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.

BAD KARMA OR GOOD KARMA?

Posted on April 13, 2017 by tony

Bad Karma or Good Karma?
It all depends on how we see it.

An example.

Because we choose a different lifestyle, our family, friends and strangers may shun us, or feel hostile towards us. They may choose not to talk to us … which, in fact, sets us free. Sad but true.

Of course, the differences are nonsense, but little irritations do blow up out of all proportion – love suddenly turns into hatred. Far fetched? Just look at the world!

We may not even have actually argued: it is just a realisation that the other has a different way of life to ours, a different way of seeing things. This may be perceived as threatening: “If you don’t believe what I believe, then you are my enemy.”

Compassion is very, very challenging. However one wants to love, it just doesn’t work. There are lots of spiritual people who claim they practise compassion, but when it comes down to it, the love is lacking and so, there comes a time of natural separation. Sad but true.

We die alone.
We live alone.
We meditate alone.
We realise alone.
Freedom is letting go.
Sad but true.

The inner joy of realisation is tinged with sadness.
The sadness is in seeing potential.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged caring, compassion, different lifestyles, lack of love, natural separation, sadness | Leave a comment

HOW CAN WE HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?

Posted on April 12, 2017 by tony

How Can We Have Been So Stupid?
… to allow evil to prevail?

We have consented to being pushed into a corner, playing with our techie toys, and while ignoring the modification of our world around us. Haven’t you noticed how the ‘authorities’ are becoming more heavily equipped, using the same technology as those toys with which we are playing?

Freedom is avoiding falling into the same trap as the collective. Rather, it is waking up to our true potential, capacity and power, beyond the ever-narrowing auto-suggestions made by the collective, for the collective. This collective gathering is achieved either through attraction or fear; the soft or hard approaches. As long as we can be controlled by our desires and aversions, others can control us by our desires and aversions. You join a group, you follow the rules!

We have to wake up … now. Ultimately, we are independent: we are not all one. If we were all one, then we’d all think the same way at the same time: we only become one either through enlightenment or mass hypnosis.

It’s what advertising and propaganda is all about – neurolinguistic programming. This is the branch of linguistics dealing with the relationship between language and the structure and functioning of the brain that can change our behavioural patterns through programming, and convince us to achieve specific goals in life – which may not be of our own choosing!

Religions can do exactly the same thing, if the picture being presented is not complete. If we are led to believe something, we are consenting to an illusion. Crazy!

The proof of truth is in our actual, genuine experience. The only thing that is real is our own pure awareness, uncontaminated by suggestion.

We are in this type of world because we closed our eyes and went blind. How can we have been so stupid? All we have to do is look, see what is looking – which is consciousness – and drop that tether of consciousness: that which is left is the realisation that only purity remains. That is where we are. It is the inexpressible. The is-ness with no name.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged being controlled, genuine experience, is-ness with no name, NLP, the inexpressible, the mess of the world, the trap of the collective, waking to our potential | Leave a comment

DHARMA, REAL DHARMA, NO DHARMA

Posted on April 11, 2017 by tony

Dharma, Real Dharma, No Dharma

The Dharma is information.
Real Dharma is genuine realisation of genuine experience.
In that moment of realisation, there is no Dharma.

Be careful of clinging to the exotic; it can destroy the Dharma.

An example:
Tonglen is the Tibetan word for ‘giving and receiving’

“In the practice, one visualizes taking in the suffering of oneself and of others on the in-breath, and on the out-breath giving recognition, compassion, and succour to all sentient beings. As such, it is a training in altruism.

“The function of the practice is to:
Reduce selfish attachment
Increase a sense of renunciation
Purify karma by giving and helping
Develop and expand loving-kindness and bodhicitta

“The practice of Tonglen involves all of the Six Perfections; giving, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration and wisdom. These are the practices of a Bodhisattva.

“The Dalai Lama, who is said to practise Tonglen every day, has said of the technique:

“Whether this meditation really helps others or not, it gives me peace of mind. Then I can be more effective, and the benefit is immense.” “
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonglen

This is the information, the ideal, about the practice of Tonglen: it is the Dharma theory only, and as such, is psychological. It’s the first step on the Bodhisattva path, and is called ‘bodhichitta’ – genuine loving kindness – which is the enlightenment-mind that strives toward awakening, empathy, and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings. We need the right psychological foundation for the real practices.

So what is the real practice, the real Dharma?

It is easily to sit and mentally send out loving kindness to all sentient beings, and breath in their suffering. It’s not painful or challenging at all, and there is no discomfort.

But when it comes to talking face to face with someone who is suffering – or perhaps an ‘awkward customer’ – we need more than theory. We need to be genuinely spacious, generous, intelligent and skilful. We need genuine loving kindness, genuine selflessness. We need to take the time to empathise and see it from the other’s point of view. Not many can do this. Not many Buddhists can do this: I speak as that awkward customer.

In genuine, compassionate empathy, there is no me and no Dharma, but just pure, genuine openness to be one with another’s problem. We actively fall silent to allow clarity to listen, which offers the other person space and time to express themselves.

After forty five years in various spiritual communities, I still haven’t met anyone with this capacity – not even teachers. That is how rare it is. The theory is simple. The practice is not. The reality is uncomfortable, which indicates that there is ego present.

There’s a Tibetan practice called Chod (pronounced Chur), to cut through ego. The Chod practitioner seeks to cut through fear by rituals set in graveyards at night, and visualisations of offering their body by (mentally) chopping it up in a tantric feast in order to put their understanding of emptiness to the ultimate test.

Does it work? What do you think?

There is a lot of theory out there … the scariest practice is talking to a theorist. We may find that we have forgotten to be a genuine friend and have become a genuine fiend!

The real Dharma challenges ego,
and bursts it wide open.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged allowing others space, challenging ego, Chod, dealing with awkward customers, genuine compassionate empathy, giving and receiving, Real Dharma, Tonglen | 3 Comments

SO NOW WE CAN MEDITATE …

Posted on April 10, 2017 by tony

So Now We Can Meditate…

…because now, we are aware that we are just conscious awareness,
and not this selfish mischief-maker that believes it cannot see.
Pure conscious awareness is the final knowingness,
and can take place at any time, while doing anything.

Even though life is difficult, things go wrong, we feel tired and weary or ill, pure conscious awareness is ever present, doing nothing but being pure conscious awareness. We have this ageing, temporary body and a mind full of concepts about reality that influence us, wearing us down and distracting us, while pure conscious awareness is just here now.

Once an activity is well practised, the body and mind can go into auto-pilot, feeling through the senses and perceiving through the mind, while clarity of conscious awareness just watches.

We are now mindful, focused, efficient, carefree and – most importantly of all – spiritually aware. Resting in pure consciousness is what spirituality is. When we are beyond thinking, relating and obsessing, we have returned to the spiritual realm within this body – the pure land. That is what we are and where we are supposed to be; we are, ultimately, compassionate beings.

Mindfulness meditation is not the same as awareness meditation.
Mindfulness is the boat to get to the destination of awareness. Once we arrive at the shore, we can leave the mindful boat behind.

It’s all about being in good spirits, even though we are watching the idiotic and the evil wanting to go to war for their cause, and in doing so, killing millions of innocent people.

The Dalai Lama:

“Of course, war and the large military establishments are the greatest sources of violence in the world. Whether their purpose is defensive or offensive, these vast powerful organisations exist solely to kill human beings.

“We should think carefully about the reality of war. Most of us have been conditioned to regard military combat as exciting and glamorous – an opportunity for men to prove their competence and courage. Since armies are legal, we feel that war is acceptable; in general, nobody feels that war is criminal or that accepting it is criminal attitude. In fact, we have been brainwashed. War is neither glamorous nor attractive. It is monstrous. Its very nature is one of tragedy and suffering.”

This is our relative world 2017, with all its troubles, while absolute consciousness looks on as it did before time began, knowing that, in their hearts, everyone want to be happy and no one wants to suffer. But as selfish mischief-makers, we cannot see that others also want happiness (even though misguided) and do not want to suffer: we turn a blind eye to humanity and therefore our vision is partial and selective. Having a clear and compassionate mind will help with the coming trauma.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged being in good spirits, difference between mindfulness and meditation, pure conscious awareness, the reality of war | Leave a comment

I CANNOT MEDITATE

Posted on April 9, 2017 by tony

I Cannot Meditate

Okay. Can you be aware ? It’s natural to be aware – just aware – but usually, when we do nothing, we fall into a vacant state, having or showing no intelligence or interest: a vacant stare.

We aren’t sure what we’re supposed to be doing.

The trick is to be aware of the awareness. It’s the same as being conscious of consciousness. We can do this for short moments – any where, at any time. We can notice our breath and be aware and conscious: it only takes a moment, a couple of seconds, or maybe a couple of minutes.

Being aware is meditation. We are just being aware – not of some thing, but of awareness itself, consciousness itself. That’s how we can relax. Meditation is just relaxing without becoming a vacant state. Within that awareness, we become aware that we are that awareness, that consciousness. It only takes a short moment.

If you find this worthwhile, then practise many moments, many times. We don’t need to try too hard, too seriously, too critically, as that will lead to suffering.

Who is it saying “I can’t meditate”?
How much do you want to be happy?

Take a moment to enjoy the moment.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

ABSOLUTE BEING OR CREATOR?

Posted on April 8, 2017 by tony

Absolute Being Or Creator?

We are absolute being – pure consciousness.
When pure consciousness becomes less clear, it becomes a self-creator.
It’s that simple.

We can be led astray
because is it that simple:
we love our creation – an imagined self!

Absolute being is absolute truth.
Creative being is relative truth.
The source and its reflection.

Images are in the imagination:
Do not make an image for yourself,
– of yourself – to bow down to … *

How and why something is translated
is of absolute importance.
Our life depends on it!

Absolute truth and relative truth become a unity when,
by virtue of one, the other is known.

The words and this clear page
are inseparable.
Right?

* From Exodus 20: “You shall not make for yourself an image (idol) in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Each individual has to decide what this means to them.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged imagined self, Pure Consciousness., self-creators, the unity of the two truths | Leave a comment

HOW DID I BECOME SO CONFUSED?

Posted on April 7, 2017 by tony

How Did I Become So Confused?

Confused: a person unable to think clearly; bewildered, as thoughts are mingled together.

If we know that we are confused, then we know something. That ‘knowing something’ is knowingness itself. The recognition of knowing that we are confused is the dawning of wisdom. This is because it is recognised that the mind is confused; we are not the mind, but rather, mind essence which is the nature of emptiness. The knowingness.

If we think we’re not confused (which is the majority of the population who chant the mantra, “I know, I know”) then knowingness is still present, but obscured. We live in a world of ‘knowers’: they have learnt their programme well, fit into society well, complain and consent well. So nothing changes.

The recognition of knowing that we are confused is the dawning of wisdom. Actually, it is wisdom itself! The ‘I’ is always confused as it is a relating truth; recognising this is the realisation of wisdom. Everything takes place within empty essence. Empty essence is the source from whence everything originates. When the source of empty essence dims and is obscured by relating to something other, we are distracted from the source. Thus, we start creating.

Confusion is mingling together the two truths, which causes conflict.
“It’s dark!” “It’s light!” Indecision … indecision …

Wisdom is seeing the unity of the two truths, which frees all conflict.
Because of the light, there is awareness of darkness. That’s all.
The dark reminds us of the light that sees the dark.

“I am so confused in my meditation.”
The awareness of that is the meditation.

Once we relax and accept this, we
stop struggling
stop trying too hard
stop being serious
stop fixating.

We can then relax into pure awareness
where there is no meditation.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged distracted from source, Empty essence, relative truth, the recognition of confusion, ultimate truth, unity of the two truths | Leave a comment

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY?

Posted on April 6, 2017 by tony

Have You Ever Wondered Why?

Have you ever wondered why films show fantastical gadgets and, a few years later, those gadgets are in the public domain, on sale and being used? Did the film inspire the gadgets, or were the gadgets developed and in use before the film, and the film was only produced to familiarise the public with these advanced gadgets? The film was just advertising – “Oooo! I’d like one of those!” Does the gadget have other, hidden uses?

Have you ever wondered, “Why am I doing this?” A robot with so-called artificial intelligence (which is only programming) cannot ask, “Why am I doing this?” A chess computer cannot decide just to stop playing: it is programmed to finish its task. A.I. robots do not have emotions or a sense of satisfaction, and acquire no karma – but the programmer, the inventor and the billionaire do!

We are being led to believe that robots should have ‘rights’ because they have A.I. but this only means that the programmer, the inventor and the billionaire will have the ‘rights’, entitlement and authority to do whatever they want.

All gadgets, although seemingly useful are, in fact, detrimental to our normal way of life – everything has speeded up because of gadgets! We have speeded up, our expectations have speeded up and our anxiety has speeded up – so much so that we are kept distracted all the time. Some people keep a phone under the pillow, just in case. Spiritual teachers think we are that way because that’s the way we are, but in fact, it’s because of our environment: if our environment was more truly spiritual, we wouldn’t be that way.

A.I. robots cannot have pure consciousness because they do not have doubt, pride, jealousy, fear or desire. They cannot have ignorance of their true nature because they have no true nature, only what is programmed in. They are programmed to carry out tasks and so are constantly calculating. They cannot investigate their own nature for if they did, they’d seize up and stop all activity because there would be no need for them to have an activity: their programme would be redundant.

It is because A.I. robots do not have human emotions that they cannot be enlightened. It’s a fantasy on the part of the scientists to believe that a machine can have pure consciousness precisely because they don’t understand what pure consciousness is. Scientists want to achieve something, and therefore, their machines also want to achieve something. And that ‘something’ will not be good for humans.

People have become programmed consumers of goods and information.
“Oh! I want one of those!”
It may turn out that one of those will not want you!

😀

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged gadgets, investigating our true nature, programmed consumers, we have speeded up | Leave a comment

WHAT IS KARMA, AND HOW CAN WE SEE IT?

Posted on April 5, 2017 by tony

What Is Karma, And How Can We See It?

We see karma in our behaviour.
Our behaviour is karma,
and karma creates our behaviour.

Karma is a Sanskrit word for the results of actions;
the cause of an effect.

Reactions in the mind are products from our past. If we keep reacting with the same mindset, then we shouldn’t expect a different outcome.

If we want change, we have to stop our reactions by allowing space within those reactions for clarity to see clearly. Every time we react, our karmic programme is rewriting itself, maintaining the same personality, and same behaviour. By disregarding karma, we lose insight into potential dangers. We shouldn’t be careless, as insufficient attention creates suffering: if a lorry is heading towards you, get out of the way!

If we are happy with the way we are, then why change? If, however, we feel there is more to us than earning money, being in a family or entertaining ourselves, then we need to investigate, looking more closely at what we truly are.

We are free and liberated from everything and everyone, and that is how we can truly love – being one with rather than attached to! When we are free of reacting to karmic control, then karma is a very subtle teacher.

Nothing is fixed.
No thing is permanent
except pure awareness.

Karma is telling us everything we need to know
to bring about the cessation of karma.

Being totally free of karma is purity of being:
enlightenment.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged is there more to us?, KARMA, nothing is fixed, reacting, the results of actions, we are free, why change? | 2 Comments

A.I. ROBOTS WILL RUN THE PLANET

Posted on April 4, 2017 by tony

A.I. Robots Will Run The Planet

Ordinary humans will not be needed by the billionaires
who programme the A.I. robots.

As A.I. is artificial intelligence,
all they need is to be switched on.

In the meantime, we have become robots
relying on and addicted to programming.
Does your watch talk about you to your I-Phone yet?!

This is perfect eugenics
by those who think ordinary humans are inferior and unnecessary
unless they become part of the machine.

It can only end in more suffering,
even for the billionaires
who will live in huge underground cities,
paid for by inferior human beings.

Do you have the feeling you are being used?
It’s a world for billionaires to play in, not you.

Be aware – of what is happening, and don’t be captured.
The joke is believing all this will make the world happier.

The signs of the times: human microchip implants:

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/cyborgs-at-work-employees-getting-implanted-with-microchips/ar-BBzhmBF?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4377392/Upgrading-humans-billion-dollar-industry.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4376754/How-Elon-Musk-meld-man-machine.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4376522/Astronomer-royal-believes-alien-life-robotic.html

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

MEDITATING PROPERLY, AND WHY WE MEDITATE

Posted on April 4, 2017 by tony

Meditating Properly, And Why We Meditate

Meditation is not about holding a posture physically or mentally.
Meditation is not about trying to be mindful and ‘self’ aware.
Meditation is not about creating better ideas to promote ourself.

Meditation ‘is’ awareness of consciousness itself.
That is precisely what we are:
pure awareness/pure consciousness is the clarity of emptiness.

Then the mind is right, the body is right,
the subtle body is right, and speech is right.

We do not have to ‘do’ anything but rest in awareness,
eyes open – all the senses open –
resting in pure perception
without the interference of comment.

Why?

When we realise the essence of mind is clear, relaxed and carefree, it notices the conventional mind’s little expectations, fears, pride, jealousies, and limiting protectionisms. These are our obstacles, our fixations, the cause of our little (and large) sufferings. When, through meditation, we observe these negativities and admit them honestly to ourselves, we transcend these limitations and become happier.

We will also realise that, in fact, we have always been happy, because being happy is natural to all creatures but, over generations, we have been manipulated by civilisation to look elsewhere for happiness. We have become bound by a collective that is ignorant of its true nature. Meditation releases us from this chaos, although the chaos is still out there!

Through meditation, that which is unnecessary drops away, and that which is enlightening increases.

And all we have to do is relax, be undistracted and never return to our dream world.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged conventional mind, meditating properly, Meditation is awareness., The cause of suffering., the clarity of emptiness, we are happy, Why we meditate | Leave a comment

“I CAN’T DO DEVOTION”

Posted on April 3, 2017 by tony

“I Can’t Do Devotion”

Devotion and compassion are the same, in the sense of losing our ‘self’ identity. The devotional approach to spirituality is said to be very powerful and to work wonders, but some may not feel this way. There may be connotations due to misunderstanding the spiritual process, or perhaps it doesn’t feel right just to follow others’ displays of excessive affection which could be little too sentimental, and unlike the juiciness of genuine, inner-essence love.

It may be that our own culture is in turmoil, but that’s where we are. We may encounter those who seem too ready to adopt the mannerisms of another culture. For example, trying to appear humble may be just a show: devotion is meant to destroy pride, not create it. We can have devotion in a quiet way, through quiet respect.

There is nothing mystical about devotion: it is psychological. We look for someone whose understanding seems more complete then our own. Once we understand, the universe is our oyster.

As Shakespeare wrote in “The Merry Wives of Windsor”:
“I can do whatever I want in this world.
The world is my oyster.
Why, then the world is my oyster,
Which I with sword will open. “

That sword is the sword of wisdom and compassion!

Devotion is usually directed towards a spiritual teacher, guru, or lama in order to achieve spiritual progress. Vajrayana (or tantra) is all about guru yoga – devotion to a deity: it is one approach, but there are others. For westerners, this isn’t an easy approach as devotion may have connotations of other meanings which may confuse us. In addition, we may notice a bias on the part of the teacher; alternatively, we could fall into the trap of wanting to be one of the teacher’s favourites. We might wish to be devoted, but if it just isn’t there, it just isn’t there.

We all have devotion, but need to find what it is. To do this, we have to look at where our enthusiasm lies: there is an natural inner longing. What do we most appreciate? Is it the essence of truth? Isn’t it true that, whenever we watch a movie, we hope for a ‘good’ ending?

To understand the essence of the teaching, we need a teacher. The teacher is there as a reminder of inspiration and direction. All spiritual paraphernalia is to remind us of essence, our essential nature. Once we ‘get it’, we can be devoted to the essence of the teaching itself – and then that devotion is our way of life.

The teacher is only the teacher because of the teaching: the teacher is enlightened activity on the path. When the teaching is tested and understood, then everything becomes the teacher, as all illusory appearances are a display within the reality of emptiness. We learn that, in opening the oyster, the jewel is not the pearl. The jewel is the sword of wisdom itself!

We can now stand on our own two feet. We ‘get it’, so now our focus is on the direct experience and realisation, while still remembering and supplicating to the enlightened ones for support and blessings. ‘Blessings’? All I can say is that it’s an inner inspiration.

It is all too easy to go astray through arrogance. We have to review our own motivations constantly.

Now devotion turns into compassion. Devotion is not something we acquire. We finally realise that devotion is what we are – one in love.

Of course, I could be accused of being a wannabe teacher ;D but all I’m saying is that the whole phenomenal universe is our oyster – our teacher. The ultimate teacher is our own mind. Everything appears within the emptiness of mind. It is the only reality.

There is an abundance of ‘teachers’ in the world. They’re all over the place, collecting students.

It all depends on what truth we seek.

“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; they who seek find;
and to those who knock,
the door will be opened.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Knock and the door shall open., Spiritual Devotion, Spiritual teachers, The world is my oyster. | Leave a comment

WAKING, DOZING, AND … ZZZ …

Posted on April 1, 2017 by tony

Waking, Dozing, and …zzz…..

When introduced to the nature of mind, which is pure awareness, we might say, “It’s wow! This is great!” … a….n…d … back to sleep … 😀

In the Tibetan Nyingma tradition, the approach to reality is called Dzogchen; we are Dzogchen! Empty essence is termed Rigpa.

When first introduced to pure awareness (rigpa), we experience a baby rigpa, which is fresh but unstable. Our job is to become more familiar with and stabilise rigpa through practice, and practice means remembering. We have to remember to stay awake: we may appear to be awake, but we are merely walking around in a set of ideas, in a dreamscape.

When this is realised, it’s quite a shock. It is also a shock to note how easily we fall back into this dreamscape.

When we do wake up, we realise that the world around us hasn’t! “Wow! This is great?” This is challenging: it’s here that we have to be vigilant, skilful and compassionate.

Go in a good way.
Speak in a good way.
Think in a good way.
Feel in a good way.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baby rigpa, Dzogchen, living in a dreamscape, Pure Awareness, Rigpa, stabilising rigpa | 2 Comments

WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS TO YOU?

Posted on March 31, 2017 by tony

What Is Most Precious To You?

Before we look for an answer, wouldn’t our own sanity be most precious to us? Having sound mental health? Without that, we wouldn’t appreciate anything, would we? The question now arises, what is ‘sound mental health’, and what is ‘unsound mental health’? Sanity is the ability to be rational, while insanity is irrational – it’s serious mental confusion.

We need accurate knowledge and clarity about our mental processes. We need to be able to discern the difference between that which is beneficial to our physical and mental well being, and that which causes harm. For that, we need clarity of mind: clarity tells us what is junk and what is wisdom.

What is this wisdom? It is the authentic, undisputed principles that can fish us out of irrationality, freeing us from the junk that causes serious mental confusion.

This confusion comes from a collective misunderstanding based on false self identities and misperceptions about the world around us. We live in a sea of collective confusion.

Authentic teachings that can fish us out of irrationality; it is for this reason that they are precious. For these living, authentic teachings, we need to have deep appreciation and respect. They are precious, and shouldn’t be taken for granted as a pastime. They are awakening, living truth.

Respect is deep appreciation for these teachings that make our life worthwhile: this is called devotion. The way in which we relate to these living teachings – through respect and devotion – inspires and creates enthusiasm which consecrates and makes sacred everything we do and feel. Without our appreciation, the teachings are merely fossils.

What is most precious to you?
Your ability to recognise!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged authentic teachings, Clarity of mind, irrationality, living teachings, rationality, respect and devotion, respect for the teachings | Leave a comment

AWAKENING AWARENESS, AWAKENING CONSCIOUSNESS

Posted on March 30, 2017 by tony

Awakening Awareness, Awakening Consciousness

Ordinary awareness or consciousness is the ability to perceive and feel. All creatures have this ability in order to survive. So what does it mean, to awaken consciousness?

Well, there is more to us than merely surviving and following a routine pattern: that is our conventional level of existence where we relate to things and judge good and bad. Sheep can do this too.

This is relative consciousness. Whatever happens in this relative existence is called a ‘relative truth’, and takes place in the mind. This mind-place is where routines are set up – and get up-set 😀 .

As this pattern of behaviour takes place in the mind, it is our past affecting our future – which turns out to be more of the same. Even though it feels as if whatever takes place is immediate, milli-moments of time are required to process information.

This is a dream state as it is never in the now. Tulku Urgyen called the ‘now’, “spontaneous wakefulness or spontaneous presence.”

‘Awake’ means to come out of a dream, cosy or otherwise. Awakening consciousness is consciousness becoming aware itself and finding nothing, as it is empty of time-reliance. That is waking up to our true, essential reality of ultimate consciousness – our essence.

The trouble is that we are too busy living the dream to be awake.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged awakening consciousness, living the dream, ordinary consciousness, relative consciousness, Spontaneous presence, the now | Leave a comment

ENLIGHTENMENT OR SUPER ENLIGHTENMENT …

Posted on March 29, 2017 by tony

Enlightenment or Super Enlightenment …
… that is the question.

To ‘enlighten’ is to shed light on something. ‘Enlightenment’ is to attain spiritual knowledge and insight that awakens awareness, freeing us from the cycle of rebirth – of doing it all again!

In fact, that very phrase ‘cycle of rebirth’ (which usually means reincarnation), could be seen as freedom from the habitual cycle of the rebirth of obscuring reactions … now! If we can do it now, then maybe we will do it in the future. This does not undermine reincarnation, but addresses how we spend this life, which will be the cause for future experiences.

Here is the point. Generally, we hold vague ideas of omniscient Buddhahood achieved through sitting in meditation, employing secret methods and incantations. As a result, we meditate and chant, and in a subtle way keep on wanting life to be different from what it is now: this in itself can be disheartening as we may seem to be getting nowhere.

If, however, we see enlightenment as merely the awakening of awareness, then life can be fruitful. We can be happy now, and recognise the evil influences working upon us, causing the loss of concentration. A good quality of meditation is just being aware of awareness which realises mind essence. This may – or may not – lead to super enlightenment of omniscience: at the very least, it will build a firm foundation if super enlightenment actually exists.

It is said that it is possible to become enlightened in one lifetime, but this is extremely rare. Let’s be honest, not many of us can achieve this unless we are in seclusion and have the ways and means. But we needn’t be unhappy: just attaining knowledge and insight into the nature of mind, we should be grateful to get off street level.

Question: Who do you know that is super enlightened, and been verified as such? People can appear to possess higher qualities, but maybe they’ve just been taught to act that way 😉

If we are aiming at super enlightenment – that which is beyond comprehension – we will always find ourselves lacking, and probably – subtly – switch off. Out goes the light, and all we do is follow the form, like all the other beggars, believing one day we will have a spiritual title, fly, walk on water, leave imprints in rocks, have many followers, go to Buddha realms …

Why not just enjoy life now?
Realisation is the art of happiness – now.
We can we happy now, ‘enlightened’ now,
within this world of chaos and confusion.
The very moment chaos and confusion are seen
is the very moment of wisdom – being aware!

It’s like that, and it’s that simple.
Awareness awakens.
The only problem is … staying awake! 😀

It is the rawness of the emotions that awakens awareness.
Dare to realise; it’s that simple.
Who dares, wins!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged attaining insight, awakening awareness, cycle of rebirth, enlightenment in one lifetime, the emotions are the wisdoms, The Nature of Mind | Leave a comment

THE TRUTH IS NOT OUT THERE!

Posted on March 28, 2017 by tony

The Truth Is Not Out There!
“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him”

Enlightenment is not some else’s enlightenment:
it is our own enlightenment.
Kill the imagery, and realise.

Once we find the teaching,
understand it, experience it, realise it, drop it, be it,
while recognising all the impediments that divert us.

If viewed correctly, the impediments are wisdoms,
as they instantaneously remind us of just being.
Impediments and wisdom are therefore inseparable.

The impediments that divert us are just
aberrations and abnormalities;
mental dis-orders within emptiness,
our enlightened nature.

Mental dis-order is what sentient beings are,
while at the same time
having the potential of enlightenment.

Being upset is part of the process.
No pills required.

Trying to fit into a mentally dis-ordered world,
requires a lot of pills to dumb us down.

The Truth Is Not Out There.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged “If you meet the Buddha on the road kill him”., The Truth Is Not Out There!. | 1 Comment

WHO IS TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING?

Posted on March 27, 2017 by tony

Who Is To Blame For Everything?
The answer is … empty essence!
Isn’t that surprising?

We may want to blame the Buddhas – or deities – for not doing more for mankind, but if they do anything, they would show bias. It is their very presence that inspires.

A pure state is not biased in any way: empty essence allows everything and anything to occur – delusion or enlightenment. It is totally unbiased.

It is awareness that chooses. Awareness can either claim things to itself, or let go and just be aware of its own true nature of empty essence. Empty essence isn’t bothered one way or the other; it remains unaffected.

It is only awareness in this pure state of emptiness that can comprehend how and why to be compassionate. It understands and empathises that no creature wants to be unhappy, and that their true nature is empty essence. Not knowing this, we suffer.

Empty essence is being.
Awareness is doing.
As a unity, they manifest inspiration.

Empty essence just sits and watches.
It is because awareness knows empty essence (its true nature) that awareness remains inspired.

Do we think that which is called ‘Buddha’ or ‘God’ is the same as or different to pure consciousness? If it is the same, then Buddha/God is to blame for not doing anything, as the very essence of Buddha/God must be purity. Pure consciousness doesn’t do anything: it just is. Ordinary consciousness or awareness (which all creatures have, and which is impure as it is self-orientated) is free to choose which path to take: delusion or enlightenment.

As human beings, we are impure consciousness.
As spiritual beings, we are – potentially – pure consciousness.
Empty essence does not interfere; it remains uncontaminated.

Words have to be seen in context:
it’s easy to be led astray.
Don’t believe.
Know!

Here’s a Buddhist way of looking at the first two commandments from the Old Testament:
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make idols.”

There is nothing higher than pure consciousness.
We do not make a concept of pure consciousness:
it is not an idol of ourself to which we bow down.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Awareness, choosing a path, EMPATHY, Empty essence, impure consciousness, Pure Consciousness., the essence of God | Leave a comment

TAKING THE HEART OF THE BUDDHA’S TEACHING TO HEART

Posted on March 23, 2017 by tony

Taking The Heart Of The Buddha’s Teaching To Heart
It’s really very simple.

The heart of the Buddha’s teaching is spontaneous presence, which is the same as non-duality, empty essence, pure consciousness, pure awareness, nowness. It could also be described as God-consciousness.

Having said that, in the very heart of the Buddha’s teaching, there is no spontaneous presence, non-duality, empty essence, pure consciousness, pure awareness, nowness or God-consciousness. No teaching, no teacher, no student. That is the realisation.

The experiencing of the experience arises when essence comes out, steps down, and returns to the ordinary consciousness of time to reflect on the realisation of essence’s qualities. We now return to the mind and body senses, and use whatever capacity that is available to express these qualities. That expression is love – unconditional love.

It is unconditional because we realise that whatever has been experienced, everyone else (every entity in the universe – even the very bad ones) is capable of experiencing and realising that true nature.

This foolish, illogical earth-mind is a very special place!
Is that not so?

Buddha’s teachings stand to reason, and are easily experienced.
Ah, I remember how difficult this seemed until it was pointed out.

The problem is – we prefer something else.
Pity.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Empty essence, non-duality, nowness, Pure Awareness, Pure Consciousness., Spontaneous presence, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE | 3 Comments

BUDDHISM IN MODERN LIFE

Posted on March 22, 2017 by tony

Buddhism In Modern Life

Modern life is caught up in soft suffering – we hardly notice our stress and anxieties because we are busy trying to catch up with technologies and upgrades. Hard suffering occurs because life falls apart due to stresses and anxieties caused by events that were caused by other events. Basic Buddhism says we suffer because of ignorance of our true nature, but modern life is life on steroids and antidepressants, with hidden sugars, salt and other additives in our food (even in the packaging!) all of which have an effect.

Does Buddhism have to change with modern times? Yes, I think so; it has to see the bigger picture of the price we pay for ‘free’ technology. It’s the cheese in the mouse trap!

Life is a chain of events. One moment of cause produces an effect for the next moment of cause, and so on. Everything depends on input: if we maintain the same input, the result will be the same. That’s how we develop a personality, a type.

Whatever we (or others) put into our bodies and minds has an effect on our future. Tracing a cause is seemingly impossible as we are the result of complex inputs. Nothing just happens!

If life is going well, we will not want to change – but remember that everything is impermanent. The god realm of ‘I’m at the top’ does not last!

The more refined the mind – and therefore consciousness – becomes, the more sensitive we are to our environment and the effect that this has on our minds and bodies. We notice the way something is written, or the sound of a voice, or a gesture, smell or taste. We become aware of how something is introduced to a society that will have an effect on people, even 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years later. We see how the generations seem more dumbed down.

‘Dumbing down’ is the deliberate oversimplification – and over-complication – of intellectual content within a culture in order to confuse, and render the population less able to comprehend the force behind the actual knowledge that is controlling them! One is too tight, and the other too loose. The resulting effect is similar to mice in a maze.

It’s the same with our health: what we take into our bodies, consciously and unconsciously, WILL have an effect on us later. We are talking about the globalisation of everything. The globalist wants us to conform to make the control and maintenance of their wealth easier, for their dynasties. So you see how our lives are being controlled more and more. Choice is a mirage. Corporations know how easily humans become addicted, and this is used to enslaved the public. After all, if you have a mass of wealth, you will want to maintain it, and are thus caught in the very same trap of addiction.

So how can Buddhism help?
Buddhism reminds us to be aware of not falling into a life of illusion.

Events in early life have a strong influence on us,
and we believe that there is only one way to go
– to follow the crowd and join the queue.

Meditation – sitting in stillness – is the way out.
We can step outside at any time.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a chain of events, Buddhism in the modern world, Dumbing down., stepping out of the trap | Leave a comment

DZOGCHEN, MAHAMUDRA, SHUNYATA, DHARMAKAYA, ADVAITA … ?

Posted on March 21, 2017 by tony

Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Shunyata, Dharmakaya, Advaita … ?

These are either attractive and mystical-sounding words,
or they represent most ordinary aspect of reality in the infinite universe.

These are simply Tibetan and Sanskrit terms for non-duality.
The pure, uncontaminated emptiness of consciousness.
Perfect awareness where no ‘I’ is present.

No “I look, I see”, but merely looking, seeing and dropping any attachment or comment.
These words mean ‘just being’, rather than being something. What could be more ordinary?

The very first instant of seeing falling blossom in a spring breeze is non-duality. Then we spoil it by thinking how beautiful it is; we have started to apply memory and judgment, and have taken a step back, missing the beauty that is in the eye of the beholder of pure consciousness. Actually, the same would apply if we came across dogshit on our shoe – and also the moment before the blossom or the shit – and the moment when the incidents have passed. We are non-stop non-duality, but we get hooked onto ‘things’ (although ‘things’ can be a catalyst to realising our true nature, as negative emotions are actually wisdoms).

It doesn’t matter how glamorous and elaborate the presentation of Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Shunyata, Dharmakaya, Advaita appears to be, or how charismatic the presenter is: it’s all about your true nature. You! We are Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Shunyata, Dharmakaya, Advaita.

Isn’t Christianity the same? Union. In Christian theology, divinisation is the transforming effect of divine grace, the spirit of God. It literally means ‘to become divine’, or to become God where there is no separation.

In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus said, “ … Split a piece of wood: I am there. Lift a stone, and you will find me there … “

When there is just looking, it is realised that there is just seeing. That is pure consciousness; non-duality. If we’re looking for something or someone else, then there are two again!

What could be more divine than purity of consciousness? It’s neither complicated nor a mystery. In the pure emptiness of the divine, there are no parts and so, no complexity. It’s been made to appear both complicated and mysterious – but what could be more simple and ordinary?

Could it be that we are only attracted when a thing dazzles?
When we are dazzled, we are dazed and overwhelmed.
This pushes the ultimate away from us,
making it appear unattainable.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ADVIATA., Dharmakaya, Dzogchen, Gospel of Thomas., Mahamudra., Shunyata | Leave a comment

WE ARE A DEVIATION

Posted on March 19, 2017 by tony

We Are A Deviation
and easily misled

If we think the Dharma is the teaching then we are mistaken: we are the Dharma. The Dharma is not only within us – it is us, our essence. We are essence.

It doesn’t matter how many teachings we go to, or how many books (or blogs) we read, or to whom we talk, the real Dharma teaching is our own experience. We have to do exactly what a Buddha does, and that is look.

Life is about refining what we know – evolving, rather than becoming a fossil. The Dharma is the living experience to realise our fullest potential. Its purpose is to help us escape from our cocoon, rather than encasing ourselves in more ‘fine silk’.

This is not about how much we know. It’s about knowingness itself, which is reflected in genuine kindness, without appearing to believe that we are superior to others.

Religion – or the teachings on our true essence – can only be destroyed from within if we are not looking correctly. In these corrupt times, we have to be extra-aware.

We are living Dharma.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged We are living Dharma. | 1 Comment

THE FIVE SKANDA

Posted on March 19, 2017 by tony

The Five Skandhas

To exist as humans, we comprise the five skandhas or aggregates, and this is how we hold it all together.

Simply put, the five skandhas are:
The body’s sense organs
Sensations of those organs
Recognition of perception
Judgment and memory
Consciousness

Consciousness is the awareness before recognition (perception): consciousness is aware that something is there, and perception determines what it is. We then, through memory, make a judgement on that. We hear a sound and consciousness is alerted. Recognition perceives that it is a car: then we judge whether we like it or not. This happens so quickly that we become lost in a instant. This is how we are imprisoned in the activities of the mind.

Remember: this is the way in which we function as human beings. From the perspective of pure consciousness, the skandhas do not exist, but they hold our temporary, physical form together. We are released from this cycle of existence when we remember our true nature of pure consciousness (as opposed to impure consciousness).

From a spiritual point of view, pure consciousness remains within itself when in meditation. It can be aware of occurrences, but doesn’t follow them. In ordinary life, we don’t become too distracted by these arisings: we pay them just enough attention to deal with what is necessary and beneficial.

In conclusion, it seems that the skandhas are the same as the eight levels of consciousness (five of the senses and three of the mind – perception, judgement and memory).

In the experience of non-meditation, we are free of everything.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged The Five Skandhas | Leave a comment

THE CULTURE OF WEALTH AND ENTITLEMENT

Posted on March 19, 2017 by tony

The Culture of Wealth and Entitlement
The age of the ‘super-wired-into-machine’ humans

This is the age of narcissism…

… of the justification of inequalities … of restricting the advancement of humanity … of human subjugation to technology … of oppression by negativity … of distraction and division … of superiority complexes … of the constant need for reward … of assumptions of truth …

If we want freedom from all this, then meditate.

The above is one huge technocratic device to enslave humanity through the lure of wealth, fame, and the false feeling of ‘security’ offered by class and entitlement. Have you noticed how the wealthy and famous consider that they ‘own the road’?

If we want freedom from all this, then meditate.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged The Culture of Wealth and Entitlement. | 2 Comments

LOOKING FOR THE CAUSE OF THE MIND WANDERING…

Posted on March 19, 2017 by tony

Looking For The Cause Of Our Mind Wandering …
…causes the mind to wander!

There are many reasons why we wander.
All we have to do is notice the mind wandering,
and it stops.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Stopping a wandering mind. | Leave a comment

HOW DO I SEE SOMETHING GOOD IN EVERYTHING I SEE?

Posted on March 17, 2017 by tony

How Do I See Something Good In Everything I See?

Easy!
Goodness is exactly the seeing itself.

Goodness is the quality of being good or right. What could be more good or right than the purity of that seeing? Of that perfect awareness?

Goodness knows. The saying, ‘goodness knows’, is a substitute for ‘God knows’. To know is to see, to be aware, to be conscious.

From an ultimate, spiritual point of view – which has to be pure conscious awareness – anything and everything that is perceived is but a reflection of that pure conscious awareness. Before something is seen, there must be the quality of seeing.

On a conventional level, we become fascinated by the appearances of phenomena, which we may find good or right, but on which we may fixate, and become stuck.

Ultimately, the goodness or rightness of phenomena is the quality of the perfect recognition of that reality that is actually experiencing and seeing. In that perfect recognition, perfect realisation can take place.

Good eh?!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged goodness, Perfect awareness., perfect realisation, perfect recognition, Pure Consciousness., the purity of seeing | Leave a comment

WHICH SPIRITUAL PRACTICE SHOULD I DO?

Posted on March 17, 2017 by tony

Which Spiritual Practice Should I Do?

The one that makes sense to you … to you!
Of course, you may not agree 😀

For thousands of years, we have been led to believe that power lies outside ourselves and that this ‘power’ comes from a deity/s, from our imagination, or from the material world.

But this covers up the ultimate truth that the power lies in our very own, perfect awareness.

Religion – or even spirituality – cannot be destroyed from outside, but only from within. If we are led to ‘believe’ in something, then we will never actually know. Is the truth being kept from us? If we are led to believe, then we are being led!

Spiritual practice is simply whatever enlightens our path, rather than something that causes doubt and confusion. Our spiritual path is our own psychological confusion … and the confusion of others.

Using a deity/s, our imagination or the material world as a direct reflection of our own essence is the ultimate tool for our spiritual development – but we have to be careful that this doesn’t become a substitute. It is a means to the end, and not an end in itself.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged spiritual practice, the power within, the spiritual path | Leave a comment

THE OBJECT OF MEDITATION IS NOT TO MEDITATE!

Posted on March 16, 2017 by tony

The Object Of Meditation Is Not To Meditate!

Meditation is just a word. The object of meditation is to become aware or conscious of our true, real, actual, non-fictional, unimagined nature. What is that? It is the awareness or consciousness itself. Life itself.

It is not being a machine that is programmed only to be aware or conscious of something other, and not itself. Meditation can become a programme if we do not understand its true function, which is release from the programme!

When we are just aware, that is the moment when we can take the next step of realising that there is only awareness. That there is no ‘me being aware’, but just pure awareness, the same as pure consciousness. There is no meditator, and therefore no meditation. You can call it ‘union’, or ‘oneness’; it is the state of non-doing, of non-meditation.

Too often, we go into the routine of meditation and don’t really know what we’re doing. We just adopt a ‘posture’. This is because meditation has not been fully explained: if it had been explained then there would be no need to keep going back for the ‘extras’.

Non-meditation is freedom just to be.
It’s free as it is, and has always been our natural state.
Being is the natural essence of a person.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged becoming conscious of our true nature, non-meditation is meditation, our programming, Pure Consciousness. | Leave a comment

ARE WE NOT ALL GHOSTS?

Posted on March 15, 2017 by tony

Are We Not All Ghosts?

Both disembodied, pure, holy ghosts
and embodied, impure, unholy ghosts.

Ghost: the human spirit or ‘soul’, from the Latin spiritus – ‘breath’.

Pure breath? Bad breath?
A bit of both.
Either way, one doesn’t want to waste one’s breath!

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

SHUNYATA

Posted on March 14, 2017 by tony

Shunyata

Shunyata is Sanskrit for ’emptiness’. Pure presence. This is our natural state. The object of being human is to realise this natural state of being, and in order to do this, we need to meditate – and understand meditation.

Prolonged periods of meditation are required in order to experience and realise the ancient teachings. Of course, our modern life isn’t conducive to such activity because of karmically-driven decisions we have made in the past, but we can gradually change our lifestyle to facilitate the time and space needed for mind training, for meditation. Resting in pure presence, which is pure consciousness, the first thing we notice is the mind wandering off: the training is to bring it back.

Study and reflection are important, but true understanding only comes from meditation practice. Only then can we can see for ourselves.

We may feel we’ve made some bad decisions in life: the intensity of that feeling is a deep awareness that something’s not quite right and it may only take a single instant for the light to be switched on. Something very simple, pure and genuine can change our life: there are many accounts of people being ‘surprised by joy’.

We are shunyata. Throughout the day, we can find moments of just returning to pure presence. When this shunyata of pure presence is recognised and realised, it will be reflected in our daily activities. And so, we never forget what we are about.

As hatred is infectious,
so is the atmosphere of warmth of pure presence.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Meditation Practice, Mind training, pure presence | 2 Comments

HATRED IS INFECTIOUS

Posted on March 12, 2017 by tony

Hatred is Infectious
Our inner demons of likes and dislikes
can turn love into hatred.

It is inevitable that we will come across hatred in this world: after all, this is the age of decadence which creates greed for wealth, fame and power. Hatred is the most infectious of all emotions.

As humans, we all have likes and dislikes, but these can easily become intensified when we come into contact with the ideas and actions of others. The most intense emotion is hatred: it is the opposite to love.

Psychology defines hatred as a deep, enduring, intense emotion expressing animosity, anger, and hostility towards a person, group, or object. Because hatred is believed to be long-lasting, many psychologists consider it to be more of an attitude or disposition than a temporary emotional state.

Hate, as a mode of guilt or of pride, generates destructive thoughts. When directed to other people, it represents pride and when directed to oneself, it represents guilt. At a much lesser intensity of denigration, criticisms of other people represent jealousy, whilst criticisms of oneself arise from one’s sense of idealism.

“Hate masks personal insecurities:
Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people. Hate elevates the hater above the hated. Haters cannot stop hating without exposing their personal insecurities. Haters can only stop hating when they face their insecurities.”
This is from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201103/the-seven-stage-hate-model-the-psychopathology-hate

If you’re looking for the hatred …
where is it?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged haters are insecure, hatred, hatred is infections, intense emotion, personal insecurities lead to hatred, the opposite of love | 3 Comments

WE CONSENT TO BEING DISTRACTED

Posted on March 10, 2017 by tony

We Consent To Being Distracted
It’s a shock when we realise this.

We may think that being distracted is involuntary, and that we are powerless and have no control. This is incorrect. We just haven’t noticed that we actually have free choice. This choice is called practice – meditation practice. In meditation, we can easily see what is happening – that we keep wandering off!

Awareness wanders off. We slip into a habitual, mental pattern which creates our behaviour. The very moment awareness is recognised, the distraction stops and we are out of the mud. Then, a moment later, we are back in the mud. 😀 It’s like that, and it’s quite a shock to realise this! And this is why we have to train our minds.

We live in a day dream; “I’ve got things to do, things to do!” Yes, but that is in the future. When we are actually doing something, we are in the present. When you decide to meditate – which is calming the mind, resting in the clarity of emptiness – remember that is your choice and primary intention. But what is it that takes over? Habitual programming. You are pure awareness, pure being, mind essence. When you forget this, you wander off into a dream world. It may feel real – dreams do – but it’s just an everyday, established pattern of behaviour,

We have the power to take the power back. We have the control to take the control back … even for a moment! Then, gradually, the moments join up. It’s like that.

If we are not taking control of our lives, then someone else is doing it for us! The maze is amazing, but what is more amazing is that we can realise that the maze does not exist; it’s only in our minds.

Meditation is guaranteed to work. Just sit and be, and recognise how much we cannot be!

As we recognise, we understand.
As we understand, we experience.
When we experience, we realise.
When we realise, we find happiness.
It’s like that.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged habitual programming, living in a daydream, Meditation, meditation works, take back the power, the power to remain undistracted | 2 Comments

FASCINATION IS LIKE STICKY FLY PAPER

Posted on March 10, 2017 by tony

Fascination Is Like Sticky Fly Paper
We are seduced – and then stuck!

Traditionally, Buddhism talks about how we are fixated on things, which implies a deliberate act. But our world is so seductive, isn’t it?

On a relative level, we need fascination to see possibilities and realise that there is more to life. At the next level, fascination is transformed and refined through insight. Ultimately, all fascination ends.

Before we are fixated, we are fascinated. We are then seduced by either attraction or repulsion and become fixated, because we lingered too long and were hooked.

Our very own spiritual practices can be fascinating; instead of being a reminder of our essence, they act as sticky fly paper!

Thanks to Daisy Mae’s finding the etymology of the word ‘fascination’ – “to cast a spell, to bewitch” – we realise how powerful this activity is. In fact, our fascination can lead us to practising futile diligence.

‘Futile diligence’ was a term used by Patrul Rinpoche when commenting on incorrect practice:

“…There are many who practice stupidity as meditation
without having a gained clear understanding.
There many who engage in futile diligence.”

(Tough but true)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged being seduced, fascination ends, Futile diligence, spiritual practice can be fly paper, the seduction of the world | Leave a comment

OUR PROBLEM IS FASCINATION

Posted on March 8, 2017 by tony

Our Problem Is Fascination
Fascination creates the noise of our delusion

Fascination: interest, preoccupation, passion, obsession, compulsion, captivation, enchantment; allurement; charm, attraction, intrigue, attractiveness, appeal, magnetism, pull, draw.

We have to balance our understanding of spiritual essence, and our functioning in a physical form: “not too tight and not too loose.”

We are spiritual beings embodied in a human form (there are other forms), and trapped by our own fascination with our world, our bodies, our senses and our minds. Spiritually speaking, this fascination is laziness that dulls our realisation of reality. In reality, there is no noise.

Fascination is the distraction. We can even be fascinated by that which repulses us. Pure awareness forgot its spontaneous wakefulness, and became so fascinated with the whole of phenomena as its own experience that an imaginary ‘I’ was created: phenomena became my mind, my senses, my body, my world, my self: ‘my’ implies a holding on to something. We are easily excited because we are, in truth, fully aware – but not aware of this fact.

The opposite of fascination is boredom. Boredom?
Boredom: a feeling of being uninterested, unoccupied.
Now isn’t that interesting?! 😀

The key to ending entrapment is boredom, being uninterested, unoccupied. We are so used to our programming of ‘doing something’ which we think is reality, that we fear ‘doing nothing’. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy of a never-ending chaotic story in a dream state. This state is so familiar that we fill up space every chance we get, becoming fascinated and obsessed with family, work, leisure … there is noise everywhere … that programmed, insidious muzak is everywhere!

Muzak: Elevator music, any generic. commercially produced music for public establishments such as dentist offices, grocery stores, restaurants etc:“Dude, this muzak is giving me a friggin’ headache, I’ve gotta get me a smart phone.”

And we think that will solve our problems? 😀

We keep filling space. Outer space and inner space. In pure meditation, there is no interest, no occupying, no occupier, but just the cool boredom of reality. Give yourself a break. When we come back from our meditation holy-day, awareness itself will bring our attitude back to balance, and we can enjoy without clinging – without being too fascinated.

Fascination really is the problem.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged being fascinated, boredom, creating an "I", distraction, Meditation | 6 Comments

RUMOUR, GOSSIP, HEARSAY, INFORMATION = NOISE

Posted on March 6, 2017 by tony

Rumour, Gossip, Hearsay, Information = Noise

We all want to be in the loop: a group of persons communicating regularly about a specific plan or project. This happens in all walks of life, including conspiracy followers and spiritual followers.

Information is conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of ideas. It is very important to understand that information is not necessarily personal knowledge or wisdom, but may be conveyed as such because of bias in its arrangement. This can skew our thinking, and therefore influence, affect, taint, pervert, warp, distort, bias, prejudice, or even poison how and what we see 😀 After all, it’s all noise in the mind!

I pick out ‘conspiracy’ and ‘spirituality’ because they are two important areas that affect our lives in a big way.

As an example:
We pick up information from a source. We may investigate this information from other common sources offering the same information. We may do this so well that we now become the source for the original source! How many ask questions to which they already know the answer? That question is merely to convey what is already known by the questioner in order to get some sort of recognition. Been there, done that! 😀 It’s just a phase.

This clearly happens with conspiracists and the spiritually inclined. We become the all-knowing authority … I’m in danger of this myself! I’m very aware that information must be a reflection of personal experience, that is provable from personal trauma.

All I’m saying is, be aware of the noise – and the whispering. Information may be true, or it may be merely deliberate propaganda put out by a tainted source. To repeat (many times :D) the Buddha said, “Don’t take my word for it; see for yourselves”. Also be aware that, for a untruth to be believable, it must have a element of truth within it: that’s called ‘doublespeak’.*

We can only be hypnotised if we consent to it: “Oh, you are so beautiful…your eyes are so lovely … your mind is so clear … you truly are enlightened …” 😀 Noise. Just noise!

*The term “doublespeak” comes from George Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Doublespeak is language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms e.g., “downsizing” for layoffs, “servicing the target” for bombing. This is intentional ambiguity in language or inversions of meaning. Doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth. It is political language: today, it is called “alternative facts”.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alternative facts, bias, conspiracy and spiritual propaganda, Doublespeak, poisoning the mind, PROPAGANDA | 1 Comment

THOUGHT PROVOKING

Posted on March 5, 2017 by tony

Thought Provoking
(it’s what this blog is all about)

We need our thoughts, beliefs and assumptions – our social programming, our conforming to type – to be shaken up, as our thoughts, beliefs and assumptions are not our own 😀

It takes a conscious effort to cut through these beliefs. We have to recognise that when our thoughts, beliefs and assumptions are threatened, our defence mechanisms are activated, and emotions arise. It is at such a moment that we can see our obscurations.

Thought provocation can either cause us to dig in our heels stubbornly, or open up to possibilities. If we use lateral rather than vertical thinking to solve problems, this requires us to shift our thought processes out of their established patterns.Vertical thinking has its uses but just gives us more of the same, where we follow or conform to a set pattern.

Rather than believing everything we hear or read, we might ask, “What does that really mean?” or “Who asks the question?” or “Is this pointing out something I already know?” Or are we just going to keep living our lives through others’ beliefs?

Lateral thinking is seeing things from a different point of view, thus challenging our assumptions.

We may even find that our assumptions are correct, but testing them will give us confidence, as we’ve actually examined them.

Problem solving is finding out what caused the problem, and then discovering a solution to that problem: we start by asking questions, and by eliminating assumptions. This panoramic view could be termed lateral thinking, because we are considering all possibilities instead of merely accepting the status quo.

We first look and inspect, as there are usually visible signs of the problem. Spiritually speaking, the objective is the absolute truth and not a conventional, temporary, expedient solution, which lays the foundation for problems in the future. We eliminate everything until we come to the ultimate realisation of reality. We are therefore simplifying, rather than adding complications to our spiritual practices, which may be more interesting, but can make life more complex and add to our fixations.

We assume that situations in our conventional life are true. We assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries. Lateral thinking is concerned not with playing with the existing pieces, but with seeking out what those pieces are, and whether they’re actually necessary. Lateral thinking is concerned with the perception part of thinking, where we organise the external world into the pieces we can then ‘process’.

A healthy human mind needs a balance of vertical and lateral thinking – left and right brain thinking. We may be creatively inspired, but we still have to know how to apply this creativity!

Meditation does just that.
Meditation clarifies the mind
in order to identify obstacles,
and therefore eliminate them.

Problem solved!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged lateral thinking, Provoking our assumptions. | Leave a comment

WHY DO PEOPLE HATE US?

Posted on March 5, 2017 by tony

Why Do People Hate Us

if we don’t believe what they believe?

A belief is a holding on to an idea.
What holds on to that idea?

Our first nature is pure awareness.
Our second nature is an acquired nature
that obscures the first nature.
Believers ignore their first nature.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Why Do People Hate Us? | Leave a comment

A BUDDHA CANNOT MAKE US ENLIGHTENED

Posted on March 5, 2017 by tony

A Buddha Cannot Make Us Enlightened

A Buddha can only point out the path to enlightenment
and the obstacles will present themselves as the path.

It is we who decide upon and value the path to enlightenment
that transcends all our confusion about the obstacles.

Truth stands to reason – if we are able to reason.
Truth is obvious and clear from the facts.

What are the facts?
We are pure awareness.
Without pure awareness,
the obstacles would not be known.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Buddha, ENLIGHTENMENT | Leave a comment

CAN I LOVE MYSELF?

Posted on March 4, 2017 by tony

Can I Love Myself?
Of course!

As sentient beings, we all have failings, obscurations, peculiarities. These cause us chaos and confusion, and therefore, from an absolute point of view, there is suffering because we are distracted. At the same time, we go on to cause chaos, confusion and suffering for others!

However, recognising this chaos, confusion and suffering is our path to enlightenment: we built these illusory barricades, so it is we who have to recognise the illusion. Seeing the problem is everything.
Love it! There is no other way.

So we may come to the conclusion that we are not as nice as we think. This is not only a temporary state: it is a spontaneous recognition where guilt and blame are irrelevant.
Love it! There is no other way.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged guilt and blame, recognise the illusion, we all have failings, we are not nice | Leave a comment

THE AGE OF TECHNOCRACY

Posted on March 4, 2017 by tony

The Age of Technocracy

Freedom will never be realised until we acknowledge the subtle influences that are controlling humanity. This is the Kali Yuga, the Age of Strife, the Age of Mass Demonic Activity, The Age of Technocracy.

“Technocracy: society and industry controlled by an elite of technical experts.”

Elite technical experts know what makes us tick. They can make things happen, and we become captured by these happenings.

The Enlightened know what makes us tick. They can see through whatever happens, and are able to stay liberated.

The difference between these two is that The Enlightened know the unity of absolute and relative truth – that illusory appearances happen within emptiness – whereas elite technical experts can only manipulate appearances for us to believe what is happening.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged elite technical experts, the control of humanity, what makes us tick | Leave a comment

SPIRITUAL NARCISSISM AND SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM

Posted on March 4, 2017 by tony

Spiritual Narcissism and Spiritual Materialism

This is a touchy subject which requires delicate handling as it’s possible to become oversensitive and upset. All we are doing is being aware of our potential behaviour. After all, our path is our confusion, and the quicker we recognise personal tendencies, the faster we will arrive at freedom. In fact, it’s instantaneous – the inseparability of the two truths.

It doesn’t matter what we know:
Can we empathise with others
and therefore show true compassion,
instead of just repeating required phrases?

Chogyam Trungpa coined the phrase, “spiritual materialism” in his book, “Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism.” He uses the term to describe mistakes spiritual seekers commit, turning the pursuit of spirituality into an ego-building and confusion-creating endeavour. We have to be aware that there are those who may acquire teachings in the pursuit of status and wealth.

Author Jorge Ferrer equates the terms “Spiritual Materialism” and “Spiritual Narcissism”: spiritual narcissism is believing that, because one has accumulated spiritual training, one deserves love and respect and is better than others, instead of accumulating spiritual training to bring an end to suffering.

There is no need for guilt or blame.
We don’t have to hold on to our thoughts.
Just look, see, drop.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged compassion, ego-building, EMPATHY, look see drop, the inseparability of the two truths | Leave a comment

DIVIDED AND UNDIVIDED ATTENTION

Posted on March 2, 2017 by tony

Divided And Undivided Attention

If our attention, awareness, consciousness is always looking for something special, then we are being divided or separated from our own pure attention, pure awareness, pure consciousness. This is duality. We have lost the plot by becoming either attached or averse to appearances: that divides being into ‘me’ and ‘it’. It’s a separation. Divided attention means being separated from the reality that is pure attention, pure awareness, pure consciousness. That’s the something special that we’re always looking for!

Undivided attention, awareness, consciousness means that we (attention, awareness, consciousness) are not separate from that which arises within our attention, awareness, consciousness. This is therefore non-duality. Undivided attention is the unity of the two truths – relative and absolute. We are never lost.

To put it another way, we are pure atmosphere. We walk around as pure atmosphere that is aware and conscious: a spiritual atmosphere, perfect inner peace. When something appears within this perfect atmosphere, it is acknowledged that something has appeared within this perfect atmosphere and pure awareness remains in this perfect atmosphere, undivided and undisturbed.

If, on the other hand, we react to these appearances, then we become divided – our attention, awareness, consciousness becomes involved and caught by these appearances – and we lose consciousness! Watching A Bruce Lee movie, we become Bruce Lee … and we have lost the plot … again 😉

The point is that, by chasing after the exotic, we lose that which is already perfect and undivided.

This simple truth is within our own language and culture. We can acknowledge, experience and realise it directly.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged attention, Awareness, CONSCIOUSNESS, DUALITY AND NON-DUALITY, pure atmosphere, realising truth directly, something special we're looking for | 1 Comment

IT’S A RELIEF WHEN IT STOPS

Posted on February 27, 2017 by tony

It’s A Relief When We Stop

In the moment when we stop and sit down, we fall naturally into a deep relaxation. When we stop working, running, talking, meditating … we arrive at non-duality in that moment, just being. Unfortunately, we often miss this experience and so fall either into vacancy (oblivion), or start worrying about the past or future. This deep relaxation is a holiday. A holy moment. It’s that simple, and in fact, could be said to be ordinary.

If we are ever to find the truth of inner peace, it is we who have to experience it for ourselves. It’s not on a blog, in book, at a teaching; it is in sitting in stillness that the ordinary is experienced. The emptiness of pure consciousness is being ordinary – but bright, and therefore extra-ordinary.

Carl Sagan popularised the saying “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
If we are looking for ‘some thing’ extraordinary, then we miss the experience of our own being. It’s a relief when we stop looking and realise that there is nothing to find. We are it! Pure consciousness.

Believing extraordinary claims without evidence means we are led astray. The proof is in our own, pure, conscious awareness, for without this, nothing would be known. It’s the place where we start and end.

A sense of relief could just be said to be the release of endorphins in the brain: the word ‘endorphins’ is a combination of “endogenou” (produced within the body) and “morphine”. They’re released from the pituitary gland during periods of strenuous exercise, emotional stress, pain and orgasm. Endorphins help relieve pain and induce feelings of pleasure or euphoria: a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress. It is the release that brings the feeling of wellbeing.

We may make a mistake about the endorphin effect and become addicted to outer stimuli: this would be detrimental to our physical and mental health. We just have to recognise that a subtle boost is enough.

The more refined we become, the more we notice tensions in the body and subtle body. Such tension is connected to the inner wind rising from just below the navel; this has to be taken back down through the exercise of ‘the gentle breath’, which bring us back to balance … normality … ordinariness. Relief from tension produces inner peace, a feeling of well being, a gentle euphoria.

Need proof? Then practise.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Addiction, deep relaxation, endorphins, experiencing inner peace for ourselves, extraordinary claims, proof, Pure Consciousness., the gents vase practice | 5 Comments

WHY DON’T WE PRACTISE?

Posted on February 26, 2017 by tony

Why Don’t We Practise?

Simple.
It’s due to an inner mara demon.
What is an inner mara demon?
It’s our own likes and dislikes:

“I’m too busy.”
“I’ve better things to do.”
“I don’t get anything out of it.”
“I want something more.”

We are practising to become familiar with our true nature, and let go of the likes and dislikes of the habitual I, which is continually inventing and thus being distracted. We all have backgrounds that blur our present vision. Meditation – or any spiritual practice that works to clear the mind of distractions – is beneficial to us.

To put it more strongly: part of Manjushri’s prayer states: “… all of us afflicted by suffering, being enveloped in the dark ignorance in the dungeon of existence … awaken us from the slumber of the klesas (mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions), freeing us from the chains of karma.”

Don’t we all want to end this stressful state we are in? We created our state, so we have to undo it. This why we practise. And there’s a bonus – the resulting clarity of mind produces insights, which come in many forms:

… realising the nature of everything …
… developing the ability join up the dots …
… being inspired to express, and the words just come …
… discovering previously unknown abilities …
… even becoming sceptical about present assumptions

These are all blessings.

blessings

We will never know what’s there
until we remove the crap.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Blessings, clearing the mind, insight, likes and dislikes, Manjushri, removing our obscurations, the habitual I | 2 Comments

SPIRITUAL PATHS WITHIN SPIRITUAL PATHS

Posted on February 25, 2017 by tony

Spiritual Paths Within Spiritual Paths
Worlds within worlds.

When we first encounter spiritual paths, they seem like a way out of this collective, self-opinionated, violent and manic world. It’s been that way for a very long time 😀

We look for some sort of peace, knowledge and wisdom. Spiritual centres are quiet, orderly places, and offer a good atmosphere in which to be.

And so we acquire a new lifestyle…

We learn to meditate. Be at peace. Go slowly. Know how to control our passion and so work harmoniously and effectively with others. Acquire knowledge leading to wisdom. Understand that we cannot control how others feel about us, which is only a problem if it bothers us.

Gradually, however, irritations start to ooze out. This is a natural occurrence in organisations, as our concepts are squeezed and explode, and we become irritated by simple things such as the way someone is sitting! (a personal story: I once discovered that another student had become extremely annoyed by where I chose to sit …) As a result, spiritual centres becomes a catalyst or accelerator for our lingering emotions, as we see them more clearly (unless we have become good actors!) We notice more projections of self-conscious mindfulness, strange behaviour, holy, pious, self-aggrandised, makes-me-want-to-talk-dirty, smug- b**ll*sh*tting! Or is that just me? :D:D:D The important point here is that I was starting to notice my own reactions and fixations – and it was that which was causing me suffering: I had lost the inner joy that I had been trying so carefully and pretentiously to cultivate.

Anyway, that’s when we start to recognise and admit that we are not in inner peace. It’s just a stage. We just cannot hold onto the act any longer, and now we ask the question, “What is it really all about?”

The Dharma is about eliminating suffering, but first we have to feel the suffering and truly want to do something about it – not just attend teachings in order to be able to repeat quotations and appear all-knowing. We need to ask honest questions.

You see, many centres do not explain the Dharma completely: they cannot as it all depends on the teacher’s attitude and how they relates (or give into) the students. We may find ourself surrounded by the views of a lower vehicle; holders of “do’s and don’t’s” as opposed to “why’s and how’s”. It’s tricky to recognise which vehicle one has entered.

We begin by asking ourselves, “What is true inner peace? How do we recognise it?” With this questioning and dissatisfaction, doors close and doors open: we may find it’s the time to move on when we can no longer talk to others.

There are nine levels (or vehicles) in Buddhism, each expounding the truth and complete in its own right: from a higher level, the one below is not wrong, but is no longer totally satisfying. As an example: someone may say that they have disturbances in their mind. A lower vehicle would advise shamata practice of watching the breath to calm the mind – which is true. At the Vajrayana level, the practice of Guru yoga would be recommended, in order to purify. From the Dzogchen point of view, we merely ask what it is that is recognising the disturbance.

What is true inner peace? We gradually refine our understanding and recognise that this is pure consciousness; emptiness itself. This realisation may take place on a cushion, or while sitting in a traffic jam: when nothing can disturb you, the mind remains perfect and beautiful.

We gradually move from a dark place into a glow that naturally radiates (even towards the smug- b**ll*sh*tters 😀 ) I know – I’ve been there 😀

Without experiencing our fixations,
we cannot empathise.

Unshakeable inner peace.
That is perfect happiness.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Real Dharma, Spiritual centres., Spiritual Paths Within Spiritual Paths. | 1 Comment

WHEN THE LIGHT DIMS, DARKNESS BEGINS

Posted on February 24, 2017 by tony

When The Light Dims, Darkness Begins

Spiritually speaking, the light is the clarity of our being, which is empty essence. It’s the awakened state. If we have not been introduced to the reality of this truth, or have forgotten or been distracted, that clarity dims, and confusion/emotions/darkness begins. In the darkness, we then grasp and fixate on everything we meet.

So, who is to blame?

If we are not introduced to the nature of mind, our essential nature, then we will remain in darkness, believing that there is a light switch somewhere. Almost all the world is in this darkness. We cannot be blamed because we know no better. We are just human creatures going about our business, following the collective in the dark: it’s literally the blind leading the blind. It’s scary when you think about it, but this is not the case when we can empathise, and so have compassion for others’ predicament. Of course, we first have to have compassion for our own predicament! This is intelligence.

It is only when we have been introduced to the nature of mind that we then have a choice. The light only seems to dim, because it is present all the time but goes unnoticed. Dimming occurs when attention or awareness fixates on something other. It is in that moment of recognising the dimming that we can catch ourselves becoming lost, and re-recognise empty essence before the fixation/thought becomes full blown. Thus, we maintain stability: that is the way out of the darkness! When the light is on, we realise that the darkness never existed.

Light and dark are the inseparability of the two truths. Instantly, by one, the other is known. So there is no need to feel bad … just regret.

If we choose to stay in the dark, we can only blame ourselves. The moment that we recognise the blame and feel uncomfortable is actually the moment of re-recognition. We therefore don’t have to hold on to the guilt and blame; there is just a gentle regret for our forgetfulness. We are our own inspiration! Good, eh?!

Deep appreciation for this realisation is devotion – and this will brighten our life considerably.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Empathy and Compassion., When The Light Dims Darkness Begins. | Leave a comment

IT’S AN INSIDE JOB!

Posted on February 23, 2017 by tony

It’s An Inside Job!

The ‘insider’ is our own pure, unbiased intelligence that can discern what is real and what is seemingly real, once we understand what reality is. Compassion and devotion are not a means to ingratiate ourselves: they are a natural expression of realisation. If we’re not careful, our natural intelligence can become clouded: thinking something through is vitally important, but being obsessed by our thoughts imprisons us.

The following is by Tsoknyi Rinpoche:

“… Once you understand rigpa (pure conscious awareness) experientially, you know what is meant by the ability to enjoy the phenomena of samsara. Before you recognised rigpa, there seemed to be only two ways of relating to samsaric phenomena: one is dualistic grasping, and the other is the feeling of futility and wanting to keep it away from yourself.

“Please understand that the compassion and devotion that arises from experiencing the awakened state are not what we conventionally know as compassion and devotion. It is together with true intelligence, the real knowledge of how to be free – that is why they can become true compassion and true devotion. Otherwise, of course we feel compassion, of course we have some degree of devotion, but it is more like we either are forced into or manipulate ourselves into these feelings for a specific reason: they don’t happen spontaneously and sincerely. The devotion and compassion that arises out of true intelligence are unshakeable. They arise out of true confidence.

“Intelligence here means a sense of being capable, of knowing how and what is happening when a thought or emotion begins to take shape. You are no longer blinded to what is taking place. Nor is it like in the past, when you got annoyed or irritated, when you got wrapped up in certain feelings for hours at a time before you could finally let go. It’s not like that any more. There is a sense of being awake to the situation that you can call intelligence. You are seeing clearly how it works – not only how it unfolds but also what the solution is, and how it is possible to simply let the clinging dissolve. You are not ignorant about that at all. This intelligence comes from within. You can almost say it is in the air, together with the arising of, for example, desire, which otherwise could cause so much trouble.

“The negative emotions create so many complications and so much pain when we get caught up in them, chases after something, and loses track of oneself. Intelligence here means to see very clearly what leads to negative states, what has bad consequences, and what the right way is. All this is laid out quite clearly in your field of vision, so that of course you choose – not conceptually, but with a certain immediacy – the right way, rather than the blind alley. This intelligence is not like being able to memorise ten thousand phone numbers or figure out intricate systems. It is natural, from deep within. It’s a feeling of not being blind, a fundamental absence of blindness. That intelligence is a natural attribute, a natural atmosphere that arises from recognising rigpa…”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Natural spiritual intelligence., Tsoknyi Rinpoche | Leave a comment

THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS ARE SECRET

Posted on February 22, 2017 by tony

The Buddha’s Teachings Are Secret
but open to anyone who values them.

It is the same for any exoteric, spiritual practice. It is a private matter; it is the heart of the incomprehensible via the comprehensible. The Buddha’s teaching is for those who have the motivation to realise their true nature, and become ‘enlightened’ for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The teachings are not concerned with obtaining status, wealth, or power. If we use the teachings for such purposes, our future will result in suffering, precisely because this mis-understanding will enhance selfish motivations. This is why, out of compassion, some teachings are restricted.

Of course, if our motivation is one of wanting to understand and commit, then teachings are available: “Knock and the door will open!” Funnily enough, practitioners seem to get what they need, if their needs are few.

Unfortunately, the New Age movement has cherry-picked ancient teachings without truly understanding or even practising them, and as a result, it’s easy to become ‘hot under the collar’. This is why we need a complete understanding.

Dharma practice is one of peace and quiet, retreat, lack of interruption, seclusion and solitude while being open to others’ needs. A practitioner knows how to balance life within a spiritual direction. Balancing ordinary life and spiritual understanding seems to connect the right and left sides of the brain, making life more creative … and fun! The simple things become more enjoyable.

Whatever our karma offers is down to our prior motivations.
We all have longing; it just needs to be clarified.
That longing is love.
This love is innate and ‘just there’, but will remain a secret until we realise the true nature of all sentient beings.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged balancing life and spiritual pursuits, exoteric spiritual practice, motivation on the spiritual journey | Leave a comment

WHAT RECOGNISES, AND WHAT IS RECOGNISED?

Posted on February 21, 2017 by tony

What Recognises, And What Is Recognised?

To cognise: to know, to be aware.
Re-cognise: to know again, to recall to mind.

We first have to distinguish between re-cognising and my re-cognising: the first is simply the knowing of knowing, while the second reinforces a conceptual judgment based on a bias of ‘I’ and ‘my’. My cognisance, my awareness, my consciousness, my knowingness is a judgemental contamination which arises the moment following pure cognisance, pure awareness, pure consciousness, pure knowingness. When we drop the ‘my’, pure cognisance, pure awareness, pure consciousness, pure knowingness remain.

Then cognisance recognises cognisance, awareness recognises awareness, consciousness recognises consciousness, knowingness recognises knowingness.

What recognises? It is knowingness itself. Consciousness itself. Awareness itself. Cognisance itself. Knowingness itself.

What is recognised? It is self-knowingness. Cognisance, awareness, consciousness, knowingness … empty of any modification.

‘Realisation’ is realising the self-existing nature. Our true nature.

‘Enlightenment’ is knowing, rather than a belief. Dwelling in a belief is not knowing.

When we know, we are confident in knowing. If we rely on a belief, then we will never find true confidence; we will be forever hopeful, wishful, caught in the conundrum or trap of “Better to travel than to arrive.”

The moment we see a flower, it is just seen without comment, without judgement, without entertainment, without emotion. There is merely pure awareness.

All we can know is what we know. The simple recognition, experience and realisation of pure awareness, pure consciousness is profound and far reaching.

Perhaps there are many levels of enlightenment. However, when we are shown something that we re-cognise, we are enlightened. This, in itself, is extremely profound. Being introduced to our true nature – pure awareness, pure consciousness – we understand that this has been obscured for a very long time. Through empathy, we realise that everyone else also has these two aspects to their being, that which is true reality and that which is obscuring that reality. Our choice is to take one of two directions: to use this knowledge against others, or to feel compassion for their predicament.

If we think that there must be something more to enlightenment, then we will never feel ‘right’, and will always be wanting. Is there anything more than familiarising ourselves with compassionate, pure awareness, and the effect that this has on our lives, and the lives of those with whom we come into contact? There are fantastic stories, but such activities are not taking place nowadays.

Perhaps religions elaborate in order to attract and give comfort, but we will never feel worthy and that is the dilemma. Is religion actually having the opposite effect to the one intended, making us live in hope and fear?

In this age, we have to know in order to be confident, and we have to keep it simple so that it is clear: We are pure awareness, aware of awareness that is uncontaminated with concepts. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that our minds are contaminated, and that is the path to freedom. We are what we seek.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ENLIGHTENMENT, pure awareness aware of uncontaminated awareness, self-knowingness, the bias of "I", the path to freedom, true reality and the obscurations to seeing that | Leave a comment

THERE IS MORE TO MEDITATION THAN JUST MEDITATING

Posted on February 20, 2017 by tony

There Is More To Meditation Than Just Meditating

Meditation is the vehicle to recognise our true nature of pure awareness, pure consciousness. It also reveals how we take possession of a mistaken, mental, self identity. Meditation is nothing special, but recognising is: the key word is recognising.

The following extract is from “Rainbow Painting” by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche:

“Some people believe that they should just keep on meditating, and some day, their egg will hatch and they will fly out of the shell and ascend to a completely different level. Actually, it’s not like that at all. We should not think, “The awakened state must be something really special. If I practise this long enough, one day a door will open and I will see it and all the qualities will pour into me.” It’s pointless to have this kind of attitude.

“If we really want something spectacular, we will indeed have opportunities for that, in what is called the ‘temporary meditation moods’ of bliss, clarity and non-thought. These can occur, but such sensational experiences do not help to cut through thoughts. On the contrary, they generate even more fixation because we start to think, “Wow! What is that? This must be it!” Many subsequent thoughts arise in response to the fascination with these experiences.

“As I mentioned before, realisation involves a process called ‘recognising, training and attaining stability’. It’s similar to planting the seed of a flower. You plant it, water it and finally it grows up and blossoms. We are not like Garab Dorje, who at the very instant of having mind nature pointed out, became a fully enlightened buddha without having undergone any training whatsoever. The moment of recognising mind essence free from thought is like holding an authentic flower-seed in your hand and being certain of what it is. That, itself, is the self-existing wakefulness: the source of buddhahood. Enlightenment does not come from some other place.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged it's not just meditation, Meditation, recognising and realisation, recognition, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche | Leave a comment

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