Ajay0

That which is unconscious and egoic is self-destructive in the long run.

The state of consciousness that a great majority of humanity is in isn't natural. It's altered. We do not need to go looking for altered states of consciousness; humanity is already in an altered state of consciousness called separation. Separation is the ultimate altered state of consciousness.' - Adyashanti 'If as a culture, as a species, we continue to dwell in a divided state of consciousness, no matter what we change on the outside, we will continue to manifest division. But each of us who comes into the natural, simple, undivided state is making a contribution to all beings - without trying, without taking any credit, without even knowing it. When you become undivided in your own consciousness, you become part of the manifestation of unity.' - Adyashanti 'Without a shift of attention from concept to immediate experience and perception, spirituality tends to degrade into magical thinking, fantasy, and/or fanaticism. It is only by redirecting attention away from the surface level of the mind’s narrative, and towards the pure immediacy of the present, that we can break the trance of ego-identification and fall into conscious connection with our true nature.' - Adyashanti

Here we see that comprehension of the genuine view or right view, leads to natural abandonment of a variety of negative actions without even having to develop their corresponding virtues to nullify these vices. Thus right view or right understanding itself is potent enough to nullify negativity and vices or preempt such behavioral traits. https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Ten_unwholesome_actions

Vedanta contains eternal truths that are meant for the entire humanity. Their knowledge is neither emotional nor intellectual, but represents the actual reality that is. It teaches us that preoccupation with the past and the future makes for an agitated present. And as our actions are the greatest expression of our thoughts, it is not surprising that the world we live in is as turbulent as it is. -- Swami Purushottamananda Emotions and even thoughts become depersonalized through awareness. Their impersonal nature is recognized. There is no longer a self in them. They are just human emotions, human thoughts. Your entire personal history, which is ultimately no more than a story, a bundle of thoughts and emotions, becomes of secondary importance and no longer occupies the forefront of your consciousness. It no longer forms the basis for your sense of identity. You are the light of Presence, the awareness that is prior to and deeper than any thoughts and emotions. -- Eckhart Tolle Walk into a situation consciously and you will be able to walk out of it harmlessly. - Vernon Howard Everything will turn out successfully when the mind is not agitated. - Yogar Swamigal If I am agitated, I am wrong. - Vernon Howard

Absolute Reality is always present, and when the personal is active (through identification with thought) only a relative reality can be experienced. Thought takes over and perceiving becomes subjective and illusory. This relative reality creates all the unrest that exists. All global and local disturbance stems from the thoughts of "I” and "me.” The common phrase living in the real world” is in fact referring to the unreal world, the world of thoughts that know no rest. ~ Jac O'Keeffe It is only when without ego, and there is no individual, that the act of absolute compassion takes place through your form. From emptiness, selfless giving takes place. It is then that there is nothing personal in such actions and it is impossible not to act without love. ~ Jac O'Keeffe If there is attachment to your personality, or to any story within what your personality believes to be true, then there will be desire and suffering. You are Pure Awareness shaped into a human being. You are not a separate human being playing with levels of awareness. ~ Jac O'Keeffe

The incompleteness disappears in perception of the true Self in samadhi or unitary perception. You will recognize it easily and clearly due to the lack of mental agitation and tension associated with egoic thinking and emoting. Identities such as nationality or gender or sexual orientation have functional utility in case of pass-ports or washrooms or dating purposes. However if they are used as a source of innate identity due to lack of Self-knowledge, they will be invested with corresponding emotion. If you don't know who you are, you will desperately cling to all known external labels you have for yourself for a sense of identity and would be willing to fight and even die for them. Any perceived assault on the adopted identity would not be tolerated, because of emotional and egoic identification with it. This is the reason why racial, religious, nationalistic, ideological and linguistic identities have a history of violence and cruelty associated with them which continues in the present day due to lack of Self-knowledge.

Clear thinking results in correct action. ~ Nataraja Guru The average man is ruled by the explosions of his emotions, and cannot think clearly. ~ Yogananda Conflict is always emotional. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Emotions arise from thoughts which arise, in turn, from foundational belief structures about the nature of Reality and your own innate identity. ~ Metta Zetty The conflict in the world is not between good and evil, as is so often projected. The conflict is always between one man’s belief and another man’s belief, whether it is within the family or between nations. The moment you believe something, you are in conflict with the opposing belief. You can postpone it with moderate talk. But conflict is inevitable. ~ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Ego is complete identification with thought and emotion. ~ Eckhart Tolle Be aware that what you think, to a large extent, creates the emotions that you feel. See the link between your thinking and your emotions. Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them. ~ Eckhart Tolle

The 'individual's true self' is often referred to as Self in Advaita and Hinduism and nondual philosophy, with the 's' being in capital case letter. The higher or true 'Self' is contrasted with the false or lower self or ego. The Self is pure consciousness or awareness, and distinct from the lower self which is essentially an artificial or fictitious identity brought about by identification with the mind-body complex and its social conditioning. Because of the inherent falsehood in the lower self, this state is associated with psychological suffering due to its unnaturalness, and the spiritual quest lies in gaining self-knowledge or the knowledge of the Self. Sat-Chit-Ananda ( Truth-Being-Bliss) are the qualities asssociated with the Self.

When there is attention (awareness), goodness flowers; when there is no attention, every form of evil comes into being. So attention is the only virtue. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti You miss the real by lack of attention and create the unreal by excess of imagination. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj Evil is the shadow of inattention. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj There is nothing like ignorance, only inattention. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

The moment you become aware of the ego in you, it is strictly speaking no longer the ego, but just an old, conditioned mind-pattern. Ego implies unawareness. Awareness and ego cannot coexist. ~ Eckhart Tolle There is only one reality, but there are many ways that reality can be interpreted. ~ B.K.S.Iyengar Every ego is a master of selective perception and distorted interpretation. ~ Eckhart Tolle If you like or dislike something, you cannot see it the way it is. Either you exaggerate it in a positive way or in a negative way. ~ Sadhguru Awareness means grasping life just the way it is, without contamination by mental projections. ~ Sadhguru

I had a nihilist phase in my life as a teenager and youth, and so there were times when I had doubts about the relevance of values and virtues and whether they were mere mental abstractions designed to create some artificial semblance of meaning in an essentially meaningless universe. My confusions and despair were set aside slowly and steadily after meeting enlightened sages and spending valuable time with them, along with study of Buddhism and eastern philosophy. Gradually I intellectually understood the state of enlightenment, and that all spiritual exercises were meant to achieve this state through expansion of consciousness, which includes virtuous conduct as well. I had posted a thread of a female enlightened master named Rajini Menon who had attained enlightenment through virtuous conduct. The Buddha had also emphasized ethical behavior and conduct in the form of right speech, livelihood and behavior as vital practices for attaining enlightenment or Buddhahood. For these reasons I am interested in the op's theme, and would be glad and grateful to get any insights if possible.

There is a Reality which is Indivisible, One, Alone, the Source and Being of all; not a thing, nor even a mind, but pure Spirit or clear Consciousness; and we are That and nothing but That, for That is our true Nature; and the only way to find It is to look steadily within, where are to be found utmost peace, unfading joy, and eternal life itself. ~ Douglas Harding We are all more or less ill till we find by Self-enquiry our Oneness with everyone else. — Douglas Harding

Yes, but Virya or virile effort is also emphasized by the Buddha as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vīrya Anyway, the theme of the op is that ethical or moral conduct has its relevance in the larger scheme of things and cannot be dismissed as mere abstractions.

Peace is complete awareness. In this state of awareness, we cultivate and combine compassion and wisdom. In this state of awareness, we are alive, awake, we take responsibility for our actions. In this state, we are not driven by emotion, we control our emotions and actions. In this state, we are patient, non-violent, we do not judge. In this state, we nurture our Inner Wealth – our innate values – and balance them with outer (material) wealth in a way that benefits all sentient beings. This is peace. ~ Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. The real source of happiness rests right here right now within our consciousness, within our hearts. ~ Thaye Dorje

It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh 'All conditioned things are impermanent' — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. ~ Buddha ( Dhammapada 277) We are identifying with what is passing so fear comes. We are trying to make steady and permanent what is by nature impermanent. ~ Mooji Practicing Mindfulness not only keeps us awake but also keeps us aware of the impermanence of life; therefore, we have a greater appreciation of it. We care. Life matters. The moments of our lives matter. ~ Ora Nadrich This physical world, though necessary to our evolution, is the embodiment of impermanence, of constant change. Thus, we take care not to become overly attached to it. ~ Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Once we see that everything is impermanent and ungraspable and that we create a huge amount of suffering if we are attached to things staying the same, we realize that relaxing and letting go is a wiser way to live. Letting go does not mean not caring about things. It means caring about them in a flexible and wise way. ~ Jack Kornfield By contemplating the impermanence of everything in the world, we are forced to recognize that every time we do something could be the last time we do it, and this recognition can invest the things we do with a significance and intensity that would otherwise be absent. We will no longer sleepwalk through our life. ~ William Braxton Irvine

Be present as the watcher of your mind – of your thoughts and emotions as well as your reactions in various situations. Be at least as interested in your reactions as in the situation or person that causes you to react. ~ Eckhart Tolle Just stay focused. Don't react. Just be a witness and you will see the magic of it. ~ -Swami Chidanand Saraswati It takes a little time to create a gap between the witness and the mind. Once the gap is there, you are in for a great surprise, that you are not the mind, that you are the witness, a watcher. ~ Shri Krushnamani maharaj Don’t be a storehouse of memories. Leave past, future, and even present thoughts behind. Be a witness to life unfolding by itself. Be free of all attachments, fears, and concerns by keeping your mind inside your own heart. ~ Mooji Become the witness of all phenomena that you see and be free. ~ Robert Adams

Sun Tzu in the Art of War, had stated ... 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. " If this indeed the case, the best warrior ever would be Mahavira, the founder of Jainism and who is known for his teachings of nonviolence and ahimsa... https://www.freepressjournal.in/spirituality/guiding-light-by-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-breathing-ahimsa If you ask me, this is the ultimate art of fighting without fighting. If your very presence can inspire nonviolence in the combatant opposing you and make him an ally instead, that is the ultimate self-defense as well as diplomatic ability. Napoleon, considered the greatest military general ever , has also stated similarly... "There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit." I would say it is because of this fact that eastern martial arts had a philosophical and spiritual component to them, understanding the limitations of the merely physical.

The watcher is always above the mind. The watcher is never part of the mind. The mind is just like a TV screen on which thoughts, dreams, imaginations, projections, desires, and a thousand and one things go on passing. The watcher is not on the screen, he is sitting in the movie hall. But the problem arises when the watcher becomes identified with something on the movie screen. ~ Osho Don’t be under the illusion that while watching the film you really remain a watcher. Don’t be mistaken. You become a participant too; you don’t remain outside the film. Once you are inside the theater, for a short while you enter into the film as well. You begin to like someone in the film, and you dislike someone else. You feel sorry for somebody, while you feel happy about someone else. After a little while you become identified, you become a participant in the film. It will be indeed difficult to remain a witness in life if we cannot manage to do so while watching a film. ~ Osho It is the self-aware screen of awareness, upon which the drama of experience is playing and out of which it is made, that becomes so intimately involved with the objective content of its experience that it seems to lose itself in it and, as a result, overlooks or forgets its own presence, just as a dreamer’s mind loses itself in its own dream at night. ~ Rupert Spira In reality, which means in our actual experience, all experience is one seamless substance. The duality between the inside self and the outside object, world or other is never actually experienced. It is always imagined. ~ Rupert Spira Mind is madness. Only when you go beyond the mind, will there be Meditation. ~ Sadhguru

As per eastern philosophy, the process of reincarnation ends when all karma or the underlying vasanas or psychological defilement's are wiped out . This is done through the practice of awareness, total love, virtuous conduct, prana rich state and other spiritual exercises. If one is performing actions unconsciously one will be creating karma for oneself. Performing actions consciously and with love or enjoyment ensures no karma is created. So 'putting up' with the burden of a physical form indicates karma, while 'enjoying' the work indicates karma yoga.

Mindfulness is nonconceptual awareness. Another English term for sati is “bare attention.” It is not thinking. It does not get involved with thought or concepts. It does not get hung up on ideas or opinions or memories. It just looks. Mindfulness registers experiences, but it does not compare them. It does not label them or categorize them. It just observes everything as if it was occurring for the first time. It is not analysis that is based on reflection and memory. It is, rather, the direct and immediate experiencing of whatever is happening, without the medium of thought. It comes before thought in the perceptual process. ~ Henepola Gunaratana Mindfulness is present-moment awareness. It takes place in the here and now. It is the observance of what is happening right now, in the present. It stays forever in the present, perpetually on the crest of the ongoing wave of passing time.~ Henepola Gunaratana

Just came across this insightful saying by Sadhguru. There is also a basic teaching of the ancient Upanishads, where a student named Virochana develops erroneous understanding of the ultimate reality due to intellectual study of scriptures not backed by true experiential understanding. He eventually erroneously concludes that the ultimate reality is his own body, and deludedly decides to indulge in self-aggrandizement and luxury to pamper his body and self. The story of Virochana is referred to in scriptural studies to show the perils of intellectual study divorced from experiential understanding. The scope for delusion from mere intellectual studies is very high, and for this reason an accomplished guide or teacher is necessary most of the time to lead the student away from the maze of delusion.

Dzogchen basically deals with the innate intelligence or intrinsic awareness which all beings possess. It means seeing non-dualistically, rather than in the usual dualistic object-subject dichotomy. By definition, delusion is dualistic, while non-duality is ultimate wisdom. Dzogchen doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with Buddhism. It is the pure and perfect nature of all things. ~ Lama Surya Das Because awareness is self-existing, there is no effort needed or anyone who can make an effort to get it or lose it. The natural state is never lost. It is not an appearance and therefore can never disappear. It is always the same – it is not an entity. Realise that the conceptual thinker and conceptual thoughts seemingly obscure the non-conceptual natural state. Pause a thought even for an instant and the natural state is fully evident. STOP and SEE. In the seeing, pure awareness gets used to itself. ~ Sailor bob adamson

insightful article by Jiddu Krishnamurti on the state of nondual perception... https://www.jkrishnamurti.org/content/awareness

Boundary lines, of any type, are never found in the real world itself, but only in the imagination of the mapmakers. ~ Ken Wilber Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many. ~ Chuang Tzu Awareness is that state of mind which observes something without any condemnation or acceptance, which merely faces the thing as it is. When you look at a flower nonbotanically, then you see the totality of the flower; but if your mind is completely taken up with the botanical knowledge of what the flower is, you are not totally looking at the flower. Though you may have knowledge of the flower, if that knowledge takes the whole ground of your mind, the whole field of your mind, then you are not looking totally at the flower. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti