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.

What Is The Proof Of The Buddha’s Enlightenment?

Enlightenment is the realisation of the truth of our reality, and whatever obscures this. We don’t have to delve into the past to realise our true reality, as the proof is right here, right now.

Through the stillness of meditation, we realise that awareness or consciousness is present and, if sustained, there is the recognition that there is nothing else present. That ‘nothing else’ is the cognisant emptiness of consciousness that is spoken about. It’s a little enlightenment that helps us realise distractions.

True enlightenment is the elimination of all distractions: all karma (attitude) is exhausted and all potential distractions now serve as a reminder of our original state of pure consciousness. Heaven and hell become one.

The Buddha said, “Do not take my word for the truth; test it as you would test for gold.”

So the proof of enlightenment lies with every individual to test it for themselves. No teacher can give the proof we may seek. We are what we seek! We are all Buddhas, but sleeping Buddhas.

If we think that we are anything more or less than this, we are a variation of a hell-being which needs a variation of empathy. There’s a lot of them about! 😀

Why Keep it Simple?

Modern life is extremely complicated and wealth-consuming, and becomes all-absorbing.

Spiritual matters are also extremely complicated and wealth-consuming, and become all-absorbing.

Both temporal and spiritual matters rely on our guilt, fear and hope in order to keep functioning.

The quicker we realise our true nature, the more confident we become. Life simplifies, and we stop wasting our time being beholden to an idea.

Once free, we may be able to be of benefit to others without any expectations which, in themselves, can make life complicated and wealth-consuming, and become all-absorbing.

In this age of inflation,
a simpler life will help us deal with whatever occurs.

Trapped In Space

Not realising that we are pure consciousness or empty cognisance, we become trapped in the space of our own reality through distraction.

Consciousness, like space, never changes.
Nothing created them;
they just became cluttered.
😀

Through natural evolution, bodies are created to which a certain misunderstanding of consciousness is attracted. Mind then develops due to the type of misunderstanding of each individual.

Once, through meditative practice or training, we recognise that we are this empty cognisance, we never become perpetually lost again.

If there are other incarnations, we won’t remember being ‘us’, but a certain level of consciousness resulting from previous incarnations will be present. If there are no further incarnations, space still doesn’t change, and neither does consciousness.

Space: the final frontier.
To boldly go where not many have gone before!
😀

Contemplative Essence

Contemplation: a place of sustained observation.

Contemplative observation is our absolutely reality,
resulting in wisdom,
and manifesting in our relative reality as compassion.

From this viewpoint,
the world is seen as constant and compounded misinformation.

The Perfect Business Model = Keep ’em Updating

The perfect business model is getting people to update their toys, or their consciousness.

Business and religions both want us to join their club – their gravy train – and that’s hard to get off without feeling a failure.

We have enough,
if we know how to use what we have.
And what we have is karma!

Karma – the results of our previous actions that we are living through right now, which can limit our understanding. It’s not a punishment; karma shows us our fixations that have to be abandoned to realise our perfect reality.

The universe can instruct us, revealing what is natural and what isn’t. That which is unnatural speaks volumes! The pleasant and unpleasant are under the same umbrella of our perfect reality of pure consciousness.

A club needs money, and that’s okay.
We don’t have to belong to a club, and that’s okay.

Influencers Influence Influencers …

Influences influence influences,
who influence us.
We in turn influence others.

This is a meme at work –
an element of cultural behaviour
passed from one individual to another by imitation.

TV, the media, films, our chit-chat
– all do this very well.

These influences are the packages that we carry around in our mind.
In the moment now there are no packages,
just the emptiness of awareness, free of influence.

My Karma Is Worry

Worry has been with me all my life. This worry isn’t overwhelming; it’s just seeing possible consequences of an action or inaction. Things have to be ‘repaired’, but which one first? Should I write, or not write? Will anyone understand what I’m trying to say?

All through this lifetime of worry, there been this observation taking place that is separate from the worry. I later this found to be consciousness. It was always there, and I realised that this consciousness is, in essence, pure and uncontaminated.

I no longer worry about my worries; they’re part of my baggage, and consciousness is happy with that because it is aware of it, and shows concern. This concern turns the thought that worry is bad karma into good karma.

“Always look on the bright side of life.”
– Eric Idle

“Some things in life are bad;
They can really make you mad.
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle,
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best
And
Always look on the bright side of life …”

Contemplative Essence

Contemplation: a place of sustained observation.

Contemplative observation is our absolutely reality,
resulting in wisdom,
and manifesting in our relative reality as compassion.

From this viewpoint,
the world is seen as constant and compounded misinformation.

Are People Who Trust Themselves A Nuisance?

Are people who trust themselves a nuisance?
Do people think that truth stops at a guru?
Is religion institutionalised guilt?
Have we adopted a persona?
Do we have to use cautious language?

It is all finally down to us.
Do we let the light shine, or do we pretend to be dim?

Should We Be More Skeptical? 

Just accepting whatever we are told is plain daft! Don’t trust anyone who expects you to believe what they say to be true. Test it for yourself.

Skeptic: a person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions.

Is our life sufficiently precious for us to question everything?
Does our life have a purpose, or is life so insignificant that we try to make something of it?

Question the status quo and status symbols.

The final answer to all our questions
is that which questions.

IQ & EQ = Types Of Human Being

Our IQ (intelligence quotient) is a measure of a person’s reasoning ability, and how well someone can use information and logic to answer questions or make predictions.

Our EQ (emotional quotient or emotional intelligence) is our ability to understand other people, including what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them.

A high IQ but low EQ…
A low IQ but high EQ…
A high IQ and a high EQ…
A low IQ and a low EQ…
A medium IQ and a medium EQ…

This seems to sum up the world,
and why we either get along or don’t get along with others.

IQ is of the mind.
EQ is of the heart.

The Essence Of Mind Is Consciousness

The essence of mind is conscious cognisance, the ability to know.

Whatever is known is then stored as content in the mind, as memories in the form of our thoughts and feelings. Whatever is thought or felt, know that that which is aware of these thoughts and feeling is consciousness. That consciousness is our being – it’s what we are. Without consciousness, nothing would be known, and you wouldn’t be here.

What is the essence of consciousness?
The essence of consciousness is pure, fresh, uncontaminated knowingness, with the ability to know what it is, and what it is not.

What it is: the well-being of ethereal presence.
What it is not: permanent, judgemental memories.

In memories, we are the mind’s contents, fixating upon things.
In essence, we are content in peaceful happiness

This Is How Truth Works

Absolute truth is wisdom.
Relative truth is compassion.

Wisdom: realising our true being of pure consciousness.
Compassion: the manifestation of that wisdom.

We can only have true compassion (love)
when we realise that that very same wisdom is hidden within others.

How The World Was Won
The world was won by mediocracy.

Mediocre: of only average quality; not very good.

Mediocracy: a dominant class consisting of mediocre people, or a system in which mediocrity is rewarded: a mediocracy of successful careerists and yes-men.

When we know our true nature, everything less is inferior.
Except love.
😀

Is Being, Interesting?

The less reified we become,
the less ‘real’ we become,
the less interesting we become.

Become: begin to be.
🙂

The Psychology Of Consciousness

It’s what spirituality is all about.

Understanding how consciousness works will help us realise how we work. If we don’t know the essence of a subject, how can we know about it? All we will do is go through a routine or ritual.

Consciousness or awareness is what we are; this is embodied in a form, created by karma, which is the result of previous actions. The room we are sitting in now is our creation – or we allowed it to be created.

However, consciousness gets involved in this and that, being driven by desire and aversion because of not knowing its true nature (‘not knowing’ is referred to as ignorance).

When we start to open up to the psychology of consciousness through meditation, we discover something unique about ourselves, about consciousness … it has a pure state. This is sometimes called the clear light of bliss. That is home.

The clear light of bliss isn’t about being organised and uniform.
It is carefree and playful.

The Mirror: The Weapon Of Choice

We are all pure consciousness – mirrors that reflect images.

The question is; do we believe in these images, or do we see them as mere reflections?
The way in which we react to these reflections can either be our downfall, reflecting our ‘goodness’ that we project to others = hell, or reflect our faults and become our teacher = heaven.

Imagine a battlefield. A realised person holds up a mirror to an army of mara (demons) who want to bring that person down. All mara sees is their own reflections, which causes them to see what they don’t want to see.

The battle of mirrors.
As all beings are reflecting mirrors, so are these demons who, in retaliation, hold up their mirrors to the realised ones in the hope that the realised ones fall for seeing their own ‘goodness’.

The realised ones can either succumb to their own ‘goodness’, or realise that there no reactive effects whatsoever. This is why our enemies are our best teacher.

Every day, someone wants us to rise to the bait, and be caught in our own reflection.

Realisation isn’t concerned with admiring the reflections;
it is knowing that we are the mirror

Not Guilty Just Misguided

The world around us portrays an image of itself for us to emulate. Being confused about this state of affairs we follow along. We become misguided.

Religions are like that. One never feels good enough, with all the elaboration projected at us, and so feeling embarrassed we emulate. Which comes from the word rival.

The act that ‘spiritual’ people go into is appalling and misguided. Do the smiles have any wisdom or kindness to them? Or, do they just want us to be like them, so they don’t feel so bad. 🙂

The idea seems to be that if people are made to feel worthless, they will easily conform. This is taken for granted, and we leave our brains at the door. Don’t ask any awkward questions like, why are we doing this?

We are Buddha nature now. It just have to uncovered, rather than pile-up with elaborations to feel better about ourselves.

It’s all in the eyes.
Are they open or fixed.
Are they interested or afraid?
😀

Our Reactions To Others’ Reactions

Our reactions to others’ reactions tells us everything that we need to know about ourself. Our reactions are usually defensive, and then become aggressive because of our need to preserve our precious self-image of which we are so proud.

If we don’t react, and instead understand what is happening, we are free of conflict, giving space for the other to either see what they are doing.

When mara (demonic mind) cannot get a rise out of us, it has to move on to someone else, until it realises that trying to feed off others’ reaction only feeds its own misery. We have all been little demons at some time, and found it unsatisfactory 🙂

The love that we give is the love that we receive.

Those Who Comply Run The World

They enable.

It is the students who give a teacher the authority to teach. No follower, no teacher. When we simply go along with the official narrative of any organisation, we not only give away our power, we also give away our brains.

If the majority comply, the easier it is to control the whole. The curtailing of free speech initiates the silencing of the few who do not see things the same way as the followers, and they are shunned.

Shun: Old English scunian‘abhor’, shrink back with fear, seek safety from an enemy.

Clear thinking isn’t as easy as we might suppose as our minds are full of cliches, and words have many connotations and can easily – if not deliberately – be misunderstood. If we do not speak out, however, we allow the misguided to run our lives.

Goodness knows whatever evil knows.

The Age Of Ideas
We become whatever we identify with.

We think this is the age of things, when it is actually the age of ideas. We are sold ideas from birth to reinforce either a weakened or strong self image. This age of ideas is the age of conflict, separation and competitiveness.

For thousands of years, humanity has been sold ideas and beliefs so that we never look within, beyond those ideas. Buying into beliefs has cost us heavily; a lifetime of misplaced effort.

Belief takes away our power, which is the same old pure awakened consciousness that has been distracted to create enslavement through a belief in ideas. Is life just what we have been told to believe?

Once we realise that which sees this insidious deception,
life will never be the same again.

Insidious: from Latin insidiosus ‘cunning’, from insidiae ‘an ambush or trick’.

Eyes open, mind open, consciousness open.
In clarity, there is no better way to live.
It’s unstoppable.

Free To Realise Our Own Translation

The ultimate truth has always been within,
without the words of others.

Pure consciousness is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

It makes me to rest in naturalness, leading to the quiet waters of my mind.

It restores realisation, guiding me on the paths of righteousness to enlightenment.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and confusion, I will fear no evil, or I am that pure consciousness; the unpleasant and the pleasant, being of one taste, they comfort me.

Karma presents a life in the presence of my enemies.

I realise I have abundance.

Surely goodness and caring will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in pure consciousness forever.

Just because words are written down does not mean they are the ultimate truth.
The ultimate truth is our realisation of those words.