spreading of sound or light.

Fascination: from the Latin ‘fascinum’ (evil spell); first defined as to bewitch.

If we hang on to the past, we remain bewitched.

Understanding Misunderstanding & Misunderstanding Understanding

When we realise that the world (people) is crazy, everything makes sense. This isn’t some cute saying on a t-shirt; it’s the Buddha’s teaching. Pure consciousness sees that we are governed by our mind’s likes, dislikes and indifferences, which we think is our reality but which causes us suffering. When we see this misunderstanding, we understand and are free … until we forget again. 🙂

If we justify our likes, dislikes and indifferences, we are misunderstanding our understanding.
It is the seeing, and not what is seen, that is the reality. 

If we think that we understand this, it’s merely a concept. 
Understanding is the silent realisation of how the craziness was formed.

Crazy: late 16th century,in sense of ‘full of cracks’.

Each Generation Is Indoctrinated

Each generation is indoctrinated to rebel against the previous generation or culture. This how the world’s instability is maintained. There is always something ‘old’ to rebel against – a ‘new’ cause – which is the continuous stirring of the pot of chaos and confusion.

Thinking we’re right, and that our view is right and our life is right is Samsara, the vicious cycle of existence. If we’re too quick to be right, we live on a sandcastle with no foundation for any other possibilities.

The Dharma – Correcting Misunderstanding

The Dharma corrects any misunderstanding of reality.

The Dharma is definitely not about just acquiring answers, and then believing or assuming that we know. That is a misunderstanding; the academic way is reliant on words rather than experience, while the religious way is also a misunderstanding as it relies on belief and ritual.

Our mistake is being carried away by words and feelings, which affects our relationships with others. Attachment to either words or rituals is an addiction that brings a lack of kindness, a lack of empathy, a lack of Dharma. This misunderstanding means that we still have a strong self-identity. 

Dogma before kindness is not Dharma.
Wisdom is seeing ourself in action – it’s not in a book.

Suddenly, The Words Make Sense

We have known words all our life. We’ve known about the words because of what others say, but suddenly we know what they mean, and how they work. 

Why do we suddenly know? Goodness knows – it just happens. All that is needed is the right intention.

What’s the right intention? 
Being open to all possibilities and letting go of our traumas and accomplishments – all those interactions with others that made us feel either uncomfortable or superior, and which are still present today. Once we realise what the words mean and recognise the feeling, we don’t need the words, or the attitude.

Traumas – our likes and dislikes, and things we ignore – will be with us until enlightenment.
We all know the word ‘consciousness’ in our own language, but what it ultimately represents is an individual matter. 

Don’t take my word for it; it’s about trusting instinct rather than our mind, which has acquired what others say. This instinct is conscience.

Conscience: from Latin conscient- ‘being privy to’, from con- ‘with’ + scire ‘know’.

Confidence And Lack of Confidence

This is a difficult subject to read and to write about.

There are two ways of looking at confidence, one from a practitioner’s point of view (someone who is aware of consciousness) and the other from non-practitioner’s point of view (someone who isn’t aware of consciousness). One focuses on the seeing, while the other focuses on whatever is seen.

We can be confident that perception takes place through the senses. 
We can be confident that awareness of this perception is present, and therefore consciousness is present; this is the knowingness before anything is known. 

A practitioner realises that this consciousness is, in essence, pure and without bias, and is what we are. We are not the collection of responses in the mind.

Here, we have to be aware of the different viewpoints of practitioners and non-practitioners. 
To ordinary people, whatever is seen is important; through our memories and programming, we believe that we ‘know’, and that fixation leads to emotional responses. 

To a practitioner, it is the unaffected seeing without fixations that is important. The question, “What is this?” is our first response, as we’re not relying on memories at that moment.

The confidence that is acquired from achievements and social interactions shores up the ego. While we may do great things, beautiful things, there is a vulnerability present; we can become emotional and protective, and even aggressive if this false confidence is challenged – even with a look 🙂

There is, however, a natural, innate confidence which is unshakeable when pure perception is recognised. It is present in everyone but becomes obscured by confusion, doubt and fear, and so we turn to learned confidence to try and boost our feeling of wellbeing; this is unsustainable.

As a practitioner, we can lack confidence in voicing this pure view, as it cannot be expressed. 

I have only once in my life come across someone who expressed knowingness without speaking. He entered the room and sat; there was no charisma about him … just silent, confident awareness. Speaking didn’t add anything – there was a sense of no self-identity present, and it wasn’t an act.

How Intelligent Are We Supposed To Be?

If it’s material intelligence, then we need a high I.Q. 
If it’s social, then none at all. 
If it’s about consciousness, we need E.Q. 

E.Q. – emotional quotient or emotional intelligence – is the ability to understand, use, and manage our own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathise with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. To put it simply – it’s wisdom.

I.Q. is high maintenance: we’re always juggling ideas, arguing and debating based on memories. Intellectual consciousness = pride.
E.Q. has nothing to maintain: it’s just direct perception in the moment now.
Pure consciousness = original reality.

Intelligence isn’t about having special powers (although the intelligencia wants us common people to think that they do. 🙂 ) Simple intelligence is about just being, and it’s what all creatures have in common.

Being convoluted is overdoing it, creating hell in pipe dreams and sandcastles, as opposed to being straightforward and easy-to-understand. Never feel embarrassed about not knowing enough; that is the aspect of ‘acquired’ intelligence. 

It is pure consciousness, the knowingness itself, that is our reality.