Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential

[C T]

 

~ HH Dudjom Rinpoche ~ 

 

Meditation consists of being attentive to such a state of rigpa, free from all mental constructions, whilst remaining fully relaxed, without any distraction or grasping. For it is said that ‘meditation is not striving, but naturally becoming assimilated into it'.

 

[C T]

Creation story from the Hopi Nation in Arizona 

 

Creation said:
“I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it.
It is the realization that they create their own reality.”

 

The eagle said,
“Give it to me. I will take it to the moon.”
The Creator said, “No. One day they will go there and find it.”
 

The salmon said,
“I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean.”
The Creator said, “No. They will go there, too.”
 

The buffalo said, “I will bury it in the Great Plains.”
The Creator said, “They will cut into the skin of the earth and find it even there.”
 

Grandmother, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth,
and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said,
“Put it inside of them.”
 

And the Creator said,

“It is done.”

 

 

 

 

 

[C T]

~ Longchenpa ~ 

 

Pure mind is like the empty sky,
Without memory, supreme meditation;
It is our own nature, unstirring, uncontrived,
And wherever that abides is the superior mind,
One in buddhahood without any sign,
One in view free of limiting elaboration,
One in meditation free of limiting ideation,
One in conduct free of limiting endeavour,
And one in fruition free of limiting attainment.

Vast! spacious!
Released as it stands!
With neither realization nor non-realization;
Experience consummate! No mind!
It is open to infinity.

[C T]

~ Dudjom Rinpoche ~ 

The  Nature  of  Mind 

 

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.

[ilumairen]

3 hours ago, C T said:

~ Dudjom Rinpoche ~ 

The  Nature  of  Mind 

 

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.

 

Would it be acceptable to say this sounds very much like the Valley Spirit?

[doc benway]

I have a question for those here who are knowledgable about Buddhist practice.

Is it permissible to share brief excerpts from restricted materials, such as what CT often shares here, or is even that prohibited?

Thanks!

 

[C T]

19 minutes ago, ilumairen said:

 

Would it be acceptable to say this sounds very much like the Valley Spirit?

 

 

It does bear some semblance, doesn't it?  

 

Quote

 

The valley spirit never dies;
We call it the mysterious female.
The gates of the mysterious female -
These we call the roots of Heaven and Earth.
Subtle yet everlasting! It seems to exist.
In being used, it is not exhausted.

 

"You have read in the Great One of the miraculous pass, the portal into all knowledge.  I will tell you what this pass is.  It is none other that the inexhaustible female.  Must I be blunt?  Can you grasp the concept of the dragon and the tiger, water and fire, cauldron and furnace, pestle and mortar?  The mysterious female is the key to the firing process.  This talk of base metals into gold and drinking an elixir of mercury is not the real alchemy.  Enter into her and take it into yourself, again and again.  Lao Tzu said, “The valley spirit is the mysterious female.  Her door is the root of heaven and earth.”  It replenishes itself continuously.  There is no coercion, but it is freely given.  Opening up, you will enter the cinnabar chamber where all knowledge is stored.  Conserving your essence, you will draw her into yourself, up through the lower and middle tan tien into the seat of ecstasy.  Her you will find madness and death … or the knowledge that will give you eternal life.” ~ Simon Marnier

 

 

[C T]

17 minutes ago, steve said:

I have a question for those here who are knowledgable about Buddhist practice.

Is it permissible to share brief excerpts from restricted materials, such as what CT often shares here, or is even that prohibited?

Thanks!

 

 

 

Hi Steve  

 

I assure you none of whats been shared here can be classified as "restricted". 

As one of my teachers said, the only texts that are restricted are those passed directly from teacher to student with specific instructions not to expose said texts, either because they have been 'sealed' for private practice undertaken by said student, or because traditionally there's no precedent for exposing certain texts openly, bar those who have received specific empowerments to engage with sadhanas commensurate with those texts. 

[ilumairen]

4 hours ago, C T said:

~ Dudjom Rinpoche ~ 

The  Nature  of  Mind 

 

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.

 

 

Quote

 

The book of the Yellow Emperor says, "The Valley Spirit that does not die is the Mysterious Female. It is the foundation of heaven and earth. It continues forever and cannot be used up." Because the valley is hollow, it can hold the spirit, it can embrace, and it can nourish. Because the valley is empty, it is not subject to birth and death. To transcend birth and death is to enter into the Limitless (wu-chi) and be at one with the origin of heaven and earth.

The Gate of the Mysterious Female is where all things are created. And yet heaven and earth are said to be born from the not born. This is what is meant by "that which is not born gives birth to everything," for the Mysterious Female is that which is not-born. It's origins belong to the realm of non differentiation, where there is neither birth nor death. Because it is never born, it never dies. Because it never dies, it's energy lasts forever. It is in heaven and earth, and heaven and earth do not know it. It is in all things, yet all things do not recognize it.

 

          ~ Eva Wong in Lieh-tzu

 

 

[doc benway]

3 minutes ago, C T said:

 

 

Hi Steve  

 

I assure you none of whats been shared here can be classified as "restricted". 

That never crossed my mind!

 

3 minutes ago, C T said:

As one of my teachers said, the only texts that are restricted are those passed directly from teacher to student with specific instructions not to expose said texts, either because they have been 'sealed' for private practice undertaken by said student, or because traditionally there's no precedent for exposing certain texts openly, bar those who have received specific empowerments to engage with sadhanas commensurate with those texts. 

My question was more about sharing brief excerpts from such restricted materials.

I'm guessing the answer is 'when in doubt, don't.'

[C T]

1 minute ago, ilumairen said:

 

The Valley Spirit is the Mysterious Female. 

 

 

Interesting that the term 'Valley Spirit' needs further explication. 

Do you know the reason for this? 

[ilumairen]

1 minute ago, C T said:

 

Interesting that the term 'Valley Spirit' needs further explication. 

Do you know the reason for this? 

 

In the very next short section of the book it is reported the students were seen to not be understanding.. I've recently looked at three translations, all of which vary a bit, and in the variances may be easier or harder for the individual to recognize or comprehend. 

 

Imo this may be, in part, because an example is being used to point to the ineffable - perhaps reminiscent of the difficulties presented in the Rangtong/Shentong dispute about "best means" to "bring" individuals to realization. 

 

[C T]

They could have written thus, "From the voidness of the Mysterious Female emanates an eternal spirit that is inexhaustible."  

[ilumairen]

9 minutes ago, C T said:

They could have written thus, "From the voidness of the Mysterious Female emanates an eternal spirit that is inexhaustible."  

 

Perhaps the Giles translation would be more to your liking?

 

Quote

In the Book of the Yellow Emperor it is written: "The Spirit of the Valley dies not; it may be called the Mysterious Feminine. The issuing-point of the Mysterious Feminine must be regarded as the Root of the Universe. Subsisting to all eternity, it uses its force without effort."

 

Which continues thus:

 

Quote

That, then, which engenders all things is itself unengendered; that by which all things are evolved is itself untouched by evolution. Self-engendered and self-evolved, it has in itself the elements of substance, appearance, wisdom, strength, dispersion and cessation. Yet it would be a mistake to call it by any one of these names.

 

[Apech]

On 8/25/2019 at 5:02 PM, steve said:

That never crossed my mind!

 

My question was more about sharing brief excerpts from such restricted materials.

I'm guessing the answer is 'when in doubt, don't.'

 

 

I don't think Vajrayana texts should be shared - but then a lot of Lamas seem to write books on them which means they are widely known when in the past they would have been 'secret' - so who knows

 

 

[C T]

~ Paramito Ladakh ~ 

 

While it cannot be located, in either the material or immaterial realms, it can nevertheless be known,

by mere fact that it is knowing itself, which is beyond the conceptual framework of time and space.

[blue eyed snake]

On 22-8-2019 at 11:38 PM, C T said:

And then finally after this has gone on for some time, the latter finally instead of conceding the points, responds with something to the effect of, “Well all positions are just aspects of the ego mind. When we truly see nothingness, we realize no such positions exist.” This is what I like to call the “Ultimate erases the relative” fallacy, that is common in Buddhist discussions. It’s a kind of cop out—a way of preserving the ego, and changing the discussion from dialogue about a relative topic to one of an Ultimate one, in an attempt to distract from the main point someone is making by saying relative subjects don’t exist.

 

Paradoxically, the person saying this will often passive-aggressively imply that the other person is in their “ego mind” meanwhile they, the enlightened profound person, have understood a wisdom so deep and profound that the other person just simply doesn’t understand. And “one day” perhaps the other person will reach their own level of profundity.

 

oh yes....a memory rises here 

 

 

 

[C T]

~ Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche ~ 

 

 

What is meant by dependent origination?

 

It means that nothing within inner and outer phenomena has arisen without a cause. Neither have they originated from what is not their causes - that is, non-causes such as a permanent creator, in the form of a self, time, or the Almighty.

 

The fact that phenomena arise based on the interdependence of their respective causes and conditions coming together is called dependent origination. To proclaim this is the unique approach of the Buddha's teaching.

 

In this way, the arising of all inner and outer phenomena require that their respective causes and conditions come together in the appropriate manner. When these factors are incomplete, phenomena do not arise, while when complete, they will definitely arise. That is the nature of dependent origination.

 

Thus, dependent origination ranks as an essential and profound teaching among the treasuries of the Buddha's words. The one who perceives dependent origination with the eyes of discriminating knowledge will come to see the qualities that have the nature of the eightfold noble path, and with the wisdom gaze that comprehends all object of knowledge will perceive the dharmakaya of Buddhahood.

 

Thus it has been taught.

[doc benway]

Buddha is this very Awareness or consciousness which is not modified or corrupted by conceptual thought or artificial constructions or by following after the six sense consciousnesses. It is this.

~ Menri Trizin 33rd, Approaching Dzogchen according to the Athri Cycle

 

 

[doc benway]

“In the castle of one’s body

Dwells the heart, abode of enlightenment.

Inside this temple

The precious, immutable mind-essence,

Nature of Samantabhadra, the dharmakaya,

Shines immovable and unseizable by concepts.

Although it abides as such and is one’s natural possession,

There is a difference whether it is recognized or not.

The wisdom of one’s instant presence exists primordially,

But since instant presence is covered by the darkness of ignorance

Wisdom does not manifest

And one becomes slave to the ordinary actions of illusory vision.

The undefiled state of knowledge is one’s natural possession,

But since one is polluted by the dirt of the mind

Thoughts cannot dissolve in the original base.

As long as thoughts do not dissolve in the original base,

There is no way to perceive nakedly one’s instant presence.

Pointing out primordial wisdom: Look inside, backward, at the essence of your consciousness.

If, when you look, you don’t see anything and find a condition of emptiness, this is called the dharmakaya.

In this condition that is empty and beyond thoughts there is a clarity which shines naturally: this is called primordial wisdom.

Recognizing that instant presence, while manifesting everywhere, has no substance, is the primordially existing enlightenment. Enlightenment is not outside: if you search in yourself, it will be found.

You don’t need a particular method for searching; just look at this essence and set yourself in your natural condition. There is not even something to set in its natural condition, but just be in a condition of pure emptiness. You must not have doubts about this. If you are confident, that is enough!”

 

~ “CLARIFYING THE REAL NATURE - The Upadesha That Reveals Nakedly the Wisdom of Clear Insight” ~

excerpted from The Golden Letters teachings by Drenpa Namkha

 

[old3bob]

why do various Buddhist teachings perpetually misuse the term "mind"?  Vedic teachings make it clear what mind is and is not.  I guess if people accept the misuse of the term with a different  understanding for it then so be it.

 

Btw all teachings come from Om or AUM and that is not hidden if and when it can be seen and heard.  Nothing spooky about it....although what goes up can also go down.

Edited January 31, 2020 by old3bob

[doc benway]

4 hours ago, old3bob said:

why do various Buddhist teachings perpetually misuse the term "mind"?  Vedic teachings make it clear what mind is and is not.  I guess if people accept the misuse of the term with a different  understanding for it then so be it.

 

Bön teachings also distinguish clearly between the mind and it's essence or nature.

A great resource for the Bön perspective on this is a text called the 21 Nails.

One of the nails lists the distinct characteristics distinguishing the two.

Having direct realization of that distinction is the basis for "pointing out" instructions that are the foundation of the dzogchen schools.

 

 

Quote

 

Btw all teachings come from Om or AUM and that is not hidden if and when it can be seen and heard.  Nothing spooky about it....although what goes up can also go down.

 

Your basic message seems similar to that of my post above.

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by steve

[old3bob]

another fine reply by a fine man, namely Steve

[Spotless]

On 7/6/2019 at 7:12 AM, C T said:

~ Thinley Norbu Rinpoche ~ 

 

The Buddhist view is to recognize that we must not remain within ordinary phenomena by following a worldly philosophy limited to ordinary, substantial reasoning. We must decide to increase pure phenomena by following a spiritual philosophy which goes beyond ordinary reasoning and leads to enlightenment. Buddhist philosophy is entirely spiritual. Its purpose is to refute the views of the two extremes of nihilism and eternalism by the skillful means of wisdom, to release all beings to enlightenment.

 

Some nihilists in particular think that Buddhism is only a philosophy and not a religion. This misunderstanding is the result of holding the nihilist point of view, which does not accept the intangible, imperceptible qualities of nondualistic wisdom that can appear tangibly or intangibly. Because the nihilist point of view is confined to the reasoning of dualistic mind, it is actually impossible to use it to define or evaluate the qualities of Buddhism deeply and clearly, since they are beyond ordinary perception. Even the difference between ordinary and spiritual qualities cannot be analyzed.

 

The nihilist view of believing only in this momentary life is the result of considering substance to be the fundamental constituent of all phenomena, including one’s body, the objective gross elements, whatever arises from these gross elements, and whatever can be perceived. There are many different ways to understand substance within relative truth, since there are infinite relative truths. Nihilism means becoming caught within each temporary circumstance of relative truth and believing in its reality, so the perception of substance seems real.

 

From the Buddhist point of view, everything that exists in samsara is substance. The origin of substance is dualistic mind. There is no end to substance because there is no end to the conceptions of dualistic mind. Whenever the buddhanature of sentient beings is dormant and dualistic mind appears, the ordinary passions and the incalculable phenomena of the karmic elements arise, which are all composed of substance.

 

Substance is not only one part of something. It is all the immeasurable forms of samsaric existence, unless it is transformed into immeasurable, substanceless, wisdom light appearances which are beyond all interdependent cause and result. This is the meaning of substancelessness. Substanceless wisdom is unobstructed and pervades everywhere in samsara and nirvana without intention as self-accomplished compassion, so it can manifest within substance, but it never remains there. Its essence is always nonsubstance, which is the quality of Buddha.

This is quite confusing as written when combined with the last paragraph:

 

“Some nihilists in particular think that Buddhism is only a philosophy and not a religion”

 

“Substanceless wisdom is unobstructed and pervades everywhere in samsara and nirvana without intention as self-accomplished compassion, so it can manifest within substance, but it never remains there. Its essence is always nonsubstance, which is the quality of Buddha”

 

Generally “Religion” would not be considered Substanceless wisdom - though Practice and it’s fruits would be.

Few who Practice consider it a Relgion though many who adher to a religion consider it a practice but adherence to beliefs would clearly be grasping. Practice - The Way certainly more resembles a Philosophy ( the pursuit of truths and actually trying not to “believe” but know, see, deduce, experience) to a very considerable extent. Though philosophy as a word is very much misunderstood. And religion as a word is very much understated in its value of stuck ness.

 

However - through the muck it brings up some nice points!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by Spotless

[C T]

How wonderful it is, this free and spacious no-thing-ness called mind. Free of worry, and free from hope and fear.