The unborn undying mind of the Buddha

There is only ONE WORD LEFT

AND - the holy conjuction of the Tao

no that's wrong, now that it's been said

no words left

Originally posted by OmegaPoint
reply to post by third_eye

 

Yeah, and forever it will always be, right, now, and the whole past was enfolded into now, as is the whole future via the implicate-explicate order. In short you've got now all the way up your yingyang no matter what you do, and from that perspective time is an illusion. You're right, all form passes into and out of existence, but it's still the very same existence, only in a different form, so why draw distinctions, like getting a new haircut or a ring through your nose to be different or different from what is. Ordinary mind then is the way to go. Non seeking non grasping mind.

The mind of the unborn undying Buddha

And hence we return to the beginning

So what do we do now? Talk about the weather?

"Everyone always complains about the weather, but nobody is prepared to do anything about it."
~ Mark Twain

we only need to glance backwards to remind ourselves of the beauty of the mountains

Backwards? Then we'll miss it!

We'll have to start talking about sex I think, but might be a TOU (terms of use) violation.

It could be fun to just watch more people come along and talk ABOUT it..

Actually, it's kind of nice not to have anything left to talk about, there's peace in that

yes ... reminiscence is such a nostalgic sentiment

looking forward to more mountains as our journey continues

the river is still there .... though the same river is no longer there

reply to post by InthekNOwla


Thank you for the flower.

As long as there are Buddhas and non-Buddhas there will be that one last distinction.

I guess some are just hell-bent on making it all take as long as possible.

reply to post by third_eye


Original Haiku, by moi


Two trees sway, a bird chirps, the sun shines
A mountain stream never ending
Flows to the ocean.

I too cannot find this "Unborn/Undying" state of mind....yet

reply to post by theprofessionalnyc


Since it cannot be sought, it cannot be found.

It must be allowed to find you via the non-seeking, non-grasping mindful no-mind of pure being and an awareness of the present moment presence of presence

Originally posted by InthekNOwla
reply to post by Silenceisall

 

Beautifully put. This is the fundamental dilemma of the Human Condition. People are possessed by their minds and imprisoned in their personalities. It's the EGO. We have to go beyond mind since the mind is only an accumulation of experiences and knowledge. The true SELF lies beyond. Its is the stillness/nothingness in the background. Human kind is lost in thought. i.e.. "The Matrix". Lol. Funny but true. Most of us have not found the off button.

The message of the Matrix was we simply forgot how to program.

In the storyline it is assumed humanity fought the machine and lost and is reduced to a battery. But what is forgotten is how to program. The Matrix would be ideal, no need to worry about the physical body, or even the environment, who would want to live in Zion anyway if given the choice first? If anything, the machine is not AI but is simply responding to the transferred consciousness of those hooked into the Matrix, just because all the main characters go in the Matrix believing it is AI, the worst nightmare imaginable, that is just what it becomes.

Originally posted by OmegaPoint
Meditate on what precisely?

I guess we cannot enter through the gate, but that the gate must be allowed to enter into us, and then we become the gate.

Meditating on the Gateless Gate koans the gate and the hall disappear. you can find them here: sacredtexts

A gate is something immobile unless you want to be a gate to others, a gate can't enter itself. And what about the gatekeepers?

[edit on 16/7/2009 by Dragonfly79]

Originally posted by OmegaPoint
reply to post by third_eye

 

Original Haiku, by moi


Two trees sway, a bird chirps, the sun shines
A mountain stream never ending
Flows to the ocean.

aye ... beautifully done
I empty my cup

reply to post by Dragonfly79


What I learned through Genpo Roshi's Big Mind Big Heart process, is that there are primarily two aspects of the self, which may be likened to the gatekeepers or the guards of the gateless gate. They may be thought of as the controller-protector, and the ever seeking mind, the first I think of as the "It-self" mind, or the recorder who think's it's the real you, the voice in the head, which is always judging, evaluating, and keeping watch and who sees it's job as the one who protects the self from threat (in this case the possible dissolution of itself as THE self) by maintaining control at all cost, and the second, the ever-seeking mind, which is never satisfied, and forever seeks, presuming that increasing knowledge is the way.

So by distinquishing the controller and the ever seeking mind, apart from the real you or the non-grasping, non-seeking unborn undying mind of the Yingyang Buddha-Tao, it just might be possible to simply ask the controller part to silence all the other voices, including itself (asking it to control which is what it does best), and then by simply asking ie: may I please access the gateless gate, find the gateless gate - of course this is easier done when facilitated by a third party! That's the "Big Mind Big Heart" process anyway, which seems to work by distancing the gatekeepers from the gateless gate, enough to gain access to it.



reply to post by theprofessionalnyc


I think there may actually be a way to seek it, and find it serendipitously (the faculty for discovering hidden treasure not sought after).

This nature resides in the depths of every person, and is in fact, the commonly shared ground of all being and is exists within the relative framework of human being, or the place where we become one, and in the process share the same space with the all in all (Tao).

Separation however, is the problem, due almost exclusively to our preoccupation with the self, and the distinction between self and other, and so our listening when sharing ourselves with another is corrupted by self-talk, evaluations, judgements, comparisons, the need to look good, be right, etc etc. and even our so-called professions of love for another are in most cases self serving at some level, even in relation to our own family and our own children, where some might even suggest that all human love is conditional in some way, relating back to the self, for various reasons, including self preservation, and powerful socially imbedded dynamics, like the power of peer pressure and other group dynamics, and of course we're afraid to be alone, and are generally desperate to be loved, and accepted, and these are all part of being human, and yet in terms of the ego dominated mind, they are all obstacles and hindrances or constraints, to the non-seeking, non-grasping, unborn undying mind of the Buddha-Tao.

So here is novel spin on it, which by some traditions isn't new at all.

Look for it in the other, by fully accepting them and the whole ego as is, recognizing that beyond it, is this timeless spaceless beingness which is the very ground of being that we all share. "Namaste" captures this sentiment perfectly, but what I'm suggesting here, is that to actively practice it at all times in our relations with others, ANY others, we CAN "practice" leaving self behind in search of the Buddha in others, and with practice, increase our capacity to surface it, for no other reason than to share it or "grok" it WITH them, without of course ever naming it, or operating with a hidden agenda.

Full acceptance of the other, and total listening, and looking for it in the other, this is the best way to discover it, or to be discovered by it, because this requires by neccessity, that self is left behind, and the gate, the space between the two, in authentic loving mutuality, will open right up, in accordance with our love, and in the process we will learn love, and to fully love as we are loved, since we really are in truth, love itself! And when this flower of loving mutuality opens, then we become the Bodhisatva through the unfolding present moment in history.

Think about it - every aspect of another person which you dislike is really a trigger regarding something within which we do not like or have disowned within ourselves, and we all have it ALL in all of us let's be honest, no one is, at core, any better or any worse than anyone else, and so if we can REALLY level the playing field, and get present to the presence of unconditional love and absolute acceptance of the other, then that field becomes automatically, the very same ground of all being which we share at bottom, and since a primary human motivation is to love and be loved, then it is also in full accord wtih our most authentic and natural self, plus it makes the world a better place, and increases the prospect of Liberation for all beings - because in seeking out the Buddha in this way, once he can be found everywhere, then it's a job well done!

There is always a final attachment to an outcome, this is unavoidable, and we need something to do, that doing is authentic love, love for our neighbor as self, and in that way, love of "God" (Tao) just takes care of itself automatically, and in fact cannot be distinguished from the former.

Imho, this is by far superior to sitting meditation, trying to get to the root of self within the self, for the sake of the self, seeking it within - all of which is absurd, & to heck with the 'tradition' that's not what Zen's about anyway.


"Grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying (to self) that one awakens to eternal life."


"I'll meet you in the middle!"
~ from the movie "Braveheart"


Namaste,

Rob
OmegaPoint


[edit on 17-7-2009 by OmegaPoint]

one thing to always keep in mind when studying the ancient texts is to always remember that "the mind" in those days is a very different animal than it is in our days and age.

The way of life is also very different as is the approach to life.

Some find it easier to achieve that very state of mind by living and adopting the very same and simple and austere state as it was then.

The method available to them then is to sever all ties and connections in isolation, to silent the mind to all attachments. Some achieve the state through "numbing" the mind by repetitive mantras, preparing for the ripeness.

Things happen VERY VERY slowly in those days though eternity means very much the same.

Today things happen at a much faster pace and yet eternity too means pretty much the same.

Pop a pill and you'll numb the brain though you wont be prepared for what it brings along with it.

It's easier to sever all ties and isolate oneself in those days.

We today have to find different ways.

And that is precisely why a novel approach is required.

But please, don't tell us what's not possible..

Tell me do you find it difficult as I to be aware,and well adjusted....
surrounded by an insane asylum lol.

...There is no path...
...It exists...

...dig for worms ...
...and find gold...

reply to post by Dragonfly79


The message of the Matrix? Oh, now you've just opened a can of worms.

There is so much symbolism packed in those 3 movies, it blows my mind. There are so many different messages, both implicit and explicit, you can find hidden in it, well, like I said, it just blows my mind, lol. Those movies are far and away the most genius sci-fi movies I have yet to see in my life. "The problem is choice," multiple independent time-lines with different outcomes, different levels of existence, reincarnation, the Oracle (divine feminine -- fits perfectly into Qabbalah as Binah -- also Trinity, in all black, all business, similarly fits Binah), the Architect (divine masculine, again played out to a T from Qabbalah), the matrix itself, the "real" world, all the obvious Christ symbolism, the very transcendence and resistance of mechanism by consciousness, and do you notice that Neo actually transcends the "real" world itself to stop those sentinels? Just like he stopped the bullets at the end of the first movie. Layers upon layers, it is ALL illusion.

Every time I watch those movies, I can't help but let myself get lost in them, passion and all, my heart begins beating faster and I can feel the love and life energy swelling in me. We live for these very things.



When Neo stopped those sentinels in the 2nd movie (I think it was the 2nd one), I swear, I was so moved by it, I looked around me and had to ask everyone, "Do you GET that??? Did you SEE what just happened??" I know it was just a movie but still

[edit on 17-7-2009 by bsbray11]

reply to post by The Utopian Penguin


I've been in the asylum myself, and I discovered that the only real difference between the patients and the nurses was that the nurses held the keys.

it's how big a circle we dance in a round isn't it ?

some dance in a circle so big around and around but never realising it in an entire lifetime

some dance in a smaller and smaller circle until the end and beginning has no meaning at all

turning round and round in a smaller and smaller circle until the circle too cease to have a meaning

they're just turning round and round

until they realise that by being still ...

the world will spin without them turning

a spiral spiraling in a spiral ....

to nurture an awakened mind is as important as the ripening

my personal observation is that the path or the way is not obscure but the mind of today is seeded by the (not accurate / corrupted) expectations or imagery / concepts of the "enlightened" state is so ingrained in the unripened mind that most is sieving the knowledge and wisdom of the ancients with unrealistic interpretations.

every definitions that is used then can be said to mean entirely different things today .....
the very words itself is adding barriers to the "beginners' mind"

how does one show the way to a place that has no material existence?
how does one walk a path that leaves no trace ?
how does one enter a domain of no gates ?

and on
and on
and on

endless till you're there

~t=0~