Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential

[C T]

Living an Appearance-Emptiness Life 

 

:

You know the supreme path that is free from coming and going,

And you teach the true nature of all phenomena,
While never leaving a single being out of your compassion’s embrace,
Great mother, noble Tara, I bow at your feet.
Since all phenomena, outer and inner, are dependently existent mere appearances,
They have no inherent nature, they are just appearance-emptiness.
If you know how they resemble dreams and illusions,
All comings and goings will be open and relaxed.
Since appearances of friends and enemies are dependently existent,
Both are appearance-emptiness, like rainbows, and if you know this,
That is called, "meditation on illusion."
Within openness you will achieve inner peace.
A planet and a particle are equal,
An aeon and an instant are equal, the Buddha taught.
If you gain uncontrived certainty in this,
Within spaciousness, any work you do will come out alright.
When you are expert at studying your own mind
All that appears becomes your guru,
And even your enemies become friends of your Dharma practice -
E ma! What a wonderful miracle!

:

 

~ Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche

 

[C T]

::

"E ma!
Dear intelligent friend,
If you are eager to know about the view,
I, a simpleton, will tell a bit of what I've understood.

If there's bias, that's not the view.
If there's clinging to things as real, that's not the meditation.
If there's accepting and rejecting, that's not the action.
If there's hope and fear, that's not fruition.

"Then what is it?" you may ask.
The view is empty awareness, without any source.
The meditation is empty clarity without any concepts.
The action, like the path of a bird through the sky, is without any trace.
Whatever arises is freed, just as it arises.
The fruition is samsara and nirvana, complete within mind itself.
Does this suit you, dear friend?"

::

 

~ Tendzin Nyima Rinpoche's "edifying song" to Lama Shabkar, Tsogdruk Rangdrol

[9th]

[C T]

Although we may speak of the three principal paths - renunciation, compassion, and understanding - as though each one were quite separate of the others, in truth, and in practice also, all three are inseparable: Genuine renunciation arises through compassion and understanding; genuine compassion arises through renunciation and understanding; genuine understanding arises through renunciation and compassion.  ~ Paramito Ladakh

 

 

[9th]

"To believe that jnana and bhakti, knowledge and devotion, are different from each other... is ignorance"

 

- S. Radhakrishnan

 

(audio of quote at 8:23)

 

[C T]

[3bob]

note: he said "core of being" in his talk and if said core of being is not of "inherent nature"  then kiss meaning goodbye...

[Seeker of Wisdom]

note: he said "core of being" in his talk and if said core of being is not of "inherent nature" then kiss meaning goodbye...

It's kind of easier to say 'core of your being' or similar than 'the capacity of the mindstream to be fully awakened following simply the removal of obscurations, rather than needing the addition of new qualities from outside; which is of one taste with emptiness as a trait of the mind', as well it being more poetic imagery.

 

An audience aware of non-self, emptiness and how these square with Buddha-nature would understand that he was doing the best he could with language to convey the inner meaning, without burying it in dense philosophical explication.

 

Anyway. The difference between Buddha-nature and Atman is something that has been hammered on over and over. If you don't understand now, I can't be bothered going over it any more.

 

Buddhism denies Atman, end of, whatever quotes you misunderstand. And you can't teach us about our path any more than we would presume to teach you yours. If you must be so intolerant at to latch on any perceived excuse to attack Buddhism, please start your own threads for it (perhaps in a PPF) rather than spamming existing threads in this subforum.

 

*edit* if you wish to respond please pm me, I don't want to take CT's thread on a tangent.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Seeker of Wisdom

[Seeker of Wisdom]

Dudjom Rinpoche:

 

"Since pure awareness of nowness is the real buddha,

In openness and contentment I found the Lama in my heart.

When we realize this unending natural mind is the very nature of the Lama,

Then there is no need for attached, grasping, or weeping prayers or artificial complaints,

By simply relaxing in this uncontrived, open, and natural state,

We obtain the blessing of aimless self-liberation of whatever arises.

 

No words can describe it

No example can point to it

Samsara does not make it worse

Nirvana does not make it better

It has never been born

It has never ceased

It has never been liberated

It has never been deluded

It has never existed

It has never been nonexistent

It has no limits at all

It does not fall into any kind of category."

[3bob]

SW, In several ways you took it on more of a dubious and longer tangent than I did.  I suggest that you just stick with the four fold negation and let your assumptions about whatever or whoever be.

[C T]

Until our craving mind is captured, the focus of our attention is constantly shifting. When the craving mind is captured – the difference between inner and outer disappears – this is the realization of Bodhichitta. Bodhichitta releases from craving the mundane mind, by even stronger craving. Bodhichitta is the greatest of all cravings, craving of release for all existence, it embraces the whole world with this craving – the craving of Dharma.

 

~ Tara Songs

[3bob]

CT, would you like to put #86 into your own words?

 

Btw, I hear some possibility of nihilistic innuendo or interpretation in part of the quote via the words: "craving for release for all existence".

 

Also would you call the "greatest of all cravings" alluded to in the quote dependent upon or arising from anything else or being of its own inherent and indestructible nature?

Edited March 13, 2015 by 3bob

[C T]

"The reason that our conceptual constructions happened in the first place is because of the kunzhi or alayavijnana, which is also called the storehouse consciousness, or just the alaya. The alaya is the source of all of our conceptions. When we repeat different experiences over a long period of time, we accumulate traces and dispositions, or habitual patterns called bachak [bag chags] in Tibetan. The more these habits are accumulated, the more we see things in a certain manner. We construct the way that we wish to see things rather than seeing things as they are.

 

These habitual patterns are related to three conditions. (1) There are habits that are accumulated in relation to a place we have been in, (2) habits related to our body, and (3) habits constructed through our perception of the world from all the information we collect through our five senses.

 

Habitual patterns related to place happen because as human beings we believe we are located in a certain space, during a certain time, and in a particular world. Habitual patterns related to the body happen because of the particular bodies that we have. For example, since human beings do not have two horns, we do not behave in certain ways animals do. Habitual patterns related to sensory objects have to do with the information we accumulate through our five sense organs of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body.

 

Based on these three types of habitual patterns, we become so rigid and patterned in the way we experience the world that we begin to see things as being real and static. We forget that our mind greatly influences how we perceive and interpret the world."

 

~ Ven. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche 
Turning the Wisdom Wheel of the Nine Golden Chariots (pgs 88-89)

[3bob]

and...in your own words?

[C T]

In my understanding, "Craving for release for all of existence" points to a specific practice where one arouses a strong wish to attain liberation (Bodhicitta in Buddhist parlance) for the benefit of all sentient beings. This accords with the most intrinsic motivation that clarifies the Mahayana path. 

 

Sorry but i don't quite understand your final question as it appears to have missed the simplicity of what that specific passage alludes to. If im not mistaken, the writer issued an urgent reminder to gather all available resources to free him- or herself from the bondage of ignorance, and in doing so, there is that semblance of replacing mundane craving with a transcendent equal. How this is related to an inherently indestructible nature is beyond my grasp. 

[Jeff]

Hi CT,

 

Craving mind can never really be "captured". More "seen through" or cleared/released. Any such containment is more like spiritual bypassing. Are you sure about the translation?

 

 

Best,

Jeff

Edited March 13, 2015 by Jeff

[3bob]

CT, Ok and thanks for an "in your own words" per the first paragraph in #91 

 

In relation to the 2nd paragraph in #91 I'd say the 'Tibetan Buddhist Wheel of Life' depicts an inherently indestructible nature (as depicted by a Buddha) existing in all realms of energy and also in the fine graphic that also alludes to same as existing transcendent to all such realms..... along with the same at the same time being the "greatest craving" (or the truest and "intrinsic" desire for freedom from attachment and its related and resultant suffering) that is independent of and stands on its own regardless of change within the wheel of forms or aggregates)

Edited March 13, 2015 by 3bob

[C T]

Hi CT,

 

Craving mind can never really be "captured". More "seen through" or cleared/released. Any such containment is more like spiritual bypassing. Are you sure about the translation?

 

 

Best,

Jeff

The writer said craving release FOR all of existence, not 'from' all of existence. Its quite clear to me what the writer intended to point out. 

[3bob]

the words,  "release for all existence" is not really all that clear or definte.... thus one might ask, "release for all existence from what" (?) and or leaving some room for the possible interpretation of: 'release for all existence to non-existence', thus sounding like a form of nihilistic thinking.

[C T]

the words,  "release for all existence" is not really all that clear or definte.... thus one might ask, "release for all existence from what" (?) and or leaving some room for the possible interpretation of: 'release for all existence to non-existence', thus sounding like a form of nihilistic thinking.

Thats your personal take. Not to say its wrong, but if that is how you have chosen to interpret it, then that is a valid choice. The view is one, but choices are many. Its seeming vagueness could be due to the tendency to focus on the choices rather than the view. 

[C T]

Human minds each create their unique view of the world. We look outside through our custom-made cameras, and consequently have a strong sense of the difference between inside and outside. This dualistic mode, this inside-outside way of being, is reflected in how we live. We mostly spend our lives in comfortable and convenient shelters, designed to keep nature out, which separate us away from the universe, from our origin.

 

We exist behind screens: walls, roofs, lenses, TV screens, masks; and filters: concepts, classifications, culture, religions, age  and gender. We are inside creatures, with secrets and diverse behaviours, often used irresponsibly to get our  way. We are mask and costume wearers, often seeking approval and power. We are skilled actors continually  separating ourselves from our actions, blaming anything and anyone when things go wrong, and taking all the credit when things succeed. Our arrogance is ironically born of our dependence, but fostered by the social-  economic systems designed to keep control of vast numbers of people, giving us no choice but to suppress  our true unique nature.

 

 We have a tendency to hide things inside, in the darkness, but this darkness inside, this separateness, is an  illusion. And why do we need to hide anything, to modify, to interpret incoming information to our own liking? Is it impossible for us to stand in the fast-flowingstream of existence and let it pass through us exactly as it is? Can we resist blocking our true nature, clinging to things that we like, rejecting those we do not? There are no selections in the field reality, no whims, no separation. If the wind blows hard or the waves pound on the beach, we, our energy, our true nature, also blows hard and pounds.

 

Our societies, our communities, have largely chosen this inside life behind screens and filters. We prefer to stay inside and speculate on or observe the weather than to open the door and go outside to feel it directly. Developed people make their exit from the interior life of the womb, and then grow into the womb they create with their intellects, within their communities, within cultures and societies and age-groups, and so on. Always inside, insulated from the universal field of all existence, all awareness.

 

~ Linden Thorp

 

 

 

[3bob]

umm, a possible take (or takes) was directly implied by me thus not my take per-se.

 

also there may be may be one take or many - same with views.

[3bob]

btw on #97, a seed must be in the darkness of the soil until it is ready to grow into sunlight,

Edited March 14, 2015 by 3bob

[C T]

umm, a possible take (or takes) was directly implied by me thus not my take per-se.

 

also there may be may be one take or many - same with views.

The term 'view' in the above context was used in relation to 'reality', and not opinions etc. 

[C T]

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call 'support', of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which ordinary consciousness is is attached. When we recognize and become grounded in awareness of awareness, the “wind” of emotion may still blow. But instead of being carried away by the wind, we turn our attention inward: Oh, this is what I’m feeling, this is what I’m thinking. As we do so, a bit of space opens up within us. With practice, that space — which is the mind’s natural clarity — begins to expand and settle. We can begin to watch our thoughts and emotions without necessarily being affected by them quite as powerfully or vividly as we’re used to. We can still feel our feelings, think our thoughts, but slowly our identity shifts from a person who defines him- or herself as lonely, ashamed, frightened, or hobbled by low self-esteem to a person who can look at loneliness, shame, and low self-esteem as movements of the mind.

~ Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, “The Aim of Attention”