NonDual Highlights #1203 - Friday,
September 20, 2002 - Editor: Gloria Lee
The philosophical concept of existence - non-dualism - as
propagated by Adi'Sankaracarya, has been rendered through a
calligraphic logo of advaita (Sanskrit word meaning non-dualism),
in
which a single calligraphic stroke splits into two before merging
into
one, represents everything beginning from the `one', which
seemingly gets distinguished as two (maya). Duality, ultimately,
merges into the `one' (advaita) non-duality. ASHE
Beside the path the sudden flutter
of a speckled wood. I pause, follow
her ragged flight. Witness the way
the thin blade of grass bends
beneath her insignificant weight. Then,
as her abdomen curves inward, I realise
the work she is about. Sure enough
as she lifts off I see it there, the egg,
pale and newly laid. I kneel then --- and the kneeling,
it is as if to prayer --- and I see it there,
the summer yet to come.
________________________________________________________
Gene Poole OSS
I've been wondering for many months now through all of
this....why
at times, I find it difficult to express myself with words...
And then today....in the most simplest of ways...it came to me
that....language is very much wrapped around the official
paradigm......The meaning of words has evolved from the official
world...and grows from and around its structure of belief
systms...
What becomes difficult...is to know the official world as a
falsity....which from it has come the only language known....and
then attempt to use these same words as a means of describing
"truth"....Virtually impossible at
first........Thusly,....has come
metaphor. allegory and analogy...
It is like a weight removed in understanding this......
Norma
Gene:
Yes... absolutely... you speak truly!
Congratulations, Norma... !
Think of a space, a place in the woods, which has been designated
to be the place where all can come and share... like a
marketplace
or village commons...
Now imagine that a crew of bullies has taken it over... that they
will
disallow any business which does not serve their ends...
Now imagine that these bullies... have the means to censor anyone
who would _define_ their behaviour of take-over and control as
what
it is... their rule has become 'unquestionable'... because they
have
disallowed the very words which can describe their actions, and
the
implications of their actions...
Now imagine that these bullies have implanted their 'censor' in
the
minds of all local residents... so that even the attempt to
_think_
of why the meeting place is no longer available for general use,
will result in a blank mind, perplexity,or a headache...
Some philosopher once said: "All power belongs to those who
_own_ the definitions of words".
It has been stated... that the first necessary task of those who
wish to seize power... is to assume control of word-definitions.
I mean to imply, by saying these things, that those who grieve
for the loss of the communal sharing space, and who wish to
reclaim it for its original purpose... need first to understand
that it is impossible to 'negotiate' with the crew of bullies,
while
complying with the rules of communication (the grammars)
which are owned by the bullies. It is necessary first to wrest
away from the _assumed-to-be default controllers_ , the
ownership of the definitions which they have usurped.
***
It is know by only a few... that the internal arguments which
we are subject to, and subjugated by, are due to the
implantation of the 'internal censor' to which I allude above...
The effect of the censor... is akin to shutting the door of the
shower-stall... sounds, words, uttered in the stall, will echo
therein, in that small space... and so it is, in the small space
of the 'individual mind'... whole words are not returned in
the echo, but merely energetic bounces... this is what the
'ordinary' (censored) person calls 'internally reflecting'...
also called 'internal considering'...
The overall effect, is that of 'beating oneself up'... via the
force of the returned echo, which lacks the information-
content, stripped away by the censor, leaving only the
raw energy... which may be defined as violence... this
is the use of and waste of force, a drain of power...
Now, contrast that small cubicle with the vastness of the
open mountain spaces... the echo is returned whole...
entire phrases are understood... this is called 'external
considering'... and it is what is _meant to_ (by design)
be the communal sharing-space for all sentient Beings...
Yes... our communal sharing-space, allows the thinking
of all minds in the same space... the true commons...
and this has been usurped by those, who would exploit
all of us... it is an ancient tradition of social control... it
has
become 'catholic' or 'universal' and is not questioned...
but that has not diminished the suffering which is
engendered in persons whose thoughts are sheer
turmoil... a hurricane of force...
But... this species of control-manipulation-exploitation,
which is imposed on each person essentially at birth,
passed on as a 'proud tradition', can actually be seen,
and overcome... by individual persons. A person who
will discipline to consider 'externally'... in whole words
and phrases... will escape the destructive force of
internal considering... and it is our space of sharing,
in which we may 'interthink'... which is occupied by
those who would make us all into confused, servile
zombies, bowing to those who wield the greatest
force...
Implicit in language, is the grammar which allows that
language to cohere... an embedded system of approval/
disapproval which validates or invalidates any particular
usage... it does not need to be taught, it is embedded...
Sawaki Roshi: "When a person is alone, he's not so bad. When
a
group is formed, paralysis occurs, and people become so confused
that they cannot judge what is right or wrong. Some people go
into
a group situation on purpose, just to experience group paralysis,
even paying a fee. Often people advertise in order to bring
people
together for some political or spiritual purpose and only create
group paralysis. Buddhist practitioners keep distance from
society,
not to escape from it, but to avoid this paralysis."
Today, when sorting out papers, I found this piece from 'The Zen
teaching of "homeless" Kôdô' [Sawaki].
gassHo () Wolfgang
_______________________________________________________
LEE LOVE & MARIO E-zendo
First, a seeker of the way must know himself - JIUN.
The ritual practice of ichi (a line) and enso (a circle) is part
of Zen
philosophy. For Zen calligraphers, the single stroke ichi is
equivalent to the `a' of Siddham. Concentration of this stroke is
of
paramount importance since the first touch of the brush to the
paper
reveals the state of the mind of the calligrapher. The ichi has
to be
drawn from left to right with full strength at the beginning as
well as
at the end. Enso, the circle of infinity practised by Zen monks
for
years, is a symbol of simplicity with profundity, emptiness with
fullness, the visible and the nonvisible.
Also learn that the entire universe is the dharma body of the
self ..
what Buddhists call the self is the entire universe. Therefore,
there
is never an entire universe that is not the self, with or without
our
knowing it .. When all buddhas of the three worlds arouse the
thought of practice & enlightenment, they never exclude our
body
& mind.
Jan Sultan NDS Book Review: Awareness by Anthony de Mello
In this book Tony destroys every concept or belief that you have
held. Not
just your religious beliefs, your political beliefs, your social
beliefs,
your psychological beliefs, but all of them. He shows you the
hypocrisy of
love, renunciation, charity, piousness, relationships,
friendship, altruism
[even giving up your life for love or country], etc.
Tony was an Enlightened Jesuit priest [A Christian Mystic] who
realized the
universality of the deepest truth and incorporated the wisdom of
Buddhism,
Sufism and Advaita into his teachings. The inclusion of Buddhist
or
Nasiruddin type parables makes this book fun to read.
Here is a sampling of the book:
Come home to yourself. Observe yourself. That's why I say that
self-
observation is such a delightful and extraordinary thing. After a
while you don't have to make any effort, because, as illusions
begin
to crumble, you begin to know things that cannot be described.
It's called happiness. Everything changes and you become addicted
to
awareness.
There's the story of the disciple who went to the master and
said, "Could you give me a word of wisdom? Could you tell me
something that would guide me through my days?" It was the
master's
day of silence, so he picked up a pad. It said,
"Awareness."
When the disciple saw it, he said, "This is too brief. Can
you expand
on it a bit?" So the master took back the pad and wrote,
"Awareness,
awareness, awareness." The disciple said, "Yes, but
what does it
mean?" The master took back the pad and wrote,
"Awareness, awareness,
awareness means awareness.
That's what it is to watch yourself. No one can show you how to
do
it, because he would be giving you a technique, he would be
programming you. But watch yourself. When you talk to someone,
are
you aware of it or are you simply identifying with it? When you
got
angry with somebody, were you aware that you were angry or were
you
simply identifying with your anger?
Later, when you had the time, did you study your experience and
attempt to understand it? Where did it come from? What brought it
on?
I don't know of any other way to awareness. You only change what
you
understand. What you do not understand and are not aware of, you
repress. You don't change. But when you understand it, it
changes.
--------------------------
Someone once said, "The three most difficult things for a
human being
are not physical feats or intellectual achievements. They are,
first,
returning love for hate; second, including the excluded; third,
admitting that you are wrong." But these are the easiest
things in
the world if you haven't identified with the "me." You
can say things
like "I'm wrong! If you knew me better, you'd see how often
I'm
wrong. What would you expect from an ass?" But if I haven't
identified with these aspects of "me," you can't hurt
me.
Initially, the old conditioning will kick in and you'll be
depressed
and anxious. You'll grieve, cry, and so on. "Before
enlightenment, I
used to be depressed: after enlightenment, I continue to be
depressed." But there's a difference: I don't identify with
it
anymore. Do you know what a big difference that is?
-------------------------
Isn't that a paradox? And you're willing to let this cloud come
in,
because the more you fight it, the more power you give it. You're
willing to observe it as it passes, by. You can be happy in your
anxiety. Isn't that crazy? You can be happy in your depression.
But
you can't have the wrong notion of happiness. Did you think
happiness
was excitement or thrills? That's what causes the depression.,
Didn't
anyone tell you that? You're thrilled, all right, but you're just
preparing the way for your next depression. You're thrilled but
you
pick up the anxiety behind that: How can I make it last? That's
not
happiness, that's addiction.
--------------------------
You can buy the book [http://www.bdd.com] or if that is not
possible,
you can get a free chapter a day by sending an email with
subject line: SEPTEMBER AWARENESS LIST
to: Scott Reeves <ScottR@Spiritus.Org>
Or you could subscribe to SufiMystic group here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SufiMystic/ and I will be posting
the
essence of his writings.
Jan
________________________________________________________ DREW HEMPEL NDS
Hi -- My critique of Wilber is on the web -- just
search for "Epicenters of Justice" and its under the
second section, "Restoring the Lost Logos."
I can't really summarize the work of Master Nan,
Hui-Chin's two main books, "Working Toward
Enlightenment" and "Realizing Enlightenment." They
are a must read for anyone who wants very specific,
very helpful information. He is an extremely
prominent Buddhist Master, highly regarded, and he
thoroughly critiques almost all spiritual leaders
understanding of enlightenment. He is very specific
and his critique definitely applies to Ken Wilber and
Andrew Cohen. It's a shame that even though Master
Nan is a bestseller in China, he still remains unknown
in the U.S. But then the U.S. doesn't really have
much of a spiritual tradition -- mass genocide,
slavery, imperialism all over the world, etc.
All is One, drew
________________________________________________________
HUR GULER NDS
drew hempel wrote:
Also the Dalai Lama has worked closely with the CIA
alongside james bond 007 dalai lama worked for the british secret
service as well. dalai lama's number was 0000 (symbolizing
emptiness) but he was affectionally called by other agents as
rama
lama ding dong. james bond liked his martini shaken but not
stirred. dalai lama ordered his fermented yak milkshake churned
plenty with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.
here is a transcript of a secret dialogue with james bond and
dalai
lama:
James Bond: "World domination. The same old dream. Our
asylums are
full of people who think they're Jesus or Dalai Lama."
Dalai Lama quietly sips his yak shake.
James Bond: "Now hear this, Dalai Lama, your luck has
changed."
Dalai Lama: "james, nothing ever happens in my world.
James Bond: "i don't get it."
Dalai Lama: "Discipline, 007, Discipline."
James Bond: "My dear Lama, don't flatter yourself with this
spiritual
mumbo jumbo. What I did this evening was for King and country.
You
don't think it gave me any pleasure, do you?"
Dalai Lama: .....(just silence)
James Bond: "There's always something formal about the point
of a
pistol."
Dalai Lama: "Do I look like the sort of man who'd make
trouble?"
James Bond: With a licence to kill, in my business you prepare
for
the unexpected."
Dalai Lama's soft yogic stare didn't flicker....He said "Mr.
Bond,
they have a saying in Tibet: "Once is happenstance. Twice is
reincarnation. The third time is a stupid mistake.".
