Enlightenment: The Ego, what is it? How to transcend it.

[joeecho]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/16388298_1512703818757305_5414142290184765372_n.jpg?oh=19710b70751641ed5a65fb22e9f19570&oe=59494128

Everything holds the secret but don't look to it to tell the truth.

[joeecho]

For this to really be reality, nothing can oppose it.

[Clear Light]

For this to really be reality, nothing can oppose it.

Ah, but in the *absence* of ALL conceptual thinking, what remains IS "reality" eh ? :wink:


34903

I'd say that as the waves of seeming individuality ("me" and "you") subside what's revealed is our true nature as the Ocean (of Consciousness) :waving:

[joeecho]

For this to really be reality, nothing can oppose it.

Ah, but in the *absence* of ALL conceptual thinking, what remains IS "reality" eh ? :wink:


34903

I'd say that as the waves of seeming individuality ("me" and "you") subside what's revealed is our true nature as the Ocean (of Consciousness) :waving:

HEY! Those waves are relative! :waving: Hi Simon!

[Guish]

The deeper one goes inside
The further one can see outside
The more one loses one's individuality
The more one sees the great unity.

[Clear Light]

The deeper one goes inside
The further one can see outside
The more one loses one's individuality
The more one sees the great unity.

Oh, but in Buddhism there is no "who" (like some "one") that "goes more deeply", or "sees further outside", or "loses an imagined ego-self" or "sees a greater unity" right ? :wink:

Now I'm fairly sure Guish you'll have come across the "Bāhiya Sutta" :


"Then, Bāhiya, you should train yourself thus: In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then, Bāhiya, there is no you in connection with that. When there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is the end of stress".

So what is this in reference to ? Surely it's an exposition of the Buddhist principle of "Emptiness" (or Sunyata), that is : the emptiness of "self" / the emptiness of some "who" ! :p


34908

[Guish]

Simon,
I posted this many times on Avalon.

9gj2pylJ_w0
I have to use I, we, one to hint to something which can't be described or labeled.

[joeecho]

I have to use I, we, one to hint to something which can't be described or labeled.

All are merely placeholders for........

Not to be considered synonymous with.......

Direct experience, there is no substitute.

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16406624_1518112298216457_8180387252123940477_n.jpg?oh=048617df7a10235760aee0586d93c410&oe=590A6028

[joeecho]

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-if-everything-appears-meaningless-then-congratulations-to-you-you-have-started-on-the-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-107-89-70.jpg

[Guish]

Everything is meaningless but essential
Everything deserves attention

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16406707_1519199631441057_3059563476100392345_n.jpg?oh=32013165cb227415ad9b355813f519dd&oe=5943974A

[Clear Light]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16406707_1519199631441057_3059563476100392345_n.jpg?oh=32013165cb227415ad9b355813f519dd&oe=5943974A

Oh, and perhaps along similar lines, I'd say, how about this from Nisargadatta eh ?


All hangs on the idea ‘I am so and so’. Examine it very thoroughly. It lies at the root of every trouble. This ‘I am so and so’ idea was not born with you. You could have lived very well without it.

It came later due to your self-identification with the body. It created an illusion of separation where there was none. It made you a stranger in your own world alien and inimical. Without the sense of ‘I am this’ life goes on. There are moments when we are without the sense of ‘I am this’, at peace and happy. With the return of ‘I am this’, trouble starts.

It is because the ‘I am this’ is false that it wants to continue. Reality need not continue – knowing itself indestructible, it is indifferent to the destruction of forms and expressions. To strengthen and stabilize the ‘I am this’ we do all sorts of things – all in vain – for the ‘I am this’ is being rebuilt from moment to moment. No ambition is spiritual. All ambitions are for the sake of ‘I am this’. If you want to make real progress you must give up all ideas of personal attainment.

And


There is nothing happening – nobody is bound – therefore there is no question of liberation. It is only when one thinks of himself as an individual that he thinks of bondage and liberation

[joeecho]

Who are you? Who am I? One perspective on these question is that it is challenge to produce credentials. Does 'I' really have the credential to answer this/ these questions? If one eye tells the other eye that it seas and the other eye tells the one eye it can sea too, where would the proof be that they weren't both blind?

http://www.jarofquotes.com/img/quotes/5252de8a97406fad9e8fa65f6673ec1e.jpg

;)

[joeecho]

Everything is meaningless but essential


Essentially meaningless but is everything.

Everything is everything relatively speaking otherwise it would be absolute. Should it be absolute then there is no mystery left, who can confidently raise that flag?

[joeecho]

The most profound thought is the one that is not .......

[Clear Light]

The most profound thought is the one that is not .......

Ah, I hope you don't mind if I chime in here (and this isn't directed at "you" Joeecho), but the way I see it, is, if you are already noticing "your" thoughts then why not instead, ignore their content (whether seemingly profound or not) and perhaps Notice what's Noticing them ... Like "who" could do such a thing eh ? :wink:

Because with a recognition of their same-ness / Empty Nature, it's as if something seems to "shift" !!! Now where did that "self" go eh ? :biggrin1:

[joeecho]

The most profound thought is the one that is not .......

Ah, I hope you don't mind if I chime in here (and this isn't directed at "you" Joeecho), but the way I see it, is, if you are already noticing "your" thoughts then why not instead, ignore their content (whether seemingly profound or not) and perhaps Notice what's Noticing them ... Like "who" could do such a thing eh ? :wink:

Because with a recognition of their same-ness / Empty Nature, it's as if something seems to "shift" !!! Now where did that "self" go eh ? :biggrin1:



But, but, notice what? The moment of notice is but a shadow. ;)



https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/bb/a7/e8/bba7e88f01ecfc06e3117ba9c040ed3f.jpg

[Clear Light]

The most profound thought is the one that is not .......

Ah, I hope you don't mind if I chime in here (and this isn't directed at "you" Joeecho), but the way I see it, is, if you are already noticing "your" thoughts then why not instead, ignore their content (whether seemingly profound or not) and perhaps Notice what's Noticing them ... Like "who" could do such a thing eh ? :wink:

Because with a recognition of their same-ness / Empty Nature, it's as if something seems to "shift" !!! Now where did that "self" go eh ? :biggrin1:



But, but, notice what? The moment of notice is but a shadow. ;)

Oh, here's a hint, I'd say watch this short video and give it a go, what have you got to lose eh ?


i34IuGJUj30

It's the slight "turning inwards" which hopefully will provide a real sense of direction to ease the thirst of the restless thinking mind ! Please, try it and see ...

[joeecho]

There is that which cannot be explained and as such any explanation is indirect.

I may fully sense a chair but that is not the chair.

http://m.likesuccess.com/quotes/14/674524.png

Material phenomena,a sign, paths ad infinitum. No lack of adventure here.

(Is there a better thing to share then one's path? Thank you to all that share, sincerely)

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p526x296/16473205_1520358731325147_3695066716742984653_n.jpg?oh=886ad7087b216dd055d5cf91f1ff9082&oe=590F510C

[Clear Light]

The Myth / Illusion of "self"

Ah, now, perhaps a different way of approaching this issue is to consider what we are (in day-to-day life) is actually more like a Bio-Computer eh ?

Brain Scans Can Reveal Your Decisions 7 Seconds Before You “Decide” (https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0c5_1377891062)

The video in the link above shows how even the idea of Conscious "choice" (or decision making) is itself illusory ... so with regards to so-called "Spirituality" (of whichever flavour) I'd suggest it's the Downloading (absorption) of Spiritual Teachings that reprograms the Bio-Computer in line with certain principles.

And for those who meditate (or have done some "self-inquiry") what is commonly revealed, I'd say, is the complete unfindability of any such thing as a "self", rather what is seen are merely thoughts *about* a "self" eh ? :bigsmile:

Just some thoughts after reading the article mentioned in today's "The myth of self control (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?95806-The-myth-of-self-control.)" thread :wink:

To my mind, I feel the notion of self-control is perhaps better rendered as self-regulation in the sense of "maintaining" the Bio-Computer at its Optimal Functioning so as to correctly "process" the Teachings which are Downloaded ...

[Guish]

The Myth / Illusion of "self"

Ah, now, perhaps a different way of approaching this issue is to consider what we are (in day-to-day life) is actually more like a Bio-Computer eh ?

Brain Scans Can Reveal Your Decisions 7 Seconds Before You “Decide” (https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0c5_1377891062)

The video in the link above shows how even the idea of Conscious "choice" (or decision making) is itself illusory ... so with regards to so-called "Spirituality" (of whichever flavour) I'd suggest it's the Downloading (absorption) of Spiritual Teachings that reprograms the Bio-Computer in line with certain principles.

And for those who meditate (or have done some "self-inquiry") what is commonly revealed, I'd say, is the complete unfindability of any such thing as a "self", rather what is seen are merely thoughts *about* a "self" eh ? :bigsmile:

Just some thoughts after reading the article mentioned in today's "The myth of self control (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?95806-The-myth-of-self-control.)" thread :wink:

To my mind, I feel the notion of self-control is perhaps better rendered as self-regulation in the sense of "maintaining" the Bio-Computer at its Optimal Functioning so as to correctly "process" the Teachings which are Downloaded ...

I watched it a couple of times. Basically, everything we see rewires our subconscious brain and we do not decide on the spot. This is why Mystics say that we are not the doer. If everything can be programmed, there's nothing real. Everything is an illusion. There's no self. There's no personality.

Where does the bliss come from when the mind is empty?
Where does the love and calmness come from when the brain calms down?

[Innocent Warrior]

Hello ego whisperers, just wondering where Chris is at, just taking a break?

[Guish]

Hello ego whisperers, just wondering where Chris is at, just taking a break?

Yes, he's fine. He wants to be quiet.

[joeecho]

Hello ego whisperers, just wondering where Chris is at, just taking a break?

Interest couplet 'ego whisperers', Rachel.

It is like having the feet between worlds and both sides hear the voice as a whisper.

[Clear Light]

THE ROSE

Some say love it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love it is a hunger
an endless aching need.
I say love it is a flower
and you it's only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
that never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken
who cannot seem to give
and the soul afraid of dyin'
that never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love
in the spring becomes the rose.

Bette Midler


http://i.jootix.com/o/frozen-heart-frozen-heart-icecube.jpg

[Clear Light]

The Myth / Illusion of "self"

Ah, now, perhaps a different way of approaching this issue is to consider what we are (in day-to-day life) is actually more like a Bio-Computer eh ?

Brain Scans Can Reveal Your Decisions 7 Seconds Before You “Decide” (https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0c5_1377891062)

The video in the link above shows how even the idea of Conscious "choice" (or decision making) is itself illusory ... so with regards to so-called "Spirituality" (of whichever flavour) I'd suggest it's the Downloading (absorption) of Spiritual Teachings that reprograms the Bio-Computer in line with certain principles.

And for those who meditate (or have done some "self-inquiry") what is commonly revealed, I'd say, is the complete unfindability of any such thing as a "self", rather what is seen are merely thoughts *about* a "self" eh ? :bigsmile:

Just some thoughts after reading the article mentioned in today's "The myth of self control (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?95806-The-myth-of-self-control.)" thread :wink:

To my mind, I feel the notion of self-control is perhaps better rendered as self-regulation in the sense of "maintaining" the Bio-Computer at its Optimal Functioning so as to correctly "process" the Teachings which are Downloaded ...

I watched it a couple of times. Basically, everything we see rewires our subconscious brain and we do not decide on the spot. This is why Mystics say that we are not the doer. If everything can be programmed, there's nothing real. Everything is an illusion. There's no self. There's no personality.

Where does the bliss come from when the mind is empty?
Where does the love and calmness come from when the brain calms down?

Ah, well according to the Buddhadharma, our "Natural State" has such qualities, but I'd say the "Love" is an all-encompassing form of "Unconditional Love" :heart:


The beginning of love
is to let those we love
be perfectly
themselves and not to
twist them to fit our
own image. Otherwise we
love only the
reflection of ourselves
we find in them

Thomas Merton : "No man is an Island"

[Innocent Warrior]

Hello ego whisperers, just wondering where Chris is at, just taking a break?

Interest couplet 'ego whisperers', Rachel.

It like having the feet between worlds and both sides hear the voice as a whisper.

Hi Joe. :sun:

I was thinking more along the lines of being able to tame/calm the ego (so to speak) but your interpretation is way cooler.

“We hardly ever realize that we can cut anything out of our lives, anytime, in the blink of an eye.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan

[Guish]

MRBZDmf1jSw

[joeecho]

MRBZDmf1jSw


......you're going to have to learn how you can go through a looking glass into another kind of perception, where you have that sense of being united to all things. And suddenly, you understand everything.

I have never seen this movie in it's entirety, looks intriguing. I've seen this clip before but it is, IMO, one of the ones worth being reminded of and watched multiple times. Clip like this are like 'spiritual easter egg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_(media))s' found within various works of art.

I have experienced something much like what is described above. Additionally, a "sense of being united to all things" is like an inner circle of perception though not the center.

[Clear Light]

"Through Dzogchen we can really understand what God is and we don’t have to worry if there is a God or not. God always exists as our real nature, the base, for everybody"

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

[joeecho]

Everything comes from nowhere.......... and ............. goes nowhere.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JaUiZsDsL-Y/maxresdefault.jpg

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16473157_1523302071030813_1502730367455831355_n.jpg?oh=6bbcc0402bb0bbf516516674cab27154&oe=5942318F

What comes, will go.
What is found, will be lost again.
But what you are is
beyond coming and going
and beyond description.

You are It.

~Rumi~

[shijo]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16473157_1523302071030813_1502730367455831355_n.jpg?oh=6bbcc0402bb0bbf516516674cab27154&oe=5942318F

What comes, will go.
What is found, will be lost again.
But what you are is
beyond coming and going
and beyond description.

You are It.

~Rumi~
Beautiful quote.uplifting and to me so true.

[joeecho]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/6d/01/4e/6d014e202e475e3b88778ddb97e578d1.jpg

[Guish]

The Essential Nature of Mind ~

"Buddhist teachings make a distinction between what is called Big Mind, or Natural Mind, and "small mind," or ordinary, deluded mind. Small mind, or deluded mind, is the buzzing, unpredictable, frequently out-of-control ordinary mind.

This is our finite mind, our limited conceptual mind; our ordinary, rational, discursive, thinking mind. The deluded mind has so many impulses and needs; it wants so many things. It's frequently confused; it's subject to mood swings; it's restless. It gets angry; it gets depressed; it becomes hyper.

Some ancient traditional texts refer to this small mind as "monkey mind," where it is pictured as a chaotic little monkey jumping from tree to tree, looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places.

What is meant by Big Mind is the essential nature of mind itself. This is what we call Buddha-nature, or natural mind. This is our true nature - the pure boundless awareness that is at the heart, and part, of us all. The Buddha described it as still, clear, lucid, empty, profound, simple (uncomplicated), and at peace.

It's not really what we usually think of as our mind at all. It is the luminous, most fundamental clear light nature of our ground of being. This is Rigpa, the heart of enlightenment.

Dzogchen teaches that all we have to do to become enlightened is to recognize and rest in this natural state of mind. In Zen they call this original mind. This is raw, naked awareness, not something we've learned or fabricated.

This is the Buddha within - the perfect presence that we can all rely on. Waking up to this natural mind, this Buddha-nature, is what meditation is all about."

~ Lama Surya Das ~
Awakening the Buddha Within

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/16427484_1526189947408692_3239532598757454921_n.jpg?oh=8e46ceb8cfcd0b42cbcb3ad0c74c0595&oe=590EA74C

[Clear Light]

The Essential Nature of Mind ~

"Buddhist teachings make a distinction between what is called Big Mind, or Natural Mind, and "small mind," or ordinary, deluded mind. Small mind, or deluded mind, is the buzzing, unpredictable, frequently out-of-control ordinary mind.

This is our finite mind, our limited conceptual mind; our ordinary, rational, discursive, thinking mind. The deluded mind has so many impulses and needs; it wants so many things. It's frequently confused; it's subject to mood swings; it's restless. It gets angry; it gets depressed; it becomes hyper.

Some ancient traditional texts refer to this small mind as "monkey mind," where it is pictured as a chaotic little monkey jumping from tree to tree, looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places.

What is meant by Big Mind is the essential nature of mind itself. This is what we call Buddha-nature, or natural mind. This is our true nature - the pure boundless awareness that is at the heart, and part, of us all. The Buddha described it as still, clear, lucid, empty, profound, simple (uncomplicated), and at peace.

It's not really what we usually think of as our mind at all. It is the luminous, most fundamental clear light nature of our ground of being. This is Rigpa, the heart of enlightenment.

Dzogchen teaches that all we have to do to become enlightened is to recognize and rest in this natural state of mind. In Zen they call this original mind. This is raw, naked awareness, not something we've learned or fabricated.

This is the Buddha within - the perfect presence that we can all rely on. Waking up to this natural mind, this Buddha-nature, is what meditation is all about."

~ Lama Surya Das ~
Awakening the Buddha Within

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/16427484_1526189947408692_3239532598757454921_n.jpg?oh=8e46ceb8cfcd0b42cbcb3ad0c74c0595&oe=590EA74C

Oh, here's something from a Facebook group I regularly read and I "thought" you might appreciate it Guish eh ? :highfive:



The famous Japanese master of the Soto Zen lineage, Dogen Zenji, taught that our enlightened Buddha Mind was not to be considered as separate and apart from our karmic mind; both temporally as well as spatially.

He taught an approach to meditation called "shikentaza" or just sitting. He explained that it is an error to have a dualistic practice where cause and effect like "practice and enlightenment" are dualistically sequential. He taught that "cause and effect" occupy the same moment. That means practice and fruition are exactly the same.

He explained that we are already Buddhas and that our sitting shikentaza is simply an expression of our already existing Buddhahood; and not a means for its attainment.

This is also the Dzogchen view. In both, our sitting practice is a non-meditation in which we just sit in aware presence without any interested engagement in the thinking activities of the mind as well as with no hint of seeking anything, including enlightenment.

So one can sit as described and it will be observed that one's mind will effortlessly transform into a transparent wisdom state if left undisturbed free of all meddling.

Rigpa is simply a moment when our karmic mind reveals itself as being the Buddha Mind. This happens when the empty nature of the karmic mind is recognized (prajna). When the empty nature of the Buddha Mind is not recognized it manifests itself as the karmic mind.

Dogen stated that our enlightenment resides right within our delusion. Dzogchen teaches the same.


https://mettahu.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/zen_garden_school.jpg
[Note: Image added for some light-hearted Zen Humour :wink:]

[Guish]

This is very true. I think the buddha nature is disturbed by thoughts but is always there.

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/15135754_1526759790685041_7536507635258841085_n.jpg?oh=bb45ec66c02d3fb09c2279393f3d1b71&oe=58FDACC3

Old native American saying, "When we dream ourselves into the real world and leave this world behind, we will be spirts and be ourselves."

Quiet your mind, leave human dramas behind. Connect directly with Nature, our spiritual home.

[joeecho]

A home, a place, a container, an identifier is a dream but what an amazing dream it is. Who would have thunk it?

http://www.starling-travel.com/wp-content/uploads/A-Wish-to-Carry-My-Home-on-My-Back-from-Starling-Travel.jpg

Going places yet never left.

[joeecho]

I is unique in it's ability to shape-shift.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/de/aa/c5/deaac574e9b3f4f67087c1898aaa03b1.jpg

[Guish]

Once you realize that the road is the goal, and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple. In itself an ecstasy.

~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s526x296/15826151_1487335341294153_6265735607608592579_n.jpg?oh=e2ce1b15f0203f06964bb5e4652069a8&oe=593ECB19

[Guish]

"The Great Way is not difficult for those not attached to preferences. If you wish to know the truth, then hold to no opinions for or against anything. To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind.

When the fundamental nature of things is not recognized the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail. The Way is perfect as vast space is perfect, where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.

Indeed, it is due to our grasping and rejecting that we do not know the true nature of things. Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in ideas or feelings of emptiness. Be serene and at one with life and erroneous views will disappear by themselves."

~Seng-ts'an,
Third Zen Patriarch

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/16708524_1529210560439964_3097326921373015394_n.jpg?oh=5fc4fadc2fee7b9c5d9a78a6816df2be&oe=590D6857

[Guish]

"Treat every moment
as your last.
It is not preparation
for something else.

Where ever you are,
you are one with the clouds
and one with the sun
and the stars you see.

You are one with everything.
That is more true than I can say,
and more true than you can hear.”

~Shunryu Suzuki
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/16708673_1530803456947341_6026459419603083244_n.jpg?oh=9d8bbd43a00b5e94300ab1ed15e76c82&oe=5939809A

[Chester]

Welcome to the thread boolacalaca.
usual lap top away being repaired so this is brief thank you.

Chris

This appears to be Chris's last post... If he has taken a break, I understand. If anyone has posted as to this... apologies, but I missed it.

I am writing this because I miss Chris.

[Guish]

Welcome to the thread boolacalaca.
usual lap top away being repaired so this is brief thank you.

Chris

This appears to be Chris's last post... If he has taken a break, I understand. If anyone has posted as to this... apologies, but I missed it.

I am writing this because I miss Chris.

Yes, he wants to be quiet.

[Chester]

Welcome to the thread boolacalaca.
usual lap top away being repaired so this is brief thank you.

Chris

This appears to be Chris's last post... If he has taken a break, I understand. If anyone has posted as to this... apologies, but I missed it.

I am writing this because I miss Chris.

Yes, he wants to be quiet.

Understand... Chris, I love you - you know the difference you have made for me, my fellow 'friend of Bill.'

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16708202_1152637848195059_2149013467956503811_n.jpg?oh=10d8ab54a102a6dcfc714d3dc41f1eb0&oe=5906A2D8

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16730455_1539115529449467_5511126942719175000_n.jpg?oh=a09fbf62b425311dae6800d7f33559f2&oe=5933366B

[Guish]

"Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us, not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge, of rest, of acceptance of someone as they are.

We are all hungry for this other silence. It is hard to find. In its presence we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life. Silence is a place of great power and healing."

~ Rachel Naomi Remen ~

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16730550_1533969033297450_5417550099190338258_n.jpg?oh=ff0b022bcd15c4abcbd8700cc59ec9a1&oe=59288630

[Guish]

Part 2 of an interview with a Zen Master.

Me: “So I guess your view about desires is pretty much the same…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Yes. It is normal to have desires; even the Buddha had some desires (laughing). It is impossible to cut everything away. The thing is, you don’t have to. (laughing) Without desires, we would still live in caves and be covered with bear hides, sitting around a campfire. (laughing) Desires and ambitions make us want to do things; the problem is that, once again, we should not cling, we should not get attached to our desires (laughing) That’s the key. (laughing) Life is meant to be lived, experienced.”

– Me: “But for some people, it’s not easy not to cling…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Indeed. But when your mind is living in the ‘now’, I fully aware of the present, there is a profound sense of satisfaction that comes out of it. Your desires decrease dramatically. (laughing) You are not looking anymore for something to make you feel alive or happy, for something to fill that inner void – you are fully alive here and now, truly happy, free.”

– Me: “That’s right, the present moment is so precious. Sensei, I’m a martial artist myself, please tell me, based on your experience, the differences or similarities between martial arts and Zen.”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Budo (martial arts in Japanese) and Zen have essentially the same nature: touching the mind, harmonizing the mind with the whole Universe, letting go of the ego, forgetting the self, coming back to the present moment. I’m not talking about sport martial arts, but about real martial art. Some Zen people have a very ‘small’ mind and think that these qualities belong to Zen only (laughing).

– Me: “True…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “You see, you can awake through any practice, any art, but what is distinct with martial arts is the relationship a practitioner has with death. The practice of combat, even in a controlled environment, is a powerful tool for self-discovery and self-confrontation. (Sensei punched quickly in the air, in front of him, then laughed) When Budo is practiced whole-heartedly, this confrontation with death is constantly present – attack, defense, counterattack – and it has a significant impact on our mind and ultimately on our day-to-day life. How? Because the practitioner is getting more and more aware of the possibilities of death, of dying. That has an enormous impact on our life. (laughing) It makes us want to live the best life we can; it makes us want to be the best husband or wife, the best father or mother, the best brother or sister, the best friend, the best co-worker, the best member of society, the best human being we can…”

– Me: “Yes… you put it into words wonderfully.”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “That’s the spirit of Budo. Zazen can and should also be practiced with that spirit. Do Zazen like it’s your last Zazen, don’t be too attached to yourself, don’t try to preserve or protect yourself. People are suffering because they are attached to themselves. As I said before, burn yourself up in Zazen, in Budo, in anything you do.”

– Me: “People reading this interview cannot feel it, but you are amazingly calm and serene…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: (laughing) “Why wouldn’t I be? (laughing) There is nothing to be afraid of… (laughing)”

– Me: “Yet so many people live in fear…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Fear means lack of wisdom. (laughing) People create so many fears for themselves; their fear are not even real! (laughing) What if this happens, what if that happens, what if I fail, what if they don’t like me, what if, what if, what if! You cannot live like that. Life is an amazing adventure, laugh, play, sing, dance, enjoy your life, don’t hold on to those miserable thoughts. Don’t hold on too much to yourself. Let go.”

– Me: “The mental is creating all those fears and dissatisfactions…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Yes! But you have a choice: to listen to it, or not. The choice is yours. It’s not the environment or the circumstances or your parents that make you happy or miserable; it’s YOU. Everything is a big illusion, a dream, so why worry? (laughing) You know what?”

– Me: “What…?”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “No matter what happens, there is always another tomorrow! (laughing)”

– Me: “Exactly! (laughing) Have you always been this wise, this ‘detached’?”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: (laughing) “Oh no, far from it! (laughing) When I was younger, around 21-22 years old, I wanted to become a famous artist! (laughing) And I wanted success so much that I was constantly worried, afraid of what people would think of my artworks, of my creations. I was in the “what if!” phase. (laughing)

– Me: (laughing)

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Back then, I thought that even at my young age I was a great sculptor, that I had great talent! (laughing) One day, my girlfriend at the time, the woman that would later become my wife, told me that the reason I was an average sculptor – oh that was tough- (laughing) was because I was worried too much about the results when instead I should simply do it wholeheartedly without thoughts. My wife was a real Zen master! (laughing)”

– Me: “Those words must have hurt you?”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “They did, but they also opened my eyes. I realized that I was not practicing Zen when I was creating. I was attached to a result, not free. As soon as I realized this, my mindset changed instantly. I started to sculpt in a whole different way because my mind was pure, free, not attached to results anymore. With time, my art jumped to another level, more and more people started to enjoy my creations because I was forgetting mysel, burning myself up in the process.”

– Me: “You became a master sculptor…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “No, the Universe became a master sculptor through me.”

– Me: “Well said Sensei.”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: (laughing)

– Me: “You didn’t worry about the results and then success came.”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Yes. I think that somehow, the universe recognizes selfless acts and fills you up when you empty yourself from… hum yourself! From your ego, your mental (laughing). I stopped wanting to have rewards for my work; I was just happy that every swing from the knife was an opportunity to polish my mind.”

Do Zazen like it’s your last Zazen, don’t be too attached to yourself, don’t try to preserve or protect yourself.

– Me: “You are a Zen master, a Buddhist, yet you never sculpted a single Buddha…”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: (laughing) “I’m not a Master nor a Buddhist! (laughing) I just empty myself and follow the Universe. To answer your question, no, I have never sculpted a Buddha!” (laughing)

– Me: “May I ask why?”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “You may, you may! (laughing) Buddha is long gone, dead. (laughing) I like to sculpt scenes based on the living… trees, fish, birds, cranes, turtles, cats, etc.”

– Me: “Once again, not too attached, are you?”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: (laughing) The Universe is so vast, why attach yourself to something when there are plenty of things to see, experience, to discover? Attachments, even healthy ones, just limit your life, making it very small. You see Buddha here, Buddha there, and soon you forget to see life. It’s like keeping your face so close to a tree, that you miss the whole forest behind it! (laughing) When you are free, you are non-attached, your vision is wide, penetrating and you see the whole forest, even with closed eyes, you have the universe at your feet. You become the forest.”

– Me: “Can you talk to us about the ‘middle way'”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “The Middle Way goes beyond Buddhism, it’s a law of nature. (laughing) The Middle Way integrates contradictions between subject and object, beyond duality. We would need hours to discuss this! On a very practical, easy to understand level, it means finding a balance between materialistic life and spiritual life. Living only for the body brings suffering, disbalance. Living only for the mind also brings suffering and disbalance. (laughing)”

– Me: “And the balance between opposites is also present in martial arts.”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “It’s present in nature, therefore is has to be present in Zen and martial arts as well. In martial art, you should not be too tight nor too relaxed, too high nor too low, too wide nor too narrow. (laughing) You have to find balance between extremes. Same thing with Zazen. ”

– Me: “True. You were telling me last time we met about the importance of silence, can you please elaborate on that?”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Constant noise, constant talking is not the natural human way. (laughing) We need silence, silence from others and silence from ourselves to come back within ourselves and reconnect with our mind and body – mind/body unity. If we are constantly ‘entertained’ by noise or people or radio or tv, we can’t look within. I’m not saying you should cut off from the world and go live alone on your mountain! (laughing) If you do so, you will reach a state of Enlightenment very quickly! (laughing) It’s easy to awake when there is nothing to challenge you! (laughing) What I mean is that it is important to take a moment, each day, to experience solitude and silence. ”

– Me: “That reminds me, years ago you suggested me a great silence/mindfulness exercise. Can you please remind my readers about it?”

– Miyazaki-Sensei: “Yes of course. If you live with people, try to wake-up before everybody or find a moment during the day when you can be alone. While doing this exercise, it is important that you do something, not just lay down on the couch without moving. (laughing) Try to do whatever you have or choose to do, in silence. I mean total silence. You should not make a single sound. Do every action very slowly: walking, closing the window, reaching for the spoon, eating, whatever you do. Even breathing. (laughing) Do it your whole being like your life depends on it. (laughing) Take an hour or so just to go experience slowness and silent. This will bring your mind to the present moment.”

I hope you enjoyed, please don’t hesitate to comment, and share this interview. Part three coming soon.

– Fuyu

[greybeard]

Help will be appreciated.
I am enjoying my break but I would like some one to check for these Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview videos and post them here.
I don't want people to miss out on these quality interviews.

With Love
Chris

https://batgap.com/
The Conscious TV web site also worth checking

http://www.conscious.tv/


Duane Elgin - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview

Published on 20 Feb 2017
Also see https://batgap.com/duane-elgin/

Duane Elgin grew up on a farm in Idaho and has become an internationally recognized author, educator, speaker and media activist. He has an MBA from the Wharton Business School, and an MA in economic history from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2006 he received the Peace Prize of Japan—the Goi Award—in recognition of his contribution to a global “vision, consciousness, and lifestyle” that fosters a “more sustainable and spiritual culture.”

His books include: "The Living Universe: Where Are We? Who Are We? Where Are We Going?"; "Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity's Future"; "Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich"; and "Awakening Earth: Exploring the Evolution of Human Culture and Consciousness" (Also available as a free download on Duane's site.) With Joseph Campbell and other scholars, he co-authored the book "Changing Images of Man". In addition, Duane has contributed chapters to twenty-three books, and has published more than a hundred major articles.

In the 1970s, Duane worked as a senior staff member of a Presidential Commission looking 30 years into the American future. He then worked as a senior social scientist with the think-tank SRI International where he coauthored numerous studies of the long-range future. In addition, for nearly three years while working at SRI in the early-1970s, Duane was a subject in the initial, government-sponsored psi research into “remote viewing” and other intuitive capacities.

Over the past thirty years, Duane has co-founded three non-profit and trans-partisan organizations working for citizen empowerment and a citizen’s voice through creative uses of the new media that surround us.

Websites: http://duaneelgin.com http://greattransitionstories.org

Interview recorded 2/18/2017.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBxKt8n288

[Guish]

Jkdy0OFdiVw

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16831196_1005315969599338_941390489172082749_n.jpg?oh=5e410cefcaa176102518a3a874747152&oe=5931567F

[Guish]

When your mind is narrow,
small things agitate you easily.
Make your mind an ocean...

~Lama Thebtan Yeshe
https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16998968_1547140905313596_298806305193324953_n.jpg?oh=7d51f434b40e6210a0532cc8b560baa5&oe=5942FA2C

[Guish]

If you can not find the truth right where you are,
where else do you expect to find it?

~ Dogen ~

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/q85/p320x320/16806846_1546111558749864_5169415853586429968_n.jpg?oh=3451dcd66f1451bb2087a54976b7d0d2&oe=593CCBF3

[Guish]

"Remember that your ‘True Home’ is not found outside yourself, but it is right in your own heart. We have everything we need right in our heart. We do not need to practice for many years or to travel far to arrive at our true home. If we know how to generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration, then with each breath, with each step, we arrive at our true home.."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16938854_1551157024911984_8539781460452073867_n.jpg?oh=52479eeea31c0151e039d39ef78a74ff&oe=593A205C

[Guish]

"Around us, life bursts forth with miracles—a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere.

Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings.

When we are tired and feel discouraged by life’s daily struggles, we may not notice these miracles, but they are always there. "

~Thich Nhat Hanh

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17021589_1552560584771628_3106126692629669234_n.jpg?oh=330d8416844bd91d021f9bddd169209d&oe=59294F69

[Zampano]

Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks is a Jewish spiritual teacher, musician and founder of Torah of Awakening (2006). He has taught this Jewish Path of Presence to hundreds of students around the world through workshops, retreats and his on-line program. He also served as clergy and sacred music director at Chochmat HaLev synagogue in Berkeley, California (2000- 2016). He received s'micha (ordination) as Minister of Sacred Music from Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi z"l (2013), Spiritual Teacher from Rabbi SaraLeya Schley and Shaykh Ibrahim Baba Farajaje (2013), Jewish Meditation Teacher from Dr. Avram Davis (2004) and holds a Bachelor in Music from the Eastman School of Music (1991). He lives in Tucson, Arizona with wife Lisa and their two children.

QO1p_xwm5b8

[Zampano]

And recent interview from Conscious TV about one Mystic Path in Islam Religion-Sufism
I really enjoyed listening to this one

Sheikh Burhanuddin talks about his fascinating journey and experiences along his way to become a Sheikh under the guidance of his master, Sheikh Nazim. From an early age when he was very drawn to be in nature he soon committed his life to finding a master who could guide him on his path. His spent time on different ‘seclusions’ which were very influential and helpful him with many realizations. He also had a session with spiritual healer Stephen Turoff which triggered a very deep state which lasted for nearly 3 years. He goes on to explain the Uwaysi System which is now an integral part of his teaching.


Q1xMNMYByOU

[Guish]

Mind

You don't have to do anything with your mind.
Just let it naturally rest in it's essential nature.
Your own mind, unagitated, is reality.
Meditate on this without distraction.

Know the Truth beyond all opposites.
Thoughts are like bubbles that form
and dissolve in clear water.

Thoughts are not distinct from the absolute Reality,
so relax, there is no need to be critical.

Whatever arises, whatever occurs,
simply don't cling to it, but immediately let it go.
What you see, hear, and touch are your own mind.

There is nothing but mind.
Mind transcends birth and death.

The essence of mind is pure Consciousness
that never leaves reality, even though
it experiences the things of the senses.

In the equanimity of the Absolute,
there is nothing to renounce or attain.

~Niguma

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/15747381_1481506908543663_3574114036327989135_n.jpg?oh=24973e76445ec58a2ca369881eda7872&oe=592E1072

[joeecho]

There is nothing but mind.
Mind transcends birth and death.

If that is so, then what is nothing?

Mind is the recycle center of it's own 'existence'.

http://www.myndscaping.net/uploads/1/1/4/4/11443332/5851995_orig.jpg?498

[Guish]

There is nothing but mind.
Mind transcends birth and death.

If that is so, then what is nothing?

Mind is the recycle center of it's own 'existence'.

http://www.myndscaping.net/uploads/1/1/4/4/11443332/5851995_orig.jpg?498

Nothing is no self. Emotions are temporary, thoughts are temporary and actions vary. We act in a certain way based on belief systems or subconscious programming or because of chemical reactions in the brain. This is why it's important to choose what we see and read and also important to not have a belief system and cling to it. What defines you then? We all have an inner programming which Buddhism calls buddha nature. Our Buddha nature is kind, compassionate and infinite. Trees are programmed to give oxygen. Humans are programmed to love as what is outside of people is also inside. A chaotic mind will result in chaos or attract chaos. A peaceful mind will suck negativity or create peace.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

I read this recently on the human propensity for "worrying", ie negativity, and that we do create the realities we experience. The sentence can also apply for a positive outcome in a given situation. I thought the words insightful:


"the acceptance of the possibility creates that open door which allows the possibility to enter."

[joeecho]

Nothing is no self.


Nothing is no self with mind the monopoly.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXYIxJScSik


Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train

Having never left the station, yet mind (be) the house of the rising sun.

http://webneel.com/wallpaper/sites/default/files/images/05-2013/beautiful-ocean-sunset.preview.gif

[Guish]

he mind of wisdom is like a mirror.
It grasps nothing. It expects nothing.
It reflects, but does not hold.

~Chuang Tzu~

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15697488_1477372838957070_741177621039063493_n.jpg?oh=22d022430fec8e0dbc6ddea2fa02dc30&oe=593D5204

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/q81/s480x480/16996403_1557076124320074_396890961463629050_n.jpg?oh=e66fed6f2c9dc8d3e0c641b200f5d9a1&oe=592D4FAB

[Wind]

http://quotlr.com/images/quotes/the-place-you-are-looking-for-is-the-plate-from-which-you-are-looking.jpg

[joeecho]

Ego, the first world idol.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Nicolas_Poussin_-_The_Adoration_of_the_Golden_Calf_alt.jpg

http://m.likesuccess.com/quotes/6/282351.png

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gHtFfbVz31Q/Uofxw93U0hI/AAAAAAAACyY/9EyZpOhyqw8/s1600/We-may-ignore-but-we-can-nowhere-evade-the-presence-of-God.-The-world-is-crowded-with-Him.-He-walks-everywhere-incognito.jpg

http://m.likesuccess.com/quotes/22/1087698.png

[Guish]

http://zen-buddhism.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/head-and-tail.jpg

The head and the tail of a serpent quarreled regularly. The tail complained: “It’s always you who hunts and eats everything.”

One day, the tail got upset and eventually wrapped around a tree, refusing to go any further.

The head saw a big beautiful frog it wanted to eat but it was impossible: the tail wouldn’t let the head move.

The head compromised and allowed the tail to go first. The tail had no eyes, and fell into a large hole, killing the head.

[joeecho]

The head compromised and allowed the tail to go first. The tail had no eyes, and fell into a large hole, killing the head.

Well that would explain the origin of the moon walk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6pomaq30Gg

http://m.likesuccess.com/quotes/14/664825.png

[joeecho]

http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-a-bit-beyond-perception-s-reach-i-sometimes-believe-i-see-that-life-is-two-locked-boxes-each-piet-hein-236196.jpg

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17191458_1565575260136827_4472362929161538165_n.jpg?oh=ec0f7253c13372ff5dbfec26f68cd161&oe=59253F19

[joeecho]

The first fallacy is that which detected the greatest fallacy of all time to begin with.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b7/44/0d/b7440da6821aaccc20c24f1af718973c.jpg

[joeecho]

A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?"

When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.

For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.

https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder812/59747812.jpg

http://leboncombat.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/your-argument-is-irrelephant.jpg

[Guish]

A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?"

When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.

For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.

https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder812/59747812.jpg

http://leboncombat.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/your-argument-is-irrelephant.jpg

I always quote this koan. A very good one.

[joeecho]

The whole of existence defines you.

Is that so?

[Clear Light]

Oh, now, for anyone who is interested in such matters, please see below for the latest from AwakenTheWorldFilm (https://www.youtube.com/user/AwakenTheWorldFilm) in the form of, I'd say, yet another incredibly beautiful film, this time called 'Samadhi Movie, 2017 - Part 1 - "Maya, the Illusion of the Self"' ... its brief says :



Published on 10 Mar 2017

Samadhi Part 1 (Maya the Illusion of the Self) is the first installment of a series of films exploring Samadhi.

Samadhi Part 2 "It's Not What You Think" will be coming soon. Check out the trailer here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W4jOeDtQXo)

Many other parts are in various stages of completion and will follow. It is quite possible that the film is actually endless.

Please subscribe to the Youtube channel to receive notification when each next part is ready, or subscribe to the mailing list on www.innerworldsmovie.com.

There are aspects in this film that rely on your understanding of concepts such as the primordial spiral, the logos, akasha, kundalini which can be found in the film "Inner Worlds Outer Worlds". The film can be watched for free at www.innerworldsmovie.com. Please support future films (which will always be released for free to the world) by donating here (http://www.innerworldsmovie.com/index.cfm?page=donate)

Every small donation helps to keep production flowing.

While we greatly encourage you to freely share the links to the film, embed them and spread them freely, please do not steal the film and monetize it on your own Youtube channel. Thank you.


Bw9zSMsKcwk

[joeecho]

Bw9zSMsKcwk

I saw the movie and by extension we are both an illusion.

I am not I and we are not we.

(well done vid)

[Guish]

The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.

~ Atisha ~

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/17353116_1573664582661228_1377604067589881141_n.jpg?oh=230bfb54537576514895d1cc51c7d1a7&oe=596B48AD

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/15036556_1422385791122442_2990649892551315631_n.png?oh=ad9a3ffc4c6dbf7f30165f391bc14425&oe=59577933

[joeecho]

Reality
Illusion
Perception

Neti Neti

Not this.


“How radical are you prepared to be?”

http://static.highexistence.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/4521.jpg

[Wind]

"Man is not chained to the finite self, but believes himself to be so. This belief is based upon an illusion. The illusion that the five senses are the conscious functioning agents of man’s life, and that, therefore, the world to which they testify is a solid world of the utmost reality. The senses deceive him, and he deceives himself. When he claims his freedom, he shall find it. He needs to entertain such redeeming, liberating thoughts or he will never begin to seek himself, his real unlimited self.

Thus, in the last analysis, it is clear that it was the mind which involved him into matter. It is the mind that can set man free again. This is not done by running away to monasteries or mountains and spending one’s life there; it is done by using the mind to inquire into it's own operation."

~ Paul Brunton

http://i.imgur.com/mj53uKp.gif

[Wind]

http://www.bliss-music.com/images/img1170.png

"At the most physical level, self inquiry is asking “Who am I?” In asking this question, your attention bypasses thinking and moves inward to the source of who you are. Your attention moves back upon itself where there is nothing but consciousness. You may feel it as a sense of impersonal being, or a feeling of awareness or formless peace or just silence.

The beautiful thing about this meditation technique is that it uses the mind to stop the mind. “Who am I” is not an intellectual question, rather it is a question to strike right through the intellect.

Because if you truly look to find the answer you will find that your name, your body, your occupation is not who you are. Because they are only thoughts and thoughts cannot really define what you are. What you are is beyond all definitions.

So in practicing self inquiry, your attention moves back upon itself, past intellectual knowing to that which cannot be defined. You begin to experience what is here beyond your thinking, beyond what you think you know. It is often referred to as consciousness, the Self, Atman, the feeling of pure being, silence, your natural state, no-thing, and the absence of me.

All of these words point to what is here, but it is important to realize the words themselves are not the answer. Because the answer is beyond words, beyond definitions. You practice the self inquiry meditation technique to take you to the essence of what is here beyond thinking and in this you learn to remain in that essence, to rest in that essence.

At first you may ask “who am I?” and the experience of pure being may only last a second before you are again lost in your thinking. So then you ask the question again and again you have a flash of experiencing what you are beyond thinking.

But as you progress, you can remain in this feeling of impersonal being for longer and longer periods. Maybe 2 seconds, 3 seconds, a minute before you again get caught up in thinking.

In this way, you come to a point where the question is no longer needed; you come to a point where the feeling of being becomes dominant enough that your attention can remain in it without needing a meditation technique to get you there.

As you progress in resting in this feeling of being, the sense of being expands and becomes more subtle. You can move from being, to non being, to witness consciousness, to the sense of everything simply is, to absolute nothingness, to absolute divine radiance etc. The sense of being is the stepping stone, the doorway to infinite consciousness.

Saying this, one very important part of Ramana Maharshi’s teaching has been overlooked, and that is Ramana Maharshi himself. Ramana Maharshi radiated Shaktipat, the energy of enlightenment. Just by being in Ramana Maharshi's presence, people would effortlessly enter high states of meditation and samadhi without practicing any meditation technique whatsoever.

That is why thousands of people flocked to be in his ashram, to be near him, to even catch a glimpse of him. Just by even seeing him, people would enter into deep states of meditation."

http://www.bliss-music.com/meditation_technique_ramana_maharshi.htm

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17457773_1581135638580789_7847119579120562514_n.jpg?oh=f80042a470b2ca8edbb8570689bdbcd2&oe=5955A265

[IChingUChing]

Perhaps some of you in Europe would be interested to know Paul Hedderman is going to be in London next week and then in Dublin:

London - April 1st and 2nd

Dublin, Ireland - April 4th and 5th

Dublin, Ireland - April 6th to 9th (Buddhist Retreat)

See his website for more details, audio and videos:

zenbitchslap.com

[Guish]

As it grows darker, light becomes important
As pain and suffering takes over, the smile becomes important.

[Guish]

What is Heaven? - What is Hell? ~
In feudal Japan, the fierce Samurai Warriors were revered as Kings. They carried large swords and were highly skilled at using them.
One day, a famous samurai set out to find an aged monk who was known to be very wise. When he arrived at the monastery, he flung open the door and demanded of the old man, "Tell me, you are learned in these matters. What is heaven and what is hell?"
The monk sat still for a moment on the tatami-matted floor. Then he turned and looked up at the warrior. "You call yourself a samurai warrior," he said. "Why, look at you. You're nothing but a mere sliver of a man! I doubt you could cut off the head of a fly with your sword."
For a moment, the samurai stood gaping. No one talked to a samurai like that! Then, as if someone had waved a red cloth in front of a bull, the samurai's face contorted in rage. He bellowed, "How dare you! I won't let you get away with such an insult." Pulling his huge sword from its sheath, he raised it high above his head, ready to kill the old monk.
Unperturbed, the monk looked directly into the eyes of the furious warror and said, "You asked what hell is. *This* is hell."
The samurai froze, his sword still raised, as the hatred and anger that had consumed him drained away. He looked at the old monk in amazement, realizing that this small, stooped man had risked his life to answer his question.
Lowering his weapon, the samurai bowed to the monk, as tears of gratitude appeared in his eyes. "Thank you for your teaching," the samurai said humbly, his heart filled with love for the monk's gift.
The monk smiled at the samurai and said, "And this, my friend, is heaven."

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/17554014_1585538514807168_574902679076247731_n.jpg?oh=81a4f03db3b66932cb400e280b257fae&oe=595E730A

[Guish]

Know Your True Nature~
A Zen student said to his teacher, “ Master, I have an ungovernable temper. Help me get rid of it.”
“You have something very strange,” said the teacher. “Show it to me.”
“Right now I cannot show it to you.”
“Why not?”
“It arises suddenly.”
“Then it cannot be your own true nature,” said the teacher, “if it were, you would be able to show it to me at any time. Why are you allowing something that is not yours to trouble your life?”
Thereafter whenever the student felt his temper rising he remembered his teacher’s words and checked his anger. In time, he developed a calm and peaceful temperament.

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/q81/s480x480/17630015_1586029951424691_6891730946866348296_n.jpg?oh=472b49b5d3f075b4f0b48dd7d6cbd070&oe=5998959C

[joeecho]

Enlightenment is enlightenment when it's not.

https://inmysacredspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/what-is-enlightment.jpg

http://www.yogawithcr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/enlightenment-not-what-you-think-862x353.jpg

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-do-not-think-you-will-necessarily-be-aware-of-your-own-enlightenment-dogen-54-44-70.jpg

[Wind]

gy4jINjMRBI

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17523378_801099166710961_6288373244991671828_n.jpg?oh=123bf31de8be245eaef7e2d37c1aac71&oe=599AFDBE

[joeecho]

That which grasps, grasps at that which is also falling

http://s3.narvii.com/image/ts6ew5b2bwljiwlxuuvo2qgtw2sb3bcl_hq.jpg

[Clear Light]

gy4jINjMRBI

From 09:17 onwards :


Because we ask the question if we hear about people who have "transcended the ego" ... well we ask how do you do that ?

Well I say what do you mean ? You, how do you do that ?

Because the 'you' you are talking about doesn't exist, so 'you' can't do anything about it ....

Oh, so as I heard the above from Alan Watts, and burst out laughing at the highlighted quote ... and perhaps keeping in the same "spirit" of sort of posing a kind of Koan for the 'mind', here's a saying which may or may not be helpful from Bodhidharma :


If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality.

If you study reality without using your mind, you'll understand both.

People capable of true vision, know that the mind is empty

???

¤=[Post Update]=¤


https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17523378_801099166710961_6288373244991671828_n.jpg?oh=123bf31de8be245eaef7e2d37c1aac71&oe=599AFDBE

https://safr.kingfeatures.com/idn/cnfeed/zone/js/content.php?file=aHR0cDovL3NhZnIua2luZ2ZlYXR1cmVzLmNvbS9CaXphcnJvLzIwMTAvMDYvQml6YXJyb19wLjIwMTAwNjI 5XzYxNi5naWY=

[joeecho]

gy4jINjMRBI

From 09:17 onwards :


Because we ask the question if we hear about people who have "transcended the ego" ... well we ask how do you do that ?

Well I say what do you mean ? You, how do you do that ?

Because the 'you' you are talking about doesn't exist, so 'you' can't do anything about it ....

Oh, so as I heard the above from Alan Watts, and burst out laughing at the highlighted quote ... and perhaps keeping in the same "spirit" of sort of posing a kind of Koan for the 'mind', here's a saying which may or may not be helpful from Bodhidharma :


If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality.

If you study reality without using your mind, you'll understand both.

People capable of true vision, know that the mind is empty

???

¤=[Post Update]=¤


https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17523378_801099166710961_6288373244991671828_n.jpg?oh=123bf31de8be245eaef7e2d37c1aac71&oe=599AFDBE

https://safr.kingfeatures.com/idn/cnfeed/zone/js/content.php?file=aHR0cDovL3NhZnIua2luZ2ZlYXR1cmVzLmNvbS9CaXphcnJvLzIwMTAvMDYvQml6YXJyb19wLjIwMTAwNjI 5XzYxNi5naWY=

It all comes down to identity doesn't it? Do you put on the mask of desire or the one that wishes to be free of it? They are two opposing versions of the same game.

Having an identity crises? Fine, pick one or the other but you will STILL be playing the game whether you realize it or not.

I shall depart with these aptly named songs.


Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?


Play the game,
Everybody play the game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLIerfXuZ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_5O-nUiZ_0

[Clear Light]

It all comes down to identity doesn't it? Do you put on the mask of desire or the one that wishes to be free of it? They are two opposing versions of the same game

Oh, yes, perhaps it does, especially for the "one" (you know who), that has heard of something called "enlightenment" which is portrayed as the "answer" to all its problems / prayers / suchlike eh ? :wink:

But hang on a minute ... that illusory dreamlike character, as in the conceptually designated "I", doesn't want to hear about its own fictional existence does it, what a preposterous notion to even consider ... what kind of game is this anyway ?

At this point, I'm going to repost an image I've used before now, to sort of indicate how the "sense of self" isn't as permanent and enduring as some would like to believe ...


35135

Different strokes for different folks eh ? :highfive:

[joeecho]

It all comes down to identity doesn't it? Do you put on the mask of desire or the one that wishes to be free of it? They are two opposing versions of the same game

Oh, yes, perhaps it does, especially for the "one" (you know who), that has heard of something called "enlightenment" which is portrayed as the "answer" to all its problems / prayers / suchlike eh ? :wink:

But hang on a minute ... that illusory dreamlike character, as in the conceptually designated "I", doesn't want to hear about its own fictional existence does it, what a preposterous notion to even consider ... what kind of game is this anyway ?

At this point, I'm going to repost an image I've used before now, to sort of indicate how the "sense of self" isn't as permanent and enduring as some would like to believe ...


35135

Different strokes for different folks eh ? :highfive:

Water cannot dual water with water. I mean, how much wetter can wet get?

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/731854159939407872/5IaNTQRF.jpg

https://jaypochapin.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/shocked-goldfish-isolated-on-white-background-34fd69.jpg

Splish splash!

Ocean Commotion.

I'll sea you and raise you.

https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder409/500x/63506409.jpg

The wave may sea it's body of sea and still miss the boat. A boat in a see of only see, how can that be?

[Wind]

dyPjO02jr-I
http://www.quotespiritual.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/alan-watts-spirtual-quote-8.jpg

[CelineK]

hello there... since there isnt any particular direction given to this thread, when reading some answers, I can hardly find the beginning of an answer because it clearly depends on the level of truth seeking, which is a personal journey.

But for myself, I decided to make a u-turn and look into the past and Hermeticism and its 7 Principles, which is fact are all properties of Light and regulate all there is including emotions since the brain (and its synapses) is an electric device. I came to the conclusion that "thought patterns" were shaped by the same Principles. What I am often seeing in spiritual expression are consequences of those Cosmic Immutable Laws.

Taoism is most likely the teaching of the Hermetic Principles in the East. When the Principles are assimilated through deep understanding, the mind aligns itself with that of The Oneness. I regard the 7 Principles as the theory of everything so to speak. Not just spirituality.

"Blueprint For A Voluntary And Futuristic Society, Man As Earth Custodian" is a work elaborating on a set of guidelines to help make sense of the world's confusion. Why scientific research and psychology have to progress according to specific natural principles to avoid the pitfall of profiting from conflicts of interest and to imprison the thinking mode.

What are these Principles? They're forces simultaneously at play that humans cannot alter, therefore are they said immutable. There are 7 of them (often referred as the centuries-old foundation of Hermeticism) and which today are scientifically established as they identify and define the forces at play emanating from Electricity. The Electric Universe Theory is currently reshuffling Physics in a great way and is heavily documented on youtube. These principles also reveal Thought as a mechanism having electric properties because information circulates between neurons in the form of electricity.

Here below are their brief cognitive interpretations and why 'caring' about their influence is also 'caring' about planet and humanity. Blueprint... is thus a work helping reshape the mind patterns according to them.

1) The Mind generates everything: sets everything into motion. Holistic thinking thus starts with the awareness of the power of our thoughts and projections.

2) Life translated into motion: everything spins and vibrates. The spoken language is frequency, determines humans' thinking as wavelengths and literally can spin out of control if there is a lack of access to data, all of which also determines agreements or lack thereof.

3) Life if subjected to rhythm: what goes up must go down, what comes around goes around. What is neglected or ignored comes back like a boomerang. It amplifies either negativeness or positiveness, exponentially.

4) Life sustains polarities at all levels, there is a negative dot in the positive and positive dot in the negative. Personal choices thus reflect on experiences, level of knowledge and therefore are all perceptions of any given moment. Hence the imperative need to remain centered at all time in order to avoid the pitfalls of any polarized (divide and conquer) arguments and an inner fragmentation generating confusion.

5) Everything is a mirror of something, and called correspondence, which exponentially amplifies polarity levels and the princinple of rhythm, either positively or negatively. External dissonance mirrors internal dissonace, and otherwise.

6) Everything is the result of genders, masculine contains some feminine traits and otherwise. Humans have a left brain hemisphere (masculine) and a right brain hemisphere (feminine) and are thus prone to gender control by 'group thinks' defining norms.

7) Everything is cause and effect. Or Karma. In a nutshell, any train of thoughts not sustained nor validated by personal responsibility brings about upheavals and will exponentially strengthen either negativeness, or positiveness.

http://earthcustodians.net/blueprint.html

[joeecho]

http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-do-not-believe-what-your-teacher-tells-you-merely-out-of-respect-for-the-teacher-buddha-325445.jpg

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17634755_1599047590122927_6888024503430310569_n.jpg?oh=77e3c1edcd3af8d6eb6e010534e8c9e9&oe=594F490E

[greybeard]

Dear CelineK
Welcome to the thread
Im semi retired from posting but I thought you deserved a response.

In the early days of the thread there were many questions and clear answers.
It has evolved into a non-duality thread mainly, though any post on spirituality is welcome.
Once non-duality is dived into deeply it is seen there are "no questions left" and therefore "no answers."

In a nutshell it is believed that only God is and therefore "You are That) -One without a second as pointed to by Enlightened Mystics since time began.
On awakening fully they have been knwn to say "I am the totality all of it"
In India the enlightened are known also as "God men"

Christ spoke of "The Father and I are One" also "Of myself I do nothing, it is the Father within"
So everything else is Maya --the cosmic dream--play of consciousness.

Im not saying this is so--everyone is entitled to their beliefs --own path.
You are welcome to post regarding your path here.

Chris

[joeecho]

http://www.quotespiritual.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/alan-watts-spirtual-quote-8.jpg

Great quote to share, Wind, thanks! :)

This principle embedded in the meme above can also be applied to:

If you are not then neither is ___.

The illusion being if you stop or end.......that the then thought/ belief/ empirical evidence is that everything else just continues on in a 'as will' sort of way.





http://img.picturequotes.com/2/2/1598/when-the-root-is-deep-there-is-no-reason-to-fear-the-wind-quote-1.jpg
(Hey Wind, no relation to you in this meme :) )

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/00/75/c1/0075c13c21f42af9a47523d337bea95c.jpg

[Guish]

https://www.facebook.com/perception101/videos/1227772910606490/

[greybeard]

Culadasa (John Yates, Ph.D.) - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview
Culadasa (John Yates, Ph.D.) is the director of Dharma Treasure Buddhist Sangha in Tucson, Arizona and author of The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness. A meditation master with over four decades of experience in the Tibetan and Theravadin Buddhist traditions, Culadasa also taught physiology and neuroscience for many years. He combines the original teachings of the Buddha with an emerging, scientific understanding of the mind to give students a rich and rare opportunity for rapid progress and profound insight.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlYW_4FMqs

[greybeard]

Jürgen Ziewe ‘The Ten Minute Moment’ Interview by Iain McNay
Published on 12 Apr 2017

Author of ‘The Ten Minute Moment,’ ‘Multi-Dimensional Man,’ and ‘Vistas of Infinity.’ After 40 years of meditation which had gradually taken him to deeper and deeper places Jürgen went on a 7 day personal retreat in as remote cabin in Scotland. He meditated most of the day and experienced a profound awakening….

‘After a meditation I slowly opened my eyes and sized up my surroundings - my body had become part of the furniture. I could still perceive the external world through my eyes but my body had turned into a shell – a cardboard cutout – reality was being stripped away before my eyes. I could no longer be sure of what was happening – it was beyond and outside anything I had come to know. The stillness was too vast in its scope to be grasped. There was no reality as I knew it. The thing is it has always been different but I hadn’t noticed. It was reality stripped of any familiarity. I could almost not bear it. For a moment I wanted to go back. In an instant I recognised that I was just a thought; an imagination without no substance.
This was the death of all deaths. I had arrived at zero point. I was about to be surrendered and reabsorbed into the source. One more step and there would be no return – I was staring into the merciless face of God.’

He also talks us through his life, how he refused to accept that the 5 senses was all there is to reality and how that led to a life long quest to find out who or what this consciousness was conscious of.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ywbpSverzk&t=40s

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/17883666_804931439661067_5940749476836042559_n.jpg?oh=2655f11d5b495fa48ac44c50bc78cfc1&oe=59818396

[Zampano]

Here is one of the more recent CONSCIOUS TV INTERVIEWS with Paul-Morgan Somers

B5UXRMicBZk

Paul Morgan-Somers ‘Paul disappears into the ocean (and Messi is God!)’ Interview by Iain McNay
Something happened out of the blue to Paul when he was 15 playing football which was his passion. (he was signed as an apprentice to Cardiff City FC and wanted to become a professional footballer.)
He had a strong sense to sit quietly and was overwhelming by a deep brilliant sense of beauty and peace. This went on for 18 months. He felt his sense of free will and choice was dropping away and that he was ‘losing the story of Paul.’ Life was becoming like a boundless football game. He felt like a kid on beach playing in an ocean of energy with no control over his experiences.
He went on to stay in a monastery for 5 years and then lived as a hermit for a year in a caravan.
He later married and had two children and now travels and talks with people.
He says, ‘My character just fell into the ocean.’


It is wonderfully explained with the OCEAN METHAPHOR, so I think it is quite easy to understand.
There are some experiences or "states" he had, where I thought...wow-same happened to "me".
Also his life story is quite interesting and remarkable.

ENJOY

[Chester]

Tim Freke: Waking Up to Universal Oneness and Your Individuality - March 21, 2017

Starting at 4:37... "A friend, not guru."

d2QWvLetUzE

[Guish]

When the mind is at peace,
the world too is at peace.
Nothing real, nothing absent.
Not holding on to reality,
not getting stuck in the void,
you are neither holy nor wise,
just an ordinary fellow
who has completed his work.
~Layman P’ang

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/17884139_1603802256314127_9050938956457103561_n.jpg?oh=39f9d8915e159b1426663feea80e4a52&oe=598CE6C6

[joeecho]

That which searches will always search, it is in its nature, often times not knowing why. There may be found just enough of a tease to drive the search but not enough to stop.

The tangible searches for the intangible but like the invisible, it will never be seen.

http://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2015/12/Searchlights_1920.png

http://clipart-library.com/images/BcgERBnLi.jpg

[joeecho]

When the mind is at peace,
the world too is at peace.
Nothing real, nothing absent.
Not holding on to reality,
not getting stuck in the void,
you are neither holy nor wise,
just an ordinary fellow
who has completed his work.
~Layman P’ang

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/17884139_1603802256314127_9050938956457103561_n.jpg?oh=39f9d8915e159b1426663feea80e4a52&oe=598CE6C6

I can't help but notice the connection between our posts, brother Guish. It's like we were the two depicted sitting on that ledge, if even just for a moment. :)

[Wind]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/d8/56/9b/d8569b307d84e11e4af1be08dd788338.jpg

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/17904499_1502711563094001_1442643402488563602_n.jpg?oh=9cd7c3e9fc16356cdd52db3543b89c10&oe=5954FCB4

[Guish]

I can't help but notice the connection between our posts, brother Guish. It's like we were the two depicted sitting on that ledge, if even just for a moment. :)

So true. I went into a blissful state reading your post.

[Valley]

:wave:Just found this very interesting recently...Anyone heard of him before?4rVYavSDFUw

[Guish]

Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind become still.
The ten thousand things rise and fall
while the Self watches their return.
They grow and flourish
and then return to the Source.
Returning to the Source is stillness,
which is the way of Nature.

~Lao Tsu
Tao Te Ching, Verse 16

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/s851x315/18011168_1606995085994844_5916391128001570376_n.jpg?oh=f1180b273b4c0bd84daea9fcb73fa1a0&oe=598DAF33

[joeecho]

I see that I am blind. To see all is to not see at all.

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-if-you-were-not-born-in-this-world-there-would-be-no-need-to-die-to-be-born-in-this-shunryu-suzuki-137-88-30.jpg

[Guish]

Batsy and Zen. My Perfect combination.

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17991853_1042249325906002_3596688560340138636_n.png?oh=0fe00c576e0f76e92cbaed7ba811bc0e&oe=597F4481

[joeecho]

Batsy and Zen. My Perfect combination.

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17991853_1042249325906002_3596688560340138636_n.pn g?oh=0fe00c576e0f76e92cbaed7ba811bc0e&oe=597F4481

And here I thought I had gotten my meditation right, Batzy. :D

Backatcha http://i.imgur.com/AdHkt4U.gif

To meditate or not to meditate, that is the question. The answer never heard.

That comic gave me both an inner and outer smile! :)

I have no ground to stand on, funny how I convince myself 'moment-to-moment' that I do. Funny, still, how the game laughs and cries over me but I also do the same.

If I could transcend the whole thing, the conclusion would have to be one of wonder. And that wonder would be that which brings me back into the game (I had never left, of course).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPw-3e_pzqU

'They' being the scapegoat, I'm innocent! I also own the Brooklyn Bridge if you're in the market,

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KufRxIwLj6A/T7SJdM2gPXI/AAAAAAAAAaw/8Qer7b7pbaQ/s1600/bridge+for+sale.jpg

If I left my ego, wouldn't it still be a form of I that left? ;)

[joeecho]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XObYGukzBJA/T5lYJNW4vzI/AAAAAAAAAl4/_DPqFW1vmDw/s1600/5.jpg

http://pas-wordpress-media.s3.amazonaws.com/content/uploads/2014/08/Pause.0031.jpg

[Guish]

~ Become a Lake ~

An aging master grew tired of his apprentice’s complaints. One morning, he sent him to get some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master told him to mix a handful of salt in a glass of water and then drink it.

“How does it taste?” the master asked.
“Bitter,” said the apprentice.

The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”

As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the master asked, “How does it taste?”

“Fresh,” remarked the apprentice.
“Do you taste the salt?” asked the master.

“No,” said the young man. At this the master sat beside this serious young man, and explained softly:

“The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.”

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/q86/s480x480/18010287_1612125552148464_6386070585041016438_n.jpg?oh=20dede05faee56af5bc740808b300171&oe=5985CF2C

[joeecho]

“The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.”

https://z-1-scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/q86/s480x480/18010287_1612125552148464_6386070585041016438_n.jpg?oh=20dede05faee56af5bc740808b300171&oe=5985CF2C

What this reminds me of is the phrase: Diffuse the situation.

http://img.picturequotes.com/2/213/212777/i-learned-early-in-life-that-laughter-is-a-great-way-to-diffuse-and-uncomfortable-situation-so-i-quote-1.jpg

That is why I see no disrespect when appreciating spiritual humor, as an example. The one thing I can always work on, so to speak, is to see the humor in any given situation I find myself in no matter how sad/ tragic it appears.

[joeecho]

'Who' is enlightened??

http://i.quoteaddicts.com/media/q1/666908.png

http://img.picturequotes.com/2/217/216675/if-you-want-to-realize-yourselves-all-your-pet-illusions-must-be-unmasked-quote-1.jpg

[joeecho]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/0d/f8/6a0df8fb46b09ed04854753bc36fbbb5.jpg

:cat:

[Guish]

https://z-1-scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/18157672_1919707801388816_2063669282935458262_n.jpg?oh=7efbb1af08349269010b2ffd95c1119c&oe=598FB7A0

[Guish]

Quiet your mind,
leave human dramas behind.
Connect directly with Nature,
our spiritual mother
and home...

~Tao & Zen

https://z-1-scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/18193790_1621324171228602_1866581111370607646_n.jpg?oh=0e992b2ff6babab572eb55154a6c0700&oe=59803B2E

[Clear Light]

Ah, as an adjunct to Bill's thread earlier today, "Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, has passed (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?97688-Robert-Pirsig-author-of-Zen-and-the-Art-of-Motorcycle-Maintenance-has-passed)", here's a little something Zen-like from Tricycle (https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/green-koans-case-60-dogens-to-do-list/) :

CASE #60: Dōgen’s To-Do List

Dōgen Zenji wrote himself a reminder:


To study the Buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad
things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away.
No trace of realization remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly.

https://cdn.tricycle.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GK60.jpg

BACKGROUND:

Dōgen Zenji Dōgen Kigen (1200-1253) was the founder of the Soto School of Japanese Zen. Often considered the greatest philosopher of Japanese Buddhism, he was also a man of immense literary gifts. Dōgen’s masterwork Shōbōgenzō (“Treasury of the True Dharma Eye”), from which the present case is taken, is sometimes regarded as a treatise on deep ecology.

COMMENTARY:

Dōgen isn’t deceived when people speak of the Buddha way. He knows it’s the self they’re really talking about. To study the way is another thing entirely.

Go for a walk in the woods, pick up a seashell on the shore—the earth rises to meet your feet, the shell carries itself from the beach in your palm.

We don’t do anything alone, because alone we aren’t anything. Everything together adds up to nothing, and that nothing continues endlessly—eternal, joyous, and free.

VERSE:

Items on Dōgen’s
To-do list: Study the self
To forget the self,
Forget the self, and bring
Myriad beings back to life.

. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : .

Now, for what it's worth, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is / was one of the first books I ever read after I first seemingly "awoke" to the true nature of "Reality" back around the years 2003 / 2004 ;)

[Guish]

6TGSTOSOvj4

I started the week-end watching this film again. I have been talking about Dogen to trainee on the other thread. I just saw that Joe has retired. Stay blessed Brother.

[Wind]

"If humanity has not been gifted with divine consciousness by the sages, it is not only because such a free gift cannot be made. It is also because humanity prefers other things instead. When a questioner suggested to Buddha that he give Nirvana to everyone, Buddha sent him to ask at many houses what the people there wanted most. All desired some material thing or some worldly quality. Nobody desired Nirvana."

~ Paul Brunton

https://kristinasaid.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/chinese-character-buddha-fo.jpg?w=480&h=360

[Zampano]

Al76fTR03Ck


Ivan Rados (Atma) is a meditation master who was born in Former Yugoslavia. At the age of 42 he experienced a profound inner awakening that changed his perception of himself and the reality, after which Atma was devoted to integrating his knowing into his being, marking the beginning of a movement towards the inner point, which he calls The Middle Point. He started teaching meditation regularly from his healing studio in Vancouver.

As a healer, Atma is a true master of both himself and his life. Ivan asserts that he heals no one but simply helps people heal themselves through the power of Consciousness. His journey reads like a book of miracles, which he modestly labels “ordinarinesses.” The wisdom he shares comes from his deep roots in the One-Self, the source of everything. Atma has assisted thousands in reconnecting with their state of health, in personal, group and long distance sessions.

Atma is not associated with any particular spiritual movement, religion or tradition. Atma's deep and authentic rooting in the unknown provides him the insight and ability to be of great service to the evolution of Consciousness in these most transformative of times.


I really enjoyed this interview-have fun!

[Clear Light]

Rupert Spira : Awareness without Objects

iRLrgoPkSU4

Ah, and now, ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to listen to some "real" Spiritual Teaching, utterly divorced from notions of "apparent separation" or perhaps the need for "unity in the community", may I heartily recommend you give this video the once over ... :heart:

[Zampano]

Thats supergreat video with Rupert Spira :-)

An exercise that helps me a lot, is to go through and through everything I see or sense. With mind as a working tool.
Trying to go intellectually into the tiniest particle of thought, matter or feeling, to eventually find "no thing and no noise" there and then-there I stay.

[Clear Light]

https://ak9.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/4401683/thumb/1.jpg


A drunk was staggering across a bridge one night when he ran
into a friend. The two of them leaned over the bridge and began
chatting for a while.

"What's that down there?" asked the drunk suddenly.

"That's the moon," said his friend.

The drunk looked again, shook his head in disbelief and
said, "Okay, okay. But how the hell did I get way up here?"

================================================

We almost never see reality. What we see is a reflection of it in
the form of words and concepts which we then proceed to take
for reality. The world we live in is mostly a mental construct.
People feed on words, live by words, would fall apart without
them.

Anthony de Mello, S.J.

[betoobig]

hello my brothers and sisters, ijust posted this in another thread...and this thread jumped in my soul again...on my path my dear family, feels somuch at home here.
Spirituality comes along everymoment once you realize/accept/integrate/believe you are an extension of Sourceenergy/all that is/life/higerself/love/pure conciousness/nature/joy/universes/God, just becouse that is what we are, spiritual eternal beings.
Thanks for the thread. You said "God is with you" , please let me add something"God is within you"
Much love
... What i wanted to share with you is that even a fart is spiritual...the important thing is not if this is real or not, you are in the train...enjoy the ride, becouse the unchangable (like mooji likes to call it very accuertly) is you wherever/whenever you are...space and time not matter....experience does, you choose.
Much love
PD:even though i been away, in a sense, you where all with me and i was with you. Greybeard i love to see you around.

[betoobig]

Changing subjets, but within the topic (dear Bill you are with me too, lol)
Through out this thread we all share info which is meaningfull and worth to share spiritual info, boots of awareness and clarity, but i am missing one thing. One little thing that ... you decide.
Everytime we share , let say, a meditation or any miningfull piece of text , why don´t we add what we experienced while doing that med or reeding that text. We cold add, with our experiences, so much to it.
New Whitelove´s thread is about it, please consider to participate.
Much love

[greybeard]

I might be gone but you are not forgotten --nor ever will be.
Only consciousness is and "I am That" true of each of us as actors on the grand stage of life
In the play and witness of the play.
Its so simple--"I am the totality all of it" One without a second--realise there is only .
This.

[Guish]

Greetings,

I was thinking of posting in this thread. Good to see you guys around.

Gassho,
Geerish.

[greybeard]

The in divi dual
The words point---in duality the individual is a division----divisive.

This video says all you need.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7XSAtC10ao

[Foxie Loxie]

Thanks, greybeard, for posting "Only consciousness is..." What a GREAT summary of the totality of ALL! :sun:

[Wind]

"In one of those apocryphal books which was rejected by those men who formed the canonical collection called the New Testament--a rejection in which they were sometimes wrong, and certainly in this instance--there occurred a saying of Jesus which runs, "When the outside becomes the inside, then the kingdom of heaven is come." Can we expand this mystical phrase into non-mystical language? Yes, here it is: "When the outside world is known and felt to be what it really is--an idea--it becomes a part of the inside world of thought and feeling. When its joys and griefs are known to be nothing more than states of mind, and when all thoughts and feelings and desires are brought from the false ego into the true Self at their centre, they automatically dissolve--and the kingdom of heaven is come."

~ Paul Brunton

http://oi65.tinypic.com/2a9wupu.jpg

[Chester]

Evolution of the Afterlife – T!m Freke

http://freemantv.com/evolution-of-the-afterlife-tim-freke/

This is a fascinating interview conducted by Freeman Fly (http://freemantv.com/bio-freeman-fly/)

and I highly recommend these two interviews done back to back by Skeptico in 2014

http://skeptiko.com/past-shows-2/past-shows/

scroll to shows 248 and 249

248 is Bernardo Kastrup dubunking 'materialism'

249 is Tim Freke on how the concept of soul reeks havoc upon 'mainstream science'

[Clear Light]

Ah, perhaps as one way of differentiating between "New Age" spirituality and the kind of material (Dzogchen) that I've found really does cut-the-wheat-from-the-chaff, I'm here quoting from "Heart Advice from a Mahamudra Master" :


“When we become aware of the nature of delusion, the veils of dualistic attachment dissolve, and we arrive at the awakened dimension, the knowledge of the empty nature of all appearances”

We meditate until we recognize that appearances and mind are inseparable. Then it becomes clear to us that it would be senseless or even harmful to block the appearances and perceptions that arise in our mind, since that would entail suppressing the natural movement of the mind. Similarly, we do not need to artificially generate an experience of emptiness, since we can simply rest in the awareness of the unity of appearances and emptiness, by recognizing appearances as projections of our mind.

In this way, we see that we ourselves, the subject that perceives something, are not different from the object that is perceived. In this state of understanding and openness our meditation truly becomes authentic. However, if we are content to merely contemplate an object and call that meditation, then we will never overcome the duality of meditator and meditation. All objects of perception are nothing but manifestations of mind; they are not external objects but mind itself.

Recognizing this pacifies the play of our emotional reactions, because then there is no longer any separation between our mind and its creations, between subject and object. Everything that we experience is the expression of our own mind. Mind and manifestation are one and the same; they are not separated in the least. Just as the mind is not an object that could be described or delimited, so the appearances that the mind projects are also beyond all imagination and description.

“Meditating means becoming aware of the true nature of all appearances”


http://www.systemsofspirit.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/the_spiritual_heart.jpg

[Clear Light]

Oh, I came across this whilst reading through some of my regular "internet haunts" and figured it might be of interest to some here at Avalon, or perhaps for those who are attracted to Advaita or Non-Duality eh ? :happythumbsup:

"The Traps of Search, Practice, and Process" - from Papaji's "The Truth Is" (PDFs part_1 (https://kosi.co/s/Papaji-The-Truth-Is_Part1.pdf) and part_2 (https://kosi.co/s/Papaji-The-Truth-Is_Part2.pdf)) (From page 399)



Sadhana : There is no becoming Being

There is no becoming Being.

It is simply a trick of the mind to think
that you need to be established in Self. [1]
You are That!
Just stay As you Are wherever you are.
Be there and you need to think.
Be Here and you need not think or use mind.
This is Peace, this is Beauty.

It is a joke to look for peace
when really there is no escape from it.
Search and practice is sheer ignorance,
because only being stupid requires practice.
The river makes no effort or practice to come to the ocean.
Cease thinking and making effort and you will get it.
Don't complicate yourself with thought and practice,
don't even practice non-practicing, just stay Quiet.

35540

Everything you do is for stillness of mind, for happiness,
and yet anything that you do disturbs your mind
because "doing" is mind, it is a trap,
whether it is a samadhi or bliss or whatever.
Anything that you try to do conceals the diamond
with the arrogance of doership.
You have been doing for 35 million years
so Now simply keep Quiet.
The Self is not seen during effort,
nor is Freedom the result of effort, it is already Here Now.
You miss bliss because you search for the transient,
but Truth cannot be seen, It is the seer!
Find That through which you would search
and you find that Being is Bliss.

Trying and searching comes from all directions
like mosquitoes to distract you from knowing Self Now!
Make no effort, for doing is mind:
The brush that cleans the mind is the mind!

So it is better to just give the ego-mind away
because you will speak of cleaning the mind
only when the mind is unclean.

On three accounts searching and practice
are foolishness and misleading
and are only the clever mind postponing Freedom.

The first is that it creates a searcher.
This reinforces the concept of an individual sufferer
that is separate from Freedom, and
that Self is something "other" than that Here and Now.

The second is the search.
Searching is a distraction which causes postponement
and endless needless suffering.
Searching promotes religions, traditions,
and paths to be adhered to,
which serve only to trap you deeper in illusion.
The Truth is only Here and Now,
but the search says it is tomorrow.

The third account is that search creates an object to be found,
and this can be the subtlest and most misleading trap.
As you start a search you conceptualize
what it is that you are searching for.
Since the nature of Maya, of illusion,
is that whatever you think, so it becomes;
whatever you think the goal to be you will attain it.
There is no doubt about this: as you think so it becomes.
So because of your search you will create and then attain
that which you think you are searching for!
Any heaven or high spiritual state that you long to attain
you will attain after you conceptualize and create it.
Then you will rest satisfied in this trap
thinking that you have attained your "heaven."
This is pie-in-the-sky freedom custom made for you
out of your very own thought and conditioning
of what the Ultimate is.
The Truth is beyond thought, concept, and conditioning
and this Truth is what you are, and only the Truth Is.
So stop your search, simply be Quiet,
definitely do not stir a thought or make an effort,
and the Truth will reveal Itself to Itself.

Practice takes ego which reinforces subject-object relationships
and all practice is through body mind and senses
which reinforces body mind identification.
Any identification is misidentification.
Whatever you think you become
so thinking of name and form
is thinking of ego-mind-world-senses-illusion.
If you must think, think of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss.
Best is to simply know "I am That Brahman."
Direct practice is Now itself, just Being itself,
not waiting for the next moment or the next thought
or the next life to accomplish something.
Direct practice is the bliss of turning your face to Self,
direct practice is Existence.

Prescribed sadhana requires and reinforces ego
to become something special when really we are One.
You cannot practice Being, you are That.
Have no pride, just simply Be Self.
You have to strike at the root of ego,
but not with sadhana which is by the ego for the ego.
Offer this ego pride to your own Silent-Peace-Self-Being.
Only going to the source of ego-mind with inquiry will do,
and once you ask this question do not come back.

Stop thinking and surrender all name and form to Silence.
Mind is movement and this is a wave.
Self is Stillness and this is the ocean.
To know yourself you must stop the movement
for one moment and Be Quiet.

The concept of "I am the body" is the concept of time.
Leave the time concept behind by facing the Source of all.
All concepts are borders: take on concepts
and you take on borders!

Another trap is thinking "I am empty" which is ego
because it is only relative to the lack of ego mind
that the concept of emptiness arises.
Therefore, there is no bliss in this Emptiness.

"I am" must be dissolved for only Emptiness to Be.
All is Emptiness so how can there be process towards it!
Most attempts to remove the wall serve only to fortify it!
So effort, method, doing, and process are the deceiving mind.
It is not even not-doing so why waste time to clean the mind!
Mind is only desire and you are only Satyam [2],
Home is Here Now.

[1] Self: This is certainly not the ego-self, nor the ego-self "spiritually aligned" aka the "seeker" !

[2] Satyam: In effortless relaxation is a goalless embracement of the moment. Life is experienced as “Sat-Chit-Anand,” or “Truth-Consciousness-Bliss.” The situation is more like “Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram,” meaning “Truth-Godliness-Beauty.” The truth of existence arises, and, more than good, is an experience of “Godliness.”

[Wind]

Don’t take the behaviour of the mind and body
to be a reading of your true Self.
Let everything happen,
but know and confirm inwardly,
you are watching everything from a very stable place
which, itself, is not happening.
There is a stillness there.
There is an untouched silence.
You must acknowledge this.
You must be like the Polar Star in the heavens.
Your heart is the Polar Star, the North Star.
Everything is revolving but it is still—unmoving.
You are the stillness,
the silence inside which all is moving.
You only have to recognise and love that,
and nothing will trouble you.
Everything is the flow of time.
Everything is coming and going,
including even this body.
It is like a burning candle.
But there is an invisible flame inside
that never goes out.
Fix your attention inside the formless
and leave the rest to God.

~ Mooji

http://i.imgur.com/oV7zKuL.jpg

[greybeard]

I could not resist posting these.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxJHmk8Xj-k


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LLo5bBfmik

[Wind]

A man once knocked on the door of God’s house.
"Who's is there?" asked God from within.

"It's me," said the man.

"Go away then. There is no room for two," said God.

The man departed and wandered in the arid desert until he realized his error.
Returning to the door, he knocked again.

"Who's is there?" asked God as before.

"You," answered the man.

"Then come in," God replied.

[greybeard]

Portals to the Absolute

Published on 7 Jul 2017

Portals to the Absolute: Part I: The first part of this You Tube explores Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj as a Teaching Master. Nisargadatta Maharaj in the beginning and early phases pointed students to the I Am, Beingness, Consciousness, Awareness, or Nothingness as a Portal to the Absolute.




As a cautionary note oftentimes Portals and states can become “stuck” points that both “spiritual practitioners” and students, as well as "teachers" or Guru’s can unknowingly and habitually nest in.

Zen Saying: “You never want to nest in any state”


For this reason the last section of this YouTube begins to deconstruct Portals which are mistakenly confused as being the Absolute.

All Portals, and “spiritual experiences” are appearances or labels which appear to appear in the Dream-Illusion. Eventually these Portals including emptiness, consciousness, the I Am awareness, energy or shakti, beingness, presence, light, and vibration… … dissolve… Prior to or without these Portals is the Absolute…The Nameless Absolute…THAT





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87DmQkTvj0Y&feature=youtu.be

[Wind]

cm2f15VYmzw

[Guish]

Would you rather conquer one desire or fulfill a thousand?

[greybeard]

» Arthur Brown 'Part 3 - 'The Core Of Stillness' - Interview by Iain McNay



Consciousness - Transformations (loaded 14 July 2017)
Arthur has recorded many albums over a 50 year period and is best known for his No 1 Worldwide hit 'Fire.' He has been a major influence on many successful artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls. His music has always been driven by his spiritual realisations. In Part 3 Arthur talks about his time spent studying and teaching the Beshara tradition. He then moved to Austin, Texas where he forged links with Gurdjieff groups while running a painting and decorating business with the Mothers of Invention drummer, Jimmy Carl Black. He tells an amusing story about being with Da Free John and talks about three people that had significant influence on this spiritual development, Mooji, Satyananda and Ganga. He formed a 'Healing Songs Therapy' group with counsellor Jim Maxwell where a song was created for each of their clients to help them heal. He toured with Robert Plant and in 2013 recorded an album 'based on the Cosmos' called 'Zim Zam Zim.' His spiritual journey was always in the foreground, 'Who Am I? Not my body, Not my thoughts. My mind is at peace. I can bear without the slightest restlessness all manifestations - all thoughts and images that arise - both pleasant and painful. Suddenly I know that this awareness of all and everything is itself a limitation. Subjects, object and consciousness are one and the same'
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj5CmnpFkwI


http://conscious.tv/consciousness.html?bcpid=2439355001&bclid=18673093001&bctid=5506868543001

[shijo]

One of the more fantastic things i witnessed in 1971 was Arthur Brown at the roundhouse in Camden performing a whole gig located in a huge balloon on stage,the balloon shaped like an erect penis.Im glad to see that Arthur has moved on and led a great life.Mind you it was a trenchant comment at the time...

[greybeard]

Would you rather conquer one desire or fulfill a thousand?


Would you rather conquer one desire or fulfill a thousand?

What is the difference?

To conquer one desire is a fulfillment of said desire, fulfill a thousand is to conquer them all.

The obvious answer then is to fulfill them all.

Of course fulfilling/ conquering them all and 50 cent will buy a 50 cent cup of coffee.   ;)

P.s. Shout out to all the gang,

Joe

Joe asked me to post this.

Chris

[StandingWave]

Just came across this delight from Jed McKenna - not sure if he's known by many here:

Impersonating Jed McKenna (http://www.wisefoolpress.com/impersonating-jed-mckenna/)

I thoroughly enjoyed his first two books - he has quite a refreshing take on the whole 'spiritual' thing. :)

[Guish]

Would you rather conquer one desire or fulfill a thousand?


Would you rather conquer one desire or fulfill a thousand?

What is the difference?

To conquer one desire is a fulfillment of said desire, fulfill a thousand is to conquer them all.

The obvious answer then is to fulfill them all.

Of course fulfilling/ conquering them all and 50 cent will buy a 50 cent cup of coffee.   ;)

P.s. Shout out to all the gang,

Joe

Joe asked me to post this.

Chris

Except that Desires are unlimited my Friend.

Gassho,
Geerish.

¤=[Post Update]=¤

How do we prevent a drop of water from evaporating?

[joeecho]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ed/1f/fe/ed1ffed1a335f42d3faa97b813f2403d.jpg

Full is the inner bunniness
The desire to become Full (filled) comes from outer bunniness wanting what the inner bunniness is.

Desire always will
Is always is

[Guish]

Welcome back, mate.

[joeecho]

Isn't it peculiar no matter what station one finds themselves in this world the common denominator is desire??

The human race, for example, would not have exist much less survived without desire.

So when we look out at our entire environment of experience what is seen is a result of past and active desire.

Inner unaffected/ uneffected

That is a lot like unconditional Love. Love abides despite all perception to the contrary. The idea of hope is tucked in there somewhere as well.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8rQ575DWD8

[Clear Light]

Isn't it peculiar no matter what station one finds themselves in this world the common denominator is desire??

The human race, for example, would not have exist much less survived without desire.

So when we look out at our entire environment of experience what is seen is a result of past and active desire.

Inner unaffected/ uneffected

That is a lot like unconditional Love. Love abides despite all perception to the contrary. The idea of hope is tucked in there somewhere as well.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8rQ575DWD8

Oh heaven's forbid there's some actual 'truth' to the idea of a 'desire realm' though perhaps in a more 'real' day-to-day way I'd say it's probably more easily considered as 'sensual desire' ... but no-one really wants to go down that road because of the inherent implications eh ? ;)

Food for thought perhaps LOL :popcorn:

Welcome back Buddy :sun:

[joeecho]

Oh heaven's forbid there's some actual 'truth' to the idea of a 'desire realm' though perhaps in a more 'real' day-to-day way I'd say it's probably more easily considered as 'sensual desire' ... but no-one really wants to go down that road because of the inherent implications eh ? ;)

Food for thought perhaps LOL :popcorn:

Welcome back Buddy :sun:

Thanks, Clear Light! :sun:

What desire isn't SENSE-ual?

The inherent implications? Foolish 'me', that is the reason for going down that road. :popcorn:

Sometimes it's 'good' not to know any better. :bigsmile:

Desire is one big merry-go-round. Consciousness proves we are taking it for a spin....

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RdpLmazZwHg/T_tCoC0ojRI/AAAAAAAAAok/dnQyJz-znFE/s1600/imagestaking-granny-for-a-spin_thumb.jpg

[Guish]

My Zen teacher once told me that if there's no desire, you wouldn't get out of bed.

[greybeard]

A must for those interested in Nasargadatta.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNZ4zjeHZAg

[joeecho]

My Zen teacher once told me that if there's no desire, you wouldn't get out of bed.

And here, all along, I thought it was a desire to be lazy. :bigsmile:

Laziness, Nirvana achieved!

What?

Hey!

I can DREAM can't I? :p

.............................................................................

Desire, created with just one thought.

I thought I was to blame for this post but the thought will pass.

[Guish]

There's nothing to be achieved, mate.
Wait!
The problem is that a rock wants to be a tree.

[joeecho]

There's nothing to be achieved, mate.
Wait!
The problem is that a rock wants to be a tree.

For sure, Mate!! For sure!! Does that mean YOU will be the one doing the dishes, tonight? :)

What problem, the rock and the tree are both to each other. What 'want' could there be?

https://iansobservations.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/funny-thai-signs-28-300x225.jpg?w=645

[Guish]

There's nothing to be achieved, mate.
Wait!
The problem is that a rock wants to be a tree.

For sure, Mate!! For sure!! Does that mean YOU will be the one doing the dishes, tonight? :)

What problem, the rock and the tree are both to each other. What 'want' could there be?

https://iansobservations.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/funny-thai-signs-28-300x225.jpg?w=645

Washing is the purest form of practice, mate. Well, pretty much everything in life is.

The rock-tree analogy is probably the worse one I have made but basically we are like a rock in the garden comparing itself to another rock or we are a rock which wants to be a tree. That's the main cause of suffering. We do not accept things as they are.

[greybeard]

For those suffering predudice
Published on 14 Jul 2017
A woman confronts the dissolving of her identity as a black woman now that she understands what she truly is.
From the seven day retreat at Garrison Institute, June 2017. For access to the full recording see link: http://non-duality.rupertspira.com/wa...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRSHHQPceGU

[joeecho]

There's nothing to be achieved, mate.
Wait!
The problem is that a rock wants to be a tree.

For sure, Mate!! For sure!! Does that mean YOU will be the one doing the dishes, tonight? :)

What problem, the rock and the tree are both to each other. What 'want' could there be?

https://iansobservations.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/funny-thai-signs-28-300x225.jpg?w=645

Washing is the purest form of practice, mate. Well, pretty much everything in life is.

The rock-tree analogy is probably the worse one I have made but basically we are like a rock in the garden comparing itself to another rock or we are a rock which wants to be a tree. That's the main cause of suffering. We do not accept things as they are.

Another premise to consider: Maybe we suffer as a result of accepting things as they are.

When Love is, it isn't
When Love isn't, it is
Love,
Beyond reason, beyond purpose
The mind says, if love is beyond these things what good is it?

Oh practical world, thou incapable of escaping self. Dish washing leads to more dish washing and so forth and so on.

[Guish]

Hi mate,

When you fall sick, you don't curse yourself. You accept it and still get it fixed. I was talking about this kind of acceptance.

Cheers,
G.

[joeecho]

Accepting or not accepting, ultimately, is 'same same but different' and as such so is the suffering.

[Clear Light]

Oh heaven's forbid there's some actual 'truth' to the idea of a 'desire realm' though perhaps in a more 'real' day-to-day way I'd say it's probably more easily considered as 'sensual desire' ... but no-one really wants to go down that road because of the inherent implications eh ? ;)

Food for thought perhaps LOL :popcorn:

Welcome back Buddy :sun:

Oh, now, I feel it is probably worth some clarification with regards to my comment ^^^^ in the sense that I don't want to give the wrong impression that ALL "desire" is somehow a "hindrance" towards "spiritual growth" (if you will) ... like "getting married" and / or "having children" eh ?

AFAIC with Buddhism there's a lot of "talk" about the "middle way" so putting this into context with respect to food, I'd say it's kind of like being "towards the middle" between the one extreme of Asceticism and that of the other extreme of Hedonism so please understand I'm *not* for one moment suggesting everybody should "do as a monk does" and just drink water and eat rice once a day LOL !!!

But in the interests of full self-disclosure there was a period (roughly around 2008 for a time) when I was only drinking boiled water and eating once a day, however, that was when I was doing full-on Voluntary work and the circumstances were favourable to it then. In retrospect it was a very "useful" *exploration* of who "I thought I was" ...

Now of course a Healthy Diet is essential but I will say it is up to each of "us" who are seemingly "on a path" to find what works for them in terms of Taste / Nutrition / Portion Size etc etc ... It's common sense really eh ?

[Wind]

Ah, desires. If I desire to get rid of unnecessary suffering and my ego's dominance, am I just acting out from my ego? :)

... Or is my higher self guiding me to that path?

[Clear Light]

Ah, desires. If I desire to get rid of unnecessary suffering and my ego's dominance, am I just acting out from my ego? :)

... Or is my higher self guiding me to that path?

Well ... perhaps ? But far better to uncover the "emptiness" of the egoic-self itself because upon its dissolution / cessation / dissolving "who" is there left to "dominate" eh ? ;)

[Guish]

Ah, desires. If I desire to get rid of unnecessary suffering and my ego's dominance, am I just acting out from my ego? :)

... Or is my higher self guiding me to that path?

Hi Windy,

The me is a you. The self is not something to be destroyed. The plain truth is that we are all connected. You have to take care of yourself so that you can take care of others. when you take care of others, you are taking care of yourself.

Cheers mate,
Geerish.

[Wind]

Be where the seeing arises from,
where even the seeing is being seen.
Just be there. This is your home.

~ Mooji

http://i.imgur.com/DEaP85q.jpg

[Guish]

Be where the seeing arises from,
where even the seeing is being seen.
Just be there. This is your home.

~ Mooji

http://i.imgur.com/DEaP85q.jpg

Everywhere is our home.
In the middle of chaos, In a quiet room, while drinking a beer with Joe, Chris and You.
There's no need to find peace. It's already here.

Gassho,
Geerish.

[joeecho]

Piece is not peace

Analogy: The pan is peace in which the pie and its pieces are not a part.

Now who wants pie? Greerish? Wind? Chris? Anyone else? ;)


https://cdn3.volusion.com/ywjzv.xdxbb/v/vspfiles/photos/52092-2.jpg

[greybeard]

I have a dead pan expression regarding your post Joe.
But I get it.
Peace is intact---pie--vegetarian of course---- is eaten.
Who is doing the washing up?
I love water.
Ch

[joeecho]

Who is doing the washing up?
I love water.
Ch

From the context of the pie, there is no pan to wash.

[joeecho]

Dead pan? I get it. No need to hint twice.

That's my cue.

https://desperateandunrehearsed.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/hat-tip.gif

[greybeard]

Dead pan? I get it. No need to hint twice.

That's my cue.

https://desperateandunrehearsed.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/hat-tip.gif

Hallelujah---is that the famous singer --now deceased?
Leonard Cohen.

No hinting ---play on words.
My turn to do the non existent. dishes.

Ch

[Wind]

Emptiness is the greatest freedom.
No person can be in that.
And this is the best absence:
the absence of a person.
Only in this absence
is God revealed.

~ Mooji

[Whiskey_Mystic]

Dead pan? I get it. No need to hint twice.

That's my cue.

https://desperateandunrehearsed.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/hat-tip.gif

Hallelujah---is that the famous singer --now deceased?
Leonard Cohen.

No hinting ---play on words.
My turn to do the non existent. dishes.

Ch

Thought that was Ian Mckellan as Magneto.

[greybeard]

Yes your right--Its the hat that threw me--very Leonard Cohen.

Chris

[joeecho]

Emptiness is the greatest freedom.
No person can be in that.
And this is the best absence:
the absence of a person.
Only in this absence
is God revealed.

~ Mooji


Emptiness is the greatest freedom.
No person can be in that.

In this first part of the Mooji quote is a great hint at the nature of suffering.
It also suggests that having it 'all' is not the ultimate freedom.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FqPYdwSBD0

(I know the above video has been posted many times but it seemed like a perfect compliment to the Mooji quote)


So you have to ask yourself the question, what matters?

[Guish]

Yes. It's not emptiness as a state of mind but emptiness of our fake self- name, caste, religion, sometimes emotions, status, job title and so on...
However, there's also a unique you.

Cheers,
Geerish.

[joeecho]

Emptiness is the greatest freedom.
No person can be in that.

'Person' by definition is identity while emptiness/ nothingness is unidentifiable, it cannot be focused on. Focusing is a mental process and as such unqualified to be empty. Emptiness is elusive to cognitive function which always seeks to grasp 'things'.

In a world where the possession of things takes center stage whether mental or material, emptiness is and always will remain unpossessed. That is why even Bill Gates lacks the greatest freedom.

Emptiness is the equalizer of all.

What is it that perfection lacks? Nothing.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/60/5c/76/605c767d61a9349e715e3c47abe71bb7--when-you-realize-the-sky.jpg

[Guish]

https://z-p3-scontent.fmru2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s552x414/20429920_1732395656788119_7607371654187804680_n.jpg?oh=3fb94de9b6c4ddfcbdd6bd6208575945&oe=59F80E75

[greybeard]

Bruce Lipton: The Paradigm Shift (NEW JULY 2017)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNTUwIFslKM

Published on 26 Jul 2017

Bruce Lipton presents at The Paradigm Shift Online Conference brought to you by Portal to Ascension

http://www.PortalToAscension.org

Bruce H. Lipton, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in bridging science and spirit. Stem cell biologist, bestselling author of The Biology of Belief and recipient of the 2009 Goi Peace Award, he has been a guest speaker on hundreds of TV and radio shows, as well as keynote presenter for national and international conferences.

Dr. Lipton began his scientific career as a cell biologist. He received his Ph.D. Degree from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville before joining the Department of Anatomy at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine in 1973. Dr. Lipton’s research on muscular dystrophy, studies employing cloned human stem cells, focused upon the molecular mechanisms controlling cell behavior. An experimental tissue transplantation technique developed by Dr. Lipton and colleague Dr. Ed Schultz and published in the journal Science was subsequently employed as a novel form of human genetic engineering.

In 1982, Dr. Lipton began examining the principles of quantum physics and how they might be integrated into his understanding of the cell’s information processing systems. He produced breakthrough studies on the cell membrane, which revealed that this outer layer of the cell was an organic homologue of a computer chip, the cell’s equivalent of a brain. His research at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, between 1987 and 1992, revealed that the environment, operating though the membrane, controlled the behavior and physiology of the cell, turning genes on and off. His discoveries, which ran counter to the established scientific view that life is controlled by the genes, presaged one of today’s most important fields of study, the science of epigenetics. Two major scientific publications derived from these studies defined the molecular pathways connecting the mind and body. Many subsequent papers by other researchers have since validated his concepts and ideas.

[Clear Light]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/01/f7/dd/01f7dd5e61c62f21f93975da310c3231.jpg

Ah, the absence of the 'separate self' surely implies there is no do-er and if there is no such 'actor' then no-thing is ever 'happening' other than, I'd say, apparent phenomena *as* 'conceptually described' eh ? ;)

An unbroken beginningless singular wholeness of the unfoldment of infinite potentiality by no-one and for no-one ...

[greybeard]

Ultimately --there is no subject or object. no doer and nothing to do anything to.
However time being here we are-- I suppose you could say this is a relative truth --and it is to be enjoyed or not as the case might be.
Food has to be put on the table--dishes washed.

At another level it would appear that the act happens prior to being aware that "me" is doing it

Stephen Wolinsky seems to me to have the clearest explanation re Nasargadatta talks.

Ch

[greybeard]

Hans Laurentius - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFQNXC6Kl5s


Discussion of this interview at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Batga...

Trained in the 90’s as a teacher in spiritual therapy. The search stopped, among other ‘things’, mainly through the confrontation with Nisargadatta’s I am That, and Ramana Maharshi’s glare and words and the spontaneous recognition of Awareness (Consciousness) as reality. ‘After’ that awakening the ‘I Am/Consciousness’ was recognised to be the first identification.

Since ’98 Hans has led hundreds of satsangs, retreats and private sessions. He published eight books and a booklet, many many articles and columns, youtube satsang video’s (one in English) and seven homemade music cd’s. Hans is sometimes judged as being too confrontational or direct, or, more kindly, as very clear. On the other hand people credit him for his creativity and patience. Funny, right?

The following points and others reflecting Hans' perspective were discussed in the interview: When spirituality is not alarming, it’s not worth mentioning. Burn-out is never about work. It’s a spiritual crisis. Not feeling and listening leads to inauthenticity which at a certain point makes the ‘soul’ scream for change. Self-inquiry is for internal use only. Not for beating others down, or to be used as an excuse for lousy behavior. Becoming aware isn’t necessarily pleasant. It will always bring clarity though. Reality is never a problem until we start to project our beliefs, fears, expectations and judgements onto it. You are far too much interested in solutions, and in the meantime it is your mind (what you believe) who is creating the trouble in the first place. Ego-mind has only two modes: trying to get something and trying to get rid of something. Sprituality based on this doesn’t deserve the name. Unresolved issues keep you from being truly present and real. Avoidance is one of the most weakening tributes of identification with the mind. A lot of (your) spirituality is insincere. It’s mostly based on trying to get rid of something, avoiding authenticity, masking what is really there, taking on a new persona. Not feeling things fully. Not facing facts. Trying to force an outcome. Overreacting and looking for approval. All sings of immaturity. Sub-human attitudes. What you truly are has never been hurt or treated badly, it’s not lacking anything. It’s completely free, whole and shining. NOW. ALREADY. It’s fearless!

Website: http://hanslaurentius.nl

[greybeard]

Mooji Interview with Esprit Yoga Magazine ~ Skype Satsang with Mooj

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLO5EIO6Tgw


Sorry
Permission to view withdrawn

Ch

[joeecho]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/01/f7/dd/01f7dd5e61c62f21f93975da310c3231.jpg


Is that all there is (to enlightenment)? Is THAT all there is? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAiswrmmDFw)

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56fcaa737da24fa2afc22beb/t/57caafe246c3c401374704d3/1472901098742/?format=750w

Enlightenment and ego share more in common then what one may think. But would I have understood that without enlightenment? Chicken and the egg, my friends, chicken and the egg.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/89/cc/a5/89cca5e203c03b8af1fe3e3d0b70f652--carved-eggs-carving-designs.jpg

[Guish]

There's no one to get enlightened.

[joeecho]

There's no one to get enlightened.

Says 'who'?

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fc/78/d6/fc78d631d79c51812cbff1b13f1408da.jpg

[Clear Light]

There's no one to get enlightened.

Oh, indeed, but if 'you' were to say that to most 'other' seeming 'people' in regular conversation I'd *imagine* it would likely 'raise a few eyebrows' eh ? LOL :bigsmile:

Nonetheless is it truly possible that our waking-state-sense-of-self is of the exact same nature as the dream-state-sense-of-self ... that is : Just a sub-conscious *Projection* eh ? ;)

[Guish]

There's no one to get enlightened.

Oh, indeed, but if 'you' were to say that to most 'other' seeming 'people' in regular conversation I'd *imagine* it would likely 'raise a few eyebrows' eh ? LOL :bigsmile:

Nonetheless is it truly possible that our waking-state-sense-of-self is of the exact same nature as the dream-state-sense-of-self ... that is : Just a sub-conscious *Projection* eh ? ;)

Well, this is very true and this is why in Shikantaza, you sit with eyes open and there's really nothing to attain.

[greybeard]

Jesus quote "Be still and know that I am God"
If aligned with other quotes it becomes clear that Self is the "I am"
" Of my self I do nothing it is the Father within"

Ramana was clear --any sense that you are separate is to be released---yet was ok with prayers of gratitude.
Ramesh had a humility prayer--and on being questioned about it (Who is there to be humble? ) was clear that the prayer just happened--"he" had nothing to do with it--he was very strong on, I am not the doer.
He was fond of quoting.
"Events happen,
Deeds are done,
There is no doer thereof".

So many hints--pointers.
Yet there is "Nothing" to get

Ch

[Clear Light]

He was fond of quoting.
"Events happen,
Deeds are done,
There is no doer thereof".

So many hints--pointers.
Yet there is "Nothing" to get

Ch

Oh, perhaps it's just down to the 'conventions of language' in that it automatically implies a duality where in actual fact, there is none eh ?

For example : My body is sitting on a stool, as in 'sitting is occurring' so why do we usually say : "I am sitting" ?

The 'I am' part is like an add-on, or an 'after thought' ... it's unnecessary unless 'communication' is required eh ?

Similarly, thoughts appear and disappear, but there is no 'thinker of thoughts' yet do we not usually say : "I am thinking" ?

"Who" is this "I" anyway ? LOL !!!

It's why I'd suggest that the unquestioned assumption of an independent separate so-called 'self' is the 'mother of all delusions' eh ? haha :bigsmile:

[greybeard]

He was fond of quoting.
"Events happen,
Deeds are done,
There is no doer thereof".

So many hints--pointers.
Yet there is "Nothing" to get

Ch

Oh, perhaps it's just down to the 'conventions of language' in that it automatically implies a duality where in actual fact, there is none eh ?

For example : My body is sitting on a stool, as in 'sitting is occurring' so why do we usually say : "I am sitting" ?

The 'I am' part is like an add-on, or an 'after thought' ... it's unnecessary unless 'communication' is required eh ?

Similarly, thoughts appear and disappear, but there is no 'thinker of thoughts' yet do we not usually say : "I am thinking" ?

"Who" is this "I" anyway ? LOL !!!

It's why 'I' like to suggest that the unquestioned assumption of an independent separate so-called 'self' is the 'mother of all delusions' eh ? haha :bigsmile:

Yes agreed--I suppose that ---while sitting is happening is true--the whole world is not sitting--so some definition of the sitting is necessary, or confusion would arise.

Mooji says "There is only this"--Indian sages have been known to say " I am the totality--all of it" only this.

Mooji also says "Just be quiet"

It still amazes me that sages say "You are not the doer and then suggest things to do--some also say "no free will"
So who is going to decide to follow the sages advice?

Ramesh Balsekar, who translated for Ramesh for a while, said "God gave you an ego --let Him remove it" suggests duality--but then again we are back to the limitations of language.

Ch

[Clear Light]

It still amazes me that sages say "You are not the doer and then suggest things to do--some also say "no free will"
So who is going to decide to follow the sages advice?

Oh, perhaps in the exchanges something 'seems to click' whether consciously known or not and somehow there's a kind of 'internal validation' that, I've found on numerous occasions, seemingly 'gives rise' to a sort of Confidence in the Sage's advice eh ?

Words can merely point ... the map is never the territory ... the described is never 'it' ... :heart:

[Clear Light]

Oh, so I'm posting the following quote as it may be of interest for those that are curious about Dzogchen and one of its *techniques* for uncovering our "real condition" (so-to-say) eh ? :bigsmile:

Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche says in his book "Present Fresh Wakefulness" :


Give up thinking of anything at all, about the past, the future or the present. Remain thought-free, like an infant.

Innate suchness is unobscured the moment you are not caught up in present thinking.

That which prevents us from being face to face with the real Buddha, the natural state of mind, is our own thinking. It seems to block the natural state.

Rigpa, the Natural State, is not cultivated in meditation. The awakened state is not an object of the intellect. Rigpa is beyond intellect, and concepts.

This is the real Buddhadharma, not to do a thing. Not to think of anything. Like Saraha said, "Having totally abandoned thinker and what is thought of, remain as a thought-free child."

Thinking is delusion.

When caught up in thinking we are deluded. To be free of thinking is to be free.

That freedom consists in how to be free from our thinking.

As long as the web of thinking has not dissolved, there will repeatedly be rebirth in and the experiences of the six realms (of suffering).

The method: But if you want to be totally free of conceptual thinking there is only one way: through training in thought-free wakefulness. (rigpa).

Strip awareness to its naked state.

If you want to attain liberation and omniscient enlightenment, you need to be free of conceptual thinking.

Being free of thought is liberation.

This is not some state that is far away from us: thought-free wakefulness actually exists together with every thought, inseparable from it... but the thinking obscures or hides this innate actuality. Thought free wakefulness (the natural state) is immediately present the very moment the thinking dissolves, the moment it vanishes, fades away, falls apart.

Simply suspend your thinking within the non-clinging state of wakefulness: that is the correct view.

[Wind]

Eckhart Tolle - What will I get out of enlightenment? (https://www.eckharttollenow.com/new-home-video/default.aspx?free=/710170708/)

Hint: "You" or your ego will not get anything out of it. ;)

[joeecho]

That which is of superior importance cannot be obtained or lost and thus anything obtained (or lost) is inferior to.

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-humility-does-not-mean-believing-oneself-to-be-inferior-but-to-be-freed-from-self-importance-matthieu-ricard-56-34-80.jpg

[joeecho]

To meditate or not to meditate, that is the question. The real answer hasn't a question.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8c/73/ab/8c73ab2cabc27f6f99a5771074b460fa.png

[greybeard]

For guests ----there are a lot of good and helpful posts way back--worth a look.
Sometimes whatever gets you through the day is important.

The thread has become/ evolved into a somewhat purist--non duality one---no harm in that.
All a natural part of the "search" being seen for what it is.

Ch

[Valley]

The gist of the non-duality perspective seems to be that we are all one...One consciousness...that has no limits or boundaries but that can also 'take on'/adopt limited perspectives...and that though we may appear to have different viewpoints we are all 'rooted' in the same principle of consciousness...or the 'I Am Presense'. Non-duality doesn't mean there is no 'I', just that we are all the one 'I'...right?

[joeecho]

Non-duality doesn't mean there is no 'I', just that we are all the one 'I'...right?

Yes, the one I but not the I that is typically known which is symbolically and practically portrayed as the mask. Multiplicity is a masquerade party in which 'I' wears all the masks and there are parties within parties, masks within masks.

Without a mask I would be invisible without a desire to say anything. Some on Avalon would say that would be a 'good' thing for 'me' to do. :ROFL:

https://i.enkiquotes.com/4s3pdCtQrLTRhGVdwKXzf3j0vkY=/800x0//images/2016/08/47c7581f0b6be8e568d213510af7fc8e.jpg

A wordy and unnecessary voice modulation but intriguing video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU-2gMI2zLs

[Valley]

Aye, I. I think we're/I'm getting somewhere...or nowhere, to be more precise.


Non-duality doesn't mean there is no 'I', just that we are all the one 'I'...right?

Yes, the one I but not the I that is typically known which is symbolically and practically portrayed as the mask. Multiplicity is a masquerade party in which 'I' wears all the masks and there are parties within parties, masks within masks.

Without a mask I would be invisible without a desire to say anything. Some on Avalon would say that would be a 'good' thing for 'me' to do. :ROFL:

https://i.enkiquotes.com/4s3pdCtQrLTRhGVdwKXzf3j0vkY=/800x0//images/2016/08/47c7581f0b6be8e568d213510af7fc8e.jpg

A wordy and unnecessary voice modulation but intriguing video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU-2gMI2zLs

[greybeard]

To be purist
All the searching, all the mind stuff takes one further away from the Truth.
One without a second===no subject or object.

However one has to search and search till one is ready to see its pointless.
all part of the play of consciousness.

Good to see you here Valley

Chris

[joeecho]

Ego mimics all things including silence.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a1/79/d1/a179d17282e8913b0f94c22ef6457a95--silence-everything.jpg

[Valley]

Thanks Chris. Good to see you still 'sailing the seas' here too my friend.

I also like the biblical quote that says to "Be still and know that I am God", indicating that searching outside ourselves doesn't have the ultimate answers, but by being still or neutralizing all actions & thoughts...is where/when/how the greatest meaning/s of existence can be realized.

[Clear Light]

For guests ----there are a lot of good and helpful posts way back--worth a look.
Sometimes whatever gets you through the day is important.

The thread has become/ evolved into a somewhat purist--non duality one---no harm in that.
All a natural part of the "search" being seen for what it is.

Ch

Ah, now, if anyone is interested in the Dzogchen "modality" then please have a look at these two posts which may be of help in cutting through to "the meat of it", that is : HOW 'it' does what 'it' purports to do and not over "endless lifetimes" but "in this very lifetime" ... or even "right here and now" if you're of the very highest "calibre" (which I'm not btw ;) lol) :


A direct pointing instruction from Lama Tsultrim Allione (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?860-Enlightenment-and-related-matters.&p=1040983&viewfull=1#post1040983)
Tulku Urgyen on Garab Dorje's Three Statements (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?860-Enlightenment-and-related-matters.&p=1038782&viewfull=1#post1038782)

By their fruit(s) shall "we" know them eh ? :heart:

Note : Please ignore this post if it seems like "spam" to you (marketing / selling), but my "day job" precludes me from being able to "follow" the Avalon forums in any great detail as I simply do not "have the time" necessary to be able to "keep up" (so-to-say) !!!

[Wind]

Your dynamic being dances as existence,
but this existence is witnessed.
Be in this witnessing place.
This witnessing place is not interested.
It has no aspiration.
It has no favourites.
Do you know this place?
I am calling you into your own glory as pure Awareness.
Only when you are aware of this place,
can you leave your life alone.
You observe that life is a spontaneous unfolding.
Be in this place which is silent and untouched.
Feel it. Feel and Be what you cannot describe.

~ Mooji

http://oi64.tinypic.com/153kzfa.jpg

[joeecho]

The first part of this post is inspired by a few word in the movie Fight Club (1999):

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-welcome-to-fight-club-the-first-rule-of-fight-club-is-you-do-not-talk-about-fight-club-brad-pitt-136-48-84.jpg

.........................................

The first principle of enlightenment is: You don’t talk about enlightenment. The second principle of enlightenment is: You do not talk about enlightenment. I just broke the two principle/s of enlightenment.

Here ‘enlightenment’ is a placeholder for the ‘thing’ itself. Why? Because if there was a word for it ‘it’ would be breaking its two principle/s and thus not qualify.

Enlightenment is like that thing you know that you will never be able to fully explain/ express no matter how many life times you live.

This doesn’t mean one should (or should not) try talking about enlightenment (I am), that is entirely up to you. I’m just explaining how I broke the principle/s. Does that mean I am not enlightened? No, that just means that what you SEE isn’t enlightenment. If you do, you’re missing the point.

[greybeard]

The annual convention for the enlightened
Nobody turned up
Ch

[Foxie Loxie]

Too funny! :clapping: It's good to look back over where one has come from & how "views" have changed! Thanks, Bill, for starting Avalon! :heart:

[joeecho]

Perhaps the View never changes but the view of the View does. Am I wrong?
If I am, it's probably the view.
In my defense, there is no view that is sufficient.

I am not my reflection.
If I were, where is the original?

[greybeard]

I like words and the root and hints there in.
Reflect--means to think on as well as the mirror --reflection.
Its all in your words Joe--I thought, and it was all over
Thoughtless awareness being the natural state

Ch

[joeecho]

I like words and the root and hints there in.
Reflect--means to think on as well as the mirror --reflection.
Its all in your words Joe--I thought, and it was all over
Thoughtless awareness being the natural state

Ch

So is everything Chris, that is why the meme below is so poignant in a existential sort of way.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6b/12/00/6b1200b4a0bb6cb42de8318e987f5418.jpg

But is that going to stop me? Nah, existence isn't for stopping, it's for existing one way or another. ;)

http://www.lovethispic.com/uploaded_images/48670-One-Way-Or-Another.jpg

[Wind]

Here's a few jokes for you jokers.


If there is no self,
whose arthritis is this?

Q: How much "ego" do you need?
A: Just enough so that you don't step in front of a bus.
~ Shunryu Suzuki

For his 70th birthday, one of his students gave the zen master a big box with a ribbon around it. When the master opened the box, he found that there was nothing inside. "Aha," he exclaimed, "just what I wanted!"

[Clear Light]

Here's a few jokes for you jokers.


If there is no self,
whose arthritis is this?

Q: How much "ego" do you need?
A: Just enough so that you don't step in front of a bus.
~ Shunryu Suzuki

For his 70th birthday, one of his students gave the zen master a big box with a ribbon around it. When the master opened the box, he found that there was nothing inside. "Aha," he exclaimed, "just what I wanted!"

Oh, but in the absence of all distinctions (descriptions) of what 'arthritis' is said to be, surely such Mentation is merely an after-thought dependent upon some (empty) 'bodily sensation' eh ?

Indeed, what 'self' is findable except for presently arising 'thoughts' about it ... now, instead, why not 'notice' what is 'noticing' such un-owned (?) 'thoughts' and 'rest as that' eh ? ;)

[greybeard]

When Ramana Maharshi was dying from cancer he was asked about the pain ---his response--"There is pain"
Its a question of not owning the pain by stating "My arthritis" or whatever the ailment is.
Whatever steps that can be taken to alleviate the condition should be taken, other wise there is non acceptance or denial.
Who is taking the steps? Lol

"Chris" has not worked since he was diagnoses with Arthritis at the age of 55.
I did not tell the Dr it does not bother me.
I don't take any remedy beyond some vitamins/minerals--I just don't think about it--it is still there though and it reminds the me from time to time of its presence.
In this world but not of it.
Wear the self like a loose garment.

Anyway talking to those that know this.
Ch

[joeecho]

Here's a few jokes for you jokers.


If there is no self,
whose arthritis is this?

Q: How much "ego" do you need?
A: Just enough so that you don't step in front of a bus.
~ Shunryu Suzuki

For his 70th birthday, one of his students gave the zen master a big box with a ribbon around it. When the master opened the box, he found that there was nothing inside. "Aha," he exclaimed, "just what I wanted!"

Oh, but in the absence of all distinctions (descriptions) of what 'arthritis' is said to be, surely such Mentation is merely an after-thought dependent upon some (empty) 'bodily sensation' eh ?

Indeed, what 'self' is findable except for presently arising 'thoughts' about it ... now, instead, why not 'notice' what is 'noticing' such un-owned (?) 'thoughts' and 'rest as that' eh ? ;)

Conscious of (anything) is the first distraction.

http://addsherpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/a-d-d-add-another-damn-distraction-demotivational-poster-1265651799.jpg

[Clear Light]

Conscious of (anything) is the first distraction.

http://addsherpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/a-d-d-add-another-damn-distraction-demotivational-poster-1265651799.jpg

Just for fun :



Knock ! Knock !


Who's there ?


"The one"


"The one" who ?


The one who said you can't buy Happiness forgot about little Kittens eh ? :bigsmile:


[a reinterpretation of the saying attributed to Gene Hill about Happiness and Puppies]

[Foxie Loxie]

Hey Chris....have you tried Tumeric? It sure helped with the arthritis in my back! :star:

[joeecho]

Conscious of (anything) is the first distraction.

http://addsherpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/a-d-d-add-another-damn-distraction-demotivational-poster-1265651799.jpg

Just for fun :



Knock ! Knock !


Who's there ?


"The one"


"The one" who ?


The one who said you can't buy Happiness forgot about little Kittens eh ? :bigsmile:


[a reinterpretation of the saying attributed to Gene Hill about Happiness and Puppies]

Knock ! Knock !

Who's there ?

"I am"

"I am" who ?

.................................................. ...........

I am (distraction), there is no other.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9gtnNgcMFU

[Clear Light]

Knock ! Knock !

Who's there ?

"I am"

"I am" who ?

.................................................. ...........

I am (distraction), there is no other.


Ah, yes, ultimately this is probably perfectly true, but in my day to day life, if I were to ignore all other 'people' I'd likely soon start to feel 'all alone in the world' ... now I don't know about you but sometimes I find it's best to remain silent and simply listen ... :heart:

[Foxie Loxie]

One gets to create one's own world....isn't that marvelous?!! :clapping:

[joeecho]

Knock ! Knock !

Who's there ?

"I am"

"I am" who ?

.................................................. ...........

I am (distraction), there is no other.


Ah, yes, ultimately this is probably perfectly true, but in my day to day life, if I were to ignore all other 'people' I'd likely soon start to feel 'all alone in the world' ... now I don't know about you but sometimes I find it's best to remain silent and simply listen ... :heart:

Who said I am?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg

[Clear Light]

Knock ! Knock !

Who's there ?

"I am"

"I am" who ?

.................................................. ...........

I am (distraction), there is no other.


Ah, yes, ultimately this is probably perfectly true, but in my day to day life, if I were to ignore all other 'people' I'd likely soon start to feel 'all alone in the world' ... now I don't know about you but sometimes I find it's best to remain silent and simply listen ... :heart:

Who said I am?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg

Oh, thanks so much for putting up that Video, it's hilariously funny, LMAO :clapping:

Now, in answer to the question above, what would you rather hear ...


36091

So, in presuming it's not "a reassuring lie" you're interested in, because that's not what this Forum is all about, I'll answer it with the use of a modified "non-dual humour" image :


36092

With, of course, the caveat : Please feel free to "Believe it or not" !!! :)

[joeecho]

With, of course, the caveat : Please feel free to "Believe it or not" !!! :)

What I "believe or not" is inconsequential.

[greybeard]

Hey Chris....have you tried Tumeric? It sure helped with the arthritis in my back! :star:

Thanks Foxie
I will do as you suggest.
Love Chris

[Clear Light]

Knock ! Knock !

Who's there ?

"I am"

"I am" who ?

.................................................. ...........

I am (distraction), there is no other.


Ah, yes, ultimately this is probably perfectly true, but in my day to day life, if I were to ignore all other 'people' I'd likely soon start to feel 'all alone in the world' ... now I don't know about you but sometimes I find it's best to remain silent and simply listen ... :heart:

Who said I am?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg

Oh, thanks so much for putting up that Video, it's hilariously funny, LMAO :clapping:

Now, in answer to the question above, what would you rather hear ...


36091

So, in presuming it's not "a reassuring lie" you're interested in, because that's not what this Forum is all about, I'll answer it with the use of a modified "non-dual humour" image :


36092

With, of course, the caveat : Please feel free to "Believe it or not" !!! :)

Oh, now, with regards to my earlier attempt at describing the indescribable, LOL :bigsmile: :


The space of empty yet lucid aware [1] impersonal Awareness

Here's some words that I feel better convey what I am driving at :


It's not that you are a person having experiences, but rather the "person" is discovered to be just another experience appearing in impersonal "pure awareness"

And as such, try as it might (and probably will), the intellect in "grasping" at the meaning, obscures that which already is, because AS "pure awareness", I'd suggest the subject / object dichotomy has "come to an end of its own accord" and what remains is simply "beingness" but not for some "entity" !!!

[1] Or perhaps read as "awake" eh ? ;)

[greybeard]

Unfortunately Joe got unsubscribed through pulling faces and other things.
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78116-RECORD-of-MODERATOR-ACTIONS&p=1177642&viewfull=1#post1177642

There is only This in non duality---no subject or object.
In this world some object!!

Love C

[Clear Light]

Unfortunately Joe got unsubscribed through pulling faces and other things.
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?78116-RECORD-of-MODERATOR-ACTIONS&p=1177642&viewfull=1#post1177642

There is only This in non duality---no subject or object.
In this world some object!!

Love C

Oh, yeah, nor too is there any Separation, sounds crazy doesn't it ? :ROFL:

But as for the "world", where does it appear ? Only in your mind's eye right ? :sherlock:

Our eyes can't see ... what is seen is like a mind-generated "hologram" eh ? ;)


36150

IF the sense of "separation" has fallen away, as Joe said : "There is no other" eh ?

Yet on the other hand, at "work", I'm certainly "talking" to other seemingly embodied "p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶" "individuals" but nevertheless all of the "strange non-duality utterances" above "hold water" (so-to-speak) haha ;)

[greybeard]

Appearance would appear to be a mirage.
Literally all in the eye of the beholder--or rather the mind.
Where is the enabler?
That which enables the eye to see the ear to hear and on it goes.

Nasargadatta summed it up nicely in answer to questions as to what he is. (The unborn)---nothing perceivable--nothing conceivable.
Another quote.
"You are as a blade of grass."

The late Dr Hawkins talked of potential.
The seed may blossom into a flower or no as the case might be--The environment is necessary but does not cause the seed to develop.

And then there are two--or a few--contributing as we do. to this thread.

Ch

[Clear Light]

Appearance would appear to be a mirage.
Literally all in the eye of the beholder--or rather the mind.
Where is the enabler?
That which enables the eye to see the ear to hear and on it goes.

Nasargadatta summed it up nicely in answer to questions as to what he is. (The unborn)---nothing perceivable--nothing conceivable.
Another quote.
"You are as a blade of grass."

The late Dr Hawkins talked of potential.
The seed may blossom into a flower or no as the case might be--The environment is necessary but does not cause the seed to develop.

And then there are two--or a few--contributing as we do. to this thread.

Ch

Ah, to be fair though, the contents of this "thread" probably seem so "at odds" with the "real world" that "you" and "I" are probably considered quite Mad eh ? ;)


tf5nCPFBSHw

Or as the historical Buddha is quoted as saying :


All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts

[greybeard]

Pass the pipe CL.
Ch

[Clear Light]

Ah, I have no objections being called "Simon" or "Si" even though "he" may not now be the "person" he once used to be LOL LOL ;)

[greybeard]

Yes Simon I know the feeling---Si for now.
Smiling ever so.

Seriously I and many others will miss the banter between you and Joe.
C

[Wind]

zdNEksaUBuk

[GarethBKK]

Friend: "Oh no! You sound just like my stupid parents. You found God!"
Me: "I did not 'find' God. I got over myself."

but, I still come to this happy thread. Love to all.

[greybeard]

Friend: "Oh no! You sound just like my stupid parents. You found God!"
Me: "I did not 'find' God. I got over myself."

but, I still come to this happy thread. Love to all.

Good to see you Gareth---bit quiet here at present moment---NOTHING happening.

Ch

[Clear Light]

Friend: "Oh no! You sound just like my stupid parents. You found God!"
Me: "I did not 'find' God. I got over myself."

but, I still come to this happy thread. Love to all.

Good to see you Gareth---bit quiet here at present moment---NOTHING happening.

Ch

Disclaimer : For readers of this post, please take into account the context of this thread as what follows will very likely *not* make any sense whatsoever in the usual everyday "way of the world" !!! Thanks :happythumbsup:

Oh, now, "I" wonder Chris, if, in saying "NOTHING happening", that is "you" being somewhat "Ironic" eh ?

Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it, LOL, and it wasn't meant in a Non-Dual sense, nor in a Figurative sense, nor in a Philosophical sense but just simply in the Literal "matter-of-fact" way ... :bigsmile:

BECAUSE what came to mind as I read it, is the video I've posted about before, from the BBC Series "The Secret You" from way back when (around 2009-2010), details here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nhv56).


Decisions
An experiment in Berlin indicates that it could be a part of the brain humans are not conscious of that is responsible for decision making. Marcus investigates further to see if this is the case.

For anybody who is interested in watching it : LiveLeak (Aug 2013) Brain Scans Can Reveal Your Decisions 7 Seconds Before You “Decide” (https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0c5_1377891062)

The upshot of which, is, I'd say, there is "no-one in here", as in there is "no-one" in "Control", or who is "making decisions" ... and despite all protestations to the contrary, it may "seem" like "I am an individual exercising my free will" but this video makes it fairly plain to see that this is most definitely *not* the case eh ?

Could it be that the reason why this video is *not* on YouTube is because it has been "suppressed" as the implications are just too "far-reaching" ... :sherlock:

[greybeard]

Well Simon
The post of mine has double meaning---present and nothing have specific meaning to anyone getting deep into Non-duality.
It would seem to be proven that time is also non-existent
I have to take others word for all this--When I read hear virtually the same thing over and over from different spiritual teachers I tend to believe in probability..

Stephen Wolinsky has some excellent talks


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW4uwLqesZA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve2p4M4HZTY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkIKXgiKvCM&t=290s

[uzn]

Something to meditate about ;)

How does one begin at the end? How does anything end where it begins? Only something that feels divided from its natural state would ever conceptualize the need to be saved from its current state.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUl97P3fDog

[greybeard]

Thanks for your post uzn.
It gets deeper and deeper.
From whence did the thought to meditate come?
Every answer leads to another question.
Eventually meditation just happens---there is no sense of being the doer--of being anything.

This is just my own current experience.

a quote
"Events happen
deeds are done
there is no doer there of"

I think that originated from the Bagavadgita.
Ramesh Balsekar was fond of quoting it.

Ch