Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential

[skyblue]

On 25/09/2021 at 11:14 PM, steve said:

In Dzogchen one learns to become responsible for oneself without following rules. A person who follows rules is like a blind person who needs someone to guide them in order to be able to walk.

For this reason it is said that a Dzogchen practitioner must open his or her eyes to discover their condition, so that they will no longer be dependent on anyone or anything.

~ Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

 

Beautiful.

[C T]

~ Paramito ~ 

 

Karma is a nonlinear system, and thus to describe it in linear cause-condition-consequence terms would be a mistaken simplification.

 

 

 

 

[manitou]

10 hours ago, C T said:

~ Paramito ~ 

 

Karma is a nonlinear system, and thus to describe it in linear cause-condition-consequence terms would be a mistaken simplification.

 

 

 

 

 

It is mind boggling.  This is why memories can be used and reversed in healing, because of the non-linearity.  When done from that place and that mindset, it can happen if you find the right dynamic.  And the right memory.

 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by manitou

[steve]

Obsessive use of meditative disciplines or perennial study of scripture and philosophy will never bring forth this wonderful realization;

This truth which is natural to awareness, because the mind that desperately desires to reach another realm or level of experience inadvertently ignores the basic light that constitutes all experience.

~ Tilopa

[silent thunder]

[manitou]

I find that staying in remembrance of All being One is extremely helpful.  When the Nazarene said that 'whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me' says it all.  Money, to me, is the most pointed way to prove this to one's self.

 

Money, as I see it, is nothing more than stuck energy.  It takes energy to make it, it takes energy to spend it.  When it's sitting there in your wallet, it's stuck.  How much is that little piece of paper really worth?  1/100th of a mill?  The whole money thing is a mind construct, symbolized by a figure being printed on that worthless piece of paper.

 

If you see others 'as yourself', the answers appear.  The money is to be spent liberally for the betterment of all of the Whole.  And when you start thinking that way, money will reappear in some fashion, often from out in left field.  In my particular case, since I've been liberal with money, it truly is coming from left field.  I recently took a nasty fall on the roads of the mobile home park, the roads in the back where I live are horrible.  they photo this area for funding requests when they want to pave elsewhere in the park.  When I found that out, the intentionality of leaving that area intact for photo purposes, I decided to take it further.  I am now aligned with a law firm whose phone number is 88-SHARK, lol.  I broke my elbow, but just barely.  the osteo told me that if you've got to break anything in your body, the radial head of the ulna is the very best bone to break!    My teeth almost went through my lip, but not quite.  My nose was bloody, but not broken.  The enormous bruise on my chin is now gone.  the point is, that this 'almost' tragedy is turning into the possibility of truly having some funds with which to really make some changes.  If it's a sizeable settlement or award, I will contact the city managers in this area and see if there isn't something we can do to help the homeless population.  Maybe feeding stations or something, or chits for motels.  I don't know, but I'm thinking.

 

But it's not just money, it's everything.  Everybody is You.  And History and Future are happening Now, as someone said earlier.

[steve]

But it can happen that a phrase intended to indicate a state beyond concepts just becomes another concept in itself....

 

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

[manitou]

23 hours ago, steve said:

But it can happen that a phrase intended to indicate a state beyond concepts just becomes another concept in itself....

 

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

 

 

 

The Dao that can be spoken is not the true Dao.

[steve]

“For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone... In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfil themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves. Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree... Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life."

~Herman Hesse

 

 

[silent thunder]

A tree in a city, is like an occupied people...

surrounded and at the mercy of her captors.

Yet in her captivity, she does not despair.

She reaches for the Light

and dances in the Wind.

[steve]

I live in a suburban community built on reclaimed farmland. 

There are many trees and plants of all kinds that have been planted throughout the neighborhood.

I sometimes wonder what went into the planning and decision making about which species to plant, how close together they should be, and so forth.

I often feel like our landscaping efforts, while pleasing to the human eye, has locked trees and plants into situations where they are in conflict with each other, where they are in forced competition, where they may be toxic to one another. I feel this can create stress which in turn leads to a response that may have negative impacts on us as well - increased allergens perhaps, unsuitable habitats for other life that depends on them, and things we cannot yet understand. 

I often walk or run through the neighborhood and open my heart and mind to these beautiful and mysterious neighbors of mine, offering my love, my empathy, and being open to developing a deeper connection. 

I have and continue to learn much from these silent and powerful companions. 

[steve]

Do not cling to the external face of the physical guru;

Your own mind is the true face of the greatest guru.

Do not admire superstitious magical powers;

Real change in the mind is the greatest magical power.

Do not rely on receiving blessings;

Continual mindfulness of the true nature is the greatest blessing.

 

Drugpa Kagyü Togden Amtrin

 

 

 

[steve]

"Tantric meditational deities should not be confused with what different mythologies and religions might mean when they speak of gods and goddesses. Here, the deity we choose to identify with represents the essential qualities of the fully awakened experience latent within us."

"The same desirous energy that ordinarily propels us from one unsatisfactory situation is transmuted, through the alchemy of tantra, into a transcendental experience of bliss and wisdom.”

~ Lama Thubten Yeshe

[Geof Nanto]

7 hours ago, steve said:

"The same desirous energy that ordinarily propels us from one unsatisfactory situation is transmuted, through the alchemy of tantra, into a transcendental experience of bliss and wisdom.”

~ Lama Thubten Yeshe

 

"The same desirous energy that ordinarily propels us from one unsatisfactory situation is transmuted, through the alchemy of tantra, into ...... [Great Mystery]. "

~ Yueya 

[steve]

"Mind is unborn. It is as boundless as the sky. Clouds and wind, light and darkness, these appear spontaneously in the sky but don't block space. So when you concentrate and remain in the natural state, this nature self-appears spontaneously. There is neither subject nor object. There is no need to practice meditation in a special way or focus on anything. This nature is called Bön-Nature. There is no way to search for it or find it. No way to focus on it, so simply leave it as it is."

~ LHABÓN YONGSU DAGPA ~

Photo: Sunset over Indian Ocean from the shores of Bali / 2019

 

 

[steve]

As far as abiding is concerned of course there is no practice. If there is somebody there that is not abiding, then there is practice. That is a decision you have to make. Just recognize.

~ Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

[Lairg]

On 10/5/2021 at 5:05 PM, C T said:

Karma is a nonlinear system, and thus to describe it in linear cause-condition-consequence terms would be a mistaken simplification.

 

In my observation, group karma is like electricity - it follows lines of least resistance.   Accordingly it can often be moved to other parties in the group.

 

Further, since "our god is a god of love" almost all karma can be released through establishment of right relationships.  Once this is established, it is "merely" a matter of petitioning the Lords of Karma to release the now no longer necessary karmic energy

 

I have seen a few demonstrations of the above process

[silent thunder]

What teaching could be more direct than to simply be what you are, now...

Edited May 17, 2022 by silent thunder

[Lairg]

1 hour ago, silent thunder said:

What teaching could be more direct that to simply be what you are, now...

 

Unfortunately most humans cannot control their thoughts and thereby are often targeted for misleading beliefs including misconceptions of their own nature

[manitou]

On 5/16/2022 at 9:54 PM, silent thunder said:

What teaching could be more direct than to simply be what you are, now...

 

 

It occurred to me one day as I was riding as a passenger in a car that there was something inside me that wasn't moving.  My body was, of course - but there was an element in me that was not moving at all. It was stationary.

 

It also seems to be the very thing inside that is  not aging.  As old as my body gets, and it's getting up there, it's the same 'me' that was there when I was a young girl.  Nothing has changed, nothing has gotten older.

 

So what does this mean to me?  It means that there is a place carried within that is beyond time and space.  I think this is what is meant when it is said that 'all time and space are yours'.  There is no indication of limitation felt.  It is not connected at all with what our bodies are doing.  It is this thing that I find the most comfort in connecting with.  It takes all fear out of anything,  any place, or any condition.

 

How to access it?  By transcending thought.  Like when the Rinpoche was asked by his student, 'How do you enter the zen mind?'

The sage answered, 'Do you hear that distant waterfall?'  

The student said, 'No.'

The sage said, 'Enter from there'.

 

It is the beginner's mind.

 

I sometimes enter through sound baths, wherein every sound heard is given no more importance over any other sound, but all are recognized and appreciated.  The drone of tires carries the same weight as the song of a mockingbird.  Both have equal beauty.

[silent thunder]

55 minutes ago, manitou said:

 

 

It occurred to me one day as I was riding as a passenger in a car that there was something inside me that wasn't moving.  My body was, of course - but there was an element in me that was not moving at all. It was stationary.

 

It also seems to be the very thing inside that is  not aging.  As old as my body gets, and it's getting up there, it's the same 'me' that was there when I was a young girl.  Nothing has changed, nothing has gotten older.

 

So what does this mean to me?  It means that there is a place carried within that is beyond time and space.  I think this is what is meant when it is said that 'all time and space are yours'.  There is no indication of limitation felt.  It is not connected at all with what our bodies are doing.  It is this thing that I find the most comfort in connecting with.  It takes all fear out of anything,  any place, or any condition.

 

How to access it?  By transcending thought.  Like when the Rinpoche was asked by his student, 'How do you enter the zen mind?'

The sage answered, 'Do you hear that distant waterfall?'  

The student said, 'No.'

The sage said, 'Enter from there'.

 

It is the beginner's mind.

 

I sometimes enter through sound baths, wherein every sound heard is given no more importance over any other sound, but all are recognized and appreciated.  The drone of tires carries the same weight as the song of a mockingbird.  Both have equal beauty.

Synchronicity...  such timing is no accident, it's resonant, serendipitous.

Thank you for sharing my friend.  So grateful for you.

 

I've recently been engaging on another forum (scientific in focus) with some philosophers about the nature of sound, noise and music.  'All music is sound, but not all sound is music' is the topic.  When is sound just sound, when is it noise and when does noise transition into music?  What are the mechanics involved in that transition from sound (neutral) to noise (unpleasant) to music (enjoyable)? 

 

It's a fascinating exploration fueled by my experience of late.  Leaf blowers, our neighbor's relentlessly barking dog, the demonically loud car that drives down our street daily... all these sounds that used to prompt flashes of anger, or dis=ease.  Now flow through unnoticed, or seem as pleasant as music. 

 

As for the sense of the unmoving pivot of stillness...  This one is more palpable for me.  For several decades, back to my old martial arts days and my no gear, no self, free hand cliff climbing days this notion has been with me, that every motion arises from, pivots about and returns to... a point of stillness.  Stillness is at the source of all.   While embodying the stillness, it was not possible to fall, and thus even when hanging by a thumb lock 600 feet above the forest floor, no fear could manifest in the mindset of climbing.  I was the still point, the cliff moved around me.

 

There are times when that stillness is within my local awareness, other times, it seems without (in the case of the planet's motion, other people/critters  yet the stillness is always present/unmoving despite awareness's shifts of perspective).  The breath transfers ceaselessly and stillness (silence) remains anchored somehow.  The unmoving point (even in motion).  Placeless (in 3d) yet experiential.  It seems paradox is built into the fabric of this one when i try to put it to words.

 

It can be experienced internally, externally and yet even in external sensing, it's still everpresent an within in a manner of speaking.  It's paradoxically all points at times and yet distinclty seemingly others or other places... yet always very intimate, always here and always unchanging.  Without being 'owned' it yet is experienced as 'personal'.

 

Well enough rambling.  Suffice to say, your words are like a stone dropped in my awareness' pond.  Instead of ripples, it left crystal images resonant with insights shared and realizations that resonate and harmonize.

 

You are a gift.

Edited May 18, 2022 by silent thunder

[manitou]

6 hours ago, silent thunder said:

I've recently been engaging on another forum (scientific in focus) with some philosophers about the nature of sound, noise and music.  'All music is sound, but not all sound is music' is the topic.  When is sound just sound, when is it noise and when does noise transition into music?  What are the mechanics involved in that transition from sound (neutral) to noise (unpleasant) to music (enjoyable)? 

 

It's a fascinating exploration fueled by my experience of late.  Leaf blowers, our neighbor's relentlessly barking dog, the demonically loud car that drives down our street daily... all these sounds that used to prompt flashes of anger, or dis=ease.  Now flow through unnoticed, or seem as pleasant as music. 

 

 

Lately I have been noticing the same things.  I try to assign what note in the scale the leaf blower is, or the car driving by.  In that sense, all things can be experienced as a symphony.  When we go to a symphony, we don't go just to hear the piccolos. The constant ringing in my ears is definitely a b flat...

[silent thunder]

Pythagorus and the Music of the Spheres.

[C T]

Japanese Heart Sutra 2 versions 

 

 

 

 

[manitou]

Beautiful, both!  The translation reading on #2 was profound.