Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential

[C T]

[C T]

Every life is punctuated by moments of intense joy and intense sadness, exquisite love and exquisite loss, none of which endure though, and any and all of which give rise to an overwhelming sense of uncertainty and panic in the unsuspecting mind. The mark of the truly accomplished practitioner, however, is their simple capacity to rest, in comfort and ease, in the perfect equanimity of mind, the natural samatha (calm-abiding) of awareness, which is without attachment, aversion or indifference, throughout all of these emotional peaks and troughs of conditioned life.                              ~ Paramito Ladakh

Edited June 1, 2015 by C T

[C T]

Like a homeless prince ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

 

"Grasping to a non-existent self, we misread our world and lose the true treasure of our mind. Because of our belief in a self that must be preserved at all costs, ego controls our every mental, emotional, verbal, and physical act. Although our wisdom mind is completely radiant at all times, we become like a homeless prince: a monarch who lives like a vagabond, unaware of his own inheritance."

 

 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

 

The three needs ~

 

Although mind is clear, one needs a lama;
Although a lamp burns brightly, it still needs oil;
Although mind is self-evident, it needs recognition.

That is the teaching on the three needs.

 

~ Drugpa Kunley

 

 

 

[Jeff]

 

Like a homeless prince ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

 

"Grasping to a non-existent self, we misread our world and lose the true treasure of our mind. Because of our belief in a self that must be preserved at all costs, ego controls our every mental, emotional, verbal, and physical act. Although our wisdom mind is completely radiant at all times, we become like a homeless prince: a monarch who lives like a vagabond, unaware of his own inheritance."

 

 

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

 

The three needs ~

 

Although mind is clear, one needs a lama;

Although a lamp burns brightly, it still needs oil;

Although mind is self-evident, it needs recognition.

That is the teaching on the three needs.

 

~ Drugpa Kunley

 

 

Thank you.  A very important point.  If I may add to the point, from Kashmir Shivaism...

 

Abhinavagupta also states... 

 

True, but even though it shines there, it has not truly become a conscious apprehension. Without conscious apprehension, even if a thing exists, it is as if it did not exist...

 

He goes on to say...

 

The question is thus appropriate because contentment (enlightenment) is not possible without a conscious realization. Contentment is of two kinds. The first is effected by means of absorption (samavesa) and consists of magical powers. The second is attained by reaching a condition of conscious heart-felt realization, and it is the state of being liberated while still alive.

[C T]

Thank you.  A very important point.  If I may add to the point, from Kashmir Shivaism...

 

Abhinavagupta also states... 

 

True, but even though it shines there, it has not truly become a conscious apprehension. Without conscious apprehension, even if a thing exists, it is as if it did not exist...

 

He goes on to say...

 

The question is thus appropriate because contentment (enlightenment) is not possible without a conscious realization. Contentment is of two kinds. The first is effected by means of absorption (samavesa) and consists of magical powers. The second is attained by reaching a condition of conscious heart-felt realization, and it is the state of being liberated while still alive.

As long as one knows that 'realization' is not a once-off. In Buddhist thought, there is a continuum of wisdom & compassion, suffused in union, that becomes clearer as practice deepens. More of a process of revelation rather than a 'realization'. 

 

[Jeff]

As long as one knows that 'realization' is not a once-off. In Buddhist thought, there is a continuum of wisdom & compassion, suffused in union, that becomes clearer as practice deepens. More of a process of revelation rather than a 'realization'. 

 

 

The whole universe is set in your essence within the ocean, within the Heart, in the life-span. Let us win your honeyed wave that is brought to the face of the waters as they flow together.

 

Deeper and deeper one must continually go...

[steve]

As long as one knows that 'realization' is not a once-off. In Buddhist thought, there is a continuum of wisdom & compassion, suffused in union, that becomes clearer as practice deepens. More of a process of revelation rather than a 'realization'. 

 

 

If I may add something, not as a criticism but as a collaboration -

This process of deepening and stabilizing that initial "realization" involves activity, even if that activity is an active "non-doing."

In this way, I do think there is value to looking at the process as realizing, which to me has somewhat of a connotation of engaging, active facilitation, and working towards something. As in "realizing" one's goals. Certainly, revelation is an equally valid label insofar as what it is we are looking for has always already been there, simply obscured. Further, there is the aspect that this process is spontaneous, out of our control, and unpredictable. There are those that work for a lifetime with no progress and others that "get it" with a whisper... On the other hand, revelation has somewhat of an implication of passivity as well as "once-off" to my ear. 

 

I like words like unfolding, growing, being, feeling, seeing, and knowing.

I particularly like the image of the "wisdom wind" which clears obscurations and the light which illuminates the darkness, from the Bon liturgy.

 

In the end, no words can capture it.

Many words can point to different aspects.

 

Great thread CT, thank you for the time and effort you put into it. 

(it's one of the few threads I visit lately here)

_/\_

 

Here is a nice, brief clip that touches on the grasping point a bit.

 

http://www.scienceandnonduality.com/the-relative-self-and-reincarnation-bob-thurman/

[C T]

Hello Steve.. Thank you very much for the supportive input, and thank you also for making time to be present on this thread. 

 

When i wrote that reply to Jeff, i was actually reflecting on my own journey a bit, and how occupied my thoughts were with 'my' realizations, which so puffed me up with pride (some time ago). Its a little bit different now. Now it is like the kindness of my teachers, the protectors, and the lineage as a whole permitting me, thru my practice, to glimpse the ineffable in gradually clearer forms. It seems as if there is this sense of something being peeled away slowly with each practice session, and i guess it is in this way that it feels more like a revelation rather than a realization. Thru observation, it appears to me that some can take their realizations as concrete proof of achievement, and this i feel can be somewhat of a stumbling block (based on my own past experiences and sharing the experiences of fellow sangha friends). 

[steve]

Hello Steve.. Thank you very much for the supportive input, and thank you also for making time to be present on this thread. 

 

When i wrote that reply to Jeff, i was actually reflecting on my own journey a bit, and how occupied my thoughts were with 'my' realizations, which so puffed me up with pride (some time ago). Its a little bit different now. Now it is like the kindness of my teachers, the protectors, and the lineage as a whole permitting me, thru my practice, to glimpse the ineffable in gradually clearer forms. It seems as if there is this sense of something being peeled away slowly with each practice session, and i guess it is in this way that it feels more like a revelation rather than a realization. Thru observation, it appears to me that some can take their realizations as concrete proof of achievement, and this i feel can be somewhat of a stumbling block (based on my own past experiences and sharing the experiences of fellow sangha friends). 

 

Well said and I appreciate you sharing your experience on your path, including the obstacles. 

I'm still working with many issues, pride among them. 

There are many layers to peel away...

We are very fortunate to have connected with a lineage which supports us.

[C T]

A thought for the weekend: 

 

 

 

Those who wish to crush the many sorrows of existence,
Who wish to quell the pain of living beings,
Who wish to have experience of a myriad joys
Should never turn away from bodhichitta.

Should bodhichitta come to birth
In those who suffer, chained in prisons of samsara,
In that instant they are called the children of the Blissful One,
Revered by all the world, by gods and humankind.

For like the supreme substance of the alchemists,
It takes our impure flesh and makes of it
The body of a Buddha, jewel beyond all price.
Such is bodhicitta. Let us grasp it firmly!

 

~ Shantideva

[C T]

“People often confuse happiness with pleasure. Yet happiness is not eating ice cream. It’s a way of being, and a way of being not just one thing. It’s a cluster of basic human qualities, among which inner freedom is central. If you’re happy, you are not a slave of your rumination. You have freedom from hatred, obsessive craving, jealousy, arrogance, etc.

 

That freedom gives you inner peace and, therefore, a confidence that’s very different from narcissistic self-esteem. Because you have the inner resources to deal with life’s ups and downs, you are less preoccupied with yourself. You know that whatever happens you’ll be fine. So not feeling vulnerable, you are not trying to overprotect yourself and you are naturally open to others.

 

Selfish happiness doesn’t exist. When you’re completely self-centered—me, me, me all day long—you push away anything that could threaten your comfort. This makes life miserable. You’re constantly under threat, because the world is simply not a mail-order catalogue for all your desires.”

 

~ Matthieu Ricard

 

Altruism, according to Ricard, does not require that we sacrifice our own happiness. In fact, a benevolent frame of mind, which is based on a correct understanding of interdependent reality, leads to a win-win situation. We flourish, and at the same time, we are of benefit to all those around us.

[C T]

Within relative truth, there is always circling and reflecting between inner and outer, subtle and gross, subject and object, and personal and general phenomena. If we cannot distinguish between personal and general phenomena, we become confused and cannot make a meaningful connection between subject and object.

 

An example of personal phenomena is the dream phenomena that arise at night from daytime habits. In a dream we might see a house. Because this is visible only to us, it is our personal phenomena. Then, we might actually build the house which becomes visible to all who see it. This is general phenomena. General phenomena are the collectively shared, generally visible or objective habits of groups of people or societies.

 

Different expressions of personal phenomena come together to create general phenomena which in turn leave a residue in further personal phenomena. For example, a fashion designer might introduce a new fashion through his personal phenomena. This becomes general group phenomena which might inspire another designer who in turn might create a new derivative fashion.

 

We trust in general phenomena through agreed upon complementary gross elements and logic. For example, when we only know white sugar and have never seen brown sugar, we have white sugar's phenomena, and whenever we think of sugar, we automatically think white. We do not even need the word white because it is generally agreed upon and assumed.

 

But if somewhere else there are people who only know brown sugar, they do not even need the word brown because when they think of sugar they automatically think brown. Those who have both white and brown sugars' habit think which sugar, white or brown?

 

Unless our dualistic mind becomes unconscious dullness mind or until it becomes enlightened non-dualistic mind, there will always be obstructed phenomena. Where phenomena are obstructed, there will always arise true and untrue conceptions; one's truth is another's untruth and one's untruth is another's truth.

 

According to dualistic mind, truth exists temporarily as true or untrue conceptions depending on its relation to intention and circumstances. That is why we call it relative truth.

 

~ Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche - Magic Dance

[C T]

Though space has been designated 'empty',
In reality it is inexpressible;

 

Although the nature of mind is called 'clear light',
Its every ascription is baseless verbal fiction.

 

~ Tilopa

[C T]

"The beauty of practicing refuge is that it requires us to put our moods and feelings in a less central place in our lives than practice. We practice every day, regardless of how we are feeling. On days when no obstacles are obvious, we practice because we understand that they are there nonetheless. We know that they will reappear in their illusory fashion because we are not yet free of delusion.

 

The essence of refuge is that we put the practices in a central place in our lives and move all of our delusion to the periphery. We know it is there - we still see it - but we are more attracted to the bliss and joy of the Yidams than by the tedious, repetitive and destructive habits of our deluded emotions."

 

~ Tsochen Khandro

[C T]

Having control over appearances does not mean jumping off buildings and flying. Rather, it means that you do not cling to appearances as they seem to be in the usual worldly way of relating to them. Such appearances will not cause you suffering or tie you up once you have gained mastery over them through not clinging.

 

It is prajna realising selflessness that frees you from samsara. Through knowing appearances to be inseparable from emptiness, you have mastery over them. It is not necessary to engage in behavior that is contrary to a mundane way of seeing things.

 

~ Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche

[C T]

Without any duality of perceiver and per­ceived, there is no way a normal thought can survive; it vanishes. The phrase ‘single sphere of dharmakaya’ refers simply to this original wakefulness. It is called single or sole, meaning not a duality, whereas the normal thinking mind is dualistic, and is never called single. If this holding onto duality is not dissolved from within, there is the per­petuation of subject and object, perceiver and perceived.

 

~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

[idiot_stimpy]

Without any duality of perceiver and per­ceived, there is no way a normal thought can survive; it vanishes. The phrase ‘single sphere of dharmakaya’ refers simply to this original wakefulness. It is called single or sole, meaning not a duality, whereas the normal thinking mind is dualistic, and is never called single. If this holding onto duality is not dissolved from within, there is the per­petuation of subject and object, perceiver and perceived.

 

~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

 

 

Hi CT, if this is pointing to the dharmakaya, is there any information you have that points to the sambhogakaya and the nirmanakaya?

[C T]

[C T]

Hi CT, if this is pointing to the dharmakaya, is there any information you have that points to the sambhogakaya and the nirmanakaya?

Dharmakaya = Unstainable nature (or ground) of awareness - purity without beginning or end - original perfection - Big Mind

 

Sambhogakaya = The radiance, warmth & spontaneous compassion that arises in recognition of Dharmakaya's original perfection 

 

Nirmanakaya = Manifesting/emanating selfless, altruistic activities that result from the above recognition

 

 

Thats the gist of it (in my understanding) - hope it helps a litte

[idiot_stimpy]

Thank you very much.

[C T]

SEVEN CORRUPTIONS

 

Master Padmasambhava said: When practicing the Dharma there are seven types of corruption.

 

The lady asked: What are they?

 

The master said: if your faith is small while your intelligence is great, you become corrupted by considering yourself a teacher.

If you have many listeners while your self-regard is high, you become corrupted by considering yourself a spiritual friend.

 

If you assume superior qualities while not having taken the Dharma to heart, you become corrupted by considering yourself a leader.

 

If you give oral instructions while not practicing them yourself, you become corrupted by being an insensitive "Dharma expert."

 

If you are fond of senseless babble while lacking the Dharma in your heart, you become corrupted by being a craving charlatan yogi.

 

If you have little learning while lacking the oral instructions, you become corrupted by being a commoner though your faith may be great.

 

A genuine practitioner who acts in accordance with the true teachings should liberate his being with intelligence, tame his mind with faith, cut misconceptions with listening to teachings, cast away social concerns, mingle his mind with the Dharma, perfect his knowledge with learning and reflecting, resolve his mind with the oral instructions, and gain final certainty through the view and meditation. That, however, is difficult.

[C T]

Heavily laden with the weight of worldly concern, the minds of ordinary sentient beings are weighed down by the wearisome bulk of those lamentable woes. Realising the potential to relinquish that self-fabricated load, simply by recognising that we alone have long chosen to burden ourselves with it, the bodhisattva, with fleet of foot, agile mind, and brimful of vim and vigour, is released to work tirelessly for the benefit of all those who continue to labour on under the heavy weight of their convincing delusions, which manifest as the gross, subtle and extremely subtle afflictions that blight all ordinary sentient beings. 

 

~ Paramito Ladakh 

[C T]

"Dzogchen is the Buddha’s highest teaching of the absolute truth. It introduces the nature of the mind directly, without any sidetracks or detours. In order to realize the Dzogchen teaching, first cultivate bodhichitta, devotion, and the other skillful means practices. Then, when you practice Dzogchen meditation itself, you identify and relax into your own natural state of mind, by your mind. When you relax into the natural state there is nothing substantially existing that you are relaxing into. It is beyond subject and object, beyond actor and action. All these merge into a single state—the natural state. Even though we use the word ‘merged,’ there is no “merger” and there is no “merging.” Once you have a glimpse of this state, you have to maintain it with joyful effort; otherwise this realization can easily become blurred with conceptions. But when conceptions come, do not see them as obstacles. Simply maintain awareness. You will observe that conceptions naturally dissolve by themselves."

 

~ Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches
Pointing Out the Nature of Mind (pg 106)

[C T]

The nature of phenomena is nondual,
but each one, in its own state,
is beyond the limits of the mind.
 

There is no concept that can define
the condition of "what is"
but vision nevertheless manifests:
all is good.
 

Everything has already been accomplished,
and so, having overcome the sickness of effort,
one finds oneself in the self-perfected state:
this is contemplation.

 

~ Garab Dorje

 

[idiot_stimpy]

 

"Dzogchen is the Buddha’s highest teaching of the absolute truth. It introduces the nature of the mind directly, without any sidetracks or detours. In order to realize the Dzogchen teaching, first cultivate bodhichitta, devotion, and the other skillful means practices. Then, when you practice Dzogchen meditation itself, you identify and relax into your own natural state of mind, by your mind. When you relax into the natural state there is nothing substantially existing that you are relaxing into. It is beyond subject and object, beyond actor and action. All these merge into a single state—the natural state. Even though we use the word ‘merged,’ there is no “merger” and there is no “merging.” Once you have a glimpse of this state, you have to maintain it with joyful effort; otherwise this realization can easily become blurred with conceptions. But when conceptions come, do not see them as obstacles. Simply maintain awareness. You will observe that conceptions naturally dissolve by themselves."

 

~ Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches

Pointing Out the Nature of Mind (pg 106)

 

Reading this is so powerful. Its a blessing.