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From Self to Self contains a compilation of expressions, questions and answers that came about in response to Leo's highly praised first book 'Awakening to the Dream'. Leo writes with characteristic insight and uses metaphor to illuminate the paradoxical and apparently confusing nature of non-dual reality.
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Question: I wonder about the difference between those who consider,that meditation, stages of enlightenment etc. are
of utmost importance, and those who are sceptical about that, (Tony Parsons, Nathan Gill, You) .It is as if you say, stop searching for what you are already now and those that say only a few are able thanks to severe practice to reach that goal. Both, you and they, name the same sages, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta. Can you inform me about this turnover?
With love,
Answer: There is no independent character who can choose to seek through effort, or who can decide to not make such an effort. Whatever happens is the way it is. IT is the One appearing AS whatever appears. All action and all inaction is from the One. To quote from the Bhagavad Gita:
All works are being done by the Gunas (or the energy and power) of nature, but due to delusion of ego, people assume themselves to be the doer. (3.27)
The Bhagavad-Gita Copyright 1988 by Dr. Ramanand Prasad Now Tony, Nathan and Leo may emphasize that practice feeds the illusion of an independent character that through its efforts may reach a future goal of enlightenment, but it is definitely not a new idea. Below I will list a selection of quotes from different sources pointing in this direction. To be sure, one can find plenty of quotes that encourage seeking and practice as well, but what if the idea of being ‘the doer’ is a phantom? How could this phantom see through itself? How could a non-entity accomplish its own non existence? Is it not already non existent, even when it is believed to exist? Furthermore, if practice was the cause of clarity, then such clarity would be the effect of such practice . Since clarity is non-dual it can not be the half of the dualistic pair ' practice and its result.’ Also it is said that IT is pure presence. How can presence be reached through time? It simply IS ; much like space cannot be reached or left by the objects occurring in it. Nothing can be done by the illusory character to see this, because it is not this character that will see it. It is again the One appearing AS such seeing. Working with the ego on the ego is like having a convicted man in charge of his own execution. Or like in an alleged conversation between Lao Tsu and Confucius, where Lao Tsu says: Your attempt to eliminate self is a positive manifestation of selfishness.
You are like a person beating a drum in search of a fugitive. Here are some more pointers: Since Buddhahood is not developed but occurs naturally,
You err in meditating and trying to achieve Buddhahood. From; “The Precious Treasury of the Way of Abiding” By Longchen Rabjam So I went on practicing very hard. I did zazen. I went and lived in the mountains. I disciplined myself as severely as I possibly could. But none of it helped a bit. I didn’t get any closer to understanding the Buddha-mind.
The Unborn The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei (1622 – 1693) Translated by Norman Waddell. North Point Press ISBN 0-86547-595-4 You don’t know that you’re already living Buddhas in all that you do. You think that you attain enlightenment and become a Buddha by piling up merit through religious practice. But since that’s totally wrong, you go along pathetically, leaving one darkness only to enter an other.
As for me, I don’t preach about the Buddhist teaching. I only point out the false notions you bring with you. The Unborn The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei (1622 – 1693) Translated by Norman Waddell. North Point Press ISBN 0-86547-595-4
The nature of phenomena is nondual,
but each one, in its own state, is beyond the limits of the mind. There is no concept that can define the condition of "what is" but vision nevertheless manifests: all is good. Everything has already been accomplished, and so, having overcome the sickness of effort, one finds oneself in the self-perfected state: this is contemplation. From: Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Snow Lion ISBN: 1559390573
Nothing to do or undo,
nothing to force, nothing to want, and nothing missing---- Emaho! Marvelous! Everything happens by itself. From: Free & Easy By Venerable Lama Gendun Rinpoche.
"The great way isn't difficult for those who are unattached to their preferences.
Let go of longing and aversion, and everything will be perfectly clear. From: The Hsin-hsin Ming. (Full text included in the book 'From Self to Self')
If or when you have a question you'd like to see answered in this newsletter send it to:
author@awakeningtothedream.com Painting by: William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955) Title: Vision Seeker. Found at at: http://www.ou.edu/fjjma/collections/fleischaker/leigh_vision.html |
Dear Readers. |
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Sometimes, someone will listen carefully to expressions of
the Understanding, that there is no doer of anything, that
there are no individuals, that all there is is Consciousness,
and that you are That; and they will say, "This all sounds
a little theoretical, how do I integrate this into my daily
life?" That's usually a good conversation stopper, because
the answer is, you don't. Actually, it's one of those questions
like, "Are you awakened?" which from the point of
view of the seeker is sincere and begs for a decent answer
but from the perspective of the Understanding makes no
sense, because the premise is back-asswards. It's a little
like the tourist who stood next to me as we took in our
first view of Cliff Palace, the ancient Anasazi ruins at Mesa
Verde, a complete adobe village thousands of years old built
into a cliffside in the Colorado desert.
"Humph," he pronounced, "looks like a movie set." "But you see," I couldn't help but reply, "actually, it's the movie set, if it's a good one, that may look a little like this." You come across this all the time. Sitting on the porch on a summer evening listening to the insects, someone will say, "That cricket sounds just like a cell phone." Sure, it's all dream, all illusion, but even within the dream the cricket is just itself: it was there before there were cell phones, and it is the cell phone that came later and was programmed to (poorly) imitate the chirp of a cricket. This is a perspective, a mind-set, which obfuscates clear understanding. As a first step, at least get clear on what it is that is real, and what it is that is the illusion, the construct, the derivative. Asking how you integrate the Understanding into your daily life is like asking how you incorporate total freedom into captivity.
From: 'Perfect Brilliant Stillness:' Beyond the Individual Self. By David Carse
Highly recommended Available from Non-Duality Press at: http://www.non-dualitybooks.com/. |
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No postmortems, please No postmortems, please. The world is immortal. The world renews itself. What about poems and songs -- Do they perish? Maybe they only Vanish awhile. Maybe they go underground To gather some other Knowledge and come back In another form: New words, a new melody, Yet somehow The same beloved, Singing the same song. ~ Gregory Orr~ Painting by: Victoria Kwasinski Title: Renewal. Visit her at: http://www.prisma4.com/ |
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During the day I praised you and I didn't know At night I laid with You and I didn't know I had thought that I was myself but I was entirely You and I didn't know. ~Jalaluddin Rumi~ Painting by: Vincent Van Gogh Title: Starry Night. Found at: http://www.globalgallery.com/enlarge/030-40393/ |
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Sent to me from: http://www.farcus.com/ |
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