stirling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_truths_doctrine#:~:text=Essence-function in Korean Buddhism,-See also%3A Korean&text=The polarity of absolute and,realities%2C but interpenetrate each other.

How fortunate to encounter meditation at home. I didn't find it until I was in my teens. My parents were clueless about such things. Indeed, my own teacher would say precisely the same thing. What we are in charge of is how we respond, NOT how the world is, or what happens next. Zen I can help with, if you decide you want more guidance. _/\_

If you don't mind me asking, who or what tradition taught you to meditate? It sounds like you have landed close to the mark for early stage meditator, which is fantastic. Few make it this far. This is great, and a real hint at how things are. Some questions you can pose yourself when your mind is quiet: What if everything just comes and goes, including "Tommy". Where is Tommy where there is stillness? These are direct hints at that nature of mind. Do you have a teacher who has been approved to teach in a lineage tradition? In most decent sized towns and cities there are one, or a few of these people. If you find one in a no -dual tradition that does "direct pointing" (Advaita Vedanta, Sufi, Buddhism, Hinduism) you might get someone who can show you. If not feel free to message me. I find that this sort of thing is easiest in person, but have had some success over Zoom. This is correct. To put it more clearly: Enlightenment isn't caused by a practice, it is made more likely however, depending on the practice. Without practice can there be enlightenment? It is less likely, but yes. In the same way that having an intention and doing the ground work for something in the future makes it more likely to happen, practice of a constructive type can make conditions more favorable. The trick, however, is not to equate practice to enlightenment, and cling to practices as an absolutely reliable method. One of the first realizations of the awakened is that "rites and rituals" aren't the cause of it. Clinging to rites and rituals drops away: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotāpanna#Three_fetters Absolutely, depending on what "awareness" means to you, though I would say, "There is ONLY awareness". What I mean specifically is when your mind is still, and there is just observing the play of color and light that is the world, without labeling in the mind, or mental discourse about what is witnessed. That is my experience, and the view of many non-dual traditions. In fact, if you are doing it correctly you ARE seeing that "true nature", though you may not be enlightened to it. Think of it like training a willow to become a fence, or a chair. For extreme bends you must gently train the willow in the direction you wish it to go every day until it naturally starts to have a curve. Eventually the willow will be bent and will just hold its new shape. Training the mind is the same. Resting the mind in awareness (buddha nature/Rigpa/primordial awareness/the nature of mind) increases the ease with which you can rest it, increases the amount of time it can stay there, increases the amount of times it spontaneously manifests in day to day life, and the chances that one day it will just click into place. I encourage you to think of your practice like some of the more mundane daily activities you do. Do it every day at a non-negotiable time, like you would brushing your teeth or eating breakfast. Have no expectations, do not grasp or cling to it doing anything beyond making you more calm, less reactive, and a better person in your relationships. All of these will naturally be true with at least 20 minutes a day, though 40 is better if you can do it even occasionally. It means that time, self, and space drop out in a very familiar and actually quite mundane way. You are already experiencing emptiness every day of your life, but you don't have a word, or thought about it because that is not the nature of it. It is the space BETWEEN words and thoughts. It is easiest to notice when your mind is quiet and still in meditation, when you are paying attention and are "alert but relaxed". Given time the mind will eventually run itself out of its stream of thoughts and drop out. There will be pause in between the last thought and the next. The mind won't be labelling the objects you see in consciousness, like the table or lamp in front of you, or the mental objects in your thoughts. With your eyes open there will just be color and light, no objects being differentiated by the mind. I hope this is helpful. _/\_

That is a quote from the Tsin Tsin Ming, written by Zen patriarch Seng T'san. Not the Buddha, but a personal favorite. https://terebess.hu/english/hsin.html#3

You guys rock.

Have you read the Tsin Tsin Ming? Also one of the clearest documents on this topic. https://terebess.hu/english/hsin.html#3

Nagarjuna is pointing at emptiness - "non-dual 2". Not entirely sure what you mean here, but a realization of "emptiness" changes our understanding of literally everything. I like to use the simplified axis of time/space/self. What does it mean if there are no dualities in these aspects? What if there is no: self/other, here/there, now/then? Yes, you can only understand this through experience. It is not an intellectual understanding... no book, talk, or picture will ever express it or impart its knowledge. Yes, compassion without beings... love without an object. All of this and much more. Ask more specific questions and you might get more specific answers. What do you really want to know?

I honestly don't WANT to ban you, and it isn't up to me anyway... we cycle these things through the admin group. Whether you are banned or not isn't about what I want or think, it is ultimately up to you.

I am awake and aware in this moment. That is the closest to reality you are going to get. Beyond that, I read the news every morning. How do you know "what is happening"?

Bob, I've hidden your post because it violates board policy. You know why. We limited this type of conversation partially because of your comments and complaints about it, now it is YOU who are actively working to create anger and dissension. Stop creating work for the admins. Please recognize and honor the fact that we have acted on your complaints. If you can't help yourself, take a break. Or, perhaps post where it is appropriate... there are countless places to comment on this topic and read about it if you need an outlet. This is the last friendly warning. I just looked - you have zero warning points. Let's keep it that way. The next step will be a temporary ban. Please, let's not do that.

I know what is happening, and have friends that I discuss it with, mostly in broad terms. Having people to constructively talk to is a real luxury. Listening to Canadian radio (CBC 1) and BBC World Service instead of our media has been helpful. I make a difference where the local and temporal conditions make it possible, focusing on individuals primarily. I don’t worry about what I can’t respond to - that way lies madness, in my opinion.

Janneke was definitely a thoughtful, calm, and reasoned influence on so many threads. Seeing Blue Eyed Snake on a thread posting was always a welcome sight. Deep Deep Bows, Janneke. _/\_

I hope you know that the admins here are not your enemies. We don't all have huge amounts of free time to read, evaluate, and respond to EVERY post. Our hope is for a thoughtful, frictionless exchange of ideas in a peaceable, kindly spoken environment. Most of the threads and posts that get looked into are reported. If you see one that needs attention, please report it. If you feel you need to create one that needs attention, please don't. - Are you OK, Bob? Do you have anyone you can talk to about your feelings around what is going on in the world? You seem to be really struggling. Feel free to PM me if you need to check in with someone. _/\_

Hello Student Z, and welcome to the forum!

Some clarification: A "state" is a temporary experience that comes and goes, sometimes seemingly dependent on a single or multiplicity of circumstance. When that state fades, the persons experience goes back to the duality of "self" and another. This what we call "Kensho" in Zen. Complete realization is not a state (it does not come and go) but a realization of a permanent, underlying reality that is omnipresent. We call this "Satori". There is no reason why a koan should only lead to a "state". Truly, in any moment, something (anything) could be the event that appears to precipitate realization, though realization actually has nothing to do with causes and conditions, which are a "relative" construct. Initial realizations can be either "non-dual 1" (I AM), or "non-dual 2" (Emptiness/all appearances are enlightened). Every enlightened "being" I have ever met eventually realized "non-dual 2" eventually.