Buddhism Is Not A Belief System
Buddhism is beyond human constructs; it is realising that we are pure consciousness, the same as the timeless Vedic teachings.
Any material advice such as, “Do this, don’t do that”, are temporal matters as opposed to what occurs naturally.
Never mistake form for essence.
Buddhism Isn’t A Place To Go To
Buddhism isn’t place to go to;
it’s where we are.
The Unity Of Doubt And Confidence
We all have doubts, and some of us have confidence, but both can be – and are – mistaken. Doubt is associated with low self-esteem, while confidence is connected to high self-esteem.
However.
Within doubt, there can be confidence – a sense of wonder.
Within confidence, there can be doubt – a sense of wonder.
This wonder is the moment of emptiness.
We cannot know emptiness as we are that.
‘Proper people’ know ‘everything’, but their confidence is misplaced, so doubt doesn’t exist for them. We may want to be ‘proper people’, but ‘proper people’ just do and say what ‘proper people’ do and say, and there is no wonder. Those who doubt find confident people confusing.
Proper: from Latin proprius ‘one’s own, special’.
Property: from Latin proprietas, from proprius ‘one’s own, particular, special’.
Any owned self-image, whether low or high, is characteristic of an illusion.
Giving up owning ourself releases us from suffering. This is why and how we can have empathetic compassion for all who doubt and all who are confident. 🙂
Feel Good Versus Reality
Wanting to feel good is sentimentality; it’s the path of insecurity that avoids unpleasant situations. Do we really care more about being ‘inspired’ than we do about realising the simple truth of what we are?
Genuinely feeling good is letting go;
it’s the relief of having nothing to defend.
That is happiness.
Reality isn’t in a special building, on a mountain or in words; it’s in the seeing.
‘Seek and ye shall find’ … ‘Under a stone, in a piece of wood’.
The devil (our imaginary self-importance) wants to feel good. It feeds off feeling good. It is competitive in order to feel good. This is nothing other than desire. Spirituality is wrong if it means we become reliant having to feel good.
The promotion of feeling good is the great illusion of taking advantage of emotionally vulnerable people while pretending to support their needs.
There is a unity in doubt and confidence
that bring us into the moment now.
Dare to look, and wonder.
How Do We Improve Our Intelligence?
Intelligence is improved by dropping what we think we know. It leaves more room 🙂
What we think we know is a limited, fossilised, conventional view. We may even become experts in the conventional, but it’s still a limited understanding, and there is so much more to us. When we hold on to a view, we deny further possibilities.
True intelligence comes from consciousness, not the mind. The mind is merely a memory bank; what we do with those memories – either strike an attitude or apply wisdom – is up to consciousness which stands back from re-acting. Ergo, we stand back.
Memories are experiences which we carry around. Relying on memories/programming, we live through the same old scenarios, and fill up the atmosphere.
Consciousness is always fresh, clear and spontaneous.
Spontaneous: having an open, natural, and uninhibited manner.
We usually steer away from the unfamiliar – when was the last time we were truly uninhibited?
Daring to be alone = one-ly.
When we realise we no longer need support from others,
we have a duty towards them.
Knowing What An Enemy Is
The word ‘enemy’ is anything that harms or weakens something else.
Enemy: from Latin inimicus, from in- ‘not’ + amicus ‘friend’.
An enemy creates a response which fills the mind.
If there is a re-action, the mind has already been primed.
Be very careful in thinking you know who the enemy is.
The enemy wants us to believe that it is ‘out there’,
when it has already penetrated our mind.
Once we see it – no more battles.
Our Reality Is The Gap Between Thoughts
Between our thoughts is a gap, a pause, an emptiness; it is the light of clarity which is what we are, pure awareness. However, we keep losing our reality by becoming attached to thoughts again. We just cannot shut up. 🙂
Enraptured by our words of theories and beliefs about what’s going on ‘out there’, we do not notice the switch in awareness.
Insanity begins when the light is switched off.
🙂
The Art Of War
Sun Tzu – “The very best way to defeat the enemy without fighting is to manoeuvre him into a position where his resistance is futile. If he recognises this, he will surrender.”
This how we fight evil.
When we know its very character, this both awakens us and weakens the enemy.
But first, we have to know what we are, and what the enemy is.
The enemy has already infiltrated our mind with ideas.
Once mind essence lights up, there can be no battle.
Dharma Draughtsman Or Doodler?
Draughtsman: creating precise and accurate drawings, adjusting and revising based on feedback or changes, and ensuring the consistency and accuracy of technical drawings and documentation.
Doodle: to draw or scribble idly, to waste time in aimless or foolish activity. ‘Doodle’ first appeared in the 17th century to mean a fool or simpleton, perhaps from the German ‘dudeltopf’ or ‘dudeldop’, meaning simpleton. It’s the origin of the early eighteenth-century verb ‘to doodle’, meaning to swindle or to make a fool of.
To authenticate anything, it is we who have to decide if something is accurate or not. Therefore, it is we who give the authority to someone, rather than accepting others’ say-so.
This bring us back to the different traditions and levels of understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, where we have to know at what level someone is speaking.
Sometimes, a Dzogchen teacher may refer to a psychological state of mind that comes from a Theravadan tradition, because the students are becoming too cerebral.
A well-draughted teaching may hit the spot,
but a doodle of confusion may also hit the spot.
In crazy wisdom, only you can know.
Finding Our Dharma Feet
Standing on our own two feet is being confident and independent, without help from other people; we can then play our part in Dharma activity. It’s not going to save the world, but it will have a knock-on effect.
It is the subliminal message within all teachings … confidence.
Meditation Isn’t Sitting On A Special Cushion
Meditation isn’t sitting on a special cushion, in a special place, at a special time. Meditation is timeless, placeless, cushionless awareness.
We can pause, just being anywhere at any time, in any place. It’s called relaxing, without sleepiness or drifting into thought.
Just pausing now and again cuts through habitual routines. Even meditation can become a routine, so we drop that as well.
The road of enlightenment isn’t a mechanical process.
We test each step, like a cat.
Never Underestimate Human Stupidity
Humans are governed by their emotions – like, dislike, pride and jealousy – and by not knowing what their essence is.
Never underestimate the human ability to transcend stupidity.
It’s stupid to think that ordinary humans cannot transcend stupidity. This is where those who think they’re superior to humanity go wrong.
Humans can be aware that they are governed by their emotions of like, dislike, pride and jealousy, and they can know their essence.
There are always two sides to every occurrence, but these are also a unity, in that you can’t have one without the other. Dark is only known by virtue of the presence of light.
We are so much more than stupid.
🙂
Becoming A Fanatic
Fanatic: from Latin ‘fanaticus’ – inspired by a god or demon.
Fanatics fantasise – they imagine.
In all walks of life, people are becoming fanatics. Everything is zero-tolerance; things are exaggerated and embellished, and the stimulated and reactive audience cheers louder. Being hyped-up and too excited, we are unable to rest or find calmness.
The term ‘hype’ comes from ‘hyperbole’, which combines one Greek term for ‘over’ and another that means ‘cast’ or ‘throw’. So hyperbole describes the sense of over-reaching, or grasping beyond what is necessary in order to describe a certain feeling, experience or response.
Fanatics become bound to an imaginary idea which was created by ‘influencers’ who, in turn, create levels of other influencers who suggest what we eat, buy, value, pray to, become attached to … thus breeding more fanatics.
How do we not become fanatics?
Know that fanatics are addicts.
Once we can admit this, our therapy begins,
one day at a time. 🙂
What Is The Difference Between Us And An Enlightened Being?
We can all just, simply, only – one-ly/non-dually – eat an apple, walk through a doorway, sweep the floor … and so can an enlightened being.
We all get glimpses of this enlightened moment of one-ly, whether we notice them or not. The difference is sustainability; as we train in one-ly being aware, these moments join up.
‘But enlightened beings can walk on water!’
Why?
‘They can do miraculous, earthly feats!’
Why?
Enlightenment is not about what we can do or what someone else is said to have done, but what we, in truth, are. ‘Miracles’ only – and deliberately – put a distance between us and the enlightened ones.
Interesting, that! 🙂
They Are Going To Do It Anyway
It doesn’t matter what we have concerns about, they will happen anyway. We’re manoeuvred by the majority complying, be it in politics, commerce, the military or religion. This is all social engineering which has been going on for thousands of years.
Power maintains power.
The powerful will inherit earthly delights.
Those who question will inherit the light of wisdom.
There Is No Good Or Bad Meditation
Meditation is awareness without comment or judgement;
it is being cognisant of what is happening in our mind.
The clarity of awareness is what we naturally are.
Revealing clarity is what meditation does.
Don’t Believe A Word – The Buddha Said
Don’t believe a word – the Buddha said.
Realise the words through direct experience.
Is The World Becoming More Stupid Or More Corrupt?
Is the world becoming more stupid or more corrupt?
Both.
We are stupid for ignoring the corruption general by those who curtail free speech. It’s all to do with justifying the claim that words can hurt feelings, and this will lead to genocide.
Genocide: violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group, and aims at the destruction of a people.
Of course, there are those whose aim is to create fear in people, but isn’t that done by those who are already corrupted by being led to believe that hurt feelings lead to violence? If a society is unbalanced, there will be a reaction. We humans are unstable creatures.
Disinformation is an attack on the mind.
“Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic deceptions and media manipulation tactics to advance political, military, or commercial goals.
“Disinformation is implemented through attacks that weaponise multiple rhetorical strategies and forms of knowing—including not only falsehoods but also truths, half-truths, and value judgements – to exploit and amplify culture wars and other identity-driven controversies.
“Misinformation can be used to create disinformation when known misinformation is purposefully and intentionally disseminated.”
– from Wikipedia
This is why we need to break out of the vicious cycle of existence, by pulling our heads out of the sand and not re-enacting the same state of affairs by refusing to think about unpleasant facts, although they have an influence on our life.
Life is precious.
Knowing truth is precious.
Being natural is precious.
Being kind is precious.
Acknowledging stupid corruption is precious.
These are all precious because they are part of realising the path to enlightenment.
If we continue to believe everything that we hear and read, we’re stupid. If the Buddha said, “Do not take my words for the truth: know it for yourself”, then don’t believe anyone.
The Level Of Our Inner Radar
We should take a second look at any information we receive and what we understand by this information. If we think our understanding is the final analysis, we may be further from the truth than we realise. We have to be aware of withheld information – what isn’t being said.
We are too ready to jump on the ‘Bandwagon’.
The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon where people adopt certain behaviours, styles, or attitudes simply because others are doing so. It is a cognitive bias by which opinion or behaviour can alter due to particular actions and beliefs rallying amongst the public.
Understanding is not about what we think we know. The truth is the insight we are born with; the nullification of this spontaneous radar affects whatever we become involved with, interested in, and attached to.
The way we present to the world is not in what we say or what we do; it’s how we are. Are we defensive or open? The world is full of learned orators (or charmers), but we all have the ability to know whether there is partisanship or prejudice coming into play.
Our inner radar can read between the lines. It’s how to interpret the ‘news’. If information is withheld, alarm bells sound in our mind as something doesn’t ‘smell’ right.
Scholars and charmers like words,
but words cast spells and sentence us.
The truth is never in the words;
it’s the experience of the words.
🙂
Serenity Overcomes This Manic World
Serenity: the state of being calm, clear, peaceful, and untroubled.
There are troubling experiences in the world, but even valid protests are not going to stop them as such actions are taken in account as part of the deception. They will only give cause for further troubles. We need to bring the dark into the light.
The deranged powers at work in the world are driven by gaining more power. This hidden agenda is the dark side of humanity. I say ‘hidden’ because what we see is only the effect of a cause.
Intellectuals and philosophers are merely narrators; they do not change anything. To be wise is to know what is happening, but never be taken in – even by a Buddha’s words. 🙂
At this moment in human history, we can only sow seeds of clarity, just as the enlightened ones did. As long as people run around the playground acting out stories, nothing will change. Clever rhetoric merely obscures the problem.
Rhetoric: effective or persuasive communication designed to have an impressive effect, but which is often lacking in meaningful content.
It is serenity that illumines the darkness.
A stable mind creates an atmosphere of clarity.
This is all that is needed.
Silent enlightenment comes before words.
Being Obsessed
Obsession is anything that possesses the mind. We can be obsessed about big things or little things. It’s all about personal gain, while lacking empathy for others, and being possessed is the basis of evil (referring to an evil spirit).
Obsession is the opposite to reality: from the Latin obsidere, from ob- ‘opposite’ + sedere ‘sit’.
In all walks of life, people become obsessed by an idea that drives them, which usually about ‘me’ and ‘mine’. There are certain influential people in the world who are extremely – and religiously – obsessed, and they may even worship a different Godhead to everyone else – the God of gain.
In Buddhism, there are many levels of understanding the same words, so people see in different ways and act accordingly, either for personal gain or to realise wisdom.
It is important to know what we are dealing with – not a person, but an idea. We can think we are worshipping good when, in fact, we’re worshipping evil, whether we know it or not.
How many people realise that they are possessed?
The very moment of recognising obsession is freedom.
All we have to do is dare to look.
Clarity Is Always Present
All sentient beings are the clarity of pure consciousness. It is ever-present, and it doesn’t go away. Without this, there would be no knowing. In fact, it’s so commonplace and simple that we ignore it. Clarity is divine splendour, but it gets sidetracked into, “Oo, that’s interesting.”
We complicate life with trappings – bells and whistles, stuff, bits and pieces – which may be all very clever and interesting, but which are ultimately pointless. It’s the Mara effect – the seducer.
The problem is that when the question of consciousness becomes ‘interesting’, it turn into a form, a formality – a rigid observance of convention or etiquette – a religion. Acceptance of this becomes a matter of course, and is followed without question when we comply with conventions, regulations, and customs.
It’s sad when people only pay attention if it’s a guru who says, “Clarity is pure consciousness”, as opposed to a common person saying it. We so readily display excessive servility to gurus that we ignore our reality.
Precious teachings are not about what someone else is;
they’re all about what we are
… and we have always been good enough.
Denying this is the sleight of hand by Mara that turns our mind.
You Are Not A Follower
You are not a follower,
but a realiser of implications.
We Need To Challenge Our Thoughts
Why do I think the way I think?
Not many of us ask this question.
We need to challenge our thoughts, otherwise we will be stuck with the same old attitude all our life. Thoughts are not our own; we acquire them. The shock of realising this can be demoralising. It’s pride in the thoughts we’ve adopted – especially when we’ve read them in a book – and that keeps us bound to social fantasies.
When a person has opinions on everything, it’s like listening to an old newspaper seller … “Read all about it!”
We are not challenging others; we are challenging our thinking – not to change our mind, but to notice why our mind reacts in the way it does. That noticing changes our entire view because that noticing comes from consciousness, which is the observer of the mind.
Just listening without distraction is meditation.
Reflecting is seeing the sequence of events.
Meditative reflection transcends thoughts.
Transcendence comes from pure consciousness.
Few of us are truth-literate,
because few of us consider consciousness to be important.
How Do We Find Truth?
First, we have to understand the meaning of the word ‘truth’. Truth is timeless; it is that which never changes. If something changes, it has been influenced, and so it is only a temporary event, like everything within the universe.
There are three factors that are timeless and never change: space, consciousness and formula.
Space is infinite; there is nothing beyond but space. It is ever-present.
Consciousness never changes; it is ever-present.
Formula comes from the word to form, mould or shape. It is the force or cause that is ever-present behind everything. Formula is not something created; it is just the innate nature of the universe, where elements react to one another through attraction and repulsion. When certain elements come together, they form a body – maybe a biscuit or a planet – and, in time, dissolve back into the elements.
Time only exists for things that change.
Our bodies are created through consciousness not knowing its true reality, being driven by karma to recreate through attraction and repulsion.
We realise truth when we realise our true nature, which is truth itself – ever-present, pure consciousness.
No One Became Enlightened By Meditating
No one became enlightened by meditating;
they became enlightened through dropping the meditation.
Meditation is merely the method for training our wandering mind by relaxing, focusing and calming. Once the mind becomes still, we (consciousness) are aware of being aware, but this is still a duality – me, and the stillness and awareness. We are being something.
The moment we just drop the method, or attachment to the method, consciousness (we) is empty of contaminations. The senses are fully open, but non-conceptual. There is no I-identity; there is just pure consciousness. Non-duality is being one with everything.
It is in this non-dual state that, when we come into contact with anything, there is just pure experience without recall to memory. Memory obscures pure experience.
If we think meditation will get us to ‘nirvana’ or that we’ll go into a higher altered state, we are deluded.
Enlightenment is dropping attachment and uncovering what is already present, naturally.
Short moments, many times is the way.
A Good Memory Is A Distraction
Memorising words to repeat them inhibits spontaneous wisdom.
We may learn all the scriptures and be ready to recite them, but can we apply them wisely in reality? We don’t have to be scholars, and carry around a library of words; pure experience in the present moment tells us everything we need to know.
This is the path without hardship.
Only Looking For The ‘Good’ Stuff
If we’re only looking for what we consider to be the ‘good stuff’ – often strange words from people with strange names 🙂 – we are being carried away by the exotic; we’ve lost the plot, and so we have nothing to work with.
Our true reality is already the good stuff.
We are, at this moment, unenlightened. To become enlightened, all we have to realise is what it is that’s stopping us from becoming enlightened. We don’t follow the light; we are the light. Once we realise this, we no longer have to follow the ‘good’. The Buddha was good, but he still said, “Test it for yourself.”
No one ever became enlightened by meditating.
They became enlightened by dropping the meditation.
Enlightenment is never what you think.
(If the Buddha said, “Do not believe my words; test them for yourself”, then do the same for everything you hear or read.)
Being Carried Away
When we hear or read something we have already decided on the outcome – before we’ve even have got to the end. This is our life – being carried off by ideas.
When we look at something or someone, our brain has already lit up before we are conscious of the fact. Be aware: when we condemn something or someone, what are we replacing it with?
It is an obscure, hard-to-define, dark world which deceives us at every moment. So what do we replace it with? We don’t. We merely have to be aware that people are deceived, without condemning them.
It is but a reminder that our true reality of pure consciousness is present. Reality is not in what we see, hear or read. In this way, we rest in the inseparability of dark and light, never being carried away by opposites or sides.
In not being carried away, we remain balanced on the knife-edge of reality – not too tight and not too loose.
Acting Spiritual
Feeling the need to act ‘spiritual’ by picking up the subtle signals of how to fit in comes from a lack of true confidence. We mimic others who give the appearance of understanding, adhering to their words as opposed to engendering genuine empathetic kindness and spontaneity.
We all make this mistake – recognising this frame of mind brings an end to the act.
Again, this is why the Buddha said,
“Do not take my words for the truth; test them for yourself.”
Once we believe in others’ words, we become a second-hand self.
The truth is in how we are, and not in what we say.
When we realise this, we are the circle of no circumference.
The truth is in the empty silence between the words.
Why Is Realisation A Shock?
If we’re a smoker and we give it up, we find smoking disgusting, and wonder why we ever started. In the same way, suddenly realising the truth of our reality is a shock after a lifetime of confusion, self-indulgence and ignorance; people’s words and actions seem totally ridiculous … but instructive.
Those who are brought up with privilege can’t understand ‘ordinary’ people and, feeling entitled take everything for granted. Seeing this, people want to emulate it; be it smoking or Dharma, it’s addiction to being in-the-know.
What people miss is the shock of change upon realising the foolish state we’re all in.
This is why realisation is a personal thing, and not a group realisation. Groups lack true empathy, and turn information into the oneupmanship of in-the-knowers. Empathy only comes about by going through the process of confusion. A lack of empathy is narcissism.
There are three terms to understand the world at play:
Limelight is wanting to be the centre of attention.
Grist for the mill is anything useful to support a particular point of view. The media needs new information. Gurus need students. Actors need an audience.
Entertainment is to hold intertwined, and keep occupied the attention, thoughts, or time of a person.
It amuses to amuse people.
This is the vicious cycle of power.
Realise that this existence is grist for enlightenment
rather than limelightenment.
🙂
This is why it’s essential to understand empathetic compassion,
and what drives people into confusion.
What Is Spiritual?
Thinking that some things are spiritual while others are not is to totally misunderstand what ‘spiritual’ is. We may think being spiritual is “pie in the sky”—something unlikely to happen, or something that we hope will happen. This is living in ignorance of actual reality.
That which is called ‘spiritual’ is non-material consciousness; it is life itself, and it’s what we are. We don’t have to become; we are. What we think and do is down to our level of understanding—or misunderstanding.
Going to a monastery or going to the toilet makes no difference. Anyway, monasteries have toilets, don’t they? 🙂 These are both of one taste, of being and experiencing before identifying. Is there a demarkation line? Spiritual … not spiritual … that’s as daft as there being ‘holy’ places.
Identifying is what materialists do, binding themselves to an idea, whether religious or secular. We can be also be bound as an atheist or an agnostic, and we can equally be bound by power, wealth, fame…
Someone with an exotic spiritual name isn’t any more spiritual than our cat or neighbour. They may be more advanced in knowledge (although our cat is cunning in getting its own way) but not in being.
We do not have to be clever or intelligent to realise what we are. If we’re looking for something ‘higher’, we are misunderstanding our ultimate reality of that which is looking. 🙂
Once we get the gist of this, we can start to meditate to realise that pure consciousness or empty cognisance is our pure state of being.
‘Spiritual’ is plain and unsophisticated.
All creatures are, in essence, spiritual.
We are deceived to think otherwise.
How Do We Know We’re Not A Clone?
Being a clone means that we have become predictable and unoriginal, adopting others’ thoughts which affects our behaviour; we cannot see any other possibilities, as we are tied to a cultural script. There is no choice but to act in a conventional way. Our emotions constantly programme us to clone others, and we become competitive clones, while believing we’re smart and autonomous, and have free will.
Overused words betray a lack of original thought, and the meaning is lost. We think ‘belief’ means ‘knowing’, when belief is actually blind acceptance. We think ‘fabulous’ means extraordinary, when it means having no basis in reality, only known through fable.
The scary thing is that each one of us uses words as if they are original. When we act in this way, even the Buddha’s words become meaningless. We have to use words, but we need to be aware of their effect on us, and on the listener. Are we enlivening a situation, or are we just living out a piece of theatre? Unscripted spontaneity is refreshing, as it produces a gap in the performance.
Whatever we think is going on in the world,
we are already clones.
And it’s not easy not being a clone.
🙂
Meditation is the antidote to being a clone,
but we have to be aware that if we don’t know when to drop the meditation,
we can still be a clone.
Evil: Ingenious But Stupid
The world conditions us into believing, rather than knowing. This deception actually creates favourable conditions for true spiritual progress as we recognise that, in following others, we have become lazy and reliant on their say-so—even the say-so of gurus.
Once we see what belief is doing to people, it becomes all too obvious in every walk of life. Recognising this stupidity is precisely the fast track to experiencing pure consciousness beyond words.
If we think everything is okay as it is, we won’t bother to change; we’ll just go along with the crowd, oblivious to the cause of suffering—both gross and subtle —which is a belief in a self-image.
When we can admit that we’ve been stupid, change can occur. We realise what has been going on, and are no longer stunned, unable to think clearly. Pure seeing is pure consciousness. It’s the true genius that we are.
Genius: late Middle English: from Latin, ‘attendant spirit present from one’s birth’.
News-Information-Jester-StoryTeller-Joker …
… influencer … but read between the lines. Discover the true meaning, rather than statements.
The truth is in plain sight. The truth is the reader, nd not what is written. That’s the constant joke played on humanity.
‘Jester’s privilege’ is the ability and right of a jester to tell stories, and mock freely without being punished. As an acknowledgement of this right, the court jester had symbols (a crown and sceptre) denoting their status, and protection under the law.
Comical: causing laughter. From Greek kōmikos, from kōmos ‘revel’.
Revel: from Old French reveler ‘rise up in rebellion’, from Latin rebellare, ‘to rebel’.
Always read between the lines.
This goes for everything that we hear and read, especially in science, politics, philosophies and religion. This world confuses and maintains instability. This is not only an attack on the mind, but on consciousness itself.
In meditation, all stories dissolve,
so when they occur in daily life, we see the joke – the mocking.
Joke: from Latin jocus, ‘jest, wordplay’.
Life Is Communication
Communication with others and our environment is what life is about. We share information about what we have in common. This depends on what we see as having value in life. Most people seem to prefer casual conversations about other people—it’s called gossip. What is actually important? Life itself, or what we think about life?
If we don’t feel that we have anything in common, we can’t communicate. When we take a side, our emotions get in the way, and we lack compassionate understanding.
Animals communicate without language; we do too, but this usually goes unnoticed. The truth isn’t in the words; it’s what’s behind the words.
Valuing what is true enriches life.
Recognising what isn’t true warns us.
The enlightened communicated the meaning of a fruitful life.
At least, they tried …
Truth Is Individual Endeavour
Realising the truth of our reality is an individual endeavour. When a group gets involved, it turns into a religion, with committees and interpretations. They talk about the truth, creating rituals and symbols, and poems, and songs, and buildings, and art … and it’s all a smoke-screen to create and maintain a culture.
When we ask the questions, What am I doing? Why do I think the way I think? we reach the moment of self doubt. This is an instant of total confusion. It is here that we either become depressed and withdrawn, or we step into a new way of life by seeing through the smoke-screen that’s been obscuring the strings which are pulling us.
We’re not condemning groupthink, as we have to experience it to see it. This is a sort of spiritual boot camp that throws all sorts of emotional garbage at us.
It is here when we go on alone, because we’ve toughened up
and are ready for anything. 🙂
Self-realisation has never been a group project.
Group projects are expensive – in more ways than one.
😀
Finding Our Path
The word ‘path’ may come from the word ‘pathy‘ or ‘pathos‘, from Greek –pathēs ‘-sufferer’.
Our path to liberation and enlightenment is for us to realise the obstacles that prevent us from being released from ourconfusion, dissatisfaction and suffering. We are no longer caught up in the mind’s habitual responses to everything. So before we can empathise with the suffering of others, our path is to identify the cause of our confusion, dissatisfaction and suffering. Others must realise their own path; we can only help when we know our path, which may differ from theirs.
Our path isn’t about joining a group or religion, or following some philosophical treaty; those are merely supports and generalisations. Unfortunately, support turns into dependency and, from there, to competitiveness and oneupmanship—and even hostility towards outsiders. We see this everywhere.
That isn’t an all-encompassing path
It’s a brick wall.
Our path is the life we find ourselves in, when we recognise the self-image that we have adopted.
We’re conditioned to believe that some things are more important/valuable/productive than others, but what is actually important is seeing our reactions.
When we are with others, we pretend, putting on our act. We become zoned-out, and stop paying attention, not hearing or seeing what’s around us, but merely projecting learnt responses. On our own, we have to face reality.
The good news is that we only have to see and admit what we’re doing. It’s like a personal confession, and actually feels good, as we are no longer condemning ourself—or, incidentally, others. The practice cuts through the acquired façade. Never feel guilty, as everyone is putting on a show 🙂
Religions and groups don’t like being questioned; they want an obedient community, and use subtle techniques to keep people in line. Don’t rock the boat …
Our path is not an act.
It is a deep understanding of reality.
When we stop acting ‘spiritual’ and just be unconditionally aware,
maybe we will do no harm.
By training the mind to remain stable, we can be of benefit to others.
That is our path.
The Infinite, Timeless Universe
This isn’t something we can think about. It is also the perfect meditation, because we come to a blank stop of not knowing, while there is still a knowingness present.
It’s extremely important to understand this, as it is the moment of realising our true reality of pure consciousness. We accept that timeless space and matter co-exist and were not created If the universe was created, then something came before; that starts us wondering about that ‘something’ … and our conceptual minds are too small to comprehend this, so we can only deal with the moment now. 🙂
Once we realise our true nature of pure consciousness, we then merely work out or eliminate the habitual reactions that keep obscuring this reality. We drop our attitude. This practice of recognising our compulsive responses brings to an end dissatisfaction and suffering. There is nothing more important than this, if we want to experience reality beyond concepts.
It doesn’t matter whether we’re an abbot in a monastery or we clean toilets, we are here to nullify our personal obsessions.
Infinite, timeless knowingness is now – the very essence of mind.
Negative And Positive
Being negative is seeing everything as wrong.
Being positive is seeing being negative.
In the seeing is freedom and wisdom.
Whether we value that moment or not is down to our understanding.
The New Age ‘Source’ Of Deception And Confusion
If we don’t know what’s real,
then a substitute will be believable.
Most people believe in stories handed down to them which contain unprovable assumptions. The New Age agency created the idea of ‘Source’, which is a substitute for God the unknowable, and was designed for those who do not want to accept the God of old, and so a new one was invented and marketed.
They say ‘Source’ is the origin of energy which is available to all humans to tap into to achieve enlightenment, or higher states of consciousness. Once one realises that everything in the universe is made up of energy, one can better understand this concept, for that is what it is.
New Age adherents believe that humanity is perfect and divine, and able to create its own reality. In the New Age view, Psalm 46:10 reads as, ‘Be still, and know that you are God’. Each individual thus has a ‘higher self’, inseparably and eternally related to its person.
This is just another production of duality
that is of no practical value.
It has nothing to do with what we are
—pure awareness—
which can be proven.
The Truth Is In Front Of You
The truth is in front of the feeling of You.
Before we think about the truth, the truth is present; whatever we think, awareness is present first. This is essential to understand if we want to experience reality, rather than merely an idea of reality, which is our dream-experience.
Almost everyone misses that moment before because they identify with being aware, and ignore the precious moment of awareness that’s already present. That moment is the innate clarity of pure consciousness.
What we call ‘I’ or ‘self’ is a mirage. The real being is pure consciousness, before we go into our routine, our act of ‘being aware’.
Once pure consciousness is realised,
we know that we have this social I or self,
but it now it is our vehicle—it’s no longer the driver.
The Dark Ignorance Of Mind
Why ‘dark ignorance’? Thoughts contaminate and obscure the essence of mind, which is the light, the clarity of pure consciousness. This contamination of mind dulls us, and we—consciousness—then function in a mundane and predictable way.
When we are in this dark state, we are controlled by our emotions of likes and dislikes through ignoring our reality. Our likes and dislikes become more important to us than what we are.
The essence of mind is pure consciousness. It is the light that illumines the darkness. This why the term ‘enlightenment’ is used; the light in the mind is pure consciousness.
May confusion awaken as wisdom.
Do ‘Aliens’ Have More Wisdom Than Us?
All sentient beings throughout the infinite, timeless universe are aware,
and are therefore the essence of pure consciousness.
This is sentient reality.
One day,
each being,
in their own good time,
will definitely know what they are.
Why wait?
🙂
We Can’t Think Our Way To Heaven
We can’t think our way to heaven;
likewise, we can’t believe our way to heaven.
Heaven is pure experience, which is right here, right now. Does this experience make everything wonderful? No. Every thing, every experience is simply seen by pure experience. It’s what we are, beyond thinking and believing. Thinking and believing are just dream states.
There are no ‘Pearly Gates’; that’s a story made up to throw us off-track, off our path. It’s truly shocking how many ‘intelligent people’ are caught up in imagination, and become accomplices of hope, fear and guilt, which are the very opposite to Heaven.
Heaven is enlightenment. To experience this, we go through many stages of realisation … a sort of oh! … Oh! … oh! …? … Oh! … always at the edge of the moment now – the point before something starts to happen.
There Is No Mystery In The World
Mystery is man-made, created by stories and beliefs which cause division. Whether a story is true or not, polarisation occurs – the duality of relating.
There is a power in the world that promotes and maintains the illusion of mystery. If there is a mystery, it’s why so many people are ready to believe, one way or another. This power uses and abuses people for its own gain. If we buy into whatever we’re told, this is our choice. We consent.
Belief is a conjuring trick that people assume to be real. Why? Because we, like children, like stories.
Mystifying people creates great wealth and power, which allows things to appear to just happen, bringing about a predictable level of mistrust, as we fall for a sentimental idea of fairness. There is no fairness where evil is concerned.
Meditation simply cuts through the crap by using waste management. 🙂
Once we know our reality—that we are in truth, consciousness—we are free of the junk in the mind, and are prepared for more trickery. It is acknowledging the unfairness of the illusion that keeps some of us awake. 🙂
We Learn By Our Mistakes
The more mistakes we make, the more we learn from direct experience.
If we think we don’t make mistakes,
fitting right into everything that comes along while believing we have free will,
we are living in someone else’s ideas.
Buddha: “Do not take my words for the truth; test them.”
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. 