It is not about having a better conventional life

longchen SG

Hi All,

This is my understandings.

The authentic cultivation is never about having a better conventional life. Following a real path will not make you have less trouble in your life, You will not become richer, more powerful or have any of the other pleasant things in life that one can think of.

By this point, many people will already be discouraged or even dispute these statements.

So what is it all about and it is worth it? It is about understanding what is really going on actually !!

In the conventional life, we will always want things to be going our way. But we are not aware of what is happening in our consciousness. So when things goes bad, our world also collapse. We fail to see something here.

Conventional life is conditioned by the apparent losses and gains. But, having no experience, we fail to see what is really going on. That is, from the utimate 'perspective/experience' nothing has been gained and nothing has been lost. This is very hard to understand from the perspective of 'self'. The unborn nature since the beginning has never been diminised or affected by any apparent happening in the relative and conventional sense!! The gains and losses are the dreams illusions of the self.

From my understanding, the sense of self is not a permanent entity but is really like a wave-like experience. When attachment to the senses (including mental thinking/concepts) inputs is strong, the unborn nature 'forgets' and becomes 'wrapped up/caught up' as a self. What that is really transparent, vast and luminous becomes solid and hard when experienced from the vision of the self.

IMO, an authentic practice is about becoming familiar with unborn, 'empty' non-dual nature, which is 'your' true nature. By that, we become more and more confident and less and less the gains and losses affects us. Takes a lot of courage and alert awareness here.

Must always remember the core teachings of the Buddha and the three characteristics of existence. These are most important but people just disregard it.

By having a good understanding of this, we will be able to better discern what is authentic and what is fake teaching.

Dawnfirstlight SG

Yes, to understand the core teachings of the Buddha needs wisdom which I notice not many people have it. Many people cannot accept the state of Nirvana. Most of them said Nirvana is in the state of no feelings. Though I will not say I fully understand what is Nirvana but to me it is the best state.

One has to understand the Law Of Karma in order to understand why one has to suffer in this life. Or else they will start to blame everybody and everything except themselves.

An Eternal Now SG

Thanks... very true and clear!

longchen SG

IMO...

Karma also never stain the 'Unborn' nature. However, when karma is 'in operation', the 'Unborn' is even harder to be experienced.

An Eternal Now SG

Hmm can you elaborate more on that?

I think when we face all the worldly situations, gain and loss, bad things and good things happening and so on... the mind habits kick in faster and get lost in the 'me' story easier. It's amazing how the mind can get lost in its own projections.

Actually the unborn nature of consciousness remains ever so, but the identification with the 'me' story and situation and makes 'me' and the 'world' seem real and solid and thus lose sight of reality in suffering and unsatisfactoriness. However the apparent losing sight of reality is also just an appearance. There is actually no real 'me' that 'loses sight of reality' or 'gains sight of reality'. There is just This.

An Eternal Now SG

Actually bad situations can also awaken awareness... if we become conscious of our feelings, emotions and thoughts.

If life is smooth all the way, one can be unconsciously identified with one's thoughts too but it isn't obvious because they aren't suffering as much.

longchen SG

Hmm can you elaborate more on that?

Yes, that's what i am referring.

IMO...

In the karma & conditions coming into effect, there is no escape. To not adding more karmic energy, there can only be 'do nothing'. Doing something is already believing that some action will lead to an improvement for the self... already caught in 'self' and lost sight. This 'doing nothing' is not about physical activity... it is about not getting attached to the self's mental story.

An Eternal Now SG

Ic.. yah, even Buddha and his arhat disciples have to face effects of bad karma, so I don't think one can escape them.

Thanks for the the sharing about the doing nothing... that is very true! The seeking is sure to keep one caught up in duality endlessly.

BTW, does living in Rigpa mean not having desires at all?

An Eternal Now SG

One has to understand the Law Of Karma in order to understand why one has to suffer in this life. Or else they will start to blame everybody and everything except themselves.

Nirvana is not a state of no feelings.

All thoughts and feelings continue to arise, but what you are, is this present awake space, it is not a passing feeling or thought. It is always Present in the Now-ness of Being, that is what you truly are. If you identify yourself as this time-bound, mind-made, story based 'me', that is the source of all sufferings. However if you clearly see yourself to be this pure present Awareness in which and as which all feelings appear, which can never be lost, then you no longer identify yourself with a false story of who you are. And if you no longer hold to your false identity, the 'me' story becomes seen as irrelevant, pointless, unreal, and is naturally dropped on its own.

If we investigate the sense of 'me', see if it can actually be found, or is it just a passing thought, feeling, without any substance at all, just ephemeral dust passing by in this wide awake space.

Also see: http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2003/winter/ajahnamaro.html

Aloozer SG

'wave-like experience' meaning? always arising and falling and the cycle repeats? so this entity in buddhism which is always referred to as the 'self' is always there but cannot be defined as 'self' by definition of the word, because it's not unchanging? so likewise, the water wave is always changing from moment to moment so it's also empty of a 'self'? is this correct understanding?

longchen SG

BTW, does living in Rigpa mean not having desires at all?

Sorry, AEN. Am in no position to talk about continous rigpa. There is much desire still.

As a practice, i think it is good to work through relaxing attention to the six sensory inputs of mental thoughts, sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell. To me, mental thoughts and sight are the hardest to work on as there are so natural and automatic to our life experience.

In my experience, when the detachment is authentic and not unknowingly forced, the attentions will fall away. This will lead to awareness of what is automatically running all the time.. and that is our breathing. The calmness will be accompanied by the automatic feeling of the inbreathe and the outbreathe. Normally, when we are caught up in the self... we will not experience the inbreathe and outbreathe.

An Eternal Now SG

Sorry, AEN. Am in no position to talk about continous rigpa. There is much desire still.

I see... thanks for the valuable advice. Will work on it :)

Your post also reminded me of something...

Once, when Gotama was emerging from three months’ seclusion, he made a comment that seems to me to be of real significance for our understanding of classical Buddhist meditation. I suspect that some of Gotama’s followers had been wondering just what he was doing for all of that time deep in the cool forest. Perhaps, followers of other teachers had been inquiring into the matter. In any case, Gotama’s followers apparently wanted to know what they should say to others when they inquired about Gotama’s activities. Gotama’s response was: ―tell them that I dwell in present-moment awareness of the breath"

What? I can imagine someone responding. That’s it? Gotama became the Buddha just by watching his breath?! How is that possible? In the text that follows, called the Anapanasati Sutta (Present-moment Awareness with Breathing), Gotama says that it is indeed possible.

longchen SG

Hi Aloozer,

There is no permanent entity call self. Self is experienced out of unknowingly attaching to the sensory inputs being experienced and seeing them as a cohesive unit.

longchen SG

I see... thanks for the valuable advice. Will work on it :)

Thanks, Thusness instead.

Ultimately, thank Buddha :)

Aloozer SG

Hi Aloozer,

There is no permanent entity call self. Self is experienced out of unknowingly attaching to the sensory inputs being experienced and seeing them as a cohesive unit.

oic..i think when u meant courage, courageous in letting go and in the 'doing nothing' part huh

takes a whole lot of courage to open up and be vulnerable

Weychin SG

The "I' is what experiences the "Wave like" moments of happiness and alternating sadness.Who is happy, who is sad?"I"!

longchen SG

oic..i think when u meant courage, courageous in letting go and in the 'doing nothing' part huh

takes a whole lot of courage to open up and be vulnerable

Yes !

We first need to open up to be vulnerable. Takes some faith and courage here.

Then, we will begin see that the self is not a permanent entity and then be more comfortable with the new experience.

Dawnfirstlight SG

Share with you guys a true hearsay story. One of my friend's relative ( not a practicing Buddhist) prayed to Buddha for many years. He found Buddha did not bless him because his life was not "smooth sailing". He converted to Christian. Less than 2 years after he had converted, he passed away at a young age.

It makes no difference as to which God or Buddha you pray to if you do not see the truth in life.

Rooney9 SG

Ic.. yah, even Buddha and his arhat disciples have to face effects of bad karma, so I don't think one can escape them.

Thanks for the the sharing about the doing nothing... that is very true! The seeking is sure to keep one caught up in duality endlessly.

BTW, does living in Rigpa mean not having desires at all?

yes no one can escape the effects of their karma, be it the Buddha, arahants or anybody else. it is the true nature of karma. but only enlightened beings like the Buddha and arahants will not accumulate any karma, because they have already extinguised the causes of existences or becoming. when they pass away, no more rebirths.