From a conversation in Awakening to Reality group a year ago:

 

 

-       Hale Oh

“Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren I have a couple of classes in a row here where I have to pay attention lol... will explain in a few hours

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren The diagram is a progress seeing of our relationship to the world. "a" is not "a", therefore "a" is "a" applied out.

 

The stick figure is a person, the small boxes are any/all dharmas, the arrows and lines show relationship, the big box in #3 is a representation of the whole world/universe, the huge box in #4 is all space time.

 

#1 is how most people see. They are outsiders looking in.

 

#2 is a beginning to see an interrelationship between you and the world. Without me, the flower would not be there, with the flower, I would not be here. This world makes me, and I make this world. The arrows point back and forth to show a mutual relationship.

 

#3 brings in a larger context, its seeing the wholeness of this moment. Not only am I and the world co created, but each and everything exists together like a web. Everything moving together in harmony, nothing separate… Not only #2 but also a more whole picture of the present moment. This whole moment is one seamless happening. Each piece, including you, is integral to the whole, and the whole is integral to each piece. A car (a) is nothing without a road to drive on, a person to drive, an earth etc (not a). But, this is looked at and seen in the moment and felt.

 

#4 is taking #3 and applying time. Each point is the "crux" or "fulcrum" of space time. Everything "hinges" so to speak on the bell ringing. Each "a" is empty (not a) because it only exists in context with all space time. Therefore, "a" is just "a" haha, which is all things all places all times. And all that is just "a". It's seeing the wholeness of each and every thing, indra's net real time. But this is just intellectual here, this is something that you feel.

 

A lot of this is about seeing context and relationship imo. The outline has good advice for incorporating view and particular practices to see this. The diamond sutra is also a good source for contemplation if interested. This link was particularly helpful for a friend of mine...

 

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c33e/bb82836e30c37d5439af2a20042f05affcc2.pdf

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren Checking out Huayan, Li and Shi, interpenetration and mutual containment and non obstruction might be interesting for view. Also, quite funnily, their fourfold dharmadhatu is very similar, I feel, to the drawing. A lot of this draws from flower garland sutra.

 

This is interesting too..

 

https://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Miscellaneous/Treatise_on_Golden_Lion.html

thezensite:Fazang's Treatise on the Golden Lion

thezensite.com

thezensite:Fazang's Treatise on…

thezensite:Fazang's Treatise on the Golden Lion

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren But all of the words can be a source of confusion. Better to see and feel haha.

 

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren Oh and ted biringers book called “zen cosmology”

 

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André A. Pais

André A. Pais Hale, from the Golden Lion link. It's interesting...

 

6. To discuss the five doctrines. The first: although the lion is a dharma produced through dependent-arising, it undergoes generation and destruction in each and every moment. [Since nothing in the phenomenal world endures,] no form of the lion can ever be found. This is called the teaching for the ignorant Śrāvakas [Hīnayāna].

 

The second: all things, being the product of dependent-arising, are devoid of Selfhood [Svabhāva], and in the final analysis, are nothing but Emptiness. This is called the preliminary teaching of Mahāyāna.

 

The third: although all things are Emptiness through and through, this does not impede the vivid appearance of the Māyā/becoming. All that which is of dependent-arising is fictitiously existent [and therefore it is truly void.] This co-existence of both being and non-being is called the final teaching of Mahāyāna.

 

The fourth: inasmuch as these two characters [that of Emptiness and that of form] mutually annul each other, they are both abolished. Here, no imaginings or false presuppositions exist; neither the concept of Emptiness nor the idea of existence retains any influence. [This is the sphere in which] the ideas of both being and non-being vanish. It is a realm that names and speech cannot reach. Here the mind rests without any attachment. This is called the instantaneous teaching of Mahāyāna.

 

The fifth: when all false feelings and wrong ideas are eliminated, and the true substance is revealed, everything becomes merged into one great mass. Great functions then arise in abundance, and whatever arises is absolutely true. The myriad manifestations, despite their variety, interpenetrate without confusion or disarray. The all is the one, for both are empty in substance. The one is the all, for cause and effect clearly manifest themselves [without fail]. In their power and functions [the one and the all] embrace each other. They spread out and roll up in utter freedom. This is called the Round Doctrine of the One Vehicle.

 

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren André, and all the rest of what he has to say haha. Fazang is on to something...

 

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren

🌈🌈🌈

 

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André A. Pais

André A. Pais Hale Oh had never read anything from this sect... 😊

 

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren "The name Flower Garland is meant to suggest the crowning glory of a Buddha's profound understanding of ultimate reality."

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André A. Pais

André A. Pais Hale Oh I'm reading the article on the diamond sutra. I enjoyed the Golden Lion, although it can lend itself to substantialist readings. Must re-read it.

 

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Hale OHerren

Hale OHerren Ya gotta read everything with a grain of salt. I like looking bigger picture, especially if it's a translation.

 

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John Tan André, for the metta question it is not for altruistic reasons but rather to further open up oneself into total exertion.

Post anatta, one can access to the state of no mind easily and this state of no mind is "key" to opening up new dimension of the mind where experience turn maha, immense and great.

If possible, it is advisable to integrate a practice, be it yoga, pranayama or qi gong or vipassana or chanting where u can focus ur attention into an oceanic state of no-mind asif everything in the 10 directions and 3 times are all into a single action.

Don't worry too much whether is it realistic, just don't place any limitation in the expansion in this practice. Just open up and connect as is presented in Hale's badly drawn diagram.
😂

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André A. Pais John Tan tks for your explanation. Why the need to integrate it with another practice, like chanting? And what kind of chanting? But do you mean something more physical?

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Hale OHerren André A. Pais I like drumming and chanting. Makes sense that some of the services at eihei-ji go on for over 2 hours.

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John Tan André, choosing a practice is important for stability much like shamatha so that one can better integrate the body-mind into a stable state of evenness over a quality period of time. The state no mind from anatta in daily activity is a mini scale of the oceanic opening unless one has overcome our dualistic and inherent karmic tendencies sufficiently.

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Soh Wei Yu Any kind of chanting... there are also practices in dzogchen called singing song of vajra. But it depends on what lineage, tradition, practices, chants, all are good if you actualize total exertion.

I wrote about some sutra chanting in Korean leading to total exertion in http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/.../what-is-total...

Even chanting 'A' can be Maha total exertion.

https://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/.../no-yellow...

Zen Master Bernie Glassman:

Some people say it's not necessary to read the Heart Sutra in its English translation, that the essence of this Wisdom literature can be achieved by just chanting it in the original Sanskrit. Before I review the meaning of the title, let me say that when you truly just chant the Heart Sutra, all of it is contained in the act of just chanting. When we chant in such a way that nothing else is happening, that all our concentration, all our mental and physical energies are condensed into just being the sound A (the first syllable of the original text, from "Avalokitesvara"), that is all that exists. Just A! Just the elimination of any trace of separation between subject and object, which is nothing but our zazen itself. If we put all our energy into just chanting in this manner, there is no separation, and that state of no separation is the state of sunyata, or "emptiness," or what I also call not-knowing. That is the state of 100 percent action; everything is fully concentrated in this very moment. This is the heart of our practice, to be totally in this moment, moment after moment. It doesn't matter what words are being chanted; when you are totally A, it is not even A anymore; it is the whole universe, it is everything.

 

awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com

What is Total Exertion?

What is Total Exertion?

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Soh Wei Yu Personally I focus more on breathing meditation and yoga but it depends on individual

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Hale OHerren Chant and drum like this guy haha. I imagine he knows whats up... There is this shamanic feel to it. This power of creation and connection. Will write more thoughts in a bit...

 

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John Tan Yes. Breathing exercise is a good practice. Breathe into no-mind, just the inhalation and exhalation. Allow the whole body to fully engaged in the breath - the nose, the lung, the abdominal, the intestine are all fully participating in the breath. Extend beyond the boundary of the body into the air, the trees, the plants, the universe. See whether u can get all the masters of the 3 times to participate together into this moment of breathing (hale's diagram).😝

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Peter Wang Soh Wei Yu Ah so that's what total exertion is. It's the flow state or "being in the zone". To be one with the very activity that's being done.

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Hale OHerren I was lucky enough to visit Eiheiji and go to one of their morning services. This powerful ritual. They have these forever resonating bells, this massive super deep drum that keeps the beat. Those sounds fully captures your whole body. Then the chanting, if you use your whole body, your whole body vibrates with your voice. Your voice harmonizes with all the other voices. Total transcendence. Plus, with the fact that they have been chanting these old chants like that every morning for the past 700+ years...

And then add in the fact that you do it every morning; there's this cyclical inclusion/reminder/feeling that brings in all time. Like born here in ringing this bell is every time you've rung the bell before and, everyone who rang the bell before you, all the dharma practice that fostered bell ringing, all the masters of the past, the whole universe. It's a powerful expression of literally all space and time. And, flowing out the other direction, your bell ringing echoes out into eternity. Your ringing is turned by the wheel of the dharma and reciprocally, your ringing turns the wheel of the dharma.

Heart Sutra at Sojji (included so you can see these ancient, dark & powerful visuals... the robes, the colors, the decorations the lighting etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De15EaR_irk&t=147s

Heart Sutra at Eiheiji starts at 6:00ish (no video)... If you listen, listen with something that can play bass to hear/feel the drum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnPMZW63uPw

 

youtube.com

Soto Zen - Heart Sutra /…

Soto Zen - Heart Sutra / 曹洞宗大本山總持寺 - 般若波羅蜜多心經

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John Tan Peter, it is not exactly a flow state.

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Peter Wang oh lol

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John Tan Peter, it may appear to be and sound so and many translate it that way but it is not.

Like what Hale has described, it is a very deep feeling of being "connected". I think Hale described very well "this connection".

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Hale OHerren Thanks John, I'll write some more stuff once I get out of this last class.

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Tyler Jones André A. Pais, when this group first became active again I asked if you were aware of John's advice on meditation post anatta and you said no. What he shared here is what I was referring to.

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