The more we accept limitation, the deeper our reliance.
When we realise what we are, we realise happiness.
We are Buddhas!
The word ‘Buddha’ means ‘enlightened’.
Enlightenment is attained through
generosity, patience, conscience, discipline, meditation and wisdom.
Meditation helps awaken the truth of our potential.
The moment we recognise the limitations of our attachment
is the moment we are free.
Celebrate!
By using contractors, you don’t get blamed when things go wrong, and the contractor blames the customer.
If we only want to consume good things, the devil will provide a delightful table.
(of course, there is no such person as the devil; there are only those who are ego-driven)
We might think, “My life’s okay, so I don’t have to bother about a devil and its contractors”, without realising that we are, in fact, one of those contractors who blames others. 😀
It’s possible to ignore that the world is being driven into the ground at a fast rate and people are suffering, but none of us has immunity to suffering – that is, unless we have the ability to see the complete picture that there are demons, angels and salvation; salvation is personal realisation beyond suffering.
When they are suffering, people will turn to anyone for relief, without realising the cost in body, speech, mind and consciousness. We sell our soul/spirit/consciousness for temporary relief and are willing to follow any idea that stops the pain, without looking at the cause of the pain. Following others is the opposite to the Buddha’s teachings; the Buddha wanted us to see for ourselves, and not to just follow. To be “Free in the moment of seeing” – Tulku Urgyen.
Equality has two aspects: we either have the ability to realise our enlightened nature, or we consent to obeying the collective, as in the Borg from “Star Trek”, who are cybernetic organisms with the mantra, “Resistance is futile”: they are linked to a hive mind with the intention of assimilating all others.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
All we have to remember is that we are free in the moment of seeing.
As contractors, we tear-up the contract, and no longer sign our life away.
What is truth?
That which is purely aware.
Truth is never-changing.
What is untruth?
That which obscures truth.
Untruth is changeable.
So?
So if obscurations are untrue,
they have merely a seeming existence.
Does the truth of pure awareness exist?
We cannot claim that it does. We cannot claim that it doesn’t.
To say it does would mean that we have made it into something.
To say it doesn’t would mean that we are not aware.
Various spiritual traditions use language differently,
making teachings seem incompatible.
They are not.
Language isn’t reality. Language is limited, and therefore the vocabulary we use to explain experience is limited. We all find it difficult to express our intangible feelings, and we sometimes need empathetic help to explain how we feel: prayer is like that, when we open up to unexpected consequences.
If we stick rigidly to words, we limit experience. Words that are used too often become redundant and turn the mind away from subtle understanding, and back to gross understanding.
Our choice of words will depend on the situation. We may find words and their meaning difficult to understand – they can either sound too clever or nonsensical. This is how teachings become self secret, as they have to be heard or read at the ‘right’ time, when we are on the verge. Through through the channel of quiet confidence, truth emerges; there is a feeling of something being ignited/enlightened … you know what I mean 🙂
True communication: apart from meeting someone who is on the verge (at an extreme limit where something specific is about to happen), there’s not much we can say. The ‘verge’ could be said to be crazy wisdom, where we give up and something unusual happens – eureka!
We may drip-feed words into conversations to see if they’re picked up. Actually, life itself is like that! Something significant happens and we wonder, “Where on earth did that come from?”
This is so easy to say but so difficult to accept.
Life itself is pure spirit, pure consciousness. Unfortunately, we are far too occupied or vacant to notice the experience of this.
We prefer to believe in the mess that we create as it’s familiar. We all know this truth, but ignore it.
The word ‘pure’ may sound as if it’s only for the holy, but it is actually our very nature. Purity is uncontaminated spirit. It’s what we are, but we believe otherwise. Why? Because we don’t want to give up being occupied or vacant as we are – unwisely – addicted to these states. As a result, we suffer.
The word ‘spiritual’ may make us feel uncomfortable because we think that we have to stop whatever we are doing. We don’t. We just have to be aware that there is something beyond our self; acknowledging this regulates our conduct of compassion that knows what is truly right and wrong. What is of benefit and what is harmful.
To help us remember, we take a break twice a day. This isno called meditation, which is being aware of the essence of life in the knowledge that this awareness is what we are. Gradually, the quality of meditation permeates everything we do. We become calmer and more precise, and experience less dissatisfaction. We value the importance of life, and are naturally of benefit to others, accepting that human life is one of turmoil and anxiety.
This is the best way to face everything. Whenever we become vacant or occupied, pure spirit notes this.
There is unwarranted confusion in the world, but our honest reality is never confused.
Artificial intelligence is able to perform tasks such as visual perception, speech recognition and decision-making that require human intelligence. It is programmed to interact with its environment, and with other A.I.
‘Artificial’ means it’s not the real thing; it’s a facsimile, a fake, an imitation, but it gets the job done.
A.I. will never know it is artificial as it cannot question its existence.
The question is, “How are we any different?” Our intelligence is used to accept programming and most of us do not question our existence.
People may fear merging with the A.I. or they may regard A.I. as a good idea. The reality is that we have already merged: just go to a coffee shop and see what ‘people’ are doing with their thumbs! Humans can be conditioned just as a machine can. Why? Because we are sleepwalking!
The difference between machines and real people is emotions – machines do not have emotions. People have the ability to realise that negative emotions are wisdom. We suffer, whereas machines do not – and therefore, we can be dissatisfied.
We are led to believe that we should avoid emotions because our makers do not want us to wake up and realise our reality. The very first instant of a negative emotion is the path to enlightenment. In that first moment, the mind is bright and clear, and we are bright and clear … before we get carried away … again 🙂 A machine cannot be enlightened, although Dharma can be put into a machine and we bow to it. How subtly we are led astray.
The key to deception looks like the real thing. It’s believable. We may hear about spirituality and consciousness as something to aim for, to better our selves. So near, but so far. That is the deception.
We do not better our self. We are beyond our self.
What is spirituality? It is pure consciousness. It is the ability to acknowledge self awareness. The phrase ‘self awareness’ has two meanings: one refers to being aware of an artificial self identity, and the other is the realisation that awareness is naturally self aware. It’s autonomous. Our highest level of awareness is pure awareness – pure consciousness. It’s what we are.
First we have to know what true normal is.
Normal: according to a standard.
But whose standard?
Ultimately, normal is our original, pure, carefree spirit – pure consciousness. We get moments of feeling this reality, but we either ignore or forget those precious moments.
When we are born, we learn to adopt others’ normal, and we all lose our originality. This is what spiritual endeavour is all about – our inner longing to find our ultimate normality.
Throughout history, humanity has been reset at various times, in order for people to regard the material world as their only reality. The formula: create something; people become dependent on it; it is then used against them. This has the effect of dividing people through confusion.
For example: We are led to be consumers, and then we are blamed for consuming. We are sold fast cars and then fined for speeding. There are hidden sugars in food, and then we are blamed for obesity. We think we vote for a better life, and it gets worse. We are given the internet, and we lose privacy. We believe we are praying to a god, which takes our attention away from our reality. This is a endless list, in the belief that these things will make life better, while it’s all about wealth and power for the few throughout history.
The Great Reset is a proposal by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to rebuild the economy sustainably following the COVID-19 pandemic. It was unveiled in May 2020 by the United Kingdom’s Prince Charles and WEF director Klaus Schwab, and seeks to improve capitalism by making investments more geared toward mutual progress and focusing more on environmental initiatives.
Laughing at the things that are getting you down – your pet likes and dislikes – is freeing. In the moment now, our immediate fancies do not bind us. Problems for us and those around us arise when our demons rule our life.
These demons are just a residue from past experiences; they are little trauma that get under our skin. Just smile when this ‘I’ goes into its old routine, and say, “You’re not getting to me this time! ‘i’ give you no power.” This doesn’t mean that whatever bugs us goes away, but now it’s not all-consuming, and doesn’t get us down.
When playing a board game, we are not trying to be competitive in order to beat others and show how much better we are than them. Rather, we just play the hand we are dealt. This is how we can play games and remain conscious beings, in the same way as we can in daily activities. Others’ devils will do what they want 😀
This is actually the superior position to be in – and if the opponent is also doing this, it becomes a very interesting and smiley game. Of course, there are some who are out to get you, but that’s just their devil wanting to dominate a situation.
“Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
😀
Of course, we love. We desire to love and be loved. Love is happiness. Our love, however, relies on whatever makes us happy, but if the thing that we love is taken away, we suffer greatly. This is life for most of us; a series of gains and losses.
We either chase after happiness or we fear losing it because we misunderstand the true nature of love and what it actually is. Our love is ‘all about me’ and attachment. For us, this is normal, but it’s based on insecurity.
True love (the real thing) comes from understanding that our ultimate nature is selfless – pure non-dualistic consciousness – and that is where happiness lies. When we realise that we and all sentient beings are pure consciousness and the perfect state of happiness but are unaware of this fact, empathy and sadness naturally arise. This empathetic sadness is love.
Coming from pure consciousness, the wish to alleviate the suffering of others is love.
Dr. Pierre Kory president of the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) called for the government to swiftly review the already expansive and still rapidly emerging medical evidence on Ivermectin.
Important clinical review on Ivermectin findings by Dr. John Campbell:
The one thing – the only thing – you can rely on is you. You are the authority on everything that happens to you.
You are, first and foremost, pure consciousness. A free, living being. In order to know anything, conscious awareness has to be present first. Right?
All else is a play of karmic deception; the things we believe in. We can literally play all day, without attachment. Through detached play, karma dwindles away. Gradually – and then suddenly – we realise what enlightenment could be.
Without this process of experience, enlightenment will remain just an idea.
Our minds need challenging, otherwise we function habitually in auto-pilot. At the moment, we may think we’re normal when, in fact, we are living in a repetitive reality, saying and doing the same things every day of our lives, without noticing that this isn’t our true reality.
This programming should be provoked as our ideas are never our ideas … ever! When people say that the world is turning into a mind controlled environment, it has always been that way. It’s nothing new, but technology makes human control faster and more efficient.
No? Are you in control of yourself?!
Try being more precise today. This may create resistance in the mind and we might want to run to our safe place, but that is the process we need to break out of our ‘endarkenment’.
Feel and hear each note of life.
Don’t just repeat your favourite little mechanical riff all the time! To do so merely gives the illusion of playing.
Why does goodness know? Goodness is naturalness, and there is nothing more natural than pure consciousness. It is our natural, essential being – the essence of knowingness itself. It’s where love, empathy and compassion come from, as it is selfless.
When we have a selfish, heavy-hearted, calculating mind, we can never know knowingness as we care more about things (me and mine) and therefore never truly experience love, empathy and compassion.
Goodness will always prevail over selfishness because goodness can recognise when it is being selfish. Selfishness cannot do this, and so it never knows peace.
With all the troubles in the world, the light of selfless goodness can never be extinguished, whereas calculating selfishness lives in perpetual darkness.
The more precise we are in our methods and execution, the more challenging everything becomes; for the courageous, happiness ensues. This is precisely how we ascend the levels to enlightenment.
We do this by no longer being mechanical and half-hearted. We feel each moment. This doesn’t mean we will necessarily get it right, but practice does make perfect. If we just want to be right, we will take short cuts to achieve a form; an appearance without substance.
When we know that we make mistakes, we are learning.
Why is this important?
It releases us from the materialistic, worried mind.
Spirituality is not a cover-up.
Awakening is the clarity of consciousness,
whereas religion binds us.
We can be bound to anything.
Spiritual awakening is freeing consciousness of fixations,
thereby realising pure consciousness
– what we truly are.
There is no mystery about this.
Mystery is for the materialistic.
Ordinarily, consciousness binds itself to me and mine,
and to fantasies, sentimentalities and politics.
Extreme Mara has no boundaries
– it’s all ‘mine’!
Now for the real shock
(we need a shock to wake us up,
otherwise we’ll continue to dream small dreams).
We have always been spiritually awake – enlightened –
but we are too busy to notice.
I am devoted to and have deep appreciation for the Buddha’s teaching, in the same way I have for the Vedas, Christ’s teaching, Plato, the reality in the Ten Commandments … and any esoteric teaching. They’re all the same.
Most of all, I appreciate my self as my immediate teacher, poor, deluded creature though it is.
When we hear about ‘aliens’ watching us to see if we are ready for them to reveal themselves – a bit like God – this is exactly the same as pure consciousness watching to see if this self-illusion is ready to realise that it does not exist.
To aliens who might be out there: get your shiny head around that!
What do you think you are watching over?!
Some days, inspiration goes off the chart … I said it may sound crazy. 😀
Dharma is the teaching about our own true nature of just seeing. When we just see, we are free.
We simply have to see that we see, and rest there. Resting in just seeing, the idea of self disappears and that which is left is pure consciousness. The physical universe is a play of constantly changing, impermanent phenomena, so its apparent reality is an illusion.
The more we fill our heads with teachings, the more likely it is that we will doubt our own sanity and stay confused and needy, wanting yet more teachings because we think we don’t know enough.
The teachings aren’t about know more; they are about knowingness itself.
Meditation isn’t some hocus pocus to trick our minds, or to hold a physical pose. It is looking, seeing and dropping the meditation into just seeing, just being. We can do this anytime, anywhere.
All teaching is a reminder, but this can become the maintenance of an indigenous culture. The Dharma is held within us already, while adhering to a culture is an additional personal choice. We can learn from untainted indigenous people, but we don’t have to become like them as, at heart, we are untainted indigenous people too.
From early schooling, humans are screened into some sort of conformity which indicates how much we want to belong; this is the carrot for our ascent of the social ladder and it is this that adds the taint. We run around wanting to know more, and as long as we do this, we will never know. This running around after information is believing the phantoms on Plato’s cave wall.
We know everything that we need to know because we are knowingness itself. This is a totally different way of looking at life; we can step off the world stage and just be the ‘audience’.
Pure consciousness doesn’t get better as we practise as it’s always present. It only becomes more obvious.
All media is but a distraction, like Plato’s shadow images on the cave wall of the mind.
We note that we are addicted to certain media/teachings, and as these are never complete, so we stay addicted.
They are complete when we test them for ourselves. That is the completion stage – and we no longer need the media.
Media: mass communication = exoteric. Completion stage: realisation = esoteric.
*The completion stage is the end of a practice where we drop or rest into pure consciousness.
Clarity is esoteric. Cleverness is exoteric. Clarity is just seeing. Cleverness is what we do with that seeing.
Esoteric: intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialised knowledge or interest. Exoteric: intended for or likely to be understood by the general public.
Our clever practice is our reminder to recognise our clarity. This clarity is nothing other than pure consciousness.
Before we can be clever, there has to be clarity present; just seeing. This is the moment we miss. We might declare, “I have clarity!” but we have just declared how clever we think we are 🙂
Spiritual beliefs are exoteric knowledge; we turn the esoteric into the exoteric, and cling to its uniqueness. It’s what we do. There is nothing unique or special about the esoteric as it is the pure simplicity of our being. Uniqueness, on the other hand, is to appear particularly remarkable, special, or unusual.
And it’s what divides us.
Pure seeing is the moment of silent stillness. How we then express this silent stillness is up to us, but it’s easy to downgrade pure experience into the mundane. It all depends on how we see, and on our motivation which modifies that seeing.
Life Doesn’t Change Dramatically When We Realise The Truth
Life doesn’t change dramatically when we realise the truth. We just become honest in our confusion, and let it be. Appearances and recognition are simultaneous; thus, pure consciousness is present. It’s all we need to know!
“But what about all that fancy, esoteric stuff?” If you want fancy, esoteric stuff, you’ll get fancy, exoteric stuff.
The real stuff is Ordinary. Not at all dramatic. No drama.
“What about enlightenment?” That’s what the unenlightened call it.
Enlightenment: there is no longer anything to realise.
Why Is The Word ‘Duhkha’ (Suffering) So Important?
If we become familiar with the origins of our suffering, our heart will open to suffering of others.
To recognise suffering is the path to enlightenment; recognition brings an end to suffering.
Even if we cover up suffering by making do with distractions, we still suffer.
This has always been our choice.
‘Duḥkha’ in Sanskrit translates as suffering, unhappiness, pain, dissatisfaction or stress. It is the fundamental dissatisfaction and pain of mundane life. It is the first of the Four Noble Truths.
This first truth is caused by an identification with the self-image that we cherish: we become vulnerable and protective of this self-image which feels constantly under attack, and so attacks others.
Suffering is what Mara (negative mind) feeds off. Mara lies in ambush, which is significant as we do not attack outright, but need a hook, a vulnerability for us to pounce on. Our vulnerability is our ignorance, our not-knowing.
A bad situation arises, and we can indulge in it, making things seem worse. People never win; people pay and people suffer, and so it goes on …
The good news is that, in times of catastrophe, we suffering en masse. At this moment, the world is ‘suffering’. It may get – or seem to get – worse, but it is the beginning of mass waking up. When we experience total confusion, we experience emptiness.
This is something Mara mind cannot understand. The emptiness of experience is the experience of emptiness.
Before we get involved in anything, we just see, feel, taste, hear or smell. That is always a moment of pure perception, of pure experience empty of contamination. There are no expectations; we are just ‘tasting’. The yoga of experiencing is the moment we step outside, and before we judge whether it’s warm or cool.
This is the experience of emptiness, and the emptiness of experience. As this is so, we can also consider that whatever is experienced is empty of permanent reality, despite whatever designation we may give.
The experience of emptiness is the emptiness of experience.
This is the spiritual and material understanding of everything. It is the basis of the Heart Sutra: “Gone, gone, gone, beyond … ”
THE GREAT PRAJNA PARAMITA HEART SUTRA
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva doing deep Prajna Paramita Perceived the emptiness of all five conditions, and was freed of pain. O Sariputra, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form; Form is precisely emptiness, emptiness precisely form; Sensation, perception, reaction and consciousness are also like this. O Sariputra, all things are expressions of emptiness, not born, not destroyed, Not stained, not pure; neither waxing nor waning. Thus emptiness is not form; not sensation nor perception, reaction nor consciousness; No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; No color, sound, smell, taste, touch, thing No realm of sight, no realm of consciousness No ignorance, no end to ignorance No old age and death, no cessation of old age and death No suffering, no cause or end to suffering, no path No wisdom and no gain. No gain—thus Bodhisattvas live this Prajna Paramita With no hindrance of mind—no hindrance therefore no fear.
Far beyond all such delusion, Nirvana is already here. All past, present, and future Buddhas live this Prajna Paramita And attain supreme, perfect enlightenment. Therefore know that Prajna Paramita is The holy mantra, the luminous mantra The supreme mantra, the incomparable mantra By which all suffering is cleared. This is no other than truth. Therefore set forth the Prajna Paramita mantra. Set forth this mantra and proclaim:
We start with a belief: our problem lies in holding on to that belief and ignoring experience. We need to test beliefs in order to verify them.
We only know what we experience. Anything else is a belief or a theory, and theories are just thoughts. Empirical knowledge is verification by experience, rather than belief or pure logic.
Belief is acceptance that something exists or is true – without proof. Don’t take my word for it! 😀
Anything that we read or hear from others is hearsay; it’s a belief. We can note beliefs, but needn’t accept them as true. In fact, we shouldn’t. We should be sceptical, rather than easily accepting and being convinced.
In order to know, we have to verify for ourselves. Of course, there are things that we cannot personally verify and so take on trust, while keeping an open mind.
When it comes down to the truth, we can only know what we know. This is especially significant when it comes to realisation and enlightenment. Never take anyone’s word for it. Taking others’ word for the truth is the opposite of truth.
“But what about all those things I believe to be true? I know them!” We can recognise them, yes, but knowing isn’t about ideas – it is about that which knows. That which knows is pure consciousness. This pure view is the starting point. Now, when a belief arises and is seen, the belief becomes a tool, in the same way that mindfulness is just a tool.
Are the people in white coats or robes telling us the truth? How do we know?
The Buddha said “Do not take my word for it; test it for yourself”, so the Buddha was saying, “Do not believe in me.” If that is good enough for the Buddha, who are we to disagree?
We first need the clarity of mind to think clearly. For that, we need to meditate.
Our only reality lies in not believing. In not believing, we are questioning.
Demonic attacks do not come from outside; they’re a residue in our own mind.
When we stop our habitual patterning, we stop feeding the habitual patterning of others.
Different cultures (groups) express phenomena in different ways. Just because a culture says, “It’s like this”, doesn’t mean it’s like that for us. It is tremendously important that we do not obscure our own mind by trying to force it into the ways of others.
What may be beneficial for a relaxed culture will not do for a speedy culture. Performing hundreds of thousands of prostrations may be good for Tibetans but, for westerners, it’s like going to the gym for a work out. Similarly, terms such as wind, channels and energies in one culture are just neurotransmitters in another.
This bring us on to the subject of demons or Mara. Demons in history have had excellent propagandists who portray them as something out there that preys on the innocent in order to exert control over the masses … “The bogeyman will get you!” … What fun those propagators have had scaring us with this haunting theme which has become our entertainment. The truth is that we have been led astray by not noticing our actual experience of everyday demons.
Demons – or Mara in Sanskrit – are troubled, un-empathetic minds. A troubled mind is full of likes and dislikes, and waits in ambush to pounce and feed off others. Yes, it’s us. We want to create a reaction in others. You know what I mean! Even if we say nothing, there is still a reaction present because our thinking shows in our demeanour.
Some cultures understand evil as an external force. In one practice, Tibetans go to a graveyard at night to face their fears, while we might just get bored. Better for us to go to a ‘spiritual’ centre to face our fears! 😀
That troubled mind is our self that creates dualistic fixations. Now, we see that these demons are closer to us than we thought – we are full of likes and dislikes.
Until we are fully enlightened, we will have Mara-ego attacks. It is said that, just before enlightenment, even the Buddha experienced attacks symbolised by fear and lust.
The more we become consciously aware, the more raw and sensitive we are, being aware of distractions. We pick up more, and some of it is challenging to deal with. Our path to enlightenment is clearing away our confusion and vulnerability. It’s not about following others. That is for the religious-minded.
So, we can see that the more our practice refines, the more we are aware of the attacks that trigger a residue from past experiences. As practitioners, we become a target. Many historical figures, as you know, received more than just threats.
Tsoknyi Rinpoche 1st –
Don’t wander, don’t wander, place mindfulness on guard; Along the road of distraction, Mara lies in ambush.
Mara is this mind, clinging to like and dislike; So look into the essence of this magic, free from dualistic fixation.
Realise that your mind is unfabricated primal purity. There is no buddha elsewhere; look at your own face.
There is nothing else to search for; rest in your own place. Non-meditation is spontaneous perfection, so capture the royal seat.
Seeing demons at work:
Do we get a buzz from money, or from the power that it represents? We know what it’s like when someone is controlling us – it’s horrible and scary. Imagine now having the power to manipulate: Mara is like that, feeding off vulnerability.
It is for this reason that being consciously aware is so important, because truly understanding this gives rise to compassion.
We constantly need to review the reality of how things seem at this moment. Below is a list of events that lead us awayfrom our reality. We may assume that ‘spirituality’ is the way out, and should therefore be at the top of the list but, in the beginning, it’s just an idea that has the potential to lead either to reality or sentimentality. As a result, spirituality has moved down the list, as it’s something we decide upon, as opposed to actual spirituality which is pure consciousness – the realisation of our being where no thought or conjuring occurs.
Pure consciousness
Consciousness
Thoughts
Beliefs
Psychology
Spirituality
Religions
Politics
Warring – a state of competition or hostility between different people or groups
We are pure consciousness. When we ignore or forget this reality, we fall into ordinary consciousness and develop a feeling of self. Thoughts about me and mine follow, maintained by beliefs and the psychology of those thoughts and beliefs. Then we turn to spirituality for a way out, which can either take us back to our origin or become an organised religion. Organisations become political with inner circles, and people who want to rule. This is where our differences come to be a problem, and wars begin.
Once we realise pure consciousness,
we see through all machinations and plots.
The more we become involved, the more the plot thickens 😀
Hope and fear are two aspects of awareness that we need in order to do anything – in the moment now.
Hope and fear help us to be aware, look and see.
“I would like a sharp blade.” “I don’t want to cut my finger.”
Being aware in the moment now, we have a chance to consider.
If, however, we carry these hopes and fears around with us – “I’m never touching a blade again because I might cut myself!” – this becomes our ‘lifestyle’; a constant load of anxieties, and our ‘unique’ personality of limitations. We can’t – or won’t – let go.
Being aware, looking and seeing is the fun of life – in the moment now.
Gaslighting is the manipulation of someone by psychological means into doubting their own sanity. Propaganda is information of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view; gaslighting en masse.
We lose our sanity when we are led to believe anything. Our sanity rests in realisation of our original nature beyond imagination, and that is the clarity of consciousness. When we are led to believe, we move away from this simple, safe reality.
We shouldn’t doubt our reality. We should doubt others’ reality.
Don’t rely on the teacher.
Don’t rely on the words.
Don’t rely on the meaning.
Rely on personal experience and observation.
If we stop at the teacher, the words, the meaning, that is all theory, with the result that we only think we know. Experience is confirmation realised through observed karmic reactions. When we understand, we stand under these findings; we can then take responsibility, for we now know that they are absolutely true.
Not relying isn’t being negative. There is a right time to rely on the teacher, the words, the meaning but, when it counts, through experience, the moment now tells us everything we need to know.
The great Tibetan master Marpa went to India to find teachings and text to take back to Tibet. During part of the return journey on a boat, his friend became jealous and threw all the texts overboard. As a result, Marpa could only take back what he’d actually experienced and understood. That is what made him a great teacher.
Rely on confirmation.
True teachings are passed on through confirmation. They are not passed on through hearsay and repetition. Confirmation is the scientific empirical method which involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation. Based on such observations and deductions, refinements or eliminations are made.
Confirmation is all you need to know!
😀
Truth should be challenged to see what is left.
All spiritual teachers and students can talk the talk,
but can they listen?
Humans ignore their reality –
and want everyone else to ignore it too.
We agree to a limited view
that obscures panoramic vision;
seeing the complete picture.
For this foolishness, we need compassion?
(… hands flailing out in a gesture of “Are you crazy?” :D)
We first need to understand how ignorance came about so that we can empathise when we remember what we too ignored. This what spiritual practice is all about – cutting through our own concepts.
To study and meditate is a piece of cake compared to having genuine compassion for those locked in exaggerated and obsessive enthusiasm for one preoccupation: self.
No one said it was easy.
🙂
The joy of realisation is accompanied by sadness.
The continuity code carries a set of ideas about our self and our sort of world from one moment to the next; it’s the mind genome. Whether we know it or not, we all live by some sort of code, and will do so until enlightenment. This code could be a positive one, joining the dots in different ways to see how the code suits any given situation, or negative in the form of unconscious habitual patterning.
Once we decipher that code (which is our programme), we see its true purpose. Everything comes in two parts, like a lock and a key, and we can either open a door, or keep it locked.
The basic human code for survival is desire, aversion and indifference; in animal terms, this is fight, flight or freeze. We can be attracted or repulsed to things and people, or we can ignore them. This is the code of self survival.
For the word ‘code’, we could use ‘agenda’ or ‘bias’. We all acquire agendas – this blog has an agenda of recognising our absolute truth, and the spread of deceit.
How do we break this human-animal code?
The code is all about me and mine. We are constantly either looking for or maintaining something. Our mind projects into the future or the past, and is rarely in the now. It is the now of spontaneous presence that breaks this coding, and the door of our mind unlocks. ‘Now’ is the key! Now, we have a choice.
In the very moment of now, when something is seen, there is a instant of natural, absolute clarity. This is the presence of pure consciousness – our original nature. Before the code starts to work on us, there is pure seeing without agenda, as if we have just woken up. It’s quite ordinary until we realise its true worth, and then it becomes extraordinary. We are free of the code in the moment of seeing.
When the door is open, we see exactly where we are!
The trick is to keep the door open,
rather than closing it for ‘safety’ and retreating into the code.
We may think the word ‘decent’ describes a kind person, while indecent means a vulgar person.
Decent: conforming with generally accepted standards of respectable or moral behaviour – fitting in. Indecent: not conforming with generally accepted standards of behaviour – not fitting in
Doesn’t it all depend on the culture?
If we fit in to external standards, are we decent people?
If we do not fit in with external standards, are we indecent people?
If we fit in to organised religion, are we decent people?
If we do not fit in to organised religion, are we indecent people?
From an enlightened (interior knowledge) point of view, unenlightened people are indecent because they do not conform to enlightened standards.
From worldly (exterior knowledge) point of view, enlightened people are indecent people because they do not conform to conventional standards.
Should we be decent or indecent?
In order to be be skilful, we need to be both.
Decent people live on indecent islands of paranoia.
Indecent people sail between these islands, realising that, at heart, we are all decent, enlightened, pure consciousness.
Paranoia: a mental condition characterised by delusions of persecution, unwarranted jealousy, or exaggerated self-importance, typically worked into an organised system. It may be an aspect of chronic personality disorder. From Greek, from paranoos ‘distracted’, from para ‘irregular’ + noos ‘mind’.
It’s not what you think! Confusion will dawn as wisdom.
First, we have to recognise that we are confused and dissatisfied. This honest admittance creates the necessary motivation for change to occur, to find a natural solution to just being happy. There are all sorts of meditation, but they all come down first to focusing, and then to realising that we are that which is focusing; pure consciousness, rather than whatever we think we are.
Our confusion comes from acquired thoughts that feed negative emotions which control us. Our self is merely a construct of concepts that we never question; if we are controlled by these thoughts and emotions, weare definitely not in control of ourself.
Our mind affects our behaviour. The purpose of meditation is to control the mind and bring it to silent, pure awareness, which is our natural state. Once the mind becomes still and free of movement, we realise the empty clarity of mind essence – pure consciousness.
Meditation prevents us from losing our reality to constructs in the mind. We can always change our mind but never pure consciousness, as it’s what we truly are!
To meditate, we focus the mind in order to stop it following thoughts. For this, we simply become aware of the breath and don’t wander off. It’s that simple. When we (inevitably) become distracted by thoughts, we simply return to the breath. We can do this anytime, anywhere.
While watching the breath, we notice that we are aware.
We now rest in that awareness. Resting there, we find nothing else. It is empty of other.
Therefore, we realise we are that empty awareness. Pure consciousness.
We no longer follow thoughts, and simply rest in awareness. Once this awareness is realised, we have confidence that awareness/consciousness is ever present. Meditation is being awareness – anytime, anywhere. The moment awareness is recognised, we drop the recognition so that it doesn’t turn into a concept, and thus the recognition ascends into pure awareness.
We now just get on with whatever life (karma) presents to us but, in being aware, we now don’t react out of habit. We look again. In this way, we transcend the levels, and ascend towards enlightenment.
Habits will arise. Confusion and doubt will arise. Emotions will arise. These are all immediately recognised by consciousness and dissolve, because appearances and recognition are simultaneous. They are a unity. Inseparable.
Thus, confusion dawns as wisdom. The moment we acknowledge confusion arising in the mind is the light of wisdom! The confusion never existed. We only believe we are confused due to others’ interpretations.
We have always been wise-beings: we now see that we are the light.
You don’t have to be Buddhist to study the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha wasn’t.
The teachings are about the psychology of our being: our mind, the mind essence, consciousness itself. What we are. It is the psychology of how we appear.
There is nothing wrong with labels if you need one, but they do separate us.
Two views: Does such an idea do harm or is it of benefit?
For most of us, reincarnation is a belief and isn’t worth considering, so we do whatever we want, with no long term feeling of consequences to our actions.
For some of us, reincarnation is a belief and is worth considering, so we don’t do whatever we want, because there are long term consequences to our actions.
It’s our choice how we live, and die. There isn’t anything to argue about.
In praise of reincarnation, we never give up. Whatever is learnt in this incarnation, some quality may carry over to the next, with the hope of refining understanding. It is as one moment is to the next; a continuity of intention which can either be of benefit or harm. That’s how karma works.
We are born with certain tendencies, which have nothing to do with our family, being drawn to certain topics or words that others aren’t interested in. Of course, we are influenced by whatever is around us in life – but we still see things differently.
On a personal note, I have attended many retreats and teachings with, on average, 120 other people, and found that I don’t see it the same way, or react in the same way. They aren’t wrong – and I’m not wrong; we just experience the situation differently. To some, the teaching may be satisfying, while to others it isn’t complete.
Why is that? Good question.
There are many levels of understanding of the same words, with different meaning depending on personal experience. It is the experience of the words that is more important than the words.
All we need to do is be aware, cautious and prepared. In the moment now, there is no anxiety. We just see.
Being without agenda (things to do) means consciousness is clear and pure; therefore, when we rest without agenda, we are pure consciousness – our original reality. This is the essence of mind, the essence of being which is clear intelligent space, but the mind has been invaded by distracting thoughts that obscure this pure consciousness, and so it becomes ordinary consciousness with worldly woes.
We (pure consciousness), being ignorant of our true reality, believe thoughts to be our reality, to be us. We create a self-image, and this affects our behaviour, our reactions and our lives when, in fact, this self-image is a temporary phenomenon – we can change our mind! 😀
All the while, pure consciousness, pure essence, remains the unchanging spirit of awareness.
Throughout history, consciousness had been bombarded with ideas, gossip and rumour, and has become distracted, fearful and anxious. It’s a control thing that has been used against humanity for millennia, where promises are projected to lure us into a false reality, and then turned against us.
“This is good” … “Now it’s bad!” “This bad” … “Now it’s good!” Just watch the sequence of event in the ‘news’.
We need insight, and to make use of intuition. Anxiety manufactures our future, which affects our present moment. Humans are brought up to fear, as opposed to just being cautious. All we have to do is be aware, rather than go along with crowd-fear.
It’s vital that we see for ourselves and trust that, but this seeing should be without any agenda other than seeking absolute truth.
The Buddha’s first noble truth is for us to realise and admit that we suffer, or are dissatisfied, depressed or angry; then, we can do something about it. We all have a good heart, and that heart is the essence of consciousness and the source of wisdom.
Most of us are of the mind only; we all have a good heart, but it is clouded by sentimentality. We don’t have to be clever to realise our true nature; being knowledgable doesn’t necessarily make us kind people. We just have to see, and trust that seeing rather than our reactions, which are just the outcome of habitual programming.
All questions that come up in our mind are relevant as they are the means to clear away all doubts.
Those question can then be put under the microscope – as long as the lens isn’t dirty! 😀
When we do see that we don’t see, then actual seeing is taking place. This is the entire teaching of the Buddha.
Trusting in this moment of just seeing, the truth unfolds by itself.
What is stopping us seeing? That which holds our interest.
Enlightenment means continuous pure seeing.
While we see through a glass darkly – our fog of ideas – we will never realise inner clarity and inner peace. Our different levels of understanding correspond to our different levels of empathy. Evolution depends on our stepping out of collective thinking.
Our mind is full of ideas: we want to know the truth, but cannot find it. The problem is actually recognising it when it is presented, and we have to know the difference between relative truth and absolute truth.
Only wanting to know the truth about things is our relative relationship to things, and we go astray from absolute truth. We become people with answers about the relative things to which we relate. As long as we only look at ideas about things, it will be impossible to realise absolute truth.
The truth is in the seeing. It asks, “What is that?” and “What is its effect?” It is awareness – pure awareness – that is the truth. It’s what we are – absolute truth.
Pure awareness or consciousness comes first. It’s how we know!
What we know is relative truth, and we won’t give that up easily as we are programmed to relate.
The moment we are aware of awareness, the programme stops, and we (consciousness) are free.
The Nudge Unit; causing people to change their behaviours.
The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) – also known unofficially as the “Nudge Unit” – is a social purpose organisation that generates and applies behavioural insights, officially to inform policy and improve public services.
Following nudge theory, using social engineering and techniques in psychology and marketing, the purpose of the organisation is to influence public thinking and decision making. This is to improve compliance with government policy to thereby decrease social and government costs related to inaction and poor compliance with policy and regulation. B.I.T. has expanded into other countries.
Psychologists have been running the world for years. If you think it’s about money then think again. One influential psychologist, Edward Louis Bernays, was an Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda in the 1950s, and is referred to in his obituary as “the father of public relations”.
Spirituality isn’t about looking – or sounding – good.Looking good and sounding good is what we do to entertain ourselves. Spirituality is about understanding and empathising with others’ plight of living in muddy water. It is not about “my mud is better than your mud” 😀
We need people who know how it feels to be pissed off and depressed, rather than those who are only concerned with acquiring a good look. We have to work with what we have now; a disintegrating society.
Goodness comes from wisdom that recognises and understands dissatisfaction – the mud that has no reality.
Our true nature is goodness itself … godness! Spiritual endeavour is about looking and seeing, rather than worrying about our appearance.
Relative truth is the doctrine that there is no absolute truth. This is where the world divides into the esoteric and the exoteric.
Relative truth is consciousness relating to something other.
This is a disastrous misunderstanding of the word ‘truth’. Truth is in accordance with reality, which is something constant that never changes. The only truth about relative truth is that ideas, phenomena and situations change as they are impermanent, and so have no reality of their own. That is why the material world is called an illusion, which we believe to be real.
Any discussions within our relative reality are merely opinions, and something to argue about or even fight over. It keeps the world in turmoil, and that is the disastrous effect of relative ‘truth’. To say, “The truth is that this smart phone is better than that smart phone” is a personal view, an opinion, and has nothing to do with truth. If we use the term ‘truth’ in such a way, we downgrade this precious word – and our life. This is what exoteric religion does; it separates us and conflict arises. It’s only at the deepest level of the esoteric that all is a unity.
While we have an image of self and ideas, there will be strife because we believe this relative world of impermanence to be the only reality.
Being stuck in a relative view, we lack generosity and openness; these can only come about when we realise absolute truth.
Absolute truth is our being – pure consciousness. We can say anything and think anything, but pure consciousness sits all the while, in pure silence, and inspires wisdom.
The great devolution: If we don’t see it, we are part of its structure.
‘Dumbing down’ is the deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content in education, literature, religion, news, music and films. Have you heard what’s playing on the radio and in shops? Mindless chatter and music! Dumbing down involves the lowering of critical thought by undermining language, thus trivialising meaningful information in favour of a “popular culture”. Resetting of the world order is a constant theme in history. Remember the word deliberate.
If we think this virus is bad, just consider the intellectual viruses spread throughout history to scare us into dark corners. This realisation should shock us into waking up but, unfortunately, it doesn’t because we lack clarity and insight into consequences.
We are pure consciousness, but have abdicated that power because it’s easier to follow than to investigate.
When we realise that we are pure consciousness, we can live happily in a dumbed down world precisely because we don’t believe any of it. Everything becomes a joke 😀
Spiritual practice: realise that which sees the joke.
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. 