Death, Consciousness, Nondual Perception
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Have you ever had the experience of fully appreciating a piece of music to the point that instead of 'hearing' the music, you actually 'Became' the music? It's like your sense of self or personality temporarily dissolves and instead of hearing the music, you are the music as it plays?
Or perhaps seeing a tree.. or anything... and becoming merged with the seeing or the tree such that you could feel the 'existence' of the tree itself, but there is nobody there seeing it... you are not there seeing the tree, you ARE the tree, you ARE the seeing/seen.
Well I had such experiences years ago but recently I had more intense experiences of such....
Some days back I was contemplating on death. What I mean is I'm pondering on 'How does it feel like to die or be dead?'... Then I 'pretended' to die... and suddenly, it feels like "I" completely died and disappeared.. But instead of losing consciousness, awareness turns out to be everything I see and felt, the whole world is there, except without a "me". It's like the pure existence of the world but without a center or a "me" in it. However a short moment later the karmic propensity of perceiving a "separate self" comes back like an entity in the head and 'I' 'lost' the experience... This is described very precisely by Thusness in his earlier stages of experiences, "The rest of the journey is the unfolding and further refining of this experience of Total Presence but somehow there is always this blockage, this ‘something’ preventing me from recapturing the experience. It is the inability to fully ‘die’ into total Presence..." and "Somehow something is blocking the natural flow of my innermost essence and preventing me from re-living the experience. Presence is still there but there is no sense of ‘totality’. It was both logically and intuitively clear that ‘I’ is the problem. It is the ‘I’ that is blocking; it is the ‘I’ that is the limit; it is the ‘I’ that is the boundary but why can’t I do away with it?"
Anyway I learnt from this that 'death' is not as scary as we might think and in fact is quite blissful.
Then a few days later a similar experience came but was much more intense... it feels as though I'm entering into a different state of consciousness... and my body and mind is like totally dissolving and fading away... and I'm 'forcefully' absorbed into what I am seeing and hearing and feeling... it feels strange and I don't know how to describe it. There is sort of a shift in consciousness like entering an altered state but yet it is not a trance. There is complete awareness or consciousness but the "self" or "center" dissolves and fades out of existence. What remains is everything as consciousness. Actually it's not even "consciousness" that we might think of or "consciousness" in the Buddhist sense because this "consciousness" is not "consciousness conscious OF something"... rather it feels like pure existence itself… the "Pure Beingness", yet not limited to the sense of "Beingness" or "Amness" (which I had past glimpses of what it is like, the impersonal pure sense of existence or consciousness) but rather it is the "pure existence" of the seeing and hearing, i.e. of the "world".
It feels very different from our normal way of perceiving things but at the same time it's pretty much the same. What I mean is the things that are seen or heard are still pretty much the same as before but the experience contrasts with our normal (or abnormal) way of perceiving things "at a distance" and "with a self" and also with a lack of clarity.
This time the experience is longer but still I 'went back to normal' after some time. Also, it appears that I 'time travelled' during my meditation... I sat one hour, second half hour passed by like less than a few minutes... its as if I did not perceive the change in time.. sort of timeless? I only knew how long has past after looking at the clock.
Anyone had such experiences to share?
p.s. the forum seems unusually inactive theseadays.
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Just yesterday I was reading a very relevant passage from the book "Nonduality" by David Loy, a qualified Zen teacher and academic:
...music heard so deeply, That it is not heard at all, but you are the music, While the music lasts.
-- T.S. Eliot, "The Dry Salvages"
Chapter I, in a discussion of nonduality in Zen, included some quotations from a contemporary Japanese Zen master, Yasutani Hakaun. These were from his dokusan (private interviews) with Western students. One of these statements dealt specifically with the nature of hearing:
There is a line a famous Zen master wrote at the time he became enlightened which reads: "When I heard the temple bell ring, suddenly there was no bell and no I, just sound." In other words, he no longer was aware of a distinction between himself, the bell, the sound, and the universe. This is the state you have to reach."
Yasutani elaborates on this in another dokusan with a different student.
Usually when you hear a bell ringing you think, consciously or unconsciously, "I am hearing a bell." Three things are involved: I, a bell, and hearing. But when the mind is ripe, that is, as free of discursive thoughts as a sheet of pure white paper is unmarred by a blemish, there is just the sound of the bell ringing. This is Kensho [enlightenment or self-realization.]"
While such nondual hearing can hardly be said to be common, neither is it confined to the adherents of the nondualist Asian traditions. The lines from T.S.Eliot quoted above clearly allude to a very similar experience, and other examples could be cited. Eliot's is especially interesting because it refers to the medium by which most nondual experiences probably occur. The experience described is unmistakably nondual. Not only is there no hearer, but there is no objective music that is heard. It doubtlessly records an experience that Eliot had, perhaps many times, and that I suspect many people have had occasionally. One literally becomes "absorbed" into the music; the sense of self that is doing the hearing fades, and at the same time the music ceases to be something "out there." Especially if the musical work is a familiar one, we normally (and dualistically) hear each note or chord in the context of the whole phrase, by remembering the previous notes and anticipating the ones to come, as if the whole phrase were simultaneously present before us and we "read" it from beginning to end. But this is an example of mnemic savikalpa determination of the nirvikalpa sound. This changes in the nondual hearing: No matter how well I may know the work, I cease to anticipate what is coming and become that single note or chord which seems to dance "up and down." Music is the ideal medium for nondual experience, since we listen to it for enjoyment -- that is to say, we listen for no other reason or intention outside itself; we do not need to assign the sounds a meaning, which is to have them refer to something else. The sound need not be a sound of something, and without any such thought-construction we have "a pure sound, a bark without its dog" (Neruda). For those of religious inclination, like Eliot, such moments of nondual hearing have a spiritual or mystical quality, but I suspect that for all those who have had them they are cherished as a "heightening of consciousness." This is despite the fact that at the time one cannot be said to be aware of oneself "enjoying" the music, for then I do become aware of myself as enjoying, the nonduality of the experience has already faded away into dualistic hearing and it cannot be brought back by any effort of will or attention. Nondual experience cannot be repeated or produced by the self because it is something that happens to the self -- the sense of self evaporates temporarily. One can only create conditions where this is more likely to occur (e.g., meditation), but even then the expectations of such an experience will interfere with its occurrence, as experienced meditators know.
(snipped)
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Though I should note that I do not consider my experience as enlightenment or such and I only have glimpses of not lasting more than a minute... I cannot sustain such experiences. And also such experience does not mean I have had realisations of the nature of Anatta.
But for now I think I have to meditate more to 'eliminate' the self...
p.s. Thusness told me I'm passing through the process (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) he mentioned in http://buddhism.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/306388 . But now I need to sustain and gather strength in my meditation and learn to summarise what he said regarding Anatta. He also told me to contemplate on the same question he told spnw07 as he said it is suitable for me now to deepen my experience or insight.
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Yes AEN, you are beginning to experience what that is known in the Advaita Vedanta as ‘Atman’ except that the experiences you had did not lead to you to the wrong conclusion. This is because the doctrine of anatta has sunk sufficiently deep in your inmost consciousness. Although the 'teaching of anatta' helps to prevent you from landing into wrong views, the downside is it also denies you from experiencing that deep and utimate conviction, that certainty beyond doubt of your very own existence -- "I AM'. This is a very important factor for Advaita practitioners.
The next important factor is the duration of this non-dual experience must be prolonged; long enough for you to enter into a sort of absorption that the experience becomes 'oceanic'.
Or perhaps seeing a tree.. or anything... and becoming merged with the seeing or the tree such that you could feel the 'existence' of the tree itself, but there is nobody there seeing it... you are not there seeing the tree, you ARE the tree, you ARE the seeing/seen.
Next is to deepen ur right understanding of these experiences. Are you the tree or not the tree experientially?
and suddenly, it feels like "I" completely died and disappeared.. But instead of losing consciousness...
...Anyway I learnt from this that 'death' is not as scary as we might think and in fact is quite blissful.
Not yet. The dissolving of 'I' and 'death' must include both the experience of luminosity and 'losing of consciousness'. However it is not the right time now, have the right understanding of these experiences first. :)
Lastly practice 'dropping, �' during meditation.
Happy Journey!
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Originally posted by Thusness:
Yes AEN, you are beginning to experience what that is known in the Advaita Vedanta as ‘Atman’ except that the experiences you had did not lead to you to the wrong conclusion. This is because the doctrine of anatta has sunk sufficiently deep in your inmost consciousness. Although the 'teaching of anatta' helps to prevent you from landing into wrong views, the downside is it also denies you from experiencing that deep and utimate conviction, that certainty beyond doubt of your very own existence -- "I AM'. This is a very important factor for Advaita practitioners.
The next important factor is the duration of this non-dual experience must be prolonged; long enough for you to enter into a sort of absorption that the experience becomes 'oceanic'.
Next is to deepen ur right understanding of these experiences. Are you the tree or not the tree experientially?
Not yet. The dissolving of 'I' and 'death' must include both the experience of luminosity and 'losing of consciousness'. However it is not the right time now, have the right understanding of these experiences first. :)
Lastly practice 'dropping, �' during meditation.
Happy Journey!
Hi, thanks for the reply! I have a few questions.
You said "Although the 'teaching of anatta' helps to prevent you from landing into wrong views, the downside is it also denies you from experiencing that deep and utimate conviction, that certainty beyond doubt of your very own existence -- "I AM'."
Then how about for a Buddhist, does he need to experience " that deep and utimate conviction, that certainty beyond doubt of your very own existence -- "I AM'."?
And you asked "Are you the tree or not the tree experientially?" -- experientially it feels that I am the tree during nondual experience, but right now I do not feel such 'recognition' experientially.
You said "Not yet. The dissolving of 'I' and 'death' must include both the experience of luminosity and 'losing of consciousness'. However it is not the right time now, have the right understanding of these experiences first. :)"
Actually at first when the experience first happened I had a feeling that I am losing consciousness... but later on it appears I did not lose consciousness. But what do you actually mean by losing consciousness? Does that mean 5 senses shut off?
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Then how about for a Buddhist, does he need to experience " that deep and utimate conviction, that certainty beyond doubt of your very own existence -- "I AM'."?
Yes it is still important (in my opinion). It is the experience of our luminosity. There must be certainty of our luminosity but this luminosity is empty of an essence. This is most difficult to understand and the purpose of insight into our emptiness and anatta nature (to me) is really just about 'effortless sustainability'.
Actually at first when the experience first happened I had a feeling that I am losing consciousness... but later on it appears I did not lose consciousness. But what do you actually mean by losing consciousness? Does that mean 5 senses shut off?
No. All 6 senses. No point talking about now.
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Originally posted by Thusness:
Yes it is still important (in my opinion). It is the experience of our luminosity. There must be certainty of our luminosity but this luminosity is empty of an essence. This is most difficult to understand and the purpose of insight into our emptiness and anatta nature (to me) is really just about 'effortless sustainability'.
No. All 6 senses. No point talking about now.
I see...
Regarding all 6 senses, are you refering to Nirodha Samapatti (the nirvana/cessation of feelings and perceptions)?
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Have you ever had the experience of fully appreciating a piece of music to the point that instead of 'hearing' the music, you actually 'Became' the music? It's like your sense of self or personality temporarily dissolves and instead of hearing the music, you are the music as it plays?
Or perhaps seeing a tree.. or anything... and becoming merged with the seeing or the tree such that you could feel the 'existence' of the tree itself, but there is nobody there seeing it... you are not there seeing the tree, you ARE the tree, you ARE the seeing/seen.
Well I had such experiences years ago but recently I had more intense experiences of such....
Some days back I was contemplating on death. What I mean is I'm pondering on 'How does it feel like to die or be dead?'... Then I 'pretended' to die... and suddenly, it feels like "I" completely died and disappeared.. But instead of losing consciousness, awareness turns out to be everything I see and felt, the whole world is there, except without a "me". It's like the pure existence of the world but without a center or a "me" in it. However a short moment later the karmic propensity of perceiving a "separate self" comes back like an entity in the head and 'I' 'lost' the experience... This is described very precisely by Thusness in his earlier stages of experiences, "The rest of the journey is the unfolding and further refining of this experience of Total Presence but somehow there is always this blockage, this ‘something’ preventing me from recapturing the experience. It is the inability to fully ‘die’ into total Presence..." and "Somehow something is blocking the natural flow of my innermost essence and preventing me from re-living the experience. Presence is still there but there is no sense of ‘totality’. It was both logically and intuitively clear that ‘I’ is the problem. It is the ‘I’ that is blocking; it is the ‘I’ that is the limit; it is the ‘I’ that is the boundary but why can’t I do away with it?"
Anyway I learnt from this that 'death' is not as scary as we might think and in fact is quite blissful.
Then a few days later a similar experience came but was much more intense... it feels as though I'm entering into a different state of consciousness... and my body and mind is like totally dissolving and fading away... and I'm 'forcefully' absorbed into what I am seeing and hearing and feeling... it feels strange and I don't know how to describe it. There is sort of a shift in consciousness like entering an altered state but yet it is not a trance. There is complete awareness or consciousness but the "self" or "center" dissolves and fades out of existence. What remains is everything as consciousness. Actually it's not even "consciousness" that we might think of or "consciousness" in the Buddhist sense because this "consciousness" is not "consciousness conscious OF something"... rather it feels like pure existence itself… the "Pure Beingness", yet not limited to the sense of "Beingness" or "Amness" (which I had past glimpses of what it is like, the impersonal pure sense of existence or consciousness) but rather it is the "pure existence" of the seeing and hearing, i.e. of the "world".
It feels very different from our normal way of perceiving things but at the same time it's pretty much the same. What I mean is the things that are seen or heard are still pretty much the same as before but the experience contrasts with our normal (or abnormal) way of perceiving things "at a distance" and "with a self" and also with a lack of clarity.
This time the experience is longer but still I 'went back to normal' after some time. Also, it appears that I 'time travelled' during my meditation... I sat one hour, second half hour passed by like less than a few minutes... its as if I did not perceive the change in time.. sort of timeless? I only knew how long has past after looking at the clock.
Anyone had such experiences to share?
p.s. the forum seems unusually inactive theseadays.
Thusness told me my experience is similar to Ramana Maharshi's (his inquiry on death, pretended to die and realised transcendental awareness)... I went to check his account and found that it is indeed somewhat similar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi#The_Awakening
[edit] The Awakening
In 1892, Venkataraman's father Sundaram Iyer suddenly fell seriously ill and unexpectedly died several days later at the age of 42. [10] For some hours after his father's death, Venkataraman later said, he contemplated the matter of death, and how his father's body was still there, but the 'I' was gone from it.
After leaving Scott's Middle School, Venkataraman went to the American Mission High School. One November morning in 1895, he was on his way to school when he saw an elderly relative and enquired where the relative had come from. The answer was "From Arunachala."[11]
Krishna Bikshu, in Ramana Leela, describes the response in Venkataraman: "The word "Arunachala" was familiar to Venkataraman from his younger days, but he did not know where it was, what it looked like or what it meant. Yet that day that word meant to him something great, an inaccessible, authoritative, absolutely blissful entity. Could one visit such a place? His heart was full of joy. Arunachala meant some sacred land, every particle of which gave moksha. It was omnipotent and peaceful. Could one behold it? "What? Arunachala? Where is it?" asked the lad. The relative was astonished, "Don't you know even this?" and continued, "Haven't you heard of Tiruvannamalai? That is Arunachala." It was as if a balloon was pricked, the boy's heart sank."
About a month or two later, Sri Ramana later reported, he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of sixty three Saivite saints, and was deeply moved and inspired by it.[12] Filled with awe, and a desire for emulation, he began devotional visits to the nearby Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, and associated with this bhakti, later reported fever like sensations. [13]
Soon after, on July 17, 1896[14], at age sixteen, Venkataraman had a life changing experience. He spontaneously initiated a process of self-enquiry that culminated, within a few minutes, in his own permanent awakening. In one of his rare written comments on this process he wrote: 'Enquiring within Who is the seer? I saw the seer disappear leaving That alone which stands forever. No thought arose to say I saw. How then could the thought arise to say I did not see.' [15] As Sri Ramana reportedly described it later: "It was in 1896, about 6 weeks before I left Madurai for good (to go to Tiruvannamalai - Arunachala) that this great change in my life took place. I was sitting alone in a room on the first floor of my uncle's house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden violent fear of death overtook me. There was nothing in my state of health to account for it nor was there any urge in me to find out whether there was any account for the fear. I just felt I was going to die and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a doctor or any elders or friends. I felt I had to solve the problem myself then and there. The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: 'Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying? This body dies.' And at once I dramatised the occurrence of death. I lay with my limbs stretched out still as though rigor mortis has set in, and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to the enquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly closed so that no sound could escape, and that neither the word 'I' nor any word could be uttered. 'Well then,' I said to myself, 'this body is dead. It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and there burn and reduced to ashes. But with the death of the body, am I dead? Is the body I? It is silent and inert, but I feel the full force of my personality and even the voice of I within me, apart from it. So I am the Spirit transcending the body. The body dies but the spirit transcending it cannot be touched by death. That means I am the deathless Spirit.' All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truths which I perceived directly almost without thought process. I was something real, the only real thing about my present state, and all the conscious activity connected with the body was centered on that I. From that moment onwards, the I or Self focused attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death vanished once and for all. The ego was lost in the flood of Self-awareness. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time. Other thought might come and go like the various notes of music, but the I continued like the fundamental sruti [that which is heard] note which underlies and blends with all other notes." [16].
After this event, he lost interest in school-studies, friends, and relations. Avoiding company, he preferred to sit alone, absorbed in concentration on the Self, and went daily to the Meenakshi Temple, ecstatically devoted to the images of the Gods, tears flowing profusely from his eyes.[17]
Venkataraman’s elder brother, Nagaswamy, was aware of a great change in him and on several occasions rebuked him for his detachment from all that was going on around him. About six weeks after Venkataraman’s absorption into the Self, on the 29th of August, 1896, he was attempting to complete a homework assignment which had been given to him by his English teacher for indifference in his studies. Suddenly Venkataraman tossed aside the book and turned inward in meditation. His elder brother rebuked him again, asking, “What use is all this to one who is like this?” Venkataraman did not answer, but recognized the truth in his brother’s words.[18]
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NOTE: This is the experience of an Advaita practitioner/teacher, and is not really the same as the Buddhist experience of enlightenment.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
I see...
Regarding all 6 senses, are you refering to Nirodha Samapatti (the nirvana/cessation of feelings and perceptions)?
Kok ur head! Ur mind is full of attainments and fruitions. Nirodha Samapatti is a definite fruition of anagami and arahat. I have no comments.I am merely telling you that it is too early to conclude as follow:
and suddenly, it feels like "I" completely died and disappeared.. But instead of losing consciousness...
...Anyway I learnt from this that 'death' is not as scary as we might think and in fact is quite blissful.
Associating 'death of I' with vivid luminosity of your experience is far too early. This will lead you into erroneous views because there is also the experience of practitioners by way of complete surrendering or elimination (dropping) like Taoist practitioners. An experience of deep bliss that is beyond that of what you experienced can occur. But the focus is not on luminosity but effortlessness, naturalness and spontaneity. In complete giving up, there is no 'I' ; it is also needless to know anything; in fact 'knowledge' is considered a stumbling block. The practitioner drops away mind, body, knowledge...everything. There is no insight, there is no luminosity there is only total allowing of whatever that happens, happen in its own accord. All senses including consciousness are shut and fully absorbed. Awareness of 'anything' is only after emerging from that state.
One is the experience of vivid luminosity while the other is a state of oblivious. It is therefore not appropriate to relate the complete dissolving of 'I' with what u experienced alone. -
Originally posted by Thusness:
Kok ur head! Ur mind is full of attainments and fruitions. Nirodha Samapatti is a definite fruition of anagami and arahat. I have no comments.I am merely telling you that it is too early to conclude as follow:
Associating 'death of I' with vivid luminosity of your experience is far too early. This will lead you into erroneous views because there is also the experience of practitioners by way of complete surrendering or elimination (dropping) like Taoist practitioners. An experience of deep bliss that is beyond that of what you experienced can occur. But the focus is not on luminosity but effortlessness, naturalness and spontaneity. In complete giving up, there is no 'I' ; it is also needless to know anything; in fact 'knowledge' is considered a stumbling block. The practitioner drops away mind, body, knowledge...everything. There is no insight, there is no luminosity there is only total allowing of whatever that happens, happen in its own accord. All senses including consciousness are shut and fully absorbed. Awareness of 'anything' is only after emerging from that state.
One is the experience of vivid luminosity while the other is a state of oblivious. It is therefore not appropriate to relate the complete dissolving of 'I' with what u experienced alone.I see...
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be careful when meditating .because in 楞严� it describe some meditation if u do it wrongly ,it can lead u to somewhere else ,which is not good.Meditation should be supervised by masters.
《楞严ç»�》：「阿难ï¼�如是å��ç§�禅那，ä¸æ¶‚æˆ�ç‹‚ã€‚å› ä¾�迷惑，于未足ä¸ï¼Œç”Ÿæ»¡è¶³è¯�，皆是识阴，用心交互，故生斯ä½�。众生顽迷，ä¸�自忖é‡�，逢æ¤çŽ°å‰�，å�„ä»¥æ‰€çˆ±ï¼Œå…ˆä¹ è¿·å¿ƒï¼Œè€Œè‡ªä¼‘æ�¯ã€‚将为毕竟，所归å®�åœ°ï¼Œè‡ªè¨€æ»¡è¶³ï¼Œæ— ä¸Šè�©æ��，大妄è¯æˆ�。外é�“邪é”ï¼Œæ‰€æ„Ÿä¸šç»ˆï¼Œå •æ— é—´ç‹±ã€‚å£°é—»ç¼˜è§‰ï¼Œä¸�æˆ�增进。æ±�ç‰å˜å¿ƒï¼Œç§‰å¦‚æ�¥é�“，将æ¤æ³•é—¨ï¼ŒäºŽæˆ‘ç�å�Žï¼Œä¼ ç¤ºæœ«ä¸–ï¼Œæ™®ä»¤ä¼—ç”Ÿï¼Œè§‰äº†æ–¯ä¹‰ã€‚æ— ä»¤è§�é”，自作沈å½ã€‚ä¿�绥哀救，销æ�¯é‚ªç¼˜ï¼Œä»¤å…¶èº«å¿ƒï¼Œå…¥ä½›çŸ¥è§�。从始æˆ�就，ä¸�é�æ§è·¯ã€‚如是法门，先过去世，æ�’沙劫ä¸ï¼Œå¾®å°˜å¦‚æ�¥ï¼Œä¹˜æ¤å¿ƒå¼€ï¼Œå¾—æ— ä¸Šé�“。ã€�
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Originally posted by vincent99:
be careful when meditating .because in 楞严� it describe some meditation if u do it wrongly ,it can lead u to somewhere else ,which is not good.Meditation should be supervised by masters.
《楞严ç»�》：「阿难ï¼�如是å��ç§�禅那，ä¸æ¶‚æˆ�ç‹‚ã€‚å› ä¾�迷惑，于未足ä¸ï¼Œç”Ÿæ»¡è¶³è¯�，皆是识阴，用心交互，故生斯ä½�。众生顽迷，ä¸�自忖é‡�，逢æ¤çŽ°å‰�，å�„ä»¥æ‰€çˆ±ï¼Œå…ˆä¹ è¿·å¿ƒï¼Œè€Œè‡ªä¼‘æ�¯ã€‚将为毕竟，所归å®�åœ°ï¼Œè‡ªè¨€æ»¡è¶³ï¼Œæ— ä¸Šè�©æ��，大妄è¯æˆ�。外é�“邪é”ï¼Œæ‰€æ„Ÿä¸šç»ˆï¼Œå •æ— é—´ç‹±ã€‚å£°é—»ç¼˜è§‰ï¼Œä¸�æˆ�增进。æ±�ç‰å˜å¿ƒï¼Œç§‰å¦‚æ�¥é�“，将æ¤æ³•é—¨ï¼ŒäºŽæˆ‘ç�å�Žï¼Œä¼ ç¤ºæœ«ä¸–ï¼Œæ™®ä»¤ä¼—ç”Ÿï¼Œè§‰äº†æ–¯ä¹‰ã€‚æ— ä»¤è§�é”，自作沈å½ã€‚ä¿�绥哀救，销æ�¯é‚ªç¼˜ï¼Œä»¤å…¶èº«å¿ƒï¼Œå…¥ä½›çŸ¥è§�。从始æˆ�就，ä¸�é�æ§è·¯ã€‚如是法门，先过去世，æ�’沙劫ä¸ï¼Œå¾®å°˜å¦‚æ�¥ï¼Œä¹˜æ¤å¿ƒå¼€ï¼Œå¾—æ— ä¸Šé�“。ã€�
Yes this is important. What is also important is to know the correct technique and way of practice.
Many people in meditation see visions of gods or Buddhas or attain special abilities, not knowing they have entered demonic states.
Our practice should consist only in dropping (attachment to thoughts, body and mind, 'self'), developing calm/equanimity and clarity/awareness.
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in fact i don't quite understand the reason people do the practice ,because for me buddhism is like a philosophy,if i am unhappy about life ,maybe i can find solution in the teaching ,but i haven't practice the buddhism meditation. if the reason is for health,i think sports is more useful.If it's for pursuit of happiness or relief.I think right now i am happy with who i am ,and how i am.
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Originally posted by rokkie:
in fact i don't quite understand the reason people do the practice ,because for me buddhism is like a philosophy,if i am unhappy about life ,maybe i can find solution in the teaching ,but i haven't practice the buddhism meditation. if the reason is for health,i think sports is more useful.If it's for pursuit of happiness or relief.I think right now i am happy with who i am ,and how i am.
Then first you have to understand what is NOT the heart of Buddhism. Then you must understand what is the heart of Buddhism, and you will know why practice is important.
However, it should be noted I do not practice the 8 progressive samatha jhanas even though I may have some previous experiences of it.
http://zencomp.com/greatwisdom/ebud/ebmed065.htm
Meditation: The Heart of Buddhism
Ajahn Brahmavamso
This is an edited version of a talk given by Ajahn Brahmavamso at
the Buddhist Society of Western Australia on the 4th February 2000.
NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMASAMBUDDHASSA
I want to talk in depth today about the nature of Buddhism. Very often I read in newspapers and books some strange things that are presented as Buddhism. So here, I will point out the heart of the real Buddhist teaching, not as a theory but as an experience.
What is Not The Heart of Buddhism.
Psychotherapy. I know that some people still think Buddhism is some form of psychotherapy, some way of applying wise attitudes or skilful means in order to live more at peace in this world. Indeed, in the rich storehouse of Buddhist teachings there are many things which do help people to live life with less problems. Using wise attitudes and compassionate intentions, Buddhism teaches an effective way of dealing with the problems of the world. When these Buddhist methods actually work, they give people faith and confidence that there really is something in this Buddhist path which is valuable to them.
I often reflect on why people come here to the Buddhist Society on a Friday evening. It's because they get something out of this. What they get out of these teachings is a more peaceful life style, a happier feeling toward themselves and more acceptance of other beings. It is in that sense a therapy for the problems of life, and it does actually work. However that's not what Buddhism really is, that's only one of its side affects.
Philosophy. Some people come across Buddhism and they find it's a marvellous philosophy. They can sit around the coffee table after I've given a talk and they can talk for hours and still not be close to enlightenment. Very often people can discuss very high-minded things; their brains can talk about and think about such sublime subjects. Then they go out and swear at the first car that pulls out in front of them on the way home. They lose it all straight away.
Ritual. Or instead of looking at Buddhism as a philosophy, many people look at it as a religion. The rituals of Buddhism are meaningful, and they shouldn't be discarded just because one thinks one is above ritual. I know people are sometimes very proud, arrogant even, and think they don't need any rituals. But the truth of the matter is that rituals do have a psychological potency. For example, it is useful in society when two people are going to live together that they go through some sort of marriage ceremony. Because in that ceremony there is something that happens to the mind, something that happens to the heart. There is a commitment made deep inside which echoes with the knowledge that something important has happened. In the ceremonies and rituals of death, all of those rites of chanting, reflection and kind words actually have a meaning for the people involved. It does help them to come to accept with grace the passing of a loved one. It helps them acknowledge the truth of what's happened, that a final separation from that person has occurred. And in that acceptance they come to peace.
In the same way, at our monastery, in order to forgive another person and to let go of past hurt, a ceremony of forgiveness is often used. In the Catholic Church they have the ceremony of confession. The precise details of a forgiveness ceremony don't really matter, but what is important is that forgiveness is given, by some physical means through some ritual or ceremony. If you just say, "Oh I'm sorry", isn't that a lot different from also giving a present, or a bunch of flowers? Or isn't it different from going up to them and saying "look, what I did the other day was really unforgivable, but come out to dinner with me this evening", or "here have a couple of tickets to the theatre"? It is much deeper and more effective when you weave a beautiful ceremony around forgiveness rather than just muttering a few words.
Even the ritual of bowing to a Buddha has a great meaning. It's an act of humility. It's saying I'm not enlightened and yet there is something that is beyond me which I am aspiring towards. It's the same humility that a person has when they go to school, or university and they acknowledge that the lecturers and the professors know more than they do. If you argue with professors when you go to university, are you going to learn anything? Humility is not subservience, which denies the worth of yourself, But humility is that which respects the different qualities in people. Sometimes the act of bowing, if it's done mindfully, is a ceremony, a ritual that can generate a great sense of joy. As a monk many people bow to me, and I bow to many others. There is always someone that you have to bow to no matter how senior you are. At the very least there is always the Buddha to bow down to. I enjoy bowing. When there is a monk who is senior to me, bowing is a beautiful way of overcoming ego and judging, especially when I must bow to a really rotten monk (the good monks are easy to bow to). This is a ritual which if done in the right way can produce so many benefits. At the very least, as I tell people at the monastery, if you do a lot of bowing it strengthens your stomach muscles and you don't look fat! But it's more than that.
So these Buddhist rituals are useful, but Buddhism is much more than that.
Meditation and Enlightenment.
When you ask what Buddhism really is, it's a hard question to answer in a few words. You have to come back to this process of meditation because there is the crux, the fulcrum of Buddhism, the heart of Buddhism. As everybody who has ever come across the Buddhist teachings would know, the Buddha was a man who became enlightened while meditating under a tree. A few minutes ago you were doing the same meditation for half an hour! Why where you not enlightened? That enlightenment of the Buddha was actually what created this religion of Buddhism. It is its meaning, it is its centre. Buddhism is all about enlightenment; not just about living a healthy life, or a happy life, or learning to be wise and saying smart things to your friends around the coffee table. Again Buddhism is all about this enlightenment.
First of all you have to get some feeling or indication of what enlightenment actually is. Sometimes people come up to me and say "I'm enlightened", and I sometimes get letters from people saying "thank you for your teachings, please know that I am enlightened now". And sometimes I hear other people say of teachers or gurus "Oh Yeah, they are certainly enlightened" without really knowing what that means. The word enlightenment stands for some opening of wisdom, some understanding which stops all suffering. The person who hasn't abandoned all suffering is never enlightened. The fact that a person still suffers means that they are yet to abandon all their attachments. The person who is still worried about their possessions, who still cries at the death of a loved one, who is still angry, and who is still enjoying the pleasures of the senses like sex, they are not enlightened. Enlightenment is something beyond and free from all that.
Sometimes when a monk talks like this he can very easily put people off. Monks seem like "wowsers" [1], as they say in Australia. They don't go to the movies, don't have any sex, don't have any relationships, don't go on holidays, don't have any pleasures. What a bunch of wowsers! But the interesting thing which many people notice, is that some of the most peaceful and happy people you meet are the monks and nuns who come and sit here on a Friday evening and give the talks. Monks are quite different from wowsers, and the reason is that there is another happiness which the monks know and which the Buddha has pointed out to them. Each one of you can sense that same happiness when your meditation starts to take off.
Letting Go.
The Buddha taught that it is attachment that causes suffering and letting go is the cause for happiness and the way to enlightenment. Letting go! So often people have asked how do you let go? What they really mean is, why do you let go? It's a difficult question to answer and it will never be answered in words. Instead I answer that question by saying "Now is the time to meditate, cross your legs, be in the present moment," because this is teaching people what letting go is all about. Moreover, the final moments of the meditation are the most important. Please always remember this. In the last few minutes ask yourself, "How do I feel?" "What is this like and why?" "How did this come about?"
People meditate because it's fun, it's enjoyable. They don't meditate to "get something out of it," even though when you meditate there are a lot of good benefits to be had such as health benefits or reducing stress in your life. Through meditation you become less intolerant, less angry. But there is something more to it than that - it's just the sheer fun of it! When I was a young monk that's what made me become a Buddhist. It was inspiring to read the books but that was not good enough. It was when I meditated and became peaceful, very peaceful, incredibly peaceful, that something told me that this was the most profound experience of my life. I wanted to experience this again. I wanted to investigate it more. Why? Because one deep experience of meditation is worth a thousand talks, or arguments, or books, or theories. The things you read in books are other people's experiences, they are not your own. They're words and they might inspire, but the actual experience itself is truly moving. It's truly earth shattering because it shatters that which you've rested on for such a long time. By inclining along this path of meditation you're actually learning what letting go really is.
Acknowledge, Forgive and Let Go (AFL).
For those of you who have difficulty meditating, it's because you haven't learned to let go yet in the meditation. Why can't we let go of simple things like past and future? Why are we so concerned with what someone else did to us or said to us today? The more you think about it, the more stupid it is. You know the old saying, "When someone calls you an idiot, the more times you remember it, the more times they've called you an idiot!" If you let it go immediately, you will never think about it again. They only called you an idiot at most once. It's gone! It's finished. You're free.
Why is it that we imprison ourselves with our past? Why can't we even let that go? Do you really want to be free? Then acknowledge, forgive and let go, what I call in Australia the "AFL Code" [2] - Acknowledge, forgive, and let go of whatever has hurt you, whether it's something that somebody has done or said, or whether it's what life has done. For instance, someone has died in your family and you argue with yourself that they shouldn't have died. Or you've lost your job and you think without stop that that shouldn't have happened. Or simply something has gone wrong and you are obsessed that it's not fair. You can crucify yourself on a cross of your own making for the rest of your life if you want to; but no one is forcing you to. Instead you can acknowledge forgive and learn in the forgiving. The letting go is in the learning. The letting go gives the future a freedom to flow easily, unchained to the past.
I was talking to some people recently about the Cambodian community here in Perth and, being a Buddhist community, I have had much to do with them. Like any traditional Buddhists, when they have a problem they come and speak to the monks. This is what they have done for centuries. The monastery and the monks are the social centre, the religious centre, and the counselling centre of the community. When men have arguments with their wives they come to the monastery.
Once when I was a young monk in Thailand, a man came into the monastery and asked me "Can I stay in the monastery for a few days?". I thought he wanted to meditate, so I said "Oh you want to meditate?" "Oh no", he said "the reason I want to come to the monastery is because I've had an argument with my wife." So he stayed in the monastery. Three or four days later he came up to me and said, "I feel better now, can I go home". What a wise thing that was. Instead of going to the bar and getting drunk, instead of going to his mates and telling them all the rotten things that he thought his wife had done thereby reinforcing his ill will and resentment, he went to stay with a group of monks who didn't say anything about his wife, who were just kind and peaceful. He thought about what he had been doing in that peaceful, supportive environment, and after a while he felt much better. This is what a monastery sometimes is: it's the counselling centre, the refuge, the place where people come to let go of their problems. Isn't that better than lingering on the past, especially when we are angry at something that has happened? When we reinforce the resentment, are we really seeing what's going on? Or are we seeing through the perverted glasses of our anger, looking at the faults in the other person, focussing only on the terrible things they have done to us, never really seeing the full picture?
One of the things I noticed about the Cambodian community was that these were all people who had suffered through the Pol Pot years. I know of a Cambodian man whose wife had been shot by the Khmer Rouge in front of him, for stealing a mango. She was hungry so she took a mango from a tree. One of the Khmer Rouge cadres saw her and, without any trial, he pulled out his gun in front of her husband and shot her dead. When this man was telling me this, I was looking at his face, looking at his bodily movements, and it was amazing to see that there was no anger, there was no resentment, there was not even grief there. There was a peaceful acceptance about what had happened. It shouldn't have happened but it did.
Letting go of the past is so we can enjoy the present, so the future can be free. Why is it that we always carry around the past? Attachment to the past is not a theory, it is an attitude. We can say, "Oh I'm not attached". Or we can say, "I'm so detached I'm not even attached to detachment," which is very clever, and sounds very good, but is a lot of old rubbish. You know if you're attached if you can't let go of those important things that cause you to suffer, that stop you being free. Attachment is a ball and chain, which you tie around your own legs. No one else ties it around you. You've got the key to free yourselves, but you don't use it. Why do we limit ourselves so and why can't we let go of the future, all the concerns and the worries? Do you worry about what's going to happen next, tomorrow, next week, next year? Why do you do that? How many times have you worried about some exam or some test, or a visit to the Doctors, or a visit to the Dentist? You can worry yourself sick and when you get ready to go to the dentist you find they have cancelled your appointment, and you didn't have to go anyway!
Things never work out as you expect them to. Haven't we learnt yet that the future is so uncertain that it doesn't bear worrying about? We never know what's going to happen next. When we let go of the past and the future, isn't that being on the path to deep meditation? Aren't we actually learning about how to be at peace, how to be free, how to be content.
These are indications of what enlightenment means. It means seeing that many of our attachments are based on sheer stupidity. We just don't need this. As we develop this meditation deeper, we let go more and more. The more we let go the more happiness and peace it gives us. This is why the Buddha called this whole path of Buddhism a gradual training. It's the path that leads one on, one step at a time, and at every step you get a prize. That's why it's a very delightful path and the prizes get more delightful and more valuable the further you go. But even on the first step you get a prize.
I still remember the first time I meditated. I remember the room. It was at Cambridge University, in the Wordsworth Room at Kings College. I'd never done any meditation before, so I just sat down there for five or ten minutes with a few of my mates. It was only ten minutes but I thought "Oh that was nice", I still remember that feeling. There was something that was resonating inside of me, telling me that this was a path which was leading somewhere wonderful. I'd discussed over coffee and over beer with my friends all types of philosophy, but the "discussions" had always ended in arguments and they never made me happier. Even the great professors at the university, who you get to know very well, didn't seem happy. That was one of the reasons why I didn't continue an academic career. They were brilliant in their field but in other ways they were as stupid as ordinary people. They would have arguments, worry and stress just like everyone else. And that really struck me. Why in such a famous university, where people are so intelligent, are they not happy? What's the point of being clever if it doesn't give you happiness? I mean real happiness, real contentment, and real peace.
Real contentment and peace.
The first person I saw who had real contentment and peace was Ajahn Chah, my teacher in Thailand. There was something about that man! I saw what he had and I said to myself, "I want that, I want that understanding, that peace". People from all over the world would come to see him. Just because he was a monk didn't mean that everyone was subservient, obsequious and always praising him. Some people would go and argue with him and try to catch him out or even shout at him. I remember a story about the first time he went to England with Ajahn Sumedho. He went on alms round in Hampstead and as he was walking on alms round, this was over twenty years ago, this young hooligan came up to this funnily dressed Asian and threw a punch at him just missing his nose. Ajahn Chah did not know this person was trying to miss. Then he tried to kick him and just missed. He was just trying to wind up this little Asian monk in funny clothes. Ajahn Chah didn't know when he was going to be hit. He never did get hit, because he kept peaceful, kept cool and never got angry. Afterwards, he said England was a very good place and that he wanted to send all his senior monks over there to really test them out. As for Ajahn Chah, he had equanimity in practice.
It's easy saying "I'm enlightened", but then something happens like that and you run a mile. Another monk in Hampstead at the time was just going for a walk in the afternoon when he passed a pub. He didn't realise at the time that there was a big soccer match between England and Scotland on that day. It had already finished and the Scots supporters where in the pub getting drunk. Around this period, there was a popular TV series about a Kung Fu monk who, when he was small, was called "grasshopper." These sozzled Scots soccer fans looked through the window of the pub and said "Och it's wee grasshopper," and this monk took fright. These where big Scotsmen and they were very drunk. So he started running away, and they chased him all the way back to the Temple. "Wee grasshopper" was running for his life. He lost it. But the sort of practical letting go that Ajahn Chah did in Hampstead is something which gives you a sense that you are on the road to enlightenment.
A Gradual Path.
The Heart of Buddhism is a gradual path, one step after another step, and you do get results. Some people say you shouldn't meditate to get results. That's a lot of hogwash! Meditate to get results! Meditate to be happy. Meditate to get peace. Meditate to get enlightened, little by little. But if you're going for results, be patient. One of the problems with Westerners is that when they make goals, they are not patient enough. That's why they get disillusioned, depressed and frustrated. They don't give their practice enough time to mature naturally into enlightenment. It takes time, maybe a few life times even, so don't be in a rush. As you walk each step, there is always something you get out of it. Let go a little and you get freedom and peace. Let go a lot and you feel bliss. This is how I teach meditation both at my monastery and here. I encourage meditators to aim for these stages of letting go, these bliss states called Jhana.
Jhanas
Everyone wants to be happy, and the Jhanas are how you can achieve happiness, I mean real happiness, deep happiness. The only trouble is these states don't last very long, only a few hours, but still they are very attractive. They arise through letting go, real letting go. In particular they arise through letting go of will, choice, control. It's a fascinating thing to experience a deep meditation and understand how it comes about. Through such an experience you realise that the more you control, the more you crave because of attachments, the less peaceful you get. But the more you let go, the more you abandon, the more you get out of the way, the happier you feel. Now this is a teaching of something very profound, much deeper than you can read in a book or hear in a talk and certainly much more useful than discussing these things over a coffee table. You're actually experiencing something. This is getting towards the heart of religion, that which people call mysticism. You're actually experiencing it for your self. In particular you are letting go of this "controller," this "doer." Now that is the prime problem for human beings. We can't stop messing things up. Very often we should just leave things alone but we can't, we don't. Instead we make a mess. Why can't you just relax and enjoy yourself instead of always doing something?
It's hard to stop in meditation, but the more you stop the more rewards you get, the more peace you get. When you let go in meditation, let go the will, let go of the control, when you stop talking to yourself, you get inner silence. How many of you are fed up yet with this racket that goes on inside your head all the time? How many of you sometimes can't get to sleep at night when there's no noise from the neighbours but there is something even louder between your ears. Yak, Yak, Yak, Worry, Worry, Worry, Think, Think, Think! This is the problem with human beings, when it's time to think they can't think clearly and when it's time to stop thinking they can't be at peace. When we learn how to meditate we get this sense of being more balanced, and we know how to let go. We now how to let go to the point where all thoughts disappear. These thoughts are just commentaries, they're just descriptions. The difference between thought and reality is the difference between, say, reading a book about New York and going to New York. Which is more real? When you're there, you smell the air, you feel the atmosphere, you sense the character, all of which are things you can't write in a book. The truth is always silent. The lie is always with words.
When the Body Disappears.
Remember "con men," "con women" as well. These con men can sell you anything! There's one living in your mind right now, and you believe every word he says! His name is Thinking. When you let go of that inner talk and get silent, you get happy. Then when you let go of the movement of the mind and stay with the breath, you experience even more delight. Then when you let go of the body ,all these five senses disappear and you're really blissing out. This is original Buddhism. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch completely vanish. This is like being in a sensory deprivation chamber but much better. But it's not just silence, you just don't hear anything. It's not just blackness, you just don't see anything. It's not just a feeling of comfort in the body, there is no body at all.
When the body disappears that really starts to feel great. You know of all those people who have out of the body experiences? When the body dies, every person has that experience, they float out of the body. And one of the things they always say is it's so peaceful, so beautiful, so blissful. It's the same in meditation when the body disappears, it's so peaceful, so beautiful, so blissful when you are free from this body. What's left? Here there's no sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. This is what the Buddha called the mind in deep meditation. When the body disappears what is left is the mind.
I gave a simile to a monk the other night. Imagine an Emperor who is wearing a long pair of trousers and a big tunic. He's got shoes on his feet, a scarf around the bottom half of his head and a hat on the top half of his head. You can't see him at all because he's completely covered in five garments. It's the same with the mind. It's completely covered with sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. So people don't know it. They just know the garments. When they see the Emperor, they just see the robes and the garments. They don't know who lives inside them. And so it is no wonder they're confused about what is life, what is mind, who is this inside of here, were did I come from? Why? What am I supposed to be doing with this life? When the five senses disappear, it's like unclothing the Emperor and seeing what is actually in here, what's actually running the show, who's listening to these words, who's seeing, who's feeling life, who this is. When the five senses disappear, you're coming close to the answer to those questions.
What you're seeing in such deep meditation is that which we call "mind," (in Pali it's called Citta). The Buddha used this beautiful simile. When there is a full moon on a cloudy night, even though it's a full moon, you can hardly see it. Sometimes when the clouds are thin, you can see this hazy shape shining though. You know there is something there. This is like the meditation just before you've entered into these profound states. You know there is something there, but you can't quite make it out. There's still some "clothes" left. You're still thinking and doing, feeling the body or hearing sounds. But there does come a time, and this is the Buddha's simile, when the moon is released from the clouds and there in the clear night sky you can see the beautiful full disc of the moon shining brilliantly, and you know that's the moon. The moon is there; the moon is real, and it's not just some sort of side effect of the clouds. This is what happens in meditation when you see the mind. You see clearly that the mind is not some side effect of the brain. You see the mind, and you know the mind. The Buddha said that the mind released is beautiful, is brilliant, is radiant. So not only are these blissful experiences, they're meaningful experiences as well.
How many people may have heard about rebirth but still don't really believe it? How can rebirth happen? Certainly the body doesn't get reborn. That's why when people ask me where do you go when you die, "one of two places" I say "Fremantle or Karrakatta" that's where the body goes! [3] But is that where the mind goes? Sometimes people are so stupid in this world, they think the body is all there is, that there is no mind. So when you get cremated or buried that's it, that's done with, all has ended. The only way you can argue with this view is by developing the meditation that the Buddha achieved under the Bodhi tree. Then you can see the mind for yourself in clear awareness - not in some hypnotic trance, not in dullness - but in the clear awareness. This is knowing the mind
Knowing the Mind.
When you know that mind, when you see it for yourself, one of the results will be an insight that the mind is independent of this body. Independence means that when this body breaks up and dies, when it's cremated or when it's buried, or however it's destroyed after death, it will not affect the mind. You know this because you see the nature of the mind. That mind which you see will transcend bodily death. The first thing which you will see for yourself, the insight which is as clear as the nose on your face, is that there is something more to life than this physical body that we take to be me. Secondly you can recognise that that mind, essentially, is no different than that process of consciousness which is in all beings. Whether it's human beings or animals or even insects, of any gender, age or race, you see that that which is in common to all life is this mind, this consciousness, the source of doing.
Once you see that, you have much more respect for your fellow beings. Not just respect for your own race, your own tribe or your own religion, not just for human beings, but for all beings. It's a wonderfully high-minded idea. "May all beings be happy and well and may we respect all nations, all peoples, even all beings." However this is how you achieve that! You truly get compassion only when we see that others are fundamentally just as ourselves. If you think that a cow is completely different from you, that cows don't think like human beings, then it's easy to eat one. But can you eat your grandmother? She's too much like you. Can you eat an ant? Maybe you'd kill an ant because you think that ants aren't like you. But if you look carefully at ants, they are no different. In a forest monastery living out in the bush, close to nature, one of the things you become so convinced of is that animals have emotions and , especially, feel pain. You begin to recognise the personality of the animals, of the kookaburras, of the mice, the ants, and the spiders. Each one of those spiders has a mind just like you have. Once you see that you can understand the Buddha's compassion for all beings. You can also understand how rebirth can occur between all species - not just human beings to human beings, but animals to humans, humans to animals. You can understand also how the mind is the source of all this.
The mind can exist even without a body in the realms of ghosts and angels (what we call in Buddhism Devas). It becomes very clear to you how they exist, why they exist, what they are. These are insights and understandings which come from deep meditation. But more than that, when you know the nature of the mind then you know the nature of consciousness. You know the nature of stillness. You know the nature of life. You understand what makes this mind go round and round and round, what makes this mind seek rebirth. You understand the law of Kamma.
The Three Knowledges.
The First Knowledge. When the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree, according to tradition he gained three knowledge's. The first knowledge was the memory of past lives. When you get close to the mind, there are certain powers that come with that experience. The powers are no more than an ability, a dexterity with the use of the mind. It's like the difference between a dog that has been running wild and a dog that has been well trained. You can tell the trained dog to go and pick up the newspaper. It wags its tail and goes and picks up the newspaper for you. Some people have got their dogs so well trained that they can actually pick up the telephone. Maybe they could answer the telephone as well, then that would really save you a lot of time!
When you get to these deep states of meditation often, the mind becomes well trained. One of the things which the Buddha did (and which you can do when you get into deep meditation) is tell the mind to go back to the past. What's your earliest memory? Go back further and further and further. Monks who do this get early memories of their childhood. They even get memories of the moment they were born. Sometimes people say that when you're born, you have no consciousness because the neuron's aren't developed yet, or something like that. But when you re-experience your birth, you know that that is just not true. When the memory of your own birth appears, it is just like you are there and you experience all feelings of that birth. Then you can ask yourself for an even earlier memory, and then you get back into your past lives. That's what the Buddha did under the Bodhi tree. Through meditation you know rebirth, you know your own past lives. This is just what happens with the mind and you know how it happens. That was the first knowledge that the Buddha had.
The Second Knowledge. The second knowledge was to know how you are reborn. Why you are reborn. Where you are reborn. This is the Law of Kamma. Someone was showing me a book today which, unfortunately, we had for free distribution but which I hadn't seen before. It had some really weird ideas in it about the Law of Kamma. I think what it said was that if you read one of the Suttas while you are lying on the ground, you will be reborn with a bad back, or something like that. Just stupid ideas! Kamma is much more complex than that and it depends mostly upon the quality of your intention. The movement of the mind itself is what determines the Kamma, not just the act, but why and where it came from. You can see this in meditation, but also you can see just how that mind gets fully liberated.
The Third Knowledge. The third knowledge was the ending of suffering. With understanding of The Four Noble Truths, you realise the Way and what enlightenment really means. It means freedom! The mind is liberated, especially liberated from the body, liberated not just from the suffering of the body but liberated from the happiness of the body as well. That means that there is no more inclination for sexuality, no fear of pain, no grief over the destruction of the body, no ill will and no fear of criticism. Why do people get worried about bad words that are said? Only because of ego. They take something to be themselves. Just imagine for a moment being free from all of those things. What would that be like, no fear, no craving, no need to move from this moment - In other words nothing missing, and nothing left to do, nowhere to go because you're completely happy right here no matter what happens! This is what we mean by enlightenment. This meditation is the source of the Buddha's enlightenment and the source of every person's enlightenment.
There is no enlightenment without that meditation. This is why Buddhism is far more than a psychotherapy. It's far more than a philosophy. It's far more than a religion. It goes deep into the nature of being, and it is accessible to all people. You know how to meditate. Teachers are giving all the instructions free without any charge. Do you want to do it? Usually the answer is, "Maybe tomorrow but not today." Never the less because the seeds have been placed in the mind, because the meditation has begun already, there is an interest. Already there is a sense of this enlightenment, a fascination for peace, and you will not be able to resist that path. You may be able to put it off for a while, maybe for lifetimes, but it's a strange thing that, as someone said to me many years ago, "When you hear these teachings you can't discard them." You just can't forget them. They aren't telling you what to believe. They aren't giving you a theory which is merely rational. But they are pointing you to something which you can understand and experience for yourself, and you get intuitions of this the deeper you go.
The Buddha was a very remarkable person, his peacefulness, compassion and wisdom, were legendary. There is something about enlightenment that is very attractive. In the same way there is something about freedom that you cannot ignore. That is why little by little, you will understand what Buddhism is all about. You won't understand Buddhism from the books nor will you understand Buddhism from what I say. You'll only understand Buddhism in your own experiences of peaceful meditation. That's where Buddhism is taught. So have fun with your meditation and don't be afraid of enlightenment. Get in there, enjoy it, and you will have no regrets.
That's what Buddhism is. That's its heart – meditation and enlightenment. That's its meaning. I hope you can understand some of this. I can say no more because the time has gone. I'll complete my talk now.
Notes.
[1].Wowser: n. extreme puritan, kill-joy, teetotaller, spoil-sport."The Australian Oxford Dictionary" (New Budget Edition). Herron Publications: West End, Qld. 1998
[2].The AFL code is also the acronym for the most popular form of football, 'Aussie Rules', in Australia.
[3].Fremantle and Karrakatta are the two main cemeteries/crematoriums serving the whole of Perth
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But I must also state that Sitting meditation is only a PART of Buddhist practice... our practice/meditation should be extended into our daily living as well.
http://www.jenchen.org.sg/cultivat.htm
In cultivation, at what state of the mind does one awaken? What is the state of awakening like?
The correct concept of cultivation
First of all we need to understand what is cultivation. Some people think that cultivation means not having an occupation but to be engaged in the daily activities of prayers to the Buddha, meditation or chanting the sutras. The actual purpose of cultivation is to eradicate our undesirable conduct and to maintain our good conduct. In other words, to follow the Bodhisattva path in emulating the practices of the Bodhisattvas. When we know the meaning of cultivation, then we understand its purpose, which is to eradicate our self serving and evil habits and thus reduce our negative karma. However, many people do not understand this principle and they misinterpret its meaning. Actually, not only those who have renounced to be Buddhist monks or nuns need to cultivate, lay-Buddhists also need to cultivate, if not more diligently. Even those who do not subscribe to any religion need to cultivate. Cultivation is not only a matter for monks or nuns alone. What is cultivation? Where do we practise cultivation? Let me tell you a story: More than twenty years ago, I took four years to cultivate as I travelled across the country. Step by step, I covered Taiwan by walking. Once when I was in Hua-Lian, an elderly Buddhist asked me, "Master! A monk should reside in the temple to meditate, pray and chant sutras, but when you travel about what are you cultivating? I replied, "That’s right! I am cultivating. Sakyamuni Buddha teaches us to cultivate our conduct. He does not encourage us to cultivate sitting down! In the past few years I had been practising sitting meditation, now I wish to travel about. While walking and also amidst all my other activities, I do not commit evil deeds, I chant the names of the Buddhas, I praise and commend others, I tell people about the Dharma, I avoid the places of vice, this is the way I cultivate."
Thus, to cultivate means cultivating in the midst of our activities. This is a point that many people do not understand. They think that cultivation will result in a society that is pessimistic and low-spirited. This is a mistake. Jen Chen Buddhism advocates cultivating in the midst of our daily activities. Many retired old folks have no need to attend to household chores anymore, thus they can afford to spend their time to chant the names of the Buddhas and to cultivate in the midst of their leisure. However, there are many housewives who need to tend to their children, household chores and many other matters. How do you expect them to cultivate in their leisure? Thus, the need to cultivate in the midst of their activities; while cooking they could chant the names of the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. No matter what activities they are engaged in, it is always possible to cultivate. Instead of gossipping about our neighbours and friends or engaging in other frivolous talks, why not refrain from all these. This is cultivation. Therefore, only when we cultivate in the midst of our activities do we understand the meaning of cultivation. To cultivate in our leisure may cause others a lot of frustrations. For example, a husband may be upset because his wife neglects the household by spending too much time chanting or running from temple to temple. For her to introduce Buddhism to her husband, thus, would not be an easy task. If she understands the principle of cultivating in the midst of her activities, it would be acceptable to the husband. Should he be invited to places of vice, he would know how to turn them down because his wife is a diligent cultivator. Both husband and wife are then cultivating at the same time.
There will be progress in our society when we understand the principle of cultivation. Otherwise, society will backslide. Over the last few decades, I have come to realize that we need to cultivate wherever we are. When we possess the correct concept of cultivation, any time is an appropriate time for cultivation, any place can be the place for us to seek enlightenment. If each and everyone of us conduct ourselves in this way, then the world will become a pure land. If we think that we can only cultivate in the temples, or that we cannot cultivate when we are working, then it is very possible that we commit evils deeds without even knowing. When we are with Buddha every moment, and cultivate constantly, then we are truly practitioners of Buddhism.
As to when in the cultivation process does one awaken and what it is like to be awakened, only when you follow the guidance of the Dharma and put it into practice, will you know you have awakened: when you drink the water, only you know how warm or cold it is.
How do we practise Buddhism when we are so busy with our careers and constantly facing a shortage of time?
Cultivating amid our activities
Many of us think that learning and practising Buddhism means utilising Sundays, our rest days or daily, to pray or meditate in temples. This perception is neither right nor wrong. We may be busy with our work and other activities, but, Buddhism is best practised amid these activities. Should one be totally inactive or free, what else is there to practise? It is common to see people working and singing at the same time; machinists talking while working the machines; housewives working on their chores and exhorting their children at the same time; others work with their minds preoccupied with all sorts of other problems not related to their work. In short, they may be occupied physically, but mentally, their minds are not free or empty. As such, does learning and practising Buddhism really pose a problem to our heavy schedules? This is definitely not so. A verse from the "Seven Buddhas" reads: "Avoid all evils; do all that are good; purify one’s mind. These are the teachings of all Buddhas".
So, we just need to purify our minds. While at work, although our body may be in action, it is actually amid these actions that we cultivate. The mind should not wander and the mouth should not chatter unnecessarily. We should concentrate on the work wholeheartedly, and constantly act on purifying our thoughts. This is practising Buddhism, and in fact it is the right approach. With this in mind, 
the busier we are, the more opportunities we have in cultivating. Let us not treat Buddhism as a form of superstition and think that to practise means having to make extraordinary efforts such as going to the forests or temples to meditate or to chant. A commuter, when travelling in a train for example, may emulate the mental purity of the Buddha, and listen to the rumbling of the wheels and at the same time rythmically chant the name of the Buddha or Bodhisattva so that the mind does not wander. Naturally the mind will become pure and calm. Learning Buddhism means emulating the mental purity of the Buddha. Buddha is one who has already attained perfect enlightenment, sublime wisdom and blessings. On the other hand the commoner has lesser blessings and wisdom. Still, he would have made tremendous advancements if he merely practises Buddhism amid his daily activities to the extent that he attains purity in his bodily actions, speech and thoughts.
Thus, no matter what we do, where we are or how busy we may be, we can still practise Buddhism. As long as we put this into practise, our wisdom will develop and our blessings will gradually grow. For this reason, Jen Chen Buddhism advocates practising amid the activities of our daily lives; practising without attaching to the notion of practice; maintaining awareness without attaching to the notion of awareness; and attaining without attaching to the notion of attainment. When we understand this principle and have no more confusions, we can be considered great practitioners of Buddhism.
How should we cultivate as we learn Buddhism?
Non-origination and non-cessation
Cultivation is the most important practice for a Buddhist. We need to cultivate our conduct. Having resolved to learn from the Buddha, we ought to follow the Buddha’s methods of cultivation and practice. Our each and every action is manifested physically, but these physical actions are initiated by our mind. Hence, "Cultivating our moral conduct is better than cultivating our actions. Cultivating our mind is better than cultivating our moral conduct. Maintaining non-origination of the mind is better than cultivating it." Cultivation means examining our conduct and eradicating conduct which are undesirable, for example, those that inflict suffering on ourselves or on others. When our conduct is moral and ethical, then our actions are naturally beneficial to ourselves and others. Thus, cultivating our moral conduct is better than cultivating our actions. Unethical or immoral actions, originate from an impure mind. Once these undesirable actions arecommitted, it is too late for cultivation. Thus, it is better to cultivate the mind. To cultivate the mind after the arising of impure thoughts is also too late. Thus, cultivating the mind is still not the ultimate, it is better to spontaneously cease the arising of such thoughts all together. Since there is no arising, then there is no cessation. The verse "Non-origination and non-cessation" as described in the Heart Sutra is really a simple matter!
We need to understand that learning and practising Buddhism should be as simple as possible. Indeed, it is so simple that we may find it unbelievable. Yet, it is also so simple that we may not be able to do it. We learn Buddhism to overcome our disbelief and reinforce our faith so that we have the capability to put it into practice. Thus, the saying "Faith is the origin of all paths to enlightenment." Let me use a very simple method to illustrate.
When a thought originates in our mind, it is "birth" or "origination". When the thought fades away it no longer exists, therefore it is "dead" or it has "ceased." Every moment of the day, the mind is
perpetually engaged in a continuous process of "origination" and "cessation", or "birth" and "death" of thoughts. Unknowingly, one moment it arises, and the next it ceases. Now we need to know when these thoughts are arising and ceasing. "To know" here means "awareness". Let me use my hand to illustrate so that you may understand right away. I raise my hand now, and so my hand is "up". When I put my hand down then it is "down". Our mind constantly behaves in the same manner; one moment it gives birth to a thought ( hand is up), and the next moment the thought is dead, it passes away (hand is down). This continuous process of birth and death is called sentient beings. This process of birth and death brings forth boundless sufferings. Sentient being is boundless and therefore suffering is also boundless. When we learn and practise Buddhism it means we are striving to liberate the inner sentient being in us from these sufferings. Now, I neither raise nor put my hand down. When the mind does not give birth, there is no death. This is no-birth and no-death, or non-origination and non-cessation. The Buddhas exist in this world for the sake of liberating sentient beings from this process of birth and death. In this way we all know that non-origination and non-cessation refers to our mind and hence maintaining the mind as such is the proper way to cultivate.
We should begin to cultivate from here. From cultivation, we acquire liberation, unfold our wisdom and widely follow the practices of all Bodhisattvas through aeons of countless births. In this way, we keep alive our hope of attaining the Supreme Enlightenment or Buddhahood. This is indeed so simple! Yet, so simple that you may not know, you may not believe and you doubt if you can actually do it. Whatever we are doing, be it walking, standing, sitting or sleeping, we only need to cultivate in this manner and maintain an unmoving keenness of our awareness. You may think that this is so simple and feel that you know all these very well. But, human beings are indeed intelligent and it is not easy for others to fool them. Yet, in a whole life time they are constantly deceived by themselves without ever knowing.
In this world we speak of "nip in the bud" to eradicate a problem. Thus, to catch a thief, arrest his leader. In Buddhism, to cultivate our actions, first cultivate our mind. When we have our mind in control, we follow up by keeping it still. We know that "our mind is not moving", see that "our mind is not moving". The "know" and "see" mentioned here refer to our awareness. It is in this way that we maintain our awareness. I hope we all will practise and cultivate following this method.
I have described the essence of the Dharma using simplest words, and when we practise as such we are with Buddha. At every moment, irrespective of our activities, be with Buddha. Jen Chen Buddhism advocates cultivating and being with Buddha amid all our activities, including walking, standing, sitting and sleeping.
How to purify the human mind?
Observe the mind to purify it
We are all human beings and we all have a mind. We are frequently ‘deceived’ by our minds. For an entire lifetime we are ‘deceived’ and ‘misled’ by our minds without ever realizing it! If the mind is good, then of course, it is all very well. Such a mind creates a good person; one can ascend to the heavens or one can perform a lot of virtuous deeds. What happens if the mind is evil and becomes defiled? It can drag us to become animals, ghosts and deities, or descend to hell. This is because our mind is not pure, and therefore the world becomes a sea of suffering. This suffering world of ours is called the "Saha World". It means having to endure and is also called the "World of enduring sufferings". If we all purify our minds, then the world becomes a heaven. Everybody is very happy and there is no suffering. In learning and practising Buddhism, the most important thing is to purify our minds. When we can purify our minds, then naturally there will be happiness in our world.
To do that we have to observe the non-arising of the mind. This is called ‘contemplation of the mind’. When the mind is polluted, then we cleanse it with the dew of the Buddha. And when our minds have been purified, then they are the same as those of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In this way, we will progress very quickly in our cultivation.
Observing the mind is very simple. It is like watching out for the mouse. Everybody dislike mice because they steal our food or they damage our clothings. An idiom describes this sentiment with the phrase, ‘When the mouse crosses the street everybody goes after it.’ Obviously mice are not welcomed and they have to be dealt with. One method of dealing with it, is the cat. At the sight of a mouse, the cat puts his paws firmly on the ground and fixes its steely eyes on the mouse. On seeing the cat, the mouse trembles with fear, not daring to make even the slightest movement. Treat your mind as if it were a mouse and your awareness as the cat. At every moment observe your mind, in the same way as the cat watching the mouse. The mouse wants to live and hardly has time to think of its own safety, let alone of stealing food. If we can observe our minds, then we will hardly have time enough to treasure our wisdom life, let alone think of committing evil deeds.
Therefore when we are learning and practising Buddhism, we need to learn to "contemplate the mind". In this way, we will very quickly be able to avoid all evils and do all that are good.
"Avoid all evils; do all that are good; purify one’s mind. These are the teachings of all Buddhas". Besides avoiding all evils and doing all that are good, we need to purify our thoughts. When our thoughts have been purified, then the mind is pure. The purpose of learning and practising Buddhism is to purify the human mind. If the minds of everyone in the family is pure, then our home is pure; if the minds of everyone in this society is pure, then our society is pure; if the minds of everyone in the country is pure, then our land is pure; if the entire human race in the world is pure, then our world is as happy as the Western Pure Land.
Our mind is like the stealthy mouse, ever watchful of a chance to creep out to commit evil deeds, and we are not even aware of that. I hope all of us will keep a cat to watch our minds, so that we can become Buddha quickly.
Why do we need to purify our thoughts?
When the thoughts are pure all Karma are pure
There are numerous types of karma, but generally they can be classified under three main types, namely, action of the body, speech and thought. However, our actions and speeches originate from our thoughts, that is, the thought preceeds the action or speech. Therefore, the first step to cultivation is to purify the thoughts. When our thoughts are pure, all our actions and speeches will be pure. When our actions, speeches and thoughts are pure, then all our karma are pure. Therefore, when we are learning and practising Buddhism, we should always be pure in our actions, speeches and thoughts.
How do we follow the Bodhisattva path?
Bodhisattva Path is Enlightenment Path
The Bodhisattva Path is the Enlightenment Path. To follow the Bodhisattva Path, one first has to aspire for enlightenment for oneself and for all sentient beings. 
Having this apiration, one needs to cultivate and attain enlightenment. It is only when one is enlightened that all his thoughts and actions are considered to be on the Bodhisattva Path. If one has spent his entire life practising Buddhism without attaining enlightenment, his actions cannot be considered to be on the Bodhisattva Path. It can only be said that he is performing virtuous deeds.
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sorry it's too long can u explain it in short
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Originally posted by rokkie:
sorry it's too long can u explain it in short
Buddhism is about awakening, liberation, purification of the mind. It is also realising yourself and the true nature of reality... thereby awakening from our delusions causing endless suffering, greed, hatred, ignorance, and liberation from the cycle of samsaric rebirth in the 6 realms, and eventually attain Buddhahood. It is also to awake to the possibility of perfect bliss right here right now... not just in the afterlife. This bliss is not happiness that is conditioned by the things we own or sensory enjoyment (which is fleeting and unsatisfactory, and which Buddha calls of the nature of Dukkha - suffering), but comes from Transcendence of the conditioned and realising the unconditioned Reality, and then living everyday lives and meeting all life situations in unconditioned awareness.
If you practice Buddhism, you will know why you want to practice. The experiences you have will make you want to practice further... because you will want to re experience them again. After glimpses, you are guided by the experience and your inner wisdom. Then even if there is no Buddha, no teachers around, you will still want to practice to experience by yourself. Of course, having an enlightened teacher as a source of guidance is still very very important and helpful.
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BTW Longchen made a gd observation that my experience isn't like death -- because during death there is a total shut down of both thoughts and sensory awareness, and that "cannot be cognited.... there is no understanding of anything there for the split second that the shut down is experienced."
In my case, as I told him, "I do not think I experience total shut down of senses. It was thoughtless, but there is pretty much sensory awareness. In fact it becomes intensified, vivid, real, as if I am sensing its 'pure existence' or 'aliveness' or 'energy' whatever you call it... but there is no separate experiencer." So certain aspect of 'self' has dissolved, but it is not a real clinical/physical death experience, and as Thusness said it is not yet the complete dissolution of the 'self'.
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Sorry, removed a conversation from this post as it is not so suitable and might be dangerous for some.
Nevertheless, right understanding of Buddhist practice is most important. Just practice insight meditation from a qualified master/teacher. That is safest.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Sorry, removed a conversation from this post as it is not so suitable and might be dangerous for some.
Nevertheless, right understanding of Buddhist practice is most important. Just practice insight meditation from a qualified master/teacher. That is safest.
And still be brainwashed by a master/teacher. -
Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
And still be brainwashed by a master/teacher.This has nothing to do with brainwashing. Otherwise you have to call your school teachers as brain washers.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
This has nothing to do with brainwashing. Otherwise you have to call your school teachers as brain washers.
At least, school teachers don't brainwash away your individual sense of knowing what's right or wrong. -
Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
At least, school teachers don't brainwash away your individual sense of knowing what's right or wrong.Buddhism in fact increases your awareness of what's right or wrong.
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
At least, school teachers don't brainwash away your individual sense of knowing what's right or wrong.as long as u reveal ur heart from delusion ,u will know what's right and wrong
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Buddhism is about awakening, liberation, purification of the mind. It is also realising yourself and the true nature of reality... thereby awakening from our delusions causing endless suffering, greed, hatred, ignorance, and liberation from the cycle of samsaric rebirth in the 6 realms, and eventually attain Buddhahood. It is also to awake to the possibility of perfect bliss right here right now... not just in the afterlife. This bliss is not happiness that is conditioned by the things we own or sensory enjoyment (which is fleeting and unsatisfactory, and which Buddha calls of the nature of Dukkha - suffering), but comes from Transcendence of the conditioned and realising the unconditioned Reality, and then living everyday lives and meeting all life situations in unconditioned awareness.
If you practice Buddhism, you will know why you want to practice. The experiences you have will make you want to practice further... because you will want to re experience them again. After glimpses, you are guided by the experience and your inner wisdom. Then even if there is no Buddha, no teachers around, you will still want to practice to experience by yourself. Of course, having an enlightened teacher as a source of guidance is still very very important and helpful.
thx for sharing