knowing and being must be the same or there is duality...
Mooji
Be Still
As soon as you come to the beautiful space of serenity and emptiness, simpy keep quiet inside your being. Now it is easy to recognise who the first visitor will be.
Mind will come and ask: "Now what?"
This usually gets the person and its sense of insecurity going again and many get distracted by the fear of the unknown and hesitate to go further in.
But to whom is mind asking such a question?
Mind id outside the door now but he is not yet gone.
He is trying to re-enter to regain control by connecting to your "person" "So what are you going to do with all this emptiness" How are things going to get done?" He asks. But this is not your concern now.
You have moved from the person to presence -a higher state of consciousness.
It is a crucial moment in awakening. Mind is not going to give up so easily. Any chance to push you back into your previous state he will take. Do not fall for this. Trust the Self. Be one with your inner being. There is nothing to do but keep acknowledging the state and presence of grace. Just keep quiet. Let go of command.
Let go of the wheel of life. If you as a person try to direct life, you only make strife. When you give up the need to control, you find you are caressed by a deeper power. Appreciate the silence, the stillness, the intuitiveness and the wisdom that is arising naturally inside, which your mind is trying to ditract you from recognizing. Trust. Be empty, quiet and trusting.
It is like a hole being made in the mind's universe and the hand of God is pulling you through into your divine existance.
Mooji, India 2015
Presence and the Person
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ui3vIvymDE
the teacher here is your own experience.
"human being" needs not concepts attached. Stay with this and discover what it is.
"to be" is enough
"I" word is the most important word because all other words came after it. I am needs to be before you are.
"I" is our natural name. am = to be, what does "I" mean ?
('i and my Father are one' maybe was used as a pointer, like My name and the Father's are the same name... From ACIM)
(self existant one) = 'I'
I must be before I am aware of you.
presence that I feel is
- the self of the waking state
- the dynamic being
- the seed being
- the seat of perception
what is in front of the presence? --the person
presence is aware of your attention to. Watch this. See how attention shifts from
the presence to the person or the person's concerns.
once this happens, presence seems to get drugged and forgets to watch what is happening.
Bring your attention back to awareness and keep going back there.
Eventually it will be easier to stay as awareness. When consciousness becomes self-concious, it no longer believes in the person.
When we forget, go back and say "I am not the body" "I am not the mind" or better still look to see that this is so. All phenomenon is like clouds that come and go from this place of witnessing.
in deep sleep, we have no experience, we are no one. We are, but there is no "I am feeling", no person, no dreaming. We love this state, as it is a natural one. Enlightened ones love being "no one" in the awakened state.
Am I aware of the "I AM" feeling?
Yes? Don't add anything to it, no concepts, no adjectives, no stories, no desires...
This is what you are --the unchangeable one.
be "no one" inside in this way. On the outside be a person to function in the world, but on the inside always be "no one" Identify with the I Am feeling, the space of presence. The personality appears in front of it. See this now.
Even the feeling of "I AM" is watched. See this now. The Self is more subtil than the feeling of I Am.
outwardly we say "I did this and that" but inside I am watching it so I am nothing here. That is why enlightened beings can say they are talking, but that talking is happening (because they see it happen)
Identity has separated from the activity of the person.
the person: the idea of who you think you are.
but if you are aware of the unchanging as you, then dropping attachment will be natural
attention goal: find your stability in the unchangeable
- the person needs the presence to be, but the presence does not need the person --you can not say "you are not" because you must be there to say something
- the person is constant in the waking state, but the Constant always is presence
The Classic of Purity
This is one version of the Qingjing Jing (The Classic of Purity and Stillness)
English translations of the Qingjing jing title include:
- "Classic of Purity" (Legge, 1891)
- "Scripture of Purity and Tranquility" (Kohn 1993)
- "Scripture on Clarity and Tranquility" (Despeux and Kohn 2003)
- "Scripture on Clarity and Stillness" (Komjathy 2004)
- "Scripture of Purity and Stillness" (Miller 2006)
- "Scripture of Clarity and Quiescence" (Kohn 2007)
Khing Käng King or The Classic of
Purity*
So I must translate the title of this brochure, as
it appears in the 'Collection of the Most Important Treatises of
the Tâoist Fathers' (vol. xxxix, p. xvii), in which alone
I have had an opportunity of perusing and studying the Text. The
name, as given by Wylie, Balfour (Tâoist Texts.), and Faber
(China Review, vol. xiii, p. 246), is Khing King King 2, and signifies
'The Classic of Purity and Rest.' The difference is in the second
character, but both Khing Käng and Khing King are well-known
combinations in Tâoist writings; and it will be seen, as the
translation of the Text is pursued, that neither of them is unsuitable
as the title of the little Book.
It is, as Dr. Faber says, one of the 'mystical canons'
of Tâoism; but the mysticism of Tâoism is of a nature
peculiar to itself, and different from any mental exercises which
have been called by that name in connexion with Christianity or
Mohammedanism. It is more vague and shadowy than any theosophy or
Sûfism, just as the idea of the Tâo differs from the
apprehension of a personal God, however uncertain and indefinite
that apprehension may be. Mr. Wylie says the work 'treats under
very moderate limits of the subjection of the mental faculties.'
This indeed is the consummation to which it conducts the student;
a condition corresponding to the nothingness which Lâo-dze
contended for as antecedent to all positive existence, and out of
which he said that all existing being came, though he does not indicate
how.
I give to the Treatise the first place among our appendixes
here because of the early origin ascribed to it. It is attributed
to Ko Yüan (or Hsüan) 1, a Tâoist of the Wû
dynasty (A.D. 222-277), who is fabled to have attained to the state
of an Immortal, and is generally so denominated. He is represented
as a worker of miracles; as addicted to intemperance, and very eccentric
in his ways. When shipwrecked on one occasion, he emerged from beneath
the water with his clothes unwet, and walked freely on its surface.
Finally he ascended to the sky in bright day. All these accounts
may safely be put down as the figments of a later time.
It will be seen that the Text ascribes the work to
Lâo-dze himself, and I find it impossible to accept the account
of its origin which is assigned by Lî Hsî-yüeh
to Ko Hsüan. As quoted by Lî in the first of some notes
subjoined to his Commentary, Ko is made to say, 'When I obtained
the true Tâo, I had recited this King ten thousand times.
It is what the Spirits of heaven practise, and had not been communicated
to scholars of this lower world. I got it from the Divine Ruler
of the eastern Hwa; he received it from the Divine Ruler of the
Golden Gate; he received it from the Royal-mother of the West. In
all these cases it was transmitted from mouth to mouth, and was
not committed to writing. I now, while I am in the world, have written
it out in a book. Scholars of the highest order, understanding it,
ascend and become officials of Heaven; those of the middle order,
cultivating it, are ranked among the Immortals of the Southern Palace;
those of the lowest order, possessing it, get long years of life
in the world, roam through the Three Regions, and (finally) ascend
to, and enter, the Golden Gate.'
This quotation would seem to be taken from the preface
to our little classic by Ho Hsüan. If there were indeed such
a preface during the time of the Wû dynasty, the corruption
of the old Tâoism must have been rapid. The Hsî Wang-mû,
or Royal-mother of the West, is mentioned once in Kwang-dze (Bk.
VI, par. 7); but no 'Divine Ruler' disfigures his pages. Every reader
must feel that in the Classic of Purity he has got into a different
region of thought from that which he has traversed in the Tâo
Teh King and in the writings of Kwang-dze.
With these remarks I now proceed to the translation
and explanation of the text of our King.
______________
Ch. 1. 1. Lâo the Master 1 said, The Great Tâo
has no bodily form, but It produced and nourishes heaven and earth.
The Great Tâo has no passions, but It causes the sun and moon
to revolve as they do.
The Great Tâo has no name, but It effects the
growth and maintenance of all things.
I do not know its name, but I make an effort, and
call It the Tâo. Now, the Tâo (shows itself in two forms);
the Pure and the Turbid, and has (the two conditions of) Motion
and Rest. Heaven is pure and earth is turbid; heaven moves and earth
is at rest. The masculine is pure and the feminine is turbid; the
masculine moves and the feminine is still. The radical (Purity)
descended, and the (turbid) issue flowed abroad; and thus all things
were produced.
The pure is the source of the turbid, and motion is
the foundation of rest.
If man could always be pure and still, heaven and
earth would both revert (to non-existence).
3. Now the spirit of man loves Purity, but his mind
disturbs it. The mind of man loves stillness, but his desires draw
it away. If he could always send his desires away, his mind would
of itself become still. Let his mind be made clean, and his spirit
will of itself become pure.
As a matter of course the six desires will not arise,
and the three poisons will be taken away and disappear.
4. The reason why men are not able to attain to this,
is because their minds have not been cleansed, and their desires
have not been sent away.
If one is able to send the desires away, when he then
looks in at his mind, it is no longer his; when he looks out at
his body, it is no longer his; and when he looks farther off at
external things, they are things which he has nothing to do with.
When he understands these three things, there will
appear to him only vacancy. This contemplation of vacancy will awaken
the idea of vacuity. Without such vacuity there is no vacancy.
The idea of vacuous space having vanished, that of
nothingness itself also disappears; and when the idea of nothingness
has disappeared, there ensues serenely the condition of constant
stillness.
5. In that condition of rest independently of place
how can any desire arise? And when no desire any longer arises,
there is the True stillness and rest.
That True (stillness) becomes (a) constant quality,
and responds to external things (without error); yea, that True
and Constant quality holds possession of the nature.
In such constant response and constant stillness there
is the constant Purity and Rest.
He who has this absolute Purity enters gradually into
the (inspiration of the) True Tâo. And having entered thereinto,
he is styled Possessor of the Tâo.
Although he is styled Possessor of the Tâo,
in reality he does not think that he has become possessed of anything.
It is as accomplishing the transformation of all living things,
that he is styled Possessor of the Tâo.
He who is able to understand this may transmit to
others the Sacred Tâo.
2. 1. Lâo the Master said, Scholars of the highest
class do not strive (for anything); those of the lowest class are
fond of striving. Those who possess in the highest degree the attributes
(of the Tâo) do not show them; those who possess them in a
low degree hold them fast (and display them). Those who so hold
them fast and display them are not styled (Possessors of) the Tâo
and Its attributes.
2. The reason why all men do not obtain the True Tâo
is because their minds are perverted. Their minds being perverted,
their spirits become perturbed. Their minds being perturbed, they
are attracted towards external things. Being attracted towards external
things, they begin to seek for them greedily. This greedy quest
leads to perplexities and annoyances; and these again result in
disordered thoughts, which cause anxiety and trouble to both body
and mind. The parties then meet with foul disgraces, flow wildly
on through the phases of life and death, are liable constantly to
sink in the sea of bitterness, and for ever lose the True Tâo.
3. The True and Abiding Tâo! They who understand
it naturally obtain it. And they who come to understand. the Tâo
abide in Purity and Stillness.
*The Classic of Purity; Translated by James Legge,
1891
Two meditations
Two Simple Meditations
I would like to discuss two modern, popular and powerful approaches to investigation of the Absolute Reality based on Advaita
and Tibetan Buddhism which evolved completely independently and yet
have striking similarities. The first of these is a simple meditation
practice based on ‘self-enquiry’ a technique championed by the Advaitist
sage Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950). The basic approach is to sit quietly
and using the inquiry ‘Who am I?’ discover that which is deeper than
body or mind, the source of all existence. When perfected the ‘Who am
I?’ inquiry reveals that there is no separate individual self but only
something that can be described as ‘pure radiant awareness’. This is
defined by Sankara in the ‘Vivekachudamani’ as the ‘self-effulgent
witness of all’ about which Ramana said ‘effortless, choiceless
awareness is your real state.’[1] Here is the meditation practice, revealed to a follower of this school (me), stemming directly from self-inquiry:
If you sit quietly you can easily notice that:
There is effortless awareness of every thought.
There is effortless awareness of every sound.
There is effortless awareness of every sight.
There is effortless awareness of every taste.
There is effortless awareness of every smell.
There is effortless awareness of every feeling.
There is effortless awareness of every touch.
This awareness encompasses every mind/body experience, for they appear in it.
Deeper than thoughts (mind) and sensory experiences (body) you are this awareness.
This awareness is effortless and choiceless as it requires no effort and it is choicelessly present.
This
awareness is omnipresent. If you investigate you will find that it is
(and has been) always present wherever you are. Even during sleep there
is awareness of dreams, and of the quality of that sleep.
This awareness is absolutely still as it is aware of the slightest movement of body/mind.
This awareness is utterly silent as it is aware of the smallest sound, the slightest thought.
This awareness is absolutely radiant for it illuminates everything that appears in it.
Every mind/body experience arises in this awareness, exists in this awareness and subsides back into this awareness.
At the deepest level you are this pure, radiant, still, silent, boundless, changeless awareness.
As this awareness there is nothing to achieve, for how can you achieve what you already are?
As this awareness there is nothing to find, for how can you find what you cannot lose?
As this awareness there is nothing to desire, long for or get, for how can you get what you already have?[2]
The
second is another very simple meditation practice from the Dzogchen
school of Tibetan Buddhism. Sogyal Rinpoche, the author of ‘The Tibetan
Book of Living and Dying is from this lineage and he has been teaching,
in the West, since 1974. About meditation he said: ‘The purpose of
meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind, and to
introduce us to that which we really are, our unchanging pure awareness,
which underlies the whole of life and death.’[3] Here is the practice, from a follower of this school, that was posted on the internet:
Dzogchen awareness practice
Get comfortable and let mind and body really relax - no need to sit in any strict meditation position - relaxed in a comfy chair is fine.
Locate awareness in space and then put attention on the breath flowing in and out quite naturally.
After a few minutes, cease to focus on any particular object and practice ‘choiceless awareness’, simply observing whatever objects arise and pass in Awareness. Notice the following about each object:
It is impermanent
It has no existence apart from Awareness, Itself.
Being a form of Awareness, it is transparent to it.
Get comfortable and let mind and body really relax - no need to sit in any strict meditation position - relaxed in a comfy chair is fine.
Locate awareness in space and then put attention on the breath flowing in and out quite naturally.
After a few minutes, cease to focus on any particular object and practice ‘choiceless awareness’, simply observing whatever objects arise and pass in Awareness. Notice the following about each object:
It is impermanent
It has no existence apart from Awareness, Itself.
Being a form of Awareness, it is transparent to it.
1. Without fixing attention on anything, just consider:
Is there awareness of sights? Is there awareness of sounds? Is there awareness of sensations? Is there awareness of thoughts? Is there awareness of feelings? Tastes? Etc.
This very Awareness which is right here now, IS that eternal, self luminous Reality that you have been striving to realize all along. Since this Awareness is already here, your striving is unnecessary.
2. Abandon all concepts about experience and simply observe.
See how appearances arise in Awareness. Since whatever appears is already present, how can it be avoided?
See how appearances pass in Awareness. Since whatever has passed is no longer present, how can it be grasped?
See how everything appears in Awareness without the least obstruction.
Since nothing obstructs appearances, there are no obstacles to be removed.
See how everything passes in Awareness without the least hindrance.
Since everything is self-liberating, there is nothing to be set free.
Relax into this effortless contemplation of how things actually are.
3. Without making any adjustments, continue to observe:
Although you say, ‘forms arise in Awareness,’ can you really separate
Awareness from its forms? Is not Awareness like an ocean and forms its waves?
Because Awareness and forms are ultimately inseparable, duality never existed. How then can it be transcended?
Although you say, ‘I am aware of such and such object,’ can you truly distinguish between yourself and the object? Where does ‘self’ end and ‘object’ begin?
Because subject and object are, in reality, indistinguishable, delusion never originated. How then can it be dispelled?
4. Look! Reality is staring you in the face:
You say you cannot eliminate your ‘self’ but there is no self to eliminate.
You say you have not attained ‘Enlightenment’ but there is not the slightest thing to attain.
You say, ‘I am ignorant of my true identity’ but how can this be? What else is there besides this infinite, eternal, non dual field of Awareness-and-form which is already present, right here and
now....and now...and now.....
Therefore, surrender all desire for attainment and just be what you are, Awareness, Itself![4]
So
comparing the two we can see that they both agree that our natural
effortless awareness of thoughts and sensations is ‘that eternal
self-luminous reality’ in which forms arise, exist and subside, and that
in essence we are that awareness. They both agree that there is
nothing to attain, i.e. all striving is unnecessary; also that there is
nothing to desire, grasp or get. There is also agreement that this
effortless awareness is here and now. So all that
ultimately exists is this ‘Pure, radiant, omnipresent field, of
effortless choiceless awareness’ in which everything arises, appears to
exist, and subsides without ever any separation or duality. Thus here
we have two ‘schools’ one of which posits Atman and the other Anatta (through sunyata) arriving at almost exactly the same conclusion without any collusion!
If you are interested in more articles, poems, my interview on Conscioustv,
or book info see attached.
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