Ajay0

When there is attention (awareness), goodness flowers; when there is no attention, every form of evil comes into being. So attention is the only virtue. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti You miss the real by lack of attention and create the unreal by excess of imagination. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj Evil is the shadow of inattention. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj There is nothing like ignorance, only inattention. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

The moment you become aware of the ego in you, it is strictly speaking no longer the ego, but just an old, conditioned mind-pattern. Ego implies unawareness. Awareness and ego cannot coexist. ~ Eckhart Tolle There is only one reality, but there are many ways that reality can be interpreted. ~ B.K.S.Iyengar Every ego is a master of selective perception and distorted interpretation. ~ Eckhart Tolle If you like or dislike something, you cannot see it the way it is. Either you exaggerate it in a positive way or in a negative way. ~ Sadhguru Awareness means grasping life just the way it is, without contamination by mental projections. ~ Sadhguru

I had a nihilist phase in my life as a teenager and youth, and so there were times when I had doubts about the relevance of values and virtues and whether they were mere mental abstractions designed to create some artificial semblance of meaning in an essentially meaningless universe. My confusions and despair were set aside slowly and steadily after meeting enlightened sages and spending valuable time with them, along with study of Buddhism and eastern philosophy. Gradually I intellectually understood the state of enlightenment, and that all spiritual exercises were meant to achieve this state through expansion of consciousness, which includes virtuous conduct as well. I had posted a thread of a female enlightened master named Rajini Menon who had attained enlightenment through virtuous conduct. The Buddha had also emphasized ethical behavior and conduct in the form of right speech, livelihood and behavior as vital practices for attaining enlightenment or Buddhahood. For these reasons I am interested in the op's theme, and would be glad and grateful to get any insights if possible.

There is a Reality which is Indivisible, One, Alone, the Source and Being of all; not a thing, nor even a mind, but pure Spirit or clear Consciousness; and we are That and nothing but That, for That is our true Nature; and the only way to find It is to look steadily within, where are to be found utmost peace, unfading joy, and eternal life itself. ~ Douglas Harding We are all more or less ill till we find by Self-enquiry our Oneness with everyone else. — Douglas Harding

Ethical conduct in the form of right speech, right livelihood and right effort are considered to be vital practices leading to enlightenment in Buddhism or Buddhahood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path https://studybuddhism.com/en/tibetan-buddhism/about-buddhism/buddha-s-basic-message/a-full-buddhist-life-the-eightfold-path/the-three-trainings Ethical conduct is also emphasized in the religious philosophies of Hinduism, Jainism and Sufism for attaining enlightenment. This itself is a refutation of the nihilist and existentialist premise that life is meaningless and all values and virtues are but abstract mental contrivances without any relevance of their own.

Yes, but Virya or virile effort is also emphasized by the Buddha as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vīrya Anyway, the theme of the op is that ethical or moral conduct has its relevance in the larger scheme of things and cannot be dismissed as mere abstractions.

Peace is complete awareness. In this state of awareness, we cultivate and combine compassion and wisdom. In this state of awareness, we are alive, awake, we take responsibility for our actions. In this state, we are not driven by emotion, we control our emotions and actions. In this state, we are patient, non-violent, we do not judge. In this state, we nurture our Inner Wealth – our innate values – and balance them with outer (material) wealth in a way that benefits all sentient beings. This is peace. ~ Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. The real source of happiness rests right here right now within our consciousness, within our hearts. ~ Thaye Dorje

It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh 'All conditioned things are impermanent' — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. ~ Buddha ( Dhammapada 277) We are identifying with what is passing so fear comes. We are trying to make steady and permanent what is by nature impermanent. ~ Mooji Practicing Mindfulness not only keeps us awake but also keeps us aware of the impermanence of life; therefore, we have a greater appreciation of it. We care. Life matters. The moments of our lives matter. ~ Ora Nadrich This physical world, though necessary to our evolution, is the embodiment of impermanence, of constant change. Thus, we take care not to become overly attached to it. ~ Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Once we see that everything is impermanent and ungraspable and that we create a huge amount of suffering if we are attached to things staying the same, we realize that relaxing and letting go is a wiser way to live. Letting go does not mean not caring about things. It means caring about them in a flexible and wise way. ~ Jack Kornfield By contemplating the impermanence of everything in the world, we are forced to recognize that every time we do something could be the last time we do it, and this recognition can invest the things we do with a significance and intensity that would otherwise be absent. We will no longer sleepwalk through our life. ~ William Braxton Irvine

Be present as the watcher of your mind – of your thoughts and emotions as well as your reactions in various situations. Be at least as interested in your reactions as in the situation or person that causes you to react. ~ Eckhart Tolle Just stay focused. Don't react. Just be a witness and you will see the magic of it. ~ -Swami Chidanand Saraswati It takes a little time to create a gap between the witness and the mind. Once the gap is there, you are in for a great surprise, that you are not the mind, that you are the witness, a watcher. ~ Shri Krushnamani maharaj Don’t be a storehouse of memories. Leave past, future, and even present thoughts behind. Be a witness to life unfolding by itself. Be free of all attachments, fears, and concerns by keeping your mind inside your own heart. ~ Mooji Become the witness of all phenomena that you see and be free. ~ Robert Adams

Sun Tzu in the Art of War, had stated ... 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. " If this indeed the case, the best warrior ever would be Mahavira, the founder of Jainism and who is known for his teachings of nonviolence and ahimsa... https://www.freepressjournal.in/spirituality/guiding-light-by-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-breathing-ahimsa If you ask me, this is the ultimate art of fighting without fighting. If your very presence can inspire nonviolence in the combatant opposing you and make him an ally instead, that is the ultimate self-defense as well as diplomatic ability. Napoleon, considered the greatest military general ever , has also stated similarly... "There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit." I would say it is because of this fact that eastern martial arts had a philosophical and spiritual component to them, understanding the limitations of the merely physical.

The watcher is always above the mind. The watcher is never part of the mind. The mind is just like a TV screen on which thoughts, dreams, imaginations, projections, desires, and a thousand and one things go on passing. The watcher is not on the screen, he is sitting in the movie hall. But the problem arises when the watcher becomes identified with something on the movie screen. ~ Osho Don’t be under the illusion that while watching the film you really remain a watcher. Don’t be mistaken. You become a participant too; you don’t remain outside the film. Once you are inside the theater, for a short while you enter into the film as well. You begin to like someone in the film, and you dislike someone else. You feel sorry for somebody, while you feel happy about someone else. After a little while you become identified, you become a participant in the film. It will be indeed difficult to remain a witness in life if we cannot manage to do so while watching a film. ~ Osho It is the self-aware screen of awareness, upon which the drama of experience is playing and out of which it is made, that becomes so intimately involved with the objective content of its experience that it seems to lose itself in it and, as a result, overlooks or forgets its own presence, just as a dreamer’s mind loses itself in its own dream at night. ~ Rupert Spira In reality, which means in our actual experience, all experience is one seamless substance. The duality between the inside self and the outside object, world or other is never actually experienced. It is always imagined. ~ Rupert Spira Mind is madness. Only when you go beyond the mind, will there be Meditation. ~ Sadhguru

As per eastern philosophy, the process of reincarnation ends when all karma or the underlying vasanas or psychological defilement's are wiped out . This is done through the practice of awareness, total love, virtuous conduct, prana rich state and other spiritual exercises. If one is performing actions unconsciously one will be creating karma for oneself. Performing actions consciously and with love or enjoyment ensures no karma is created. So 'putting up' with the burden of a physical form indicates karma, while 'enjoying' the work indicates karma yoga.

Mindfulness is nonconceptual awareness. Another English term for sati is “bare attention.” It is not thinking. It does not get involved with thought or concepts. It does not get hung up on ideas or opinions or memories. It just looks. Mindfulness registers experiences, but it does not compare them. It does not label them or categorize them. It just observes everything as if it was occurring for the first time. It is not analysis that is based on reflection and memory. It is, rather, the direct and immediate experiencing of whatever is happening, without the medium of thought. It comes before thought in the perceptual process. ~ Henepola Gunaratana Mindfulness is present-moment awareness. It takes place in the here and now. It is the observance of what is happening right now, in the present. It stays forever in the present, perpetually on the crest of the ongoing wave of passing time.~ Henepola Gunaratana

Just came across this insightful saying by Sadhguru. There is also a basic teaching of the ancient Upanishads, where a student named Virochana develops erroneous understanding of the ultimate reality due to intellectual study of scriptures not backed by true experiential understanding. He eventually erroneously concludes that the ultimate reality is his own body, and deludedly decides to indulge in self-aggrandizement and luxury to pamper his body and self. The story of Virochana is referred to in scriptural studies to show the perils of intellectual study divorced from experiential understanding. The scope for delusion from mere intellectual studies is very high, and for this reason an accomplished guide or teacher is necessary most of the time to lead the student away from the maze of delusion.

Dzogchen basically deals with the innate intelligence or intrinsic awareness which all beings possess. It means seeing non-dualistically, rather than in the usual dualistic object-subject dichotomy. By definition, delusion is dualistic, while non-duality is ultimate wisdom. Dzogchen doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with Buddhism. It is the pure and perfect nature of all things. ~ Lama Surya Das Because awareness is self-existing, there is no effort needed or anyone who can make an effort to get it or lose it. The natural state is never lost. It is not an appearance and therefore can never disappear. It is always the same – it is not an entity. Realise that the conceptual thinker and conceptual thoughts seemingly obscure the non-conceptual natural state. Pause a thought even for an instant and the natural state is fully evident. STOP and SEE. In the seeing, pure awareness gets used to itself. ~ Sailor bob adamson

insightful article by Jiddu Krishnamurti on the state of nondual perception... https://www.jkrishnamurti.org/content/awareness

Boundary lines, of any type, are never found in the real world itself, but only in the imagination of the mapmakers. ~ Ken Wilber Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many. ~ Chuang Tzu Awareness is that state of mind which observes something without any condemnation or acceptance, which merely faces the thing as it is. When you look at a flower nonbotanically, then you see the totality of the flower; but if your mind is completely taken up with the botanical knowledge of what the flower is, you are not totally looking at the flower. Though you may have knowledge of the flower, if that knowledge takes the whole ground of your mind, the whole field of your mind, then you are not looking totally at the flower. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

Most eastern martial arts have a philosophical component to them. The native Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu has two main styles, the northern that is basically focused on self-defense and physical fitness, while the southern style is focussed more on spiritual development and inner peace. Many elements of Kalaripayattu were also adopted by the kathakali dance form and dancers to refine their art and dancing technique. Many elderly people similarly learn and practice Tai Chi for health benefits related to arthiritis, better proprioception which prevent falls and improved quality of life. So you can see here martial arts involve not just fighting but also spiritual development, self-healing as well as development of dancing technique. Kalaripayattu philosophy also states that the act of fighting in a battle should be performed without involvement of personal anger, hatred, or any emotion, but with a calm state of mind in which the warrior is unattached to those emotions. Fighting thus constitutes Karma yoga and will not generate any karma or suffering. The true battle thus is with the lower or false self and all actions are performed with this perspective in mind. Actions performed with self-aggrandizement begets a lot of karma and psychological suffering. Defeat begets a lot of psychological pain. Even if victorious for a long time, chances of a younger and better skilled opponent coming up is always there, along with injuries and old age reducing one's fitness and skill leading to possible defeat. This is evident in sports all the time. Victory in battle and sport may bring happiness, but this is also short-lived. You don't see victorious soldiers and athletes looking happy all the time. Many suffer from burnout or psychological issues like PTSD, and some even never recover from psychological ailments. Thus learning martial arts just for the sake of momentary victory in battle was considered superficial and shallow, and philosophical components were possibly added to them. Techniques were similarly shaped reflecting these philosophical principles. This enabled the practitioners to gain intellectual and spiritual benefits from them as well which were long lasting. Siddhartha excelled in archery, swordsmanship and horse-riding and won some competitions in this regard, but we all know that these skills and victories did not bring him any lasting happiness. Constant happiness is an outcome of self-conquest or enlightenment, and cost-benefit analysis shows that this is the true worthy prize for a champion.

Feelings, even the best of them, turn to negativity - disappointment, anger, discontent, resentment, jealousy, guilt, etc. A good feeling starts off being elevating, exciting, like taking a drug substance, alcohol or having sex. But what goes up must come down and feelings are no exception. So in a couple of hours or days the down side starts and you perhaps wonder why you feel moody, depressed, suicidal or just plain unhappy. ~ Barry Long The pure state is who you are but the emotions try to emulate the 'aliveness' of being through dramatization and create nervous exhaustion. ~ Burt Harding Nothing out there will ever satisfy you except temporarily and superficially, but you may need to experience many disillusionments before you realize that truth. Things and conditions can give you pleasure, but they will also give you pain. Things and conditions can give you pleasure, but they cannot give you joy. Nothing can give you joy. Joy is uncaused and arises from within as the joy of Being. ~ Eckhart Tolle The root of all desires is the one desire: to come home, to be at peace. ~ Jean Klein

Equanimity is a perfect, unshakable balance of mind.- Nyanaponika Thera Maintaining equanimity of mind in all situations should be our focus. It verily is the goal. - Mata Amritanandamayi Equanimity of Mind is Yoga . ~ Krishna (BG 2:48) Equanimous mind gives rise to a heightened awareness. - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Your mindfulness will only be as robust as the capacity of your mind to be calm and stable. Without calmness, the mirror of mindfulness will have an agitated and choppy surface and will not be able to reflect things with any accuracy. - Jon Kabat-Zinn

In their quest for happiness, people mistake excitement of the mind for real happiness. ~ Sayadaw U pandita Many people think excitement is happiness.... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh Excitement always has an opposite; sooner or later the pendulum swings back to boredom or depression. Excitement depends upon an emotional attachment to something, perhaps a new home or a compliment. Inwardly, you may attach yourself to a daydream or a hope of getting rich. But these excitements have no stability; they wear off. So you are kept in a nervous search for more excitement, which exhausts you. But when you find inner liberty you are free from anxious dependence upon contrived thrills. Then you are happy. You are happy whether or not you get the new home, or whether or not your daydream comes true." ~ Vernon Howard The discovery that peace, happiness and love are ever-present within our own Being, and completely available at every moment of experience, under all conditions, is the most important discovery that anyone can make. ~ Rupert Spira

An insightful saying by Ajahn Brahm on the nature of desire and freedom... In eastern philosophy, a mind full of desires is likened to that of a slave in the sense that the person is manipulated by his desires unconsciously even against his discretion and free will. So a citizen enjoying political freedom, but filled with numerous desires and lacking self-mastery and contentment , is not free or enjoying freedom in the real sense of the term.

Happiness is self-generated as the mind becomes still. As we become involved with the desires of the world, we lose that centering, that stillness. ~ Dr. Frederick Lenz Happiness arises from within. It is a quality of your innate nature. Thoughts distract you from consciously abiding in and enjoying your innate nature. Thoughts create all desires and desires can be all-consuming. Your mind can convince you that attaining a particular object of desire will make you happy. The truth is that when your mind is still, a natural feeling of happiness arises within you. Your true nature is causeless and living causeless happiness is your natural state of being. ~ Jac O' Keeffe For most people to be happy, there has to be a person, place, or thing involved in their happiness. In true happiness, there are no things involved. It's a natural state. You will abide in that state forever. ~ Robert Adams

Self-awareness is yoga. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj Awareness is ever there. It need not be realized. Open the shutter of the mind, and it will be flooded with light. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj Deepen and broaden your awareness of yourself and all the blessings will flow. You need not seek anything, all will come to you most naturally and effortlessly. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj A quiet mind is all you need. All else will happen rightly, once your mind is quiet. As the sun on rising makes the world active, so does self-awareness affect changes in the mind. In the light of calm and steady self-awareness, inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj