Recently there has been a few people with breakthroughs. Someone informed me (and he is not the first one) that he realised instant presence (what AtR calls the I AM awakening) after attending and practicing Acarya Malcolm Smith's Dzogchen teachings upon my advise. So if anyone is interested in Dzogchen, you can look into www.zangthal.com
(Acarya Malcolm's insights are also not restricted to the initial realisation of Instant Presence, he is also clear about the anatta and emptiness insights.0
Another one, a 22 year old Taiwanese, went through I AM previously and recently seem to have some breakthroughs in terms of anatta and emptiness insights. John Tan also gave some further pointers which could help him deepen his insights. Because he lives in Ping Tung, John Tan and I suggested that he visits and learns from Master Hui Lu due to the deep insights of the master.
A ChatGPT translation of what he said:
"Yes, probably two years ago I realized my true heart or Brahman, and one year ago I realized the no-self or no subject-object in the Bahiya Sutta. I also wrote some articles about this, although most of them involve conceptual analysis, but the final realization transcends concepts.
I used to be attached to background consciousness, thinking that was the ultimate, but then I saw from the book Liberation: A Spiritual Autobiography that there is fundamentally no consciousness and object.
The subject has always been extra, and naturally, the opposing object does not exist. Subject and object are interdependent.
At first, it was only an intellectual deconstruction; later, I experienced the vivid non-dual phenomenon.
This morning I had a realization: I experienced that sound has no substance, but emptiness and the secular existence of sound have no conflict at all. Then I read about the sixth stage in the book, and I saw you have made similar descriptions.
I saw the paragraph you wrote, which is very close to my realization at that time.
[4:27 PM, 1/21/2021] Soh Wei Yu: Now it’s quite clear to me the nature of presence as vivid form, as vivid and clear as it is, is nowhere to be found and completely equivalent to a reflection, totally groundless. It is free from extremes… free from existence and nonexistence, not just inherent existence. It’s not that there is something dependently existing with something else, but dependencies by their very nature are merely empty like reflections.
Thank you very much for your guidance. I am now reading the MMK (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā).”
Chinese original:
"有的，大概是兩年前體悟到本心或婆羅門，一年前體悟到巴希亞經中的無我或無主客體，我還為此寫了一些文章，雖然大部分是關於概念的拆解，但最終的體悟是超越概念的
我曾經也執著於背景意識，以為那就是最終的，之後我從這本書“Liberation A Spiritual Autobiography”當中看到根本沒有意識與客體
主體從來都是額外的，與之對立的客體當然也不成立，主體與客體相互依賴
一開始只是智力層面的拆解，後來就體驗到那種生動不二的現象
今天早上有種體悟，我體驗到了聲音是無實質的，但空與聲音的世俗存在完全沒有衝突，之後我看了關於書中第六階段的部分，我看到你也有做過類似的敘述
我看到了你寫的這段話，與我當時的體悟很接近
[4:27 PM, 1/21/2021] Soh Wei Yu: Now its quite clear to me the nature of presence as vivid form, as vivid and clear as it is, is nowhere to be found and completely equivalent to a reflection, totally groundless. It is free from extremes.. free from existence and nonexistence, not just inherent existence. Its not that there is something dependently existing with something else, but dependencies by their very nature is merely empty like reflections
"
"我住在屏東市，我沒有老師，我都是看網路上的文章，還有看書、思考、體驗
第一次看到atr是因為在網路上尋找“ajata”的資訊，才偶然看到的
發現atr的文章都非常有深度"
"好的，現在的體驗是聲音與事物都沒有真的出現，從一開始就被看做是約定俗成的，在體驗到世俗存在的事物的同時，也知道事物根本沒有出現，這兩者沒有矛盾
像是幻覺一樣，但是依然會有不同的現象
就像是體驗到了很多現象，但又同時知道所有現象都未曾出現過"
"當我看著眼前的現象時，我發現從一開始就只有現象存在，額外的主體被看穿，現象本身沒有對立面，本身就是清凈與完美的不二
那種體驗就是只剩下眼前的景象，連我自身的感覺也不存在
我的身體、大腦、意識、覺知都是單純的概念
在那裡也沒有生與死，也沒有輪回與涅槃，而且一直都是如此的
過去總是認為我在這裡觀察那裡的事物，在體悟到無我後，那種距離感就被看穿了"
"我一開始是閱讀jed mckenna的書，他的書拆解了我的世界觀，之後我又看了osho的文章，在其中一篇名為“Gita of Ashtavakra”的文章中我領悟到了本我
https://osho.tw/ebook/book96_00.htm
之後很長一段時間，我都以為那種領悟就是最終的"
Chatgpt translate:
"I live in Pingtung City. I don't have teachers; I learn by reading articles online, as well as reading books, thinking, and experiencing things.
The first time I saw ATR was when I was searching online for information on 'Ajata' and happened to come across it.
I found that ATR's articles are all very in-depth."
"Alright, the current experience is that sounds and things haven't really arisen. From the beginning, they have been regarded as conventional agreements. While experiencing the existence of worldly things, I also know that things haven't actually arisen; these two aspects are not contradictory.
It's like a hallucination, but different phenomena still occur.
It's as if I've experienced many phenomena, yet at the same time, I know that none of the phenomena have ever truly arisen."
On the anatta realization prior to that:
"When I look at the phenomena before my eyes, I realize that from the very beginning, only phenomena exist. The additional subjects are seen through; phenomena themselves have no opposites and are inherently the non-duality of purity and perfection.
That kind of experience is only the scene before my eyes, and even the sense of my own body does not exist.
My body, brain, consciousness, and awareness are all mere concepts.
There is no life or death there, no reincarnation or nirvana, and it has always been like that.
In the past, I always thought I was observing things here and there. After realizing selflessness, that sense of distance has been seen through.
At first, I read Jed McKenna's books; his books dismantled my worldview. Afterwards, I read Osho's articles, and in one article titled 'Gita of Ashtavakra,' I comprehended the true self.
https://osho.tw/ebook/book96_00.htm
For a long period afterward, I believed that such understanding was the ultimate."
He also wrote:
"
I wrote an article about emptiness last night. I used GPT to translate it into English, but I'm not sure how accurate the translation is.
The term "arising from conditions" does not refer to the emergence of a truly existing entity from conditions. If something inherently existed, it would not need to rely on conditions to appear. It is precisely because things are devoid of intrinsic essence that they can depend on conditions for their emergence. The things that appear are like illusions, and the relationship between cause and effect is merely a designation. However, it is not enough to merely deconstruct concepts; one must also intuitively recognize that both cause and effect are without essence. Existing things do not appear, while appearing things negate their own existence. Existence and appearance are inherently in conflict. Therefore, it is not existence that relies on conditions, but rather appearance that does. The things that appear demonstrate the emptiness of the things themselves. When the fog dissipates, everything is seen as an illusion formed by dependent conditions.
I will provide a method to help you eliminate substantial perception. First, it is essential to understand from a rational perspective that before a sensory experience is established as real, other sensory experiences cannot rely on this foundational existence. For example, when you see the floor, that belongs to vision. At that moment, when your foot touches the floor, that belongs to touch. We usually combine the visual image with the tactile sensation, making it a composite. We do not see the image merely as an image; the tactile sensation does not actually arise from the image. Looking deeper, we find that both the visual image and the tactile sensation cannot exist independently. Therefore, the feeling of the floor being hard and solid relies on the image of the floor, and the image of the floor also relies on this sensation. Thus, this should be regarded as a composite.
Through this perspective, you will find many concepts attributed to reality that have not been established as true. At this moment, when you look at a wardrobe, you will realize that the wardrobe is a combination of various sensations. The wardrobe and the floor are merely dependent names, just names. Furthermore, it must be recognized that the tactile sensations do not arise from the image of the wardrobe; the image of the wardrobe does not depend on tactile sensations to be established as true; both are conventional. Even if you have some understanding, you may still believe that the wardrobe is a physical entity; you cannot pass through the wardrobe as if it were a virtual projection. But since tactile sensations and images do not truly exist, how can there be a physical wardrobe? Therefore, in practice, you must also imagine that you can pass through the wardrobe, viewing it as an illusory mirage or optical illusion. When the image is merely an unestablished phantom, how can physicality and tactile sensations depend on it? It must also be clear that the absence of physicality does not equate to emptiness. If that were the case, the other four sensory experiences could not be experienced as empty.
When you see through these conventional sensations, and look at things again, it becomes easier to discover that things have no essence, never have had essence. These things exist like illusions, and you cannot find where this tactile sensation and sound arise from. You must personally experience this elusive illusion, rather than merely deconstructing the concept. Let this essence-less sensation penetrate your heart; this can also help you avoid falling into the tendency to reify things in daily life. Additionally, you must recognize that these apparent phenomena arise dependently on conditions. A person overly attached to non-conceptuality may wonder why it is necessary to emphasize conditions, since cause and effect are merely concepts, right? Indeed, they are just concepts. However, these concepts are also interdependent. If you cannot see dependent origination, you cannot experience the non-duality of phenomena and emptiness. Therefore, insights into essence-less existence and the understanding of dependent origination must be combined.
When you see tangible things and think about dependent origination, the understanding that arises tends to lean more towards dependent existence rather than dependent origination; this seamless dependent origination will not be seen. Do not become overly attached to the descriptions of dependent origination and emptiness; otherwise, the brain may latch onto these narratives and create fictitious experiences. At first, you may feel satisfied with these fictitious experiences, thinking this is experiential insight, but later the brain will begin to question these fictitious experiences. As the experiences of essence-less existence and dependent origination become more solidified, you can gradually let go of these tools until you are completely stable within them."
John Tan commented: "I think the passage is quite well written but need to address the following also:
1. From de-constructive path, one must slowly move towards the effortless and pathless path of spontaneous and natural perfection.
2. The passage although dismantled essential causality it does not address how and why causal efficacy is maintained in dependent arising and emptiness. Without understand how "causal efficacy" is maintained, path and view will turn nihilistic.
3. Need to understand the "role" of nominal conventions in a non-inherent and essenceless world.
To an inherent mind, conceptual constructs once seen through plays no role coz their entire foundation is built on "entities and existent".
But in a radiance and essenceless world, nominal conventions play vital role, that is y reification can blind and habitual karmic bond."
Chatgpt: "我認為這段文章寫得相當不錯，但還需要同時注意以下幾點：
1. 從解構的修行路徑，必須逐漸走向自然而無造作、無可言說之道的「自然本自圓成」。
2. 雖然文中已經拆解了本質性的因果，但尚未說明在緣起與空性之中，因果效力（causal efficacy）是如何被維持的。若不明白「因果效力」如何運作，修行與見地最終會落入斷滅論。
3. 必須瞭解在一個無自性、無本質的世界中，「名言概念」所扮演的角色。
對於執著實體存在的心而言，一旦看透概念性建構，這些概念就不再有任何作用，因為其基礎是建立在「實體與存在」之上。
然而，在一個光明而無自性的世界裡，名言概念卻扮演著關鍵的角色；這也正是為什麼實體化（reification）會蒙蔽心智，並成為習氣與業力的束縛。"
I sent him a long string of texts that I often sent people before:
这是我以前寄给一些人的：
”
May
20
To reject practice is the path of fools - Longchenpa
Longchenpa on Nihilism
From Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind.
Those who scorn the law of karmic cause and fruit
Are students of the nihilist view outside the Dharma.
They rely on the thought that all is void;
They fall in the extreme of nothingness
And go from higher to lower states.
They have embarked on an evil path
And from the evil destinies will have no freedom,
Casting happy states of being far away.
”The law of karmic cause and fruit,
Compassion and the gathering of merit -
All this is but provisional teaching fit for children:
Enlightenment will not be gained thereby.
Great yogis should remain without intentional action.
They should meditate upon reality that is like space.
Such is the definitive instruction.”
The view of those who speak like this
Of all views is the most nihilist:
They have embraced the lowest of all paths.
How strange is this!
They want a fruit but have annulled its cause.
If reality is but a space-like void,
What need is there to meditate?
And if it is not so, then even if one meditates
Such efforts are to no avail.
If meditation on mere voidness leads to liberation,
Even those with minds completely blank
Attain enlightenment!
But since those people have asserted meditation,
Cause and its result they thus establish!
Throw far away such faulty paths as these!
The true, authentic path asserts
The arising in dependence of both cause and fruit,
The natural union of skillful means and wisdom.
Through the causality of nonexistent but appearing acts,
Through meditation on the nonexistent but appearing path,
The fruit is gained, appearing and yet nonexistent;
And for the sake of nonexistent but appearing beings,
Enlightened acts, appearing and yet nonexistent, manifest.
Such is pure causality’s profound interdependence.
This is the essential pith
Of all the Sutra texts whose meaning is definitive
And indeed of all the tantras.
Through the joining of the two accumulations,
The generation and completion stages,
Perfect buddhahood is swiftly gained.
Thus all the causal processes
Whereby samsara is contrived should be abandoned,
And all acts that are the cause of liberation
Should be earnestly performed.
High position in samsara
And the final excellence of buddhahood
Will speedily be gained.
- Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind (vol 1)
--------------------
Also by Longchenpa:
"To reject practice by saying, ‘it is conceptual!’ is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided.”
— Longchenpa
Din Robinson
"It is astonishing to expect the result while abandoning the cause."
Isn't the cause always grasping (from the point of view of the separate self... of someone who exists in time and space and needs to know in order to navigate this existence) ?
Soh Wei Yu
Din Robinson The cause is referring to the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.
Longchenpa:
“The Fifteenth Word of Advice
Proffering mindless talk on emptiness and disregarding cause and effect,
You may think that non-action is the ultimate point of the Teaching;
Yet to abandon the two accumulations will destroy the good fortune of spiritual practice.
Integrate them both! This is my advice from the heart.”
Padmasambhava:
“Just as is the case with the sesame seed being the cause of the oil and the milk being the cause of butter,
But where the oil is not obtained without pressing and the butter is not obtained without churning,
So all sentient beings, even though they possess the actual essence of Buddhahood,
Will not realize Buddhahood without engaging in practice.
If he practices, then even a cowherd can realize liberation.
Even though he does not know the explanation, he can systematically establish himself in the experience of it.
(For example) when one has had the experience of actually tasting sugar in one's own mouth,
one does not need to have that taste explained by someone else.” - http://www.awakeningtoreality.com/.../self-liberation...
Acarya Malcolm:
“That does not matter. Let's say you have a house, and in your house is a million dollars. If you never discover the million dollars or it is never shown to you, you will have a million dollars and never know it. Likewise, unless those buddha qualities are discovered by you in a direct perception, or pointed out to you, even if you have them, they are of no use to you.
As far as Dzogchen view goes, such qualities exist in the form of potential only. The analogy Longchenpa uses is that even though you may not need to gather the two accumulations ultimately in order to possess the kāyas and wisdoms, practicing the two accumulations is like polishing a dirty gem. One is not really adding anything new, but instead one is revealing what is already there, but hidden from ordinary sight.”
"Dzogchen teaching make a clear distinction between the basis (the time of non-realization) and the result.
The real issue which causes argument is whether tathagatāgabha, a.k.a., the dharmakāya at the time of the basis, is something that is naturally perfected or something which requires development. In general, the Sakyapas for example argue that the natural perfection of the qualities of awakening in the person does not conflict with transformation in the same way the natural presence of the quality in milk which produces butter does not mitigate or render unnecessary the process of transformation which produces butter (churning). Longchenpa for example argues that while the two accumulations have always been perfected, they need to be reaccumulated in the same sense that a gem that has been lost in a swamp needs to be polished in order to restore its former luster."
….
“EMPTINESS DEVIATING TO THE BASIC NATURE
Timeless Deviation to the Nature of Knowables The meditation of inseparable phenomena and emptiness is called “emptiness endowed with the supreme aspect.” Not knowing how emptiness and interdependence abide in nonduality, you decide that emptiness is a nothingness that has never existed and that is not influenced at all by qualities or defects. Then you underestimate the cause and effect of virtue and vice, or else lapse exclusively into the nature of all things being originally pure, primordially free, and so forth. Bearing such emptiness, the relative level of interdependence is not mastered. In this respect, this is what is known as mahamudra: one’s basic nature is unoriginated and, since it is neither existent nor nonexistent, eternal nor nil, true nor false, nor any other such aspects, it has no existence whatsoever. Nonetheless, its unceasing radiance arises as the relative level of all kinds of interdependence, so it is known as emptiness having the core of interdependence and interdependence having the nature of emptiness. Therefore, emptiness does not stray to the nature of knowables. In the Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way it is said: Anything that doesn’t arise dependently Is a phenomenon that has no existence. Therefore anything that is not empty Is a phenomenon that has no existence. And as said in the Commentary on Bodhichitta: It is taught that the relative plane is emptiness, And emptiness alone is the relative plane.” – The Royal Seal of Mahamudra, Volume 2, Khamtrul Rinpoche
malcolm (Acarya Malcolm Smith):
MMK refutes any kind of production other than dependent origination. It is through dependent origination that emptiness is correctly discerned. Without the view of dependent origination, emptiness cannot be correctly perceived, let alone realized. The MMK rejects production from self, other, both, and causeless production, but not dependent origination. The MMK also praises the teaching of dependent origination as the pacifier of proliferation in the mangalam. The last chapter of MMK is on dependent origination. The MMK nowhere rejects dependent origination, it is in fact a defense of the proper way to understand it. The only way to the ultimate truth (emptiness) is through the relative truth (dependent origination), so if one’s understanding of relative truth is flawed, as is the case with all traditions outside of Buddhadharma, and even many within it, there is no possibility that ultimate truth can be understood and realized.
...
[10:10 PM, 4/12/2021] John Tan: The DO part is really good.
[10:11 PM, 4/12/2021] John Tan: When did malcom say that? Recently or in the past?
[10:11 PM, 4/12/2021] Soh Wei Yu: oic..
[10:11 PM, 4/12/2021] Soh Wei Yu: https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=36315...
[10:11 PM, 4/12/2021] Soh Wei Yu: from above
[10:12 PM, 4/12/2021] Soh Wei Yu: the others from here https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=36283...
[10:30 PM, 4/12/2021] John Tan: Many misunderstand that oh ultimately it is empty and DO is conventional therefore conceptual so ultimately empty non-existence.
We must understand what is meant by empty ultimately but conventionally valid. Nominal constructs are of two types, those that are valid and those that r invalid like "rabbit horns". Even mere appearances free from all elaborations and conceptualities, they inadvertently manifest therefore the term "appearances". They do not manifest randomly or haphazardly, they are valid mode of arising and that is dependent arising. When it is "valid" means it is the acceptable way of explanation and not "rabbit horn" which is non-existence. This part I mentioned in my reply to Andre.
[10:36 PM, 4/12/2021] John Tan: Do you get what I meant?
What it means is there is still a "right" or "acceptable" or "valid" way to express it conventionally. Take freedom from all elaborations for example, it doesn't mean "blankness" or "anything goes". There is right understanding of "freedom from all elaborations" that is why Mipham has to qualify that it is not "blankness", it does not reject "mere appearance", it must be understood from the perspective of "coalescence"...and so on and so forth. Similarly, there is right understanding of "arising" conventionally and that is DO.
So when we clearly see how essence = true existence = independence of causes and conditions are untenable for anything to arise, we see dependent arising.
Don't Neglect the Conventional
AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
Don't Neglect the Conventional
Don't Neglect the Conventional
“
And
“
Soh Wei Yu
Also see:
https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2022/05/rainbow.html
Rainbow
John Tan
snooSedtrh39f07a5lc8h1fu ·
Listening to someone tutoring about "rainbow",
The teaching of science came to my mind.
The raindrops, the sunshine;
The light that enters and exits the droplets;
The reflection, refraction and light dispersion;
All these formed the rainbow.
But they missed the most important factor,
The radiance of our own mind.
1 Comment
Jayson MPaul
Rainbows need to have eyes in correct position, water droplets, light, radiant mind, all like so for rainbow to appear. Move slightly and rainbow is gone. Never came from anywhere, stayed anywhere, or went anywhere. The rainbow was insubstantial, but vividly displayed. All phenomena are like this.
Reply
1w
Stian Gudmundsen Høiland
Look ahead and you see the table and your phone. Need "all like so" (tatha). Look behind you and that is gone, but now a new like so and not otherwise.
Reply
1w
Edited
Dragan Milojević
What radiance of mind? Where is it, science needs proofs and evidence. Mind is only a perceptor and analyzer.
Reply
1w
John Tan
Dragan Milojević Science can prove the sad tears of a mother are H2O but can't prove the "sadness". As human, we need both.
But I like ur question, Where is this radiance?
Yes where is it? Even Buddha cannot know it's whereabout.
Reply
1w
Edited
Labels: Dependent Origination, Emptiness, Jayson MPaul, John Tan, Luminosity, Non-Arising, Rainbow |
Rainbow
AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
Rainbow
Rainbow
emptiness -
Where is the flower?
Yin Ling
·
I was contemplating on dependent arising and emptiness this morning, follow on a conversation with a friend ytd.. my inquiry goes -
**
When you see a flower,
ask, is the flower in my mind? is the flower out there apart from my mind? Is the flower in between mind and out there? where? where is the flower?🤨
When you hear a sound, ask,
Is the sound in my ear? in my mind? in my brain? in the radio? in the air? separated from my mind? is it independently floating? WHERE?🤨
when you touch a table, ask,
Is this touch, in my finger? in the table? in the between space? in my brain? in my mind? separated from mind? WHERE?🤨
Keep finding. See, Hear, Feel. The mind need to look to be satisfied. If not it keeps being ignorant.
*
Then you will see, There was never a SELF , self in buddhism means independent thing - singular, independent, one, substantial THING sitting outside or inside or any where in this 'world'.
For the sound to appear, the ear, radio, air, waves, mind, knowing, etc etc etc need to come together and there's a sound. lack of one and there is no sound.
-this is dependent arising.
But then where is it? what really is this that you are hearing? so vivid of an orchestra! but where?! 🤨
-That is Emptiness.
**
It's all just illusory. There, yet not there. Appear yet empty.
That is , the nature of reality.
You never needed to fear. You only wrongly thought it's all real.
Also see:
My Favourite Sutra, Non-Arising and Dependent Origination of Sound
https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2023/03/my-favourite-sutra-non-arising-and.html
Non-Arising due to Dependent Origination
https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2020/06/non-arising-due-to-dependent-origination.html
--
Do read through the above links including the sutra, they are important
—-
" Thorough knowledge of relative truth is ultimate truth; for this reason the two truths are mutually confirming and not in contradiction at all." – Acarya Malcolm, 2021
“A lot of talk on here lately about how lame relative reality is vs how awesome ultimate reality is.
Apparently an omniscient master is supposed to see how both the relative and the ultimate exist at the same time in a Union of Appearance and Emptiness.
It's because everything is dependently arisen that it can be seen as empty.
Not even the smallest speck exists by its own power.
Je Tsongkhapa said, "Since objects do not exist through their own nature, they are established as existing through the force of convention."
He was the biggest proponent of keeping vows and virtuous actions through all stages of sutra and tantra.
He also leveraged the relative by practicing millions of prostrations and offering mandalas.
He also practiced generation and completion stages of tantra while keeping his conduct spotless.
He held conduct in the highest regard in all of his texts on tantra such as his masterwork, A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages.” - Jason Parker, 2019
“The Danger of Refuting Too Much: Ethics and Emptiness
"Tsong- kha- pa was particularly concerned that most of the then prevailing Tibetan interpretations of Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka philosophy misidentified the object of negation. In his view, these widely promulgated misunderstandings of Madhyamaka subvert ethical commitments by treating them—and all other conventions—as provisional in the sense that their validity or legitimacy is obviated by the profound truth of emptiness. Tsong- kha- pa holds that profound emptiness must be understood as complementing and fulfilling, rather than canceling out, the principles of moral action. His writings aim to inspire and—as a matter of historical fact—did inspire vigorous striving in active virtue.
Tsong- kha- pa insists that rational analysis is an indispensable tool in the spiritual life. In order to make cogent the compatibility of emptiness and ethics, Tsong- kha- pa had to show that the two truths, ultimate and conventional, do not contradict, undermine, or supersede one another."
~ Introduction to Emptiness, Guy Newland”
“The birth of certainty ~ Lama Tsongkhapa
https://justdharma.com/s/ump1y
The knowledge that appearances arise unfailingly in dependence,
And the knowledge that they are empty and beyond all assertions—
As long as these two appear to you as separate,
There can be no realization of the Buddha’s wisdom.
Yet when they arise at once, not each in turn but both together,
Then through merely seeing unfailing dependent origination
Certainty is born, and all modes of misapprehension fall apart—
That is when discernment of the view has reached perfection.
– Lama Tsongkhapa”
You sent
To reject practice is the path of fools – Longchenpa
Longchenpa on Nihilism
（節錄自 Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind）
那些輕視業力因果法則的人，
都是落在法外斷滅見的人。
他們依憑「一切皆空」的念頭，
墮入了虛無極端，
因而從較高處向下淪落。
他們已踏上惡道，
必將從惡趣中無法解脫，
而遠離安樂之境。
「業因果、慈悲以及積聚福德等，
都只是權宜之教，適合孩童；
光靠這些並不能成就覺悟。
大瑜伽行者應該遠離有意的造作，
禪修如同虛空般的實相。
這才是究竟的教授。」
——如果有人如此言說，
那麼在所有見解之中，
這種見解才是最偏向斷滅的；
他們已走向了最卑下的道路。
真是奇怪！
他們想要收穫果實，卻否定了因的存在。
如果實相就像虛空一般空無一物，
又何必去禪修？
而若實相不是那樣，即使禪修，
也毫無意義。
如果僅僅禪修空性就能解脫，
那麼一切毫無思慮、茫然無知者
也都可以成佛了！
但既然這些人還主張禪修，
那便說明他們已認可因與果！
當遠離這些有缺陷的道路！
真正純正、無誤的道路主張：
因與果皆依緣而起，
善巧方便與智慧本自融合無二。
透過「空而能現」的行為之因，
透過「空而能現」的修行之道，
便能成就那「空而能現」的果；
為了「空而能現」的眾生，
也能示現「空而能現」的覺者行為。
這就是清淨因果最深妙的緣起相互關聯。
這也是一切究竟義經典的精髓，
同時亦是一切密續之綱要。
透過集聚二資糧、修持生起次第與圓滿次第，
能迅速圓滿佛果。
因此，應斷除一切招致輪迴的因，
而精勤行持通往解脫的因。
如此才能迅速獲得
輪迴中高尚之境
與最終圓滿之佛果。
——摘自 Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind (vol.1)
同樣出自 Longchenpa
「若因為它是概念性的，就否定修行，
這是愚人的道路。
這是那些缺乏經驗者的傾向，也是我們應該避免的。」
——Longchenpa
Din Robinson
「真令人驚訝，竟想棄因取果。
難道因不就是執著嗎？——從那個認為自己是存在於時空之中的個體觀點看，
需要靠『了解』來掌控這個存在？」
Soh Wei Yu 回覆
Din Robinson 所說的「因」是指福德與智慧二資糧。
Longchenpa
「第十五項忠告：
如果你口口聲聲談空性，卻忽視了因與果，
也許你認為不造作才是教法的最終要義；
然而，若棄捨了二資糧的修行，
便會破壞修行中得來的吉祥，
所以應該將二者統攝於道上！這是我發自內心的忠告。」
Padmasambhava
「好比芝麻籽是油的因，牛奶是奶油的因，
但若不壓榨，則得不到油；若不攪拌，則得不到奶油。
同理，眾生雖然本具佛性，
但若不精進修行，就無法證得佛果。
若他用功修行，即便是個牧牛人也能解脫；
即便他不知道理論，也能按部就班地安住在經驗之中。
（比如）當你親自嘗過糖的甜味，
就不再需要他人為你解釋那是什麼味道。」
——引自 Self-Liberation…（網址：http://www.awakeningtoreality.com/…/self-liberation… ）
Acarya Malcolm（Malcolm Smith）
「那並不重要。設想你有一棟房子，裡面藏了一百萬美元。如果你從未發現它或沒有人告訴你在哪裡，你便形同沒有這筆錢。
同樣道理，如果那些如來藏（佛智）的功德你沒有透過直接現觀或被指點，而只是潛藏於內，你仍然得不到它的任何助益。
從大圓滿（Dzogchen）的見解來看，這些功德只是一種潛能（potential）。Longchenpa 用的比喻是：雖然你不需要在究竟上再去累積二資糧，因為佛果的色身與智慧本自圓滿，但仍需要去修二資糧，就像去擦拭一顆被汙泥覆蓋的寶石。並不是在加上什麼新東西，而是讓原本就具有、但被凡夫所不見的光輝重新顯現。
大圓滿教法清楚地區分了基（尚未證悟之時）與果（證悟之後）。
引起爭論的關鍵在於：如來藏（即輪涅本不二、法身）在「基位」究竟是自然圓成，還是需要經過某種修持或發展？很多教派（例如薩迦派）都認為，一切佛的究竟功德雖然本自具足，但就如同牛奶裡固然含有奶油，卻仍需要「攪拌」才能把奶油顯現出來。Longchenpa 也這麼主張：雖然二資糧自性上已經圓滿，但仍要重新積聚，就如同在沼澤裡找回一顆遺失的寶石，並加以擦拭使它恢復光澤。」
「MMK（中論）否定除了『緣起』之外的任何生起方式。也正是透過『緣起』才能正確地悟入『空性』。若看不到緣起，就不可能正確地認識空性，更何況證悟空性。
《中論》否定了自生、他生、共生、無因生，但不否定緣起。事實上，《中論》是對正確理解緣起的一種捍衛，它在開首的吉祥頌中就讚頌了『緣起』為止息戲論之法，最後一品也專門探討了『緣起』。如果不明白『緣起』，就不可能理解『空性』，更無法證悟。
……
[2021/4/12 晚上 10:10] John Tan：關於緣起的論述非常好。
[2021/4/12 晚上 10:11] John Tan：Malcolm 什麼時候說的？最近？
[2021/4/12 晚上 10:11] Soh Wei Yu：連結在這裡：https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=36315...
[2021/4/12 晚上 10:11] Soh Wei Yu：還有這裡：https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=36283...
[2021/4/12 晚上 10:30] John Tan：很多人誤以為：既然最終「空」，那「緣起」只是「世俗」層面的概念，所以最終就是「空無」。
我們必須了解什麼叫做「於勝義中為空」但於世俗中依然有效。名言安立可以分為「正確安立」和「錯誤安立」，比如「兔角」就是錯誤安立（完全不存在），而確實能以條件、邏輯、約定來說明的，則是「正確安立」。即使萬法遠離一切戲論和概念，它們仍然「不自遮」地顯現，因此才稱「顯現」。它們並不是隨機或雜亂地顯現；相反，它們依「正確」的方式而生起，這就是緣起。
所謂「正確」，是指在世俗層面上符合邏輯、經驗或公認的表達方式，而不是「兔角」那類根本不存在的東西。我在回覆 Andre 時也提到這一點。
[2021/4/12 晚上 10:36] John Tan：你懂我意思嗎？
也就是說，即使我們體悟到離言、離戲的真如，並不代表可以什麼都亂說、或什麼都可以。依世俗而言，依然有「正確」或「恰當」的表達。Mipham Rinpoche 就曾強調，空性並不表示「一無所有的茫然」；它同時並未否定「純然顯現」。這一切都應該從「融攝」的角度去理解。
同樣地，「生起」在世俗層面上也必須是符合「緣起」的。
所以當我們明白「本質＝真實存在＝脫離因緣條件」根本不可能成立，就能體悟緣起，也體悟空性。
不要忽視世俗的層面。
（原文連結：https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2021/04/dont-neglect-conventional.html）
Soh Wei Yu
參見：https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2022/05/rainbow.html
Rainbow 相關對話
John Tan 在 Facebook 上：
「聽到有人在解說關於『彩虹』，
我突然想起科學的角度：
雨滴，陽光；
光線進入並從水滴折射、反射與色散；
這些形成了彩虹。
但是，他們忽略了最重要的因素：
我們心的明耀。
——John Tan」
Jayson MPaul 回覆：
「彩虹需要眼睛在正確的位置、水滴、光線、心的明耀，
這些條件同時具足才出現。往旁邊挪一步，就看不見彩虹。
它並沒有真實來自任何地方，也不曾停留於某處，也不曾去往何處。
彩虹毫無實質，卻顯得如此鮮明。
一切現象皆如是。」
Stian Gudmundsen Høiland：
「你向前看，看到桌子和手機。需要『這些條件都如此（tatha）』才顯現。回頭看，就不再見桌與手機，而是新的條件組合。
——這僅是描述條件的變化。」
Dragan Milojević：
「什麼心的明耀？科學需要證據。心只是感知和分析器官而已。」
John Tan：
「科學可以證明一位母親的眼淚是由 H2O 組成，但沒法證明她的『悲傷』。作為人，我們需要這兩種層面。
但我喜歡你的問題：『那心的明耀在哪裡？』
是啊，它在哪兒？即使佛也無法指出它的下落。
——John Tan」
（原文連結：https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2022/05/rainbow.html）
Yin Ling
「今天早晨我在思惟緣起與空性，延續昨天與一位朋友的對話……
看花時，請問：花在我心裡嗎？還是在外面某處？是否在介於心與外界之間？到底在哪裡？
聽聲音時，請問：聲音在我的耳朵裡嗎？在腦中嗎？在收音機裡嗎？在空氣中嗎？跟我心分離嗎？它獨立漂浮著嗎？究竟在哪裡？
摸桌子時，請問：這個觸覺在我手指上？在桌子裡？在中間的空間？在腦子裡？在心裡？還是心外獨立存在？到底在哪裡？
當我們真正去找，才會發現——任何一種被稱為『自性』或『獨立實體』的東西，都無法成立。
聲音的出現，需要耳朵、收音機、空氣、波、心識、覺知……種種條件交織，才能聽到聲音；缺了一項，就沒有聲音。
這就是『緣起』。
但是，到底聲音在哪裡？它到底是什麼？如此真實的交響樂，到底在哪兒？
這就是『空性』。
一切宛若幻影：顯現卻無自性，有而不有。這就是現實的本質。
如此，你再也不必恐懼——恐懼源於誤以為一切是真實不變的。
參見：
My Favourite Sutra, Non-Arising and Dependent Origination of Sound
Non-Arising due to Dependent Origination
——請務必閱讀以上連結及經文，它們相當重要。」
「徹知世俗諦即是勝義諦；因此二諦並行不悖，互為印證。」
——Acarya Malcolm，2021
「最近常聽到有人嫌『世俗諦』太遜，覺得『勝義諦』才厲害。
但對一位全知的大師而言，他能同時見到『世俗與勝義』並行無礙——這就是『顯現即空，空即顯現』的統一。
正因為一切皆緣起，所以才見得其空性。連一粒微塵也不具自性。
宗喀巴大師說：『由於諸法並不透過自相而存在，因此必須透過因緣假立才得以成立。』
他極力主張，無論在顯教或密續修持中，都必須注重持戒與善行。
同時，他也以無數禮拜、曼達供養來積聚資糧。
又於生起次第與圓滿次第上精進不懈，並在行為上極為清淨謹慎。
他在《炬顯五次第》中也處處強調行為與戒律之重要性。」
「否定太多的危險：戒律與空性
『宗喀巴最擔憂的是：在他之前，西藏許多對龍樹中觀的詮釋，都錯認了「所破除的對象」。這些對中觀的誤解，使人錯把世俗的正當行為（倫理、因果等）都視作一種「暫時的、無足輕重的東西」，因為「空性」才是最終真理，其他都可丟棄。
然而，宗喀巴主張：空性與道德行為並非互斥，而是互相補足、相得益彰。他的著作激勵了人們積極行善。
為了合理地說明「空性與倫理」相輔相成，他認為理性分析在靈修之路上不可或缺。若錯誤地否定太多，將使人從此否認因果、捨棄修德，誤入虛無。
——摘自 Guy Newland《Introduction to Emptiness》**
『確信即由對緣起不爽與空性超越言詮的雙重了知而生；因此二者若在你心中仍是分離的，不可能生起佛的智慧。
然而當它們同時現起，如同一體，而非交替，你只要看見無謬的緣起，心中就會生起確信，一切顛倒妄執因此瓦解。此時即是見地的究竟圓滿。』
——宗喀巴大師」
以上即為全部翻譯與修訂內容。若有任何字句或排版需再微調，請告知。祝法喜充滿!
He replied:
"I understand what you are saying. I feel that there is still much I do not understand, and my depth of realization is quite shallow. I should work harder on my practice. Thank you very much.
I seemed to experience a+(maha) yesterday, but that kind of realization was just at the most basic level, which resembles the vivid and non-dual scene of the fifth stage. However, I no longer see it as independent and self-existing. That scene is empty of inherent nature and relies on all conditions for the appearance of the scene before me. That experience made me feel as if only the scene before me existed at that moment, with all conditions and reasons converging into this instant.
I understand the relationship between entities and concepts that you mentioned. It is precisely because there are no inherently existing entities that we can use concepts to point to phenomena. Causes and conditions allow phenomena to appear, even if they only seem to appear.
In the past, I only understood emptiness from a knowledge perspective, and at that time, it was easy for me to fall into nihilism. However, this direct realization made me understand that emptiness does not negate worldly things; it merely does not solidify worldly phenomena, seeing them only as worldly.
I have found that some supporters of Advaita Vedanta easily equate the Dao of Taoism and the emptiness of Buddhism with the Brahman of Vedanta, seeing them as merely different names that point to the same truth. I understand that this perspective cannot hold.
Thank you again for your guidance; it has been a great help to me. You can choose the time to reply to my message at your convenience. I worry that I might hinder your practice.
Fri 7:49 AM
宏安
顏宏安
"3) No-Self in terms of what I call realization of Anatta
But then there is b), where one realizes that not only is it the case that all forms are merely modulations of consciousness, in actual fact 'Awareness' or 'Consciousness' is truly and only Everything -- in other words, there is no 'Awareness' or 'Consciousness' besides the very luminous manifestation of the aggregates, whatever is seen, heard, sensed, touched, cognized, smelled...
Anatta is not merely a freeing of personality sort of experience; rather, there is an insight into the complete lack of a self/agent, a doer, a thinker, a watcher, etc, cannot be found apart from the moment to moment flow of manifestation. Non-duality is thoroughly seen to be always already so: here is effortlessness in the non-dual and one realizes that in seeing there is always just scenery (no seer or even seeing besides the colors) and in hearing, always just sounds (never a hearer or even a hearing besides the sounds). A very important point here is that Anatta/No-Self is a Dharma Seal, it is the nature of Reality all the time -- and not merely as a state free from personality, ego or the ‘small self’ or a stage to attain. This means that it does not depend on the level of achievement of a practitioner to experience anatta but Reality has always been Anatta and what is important here is the intuitive insight into it as the nature, characteristic, of phenomenon (dharma seal)." - (Excerpt from Soh's article Different Degrees of No-Self: Non-Doership, Non-dual, Anatta, Total Exertion and Dealing with Pitfalls)
宏安
顏宏安
當我前幾天讀到您寫的這篇文章時，我才認知到，我根本沒有證悟真正的無我。實際上，根本沒有什麼需要證悟的，因為所有的體驗從使至終都是如此。真正的無我根本不是一個可以進來或出去的狀態，而且從使至終都是如此。根本不需要某種刻意的努力，即便是最微妙的努力，也是因為沒有認識現實的本質就是如此。在我現在的生活中我都全然去體驗所出現的一切，因為所有的體驗都如此美妙，完全沒有任何內在與外在的區別， 無主體與客體。當一個人真正洞察無我後，根本不可能會想”我會不會從這種美妙的狀態中又倒退回過去的二元對立狀態”，根本沒有這種疑慮，因為所有體驗從使至終都是無我的，五種感官體驗，包括想法與念頭從始至終都沒有被區分為三個或兩個，而是只有一個。所有的體驗都在告訴我們這點 ，我們卻沒有認知到。非常感謝您的教導 ，您讓我的生活變得充滿活力，每一刻都很快樂，獻上我的一萬個感謝。
宏安
顏宏安
When I read the article you wrote a few days ago, I realized that I hadn't truly realized true non-self (anatta) at all. Actually, there is nothing that needs to be realized because all experiences have been this way from the very beginning. True non-self is absolutely not a state that one can enter or exit; it has always been the case from the very start. There is no need for any deliberate effort whatsoever; even the most subtle effort arises from a lack of recognizing that the nature of reality is already such. In my current life, I fully experience everything that arises because all experiences are so wonderful, completely without any distinction between inner and outer, without subject and object. When one truly has insight into non-self, it is absolutely impossible to think, “Will I regress from this wonderful state back to the previous dualistic state?” There is absolutely no such doubt because all experiences have been non-self from the very beginning. The five sense experiences, including thoughts and ideas, have never been divided into three or two, but are only one. All experiences are telling us this, but we have not recognized it. Thank you so much for your teachings. You have made my life vibrant and joyful in every moment. I offer you ten thousand thanks."
I (Soh) replied him:
John tan 刚说：
You sent
Anatta is allow recognition of appearances as one's radiance. But that is still not anatta proper without recognition of dependent arising.
So one can realize anatta on the aspect of the agency being a conventional construct that does not exist in the "experiencer experiencing" or "hearer hearing sound" or "seer seeing scenery" ...etc but still not realize dependent arising and it's implication and vice versa.
So anatta,
dependent arising and emptiness,
then both.
Then dependent arising and the relationship of nominal constructs and causal efficacy.
Then dependent arising and spontaneous presence.
And natural perfection.
All these must be clear.
You sent
ChatGPT：
「無我允許將現象視為自身的光輝。然而，如果不認識緣起，那仍不是真正的無我。
因此，人們可以從施為者（或主体）僅僅是一種常規構造的層面來體認無我，這種構造在『體驗者體驗』、『聽者聽聲』或『見者見景』等情境中並不存在，但仍未理解緣起及其涵義，反之亦然。
所以，無我、
緣起與空性、
然後兩者兼具。
接著是緣起與名相構造及因果效能的關係。
然後緣起與自發存在。
以及自然圓滿。
這些都必須清晰明確。」
John Tan:
“Now first we must acknowledge that our mind is deeply conditioned by inherent framework. We must acknowledge this. How?
…
Spontaneous present and natural perfection despite breakthrough of anatta insight still requires endless refinement. The entire magic of "zero effort" in natural spontaneity is not in words and require deep and mature understanding of dependent arising and emptiness into spontaneous perfection.
This is because deep karmic tendency will continue to condition the mind into a state of "doing" unknowingly.”
While not addressing the Taiwanese friend, John Tan also made this comment while addressing someone else, that is perhaps of relevance. He commented, "Anatta is allow recognition of appearances as one's radiance. But that is still not anatta proper without recognition of dependent arising.
So one can realize anatta on the aspect of the agency being a conventional construct that does not exist in the "experiencer experiencing" or "hearer hearing sound" or "seer seeing scenery" ...etc but still not realize dependent arising and it's implication and vice versa.
So anatta,
dependent arising and emptiness,
then both.
Then dependent arising and the relationship of nominal constructs and causal efficacy.
Then dependent arising and spontaneous presence.
And natural perfection.
All these must be clear.", "It can also be no self being resolved into monism.
It can also be selflessness and essencelessness yet have no insight dependent arising is free from 8 extremes."
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