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Question: I have been practising mainly soto zen meditation for over 10yrs and have had no so called awakenings.
For the last year I have become interested in advaita and have read a number of books including your own.
Im not expecting a great awakening to happen anymore but Im still waiting for the penny to drop. Have you any suggestions? Answer: My suggestion is to re-read the book, especially the last chapter and the chapter "Blinded by the light". Not to get IT, but perhaps to 'get' that there really is nothing to get, nor anyone to get it. You see 'awakening' is sort of a disillusionment; the end of illusion - including the illusion of awakening as something to 'get' later on. Full Awakeness is present here and now. It is not an experience for some one; IT is the impersonal Now-Present-Experiencing. It 'not being an experience' may sound 'mystical' but it is as simple as the realization that sight -while clearly present- is not something that can be seen. At this moment there is reading. Perhaps thoughts come up in response to the reading. 'Something' which is not a thing -nor a thought- knows the reading and the thoughts as they appear. This 'some-thing' is the light in which all that is known is lit up. Even the ideas of 'awakening' and the 'you that waits for the penny to drop' are known 'appearances' in this light. There is nothing this 'you-object' can or has to do for this; IT is always already so of it's own accord and without any effort. And even when there is the appearance of effort, it is effortlessly 'known' by -and in- THIS. Whether the thought "Aha, I've got it" or the thought "I'm still waiting for the penny to drop" drifts by, makes no difference to THIS. A full blown mystical experience, or doing the dishes, are both like reflections which do not affect the mirror wherein they appear. The simplicity of this ever present Mirror-like Awareness may be overlooked and dismissed as too simple and ordinary to be the 'holy grail' of all seekers, yet it is the mystery of mysteries and cannot be captured in a net of concepts and ideas; all such attempts are known in this indescribable Awareness. What-You-Are is not limited to this I-dea of the waiting character. You are the All-Inclusive-Silent-Background in which the meditation, this reading, the thoughts and this whole universe appear. Just like this, a sigh of relief, you are already home.
If or when you have a question you'd like to see answered in this newsletter send it to:
author@awakeningtothedream.com Art by: Essud Fungcap Title: 'Forever Waiting' Found at: http://www.cushcity.com/books/arttg00736.htm Fair Use Notice |
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When, in spite of intense practice, various teachers,
numerous Satsangs, and all the right books, the seeking
does not come to rest, it may help to see the 'connections.'
From our unique vantage point in time, we
can see relations and similarities between the different
teachings, books, and scriptures that have been handed
down through history. This 'overview' has not always
been available. Did Jesus know of Buddha? Did Meister
Eckhart know about Lao Tzu? Was Rumi familiar with
Bodhidharma? Perhaps, but most likely they were not.
Voices come to us from different cultures, from east and
west, north and south, some centuries apart, yet all
pointing in the same direction and sometimes literally
saying the same things. Here are a few concrete examples:
Christianity: For behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21) Buddhism: You are all Buddhas. There is nothing you need to achieve. Just open your eyes. (Siddhartha Gautama) Zen: If you cannot find the truth right where you are where else do you expect to find it? (Dogen Zenji) Taoism: Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many. (Chuang Tzu) Science: Bell's theorem demonstrates that the universe is fundamentally interconnected, interdependent, and inseparable.' (Fritjof Capra) Tibetan Buddhism: There is not a single state that is not this vast state of presence.* Islam: 'In that glory is no 'I' or 'We' or 'Thou.' 'I,' 'We,' 'Thou,' and 'He' are all one thing.'(Hallaj) Hinduism: Tat Tvam Asi - Thou Art That. Judaism: I am That I am. Is it not utterly fascinating that the same expressions are repeated over and over? Is it not heartening that they consistently point to the fact that all is one, that this is IT, and that you are IT ? Is this moment not the perfect moment to accept what they offer, to realize that it is your own voice inviting you home? If not now, then when? It's not difficult to discover your Buddha Mind But just don't try to search for it. Cease accepting and rejecting possible places Where you think it can be found And it will appear before you** I have heard people ask questions about the nature of enlightenment and then dismiss the answer by saying something like, 'These are just words and concepts. I have heard them before, and this is not enough. I want to know what it really is all about.' What such seekers are waiting for is a confirmation through a special event, or perhaps a peak experience, thus postponing the realization that the Awakeness they're looking for is already fully present. What they overlook is the actuality of that which does the seeing - that which everything has in common - the one universal canvas sustaining all manifestation. It is the substratum underlying all apparent diversity. It is the extraordinary in the absolutely ordinary. It is the common ground. Interestingly, common means both 'ordinary' as well as 'universal.' This common essence is our true nature, regardless of the shapes and diversity the mind projects on this undivided whole. It is the light that shines on everything, but cannot and needs not shine on itself. It is the magical illusion, the marvel that can manifest unity as diversity and the single as the many. It is the One Identity or Pure Awareness. * You Are the Eyes of the World Longchenpa. 
** Hsin Hsin Ming – verses on the faith mind by Sengstan 3rd Zen Patriarch.
From: "Awakening To The Dream"
Art by: Sam Brown Title: 'Connections' Found at: http://godconsciousness.com/sampurchasepage.htm Fair Use Notice |
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I’ve told you all that constitutes the very core of Truth; There is no you, no me, no superior being, no disciple, and no Guru. From: Dattatreya’s Song of the Avadhut.
Fair Use Notice |
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 "You mean I do the Hokie Pokie and I turn myself around and that's what it's all about?" Cartoon sent to me by friends. Artist unknown. If anyone knows to whom to give credit, please let me know. Fair Use Notice |
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