The old masters always said, your present mind is Buddha! Don't
seek after states, don't seek for experience, don't even seek for
something called "enlightenment". Sure, if there is ignorance
obscuring the nature of mind, then more investigation would be
necessary. Ignorance being false views of self and objects taken as
reality.
Nevertheless, reality as it is cannot be found through searching
externally (for more amazing experiences, states, etc). Whatever
you are searching for, is already fully present, is what you are,
right here, right now (that is of course just speaking
conventionally because if your nature of mind is empty, then self,
time and location don't apply). The masters often give analogies
like riding on a bull searching for his bull, looking everywhere
for the missing key that actually resides in his pocket, and so on
to demonstrate the absurdity of such actions, and naturally this
means ALL contrived actions are ultimately not going to 'bring you
there' which actually is 'where you already are'! The nature of
mind is already complete and whole as it is in this moment. That is
why all contemplative investigation is not about attaining a more
special state or experience, it is about investigating your present
natural mind to discover its nature. And enlightenment is simply
realizing your nature of mind as it is presently presenting itself
in its ordinariness and naturalness, and apart from this, there is
nothing else.
The clouds of ignorance merely temporarily obscure the sun of
awareness, so we have to liberate the clouds through realizing and
non-clinging (non-clinging being the natural result of realizing
the twofold emptinesses), but with regards to the unconditioned
clarity of pure awareness, nothing needs to be done. In short, we
clear the clouds to reveal the sun, but we don't (and we can't)
build a sun. But be careful of clinging to notions such as, "I am
currently too ignorant for the nature of mind to appear fully."
That is precisely what ignorance is, and after all, ignorant or
not, buddha-nature is already fully manifesting as this moment of
thought, sight, sound. The nature of mind is already spontaneously
perfected - nothing can make it more luminous, more empty, more
non-dual, more selfless, more perfect, more complete... Than THIS
(whatever is appearing in the moment) - e.g. raindrop on the pond,
ripples, gone.
You don't try to cause buddhahood, you simply lift the veils
preventing our true buddha nature from shining forth in its true
brilliance. Buddhahood is spontaneously perfected in our nature, we
don't try to construct it. All attempts or meditations or contrived
actions done in search for Buddha or enlightenment or whatever, is
to completely overlook the fact that present, ordinary mind is
Buddha. Anything else is delusion. Where is Buddha? Or should I
say, where is it not? Hand moves, eye blinks, body breathes, chop
wood, carry water.
The suchness of this moment can be described as the inseparability
of empty nature, an essence of luminous clarity, and the natural
function of limitless appearances through dependent origination.
Though described in three aspects, they are in essence an
indescribable and indivisible unity. The present appearance of mind
itself reveals its three facets wordlessly. The nature of mind is
Buddha, so do not seek Buddha elsewhere, but do not cling to false
ideations of an ultimate subject either. This is not a denial of
mind or awareness, but a rejection of the false view that there is
an unchanging and independently existing entity called mind. As
this is not a denial of mind, the statement that Mind is Buddha
still stands. All is Mind, No Mind, not contradictory! However,
mind is empty of an entity called mind, and as such mind is a label
collating the endless stream of experiences - all are the illusory
display of mind, intimate, non-dual without subject or object. Just
like the word 'wind' is simply a label collating the everchanging
activities of 'blowing'.
Nowadays, I don't cling to anything including even
'Buddha-nature', 'Truth', 'Ultimate Reality', or even 'Awareness',
etc. There is no such thing in my experience! Not because there is
no awareness, but because awareness is empty of
an aware-ness, so it is more like awar-ing. Awareness too is empty
of self. So there is no mind, no buddha, just
experiencing: colours and shapes and sounds, a
conglomerate of empty forms manifest due to various causes and
conditions, revealing itself by its brilliant self-luminosity, gone
upon its inception due to the departing of conditions, no traces
(unless there is clinging, craving, aversions, etc). By the prajna
wisdom of emptiness, all appearances reveal its dream-like nature,
and in the light of clarity, delusions and clinging are
automatically self-liberated. Let all shapes and sounds pass by
like a bird leaving no tracks in the sky.
Non abidance is the key message of Buddha. Not to grasp this
point is to fail to understand what the Buddha's teachings are
about.