stirling

As an ordained teacher of Zen I can tell you: Zen is big on the "sudden enlightenment" idea. This refers to the idea that, while there may be many years of learning and practice, it is not the practice that actually enlightens. It is commonly said that the sound of a kicked pebble hitting a pot could awaken you. You could be driving to the tire store, making a sandwich, or... anything. There are also those (in Buddhism) called Pratyeka buddhas - they awaken with no method or exposure to the teachings. They are real - I have met a couple. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratyekabuddhayāna I am satisfied that enlightenment doesn't belong to any particular tradition, or philosophy, and isn't caused by any particular practice, what matters is that there is a moment where the reality of the understanding is noticed suddenly, usually when the mind is quiet.

Mindfulness is your 100% present in this moment. The video is absolutely correct, demonstrably true to anyone who actually takes the time to try it. Mr. Dragon, didn't you say something along the lines of Buddhism being full of silly magic and fairy stories? How would you contrast this "awareness" that we actually are with the Dao?

The collapse of the reality of a "self", the collapse of the experience of "space", and time end the quest. What if you knew based on your experience RIGHT NOW, that this was the only place/time you could be in? It isn't about beliefs - beliefs are what we construct when we don't gnow through gnosis. Gnosis is this-moment experience of the deeper reality, not an abstraction, a constructed theory. It is permanent because it can always be seen, and is the pervasive quality of reality. There is no arriving, or destination. They are understood to be fictions. That's the thing - there is (famously) no way to really conceptualize it. Even the best models (Nagarjuna, for example) of what it is are wrong. The moment they use the subject/object structure of language they are instantly wrong. There is no "this happens to this" story about the nature of it that can explicate it. It isn't "my" model, it is just "here", omnipresent. No model can supplant it. I remember yes. But, are your nadi's, channels, chakras, or dantians things you can touch or see or show someone else, or are the conceptual - another story about how things work?

It's everywhere, friend. It's right in front of us all the time. In meditation when the technique drops out and there is spaciousness and stillness is possibly the easiest place to see it. I'd recommend pointing from a realized teacher, if you have access to one.

No-one suggested "throwing away" anything. Stories are interesting avenues for looking at our biases, attachments and aversions at the very least. Science has it's own internally consistent logic, though our current models ARE starting to fray at the edges, just as the previous generations of models did. My experience is that it is infinitely nuanced, just not in the way one might traditionally imagine it is.

If it is unconditioned and pure, I think we agree. So, the Dao and "spirit" would be synonymous ?

The story you tell about how reality is. Religion, philosophy, scientific theories, myths, systems, etc.

Indeed I did! Thanks Cobie! _/\_

_/\_ You think so? Isn't "Spirit" also a mind construct?

Not within, inward. All THINGS wherever they are constructed are impermanent, yes.

The same thing that is not impermanent everywhere. It's just the easiest place for most people to look. What is present when all contriving of reality drops away?

Look inwardly and find that which is not impermanent.

It comes from WAY before that. Read Joseph Campbell, "The Power of Myth", and "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". You can watch some of his discourses here: https://www.youtube.com/@JosephCampbellFoundation This might be pertinent:

I forget if you answered this question, but are you working with a doctor/psychiatrist/counselor on this issue?

Welcome to the board, Joseph! What are some of your more specific interests?

This is what the world has been waiting for.

The cycle of desire is the tension of attachment, and then release of that tension if desire is requited. Release might bring short term excitement or pleasure , but that release is short-lived - the mind is soon grasping after the next desire. This is the nature of suffering. Real joy comes from equanimity, the feeling of things being OK as they are with no attachment to them being different. The deeper your insight, the more you are just joyful regardless of what is happening. Desire is greatly attenuated, and every-day equanimity becomes the norm. Increased equanimity naturally comes from meditation practices where there is resting the mind in emptiness regularly - I'd suggest at least 20 minutes a day.

Practice suggestion: Turn one-pointedness inside out: Take a moment and stare at the back of your hand. Take in it's details - notice it's skin texture, color, the dark patches, or views or musculature that lie underneath. Now, ask yourself - did you have any real consciousness of the room you were in, or any environmental factors happening outside of your hand when you were concentrating on it? Was your view narrowly focused, only having room for the small, tight reality of your hand? Was the area around, or behind, your hand in sharp focus and full of detail, or is it difficult to really remember anything about it? Next, take your arms and put them straight out to either side so the hands are out of view. Turn your hands forward so you fingers are facing forward and wiggle them, slowly moving them until you can JUST see their movement in your peripheral vision, but now further. Continue wiggling them for a moment and take in the completeness of the room. Slowly drop your hands to your sides, but hold on to the panoramic but diffuse view of the room and it's contents. Hold that view for a few seconds. Were you aware of any individual objects, or was it just a panorama of color and light? Did any of the objects have a separateness from the background, or were the homogenous? Can you clearly remember the colors and shapes of the room as you saw it? Was it surprising to see how widely your eyesight could be? This panoramic view technique isn't commonly spoken of, but is common in the teachings of Tibetan teachers, and many Zen teachers. The act of "holding the room" in your gaze keeps the mind quiet. Rather than taking in any single point in concentration, one takes in the whole dharmakaya. One can see the unlabeled emptiness of the objects in the room, and see emptiness in action, though it helps to have this aspect pointed out. The point? Practicing like this is resting in enlightened mind. The unlabeled stillness, lack of objects, etc. is how enlightened mind sees reality, and naturally becomes the primary way of experiencing.

OK... so I think I want to see a "Dao According to Nungali" thread!

Karma belongs to you. Karma is the story you tell about yourself in the moment you occupy. It feels like the accumulation of your life (or lives) history. When something touches your karma you'll know, as it usually triggers a thought like, "I knew they wouldn't like me", or, "this always happens to me". Take out a piece of paper and start with the writing prompt, "I'm the kind of person who...". Your answers, positive or negative, are your karma. You might find that many will fit nicely into one of these slots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maladaptive_schemas There it is! Karma! It isn't mysterious, it is very familiar and intimate. Each of these stories you tell is a delusion that causes, or is caused by your attachment or aversion. Ask yourself each time you encounter something that stops you, makes you upset, causes you to feel incomplete: "What am I attached to or averse to? What do you I feel HAS to happen, or simply CANNOT happen. That is where you are stuck... what this moment of dharma is for. What is the story you tell about this situation that isn't true? Why do you tell it? Only you will know, though counseling can help. - Dharma is teaching. Your experience of the world is literally ALL teaching. The fabric of reality is constantly pointing out where you are stuck. Read the news and see. Try to assemble furniture from Ikea and see. Are you in a relationship? See! When you notice that your karma (story) sticks to something - a situation or a thought - pay attention. This is a moment when you could actually dissolve this karma/dharma interaction and end the suffering it causes. For homework that is non-denominational and easy to put into action: https://untetheredsoul.com/untethered-soul Make sure you FINISH IT and actually TRY what it suggests. Unfortunately there are thousands upon thousands of copies of this very thin but dharma-dense book available used, with un-cracked spines. I recommend it to all of my new students before you get into Buddhism proper.

After a year, it seems like your problems are ongoing, and none of the suggestions here are likely to work. I'm going to lock this thread and just suggest that you lean on proven, practical Western medicine for your issues, first and foremost. Go to a general practitioner and seek a counselor to talk about these issues and they might be able to help diagnose your issues and get you back on track. Thanks to all of the concerned Bums who have chimed in. _/\_ - Stirling (Mod)

One-pointedness is an ingredient and precursor - the laser-like focus - while samadhi is the larger practice and state of that intense focus creating space for insight and tranquility. You can break all of these things into many constituent parts, but I honestly don't find it very helpful. I think most people can use very simple instruction to come to satisfactory results, unless they are working on the jhana "project" or something. Some of my Zen colleagues just tell people to sit and watch their mind, and some actually manage to find samadhi from those instructions! I like to give a little more instruction than that... _/\_

It isn't mysterious: Put your attention on an object (pick an object, ANY object - your breath (or someone elses!), a crack in the floor, the ringing in your ears). The mind goes quiet, and attention only rests on the single object. You now have access concentration. The mind is still and concentrated. Congratulations! Most students can do this within a few weeks of practice or sooner, with guidance.

A brief experience of it, or a permanent experience? Just trying to clarify. Honestly, the terminology is a baffling. What does: Sounds like a glimpse? I'm trying to understand what you are getting at. Is it a KIND of awakening? A glimpse? What is awakened to? I'm not sure what the terminology is intended to point to. Not sure if this is similar - in Zen there are kensho and satori: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenshō Perhaps this bit is helpful: Here, jian would be "kensho" the glimpse of enlightenment, and xing would be the complete realization, "satori". After "satori", the realization gradually deepens until the "suchness" is a full time experience. Is this helpful?

I was taught Tonglen, which is also a visualization exercise, for the same purpose. I would agree with the teacher - whether you think you are literally manipulating things isn't that important. My experience is that such things can be much simpler. What is "Ming" and how does one lose it in this scenario? Huh. I have occasionally donated to teachers, but never paid for teachings directly. It's only my opinion, but everything one could need to know to become enlightened is available for free, including the teachers that might lead one there.