Meditation after anatta/no-self
Something I wrote to someone (slightly edited). She realized
anatta/no-self and recently started a meditation regimen, and asked
for advise. If you have some advise or anything to share, please to
do so.
.....
Sounds good :) How do you meditate nowadays? A proper posture is
very helpful for meditative composure (see:
http://www.wwzc.org/book/posture-zazen). This thread is also good,
this conversation with Thusness -
http://sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/440368?page=1
Those who did not realize anatta will practice dualistically - via
dissociation, or trying to stay or abide in a
substantial/purest/background state of awareness/Self. There will
be a 'something' to get back to, to abide in, to hold on to,
etc.
But since you realized anatta, the above dualistic practices are
naturally not suitable - it is only suitable for those who did not
realize anatta, so they have no choice and their practice is still
geared to being a dualistic mirror or awareness or watcher. After
realization of anatta, practice becomes an effortless
authentication - effortless because there is simply meeting
everything directly as it arises in its suchness without any
attempt to re-confirm, seek, abide, or hold on to some purest
state. There is no more referencing back to a previous non-dual
experience reified into an ultimate background, source, substratum,
or substantial Self. There is no such clinging at all, only a
natural non-dual opening to the non-dual and non-inherent
luminosity of/as everything without any dualistic action or doing.
It is not done with a kind of goal-aiming or goal-seeking attitude,
like as if we are doing something very serious hoping to get into
some higher or altered state of experience. Rather, we can think of
it as like a clenched fist that is gently, and naturally, relaxing
its grip, opening and releasing the butterfly which flies freely in
freedom - likewise we naturally release all of our holdings -
thoughts, mind, body, contractions, sense of self/Self, etc into
moment to moment direct sensate clarity/experience of all six sense
doors. There is just relaxing into the natural state, into the
spontaneity of what presently manifests in its deep non-dual
clarity. No contrivance, attempt to control, manipulate, seek,
alter, do, act, modify what manifests. Of course action can arise
(so there is no meditation/post-meditation difference essentially)
- but in acting it is just the action, again presenting itself
naturally as clarity in action, naturally, and spontaneously
(without any observer or doer).
You should therefore practice nondual opening in a relaxed
manner... opening to everything, and being mindful or having direct
awareness/perception of everything non-dually, touch the clarity of
all manifestation directly. You will have better understanding of
why the Buddha taught the four foundations of mindfulness - like
mahasatipatthana sutta (see:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html ). He
did not teach people to dissociate, become a watcher, remain or
abide in a background/substantial/purest Awareness, etc. Instead he
always talk about mindfulness of sensations, of manifestation, only
the manifestation and nothing about a self or a background like in
Advaita. Why? In seeing only the seen, in hearing only the heard,
as he said (
http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.sg/2010/10/my-commentary-on-bahiya-sutta.html
). Likewise in Mahasatipatthana sutta, you find the Buddha’s
repeated expression in the sutta of "observing the body in the
body," "observing the feelings in the feelings," "observing the
mind in the mind," "observing the objects of mind in the objects of
mind." Why are the words, body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind
repeated? Why ‘observe the … IN THE ….’? It means you are living
and experiencing IN and AS the sensations, and not observing the
sensations in and as an observer/watcher.
And as what Thusness told me,
"Thusness’s practice advise for me at the moment is to practice
“total opening for whatever arises. Once the taste and the view
seamlessly integrate, practice specific concentration, then slowly
understand how consciousness works.” When asked about specific
concentration, he just advised me to continue the “non-dual
opening” for the moment, until the view is fully integrated into
moment to moment of experience, then I should start practicing
concentration.
To me, non-dual opening must lead to the “transcendence” of all
sense of self/Self into ‘no heat or cold’ (see glossary), which is
to say, fully manifested as the immediate moment of manifestation
or as this flow of action. No resorting or tracing back to a
source/Self whatsoever.
p.s. update: Thusness just informed me that ‘the place where there
is no heat or cold’ must be a permanent state for my
practice."
The Buddha is very clear that all sensations are without self in
any form whatsoever - whether as an observer, or a container, or
something inhabiting forms like a soul in a body. He rejected all
kinds of self-view and taught that the direct path to liberation is
the practice of mindfulness as taught in Mahasatipatthana sutta.
His entire path of practice is in sync with his view and
realization. He did not talk about Self, he talked about the
aggregates, the elements, the sensations and manifestation and
their nature - empty of self, impermanent (dissolving, releasing,
disjoint), unsatisfactory (ungraspable and passing - nothing is
satisfying). He taught that by contemplating as such, you can gain
release, liberation.
Therefore by now with your insights, you should be quite clear that
the very basic teachings of Buddha are the most profound.
As Thusness said,
8/26/2012 1:17 AM: John: Do not always think of shortest path,
highest and most direct teaching, teaching that tell us to be
non-conceptual and free from views and realized our (luminous)
Essence directly -- all these can be misleading and extreme... bear
this in mind.
By now u should realized the importance of the basic (teachings of
the Buddha), of going through step by step. This is having
undoubted faith in teaching of returning to the basics from
deepening realization and experience.
8/26/2012 1:19 AM: AEN: Oic...
8/26/2012 1:19 AM: AEN: Yea
8/26/2012 1:19 AM: AEN: I find great clarity in for example the
pali discourses of buddha
8/26/2012 1:20 AM: AEN: Those essential teachings of dharma seal,
d.o., satipatthana etc
8/26/2012 1:25 AM: John: When u realized from maturing ur
realization and deepening ur experience, the basic practice becomes
natural and effortless. How could it b otherwise for Buddha only
taught what he realized.
8/26/2012 1:28 AM: AEN: I see...
p.s. these books may be helpful for your practice:
Clarifying the Natural State: A Principal Guidance Manual for
Mahamudra by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
Basic Teachings of the Buddha by Glen Wallis
Essentials of Mahamudra: Looking Directly at the Mind by Khenchen
Thrangu Rinpoche