Genuine Inner Peace
Genuine inner peace is available at any moment. Not a temporary affair, but the real thing. This blogger cannot claim to have genuine peace at every moment, but merely an understanding that it is accessible.
The obstacles to inner peace are ‘residential’ emotions – an overall feeling that we are stuck with, and which includes anxiety, doubts, desire, expectations, fear, pride, jealousy: that is our unique path.
Designing a system where one does this, this and this and one will achieve inner happiness, inner peace, doesn’t work because we all have obstacles of varying densities. One could say different capacities and different levels, but it’s more than that. It’s to do with the strength of our programming and our ability, tenacity and honesty in dealing with that. It’s simple, but not easy.
Whether habitual emotions are occurring or not, genuine happiness is always available to us. In essence, our very nature is – and has always been – happiness. This is what the Dharma is all about, and the material on this blog offers a feel of how this happiness is self-existing. This does not mean that our outer life will be hunky dory, but our view will be clearer by understanding that all appearances are temporary phenomena that can nevertheless still be enjoyed. This basically comes from understanding that awareness has a finer reality of being pure awareness, empty of being contaminated by thoughts and emotions. Thoughts and emotions will still arise but we don’t hold on to them or cling to them obsessively, as we did when we were ignorant of these arisings. In understanding that all sentient beings have these same obstacles and the same potential of pure happiness, compassion arises.
By merely recognising the obstacles to awareness, they drop away for a moment, and there is a sense of relief and a release from being sophisticated. Gradually, with recognition, this inner happiness is recognised to be available all the time because it is our true nature.
The problem arises when we expect our inner and outer lives to match up. It is this expectation that creates suffering. The first noble truth of the Buddha is the recognition that we are suffering, and that there is a cause to that suffering, which is the second noble truth. When we finally admit that life is ‘poo’, we will want to do something about it! That is the third noble truth. Finding our path is the fourth noble truth.
Our progress will depend upon how strongly we see things, and ourselves.
We have to accept and recognise that we experience both absolute reality, and a conventional, human reality: one never changes while the other is in a constant state of change. In the moment of dropping our expectations in life, genuine happiness is present – genuine inner peace – and we can dip in any time we choose. We have to understand, however, how the present moment came about: it was due to our past actions, so wanting it to be different is unreasonable, although we can affect the future through our understanding now.
As we progress, life becomes simpler and there is more time and space to acknowledge this inner peace. Seeking good company helps; the company of others who wish to experience the same thing. Dare I say it…this blog is one such place 🙂 but it’s better to find a group and be face to face (although of course, being part of a group brings its own problems, even though the inner peace is still present!). If we go step by step at our own pace, we will get it! We start from where we are, and refine. For that, we need support.
I worry about writing this blog as it might interfere with someone’s progress, but you found your way here. It is always up to you. The Buddha said, “Don’t take my word for it. Test it for yourself”.
It’s good to start with questions.
The Buddha’s teachings always stand to reason.
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. 