Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential

[silent thunder]

manitou... deep abiding respect and love

[C T]

 

[rene]

Thankyou for sharing that, C T; it made for a peaceful morning. 🦋🌲

[manitou]

How incredibly beautiful, and how very different it is to feast my eyes on such humility - both in the Lama and the trusting and hungry people - people hungry for just the touch of compassion, that seeming common denominator of the law of attraction.  It is wonderful to see people who are so fully enraptured with this man, with the simplicity and purity of their longing for closeness to him.  And yet, he sees himself not as anything special, rather as part of the whole; that all of us are the very same but unknowing of this.  How different this is from our segmented Western society, superficiality at the forefront.   There is so much beauty in closeness to the earth, and we are so sorely lacking.

[silent thunder]

long, loving exhale...

[C T]

The root of all phenomena is your mind.

If unexamined, it rushes after experiences,

ingenious in the games of deception. 

If you look right into it, it is free of any ground or origin.

In essence it is free of any coming, staying or going.

 

~ Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro ~

[manitou]

2 hours ago, C T said:

The root of all phenomena is your mind.

If unexamined, it rushes after experiences,

ingenious in the games of deception. 

If you look right into it, it is free of any ground or origin.

In essence it is free of any coming, staying or going.

 

~ Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro ~

 

In the midst of my own grieving, I find myself falling into being entrenched in the deception of thinking that I was separate from my life partner;  how deeply and painfully I cry and feel the loss.

 

But to realize that the root of all phenomena is the mind, when I can get out of the deception of separation, it almost brings a relief and a faint smile to my lips, knowing that his essence is here now and the form was merely deception.  As in the last line of your quote, 'It is free of any coming, staying or going'.  What an incredible change of perception this knowledge brings.  And yet, the tears are somehow necessary; it is a cleansing purge, the likes of which I've never experienced before.

 

Thank you for being here.

 

[C T]

THIs EXISTS... 

 

Prem Baba -- Journey of a South American spiritual seeker on the path of guru yoga

 

 

 

[C T]

This body is like a bubble, floating on a stream,
Our breathing is like a candle in the wind.
Those best friends of ours seem like children of the gods,
But once we’ve left them behind, they can never be by our side again.
We may have stacked up wealth and possessions the size of a mountain,
But not even a single needle can we carry with us.

 

~ Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro ~ 

[manitou]

4 hours ago, C T said:

Those best friends of ours seem like children of the gods,

 

 

especially after they're gone

[C T]

"Thus in this way, Ananda, skilful virtues have freedom from remorse as their reward.

Freedom from remorse has joy as its reward.

Joy has rapture as its reward.

Rapture has serenity as its reward.

Serenity has pleasure as its reward.

Pleasure has concentration as its reward.

Concentration has knowledge & vision of things as they actually are as its reward.

Knowledge & vision of things as they actually are has disenchantment as its reward.

Disenchantment has dispassion as its reward.

Dispassion has knowledge & vision of release as its reward.

In this way, Ananda, skilful virtues lead step-by-step to the consummation of arahantship." 

 

Kimattha Sutta 

[C T]

Look to the essence of appearance, 
And only emptiness is seen;
Look to the nature of that emptiness, 
And only awareness is seen;
Look to the expression of that awareness, 
And only appearance is seen. 
Such is the inseparability of essence, nature, and expression—
Emptiness, awareness, and appearance.

 

~ Paramito Ladakh ~

[C T]

This primordial ground is present in the mindstreams of all sentient beings, but it is tightly constricted by dualistic grasping; and it is regarded as external, firm, and solid. This is like water in its natural, fluid state freezing in a cold wind. It is due to dualistic grasping onto subjects and objects that the ground, which is naturally free, becomes frozen into the appearances of things.

 

~ Dudjom Lingpa ~

[C T]

"This experience of flipping our consciousness can happen with the simplest method. The method must be immediate. If it is complicated, we may be carried away by what we are trying to resolve before we free ourselves from the entanglement. The radical master Tilopa said, "Inquire into the mind using the mind itself. All concepts will cease and you will see what the nature of mind is." Just like that, the method that Tilopa taught is also central to many of the nondogmatic teachings of the Buddhist Masters. What he is saying is that if you just take a moment to stop the mind from constantly perpetuating habitual patterns, you will enjoy witnessing the highest form of freedom in that moment. Mind's habit stops in that inquiry without anything further to be done. This inquiry has no esoteric meaning. It is a sudden entering into your own nonconceptual awareness. This is a method of flipping the consciousness from the side of confusion to the side of clarity."

 

~ Anam Thubten Rinpoche ~ 

[C T]

Certainty is simply the courage to face the truth of your own wisdom mind. The stronger your doubt and hesitation, the longer it will take and the more methods you will need for doubt and hesitation to be eliminated, abandoned, or purified — which is why the Buddha’s teachings are made up of three main levels.

 

But we could begin very simply: “Buddhanature is inherent within you, and you should truly remain in touch with your fundamental nature at all times.” This should be sufficient. There is no need to go beyond that. Hearing these words or experiencing this in meditation, if you conclude that your fundamental intrinsic nature is primordially enlightened — perfect, no more input is needed. Your only requirement is to always remain inseparable from that. If you can keep this in mind, this is the simplest, most direct way. Generate this as much as possible.

 

Traditionally, this is the way things would be done. The teacher would then send the student away. The student’s challenge would be to try and put the teacher’s words into practice. Those who are able to hold to this realisation for the rest of their lives are called “liberated upon hearing.” For others, the insight may last for a time before fading. Others will have forgotten before putting on their shoes. Even worse, some will listen and hear nothing of what is said. These are the different potentials.

 

~ Mindroling Khandro Rinpoche ~ 

[C T]

Before, I had fallen on evil times: 
no husband, no children, 
no relatives, friends, no way to obtain clothing & food. 
So, taking a staff & bowl in hand, begging for alms from house to house, 
feverish from the cold & heat, 
I wandered for seven full years. 
Then seeing a nun obtaining food & drink, 
I approached her & said: 
"Let me go forth into homelessness."

She, Patacara, from sympathy, 
let me go forth; 
then, exhorting me, 
urged me on to the highest goal. 
Hearing her words, I did her bidding. 
Her exhortation was not in vain.

I'm a three-knowledge woman, 
fermentation-free.

 

~ Canda, The Beggar ~

[C T]

Countless beings. Countless dreams.

In dreams, there are no falsehoods. 

In life... no different.

The emphasis, therefore, could be on what is real, not what is true. 

In reality, all experiencing of dreams are valid and therefore true to the experiencer. 

Since dreams, like thoughts and cognitions, arise from the mind, 

And in searching, only to find that what is termed mind is essentially without substance,  

 Then, its illogical to conceive that an arising thought, an experience,

a sensation, or a phenomena, is therefore absolutely existent and true. 

But nonetheless, in the instant of arising, wherefore cognition takes effect, 

A thing is named and assigned meaning,

it is briefly true and relatively existent. 

In that moment, mind is born.

Because mind is conceived as a birth,

There comes what is known as a lifespan. 

 

Edited October 16, 2017 by C T
housekeeping

[C T]

 

[C T]

"In Buddhism we use the words 'self' and 'no-self,' and so it is important to understand just what this 'no-self,' anatta, is all about, even if it is first just an idea, because the essence of the Buddha's teaching hinges on this concept. And in this teaching Buddhism is unique. No one, no other spiritual teacher, has formulated no-self in just this way. And because it has been formulated by him in this way, there is also the possibility of speaking about it. Much has been written about no-self, but in order to know it, one has to experience it. And that is what the teaching aims at, the experience of no-self.

 

Yet in order to experience no-self, one has first to fully know self. Actually know it. But unless we do know what this self is, this self called 'me,' it is impossible to know what is meant by 'there is no self there.' In order to give something away, we have to first fully have it in hand.

 

We are constantly trying to reaffirm self. Which already shows that this 'self' is a very fragile and rather wispy sort of affair, because if it weren't why would we constantly have to reaffirm it? Why are we constantly afraid of the 'self' being threatened of its being insecure, of its not getting what it needs for survival? If it were such a solid entity as we believe it to be, we would not feel threatened so often.

 

We affirm 'self' again and again through identification. We identify with a certain name, an age, a sex, an ability, an occupation. 'I am a lawyer, I am a doctor. I am an accountant, I am a student.' And we identify with the people we are attached to. 'I am a husband, I am a wife, I am a mother, I am a daughter, I am a son.' Now, in the manner of speech, we have to use 'self' in that way — but it isn't only in speech. We really think that that 'self' is who we are. We really believe it. There is no doubt in our mind that that 'self' is who we are. When any of these factors is threatened, if being a wife is threatened, if being a mother is threatened, if being a lawyer is threatened, if being a teacher is threatened — or if we lose the people who enable us to retain that 'self' — what a tragedy!

 

The self-identification becomes insecure, and 'me' finds it hard to say 'look at me,' 'this is me.' Praise and blame are included. Praise reaffirms 'me.' Blame threatens 'me.' So we like the praise and we dislike the blame. The ego is threatened. Fame and infamy — same thing. Loss and gain. If we gain, the ego gets bigger; if we lose, it gets a bit smaller. So we are constantly in a quandary, and in constant fear. The ego might lose a little bit of its grandeur. It might be made a bit smaller by someone. And it happens to all of us. Somebody is undoubtedly going to blame us for something eventually. Even the Buddha was blamed. Now the blame that is levied at us is not the problem. The problem is our reaction. The problem is that we feel smaller. The ego has a hard time reasserting itself. So what we usually do is we blame back, making the other's ego a bit smaller too.
 

Identification with whatever it is that we do and whatever it is that we have, be it possessions or people, is, so we believe, needed for our survival. 'Self' survival. If we don't identify with this or that, we feel as if we are in limbo. This is the reason why it is difficult to stop thinking in meditation. Because without thinking there would be no identification. If I don't think, what do I identify with? It is difficult to come to a stage in meditation in which there is actually nothing to identify with any more.

 

Happiness, too, may be an identification. 'I am happy.' 'I am unhappy.' Because we are so keen on survival, we have got to keep on identifying. When this identification becomes a matter of the life or death of the ego, which it usually is, then the fear of loss becomes so great that we can be in a constant state of fear. Constantly afraid to lose either the possessions that make us what we are, or the people that make us what we are. If we have no children, or if they all die, we are no longer a mother. So fear is paramount. The same goes for all other identifications. Not a very peaceful state of living and what is it due to? Only one thing: ego, the craving to be.

 

This identification results, of course, in craving for possessing. And this possessing results in attachment. What we have, what we identify with, we are attached to. That attachment, that clinging, makes it extremely difficult to have a free and open viewpoint. This kind of clinging, whatever it may be that we cling to — it may not be clinging to motor cars and houses, it may not even be clinging to people — but we certainly cling to views and opinions. We cling to our world view. We cling to the view of how we are going to be happy. Maybe we cling to a view of who created this universe. Whatever it is we cling to, even how the government should run the country, all of that makes it extremely difficult to see things as they really are. To be open-minded. And it is only an open mind which can take in new ideas and understanding."

 

~ Sister Ayya Khemma: Meditating on No-Self ~

[C T]

What Buddhist adepts have known for a long time, and scientists are only discovering now..

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mind-works-after-death-consciousness-sam-parnia-nyu-langone-a8007101.html

[C T]

 

[blue eyed snake]

3 hours ago, C T said:

What Buddhist adepts have known for a long time, and scientists are only discovering now..

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mind-works-after-death-consciousness-sam-parnia-nyu-langone-a8007101.html

 

ah, that's good!

 

i've no doubt about it either, having had a nde as a teenager. 

 

Could you point me to a text that tells more about the way buddhists think about what happens after the heart stops ticking? In language suited to a layman 

[C T]

50 minutes ago, blue eyed snake said:

 

ah, that's good!

 

i've no doubt about it either, having had a nde as a teenager. 

 

Could you point me to a text that tells more about the way buddhists think about what happens after the heart stops ticking? In language suited to a layman 

This is one of the more reliable learning source, BES. 

https://studybuddhism.com/en/tibetan-buddhism/path-to-enlightenment/karma-rebirth/buddhist-advice-on-death-and-dying

 

Researching 'Bardo' will also yield much information. 

 

Happy reading 

 

[cold]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 7:03 PM, manitou said:

I have just lost my partner of 35 years, who died suddenly from a stroke.  I am not looking for sympathy or even kind words here relating to that on this thread.

 

But I am going to soon be walking through exactly what we are talking about.  I must eliminate most things other than the most basic necessity - including even my two beloved dogs - to fit into a one bedroom condo.  I have beautiful things that I have treasured for years - collections of pottery, native american jewelry, and beautiful furniture and art - from two houses.  The challenge of ripping these things from me will be welcomed in a way, dreaded in another.  And yet it must be done. I must strip myself down to nothing.  I so appreciate the line that this thread has taken here; if it doesn't appeal to some, please know that one of our members, namely me, certainly needed to hear everybody's input and is most grateful that this came up at this particular time.  Love to all.  I waver between transcending the situation and being entrenched in it.  Grief comes in waves.

 

Thinking of you and wishing you comfort and peace.

[silent thunder]

7 hours ago, C T said:

What Buddhist adepts have known for a long time, and scientists are only discovering now..

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mind-works-after-death-consciousness-sam-parnia-nyu-langone-a8007101.html

Fascinating but I can't imagine the disconnect to be involved in such a study.

 

Such diversity in humans.  I go to work and build things... These folks induce heart attacks in anesthitized critters... and study their dying brain functions. 

 

"Welcome home honey!  Good day?  How did work go?"