Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential

[C T]

14 minutes ago, manitou said:

The I Am consciousness is as a result of inner work - removal of the things inside us that get in the way of clarity.  Looking to all the mistakes we've made and trying to correct them by making amends and straightening out our behavior.  It's crucial for long term recovery, and the removal process continues through life.  Once the inner self is found, the true self, that is the I Am.  It's not the result of a particular path or religion, it is self-correction and removal of emotional blockages, reversal of old imprints.  And that place seems quite understanding of any dogma that leads to that place, regardless of where in the world it comes from.  It is staying in consciousness and knowing that humanity is One, and aligning our wants and desires to the good of all.

 

Basically, it's discovering Who we really are.

 

If thats what it is, wouldn't it yield a better relational understanding to phrase it as the 'I Am Not' consciousness? 

As in, "I am not my past"? Or, "I am not my baggage"? The I Am paradigm does not align too well with my understanding, therefore my questions could be misconstrued to mean something its not intended to. Im just not confident with the notion that there is a self to find, just as peeling off all the layers of an onion to arrive at its true nature can be quite a shocking process. Its my observation that many who do a lot of work on themselves may experience being let down by their sincere effort and intentions, because ultimately, existence and non-existence, or cause and effect, in itself has the nature of unsatisfactoriness as default. 

[manitou]

The quote is biblical, but speaks to that place within.  'Be still and know that I Am God.'  I do believe that it was the Nazarene that said this, but I think it has gotten lost in the translations, and so do other scholars I've read or heard.  "Be still and know that I Am God" is what he was communication as a mantra for all humankind, not just him.

 

Sure, you can call it the I Am Not consciousness.  But the God I believe it refers to, is the incredible mathematics and brilliant intelligence contained within phenomena, ourselves included.  I think you're rightfully pointing to the flaw of duality - but there is no duality if it is seen as self contained intelligence.  The intelligence that tells the embryonic cells how to line up.  No wizard.  Just silent knowing what to do.

 

That, to me, is the I Am.  In native American cultures, it can be referred to as manitou, which is the 'spirit which underlies everything'.  I just see it as cosmic intelligence, to which we can tap into when we kick ego to the side.  To stay in consciousness of this intelligence is to...well....stay in Consciousness.

 

Self realization is a funny thing.  It never stops.  It doesn't seem that you ever really get 'there'.  But there is a 'gnowing' that was never there before.

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2020 by manitou

[gatito]

4 hours ago, C T said:

it is worth noting that a firm basis of the Middle Way is one of positionlessness, extolled above by Gautama: "Where neither water nor yet earth nor fire nor air gain a foothold...." .

 

 

but you then say:

 

3 hours ago, C T said:

ultimately, existence and non-existence, or cause and effect, in itself has the nature of unsatisfactoriness as default. 

 

 

Its "default setting" is actually beautiful (and loving) beyond any possibility of comprehension.

 

However, I'll certainly defer to you that it's possible for anyone to blot that out with a single thought.

 

Edited March 30, 2020 by gatito

[C T]

~ PARAMITO LADAKH ~ 

 

While all conditions are subject to change, ignorance, in its original

and most basic form (self-identification), stubbornly persists.

 

 

 

 

[C T]

~ PARAMITO LADAKH ~ 

 

When we exercise our personal preferences, it might seem like it's an act of complete freedom,

but, if done without wise attention, it's actually an act of continued bondage.

 

 

 

 

[silent thunder]

This thread shines like a light house on a dim night.

Like Pearls reflecting Moonlight.

[manitou]

14 hours ago, C T said:

When we exercise our personal preferences, it might seem like it's an act of complete freedom,

but, if done without wise attention, it's actually an act of continued bondage.

 

 

 

Yes!  It seems like we default to old conditioned responses - thinking it's freedom.  The 'wise attention' referred to is to question our own actions - to see that we have so many options - and not to just do it the way we've always done it.  A wonderful quote, IMO.  But the inner change to more freedom of action requires lessening of fear of doing it differently.

 

And to trust the universe - that there really is an alignment or pattern that knows what it is doing.  When we pin down our actions and opinions to deliver the same results continually, we are truly in continued bondage.

[doc benway]

 

 

"Why waste all this time in the clouds if you can dwell in the sun?"

 

~ His Holines the 33th Menri Trizin Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche

[C T]

~ DAKINI WISDOM ~

 

One day Saraha asked his wife for some radish curry. She prepared the dish, but in the meantime Saraha entered a deep meditation from which he did not emerge for twelve years. He then immediately asked for his radish curry. His wife was astonished, "You have been in meditation for twelve years; now it is summer and there are no radishes."
 

Saraha then decided to go to the mountains for more meditation.
"Physical isolation is not a real solitude," replied his wife. "The best kind of solitude is complete escape from the preconceptions and prejudices of an inflexible and narrow mind, and, moreover, from all labels and concepts. If you awaken from a twelve year samadhi and are still clinging to your twelve year old curry, what is the point of going to the mountains?"
 

Saraha listened to his wife and after some time attained the supreme realization of the Mahamudra.

[gatito]

On 3/31/2020 at 5:08 AM, C T said:

~ PARAMITO LADAKH ~ 

 

While all conditions are subject to change, ignorance, in its original

and most basic form (self-identification), stubbornly persists.

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe a different practice would help?

 

 

 

[C T]

7 minutes ago, gatito said:

 

Maybe a different practice would help?

 

 

 

 

Glad you are going out of your way to see the lighter side of things.

[gatito]

Celebrating Poisson(s) d'Avril can be quite entertaining.

 

Glad you've lightened-up yourself.

 

Be Well CT!

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by gatito
Added link

[C T]

 

~ DIANA ST. RUTH ~ 

 

Happiness cannot be forced into existence, nor can it be forced out of it, but it can be held in abeyance. This is what we do when we hang on to things and people and ideas in our minds and refuse to let them go. The mind becomes blocked and the way is dammed up.

 

Being alert, observing the movements of the mind and body in daily life, noticing what is taking place—as opposed to what one wishes would take place, or what one fears might take place, or what one grieves over as having already taken place—is a way of life that is completely free of all self-imposed restrictions and conflicting states of mind. Wisdom and compassion will be allowed to function freely under these circumstances.

[C T]

~ DUDJOM RINPOCHE ~ 

 

As for View, Meditation, Action and their Fruit: 

Make freedom from attachment and aversion your View;

Make the release of intellectualization your Meditation;

Let freedom from craving and contrived deeds be your Action. 

Let your Fruit be the abandonment of the wish to attain anything, 

and thus realize the Dharmakaya which is spontaneously present always! 

[C T]

~ YONGEY MINGYUR RINPOCHE ~

 

"Here's another secret:
You know the real obstacle to resting meditation? It's too simple. There's no "wow" experience, there's nothing added, and there's no work to do. It's as close as the tip of your nose, meaning it's too close to see.

 

Sometimes teachers tell us: "Stop meditating." This does not mean to give up awareness, but rather: "Don't use a flashlight in the sunshine." Assuming that we're inherently insufficient, we use the mind's equivalent of a flashlight to improve upon the sun.

 

Open awareness is like space. We speak of space and refer to it, but actually we don't recognize it. We only see what is in space. When we do talk about seeing space, we usually mean the valley, table, tree, or something that brings definition or perspective to an area, but not to space itself.
 

In the same way that we might not believe in the benefits of recognizing space, the practice of open awareness tends to lack credibility. We don't really believe in its benefits, like the idea that we do not value what comes free. We seem to need to pay a price to guarantee value.
 

With meditation, we pay this price with exercises that actually require more work than open awareness does: awareness with objects. Here the mind cannot just rest with no job to do; it must extend itself to specific sense objects for supports."

[idiot_stimpy]

Longchenpa 's Radical Dzogchen

 

So stay right here, you lucky people, let go and be happy in the natural state.

 

Let your complicated life and everyday confusion alone and out of quietude, doing nothing, watch the nature of mind.

 

This piece of advice is from the bottom of my heart: fully engage in contemplation and understanding is born; cherish nonattachment and delusion dissolves; and forming no agenda at all reality dawns.

 

Whatever occurs, whatever it may be, that itself is the key, and without stopping it or nourishing it, in an even flow, freely resting, surrendering to ultimate contemplation, in naked pristine purity we reach consummation.

[gatito]

12 hours ago, C T said:

 

~ DIANA ST. RUTH ~ 

 

Happiness cannot be forced into existence, nor can it be forced out of it, but it can be held in abeyance. This is what we do when we hang on to things and people and ideas in our minds and refuse to let them go. The mind becomes blocked and the way is dammed up.

 

Being alert, observing the movements of the mind and body in daily life, noticing what is taking place—as opposed to what one wishes would take place, or what one fears might take place, or what one grieves over as having already taken place—is a way of life that is completely free of all self-imposed restrictions and conflicting states of mind. Wisdom and compassion will be allowed to function freely under these circumstances.

 

 

That's a part of the Sedona Method in a nutshell.

 

[C T]

~ HEART ESSENCE OF THE DAKINI ~ 

Presence and Clarity

 

When you look towards a thought, the thought itself disappears.

Who is watching disappears at the same time. After everything

has disappeared, your experience and presence are quite clear,

and this means that this state is not like unconsciousness. It says

here that this clarity is like a shining sun - there is no need to

add anything else, it is self-clear to the practitioner. What is this

presence ? It is prior to intellect, and nondescript.

so when we say it is 'clear' that doesn't allude to seeing things clearly.

Neither can you compare it to the sun shining or to electric light;

don't think it is clear in that sense. The presence is very clear to the practitioner

who has the experience. It says here: 'Don't expect to add anything or find

any other place which is clear. ' For example, if you light up a lamp

you don't need to add any other light to see it - the lamp itself is

clear. So that means that this clarity is not comparable to any other

clarity; it is self-clear, or clear to a practitioner who understands

this presence. You have to understand this.

This is not like ordinary clarity as there are no judgements

whatsoever because it is not influenced by perception or

consciousness. It is like a crystal ball; all kinds of visions and

reflections appear when you look into a crystal ball, but the ball

itself doesn't change. That is similar. It is clear and shining but

it cannot be explained. That is the example for how reflections

come from the Nature without changing the Nature itself. This

presence is called Nature, and Nature is like the crystal ball - many

reflections can come from there, they appear there,

yet there is no change to the Nature itself.

[C T]

~ MAITREYA BUDDHA ~ 

 

The suffering created by the powerful does not disappear at death.

The guilt follows them in life after life, even to the point of madness.

But the good shed pain like a snake's skin, as layer after layer

falls away with spiritual realization.

 

I look through the darkness of matter, and see the shining spirit within. 

I am the sun that draws the flower from its seed.

 

[SongShuhang]

@C T

Hello, fantastic post.
I am very interested in Buddhist tradition of cultivation. Would you be so kind to share some guidelines or reading materials for a beginner?

[C T]

3 hours ago, SongShuhang said:

@C T

Hello, fantastic post.
I am very interested in Buddhist tradition of cultivation. Would you be so kind to share some guidelines or reading materials for a beginner?

 

Thank you, and welcome to TDB  

Glad to assist where possible. Is there any school or tradition that you particularly resonate with? 

Perhaps, when you have a bit of time, you could list out the names of a handful of teachers whose quotes are found on this thread - that will give me an idea what to recommend. Will help to know also what's your current practice, and what brought you here. 

 

Be well @SongShuhang

 

[C T]

~ SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA ~ 

 

"And whatsoever people do, whether in the world or as a recluse, let them put their whole heart into it. Let them be committed and energetic, and if they have to struggle, let them do it without envy or hatred. Let them live not a life of self but a life of truth, and in that way bliss will enter their hearts."

 

~ o Majjhima Nikaya o ~

[C T]

Excellent, detailed article in Tricycle by Patricia Anderson on the Buddhist approach to death and dying, including considerations around the meaning of euthanasia, both from the Buddhist and Western perspectives. 

 

https://tricycle.org/magazine/good-death/?fbclid=IwAR24NA--r5pIJGakwKVTBJjfwPd4RGAPnFv-xDL6o6wp1QFi46vzyRAeFa0

[C T]

∞ TA HUI ∞

From the book Swampland Flowers

The letters and lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui

 

Generally, gentlemen who have been overly involved in worldly affairs for a long time have long been stuck like glue in the afflictions of the senses. When unexpectedly it happens that someone instructs them to do some meditation in a quiet place, and they temporarily get a feeling of unconcern, they immediately take this as the ultimate in peace and happiness.

 

They are far from realizing that is like a rock pressing down on the grass. Though for a time they become aware that the scene is cut off, nevertheless the root and branches are still there: when will they experience quiescent extinction to the full?

 

If you want to have real quiescent extinction appear before you, you must make a sudden leap within the fires of birth and death, and leap out without moving a hairsbreadth. Then you’ll turn the rivers into pure ghee and the earth into gold; faced with situations, you’ll be free to release or capture, to kill or bring life; no device to benefit others or benefit yourself will be impossible.

[C T]

∞ E. CARVALHO ∞

 

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle

Their wisdom was unfathomable

There is no way to describe it;

all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful

as someone crossing an iced-over stream

Alert as a warrior in enemy territory

Courteous as a guest

Fluid as melting ice

Shapable as a block of wood

Receptive as a valley

Clear as a glass of water

Do you have the patience to wait

till your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving

till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment

Not seeking, not expecting,

she is present, and can welcome all things.