The real nature of every being is, by its very nature, total perfection, bliss, love, and wisdom. That is also the actual nature of reality. Even though it may seem that there are so many problems—whether emotional pain, inner struggles, or outer difficulties—in reality, in the very core, there is not even the slightest trace of suffering or ignorance to be found.
However, since this is not known, because it lies hidden behind a veil of unawareness, people feel discontentment. A profound uneasiness arises due to the feeling that "something is missing." In actuality, the real condition of Being is fundamental and total luminous space.
In order to loosen the shackles of this bondage, we can look directly within and observe: The person that you think yourself to be, what is that? Where is it? What is it made of? Can it be grasped and identified? What exactly is it that is "there" looking?
This inward, direct looking points the way and frames the real purpose of our spiritual nature.
The Nature of Wisdom and Love
Once discovered, we see directly that in the space of the ultimate condition of Being, there is no "self" or "other" as discrete entities to be found. There is simply the indescribable inseparability of the complete totality, which itself is great, profound wisdom.
This wisdom is not the wisdom of knowing something as an object of knowledge, as one would know a piece of information or the name of an object. Instead, it is wisdom because there is inseparability. This inseparability itself is wisdom that knows itself as the totality and all the diversity that appears therein. It is wisdom because it is pure knowing which needs no object of knowledge, and yet everything is directly known.
This real condition of being is also Great Love. It is not the feeling of love for something or someone else. Great Love is the luminous nature of the ultimate condition itself. Because the ultimate condition, or Ground of Reality, is a great non-duality in which there is no self and other, this absence of self and other is Great Love.
It is also Great Joy because there is nothing missing and nothing to seek for. When we feel that there is nothing missing, there is no need to seek for something to change or attain; that is Great Joy. It is total peace because there is no clinging to any thought or disturbing emotion, and there is no thought or emotion that is an object to be experienced. If there is no clinging or fixation to any emotional state as being real, and nothing to construct in the conceptual mind, then we are at peace.
This ultimate condition is timeless and unborn. Because it is not an entity or a "thing," it was never made. Being beyond time, it abides in the eternal now, the time beyond time. It is indestructible and unstainable because it is not an object; just like space, it cannot be destroyed or made dirty in any way. It is pure union—a union with itself, in itself, from itself, and all the diversity which arises in its own inconceivable spaciousness.
This non-duality does not mean an existent "oneness" where everything is "the same in the oneness." This non-duality means that in the totality of the absolute, there is not One and not Two. Neither Oneness nor "twoness." There is nothing missing, as it is the totality.
Just like the ocean and its waves: many waves arise in the ocean, but these waves are never separate from the ocean, nor are they anything other than the ocean itself. In the same way, primordial awareness, due to a factor of latent confusion, arises as living beings which appear as individuals. Unaware of their condition, they lose themselves in the many waves that arise, not seeing that they themselves are just a wave too, and as such, they are the ocean itself.
As it says in a Sutra:
"The ultimate condition of Being is peace and pacification because it is free from desire. It does not become an object because it is free of ideas. It is inexpressible and transcends all movements of mind. It is omnipresent because it is infinite like space; it is without color, mark, or shape. It permeates equally all things. It is without establishment or rejection, without birth or destruction."
And as Longchenpa wrote:
"Whatever appears and whatever arises, all things that proliferate and abide as dynamic expressions of awareness... everything is of one basic space, like waves on water. (...) Do not stray from the scope of awareness; this is analogous to waves on the ocean that arise, remain, and cease, yet are not apart from the water. Nothing deviates from the spontaneously present expanse of the three kayas."
The Illusion of the "I" and the Restless Seeking
As a result of not recognizing the absolute true condition of Being, living beings are constantly seeking, feeling always that something is missing. They are always in need to do something, to achieve or obtain something, to have some specific feelings, and so on.
On the other hand, everything that does not fit into the ideas of what we think we need to obtain is feared and rejected. In this way, there is an ongoing search for peace, happiness, fulfillment, and so on, always focused on obtaining something other than what is here now, and mostly focused on transitory experiences and things.
Living in this way, we are thrown around by extremely disturbing emotions such as anger, fear, jealousy, envy, hope, cravings, and so on, like a small boat adrift on a storm. Due to this situation, living beings do many things in their attempts to capture happiness and to fulfill that feeling of "something is missing."
It is clear that everyone wants to be happy and avoid suffering. This is the most basic drive for all living beings, regardless of what they perceive as happiness. In this way, people search and try to find happiness in countless outer things, events, and situations. Sometimes they even think that happiness can be found by killing each other and destroying the world. But this type of satisfaction does not last very long and creates only more problems. Most importantly, it leaves a feeling that we must try again and find something else. And so this seeking and restlessness continues.
What is the basis of all the ongoing restless seeking and searching, and of all the disturbances that result from it?
The basis is "I."
There is no "I" in the ultimate condition. The appearing "I" is a mirage that arises due to not seeing the totality of the primordial space. It is a moment of confusion where the natural clarity of awareness makes itself into an object. From that, appearances become "things" and primordial awareness becomes "I."
From that "I," it soon follows: I want, I need, I don't want, I like, I don't like.
Once this basis of the "I" develops, we run around, wanting and liking, or not wanting and hating, always focused on all the countless variety of things and experiences—good or bad feelings—as if they were something permanent and really existent. We do not truly know that our lives, the things we build, gather, and accumulate, are like building a sandcastle on the beach during low tide. And each time the tide rises and wipes the beach clean, we are very surprised, angry, depressed, frustrated, and cannot sleep at night, turning it over and over in our heads.
In short, people are generally under the influence of fear: the fear that the ocean tide will wipe the beach clean—which inevitably happens.
From this "I" also develop all sorts of fantasies, mental projections, and countless judgments about the world and ourselves. These made-up projections drive us to see the world based on concepts and judgments, and not what is really there, creating even more tensions and problems. All the actions that we do arise from that "I," from its projections and judgments about the world, and not based on what is really here and now.
As a result, there is always a tension and conflict between the fabricated ideas about the world and reality as it is, moment to moment. It is then no surprise that we are continuously in conflict—in conflict within ourselves and with the world outside, always struggling somehow, since there is always something that is "wrong" somewhere that needs to be fixed, improved, or removed. In this way, it is very hard to find peace, contentment, and joy.
The happiness and sense of unity that everyone seeks and continuously searches for everywhere, and in all sorts of "outer things," is really the unity that is their real condition: the totality of the absolute state of Being, the natural Great Perfection (Dzogchen).
The current condition that living beings abide in is, in fact, similar to a feverish dream state. Returning to the real condition is like waking up—waking up from the delusion of being a real "me-person" living in a real and separate world "out there," and in that way, waking up to the totality of the real nature of Being.
As it says in a Sutra:
"The awakened mind is not to be realized by body nor by mind [conceptual mind]; it is free from all ideas about objects. The awakened mind is the elimination of all opinions and views. It is free from all discrimination. Awakening is arriving at the freedom from all habitual tendencies. It is without duality beyond mind and things. It is great equality as infinite space. The awakened mind is unconstructed because it is neither born nor destroyed. It is the ultimate realm and the realization of reality."
And as Saraha wrote:
"Just as many rivers are one in the ocean, All half-truths are swallowed by the one truth; The brightness of the sun illuminates all dark corners."
The Path: Striking at the Essence
How can we then discover this real condition, the ultimate state of Being?
First of all, we need a strong and genuine wish to become free from that situation—an intense motivation to wake up to the totality. We can call this devotion: an uncompromising devotion to the truth of awakening. We also need the openness and strength to question and examine everything in order to discover the difference between what is false, superficial, and transient, and what is true and ultimately valid. We must recognize that ultimately, all ideas and concepts are limited and pale reflections of reality.
If we want to embark on this journey, we need to understand that everything in the relative world is temporary, and soften our clinging and grasping to things.
As for the way or path to discover this ultimate condition of Being, there are many possible roads and approaches, but all the paths that lead to freedom fall under two types: a path that strikes directly at the essence, or a path that dissolves delusion. Even though either approach can be followed on its own, in this explanation, both approaches are combined into one.
This approach relies on one aspect of contemplative meditation (striking directly at the essence) and one aspect of applying the path during daily life and activities (dissolving delusion).
Striking Directly at the Essence
Many words can be used, but none are very useful! To strike directly at the essence means to enter directly into the ultimate by abiding all-at-once in the very core of awareness, which is itself already the authentic condition of the mind.
Ideally, this means to receive the needed instructions and the "pointing out" required from a qualified spiritual friend or guide, in order to recognize that which is unchanging and intrinsic in the mind: the unborn, timeless, and objectless awareness-knowingness. Once this heart of Being is clearly recognized, then abiding as that which was recognized is what is meant by "abiding all-at-once in the core of awareness." This is also the real meaning of "contemplative meditation."
If this entering all-at-once is not possible due to some reasons and circumstances, then at the very least, the person can apply and abide in meditation as described next. Through gaining experience in meditation, the person can approach the discovery of this present awareness.
The method to apply meditation consists of three aspects: Placing the body, placing the mind, and abandoning the mind.
Placing the Body: We should learn how to sit in a way that is conducive to clarity while remaining relaxed, and avoiding states of dullness or sleepyness.
Placing the Mind: The mind is placed where everything is seen, heard, and felt, but no object is held in the mind. The mind is placed nowhere. This placing of the mind is not a withdrawal within or a blocking off the senses. In this placing of the mind, everything is seen, heard, and felt, and yet the mind does not go out to fixate or grab at anything at all. It is a mind of great brightness, silent, fully open, and aware, without being focused on anything in particular. It is the threshold place between outside and inside. Neither fixated outside on the sense objects, nor fixated within into emptiness or thoughts. It is that which is there, present, and aware. Who is aware? That is it. Once the mind finds its seat in this way, it is abandoned without hesitation.
Abandoning the Mind: This means to stop any kind of control or manipulation of the mind and allow it to be as it is. Allowing it to naturally relax into a vast openness, a clear and bright openness where everything is allowed to come and go. Just like the sky is a vast openness and the clouds are allowed to come and go, never blocked. In this way, thoughts are also allowed to manifest and are not blocked. Thoughts are allowed to arise and are allowed to disappear by themselves.
If at any moment the meditator grabs hold of a thought and follows it through by making more thoughts, then the spaciousness of meditation is lost. In the same way, if the meditator tries to block thoughts from arising, then the natural openness of the mind becomes contracted and the essence is not reached. This abandoning of the mind is a great relaxation of "not-doing," without losing the natural bright clarity of open awareness.
In short, the main point of abandoning the mind in meditation is as described by Tilopa:
"Do not recall past memories. Do not imagine future ideas. Do not think about things now. Do not examine what is happening. Do not control what is happening. Rest – Now relax and rest."
And by Garab Dorje:
"If thoughts arise, remain present in that state; if no thoughts arise, remain present in that state; there is no difference in the presence in either state."
After abandoning the mind and resting in such abandonment, clear and open, it will be clearly seen if that is lost. When that is lost, mental chatter, discursive thought, and grasping at objects return to the mind, and we call that distraction. Alternatively, it is also lost if the mind falls into a foggy, unclear state of dullness where the clarity of mind is lost, and we also call that distraction. If this occurs, we should return to the start, place the mind again, and again abandon it.
By striking directly at the essence through correct contemplative meditation, having learned the proper way and the possible pitfalls and mistakes of confused states of meditation, we proceed directly to realize the unborn nature of Being.
It is important to apply meditation daily, two to three times a day for short periods according to our capacity, experience, and conditions. The duration of each sitting increases naturally as experience and confidence grow. If possible, it is crucial to receive proper instruction and pointing-out to clarify doubts and mistakes.
When experience develops and the unborn, spontaneous, present awareness dawns clearer and more stable, it becomes possible to "take" that present awareness from the meditation into the daily activities and the world, and that is the best way to proceed. However, in the beginning, that is not easy or even possible to do. Until the time comes when it becomes possible to integrate that present awareness into every movement of life, another approach can be used to apply the path in daily life. There is also the case where, due to a person's own inclinations and tendencies, there is a need for something more concrete, something to do in order to apply the path in daily life, since saying simply to "be present and aware in everything you do" is not so easy at the start.
This is the path that dissolves delusion.
Dissolving Delusion: Application in Daily Life
The path that dissolves delusion refers to a specific way to apply the path in daily life. It includes the principles of Surrender and Acting in Accordance with the Ultimate Nature.
How can we move and interact with the world during daily activities in a way that is supportive to our path and to becoming free from all confusion, while supporting the discovery of the ultimate state? Here we explain the principles of how to practice the aspects of surrender and acting in accordance with the ultimate nature.
1. Surrender
The aspect of surrender is to be understood as keeping awareness and acting guided by three principles: Contentment, Giving up expectations about results, and Behaving in presence according to the current situation.
The world arises each moment, moment to moment, within and inseparable from the pure ground of the ultimate reality. This arising within the ultimate ground appears as the relative world and living beings, in an inconceivable web of causes and conditions, with all its diversity and unknowable mystery.
As explained above, living beings perceive the world through ideas and judgments, believing that there is an independent self and other, unaware of the ground of reality, the totality of ultimate nature. Since in this way they are unaware of all the reasons and conditions that manifest the appearance of the world and all phenomena, any attempts at controlling or fixating themselves and the world are surely to cause more tensions and uncertain results. From the point of view of a limited mind, the only aspect that we can have an influence on is our own actions, words, and thoughts.
Contentment: The relative appearing world is an ever-changing flux of momentary conditions. At its root, it is ungraspable and things are never fixed for even a moment. Situations appear, change, and evolve due to many causes and conditions, arising from the baseless, mysterious, and inconceivable ground of existence and one's past habitual tendencies. Whatever happened is already here, and whatever is in the process of manifesting is already manifesting. What is there to control? We can only act now, with what is present now. So looking in this way, we understand that rejecting and becoming angry or sad about what is manifesting currently in our experience is not only pointless but the cause of more tension and problems. Since the world is an ever-changing momentary flux, nothing can ever be "fixed" in any concrete and permanent way. In this way, any attempts at controlling things based on our own mental projections and judgments, without knowing the way things really are, are more likely to create conflicts and problems. Complaining, dwelling in sadness or disturbance when bad things happen to us, or being greatly excited when something good happens, is only more confusion. When we really understand this, we see that to cultivate contentment and a relaxed mind about the highs and lows that happen in our lives is the best approach. A contented mind is a vast open space, rich and bountiful in joy and peace. A contented mind is moving according to the ultimate nature, and so it leads to peace and wisdom.
Giving up Expectations about Results: We may find ourselves in any situation, happy or sad, troubled or joyful. Sometimes we need to make a decision and are uncertain of what to do, or perhaps we feel we know what to do, but then things turn out in a totally different way. We remember that everything is impermanent, and that the limited conceptual mind does not really know what is going on or how things will turn out. In any case, everything is ultimately unborn, and as such illusory, so we should keep a vast and relaxed mind. A mind that is open to possibilities, a mind of "we will see...". Such understanding brings great peace and clarity of mind. And we can act in the world according to our needs and situation, as best as possible, without being overly involved in expectations.
Behaving in Presence According to Current Situation: Living beings generally move about in turmoil, conflict, and confusion; and despite perhaps some good intentions, we are still driven mostly by selfish concerns and afflicted by all sorts of different problems as we can observe in the world. In this way, we strive to move in the world in such a way that is grounded in compassion and love. Everything that happens in the world is shared by everyone, directly or indirectly, sooner or later. Everyone is a contributor to this great garden that is the relative, illusory, manifest world, and we all have to experience the results of the seeds planted by everyone else, including our own. With this understanding, we become aware of our actions, our words, and our thoughts.
Just like many rivers flowing into a lake, whatever is poured into those rivers will end up mixing with the water of the lake and become present to all the fish and creatures of the lake. It is the same with all the seeds poured into a garden, because they will define how that garden will look. In the same way, the actions, words, and thoughts of every being are like the seeds and streams. It is important to learn how to be responsible for our actions, words, and thoughts, not because of relative judgments or rules imposed from tradition or others, but because we understand that in the relative condition, these actions have consequences—even though we are not exactly sure what those consequences may be.
So with this knowledge and a cultivated mind that remains clear in the present, we act freely and responsibly. There are no absolute rules of what is right or wrong at each moment, because everything is relative and dependent upon the state of the mind! It may be comforting at times to have clear rules telling us what is right and what is wrong, but that does not correspond to reality.
The only thing that a living being, with a limited mind, can say with certainty in regards to the relative apparent world is: In the same way that a corn seed does not produce rice, also any action that is motivated by anger or hatred will not result in peace and happiness. In the same way, an action motivated by love is likely to result in some form of peace. The same applies to actions driven by, and based upon, desire and grasping, pride and arrogance, or jealousy—such actions based on these disturbing emotions will only cause more suffering. In essence, what is in alignment with the intrinsic qualities of the Ground leads to what is good and awakening, and what is not in alignment with the qualities of the Ground leads to disharmony and problems.
This should not be confused with some forms of ethical relativism—not at all. The determining nature of actions is very clear. What is not clear is how exactly certain actions will manifest. But the nature of these is clear based on the underlying motivation. In other words, the result will always be of similar nature to the cause—at its root, it is the motivation that drives the action. As it says in a Sutra:
"All things arise dependently from causes, yet they are neither existent nor non-existent; there is neither ego nor experiencer nor doer, yet all actions, good or evil, will produce results."
So if we understand this, rooted in presence, we do our best in each situation and context, paying attention to our motivations, moment to moment.
Resuming now and clearly explaining this application of surrender: we understand that we must try our best in each situation to be fully present and aware, firmly rooted in compassion, love, and patience. But also with a clear discernment of our motivations and the motivations of others, and as such being aware of the difference between what is harmful and violent, and what is peaceful. We cultivate and nurture the deep motivation to come to a full realization of the ultimate nature of Being, for ourselves and all others.
Knowing that the limited conceptual mind does not really know what is happening or will happen, we release fixation to opinions, judgments, and outcomes. With this view firmly established, we act as we need to act, do what we need to do as best as we can in each moment. That means going into activity with a vast and open mind free of expectations, judgments, hopes, or fears about the results of our actions or what is happening in the present moment. In this way, action arises from spaciousness, relaxation, and love instead of personal projections or narrow and judgmental views. We remain peacefully gazing towards infinity and freedom, the ultimate condition of Being, regardless of what is happening. We cultivate a profound trust that every moment is itself the infinite and that everything, no matter what, is the ground and means for total freedom. Like this, we surrender to infinity, to the unfathomable mystery of the absolute totality. We surrender our ego-limited-self to the ultimate nature, to the boundless expanse of pure luminous compassion that is the Ground of Reality. This is surrender.
2. Acting in Accordance with the Ultimate
As for the second way of applying, which is to act in accordance with the ultimate nature, it means to act with the understanding that everything is ultimately pure, beyond good or bad, and impermanent in nature. Unawareness of the true ultimate condition of being is the root of all problems.
In the totality of the ultimate space, there is no "me" or "other"—this absolute condition is nowhere else to be found apart from right now where you stand. It is not a place or time somewhere else. The ultimate state of reality is right here and now, and includes everything totally. Your entire life and personal situation right now is inseparable from the purity and completeness of the ultimate condition. In this way, there is nothing to reject and nothing to seek. There is no life situation or thing that is not already part of the totality right here in the eternal now.
It is only the conceptual mind, bound by time and space, that produces this limited and separate "person" and "outer world." It is this limited mind that we abandon. So we do not run away from the activities of life; whatever our situation is, we do not think that we need to become a different person or have a different life in order to attain the realization of the ultimate condition. We understand that the "self" that wants to improve itself is unreal and illusory, and is the root of all confusion, and our real nature is already perfect and fully present, even though still unseen.
This is not easy to apply until there is a direct experience, so we try to apply this practice according to our capacity and possibility, aware of the limitations of the present situation. Even before this is realized directly, to act in accordance with this principle means to act from the understanding that the fundamental nature of all things is pure and beyond any judgment of good and bad. As Dogen Zenji said:
"Those who see worldly life as an obstacle to the spiritual path do not see the spiritual path in everyday actions. They have not yet discovered that there are no everyday actions outside of the ultimate truth."
The vision of something as impure, good, or bad is a mere concept that has no existence anywhere concrete outside of the projecting conceptual mind. As an example, a mirror is never pure nor impure. If we cover the mirror with dirt and dust, underneath the dirt, the mirror is still clear and reflecting. On the other hand, if the mirror is truly dirty, we could not ever clean it again. But if we clean it, we say now it is clean. If the mirror is truly a clean mirror, then we could never cover it with dust and say it is dirty. The real state of the mirror is in fact beyond pure and impure.
It is also important to notice that we can place anything in front of the mirror—a beautiful object or scene, or a terrible thing. The mirror will reflect both the beautiful and the terrible, but the mirror itself never becomes beautiful or terrible, but remains unaffected by the reflection. However, more importantly, when it comes to the mind and our experiences, we can see that a mind can experience what are called good thoughts and it can experience bad thoughts. Because the mind is ultimately beyond pure and unstainable, it can experience positive and negative thoughts without ever becoming stuck forever in a state of being called a positive mind or a negative mind. The mind itself is ever-free from such notions of good or bad; that is, thoughts come and go, good or bad, but the mind itself is never good or bad, pure or impure. Such is the condition of the mind and of all phenomena, naturally unstainable and beyond good or bad. The mind and all appearances are in reality beyond being fixed as any concrete and permanent thing whatsoever.
As it says in the Lankavatara:
"As all things are unreal, there is neither defilement nor purity; things are not as they are seen, nor are they otherwise."
So in a concrete way, how do we apply this as a way to act in accordance with the ultimate nature?
With the understanding explained above, we see that there is nothing that ultimately we must crave and hold on to, because whatever it is we might want to hold on to, is beyond mind and ever-inseparable from our own condition. Since good and bad, "self" and "other" exist only in the mind and are not to be found anywhere, we practice generosity in accordance with our own individual conditions and capacity by being open and relaxing grasping. Since the anger that arises is only the mind rejecting what is manifesting now in our experience, and this current situation is ultimately impermanent, beyond good and bad—we practice patience by relaxing rejection. Destructive behaviors such as harming others, stealing, and so on, are the result of selfish motivations and grasping at our own desires, and are the cause of great problems for everyone. In this case, with the understanding that in the ultimate sense there is simply the great inseparability of self and other, act with great care and respect for everyone and yourself.
Since the true condition of Being is only discovered when having the intense wish for the truth and for total freedom, we cultivate great joy in everything that leads to such freedom and to peace, for ourselves and others. Since the ultimate state is great peace, unmoved by the turmoil of discursive thinking and destructive emotions, we cultivate a peaceful mind that abides in clear presence. Since in the ultimate condition there is no self or other, and there is a profound wisdom and direct knowing of the essence of reality which is in itself complete, total, and perfect—we understand that fundamentally there is nothing to improve or correct, there is nothing to develop or eliminate, no one to practice generosity nor anyone to receive it.
In this way, the practitioner acts without acting (without being an agent), gives without giving, and practices without practicing, free of clinging and attachment. Rinzai has said that once this nature is seen, one should simply:
"Go ahead directly and straightforwardly, and you will know without asking how each day should be lived."
This is the meaning of acting in accordance with the ultimate nature.
Conclusion
If we practice the ways of striking at the essence and dissolving delusion, with an unwavering determination to attain the total realization of the ultimate condition, we become like soaring vultures. After stripping the carcass of the conceptual mind from all conceptual projections, they fly freely in the open sky, leaving no mark or trace behind other than the beauty of their flight and the real meaning of freedom.
As Longchenpa said, awareness that is "like a bird in flight, naturally occurring timeless awareness leaves no trace." The flight of being is unborn. Just as when a bird flies in the sky, in the movement of flight, where does the bird come from? Where is it in the next moment? From which place in the sky does it come and where is it next? The flight of the bird is unborn. Only when a bird lands on a tree do we say it has arrived here. Such is the ordinary personal mind, the sense of a "me-person"—it is just a tree!
Don't land on trees. Fly!
The single summary of this entire text can be put into one sentence: Who you are is not a "who" at all. Make that discovery the center of your life and you will not fail.
When moving about in the world, remember: Be kind. Be gentle. Be strong. Be like a great vulture soaring in the sky.
with love,
may it bring benefit
Ajanatha
