Dust on the mirror

[Apech]

2 hours ago, Bindi said:

And yet... I’ve been reading up on all things Buddhist this weekend, including Buddhist psychology and Buddhist Tantra. 
 

From what I can gather from Buddhist psychology, Buddhism doesn’t aim to remove the backlog, and doesn’t claim to deliver mental health in the western sense, for example people on antidepressants are advised to stay on them, and people practicing for many years can still be anxious and depressed. This is relevant if dust is basically the backlog, and dust is what I’m interested in removing. 

 

 

There are things that call themselves Buddhist psychology and psychotherapy - which is ok I guess - but they are not really dharma.  People prescribed anti-depressants should stay on them until they are their doctor agree they should come off - so I'm not surprised at that advice.

 

Dharma practice may make you calmer and happier - but also it might make you more stressed if that is what is needed for you to realise the true nature.

[doc benway]

6 hours ago, Bindi said:

And yet... I’ve been reading up on all things Buddhist this weekend, including Buddhist psychology and Buddhist Tantra. 
 

An important thing I've found is that reading about Buddhism is not Buddhism.

The experiential practice opens into a dimension that is not touched by theory.

I rarely read about Buddhism, other than transcripts of teachings related to practices I engage in.

 

6 hours ago, Bindi said:

From what I can gather from Buddhist psychology, Buddhism doesn’t aim to remove the backlog,

I must disagree with that.

The backlog is addressed. More important is addressing its effect on us in the present time and whether we continue to manifest that which created the backlog as we move forward.

On the sutric path, it is done through renunciation. Rather than continue engage in the dysfunctional patterns that have generated negative karma, they engage in generating merit and wisdom. This purifies the karmic debt, or backlog.

On the tantric path, it is done through transformation of body, speech, and mind into the mandala of the deity which liberates it.

On the dzogchen path, the backlog is not changed, suppressed, or analyzed, it is cut off at the root through resting into the view which allows it to liberate itself, effortlessly.

 

6 hours ago, Bindi said:

and doesn’t claim to deliver mental health in the western sense, for example people on antidepressants are advised to stay on them, and people practicing for many years can still be anxious and depressed.

No question about it, Buddhist practice is not psychotherapy. At first, there is an easing of the burden of day to day tension and pain. Then as we deepen and quiet the discursive mental activity we're faced with arising of deeper suppressed and repressed baggage. The backlog reveals itself and can be overwhelming. My Daoist meditation teacher warned me of the same thing when I was on that path. It is not isolated to Buddhism. If there is a tendency to mental illness, it's importance to have the support needed, be it therapy, friends and family, or even medication.

 

6 hours ago, Bindi said:

This is relevant if dust is basically the backlog, and dust is what I’m interested in removing. 

My Daoist teacher once told me that a major reason for practicing meditation now is that we are relatively young and healthy and can face the backlog that comes up through practice. He said that everyone faces it eventually, we can choose to face it with the intention and support of our practice, our youth and health; or we can face it unexpectedly and unpreparedly in our old age when we're sick and frail. He mentioned this as a major cause of suicide in the elderly which represents the second peak in this cause of death.

[C T]

The analogy quite often used to describe karmic gunk is mud as this leads to the analogy of the lotus growing out of the mud, unstained and immaculate in its flowering despite the prevalent conditions where it grows. 

 

Similar to the example presented by Gautama about a person shot by a poisoned arrow, some teachers explain the way to effectively remove this gunk-mud (that dust on the mirror) is not to rely on the need to micro-analyse/manage the constituents of this aversive presence, the receptacle in which it resides, its origins and causes, its smell, colour and so on,  but to pour a persistent stream of clean water into the receptacle until such time all traces of the mud is gone, eventually to be replaced by the clarity of the clean water. In Dharmaspeak, this means that one's focus ought to be on the diligent & patient cultivation and practice of the Dharma, beginning with a clear understanding of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the paramitas, lojong, etc - this is said to lead to the gradual dissipation and cessation of accumulated fetters (the gunk-mud) in a more gentle, unforced process.

 

These fetters are said to be self-imposed limitations that is sustained by karma due to lifetimes of accumulated stubborn habit patterns. This imposition is clung to because the ego relies on it, and is nourished by the delusions arising from there and continues in a loop until one awakens to the reality that one has been duped all this while into believing this gunk-mud is owned by "I, Me & Mine". 

 

In effect, the primary aim of Dharma practice in this regard is to see thru that illusion of ownership. Its needless to be engaged in unfruitful analysis of whats essentially a mirage. At the beginning of this path, the tendency to regard this mirage as real is very strong. With time and maturity of practise, one begins to see the mirage for what it is. Once that clarity arises and shines steady, the mirage of fetters will vanish like mist in the morning sun. 

[silent thunder]

wow... dropping pearls!

 

Thank you Bums!