doc benway

There is a saying from Linji Yixuan, a 9th century Buddhist monk: If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.

If one were to compare descriptions of Brahman from Hindu teachings with descriptions of the Nature of Mind from dzogchen and mahamudra teachings, one would find the same adjectives and descriptions - unbounded, unborn, undying, indestructible, unimputable, beyond all categorization, etc... If one has a personal experience of the non-dual nature of being, both labels will be seen to be slightly different fingers pointing to the same moon. One doesn't have to be a "correlation junkie" to see connections between the deepest teachings of the various wisdom traditions. I anticipate you will disagree and that is fine too. Disagreement is what makes things interesting!

"When the student is ready, the master appears." This has been true for me on multiple levels. I think there is a lot that can be found in this simple statement. In a practical sense what does this mean? I don't think it means we should sit in our house waiting for the right teacher to phone or knock on the door. I also don't think it means there is one teacher out there that is right for us that is actively looking for us. Teachers do their dance of teaching, students do their dance of learning. When conditions are optimal, a very special connection can occur. Transmission can occur and relationship can develop. Teaching/learning is a two way street. At another level I think this simple statement can expand our understanding of what a teacher or master can be. If we are open enough and actively interested and listening, anything and everything in our lives can teach us. A toxic relationship, a family pet, a child, a parent, a boss, an employee, a tree, an illness, a drug... all of these can be our teacher. On the other hand, we could meet the Buddha or a Daoist Immortal and if we are closed up and focused elsewhere, we will get nothing out of the meeting. So I think it is important to follow one's heart. What feels right? Am I drawn to this or that? Am I uncomfortable or irritated by something else? We should engage with both equally and discover what it is that either pulls or pushes us. I think we move through life doing our dance and stay open, even to things that may not seem to be what we are expecting, even to things that seem wrong or don't make sense. When circumstances are right there will be a connection and in that connection there is the potential for learning and growth. I think a big part of what this is trying to tell us is to be patient, to learn to wait, to learn to remain open and curious, and to be as free as possible from preconceived notions and expectations.

Probably calls himself a teacher now…

You’re not alone. In this we are one.

How does one move from one moment to the next? Or is it that one moves continuously to the present moment?

I was once on a beach early AM practicing qigong and taiji. A crow settled onto my backpack and watched me for a while then began imitating me, saying back and forth, bobbing up and down, and a variety of interesting moves. He then began chatting with me, I never knew crows had such a wide range of vocalizations. This went on for about 15-20 minutes! He then gave a loud call, shit on my backpack and flew away. It was magical!

And as our population grows it’s likely to only get worse. Humanity behaves like a cancer on the face of our Mother - growth out of control, stealing resources from and choking off all other species, potentially destroying our host or at least rendering Her uninhabitable. It seems to be quite an accurate analogy and sad.

Wealth often brings misery, it’s fascinating.

I could never eat a crow. They are far too intelligent and interesting creatures.

I don’t recall ever saying that, please show me where I made that statement if you can. I believe you simply misunderstood my post due to the language barrier. Rather than making an effort to clarify your understanding of my words, you are very quick to insult and accuse me of lying. I have no interest in your teachings. Probably best we simply move on and go our separate ways. I definitely feel no motivation to speak to your students. Nor would they try to teach spiritual cultivation in a foreign language using a computer to poorly translate and attack people when you simply misunderstand the language… I am careful with my words and my interaction, especially online, you should try it some time. I cherish the teachings I’ve received and my relationships with people, some of which are with people here. When you try to communicate in a foreign language using Google translate, I suggest you make sure you understand clearly what someone is saying before resorting to insults and accusations of lying. Goodbye

I have as well, as have others here. It is indeed possible as I mentioned earlier. I have a teacher and am not looking for another but thank you for the offer. I have doubt whether it is possible to effectively teach someone this material when communication is so difficult. Trying to guide people through the subtle and intricate practices of inner space and light using Google translate does not seem an effective or responsible way to teach. There must be precise and effective communication, otherwise people may misunderstand and become misguided. Don’t you agree?

It is not wise to make assumptions about others’ experiences and realizations.

I used the phrase “it is said” because I haven’t died yet. I will reach it myself for sure some day. Perhaps I will have a better idea then but I won’t be able to post about it here.

The tantric practice of sleep yoga can be used to experience the Clear Light during sleep. It develops the ability to remain connected to awareness during the transition between wakefulness and sleep, coming to rest or abide in Clear Light during dreamless sleep. It is also possible to rest into Clear Light by dissolving the lucid dream state. It is said that if one has a few experiences of the Clear Light of sleep they are more likely to self- recognize in the bardo after death.

I don't disagree with this but it is a point I've sat with over time and I'm pulled this way and that a bit regarding how I feel about it. To whatever degree I continue to be connected to the comings and goings of relative experience, and that's still quite a bit, it is important and valuable to put both truths on an equal footing for me. While I have and continue to feel the power of the absolute, it is not all that there is for me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I emphasize the absolute that risk of bypassing and grasping is more likely to be problematic and I can say with confidence that goes on for me. Dzogchen is not a path of renunciation. I need to be able to connect to the relative experience because the only way to avoid bypassing is to access the absolute by going through the relative. Otherwise, too much opportunity to run away, to suppress or avoid and to grasp at the comfort and power of the absolute. This conversation has shown me a few things I'm grateful for and this is one. Anyway, I'm just rambling a bit here. I feel very fortunate to have this connection and to be able to discuss this precious and elusive topic with all of you!

I agree that it’s probably a combination of conditioned and evolutionary responses. Believing we are correct or even simply convincing others of this whether or not we actually feel that way gives us a sense of security, a sense of power, often false but reassuring nonetheless. And of course when we are correct we have a better chance of getting the big piece of chicken or the fertile partner.

The absorption I’m referring too has a much wider aperture. The focus is not narrowed down to a particular task. Certainly there is awareness of the task at hand but the attention is fully open. It’s different than a doer being absorbed in what is being done. Not sure I can express this well. And it takes a lot of skill to be able to maintain this degree of connection and engage in activities. This is cultivated over time until it is as continuous as possible.

I would probably say something like “WOW, you are shining with the light of the face of God, what are you drinking?!” and buy a round for the house. That shit happens once in a lifetime, something beautiful will emerge for sure! 🤩 🥳 🤓

This comes back to what does wu wei mean? It’s not like that, we don’t sit around and wait to die. The approach is to get the emotional baggage and mind games out of the way and be open and fully connected to the present moment. If someone is dying and I can help them of course it will happen. It will be effortless and fully engaged because it is needed and no one is blocking it with second guessing and hesitation due to insecurity. If a child is drowning I’ll jump in without hesitation unless I stop to think about me and how I’m putting my self at risk and blah… blah… and start to engage with the fear. Accepting doesn’t mean to do nothing. It means to recognize and react, if necessary, to what is actually present in this very moment. It means to not argue with the cloud in the sky. It is there. Accepting means not struggling against circumstances we are faced with because they’re not what we want to deal with. We face them and deal with them as best we can. If nothing is needed we don’t add anything, we abide. If something is needed, we don’t interfere and it will happen. I would suggest a thought experiment. Every time you think, say, or type “non-duality,” replace it with “being fully present in this very moment.” Replace non-dualist with “one who is fully present in this very moment.” See what that feels like. We do not attach to nonduality. It is not a thing one can attach to or do. To do so is an error. In talking about it we objectify and define it and that simply doesn’t work.

In my practice, the way of clearing obstacles in body, speech, and mind is to stay with the experience in this very moment completely, to feel it fully. If we remain connected without adding, subtracting, or changing anything, with patience and presence, the feeling or thought is unable to sustain itself for very long and liberates by itself because there is no one holding on. When there is no one holding on both subject and object are free and fall way; and there is a clear presence that is fresh and immediate. It is indescribable and unspeakable. This is who I am. It is empty, open, and clearly aware and there is unlimited possibility. Subject and object distinction is not present - this is why it's referred to as nonnduality. When we rest into the present moment deeply enough, anything can be cleared. When the mind is no longer holding on everything can liberate effortlessly. It won't often be one and done however. These things can run deep and be very sticky... We continue with patience and joyful intention. And sometimes maybe it’s not so easy! I just came across this excerpt in the most recent book from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen: "An important point is, don't try to renounce or deny or reject or run from samsara, from life. Don't renounce or run away from your experiences. For example, you make think, 'I'm free from this relationship and do not need it.' Good for you. But if you are running away from that relationship I'm sad for you. That is different. Don't run away from yourself, from your pain, from the stories that pain has created, from conflicts and wounds this has caused, from someone you have hurt. Whatever you experience, think, or feel, don't run way. You are good. You are capable. You are doctor, healer, psychologist, therapist, yogi. If you need any of these things, stay with yourself and find these things within. So don't resist appearances or experiences. They are the ornament of the dharmakaya. Don't look for something wrong in the cloud; the cloud is an ornament of the sky. Don't reject joy or pain; they are the glow of light, the glow of our inner awareness. Here in the teachings it says these feelings are ornaments. All your experiences are ornaments of your life. They make you beautiful, make you elegant, make you smile, make you gentle, make you cry. They make you feel vulnerable, they make you feel playful. All these experiences are beautiful. Why? First of all, it is your genuine experience. How can something be wrong when you openly and freely feel something in your heart, in your body and mind and emotions? The only thing wrong is when you see it as wrong. That is the error we fall into and the place we get stuck for many years. That is the place where we are not able to come out and transcend, change, and find new life."

This is a good and important point although I don’t know that stirling actually is doing that. Nonduality is not what reality is but rather refers to our relationship to reality. Reality itself cannot be defined or imputed in any way. This is why the dzogchen teachings speak to me more directly than others.

Full disclosure, I grew up in Baltimore. - home of Old Bay

I love it too! Not specifically that song, although it’s a good one, but what you do with it. I also make up lyrics like that but usually to improvised melodies. I sing to myself all the time, usually nonsense, sometimes mantra, often a stuck song… they can hang around for days sometimes.