http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 en-US 60 <p>From a conversation 3.5 years ago with Thusness:</p> <p>(please note that though Thusness = ^john^, he is not the same guy as the "John Astin" above)</p> <p><br /> [22:21] &lt;^john^&gt; I just written something today.<br /> [22:21] &lt;ZeN`n1th&gt; icic<br /> [22:21] &lt;ZeN`n1th&gt; har?<br /> [22:21] &lt;ZeN`n1th&gt; written wat<br /> [22:21] &lt;^john^&gt; my meditation. :P<br /> [22:22] &lt;ZeN`n1th&gt; oh icic.. wat is it about?<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; 03.01.2005<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; How could anyone understand?<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; The crying, the sound, the noise is buddha.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; It is all the experience of Thusness.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; To know the true meaning of this<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Hold not even the slightest trace of 'I'.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; In the most natural state of ILessNess,<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; All Is.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Even if one said the same statement,<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; the depth of experience differs.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; The is no point convincing anyone.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Can anyone understand?<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Any form of rejection<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Any sort of division<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Is to reject buddhahood.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; If there is a slightest sense of a subject, an experiencer<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; we miss the point.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Natural Awareness is subjectless<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; The vividness and clarity<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Feel, taste, see and and hear with totality<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; There is always no 'I'.<br /> [22:22] &lt;^john^&gt; Thank you Buddha, You truely know.<br /> [22:23] &lt;^john^&gt; :)<br /> [22:23] &lt;^john^&gt; It is difficult to understand the subtlety.<br /> [22:23] &lt;ZeN`n1th&gt; icic... v nice<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; 02/1/2005<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; Without 'self' oneness is immediately attained.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; There is only and always this Isness.&nbsp; Subject has always been the Object of observation.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; This is true samadhi without entering trance.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; Completely understanding this truth.&nbsp; It is the true way towards liberation.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; Every sound, sensation, arising of consciousness is so clear, real and vivid.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; Every moment is samadhi.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; The tip of the fingers in contact with the keyboard, mysteriously created the<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; contact consciousness, what is it?&nbsp; Feel the entirety of beingness and realness.&nbsp;<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; There is no subject...just Isness.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; No thought, there really is no thought and no 'self'.&nbsp; Only Pure Awareness.<br /> [22:25] &lt;^john^&gt; :)<br /> [22:26] &lt;^john^&gt; Zennith, it is meaningless to tok about anything.&nbsp; Just practice hard.<br /> [22:27] &lt;ZeN`n1th&gt; icic...<br /> [22:27] &lt;^john^&gt; The depth of emptiness cannot be measured.<br /> [22:27] &lt;ZeN`n1th&gt; ok</p> Tue, 13 May 2008 21:53:25 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8084212 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>More writings from John Astin which rings with clarity --</p> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Mar</span> <span class= "">29</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=142" title= "Permanent Link to Two Aspects of the One" rel="nofollow">Two Aspects of the One</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=142#respond" title= "Comment on Two Aspects of the One" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>We could say that awareness has two different aspects or expressions. In one, it is the space that makes room for everything, the emptiness which allows what is to simply be as it is. In this aspect, our sky-Like nature is passive, unmoved and untouched by whatever clouds appear within it. It is the still and formless background against which the world of form appears and moves. In this aspect, the Sky is not really involved or engaged with the myriad forms that appear and then disappear within it. It is simply the silent witness of all comings and goings. Here, the expression is a silent one for the Sky really has nothing to say about any thought, sensation, feeling or experience that may be present. It is simply that boundless space that contains them all.</p> <p>We could say that in this aspect, the sky-like nature of mind or awareness is a kind of disinterested observer or witness. You can maybe sense this aspect right now, the simple and effortless knowing or registering of whatever sounds and sights may be present, much like a movie screen passively registers the multitude of images that flash across it. Regardless of their content, every thought, image, feeling, and sensation is effortlessly known by this empty, awake, sky-like presence that we are.</p> <p>But there is another more dynamic aspect or expression of this presence of awareness. And it is that dimension that becomes active when the container in a sense becomes interested in that which it contains. Yes, there is something – call it awareness - that silently registers the sound of the bird or the traffic outside or the colors and patterns of light that appear before its ever-watchful gaze. But what happens when the silent awareness becomes interested and curious about the sounds that are appearing within it? What happens when the still and unmoving witness becomes curious about that which it is witnessing? There is the sense here that the mystery that is awake (our true nature) has this natural interest and curiosity about everything. In its more active aspect or dimension, the mystery seems to live in a state of child-like wonder and innocence, a kind of quiet fascination, even awe, in the face of the utter miracle that is everything.</p> <p>As the screen of presence-awareness or Being that simply registers what is, what we are is this deep and abiding peace. All is still and unmoving. But as the screen becomes interested in the images that are moving across its face, so begins the dance of the unborn and the born, of formlessness loving form, the boundless wonder of what is…</p> </div> </div> </div> <p>--------------------------------------------</p> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Feb</span> <span class= "">08</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=122" title= "Permanent Link to The Only Thing There Is" rel="nofollow">The Only Thing There Is</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=122#comments" title= "Comment on The Only Thing There Is" rel="nofollow">2 Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>It’s not possible to run from<br /> the only Thing there is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to uncover<br /> the only Thing there is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to approach<br /> the only Thing there is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to forget<br /> the only Thing there is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to see<br /> the only Thing there is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to miss<br /> the only Thing there is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to draw nearer<br /> to the only Thing that is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to be apart<br /> from the only Thing there is.</p> <p>It’s not possible to be other<br /> than the only Thing there is.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>--------------------------------------------</p> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Feb</span> <span class= "">08</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=121" title= "Permanent Link to The Ease of Letting Go" rel="nofollow">The Ease of Letting Go</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=121#respond" title= "Comment on The Ease of Letting Go" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>It’s so easy<br /> to let go,<br /> every moment<br /> vanishing<br /> without<br /> effort…</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Feb</span> <span class= "">08</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=120" title= "Permanent Link to It&amp;rsquo;s Not You" rel="nofollow">It’s Not You</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=120#respond" title= "Comment on It&amp;rsquo;s Not You" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>It’s not you<br /> who is searching -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who is struggling -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who is dreaming -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who wakes up -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who is thinking -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who’s confused -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who understands -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who remembers -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who forgets -<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who believes -<br /> this is yours,<br /> it is Life.</p> <p>It’s not you<br /> who stops<br /> believing -<br /> it is Life…</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>--------------------------------------------</p> </div> <div class=""> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Apr</span> <span class= "">15</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=145" title= "Permanent Link to Simply Because It Is" rel="nofollow">Simply Because It Is</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=145#respond" title= "Comment on Simply Because It Is" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>When attention begins<br /> to lose its fascination<br /> with the story called self,<br /> what remains is the<br /> simple wonder of this -<br /> a crack in the sidewalk,<br /> the paper clip on my desk,<br /> a speck of dust on the floor,<br /> the rush of wind<br /> through the trees -<br /> everything ablaze<br /> with this quiet,<br /> heart wrenching beauty,<br /> simply because it is…</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>--------------------------------------------</p> </div> <div class=""> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Mar</span> <span class= "">29</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=128" title= "Permanent Link to Points of View" rel="nofollow">Points of View</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=128#respond" title= "Comment on Points of View" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>In spiritual, non-dual circles we often hear the instruction to stay with the sense of “I AM,” to simply notice the undeniable feeling that we exist. But rather than focusing on the “I AM,” here is another invitation. Drop the “I” altogether and just notice the “Am,” the sense of existence itself. Not <em>my</em> existence. Not <em>my</em> being. Just BEING. See if you can find a beginning or an end to this sense of aliveness. Notice how it is without edge or boundary, how there really is no “my” in it anywhere.</p> <p>Now, for a moment, as you look out upon the world, observing whatever is in your visual field, just feel that you are gazing at it from some reference point, call it “I.” Feel that you are a separate self, a subject looking out upon the world of objects. Now simply feel into this reference point called “I.” What is it actually made of? Isn’t the reference point we call “self” really made of nothing, a nothing that moves as everything, a nothing that is Life? Isn’t it <em>all</em> made of Life - the search for an identity, for some point of reference, the fixation upon that point, and the falling away of all points of view - all of it, the expression of the boundlessness that is Life?</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Mar</span> <span class= "">29</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=139" title= "Permanent Link to Everything Belongs to Life" rel= "nofollow">Everything Belongs to Life</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=139#respond" title= "Comment on Everything Belongs to Life" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>This grasping after pleasure,<br /> the search for happiness,<br /> the effort to escape<br /> all the suffering,<br /> none of it is yours.<br /> Neither the bondage<br /> nor the freedom from it<br /> belongs to you…</p> <p>You are not the owner<br /> of anything. Everything<br /> belongs to Life.<br /> Everything is<br /> the expression of Life,<br /> the mysterious Source<br /> that gives rise to everything<br /> you think of as “you.”</p> <p>Even the sense that<br /> this is yours<br /> is not yours.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Mar</span> <span class= "">29</span></div> <div class=""> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Apr</span> <span class= "">30</span></div> <div class=""> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">Apr</span> <span class= "">29</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=155" title= "Permanent Link to Emptiness" rel="nofollow">Emptiness</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=155#respond" title= "Comment on Emptiness" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>Here’s a little experiment…</p> <p>The experience you are having right now - thoughts arising, feelings being felt, sensations dancing. No matter whether or how the experience may be being judged - as pleasurable, painful, boring, exciting, hazy, clear - the question I would pose to you is this: What is at the <em>center</em> of the experience? No doubt, something is happening, something is being experienced. But what is at the <em>center</em> of this that is being seen, this that is being felt, this that is being heard? Feeling happy and content? What is at the center? Confused and struggling? What is at the center? Calm and at peace? What is at the center? Is anything there?</p> <p>Now, the mind may answer, “Well <em>I</em> am there, I am at the center.” Okay, so you are the center. If that is your experience, fine. No sense fighting that sense. Go ahead and feel that you are at the center, feel that you are there, right in the heart of whatever is being experienced. But now I would ask you to look once more: “What is at the center of that feeling called “me being at the center?” What is there, in the center of this sense called “me,” the center of this experience you are calling “I”?</p> <p>Anything there?</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=157" title= "Permanent Link to Part of the Symphony" rel="nofollow">Part of the Symphony</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=157#comments" title= "Comment on Part of the Symphony" rel="nofollow">4 Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>Thought is not the enemy,<br /> it is simply part<br /> of the symphony of sounds<br /> that is life,<br /> no more significant,<br /> or less beautiful<br /> than any other sound<br /> that is heard…</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">May</span> <span class= "">12</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=160" title= "Permanent Link to No Finger, No Moon" rel="nofollow">No Finger, No Moon</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=160#respond" title= "Comment on No Finger, No Moon" rel="nofollow">No Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>How could we ever point to the Truth when the Truth is everywhere and everything?</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class=""><span class="">May</span> <span class= "">06</span></div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=154" title= "Permanent Link to Love&amp;rsquo;s Longing for Itself" rel= "nofollow">Love’s Longing for Itself</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=154#comments" title= "Comment on Love&amp;rsquo;s Longing for Itself" rel="nofollow">2 Comments »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>Every love song we hear, every cry, every longing of the human heart - these are all the voice of God, the voice of Being in search of Itself…</p> <p>But you are nowhere to be found in any of this - this is simply Life’s love affair with Life, Love’s longing for Itself.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <h2><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=140" title= "Permanent Link to I Met God Today" rel="nofollow">I Met God Today</a></h2> <span class=""><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?cat=2" title="View all posts in by John" rel="nofollow">by John</a></span> <span class=""><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/blog/?p=140#comments" title= "Comment on I Met God Today" rel="nofollow">1 Comment »</a></span> <div class=""> <p>I met God<br /> on the road<br /> today.<br /> She asked<br /> me if I knew<br /> where She<br /> might find<br /> God.</p> <p>I didn’t know<br /> what to say…</p> <p>--------------------------------------------</p> <p>Others:</p> <p><br /> What appears is at the same time disappearing, the arising and the passing away, a single movement, without beginning or end. This is the preciousness of life, this amazing constellation of feelings, thoughts, sensations, and the mystery of wakefulness that illuminates them all, here and then gone in a flash.<br /> <br /> And the extraordinary paradox is that this which is ever changing is, at the same time, changeless. A bird, a tear, a star- all the movement of a single life, one ocean dancing as a thousand different waves and yet always remaining itself.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>--------------------------------------------</p> <p><a href= "http://www.integrativearts.com/writings/Pathless%20Path.html" rel= "nofollow">http://www.integrativearts.com/writings/Pathless%20Path.html</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <p><strong>Pathless Path</strong></p> <p>The path to God, the path to ultimate reality is as Krishnamurti said, a "pathless path." In the end, there is no path to the ultimate because there is only the ultimate. Everything is made of That, the source and suchness of all things - every tree, every person, every flower, every atom, every star - all of them made of the same ineffable mystery, the wetness in every wave...<br /> <br /> We may imagine that we are on a journey back to God, but how can there be a journey to something that is everywhere and everything? We walk to our temples and mosques, our churches and synagogues, our yoga centers and meditation cushions, to find God, to find Truth, but what is sought is already present, present before the first step is ever taken, and present as that very step. What is sought is here before the first thought ever arises to seek It, and It is here as that very thought. Truth is present, before the mind ever imagines it has been lost. But Truth is also the imagining, God seeking God...<br /> <br /> We seek God but there is no escaping God for there is only God, only Spirit dancing as everything that is seen, everything that is touched, everything that is felt. We search for something else that will make us happy, some other experience or moment, but the happiness and freedom we seek is already here as this - this experience, this state of mind, this moment. Every breath, every sensation, the clarity, the confusion, the seeking, and the end of seeking, all of them God, all of them the Truth, all of them, enough.</p> <p>©2007 John Astin</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Tue, 13 May 2008 21:36:21 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8084146 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p><strong>Living Dharma</strong></p> <p>Why cling to some idea<br /> or philosophy uttered<br /> thousands of years<br /> (or maybe just a moment)<br /> ago?<br /> Why, when there is already<br /> this explosion of life,<br /> would we ever look back?<br /> <br /> The real dharma lives here,<br /> breathing as this that has<br /> never been seen<br /> or heard before -<br /> this symphony of sounds<br /> and sensations outside my<br /> window right now -<br /> the rustle of leaves,<br /> a chorus of birds,<br /> the ache in my back,<br /> the rush of color everywhere,<br /> this wondrous mystery of thought,<br /> appearing then disappearing<br /> like everything else...<br /> This is the living dharma,<br /> this timeless presence<br /> that welcomes everything<br /> that has come before but<br /> is defined by none of it -<br /> every teaching, every tradition,<br /> the words you are reading now,<br /> all of them, gone,<br /> consumed in the fires<br /> of this living truth...</p> <p>©2007 John Astin</p> <p><a href="http://www.integrativearts.com/writings.html" rel= "nofollow">http://www.integrativearts.com/writings.html#</a></p> Tue, 13 May 2008 20:49:24 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8083977 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p><br /> "Subhuti asked: "Is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? Is it unimaginable and totally unique but nevertheless reaching the unreachable and attaining the unattainable?"<br /> <br /> The Buddha replied: "Yes, Subhuti, it is exactly so. And why is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? It is because all its points of reference cannot be thought about but can be apprehended. One is the disappearance of the self-conscious person into pure presence. Another is the knowing of the essenceless essence of all things in the world. And another is luminous knowledge that knows without a knower. None of these points can sustain ordinary thought because they are not objects or subjects. They can't be imagined or touched or approached in any way by any ordinary mode of consciousness, therefore they are beyond thinking."<br /> <br /> -- <a href="http://www.andyweberstudios.com/d_prajnaparamita.html" rel="nofollow">Prajnaparamita</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Perfect!</p> <p><img src= "http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/style_emoticons/Default2/bow.gif" height="15" alt="" width="29" /></p> <p>Pure Presence... ungraspable by thought... Empty... nevertheless shimmering and radiating in All.</p> <p>All verbal expressions are just "blah blah blah"... more meaningless thoughts in the head (and the truth is of course as Buddha said "Beyond Thinking")... until you see this (actually you ARE this) beautiful Brilliance of it all.. which is brilliant-still-aliveness-bliss</p> Tue, 13 May 2008 20:15:26 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8083914 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style= "font-size: 12pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Optima;">"The rain has stopped, the clouds have drifted away, and the weather is clear again. If your heart is pure, then all things in your world are pure. Abandon this fleeting world, abandon your <em>self</em>, then the moon and flowers will guide you along the Way."</span></span></span></strong></span></p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style= "font-size: 12pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style= "color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Optima;">~Ryokan (1758-1831)</span></span></span></strong></span></p> Tue, 13 May 2008 20:14:39 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8083911 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p><a href= "http://www2.oprah.com/spiritself/oss/guest/oss_guest_jboltetaylor.jhtml?promocode=HP41" rel= "nofollow">http://www2.oprah.com/spiritself/oss/guest/oss_guest_jboltetaylor.jhtml?promocode=HP41</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>-- Oprah's interview with Jill Bolte Taylor, the neuroanatomist who had a stroke and then had an awakening.. video available for download there.</p> <p>Jill Bolte Taylor recently was chosen as one of <a href= "http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733754_1735155,00.html" title="Read about Jill in TIME Magazine!" rel="nofollow">TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential in the World for 2008</a></p> <p>Another video on youtube which became popular, <a href= "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU" rel= "nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU</a> , had <span>230,303 views since it was first uploaded 2 months ago.<br /></span></p> Tue, 13 May 2008 19:13:28 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8083779 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>“Tilopa's Song to Naropa” (from <em>Mother of the Buddhas</em> by Lex Hixon):</p> <p><em>“To realize this inexpressible truth, do not manipulate mind or body, but simply open into transparency with relaxed, natural grace, intellect at ease in silence, limbs at rest in stillness like hollow bamboos. Neither breathing in nor breathing out with the breath of habitual thinking, allow the mind to be at peace in brilliant wakefulness.”<br /> <br /> “Phenomena on every plane of being are constantly arising and disappearing. Thus they are forever fresh, always new and inexhaustible. Like dreams without solid substance, they can never become rigid or binding. The universe exists in a deep, elusive way that can never be grasped or frozen. Why feel obsessive desire or hatred for it, thereby creating illusory bonds?”<br /> <br /> “Strenuously seeking truth by investigation and concentration, one will never appreciate the unthinkable simplicity and bliss that abide at the core. To uncover this fertile ground, cut through the roots of complexity with the sharp gaze of naked awareness, remaining entirely at peace, transparent and content. You need not expend great effort nor store up extensive spiritual power. Remain in the flow of sheer awareness.</em> Mahamudra <em>neither accepts nor rejects any current of energy, internal or external.”<br /> <br /> “Since the ground consciousness is never born into any realm of being, nothing can add to or subtract from it. Nothing can obstruct or stain it. When awareness rests here, the appearance of division and conflict disappears into original reality. The twin emotions of anxiety and arrogance vanish into the void from which they came.”</em></p> Tue, 13 May 2008 00:35:29 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8082119 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by An Eternal Now:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p>I see... ya think must be "qi"</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /> sounds like qigong,</p> Fri, 09 May 2008 16:00:17 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8073595 rokkie http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by Thusness:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p><br /> &nbsp;Associating 'death of I'&nbsp;with vivid luminosity of your experience is far too early.&nbsp; This will lead you into erroneous views because there is also the experience of practitioners by way of complete surrendering or elimination (dropping) like Taoist practitioners.&nbsp; An experience of deep bliss that is beyond that of what you experienced can occur.&nbsp; But the focus is not on luminosity but effortlessness, naturalness and spontaneity.&nbsp; In complete giving up, there is no 'I' ; it is also needless to know anything; in fact 'knowledge' is considered a stumbling block.&nbsp; The practitioner drops away mind, body, knowledge...everything.&nbsp; There is no insight, there is no luminosity there is only total allowing of whatever that happens, happen in its own accord.&nbsp; All senses including consciousness are shut and fully absorbed.&nbsp; Awareness of 'anything' is only after&nbsp;emerging from that state.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> One is the experience of vivid luminosity while the other is a state of oblivious.&nbsp; It is therefore not appropriate to relate the complete dissolving of 'I' with what u experienced alone.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Hi, is this description by David Carse a description of the 'state of oblivious':</p> <p><em>"Still later that night in the jungle, toward morning, lying there in Presence, there was a point when all the experiencing stopped. The thinking and the feeling and the processing that had been happening all completely ceased. I was not aware of it 'at the time,' because there was no thought and no awareness of time or indeed of anything; only in hindsight is there a looking back and realizing that there was a 'period of time,' out of time, when there was no thought, no experience, no thing, nothing.</em></p> <p><em>It may have been hours, it may have been an instant; it was not of time, Only in retrospect can it be called a place or a time of stillness or emptiness, because when it was occurring there was no time and no place and no sense or awareness of anything happening. I was not asleep. It was a condition of complete stillness and completely alert awareness. But there was nothing there to be aware of, no sense even of self to be self-aware. It could be called a completely empty stillness and awareness. I have no idea how long this lasted.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Eventually, at some point, in this place of no time, no thought, no place, no self, there gradually began a creep in an awareness that there was a simple watching of something. As this awareness distilled out of the emptiness, attention focused; and the realization was that what was being watched, what there was awareness of, was a guy lying in the bamboo hut in the jungle. This continued to focus until there was awareness, a kind of recognition, of what had always been thought of myself, 'david,' lying there on a matt in the middle of the rainforest. And there was an abrupt realization: "my god, there's nobody home."</em></p> <p><em>This was the moment at which nothing happened. Like a 'pop' of a bubble bursting, a shift in understanding. I am not 'david:' there has never been a 'david:' the idea of 'david' is part of a thought, something like a dream, that doesn't matter. The individual 'self,' the one I thought resided in that body, looking through those eyes, the one I thought a few hours ago had woken up enough to perceive Presence, is not there, does not exist, never has. There is nobody home.</em></p> <p><em>This was not an 'out of body' experience. I have had these, in which 'me', my'self,' experienced being out of this body rather than inside it, and experienced looking at the body from outside instead of looking out through the body's eyes. This was not like that at all. What was being watched here was not only the body, but the whole 'david' apparatus; body, mind self, soul, personality. What is watching is All that is. The watching, what I came to know as 'witnessing,' is neither other than the body or mind or the whole 'david' thing, nor not other. IT does not originate from here, from the body/mind; but also It does not stand apart from it, because It is inclusive of it. The witnessing is clearly not being done by 'me,' even a disembodied 'me.' This witnessing is not being done by anyone, any entity. That's the point: there are no entities, there is nobody home. There is only the witnessing.</em></p> <p><em>Abruptly, instantly. Effortlessly, out of stillness.</em></p> <p><em>A moment, an instant, of radical, severe disorientation, discontinuity; then a stepping through into perfect clarity, not at all unlike the experience of waking up.</em></p> <p><em>A dream, seemingly real, lasting all one's apparent life.</em></p> <p><em>A stirring, and the sleep dropping effortlessly away.</em></p> <p><em>A moment of disorientation as the dream is recognized as dream and there is waking to the Real.</em></p> <p><em>Immediately, the dream falls away and it is known that the dream was never real, that one never was what one had been dreaming. There is no 'before and after,' no moment when I was 'no longer' david. This is the 'gateless gate:' only the seeing that david never was. As near as can be said: the perception now is that there is no 'me,' no 'david;' and 'I' is that which has never not been All That Is. Always everywhere prefect Brilliant Stillness, and no-thing which has no name continually outpouring, seen now always not as from this mind/body thing.</em></p> Thu, 08 May 2008 23:30:58 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8071975 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>Found this:</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Tummo</span> an advanced vajrayana practice for combining bliss and emptiness which produces heat as a byproduct. This is one of the Six Yogas of Naropa"</strong></p> <p>Well first of all I am not suggesting that what I experienced is Tummo or is similar to that... but I think some elements maybe similar... as I remember being in this empty spacious state without a separate self... and then this intense bliss and energy arising, and the 'heat' is produced as some sort of byproduct. Very very hot... almost going to sweat. "Feverish" is the right word but is yet the sensation actually much hotter than the usual feeling of "feverish".</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 18:45:15 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8071303 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>I see... ya think must be "qi"</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 15:58:03 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8070892 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by An Eternal Now:</div> <div class="quote_body"><br /></div> <div class="quote_body"> <p>BTW while I was trying to 'let go into the infinite' I had this weird experience of a sense of energy rising in my body and strong bliss coupled with a very strong sensation of heat and warmth growing hotter and hotter... even though the room is very cold. Similar to Tummo practice perhaps. But then after the sensation of warmth passed, I felt strangely cold and started shivering... LOL. But anyway not so important.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Hi AEN,</p> <p>You ask me what is it... i will try to reply based on my understanding only.</p> <p>I think the heat and warm feeling is the chi moving. Usually, our modern day lifestyle does not allow us to feel the chi. This is partly because, there are too much tension.</p> <p>These tensions in the body block the flow of chi. However during medition, the tension goes away and the flow resumes... making us feel the difference as warm and heat.</p> <p>Also, if you become sensitive enough, you can also feel the effect of electromagnetic field affecting the body if the body is near some kind of electrical devices. It may feel like some kind of aches.</p> <p>Normally, i find that taking a bath will clear away the electrical charge.</p> <p>regards</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 09:19:41 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8070022 longchen http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>Zen teacher John Daido Loori&nbsp;said,</p> <p><em><strong>A</strong>ccording to the Buddhist point of view, nonattachment is exactly the opposite of separation. You need two things in order to have attachment: the thing you’re attaching to, and the person who’s attaching. In nonattachment, on the other hand, there’s unity. There’s unity because there’s nothing to attach to. If you have unified with the whole universe, there’s nothing outside of you, so the notion of attachment becomes absurd. Who will attach to what?</em></p> <p>Once a fellow Zen student left a briefcase in a taxi. He began to worry about the briefcase, he said, and then he recognized that worrying is attachment. In order to worry, he had to conceptualize himself as a limited, finite being separated from something else, a briefcase. That's attachment, and it's also separation. <em>You can't attach to something unless you perceive yourself as separate from it</em>. &lt;!--more--&gt;</p> <p>(He got his briefcase back, by the way.)</p> <p>Contemplation of impermanence of the bodies is a also a wonderful form of meditation for one to release attachment to our bodies.</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 01:47:36 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8069835 Isis http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by An Eternal Now:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p><strong><span style="color: #000066;">Surrender and Understanding</span></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Finally, ultimately, (when it comes to spiritual enlightenment) the surrender and the Understanding are the same, even if they are apparently, in perception or experience, separated chronologically.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">The very concept of 'the total Understanding' necessarily includes surrender, for it begins with the willingness, "Thy will be done;" and ends in seeing that one is not.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Thus there is a sensed rightness in the idea that humility in some form is a mark of a true sage; an intuitive sense that if one doesn't have a sense of humor about themselves and about what is happening, it is highly unlikely that awakening has occurred.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Taking oneself too seriously may be a fairly good sign that there has not been the giving up, the surrendering, of the false idea that one actually exists (as a separate entity).</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Doubts about the authenticity of certain teachers often boil down to this: that while they may have an excellent understanding of the teachings, it is the complete surrender of the sense of individual self that has perhaps not occurred.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">In this phenomenality of duality, there is always the flip side, the complementary opposite that completes. Male-female, <em>Shiva-Shakti, jnana-bhakti</em>, understanding surrender. Disdaining one or the other misses truth.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Despite traditions to the contrary, there simply cannot be true <em>jnana</em> without true <em>bhakta</em>, there cannot be the ultimate understanding without the ultimate surrender. Certain personalities will try to avoid one or the other under the guise of some higher wisdom, but always at the cost of wholeness.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">There is a tradition that <em>jnana</em> is the higher path because the <em>bhakta</em> relies on a belief in someone or something to be devoted to, whereas the <em>jnani</em> knows there is neither. But true <em>bhakti</em> is pure devotion with no object; and the true <em>jnani</em> knows nothing.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;"><em>Jnana</em> and <em>bhakta</em>, knowledge and devotion, understanding and surrender, inseeing and outpouring, mind and heart, cannot be divided or opposed; because they are the same.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">It can be seen that the path of the <em>bhakti</em> in devotion leading to surrender, and that of the <em>jnani</em> in knowledge leading to understanding, meet when each takes the final step.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">The ultimate surrender is the total Understanding; the complete Understanding is the utter surrender unto death of the individual self.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Jesus: "Only he who loses his life will find it." Again, "Not' my will, but Thine be done," because it is understood that there is no 'mine,' no 'me' to will.A lo</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">It is the surrender of all vestiges of the sense of the individual person, including, ironic as it may seem, all those hopes and dreams and prayers of ever becoming a good or better person or a person other people might love or like or be drawn to. It is the complete surrender into '<strong>This Is All That Is</strong>.'</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">And yes, that final surrender, that total Understanding is <a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/sudden.htm" rel="nofollow">sudden</a> and happens once. And that once is now. And that now is eternal.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">From, <strong><em>Brilliant Perfect Stillness</em></strong>, by <a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/books.htm#carse" rel="nofollow">David Carse</a> You may like to see our page on <strong><a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/worship.htm" rel="nofollow">The Supreme Worship</a></strong></span></p> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>A lovely piece :)</p> </blockquote> <p>&nbsp;</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 01:31:34 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8069814 Isis http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by An Eternal Now:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p><strong><span style="color: #000066;">Surrender and Understanding</span></strong></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Finally, ultimately, (when it comes to spiritual enlightenment) the surrender and the Understanding are the same, even if they are apparently, in perception or experience, separated chronologically.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">The very concept of 'the total Understanding' necessarily includes surrender, for it begins with the willingness, "Thy will be done;" and ends in seeing that one is not.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Thus there is a sensed rightness in the idea that humility in some form is a mark of a true sage; an intuitive sense that if one doesn't have a sense of humor about themselves and about what is happening, it is highly unlikely that awakening has occurred.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Taking oneself too seriously may be a fairly good sign that there has not been the giving up, the surrendering, of the false idea that one actually exists (as a separate entity).</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Doubts about the authenticity of certain teachers often boil down to this: that while they may have an excellent understanding of the teachings, it is the complete surrender of the sense of individual self that has perhaps not occurred.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">In this phenomenality of duality, there is always the flip side, the complementary opposite that completes. Male-female, <em>Shiva-Shakti, jnana-bhakti</em>, understanding surrender. Disdaining one or the other misses truth.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Despite traditions to the contrary, there simply cannot be true <em>jnana</em> without true <em>bhakta</em>, there cannot be the ultimate understanding without the ultimate surrender. Certain personalities will try to avoid one or the other under the guise of some higher wisdom, but always at the cost of wholeness.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">There is a tradition that <em>jnana</em> is the higher path because the <em>bhakta</em> relies on a belief in someone or something to be devoted to, whereas the <em>jnani</em> knows there is neither. But true <em>bhakti</em> is pure devotion with no object; and the true <em>jnani</em> knows nothing.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;"><em>Jnana</em> and <em>bhakta</em>, knowledge and devotion, understanding and surrender, inseeing and outpouring, mind and heart, cannot be divided or opposed; because they are the same.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">It can be seen that the path of the <em>bhakti</em> in devotion leading to surrender, and that of the <em>jnani</em> in knowledge leading to understanding, meet when each takes the final step.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">The ultimate surrender is the total Understanding; the complete Understanding is the utter surrender unto death of the individual self.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">Jesus: "Only he who loses his life will find it." Again, "Not' my will, but Thine be done," because it is understood that there is no 'mine,' no 'me' to will.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">It is the surrender of all vestiges of the sense of the individual person, including, ironic as it may seem, all those hopes and dreams and prayers of ever becoming a good or better person or a person other people might love or like or be drawn to. It is the complete surrender into '<strong>This Is All That Is</strong>.'</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">And yes, that final surrender, that total Understanding is <a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/sudden.htm" rel="nofollow">sudden</a> and happens once. And that once is now. And that now is eternal.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">From, <strong><em>Brilliant Perfect Stillness</em></strong>, by <a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/books.htm#carse" rel="nofollow">David Carse</a> You may like to see our page on <strong><a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/worship.htm" rel="nofollow">The Supreme Worship</a></strong></span></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Just now in meditation suddenly I had an intuition of what complete surrender is like...</p> <p>It's like... completely surrendering the individual self... along with it the illusion of personal doership or a 'controller'. What happens is this... you realise you are not an individual entity, you are the whole... you are vast and infinite and spacious and not confined to a particular thing or thoughts... you are the universe in its entirety. And you 'release' into that.</p> <p>And these bodily actions, and movements, thoughts, etc that continue to arise are really the doing of the whole universe... its the universe scrubbing the stain off... the universe eating the apple...</p> <p>And utter surrender is just this 'alignment' with universe-eating-apple... with the Whole... I'm not too sure if I'm right by saying this.</p> <p>BTW while I was trying to 'let go into the infinite' I had this weird experience of a sense of energy rising in my body and strong bliss coupled with a very strong sensation of heat and warmth growing hotter and hotter... even though the room is very cold. Similar to Tummo practice perhaps. But then after the sensation of warmth passed, I felt strangely cold and started shivering... LOL. But anyway not so important.</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 01:22:14 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8069802 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>Thanks for sharing :)</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 01:19:22 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8069799 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by An Eternal Now:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p>IMHO, from what Thusness have often told me -- just the pure sensation of the pain is enough. There is no need to derive anything from the pain. Just pure sensation. There is no reason about impermanence, just so. Allow impermanance to be as it is.</p> <p>Any mental note and conceptual conclusion (even related to the dharma seals -- this is impermanent, this is suffering, this is not-self) just let it go and stay with the pure sensation. For in truth the dharma seals lies/exhibits entirely in that moment of manifestation, ungraspable by thought.</p> <p>As Thusness have told me last year:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>(12:21 AM) Thusness: what is the role of insight meditation?<br /> (12:22 AM) Thusness: why bare attention?<br /> (12:22 AM) Thusness: why naked awareness?<br /> (12:22 AM) Thusness: when insight meditation is taught and buddha said when hearing jsut the sound...this and that...<br /> (12:23 AM) Thusness: what buddha wanted is to experience directly what awareness is, the arising, the ceasing, the clarity, the non-dual nature<br /> (12:23 AM) Thusness: in DO (dependent origination)<br /> (12:24 AM) AEN_____: icic..<br /> (12:24 AM) Thusness: not to note it with thought or place any conclusion on any experience.<br /> (12:25 AM) Thusness: "this is impermanence" is not about noting and place any conclusion about an phenomenon arising.<br /> (12:26 AM) Thusness: but experience impermanence directly, not in words<br /> (12:26 AM) AEN_____: icic.. yea<br /> (12:26 AM) Thusness: be impermanence and know what is it really...<br /> (12:26 AM) Thusness: see what clarity is, not what it should be<br /> (12:27 AM) Thusness: it is luminous and yet empty...experience it directly...it is so.<br /> (12:27 AM) AEN_____: icic..<br /> (12:27 AM) Thusness: break the solidity until there is no holding simply thus.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /> THE TWO SACCAS OR THE TWO TRUTHS Sacca or Truth is the constant faithfulness or concordance of the term which names a thing, to or with that thing's intrincic nature. It is of two kinds, to wit: 1. Sammuti-sacca, conventional or relative truth. 2. Paramattha-sacca, or ultimate Truth. Of the two, conventional truth is the truthfulness of the customary terms used by the great majority of people, such as "Self exists", "a living soul exists" "men exist", "Devas exist", "Sakkas exist", "elephants exist", "head exists" and so on. This conventional truth is the opposite of untruth, and so can overcome it. It is not a lie or an untruth when people say: "There probably exists an immutable, permanent, one continuous self or living soul which is neither momentarily rising nor passing away throughout one existence," for this is the customary manner of speech of the great majority of people who have no intention whatever of deceiving others. But according to ultimate truth, it is reckond a Vippallasa or hallucination which erroneously regards impermanent as permanent and non-self as self. So long as this erroneous view remains undestroyed, one can never escape from the evils of Samsara, the wheel of life. All of the foregoing alike holds good when people say "a person exists" and so on. Ultimate truth is the absolute truthfulness of assertion or negative in full and complete accordance with what is actual, the elementary, fundamental qualities of phenomena. Here stating such truth in affirmative form, one may say:"The element of solidity exists", "the element of extension exists", "the element of cohesion exists", "the element of kinetic energy exists", "mind exists" "consciousness exists", "contact, feeling and perception exist", "material aggregates exist" and so on. And expressing such truth in a negative form, it can be said: "No self exists", "no living soul exists", no person exists", "no being exists", "neither does an elephant exist", "nor do hands, nor legs, nor any members of the body exist", "neither does a man exist nor a Deva" and so on. In saying here "No self exists" "no living soul exists" we mean that there is no such ultimate entity as a self or living soul which persists unchanged during the whole term of life, without momentarily coming to be and passing away. In the expression: "No being exists" and so forth, what is meant is that nothing actually exists but material and mental elements. These elements are neither persons nor beings, nor men, nor Devas etc. Therefore there is seperate being or person apart from the elements. The ultimate truth is the diametrical opposite of the hallucination, and so can confute it. One who is thus able to confute or reject the hallucination can escape from the evils of Samsara, the evolution of life. According to conventional truth, a person exists, a being exists; a person or a being continually transmigrates from one existence to another in the ocean of life. But to ultimate truth, neither a person nor a being exists, and there is no one who transmigrates from one existence to another. Here, it may be asked: "Do not these two truths seem to be as poles asunder?" Of course they seem to be so. Nevertheless we may bring them together. Have we not said: "According to conventional truth" and "according to ultimate truth"? Each kind of truth accordingly is truthful as regards its own mode of expression. Hence if one man should say that there exists a person or a being according to conventional truth, the other to whom he speaks ought not to contradict him, for these conventional terms describe what apparently exists. And likewise, if the other says there exists neither a person nor a being, according to ultimate truth, the former ought not to deny this, for in the ultimate sense, material and mental phenomena alone truly exist and in strict reality they know no person or being. For example: Men dig up lumps of earth from certain places, pound them into dust, knead this dust with water into clay, and from this clay make various kinds of useful pots, jars and cups. Thus there exist various kinds of pots, jars and cups in the world. Now when discussion takes place on this subject, if it were asked: "Are there earthen pots and cups in this world?" The answer, according to the conventional truth should be given in the affirmative, and according to the ultimate truth, in the negative, since this kind of truth admits only the positive existence of earth out of which the pots and so forth were made. Of these two answers the former requires no explanation in as much as it is an answer according to the established usage; but as regards the latter, some explanation is needed. In the objects that we called "earthen pots" and "earthen cups", what really exists is only earth; not pots nor cups, in the sense of ultimate truth: because the term "earth" applies properly not to pots and cups but to actual substantial earth. There are also pots and cups made of iron brass, silver, and gold. These cannot be called earthen pots and cups, since they are not made of earth. The term "pots" and "cups" also are not terms descriptive of earth but of ideas derived from the appearance of pots and cups, such as their circular or sperical shape and so on. This is obvious, because the terms "pots" and "cups" are not applied to the mere lumps of earth which have no shape or form of pots and cups. Hence it follows that the term "earth" is not a term descriptive of pots and cups, but of real earth; and also the terms "pots" and "cups" are not terms descrptive of earth but of pictorial ideas (santhana-pannati) which have no separate elementary substance other than the dust of clay, but are mere conceptions presented to the mind by the particular appearance, form, and shape of the worked-up clay. Hence the negative statement according to the ultimate truth, namely, that "no earthen pots and cups exist" ought to be accepted without question.</p> Thu, 08 May 2008 00:37:34 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8069696 sofital http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by extra one:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p><br /> ximalayaxing?</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /> yes lol</p> Wed, 07 May 2008 16:00:52 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8068343 rokkie http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by extra one:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p><br /> ximalayaxing?</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /> yes lol</p> Wed, 07 May 2008 16:00:14 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8068341 rokkie http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by rokkie:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p><br /> i remember a movie i saw ,in india there is a picture ,a snake ,it head bite it's nail ,so it form a cycle ,which means there is no starting or ending ,starting is the ending</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /> ximalayaxing?</p> Wed, 07 May 2008 15:25:21 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8068281 extra one http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>Even Buddha count not finish counting of previous many lifes for one person during the Buddha’s life.Buddha said all the sensible beings in Thirty-one Planes of Existence have the relationships to each other like parents,brothers,sisters,mother in law,grandparents,friends and so on in one of their many previous lifes in Samsara.<br /> I think there is no meaning to know the starting point of many previous lifes for one person. For perfect meaning is to know the starting point of body and mind in Samsara.There is the key point to kill the Karma that creates the starting point of body and mind in Samsara.</p> Wed, 07 May 2008 14:53:52 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8068230 sofital http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by An Eternal Now:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p>There is no starting point.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /> i remember a movie i saw ,in india there is a picture ,a snake ,it head bite it's nail ,so it form a cycle ,which means there is no starting or ending ,starting is the ending</p> Wed, 07 May 2008 13:29:32 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8068080 rokkie http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <p>I’m not sure answer for other resources.<br /> In Pali ,Buddhas said he know the starting point of body and mind.The starting point is rebirth due to karma in Samsara.<br /> To count the number of previous many lifes , if Buddha would have reviewed the previous many lifes for one person from the Buddha age of 35 years until his age of 80 years old, he could not finish counting of previous many lifes. This is the same as counting of how many water drops in the ocean.</p> Tue, 06 May 2008 22:54:12 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8066898 sofital http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by Thusness:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;Not yet.&nbsp; The dissolving of 'I' and 'death' must include both the experience of luminosity and 'losing of consciousness'.&nbsp; However it is not the right time now, have the right understanding of these experiences first. :)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Lastly practice 'dropping, <span style= "font-family: MS Song;">舍'&nbsp;during meditation.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-family: MS Song;">Happy Journey!<strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></p> </div> </blockquote> <p class=""><strong><span style="color: #000066;">Surrender and Understanding</span></strong></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">Finally, ultimately, (when it comes to spiritual enlightenment) the surrender and the Understanding are the same, even if they are apparently, in perception or experience, separated chronologically.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">The very concept of 'the total Understanding' necessarily includes surrender, for it begins with the willingness, "Thy will be done;" and ends in seeing that one is not.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">Thus there is a sensed rightness in the idea that humility in some form is a mark of a true sage; an intuitive sense that if one doesn't have a sense of humor about themselves and about what is happening, it is highly unlikely that awakening has occurred.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">Taking oneself too seriously may be a fairly good sign that there has not been the giving up, the surrendering, of the false idea that one actually exists (as a separate entity).</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">Doubts about the authenticity of certain teachers often boil down to this: that while they may have an excellent understanding of the teachings, it is the complete surrender of the sense of individual self that has perhaps not occurred.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">In this phenomenality of duality, there is always the flip side, the complementary opposite that completes. Male-female, <em>Shiva-Shakti, jnana-bhakti</em>, understanding surrender. Disdaining one or the other misses truth.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">Despite traditions to the contrary, there simply cannot be true <em>jnana</em> without true <em>bhakta</em>, there cannot be the ultimate understanding without the ultimate surrender. Certain personalities will try to avoid one or the other under the guise of some higher wisdom, but always at the cost of wholeness.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">There is a tradition that <em>jnana</em> is the higher path because the <em>bhakta</em> relies on a belief in someone or something to be devoted to, whereas the <em>jnani</em> knows there is neither. But true <em>bhakti</em> is pure devotion with no object; and the true <em>jnani</em> knows nothing.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;"><em>Jnana</em> and <em>bhakta</em>, knowledge and devotion, understanding and surrender, inseeing and outpouring, mind and heart, cannot be divided or opposed; because they are the same.</span></p> <blockquote> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">"The essential basis of self realization is the total rejection of the individual as an independent entity, whether it comes as a spontaneous undersnding or through an utter surrender of one's individual existence." ~ Ramesh Balsekar</span></p> </blockquote> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">It can be seen that the path of the <em>bhakti</em> in devotion leading to surrender, and that of the <em>jnani</em> in knowledge leading to understanding, meet when each takes the final step.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">The ultimate surrender is the total Understanding; the complete Understanding is the utter surrender unto death of the individual self.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">Jesus: "Only he who loses his life will find it." Again, "Not' my will, but Thine be done," because it is understood that there is no 'mine,' no 'me' to will.</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">It is the surrender of all vestiges of the sense of the individual person, including, ironic as it may seem, all those hopes and dreams and prayers of ever becoming a good or better person or a person other people might love or like or be drawn to. It is the complete surrender into '<strong>This Is All That Is</strong>.'</span></p> <p class=""><span style="color: #000066;">And yes, that final surrender, that total Understanding is <a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/sudden.htm" rel="nofollow">sudden</a> and happens once. And that once is now. And that now is eternal.</span></p> <p><span style="color: #000066;">From, <strong><em>Brilliant Perfect Stillness</em></strong>, by <a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/books.htm#carse" rel="nofollow">David Carse</a> You may like to see our page on <strong><a href= "http://peterspearls.com.au/worship.htm" rel="nofollow">The Supreme Worship</a></strong></span></p> Tue, 06 May 2008 19:56:37 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8066303 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956 <blockquote> <div class="quote_from">Originally posted by sofital:</div> <div class="quote_body"> <p>I means the starting point of a person is that Buddha will review his previous many lifes.When will be the previous many life end?</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Limitless</p> Tue, 06 May 2008 18:20:48 +0800 thesims.sgforums.com:1728:310956:8066086 An Eternal Now http://thesims.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/310956