Hi Isis,
My practice starts after the experience of the deep joy of Presence
and there after practice is always in the form of finding more
about myself and the experience, i.e, who we really are. Suffering
is inevitable in the beginning because our mind is so accustom to
think in a dualistic mode. The challenge becomes more intense when
we delve deeper till a point that we are completely confused.
This is all because we are engaging a wrong approach
towards understanding our true nature. Employing our current system
of enquiry asking who, when and where will end us up into
experiencing our true nature as Eternal Witness, Soul or God. That
is the best the thinking mind can go. This is because the way we
cognize is through employing symbols and labels and God, logos is
the ultimate symbol. But this is not what our true nature is. To
truly experience our boundless, limitness nature, I have come to
the conclusion that Buddha's way is the most appropriate way.
If we were to practice mindfulness from start and learn to
experience things in bare. We develop this intuitive mode of
directly experiencing things as they are. Together with firm
understanding of the basic teaching of Buddha, we will be able to
break this habitual energy of seeing things in a dualistic mode.
Buddha never taught about who instead he made Anatta a Dharma
Seal; nothing about inherent existence, instead impermanence and
oneness. Never about first cause but about Dependent Origination
that will eventually lead us into seeing things as unborn, no
coming and going. He taught mindfulness as the preferred way of
meditation and said that it will lead us into enlightenment. All
these can be experienced right here and now. We should take it
seriously. It will eliminate a lot of unnecessary sufferings.
