at first i didn't see pg1(simply miss it) and see pg 2, i
thought where the big-self come from. first i thought it's
the ordinary people's "i" where normal people like to say. I, I, I,
我我我. but no, it's not that. :D
but Master Sheng Yen explain it nicely.
i especially like the "application" 起用 portion of sunyata.
:)
truely "interconnectedness" or
"Maha in nature" or "non-dual luminosity aspect".
;)
at first i thought and wonder how
is this not link to self liberating arahathood of hinayana
(小乘自了汉) ? or where's the mentioning of bodhicitta toward all
sentient beings? but Master Sheng Yen explain it nicely.
/\
Actually, 'interconnectedness' and 'Maha' are related. However,
'non-dual luminosity' is a different thing.
Non-dual luminosity is discovered even in Stage 4.
As I wrote to someone recent:
Me: Hi S,
You are a sincere and humble practitioner and I truthfully hope
that you will achieve swift spiritual break-through. As I am too in
a learning process, I will try to share with you what I have
learnt.
First you should break-through the division between subject and
object. It is OK to experience substantial non-duality first, but
it is good to bear in mind that there are further phases.
When we challenge the boundaries and division between subject and
object, we are able to collapse our experience into oneness. This
is the phase of substantial non-dual. By challenging the boundary
where awareness ends and manifestation begin, or the border between
awareness and content, everything reveals itself to be an
expression of a single field of undivided awareness. Such that
things no longer occur 'In' awareness, but 'As' awareness.
Everything is equally an expression of the infinite field of
awareness... and there is no separation whatsoever between
awareness and content, perceiver and perceived, subject and
object.
That is the substantial non-dual phase. After which you can try to
contemplate, 'in seeing just the seen', 'in hearing just the heard'
like in Bahiya Sutta. This is not just a matter of substantial
non-dualism. It is not 'everything is Awareness' but that 'there is
no Awareness apart from the sights, sounds, etc'. So effectively,
the term 'Awareness' is just a label, like the word 'weather', for
the myriad of self-luminous experiences... it has no independent,
permanent existence of its own. In seeing, ONLY just the seen.
Apart from that there is no seeing or awareness. Just the seen,
heard, cognized, thought, etc... just manifestation. So we no
longer see a metaphysical essence. We no longer see anything
inherent. Not even an 'Awareness'. Instead, we see a dynamic stream
of luminous activities, without an agent, without a perceiver, a
doer, controller, etc. This is not the inseparability of subject
and object, but seeing how there is no subject to begin with – only
self-luminous processes, activities, dharmas.
When a person undergo awareness practice until a certain phase –
non-dual, it is very very important to keep instilling the right
view and keep breaking the 'essence'. At this point you will need
to have clarity on anatta and dependent origination in order to
refine the experience of anatta. Even if one had glimpses and
experiences of no-mind, one will still be unable to realize anatta,
until practitioners realize that it is not necessary to have an
'essence' at all – it is simply a distorted view. So, to penetrate
into Anatta, there must be the willingness to let go of the wrong
'view' entirely – the entire idea of an 'essence' must be gone. So
with the adoption of view, we perfect the experience until all
doubts are gone, and the center is completely gone – just flat,
disjoint, unsupported, dimensionless and pure experience,
manifested as whatever arises.
First investigate and clear the bond of duality, then investigate
and clear the bond of inherency.
Regards,
AEN
