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deci belle

Studying Alchemy

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So taoism calls this the science of life and essence.

 

Chan works with Suchness.

 

From what little study I've done in the tradition of Padmasambhava the correlate seems to be the trikaya, in simplest terms.

 

The point of working with reality is neither dismissing samsara nor nirvana to arrive and function within a state of fluid openness without bias. Obviously, not overlooking the absolute requires knowing essence— so seeing essence is an unqualified necessity. Conditioned consciousness is the matrix from which the real is culled and refined. Of course, seeing essence is direct perception of one's own mind which is not other than your own mind right now.

 

So ultimately, it is necessary to see mind with mind to know that it was not necessary to see mind at all— what's to see? Oh well… drop off mind and body, and see for yourself.

 

But unless one ceases self-reflective consciousness and momentarily forgets ego-awareness for an instant- for all time— and sees reality with the eye of selfless nonbeing, how can one gain the objectivity of selfless awareness (the hitherto unused capacity of one's own consciousness)? The refinement of self and other before and after sudden realization is somewhat similar— and that is simply because deluded and enlightened mind are not two.

 

Ta Hui said, "using the power of the Path as an instrument to clear away the power of habitual action" is not so different whether or not one has experienced selfless wonder. In fact, enlightening activity is simply a quality of mind independent of before and after since "the Path and action have no fixed measure".

 

How is this any different than using Mind to destroy Karma? In alchemy, one uses Real Knowledge to match Conscious Knowledge to arrive at completion of the elixir pill.

 

"Once the power of actions (karma) is has been cleared away, the Path too is empty and false." Again, this is the same as after using lead (real knowledge) to refine mercury (conscious knowledge), one gets rid of lead.

 

Working with Suchness, Trikaya or Complete Reality, from start to finish it is essential not to cling to one side or the other— "just always let go and make your heart empty and open". The work of a lifetime is contingent on openness and sincerity. The quality of awake mind is not different~ therefore we "use Suchness to arrive at Suchness without delay".

 

So arriving at entry into the inconceivable isn't a matter of sudden or gradual accomplishment, only awareness free of habit energy: then the mindless world of spontaneity is inconceivable— which is how we adapt to conditions selflessly. All at once works continuously, only becoming aware of it happens once. Obviously, enlightening activity is not dependent on conventional mores regarding selfishness and generosity: it is inconceivability itself~ the usage of which is entirely spontaneous.

 

Immediate acquiescence is based on a view of selfless hopelessness without regard to outcome, just letting the spirit flow without resistance. This would be precisely the working definition of what Don Juan Matus called the spirit of a Warrior— the prerequisite to becoming a Man of Knowledge.

 

The reason, method and application of spiritual refinement is not a product of culture , rather Universal Good is the source of civilization, not a country.

 

 

 

 

ed note: add "and see for yourself" in the fifth paragraph.

Edited by deci belle

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The authentic thread that has kept the knowledge of the ancients alive, regardless of lineage or tradition, has always required the accomplishment of years of broad and in-depth study of the classics simply to provide a breadth of psychological and intellectual discipline with which to properly handle the overwhelming onslaughts experienced during states of absorption.

 

This simply being a matter of safety for students of spiritual refinement.

 

Even so, this traditionally disciplined approach to study and practice leading to sane introduction of basic meditation techniques is utterly opposed to the view that insight is a matter of scholarship— especially pertaining to those who indulge language translation skills.

 

It is not that language translation skills aren't valuable, only that there is a tendency in some to become habitually attached the scholasticism and lose sight of the source of mind itself, which transcends meaning, intellectual acumen and personal identity.

 

The inability to drop one's investment in the words themselves is error and a prevalent sickness in habitual pedantry aimed at accumulating understandings of intellectual meanings out of sheer vanity of self-observation and competitiveness in the name of literal truth: ie, the truth that can be named….

 

Since ego is cultivated and groomed by the use of words and the supports inherent in rational thought, unless the iron pillars upholding the endless webs of self-reflective thought through habitual dependence on words for meaning are left unused to fall over by their own weight— unused deliberately to effect the failure of the system itself, one will never witness the absence of the lie~ by virtue of the objectivity of selfless awareness.

 

This is the value of watching over and emptying the storehouse of random prehistoric contents of conscious awareness, not to mention the endless waves of mental machinations reflecting the current karmically-driven mental contents flowing from their numberless sources.

 

Meditation is a temporary expedient to develop mental hygiene in order to free the human mentality from its habitual dependence on reflective meaning and to clarify and still its random activity in order to free up conscious energy for advanced operations.

 

But one should also not make formal meditation techniques a pastime or career unto itself unless one has a lifetime to spare for cultivating methods of comfort to feed one's own ego.

 

 

 

 

ed note: remove one too many (is) and add ie, the truth that can be named…. in the fifth paragraph.

Edited by deci belle

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