awouldbehipster's practice notes (part 3)

I pulled this from Ian's "Reclusland" blog...

"We are told in our tradition that the Enlightened One taught his disciples using this word 'zero,' and he said the zero condition is this perfect complete condition in which plus and minus are unifying with one another and then facing one another over and over again. Plus and minus unify and face, unify and face, but there is no will'”it's a totally will-less activity. Of course human beings have will, but this activity of plus and minus is will-less. The Enlightened One taught his disciples that the activity which forms the universe is always acting will-lessly, and even though it makes many universes and then contracts all of those universes down to the smallest point, there is always simply one singular, unique cosmos." ~Joshu Sasaki Roshi on "Zero."

I find this to be true; paradoxical as it may be.

Wow! Thanks for the heads-up about Ian's blog: it's wonderful. And anyone who appreciates Joshu Sasaki Roshi has a fine, discriminating eye, in my book.

I'm going through another Zen phase, big time. Bankei is my best friend.

Lately, doing anything at all while sitting seems to be counterproductive. Sitting, but not doing anything else... that seems to be how this practice is spontaneously expressing. Hard to explain the implications, or even to determine whether or not there are any implications. It would seem that there are no 'inherent' implications at all; no prescription for how life must be lived, nor how one must respond to realization. Reliance on the thinking mind seems to be weakening, though not intentionally. There's an existential quality to this that leaves things very unscripted and ambiguous.

Wowy wow.

~Jackson

wowza!!

& yowza!!

PS-- The Norman Fischer talk Mike posted is about this very thing: 'not knowing is most intimate'

"I'm going through another Zen phase, big time. Bankei is my best friend.

Lately, doing anything at all while sitting seems to be counterproductive. Sitting, but not doing anything else... that seems to be how this practice is spontaneously expressing. Hard to explain the implications, or even to determine whether or not there are any implications. It would seem that there are no 'inherent' implications at all; no prescription for how life must be lived, nor how one must respond to realization. Reliance on the thinking mind seems to be weakening, though not intentionally. There's an existential quality to this that leaves things very unscripted and ambiguous.

Wowy wow.

~Jackson"

Hey, thanks for the shoutout Jackson. I've gotten a lot from your blog as well.

I will add a disclaimer that there's some stuff on there (a few years back) that I now read and think "what the hell was going through my mind?" It was a tough time, but I'm leaving it up as evidence, or in the very least, a reminder to myself that sometimes, what might seem like a really amazing idea might not be. Then again, maybe in a few more years, it all make sense again!

Also, after reading "wowy wow" I went back up and read the other paragraph in a Christopher Walken as "The Continental" voice. "wowy wow wow wow!". Man, I'd love to hear Walken give a dharma talk...

And Roomy, thank you for the kind words.

"Hey, thanks for the shoutout Jackson. I've gotten a lot from your blog as well.

I will add a disclaimer that there's some stuff on there (a few years back) that I now read and think "what the hell was going through my mind?" It was a tough time, but I'm leaving it up as evidence, or in the very least, a reminder to myself that sometimes, what might seem like a really amazing idea might not be. Then again, maybe in a few more years, it all make sense again!

Also, after reading "wowy wow" I went back up and read the other paragraph in a Christopher Walken as "The Continental" voice. "wowy wow wow wow!". Man, I'd love to hear Walken give a dharma talk...

And Roomy, thank you for the kind words. "

I saw walken once say a very cool thing:
as soon as he gets a script, he goes through it and takes .
out all the puncuation.
then he can read the lnes in his own original way without being influenced by the author's intentions
beginners mind (you have to admit he is completely original)

"I will add a disclaimer that there's some stuff on there (a few years back) that I now read and think 'what the hell was going through my mind?' It was a tough time, but I'm leaving it up as evidence, or in the very least, a reminder to myself that sometimes, what might seem like a really amazing idea might not be. Then again, maybe in a few more years, it all make sense again!" ~Ian

I feel the same way about some of my old blog posts as well. I've come a long way in the last few years, and I can't imagine how much different or more refined my understanding will be a decade or two from now. It's fun to chronicle the journey, even if it's painful to revisit.

And yes, I got the "wowy wow" thing from Walken's "The Continental." I love that guy.

'And yes, I got the "wowy wow" thing from Walken's "The Continental." I love that guy.'

Me, too-- check this out:

"'And yes, I got the "wowy wow" thing from Walken's "The Continental." I love that guy.'

Me, too-- check this out:


"

Oh yeah! Great video!

Yeah, he's an entertaining guy. I could watch him cook a chicken and be entertained.

As a matter of fact....

My practice has been greatly influenced by the Dzogchen teachings. There are some points that are given a lot of emphasis in this tradition, and I'm understanding why more and more. First, realization is not about creating a compounded state that just feels free, spacious, blissful, or whatever else. Once can learn to do all kinds of samadhi states, and practice keeping them going for long periods of time. But that isn't realization. Realization is recognizing the innate open, spacious, empty, cognizant nature of mind that is not compounded or contrived. Understanding the difference between compounded states and our true, uncompounded nature can take some time. I'm still figuring it out, and will be for a long time to come. But I'm certain that there is a difference.

(continued below)

The recognition of one's basic nature doesn't last very long at first. Initial realization may only last a few seconds, or perhaps a few minutes. But the recognition goes away and will need to be revisited. This leads some vipassana-minded folks and hardcore madhyamika-minded folks to think that natural wakefulness itself is just another compounded experience marked by the three characteristics of impermanence, suffering, and nonself. The Dzogchen teachings say otherwise (though they are not alone in this). They say that the reason why recognition of one's basic nature is short lived is not because the basic nature is transient or compounded; but rather, it is the thrust of karma (habits) that cause the contrived mind to again distort and skew a clear perception of the truth. Which brings me to the second point I've picked up from the Dzogchen tradition: rather than try and force recognition to last a long time, take it when it comes, and relax when it goes away. It's better to have many short glimpses of the truth throughout the day than to try and force a contrived state upon the mind for an extended duration. Over time, the mind may begin to exhaust its bad habits enough for periods of realization to extend in duration without any additional effort. In other words, there's no reason to heroically exhaust yourself. You may end up straining the mind too much, causing unnecessary fatigue and frustration (i.e. suffering).

(continued below)

This realization of empty-cognizance is just that: emptiness. The ego, in its act of perpetual clinging, will undoubtedly try to display as the avatar of this all pervasive natural wakefulness. Do not feed this. Do not participate in this process. Your personality may grow, mature, and develop as you become more and more of a spiritual adult. But your personality will never be enlightened. It cannot be perfected. And therefore, it cannot realistically shed all human concerns. Human concerns are OK. Neglecting them is yet another block to work through.

One's personality is both a spontaneous expression and the result of biological and karmic (habitual) processes. It doesn't really make sense in an either/or sort of way. And I think this is part of the reason why the deeply realized Zen practitioners emphasize "don't know mind" and "great doubt." Reality cannot be neatly contained in any philosophical system, not even one as simple as "all is awareness, and only awareness is real."

We don't know, and we don't not no. We neither both know and not know, nor neither know nor not know. What are we left with? And what do we do with it?

No block.

Lovely!

...silence...

"They say that the reason why recognition of one's basic nature is short lived is not because the basic nature is transient or compounded; but rather, it is the thrust of karma (habits) that cause the contrived mind to again distort and skew a clear perception of the truth."

Maybe I'm a closet Dzogchen practitioner because that explanation rings so true for me.

"This realization of empty-cognizance is just that: emptiness. The ego, in its act of perpetual clinging, will undoubtedly try to display as the avatar of this all pervasive natural wakefulness. Do not feed this. Do not participate in this process. Your personality may grow, mature, and develop as you become more and more of a spiritual adult. But your personality will never be enlightened. It cannot be perfected. And therefore, it cannot realistically shed all human concerns. Human concerns are OK. Neglecting them is yet another block to work through.
"

Wow, this is great. "your personality will never be enlightened, so don't feed it, but don't neglect it." That's a powerful pointer, IMHO....

"
"They say that the reason why recognition of one's basic nature is short lived is not because the basic nature is transient or compounded; but rather, it is the thrust of karma (habits) that cause the contrived mind to again distort and skew a clear perception of the truth."

Maybe I'm a closet Dzogchen practitioner because that explanation rings so true for me.

"

Is it possible that at all "stages" of enlightenment one stll has to get up in the morning and choose to keep practicing that day, choose to keep mindfulness going, choose to endeavor to have no view or whatever -- in order to continue to keep living in some of the realizations one has had?

No one just wakes up and automatically goes through each day free of suffering and free of creating suffering all around them?
Sounds like it could be true, or subject to immediate "fall from grace."

"Is it possible that at all "stages" of enlightenment one stll has to get up in the morning and choose to keep practicing that day, choose to keep mindfulness going, choose to endeavor to have no view or whatever -- in order to continue to keep living in some of the realizations one has had?

No one just wakes up and automatically goes through each day free of suffering and free of creating suffering all around them?
Sounds like it could be true, or subject to immediate "fall from grace." "

From a Dzogchen text by Longchenpa, translated as "Old Man Basking in the Sun" by Keith Dowman: 'So stay right here, you lucky people;
let go and be happy in the natural state.
Let your complicated life and everyday confusion alone
and out of quietude, doing nothing, watch the nature of mind.
This piece of advice is from the bottom of my heart;
fully engage in contemplation and understanding is born;
cherish non-attachment and delusion dissolves;
and forming no agenda at all reality dawns.
Whatever occurs, whatever it may be, that itself is the key,
and without stopping it or nourishing it, in an even flow,
freely resting, surrendering to ultimate contemplation,
in naked pristine purity we reach consummation.'
It looks to me, Mike, like the old guy is saying the answer to your 2 questions are 'yes' and 'yes'.

The kind of engaged-- and amused!-- patience implied by this passage, even the title: old man basking in the sun, is the culmination of having so integrated the practice that it seems to be more 'what is happening' or 'the way things are' than something 'I' should, must, or even CAN 'do.'

An old guy from one of my former workplaces liked to tell a salty joke that is something akin to this poetry, but less serious:An old bull and a young one are standing on a hill, looking down at a pasture full of cows in the springtime. They see the farmer coming to open the gate that lets them into that pasture, and the young bull says--'Man, I am gonna run down the hill and nail me one of those cows!' The old bull drawls, 'You do that, son. I'm gonna walk down the hill and nail 'em all.'

The only 'I' that you have to lose is the one who makes a big deal about all its efforts at practice; and there is no effort you can make to get rid of it! You just stop DOING it.

That's 'all'. Easy to do, but not simple to understand-- the hardheaded among us often have to be tricked.

I do not believe that awakening is a way to transcend the mundane. For, thinking in terms of 'mundane' and 'supramundane' is thinking in extremes. The way I see it, awakening has more to do with going beyond extremes. I believe this is what is meant by "middle way." I don't think it's wise to favor escape over embrace, nor vice versa. So then, I think that waking up out of the mind that labels experience in terms of 'this' or 'that' is not only more realistic, but also more beneficial.

Understanding "emptiness of inherent existence" comes about when one begins to de-embed from the fabricating mind (i.e. the "house-builder"). It is not enough to grasp it philosophically. One must "see" this through practice, and they must see it over and over and over again. And this is totally and completely possible, do-able. Each one of us can awaken. How could we not?

I guess I could look this up somewhere, but, what is the mundane?

The mundane?

Form, particulars, samsara, the rat race, eating and sleeping and eliminating, relationships, jobs, etc.

"The mundane?

Form, particulars, samsara, the rat race, eating and sleeping and eliminating, relationships, jobs, etc."

My favorite part! (not being sarcastic)

what's great is to be in the middle of the mundane while also getting the connected, oneness, sacred, vibe. I like that anyway. Since I spend most of my time at work or getting to and from work I really value being able to open up through all that, you know? Even while my boss is being awful.

Dogen.

Enough said.