Emptiness?
= Pointers toward emptiness, relativity, or "profound freedom." =
"In seeing things
to be or not to be
fools fail to see
a world at ease."
-Nagarjuna
NIRVANAM PARAMAM SUKHAM
"Just as these arms and legs
are seen as limbs of a body,
why are embodied creatures
not seen as limbs of life?"
-Shantideva
OM MANI PADME HUM
"I am free! I cling no more!
Liberation is mine!
The greatest clinging
is to cling like this."
...
"You are not the same as or different from
conditions on which you depend;
you are neither severed from
nor forever fused with them-
This is the deathless teaching
of buddhas who care for the world.
When buddhas don't appear
and their followers are gone,
the wisdom of awakening
bursts forth by itself."
...
"Clinging is to insist on being someone.
Not to cling is to be free to be no one."
...
"Buddhas speak of 'self'
and also teach 'no self'
and also say there's nothing
which is either self or not."
...
"Opinions are absurd."
-Nagarjuna
SARVE DHARMÁ NÁLAM ABHINIVESÁYA!
####### a poem (or an attempt) #######
to be solemn
is simply the mind contracting in on itself
around the "self" which is merely a myth
in some narcissistic fascination with a plan called "me"
to play is to see life as too serious to be solemn
and the mind simply dissolves the illusion of boundaries
to laugh is to experience awareness
some call it God or the universe or spirit
but it is beginningless and endless and is not bound by ideas
I call it buddhahood or wakefulness or compassion,
others call it christ or love or passion
but it is to be experienced like a taste
descriptions only point to the way
you must be the way
in the mirror of death
everything to be done, said, or thought of
shows its true reflection
and distractions are seen through, whether indulged or not
passion is as inexhaustible as play
and play is as inexhaustible as life
life is as indestructible as awareness
and awareness is as indestructible as existence
sentient beings live lifespans
born and dying in this dance
becoming and re-becoming in this continuity
spiritual seekers and teachers smile and laugh because this is freedom
bodhisattvas vow and help others because this is freedom
adepts explore and transform all into great bliss because this is freedom
nothing that the mirror of awareness reflects ever damages the mirror
nothing that the mind displays can ever permanently obscure reality's dance
- in fact, look into the displays and know it as part of the dance
until all beings are free of suffering, I will take refuge in the Jewel Community, the Jewel of Awareness, and the Jewel of Learning
but others express it in their own way, according to their unique natures
there is no reality other than what is here now
future times are imaginations
past times are imaginations
quickly, unwrap this buddha inside you
strip away the chains of distractive desires
and learn to unfurl your life
the perfect moment to do this is now
play and banish the solemnity built upon the "self"
- a foundation of sand to be scattered by wind and waves
the magical mantra, the passionate great bliss mantra,
the ultimate mantra, slogan, saying, phrase, heartfelt advice is:
"do not get caught up!"
(don't get lost in the trance of identification!)
connections and relationships with others are strengthened and deepened when clinging stops
the flames of passion burn hotter than any nuclear furnace with awareness as its fuel
[December 6th, 2006]
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-any beauty or wonder you find in the above "poem" is a reflection of the beauty you have inside
####### Entries #######
Clinging to nothing I can handle everything. Clinging to no one, I can share with everyone. Clinging to no beliefs, I can see and experience all of existence.
The self, most highly cherished and defended and coddled, is like a name written on the sand by the water's edge. The waves of change, of birth and death, will dissolve it. No fear can arise here at this point because it is pointless to be afraid of impermanence. It is also like a sunrise you watch and admire for its beauty, but you know that beauty will not last beyond early morning. Likewise this lifespan. But when death is nearby, simply remember that the transcience of experience says nothing about awareness itself. The sky above you doesn't disappear after the sunrise or sunset. Likewise, awareness doesn't desert "you" when you die.
[November 30th, 2006]
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It's not that I believe or disbelieve in God, Gods, Goddesses or other forms of divinity imagined or conceived of by humanity throughout history and in various places and cultures, it's just that I am not concerned with the argument. People can argue one way or the other about whether their particular version of God exists, but this is only more dancing of consciousness. Arguing about whether God exists is more a symptom of one's addiction to being right than it is about finding whatever truth is there.
So for me, the issue is this consciousness. What is it? Where does it come from? How to connect with this thread which weaves through all of our lives? Actually, the "how" is easy enough to practice, but making this connection a habit in this lifespan's continuum can be difficult. Like any art or craft, the basic skills, moves, and techniques are easy to establish as a base. But it's the actual practice over time which makes it seem complex.
Beliefs are quite wonderful creations of humanity. Unfortunately they are also used as weapons of justification for all sorts of atrocities and forms of dehumanization. For me, beliefs are proven invalid simply because people feel they must support and defend and prove them. Truths are true regardless of argument. Reality is the ultimate check on our ideas. The problem I can see with beliefs is that it often turns out that those who hold strong beliefs tend to not accept any evidence that may go against the belief. Humans are too wonderful to be tied down to this sort of mentality. Beliefs come and go and none of them are eternal nor even permanent for one second. But our awareness and our willingness to engage with the world...this is something that we can always rely on.
I am usually non-theist then. You can't say I am atheist nor can you say I am theist. If I think about divinity, I usually think of it as polytheistic only because such a view allows for diversity, complexity, multivalence and so forth...like life and relationships. Perceptions are very malleable and they do follow our preconceptions. So an atheist experiences a world without God and a theist sees God everywhere. I appreciate the value and wonder in both these approaches and any variations of them. But I cling to none of them, so I am nontheist...and even that is just a word to use, not an idea I must defend.
It is well past time that we human beings collectively and individually realize that our religions, ideologies, and world-views belong to us as our creations. We don't belong to them. We can get over ourselves and our trance of identification with this-that-and-the-other and allow space for understanding to grow. The trick is that when there is understanding, there is a way to end suffering. But understanding must change with reality as it is, and not with reality as we think it should be (which is not any sort of reality at all but only how we have trained ourselves to conceive it).
Any change needed will be effectively beneficial when it starts with reality as it is. There is no escape from this truth. And though we may distract ourselves and others with fantasies and ideas, awareness is not fooled one bit. It is we who get confused and forgetful of this awareness. The sky can be cloudy or rainy or clear, but it is still the sky. Likewise, the stainless awareness that is the ground of consciousness, its expression, and its result.
[December 6th, 2006]
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OM SVABHÁVASHUDDHÁ SARVADHARMÁ SVABHÁVASHUDDHO 'HAM!
OM SHÚNYATÁ JÑÁNA VAJRA SVABHÁVÁTMAKO 'HAM!