Spontaneous Presence Meditation

Spontaneous Presence Meditation

I have lately been interested in the knowing aspect of the mind and I here is a report of my findings and some approaches that I have found useful.

The first time I really became aware of the this quality of the mind was when I started to have access to 6th jhana, the sphere of infinite consciousness. This jhanic absorption seemed to nicely isolate the knowing part of the awareness, but that was solely within the limits of that frozen state of thought-free non-conceptuality. Later I learned that this quality could also be maintained outside jhanic absorption, which led to the discovery of the Witness mode.

In Pure Witness the subjectivity itself was taken as an object of meditation. This brought an experience of intense presence that itself was detached from any arising and passing phenomena. Although this field of knowingness was obviously a fabricated state of mind with a center point from which everything was observed, when the flashlight of attention was eventually turned to the witness itself, the center point vanished and the observer was dissolved. The fact that the subjectivity itself could be taken as an object of observation meant that there had to be some knowing quality prior to the Witness itself. This gave me the first glimpse of the blissful, clear and all-pervading state of non-duality, although in retrospect I realize that the state was far from being completely free from fixation, since there was still a subtle feeling of everything happening to somebody. The observer was still there, although in a very dissolved and subtle way.


(cont.)

It was somewhat later on when it really hit me how this center-less cognizance was actually in operation at all times, no need to fall into a meditative absorption to experience it. In fact it is the only thing that remains constant underlying all experience and therefore it had been hard to see. This invisible field of knowing has no limits and therefore no center either and it makes all sensing possible.

When one is experiencing all phenomena with no fabrication through this wakefulness, sense impressions and thoughts arise and pass in consciousness without fixation. Steady flow of hologram-like appearances dance in space without solidity, all equally unimportant and therefore not clung to. Thoughts are seen clearly, from the very moment of arising, as if they are frozen in a block of crystal. They cannot create any trains of thought in this state of lucidity as the insight makes them completely non-sticky and pass away harmlessly without delay.

This perspective naturally brings up another aspect of the awareness: voidness or empty spaciousness [1], which is not surprising, since emptiness and knowingness are aspects of the same no-thingness, two sides of the same coin. In Mahamudra tradition it is called spontaneous co-emergence and in Dzogchen they call it indivisible unity of emptiness and cognizance.


[1] The phenomena are experienced as being "empty of any inherent, substantial, indivisible, separate, and unchanging existence."
- Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, The Ninth Karmapa's Ocean of Definite Meaning, p. 143

see also: Emptiness meditation
kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/thread/49...Emptiness+meditation

MEDITATION

Steps I - III are ways of tuning the mind towards experiencing the spontaneous presence that I have found useful. Once knowingness is properly recognized, all that is left is resting in brightness and lucidity



I Clarity of the Senses

Bring the attention to the senses and notice how clear and bright they are, how perfectly they function. The outside world is painted on the canvas of the eyes instantly with such vivid colors, textures, highlights and shadows. This image may sometimes appear dull and uninteresting because of our indifference, but now relish the sensuousness of every tiny detail, like tea drops on a table or a texture of a dry leaf. The clarity of our senses point us to the right direction.

Not trying deliberately to see, hear and feel, but keeping the senses wide open.

II Effortlessness

We don't have to struggle to experience the world with our senses. There is no need to imagine anything. The world appears to us promptly without us having to do anything about it.

Pay attention to sounds. You are aware of ALL the sounds whether you want it or not. The cognizant quality of the awareness picks them faithfully up even if you are not deliberately trying to hear them. Note the delicious quality of directness and effortlessness of the spontaneously arising sense impressions.

Notice how sounds create a whole new virtual space in your consciousness. Just by listening to all sounds with your eyes closed, mental images, landscapes, people and scenes automatically appear in the mind, conceptualizing the experience.

All other senses share this same quality of the perfect spontaneous arising too. Even sensations of discomfort and pain, as unpleasant as they are, appear in similar fashion, instantaneously and magically.

Do not just watch this play of sensations happen, become it. Recognize and be aware of the very quality of wakefulness that is manifesting itself in various forms and that enables the awareness of everything around and within us.

Just like particle physics teaches that potentiality inherent in space-time itself makes it possible for particles to appear out of nothingness, the potentiality inherent in knowingness enables thoughts to be born at any time. The very same exquisite quality of effortlessness and clarity experienced with the sense impressions is present in thoughts also.

(cont.)

Although the mental images and thoughts are normally not quite as bright as sensory experiences, when dreaming or in a state of deep absorption they might be even more vivid and life-like than real life itself. And even if thoughts pale in comparison with the real world, the way they arise instantaneously and manifest themselves transforming the entire mind space for a brief moment before vanishing again, is like a magical display.

The presence itself is not changed by thinking, so you can let thoughts be just as they are.

III Transparent Undercurrent of Knowing

There is something transparent present at all the times, but we are not used to experiencing that. It is hidden right under our noses. This unchanging layer can be identified by the very fact that it stays unaffected by cold, hunger and pain. Even when we are tired, we can still hear all sounds just the same. We can hear our name called even when asleep. That would not be possible if the ever-present wakefulness wasn't doing it's job continuously.

Whenever experiencing unpleasantness or discomfort, search for that part of the experience which makes the perception of discomfort possible while itself not affected by it the slightest.

Looseness, brightness and lucidity of the knowingness are particularly clearly visible right after waking up as the consciousness is gradually turned on in the morning.

IV Abiding as Spontaneous Presence

Once there is solid experiential certainty about the wakefulness, it is quite possible to make it the sole interest of the mind. This means dropping all other fluctuations of the mind and resting as pure knowingness itself, the very quality of our being that remains stainless and unchanging despite the phenomena passing through it.

Rest, keep it loose and no effort is required. When resting like this, undistracted mindfulness happens all by itself. If one tries to keep it using deliberate mindfulness, naturalness is spoiled by turning it into a conceptual state.

This is pure gold Antero. Thank you. I can't say I "get it" all yet but Wow. Thanks.

"If one tries to keep it using deliberate mindfulness, naturalness is spoiled by turning it into a conceptual state.




"

Bam! Beautiful! A conceptual state is simply the existence of a "somethingness" that is intention or context. Witnessing is a conceptual state due to the context of an Observer. "Here and Now" are conceptual states due to a filtering context. Mindfulness is a conceptual state due to the intention to "see".

Nice nice nice. Thank you!

That was kind of you, Antero. Thanks.

Antero, when doing this type of practice are you getting a profound sense intimacy and non-seperation with experience or is there more of a common, mundane (yet bright and lucid) quality?

Antero,
Thank you Very much for this wonderful post.
This is the reason I keep coming back to KFC!

B.

Thanks everybody, your feedback is much appreciated,

@Aquanin
I am glad that you don't "get it". By not getting it you are on the right track

@orasis
Lately it have been cycling between non-separation with experience and attention contracting around the shape of the body, which I am recognizing as 'owning the body'. I believe you might call this more common and mundane quality?

Thanks Antero!