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Why Awareness teaching is wrong and harmful.
The reason I am disappointed is not because I think I am better than everyone else, or just like to argue to show that I am very clever, but I can see how terribly harmful such teaching is.
It’s not okay to teach such teaching or accept such teaching if you want to liberate yourself from suffering, which is what all sincere practitioners want to do.
Teaching such as ‘You are the surface of a sea, with droplets dripping onto it, and you are not disturbed’
Or
‘You are the mirror, the 5 aggregates are coming and going like reflections’
Or
‘The mind is like a house, you are sitting in a chair just being aware, and the 6 senses are like visitor coming in and out and you just watch them’
Or
‘You are the ocean, the 5 aggregates is the waves’
Sounds very attractive, deep and clever, BUT unfortunately this is not buddhism, IMO.
*
First and foremost, we have to clearly understand how the structure samsara is set up and how suffering happens.
IMO it is easier to understand in 2 parts.
The first part is the dualistic perception which causes suffering. Dualistic perception is when there is a subject and an object. The grossest subject is the self as the body and mind, the person we think we are. The subtle self is awareness, consciousness, or anything that forms a substratum that doesn’t change. Self is self, subtle or gross, it is still a subject.
When there is 2 sides, subject and object, there is a gap to allow grasping from one side to another, subsequently pushing and pulling happens, which is essentially aversion and attachment respectively. This is very disturbing to our mind, afflictions will arise, suffering manifest. Dualistic perception is a powerful engine to drive samsara.
When we see clearly with wisdom, we realise reality is not dualistic.
An easy way to experience this is to open up your mind into a boundless open awareness, then slightly turn the mind inwards toward the ‘knowing quality’ of the senses rather than outwards, right at the same location of the senses themselves.
(Imagine my open palm towards the sky pronate and close downwards).
Reality is not dual.
The knowing is in the sound, at the same moment.
The knowing in the sight,
The knowing in the touch,
your own body knowing your own body.
The knowing in all 6 senses.
Reality is self-illuminating.
When you realise the whole world is just a whole expanse of everything knowing itself, subject as a background is gone, the whole world turn object only, the dualistic structure of samsara crumbles. Consequently, grasping cannot happen. It is like one hand trying to grasp its own wrist, grasping is immobilised, pushing and pulling cannot happen, afflictions cease, and then there is massive reduction in suffering.
When a teacher teaches ‘we are awareness’, they actually shift the subject from one gross bodily self to a subtle mental self. The dualistic structure of samsara is maintained, there is still here and there, there is still a gap, grasping can still happen, affliction and suffering ensues.
How then, do we liberate?!!
It’s not tenable.
Ok. It’s too long now to continue. Hope this helps anyone to understand the second noble truth better!
22 comments
Soh Wei Yu
But to put it in another:
Unlike
substantialist teachings which turn awareness into some ultimate
reality, source and substratum, the changeless ground residing behind
everything, the ultimate agent and so on. That is generally what
“Awareness teachings” are nowadays. Simply realising and focusing on the
aspect of luminous clarity and neglecting its empty nature. Turning it
into an atman brahman teaching. This is misleading.
Soh Wei Yu
As
Thusness wrote in 2012, "You cannot talk about emptiness and liberation
without talking about awareness. Instead understand the empty nature of
awareness and see awareness as this single activity of manifestation. I
do not see practice apart from realizing the
essence and nature of awareness. The only difference is seeing Awareness
as an ultimate essence or realizing awareness as this seamless activity
that fills the entire Universe. When we say there is no scent of a
flower, the scent is the flower.... that is because the mind, body,
universe are all together deconstructed into this single flow, this
scent and only this... Nothing else. That is the Mind that is no mind.
There is not an Ultimate Mind that transcends anything in the Buddhist
enlightenment. The mind Is this very manifestation of total exertion...
wholly thus. Therefore there is always no mind, always only this
vibration of moving train, this cooling air of the air-con, this
breath... The question is after the 7 phases of insights can this be
realized and experienced and becomes the ongoing activity of practice in
enlightenment and enlightenment in practice -- practice-enlightenment."
Also,
he wrote in 2012, "Has awareness stood out? There is no concentration
needed. When six entries and exits are pure and primordial, the
unconditioned stands shining, relaxed and uncontrived, luminous yet
empty. The purpose of going through the 7 phases of perception shift is
for this... Whatever arises is free and uncontrived, that is the supreme
path. Whatever arises has never left their nirvanic state... ... your
current mode of practice [after those experiential insights] should be
as direct and uncontrived as possible. When you see nothing behind and
magical appearances are too empty, awareness is naturally lucid and
free. Views and all elaborations dissolved, mind-body forgotten... just
unobstructed awareness. Awareness natural and uncontrived is supreme
goal. Relax and do nothing, Open and boundless, Spontaneous and free,
Whatever arises is fine and liberated, This is the supreme path.
Top/bottom, inside/outside, Always without center and empty (2-fold
emptiness), Then view is fully actualized and all experiences are great
liberation." In 2014, he said, "All 7 phases of insight can be realized
and experienced, they are not verbiage. But perfection in terms of
actualization in everyday life requires refining our view, meeting
situations and dedication of quality time in anatta and total exertion.
The problem is many do not have the discipline and perseverance."
Soh Wei Yu
"Though
buddha nature is plainness and most direct, these are still the steps.
If one does not know the process and said ‘yes this is it’… then it is
extremely misleading. For 99 percent [of ‘realized’/’enlightened’
persons] what one is talking about is "I AMness",
and has not gone beyond permanence, still thinking [of] permanence,
formless… ...all and almost all will think of it along the line of "I
AMness", all are like the grandchildren of "AMness", and that is the
root cause of duality.” - John Tan, 2007
Soh Wei Yu
A
few non Buddhist teachings do go beyond the “I am Awareness” stage but
the most they get into is something like the preliminary phase of anatta
but not the wisdom of dependent origination and twofold emptiness. Some
like actual freedom richard and ug krishnamurti
fall into the sidetrack of reifying the physical after the thorough
deconstruction of a background self/Self into mere luminous world. I
elaborated this in the AtR guide.
Most don’t even go into anatta though.. there are different faces of self/Self as I explained in http://www.awakeningtoreality.com/.../different-degress...
AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
Different Degress of No-Self: Non-Doership, Non-dual, Anatta, Total Exertion and Dealing with Pitfalls
Mr. MM
Soh Wei Yu
Well, there are various theories out there aimed at arranging these
things into clearcut stages and levels, or denying that any stages or
levels exist. What I'm saying, rather, is that while theories and
teachings may come in handy up to a certain point,
it can hardly be healthy to embrace any of them uncritically, as if it
presented some ultimate truth. Instead, they need to be examined and
tested by an aspiring follower. Sadly, this is a task that many are
unwilling to undertake.
Soh Wei Yu
These
are phases I have been through in my experience, they are not theories.
Some others may go through slightly different orders but generally my
experience is that most will go through the phases in somewhat similar
fashion.
Mr. MM
Soh Wei Yu Buddhist practitioners you mean?
Soh Wei Yu
Mr. MM
yes. But some like nonbuddhist actual freedom richard, also went from I
AM to initial phase of anatta but not dependent origination twofold
emptiness.
ACTUALFREEDOM.COM.AU
An Actual Freedom From The Human Condition
Огњен Пушац
Which is the best was to practice then? If there is no teacher around?
Soh Wei Yu
Idk
but if you go through the AtR guide (whether abridged or full version)
it is quite safe because the pointers are all there. Beyond that you
should find a teacher.
WWZC.ORG
Long Distance Training Program | White Wind Zen Community
Soh Wei Yu
And if you are interested in something like dzogchen, i can recommend acarya malcolm smith.
Soh Wei Yu
Огњен Пушац also the mahamudra books are good but not sure if you can find the teachers
Огњен Пушац
Soh Wei Yu unfortunately not a single one here. There is a theravada group though...
AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
Some book recommendations for newcomers
Огњен Пушац
I have been reading more than I need.... Attending few seshinns abroad (Zen).... But still confused in my practice
Soh Wei Yu
Огњен Пушац will be good to find a teacher and clarify your doubts.
Огњен Пушац
Soh Wei Yu If You have any recommendations...
Soh Wei Yu
Огњен Пушац you can try ven jinmyo osho for zen https://wwzc.org/long-distance-training-program
WWZC.ORG
Long Distance Training Program | White Wind Zen Community
Soh Wei Yu
Огњен Пушац and read all her dharma articles first
Огњен Пушац
Soh Wei Yu Thanks!
Samsara is nirvana and nirvana is samsara . Or as Avalokiteshvara put it , form is emptiness and emptiness is form ...
kindly asking a question, and not sure if this is the correct way to ask, but it’s along the lines of the subject of the post of teaching about the fact that we are awareness itself. I am looking for information regarding anybody who seems to abide in the awareness that they are where they are viewing themselves as almost foreign and not themselves. I wonder if this is a full realization insight? This has happened to my self, but only lasted a few seconds. I’m just wondering if the masters and those with the realization abide in that really broad awareness all the time and if so, what that is like! It seems very scary to me and I’m glad that I had the insight as I’m sure many of you on this form have, but I really want to hear from those who either integrated fully, or had a longer lasting experience. I understand the nature of experience is fleeting, but there’s definitely a great interest to what happened and it made me extremely curious to ask many questions. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. To give more detail, I was chanting mantras, and I literally within a millisecond flipped out of my body. It was viewing it from above, and I saw that me as a human had really no control and I wasn’t it at all. It was very shocking. This happened months ago and I still can’t seem to integrate any of it.thank you.
That is an experience of dissociation and a glimpse of being the Witness. But it is not yet Self Realization, as it is just a glimpse.
You can try self enquiry in order to reach the I AM or Self Realization (but do note that even this this is just the first stage in http://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six-stages-of-experience.html ) :
“Hi Mr. H,
In addition to what you wrote, I hope to convey another dimension of Presence to you. That is Encountering Presence in its first impression, unadulterated and full blown in stillness.
So after reading it, just feel it with your entire body-mind and forgot about it. Don't let it corrupt your mind.😝
Presence, Awareness, Beingness, Isness are all synonyms. There can be all sorts of definitions but all these are not the path to it. The path to it must be non-conceptual and direct. This is the only way.
When contemplating the koan "before birth who am I", the thinking mind attempts to seek into it's memory bank for similar experiences to get an answer. This is how the thinking mind works - compare, categorize and measure in order to understand.
However, when we encounter such a koan, the mind reaches its limit when it tries to penetrate its own depth with no answer. There will come a time when the mind exhausts itself and come to a complete standstill and from that stillness comes an earthshaking BAM!
I. Just I.
Before birth this I, a thousand years ago this I, a thousand later this I. I AM I.
It is without any arbitrary thoughts, any comparisons. It fully authenticates it's own clarity, it's own existence, ITSELF in clean, pure, direct non-conceptuality. No why, no because.
Just ITSELF in stillness nothing else.
Intuit the vipassana and the samantha. Intuit the total exertion and realization. The essence of message must be raw and uncontaminated by words.
Hope that helps!” - John Tan, 2019
Ken Wilber on I AMness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA8tDzK_kPI
-- excerpt from the abridged AtR guide, which you can read for self-enquiry pointers: https://app.box.com/s/zc0suu4dil01xbgirm2r0rmnzegxaitq