I'm just wondering...
how about there are times when one is forgetful and lack of
awareness?
Is awareness always there?
One is forgetful when the mind fixates on thoughts, mesmerising
experiences, etc. What does he forget? He forgets the 3 dharma
seals. This is being unmindful. Forgetting the three dharma seals,
he gets lost in content thinking they are permanent, self, and
satisfactory, and thus create suffering for himself. In other
words, rather than paying attention to the present reality and
observings its three characteristics, it dwells on the contents of
thoughts and projects into the past and future.
In terms of practice, whatever practice it is, we must put
effort in maintaining mindfulness. At first effortful, after some
period of practice and insights, it turns effortless.
As Thusness told me 4 years ago, Mindfulness is activity,
Awareness is reality.
Even if you aren't paying attention to what's present, the
Present Presence is still Present, just overlooked. Not noticing
what IS doesn't mean what IS isn't.
Mindfulness as an activity can be lost, but Awareness as Reality
can never be lost. It is the basis of all experience.
Let's say, you lost mindfulness, and therefore you're lost in
the contents of thoughts of 'self', but then, isn't the thought
itself appearing in Awareness. Can there be a thought without
awareness of it? Can a thought be occuring outside of awareness,
and if it's occuring outside of awareness how can it even be
experienced?
So let's say you think, 'I don't know if I'm aware right now'.
But surely, you are aware and cognizing that thought isn't it?
Isn't the thought just appearing and vanishing within the context
of awareness?
Awareness is simply this sky-like, vast, luminous light that
allows everything to be seen and exerpienced. If you get into this
perspective/view, it feels like you are this vast space and the
clouds just roll by, you feel you're unaffected by any of it. But
this is still subtly dualistic, and when you inquire into the
relationship between the cloud (phenomena) and the sky, you'll see
they're actually basically inseparable, you'll see there's
absolutely no distance between awareness and form, and all forms
(thoughts, sights, sounds, etc) are basically 'made of' the same
basic clarity and spaciousness.
Just my 2 cents