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HIGHLIGHTS
# 1247 - Sunday, November 3, 2002 - Edited by Gloria
"We can only wait here, where we are in
the world, obedient to its processes,
patient in its taking away, faithful to its returns. And as much
as we may
know, and all that we deserve of earthly paradise will come to
us."
Wendell Berry , Full Quote: http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~ikiru/berry.html
JERRY KATZ
NDS
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JERRY
Mark McCloskey's report on his trip to Arunachala, with
photographs, can
be read at http://nonduality.com/markmc.htm
"...nothing
distinguished this place from the surrounding houses, stores
and driveways. Beggars sat outside with outstretched hands, cows
laid
quietly near; people walked in and out, back and forth. No, I did
not
get any sense of any specialness about this place - perhaps this
would
be the true meaning of this trip for me."
_________________________________
XAN
MillionPaths
"Peace of mind"
as a concept is,
in many ways,
misleading
because the mind
is rarely peaceful.
The mind is, in fact --
and by its very nature --
characterized by
movement and activity.
Peace is, instead,
the Background of Reality
-- and Awareness --
against which
all the movement
of the mind occurs.
The question always is:
with which do you identify?
--Metta Zetty
_________________________________
MACE MEALER
Illuminata
Grist For The Mill
The more real one becomes
The less the fictional
maintain a tolerance for them.
We hold our delusions close
like a ragged blanket
against the ethereal wind of truth.
Knowing all the while
that when one touches the other
like fire and water
both are dispelled
into a timeless emptiness,
and thus who does not fear
joining the sky
without wings.
_________________________________
JAN BARENDRECHT
NDS
When the earth was flat
sun where is your boat?
reading navigation books
won't keep you afloat
_________________________________
VIORICA WEISSMAN
MillionPaths
The ego, in its desperation for survival, goes so far as to make
even the
concept of itself - the idea of a limited, embodied person - an
object of
thought, thereby creating the illusion that it has been
apprehended.
The seeker thus deluded might spend a lifetime scrutinizing and
studying
his captive prize. But he must eventually ask, "Who is he
that has so
admirably apprehended the ego?"
Thus will he see how his captive ego is a decoy only, and the
real culprit
exists still, strengthened even, by a new invisibility.
----by Ira
from RAMANA SMRTI Souvenir
_________________________________
PETE SEESAW
DirectApproach
Realization
Hi Greg:
Despite my intention to end this thread and shut up because
realization
and knowing don't mix too well, your question is too revealing to
be left
unanswered.
The un-brokenness is more a function of the "I" which
comes and goes
hiding realization, like sunlight hides the stars. The presence
of the I point
of view is necessary for many practical activities like holding a
job. Of
course, I'm talking about a narrowing of attention to relativity,
memories,
goals, datelines, etc. Once that narrowing is relaxed the
symptoms of
realization return. It's as if we realize all over again and the
newness
never wears out. Maybe a Hermit doesn't need to dust the I into
action
anymore, but that isn't the case for most westerners.
Now, I want to underline again the purpose of this thread: There
are many
people who have realized and keep searching because they have
been
lead to believe in a too glorious, realization in which the 'I'
sense fades
never to return.
What do you think?
Pete
_________________________________
GREG GOODE
DirectApproach
Hi Pete,
Actually, I like this thread! But if others don't like it, I'll
let it die....
I see what you're saying, and agree that the notion of
realization shouldn't
turn into an idealized expectation.
As the word realization is used, it's both vague (murky, unclear)
and
ambiguous (used in many different ways). There is nothing that I
think
realization really is. But I can question the presuppositions
behind the way
the word is used.
The presence of an "I" point of view. How is this
different from the
presence of the sound of a barking dog? Neither one is closer
than the
other. Neither one is more yours than the other. Maybe they
differ in
frequency, but heck, this stuff ain't math!
I think you might be defining realization as the dropping of the
"I" point of
view. After which, that view might return.
There are problems with such a definition of realization. It
characterizes it
as something psychological. It posits realization as a certain
stream of
thoughts. And this stream of thoughts just happens to lack
certain kinds of
thoughts -- ones that have a belief-component of an
"I". But this definition
leaves in place the one who has the thoughts, as well as the
presence of
other kinds of thoughts.
This definition seems tantamount to saying "Wow, I'm no
longer
self-obsessed!"
Love,
--Greg
_________________________________
LEE LOVE
from his website
"We can say that Buddhist practice has two aspects: to
constantly seek
Truth and to go into the human world.
"If you want to be a pianist, devote yourself to studying
and practicing the
piano. This is the mind that seeks Truth. But though you may
eventually
reach a lofty stage as a musician, it is not good enough. You
have to
descend into the human world as well. Your life, your presence,
your
personality must touch people's hearts directly. This means you
have to go
beyond being a pianist.
"It is relatively easy to teach people to be musicians, but
it is not so easy to
teach them how to go beyond being a musician. If you would teach
this to
others, your mind must be based on compassion. When you teach,
you
have to pierce the human heart and take away the flag of ego. So
your
compassion must extend beyond the words you use. Then your
penetrating words will teach and not injure."
--Dainin Katagiri Roshi
http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~ikiru/
________________________________
ERIC ASHFORD
TrueVision
Writing Poetry 3
The rain has fell
and the cloud it fell from
has fallen upwards into the sky ocean.
Now the ground is wet with the sky.
If I look deep into any puddle
I can see showery rain gods
dancing their way into the past.
Looking through this reflection,
a wet poem is left
as this moments footprint.
Rain drops on blades of grass
just suspended there
like words before they are spoken.
photo by Alan Larus
_________________________________
DAN BERKOW
ConsciousnessIsAll
(an oldie but goodie, reposted by Tim G.)
Oy vey!
Who's in charge here?
Who's driving this nondual
R.V.?
I went up to the front of
the R.V., and no one was
at the steering wheel ...
Someone told me he
met the nondual movement
on the road, killed it,
and yet it multiplied!
Help!
Lost in the worst of all possible
nightmares, a dream in which
everyone claims to be waking
up -- it's like the energizer bunny,
it goes on and on ...
Good thing you have a sense
of humor about this, Jerry.
I'm leaving the driving to you!
A dream with no boundaries
is a bit excessive don't you think?
If it ever could have gotten started,
someone might be able to
steer it somewhere.
Love,
Dan
_________________________________
MATTHEW FILES
GuruRatings
The experience of reality, Union, Oneness, No-thing, pure
awareness,
the Awakened state, satori---so what?
So many teachers in their incredibly naive and unconscionable
ignorance
mislead their students by leading them to think that when they
realize this
pure state of consciousness, of As-it-is, for a moment, that they
have
realized something profound, great, Enlightened. What a disgrace.
Yes, in
the very moment of that realization, the now of that moment is
eternal and
the pristine, stainless awareness of that moment is True. But to
imply that
that carries over into the next moment, to actually certify
someone as
having attained that state as a constant, as a hallmark, as an
ongoing
useable state is almost criminal. What really defines the
Awakened state
is an Awakened Condition, stable over long periods of time, like
a
lifetime, and Present at all times. The rare spikes out of ego
into
ego-transcendence, as long as those spikes fall back into ego
again, which
is the almost exclusive expression of such states, is nothing but
an isolated
experience, one of the infinite number of experiences every human
being is always having. If the Awakened Mind, Buddha Mind isn't
always ever awake, always ever here, now, in every moment unto
forever, then it isn't what it is labeled as, and anyone told
that it is by the
teacher, mentor, guru, whom they trust is being robbed of
integrity and
possibility. Awakening is an ongoing, unbroken, timeless
spaceless, clear
undefinable, lawful complex or grid that is only recognizable
over time
and in space, never otherwise. This tragic epidemic of so-called
gurus
passing the mantle, knighting every student that has some
temporary,
even minor, epiphany and who is smart enough to babble an
intelligable
non- dualistic dharma, is a great stain on contemporary
spirituality and the
impeccable integrity of the vital living traditions of actual
Realization.