Soh Wei Yu

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I haven't read the website but I trust that Nafis will be able to make a reasonably good judgement (although based on the limited info available online).

But in general, just learn what you can but don't get restricted to it if you find it does not present the ultimate view. But it does not mean you should abandon any teachers or teachings that did not present the ultimate view, because if it helps, it helps. Like... I always recommend people, friends, families to start with The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, the New York Times Bestseller that sold many millions of copies worldwide and he was catapulted to further fame through Oprah Winfrey etc.

Why do I recommend TPON by Eckhart?

1) It is simple to read, can be very inspirational in the way he expresses, life transformative. AtR Guide may not be suitable for everyone, may be too lengthy/scary/indepth/etc or just not as inspiring, may be suitable for a more niche group of people. That said, of course, I do highly recommend AtR Guide (either the abridged one or the longer one -- whichever you can read) to anyone who is willing to go through them, I believe it will be of much benefit.

2) Its insights is restricted to I AM only and not the further insights like nondual or anatta or emptiness, but it is enough for many to work on for a while.

3) It has enough emphasis on meditative practices and shamatha training (mixed with Presence/I AM), because Eckhart Tolle has enough experience with deep meditative samadhi unlike many Neo-Advaitins which neglected this aspect. His experience is quite thorough, up to I AM and the depth and intensity of it, and even nondual as an experience but not as an insight. As John Tan say, developing these mental factors (like the seven factors of enlightenment - tranquility, samadhi, bliss, clarity, so on and so forth) are important, and those who don't emphasize this can be dangerous or misleading especially if they lead people towards altered states of consciousness without proper grounding (like in deep calmness, some shamatha training, etc. And John Tan has said that some shamatha is also important). Eckhart Tolle is considered quite safe and leads people in the right direction as a beginner (maybe not in terms of going towards the ultimate view and realization of emptiness, but towards the initial realization of Pure Presence and also training and developing meditative experience).

John Tan agrees with me on all these points. That being said, people should be instilled with right view at the start even if it is intellectual IMO, although it is not good to be too intellectual. You can have an intellectual view like I did about the different phases of insights, about anatta and emptiness and dependent origination even before I had the I AM realization. You don't need to go too indepth into them or be overly intellectual (which can form another kind of hindrance and distraction from pure innocent experiential/contemplative inquiry) but at least know the right view so that you will not be misled or think you have reached finality after you arrive at I AM, etc, and you know where to go next. But at the same time you can practice self enquiry, etc, to realize the I AM first. (I understood anatta intellectually since 2006/2007 but practiced self enquiry from 2008 to 2010 and realized I AM in February 2010, then Anatta in Oct 2010 and Emptiness in following years) Intellectual right view of anatta and emptiness shortened the time for me to progress from I AM to anatta into a span of maybe 8 months, where most people I know get stucked at I AM for several years or decades and most likely lifetimes (i.e. never go beyond I AM phase in this life) without the right pointers. The intellectual/conceptual obsession with knowledge did hinder or slow down the time it took me to realize I AM somewhat, although I still did it in 2 years of self enquiry, and maybe 6-7 years after first starting to learn about dharma at the age of 13. Anyway there should be a balance between right view (even if it is conceptual at first) and experiential and meditative inquiry and practices.

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Soh Wei Yu

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John Tan on Eckhart: http://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2021/10/the-power-of-now-by-eckhart-tolle.html

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle: the Audiobook on Youtube

AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle: the Audiobook on Youtube

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle: the Audiobook on Youtube

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Yin Ling

todpeS9818m301h131f50  ·
By Dilgo Khyentse.
This is crucial. In my xp once the right view is introduced insight happens rapidly.







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Khizar Ali
What is meant by the 'view'? Is it referring to methods or something else?
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Yin Ling
Khizar Ali right view in Buddhism.
seeing things in the way of the dharma seals - impermanence, suffering, non-self , nirvana .
Further along, emptiness and dependent origination.
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William Lim
What's the difference between views, insights and perceptual shifts.
Which of those are conceptual and which is experiential?
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Yin Ling
William Lim ur Q very hard 🫣
Views is like teaching on how to “see”… one haven’t see yet, but they understand the theory.
Then they take it into investigation, contemplate the view.
Why Buddha say non dual, why Buddha say this say that.. that’s using the view to contemplate..
Then slowly or suddenly they see, they understood deeply coz their perception with a small shift showed them what the view is talking about.. That’s the insight
Perceptual shift is just a different way of looking, like U suddenly see an image in those grainy holographic illusory thing they put up for fun
When the insight happens it’s experiential already, one can see real time already.
before that it’s using thinking and contemplating .
View is like telling u how the apple taste then insight is like tasting the apple yourself
Hope I m not wrong lah
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William Lim
Yin Ling yes loh, that's what I'm asking... and I think you answered it quite well lah.
As you said, "Fake it till you make it".
So wondering which part is the "Fake it" (Theory or Pointing Instructions) and which part is the "Make it" (Perceptual Shifts or Insights).
Is Insight an intellectual understanding, or a shift in perception, or not really?
And do you need a shift in perception before you can get the view?
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Yin Ling
William Lim for me personally it’s like.. when my teacher tell me to investigate where the awareness is.. she guides me and point me.. and I realise it’s not separate from the sensations, and I read in the book it says the same thing, so I have the “view” of non dual now, but I haven’t truly experience
So what I do is I keep asking myself “ok now if the sound and the awareness is not separate, how should it feel?” Then I play around with it. I was quite obsessed lah lol so I go everywhere I investigate “how ahh” “why it doesn’t feel like the sound hear?”.. why is it so strong inside the head here what is this thing ahhh .. play around for a while..
then one day it’s like
Ohhh I seeee.. the whole experience of “sound hearing “ became very clear like a veil taken off. I don’t need to use effort anymore like before. It’s just there. The change is sudden for me. That is to me , an insight.
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Yin Ling
William Lim for emptiness I also play with it like that.
I got the view from all the reading.. then I experiment ..
Like.. ok so buddhism say exist but not truly there right .. ok how ahhh… investigate and investigate and slowly slowly the thing ness become less and less and the whole scenery become light floaty and like a display
That’s my personal experience lah.. our mind is super malleable. U give it a view, it will slowly manifest sthg for u lol. Very fun actually
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William Lim
Power lah... you really "Fake it till you make it"
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Yin Ling
William Lim hahahaa yeah it is like that one. Basically just practise until the mind give up old ways
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Soh Wei Yu
Conceptual view is like you are able to explain to someone that the cow in the picture puzzle is located roughly at what location and what it should look like based on what someone else described, but you still cannot see it.
Experiential realization is like it is more obvious than obvious, clearer than day the cow is there when you look at the picture. Even if you may not yet have thought up the perfect way to express it, you just know, you see it with your own two eyes.
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Soh Wei Yu
View when directly realized is experienced directly, it becomes your experience in a direct manner.
View when understood intellectually does not have a paradigm and perceptual shifting effect.
So the understanding of three dharma seals goes through three stages according to Buddha -- first you accept it by faith, then you ponder it with a modicum of discernment (intellectual analysis), then you directly realize it. The third one is stream entry, or in Mahayana the stream entry is first bhumi. I would personally add that in my view, those of greatest capacity skip straight to third (like Bahiya et al), those of medium capacity skip to second then progress into third (the smart and analytical type), while those of lower capacity starts from the first step then progress into second and then third. I'm more of the lower capacity type -- I took 4 years after I first had faith and a modicum of conceptual discernment in the three dharma seals as explained to me by John Tan, before I could have a direct realization of anatta. Even to reach the first step took me about a year or two of talking with John Tan, before that my understanding of anatta and three dharma seals was still blurry.
Cakkhu Sutta (SN 25:1)
Near Sāvatthī. “Monks, the eye is inconstant, changeable, alterable. The ear… The nose… The tongue… The body… The mind is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“One who has conviction & belief that these phenomena are this way is called a faith-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.
“One who, after pondering with a modicum of discernment, has accepted that these phenomena are this way is called a Dhamma-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.
“One who knows and sees that these phenomena are this way is called a stream-enterer, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening.”
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Soh Wei Yu
<--- and then people may ask, oh Buddha said as long as you accept phenomena are impermanent, you are bound for stream entry? Really meh? Don't everyone accept everything is impermanent? Everyone will die what that's obvious.
That's not what faith in impermanence means. It means you can understand at least intellectually and have faith that everything, even mind, consciousness, arises and passes according to conditions and is not a knower, a subject, an unchanging soul, and so on. Meaning the anatta understanding understood conceptually and you have faith in that.
For me, I am pretty sure I became a faith follower or dharma follower destined to stream entry in the year 2006. I still proceeded into I AM phase in 2010 but because I am a 'faith follower' and then perhaps a 'dhamma follower', I then proceeded into direct realization of anatta in 8 months from I AM.
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William Lim
"First you accept it by faith, then you ponder it with a modicum of discernment (intellectual analysis), then you directly realize it."
Soh Wei Yu, thanks for sharing your process & progress.
So realization comes from intellectual analysis?
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Soh Wei Yu
William Lim You also need to practice and contemplate. Intellectual understanding alone is not enough.
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William Lim
By practice, you mean meditate?
By contemplate, you mean think and/or investigate?
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Soh Wei Yu
Yes. Or eightfold path for Sravakayana (although also covered in Mahayana and Vajrayana）, Paramitas for Mahayana, or the path of Tantra and Self-Liberation [Dzogchen and Mahamudra] in Vajrayana, etc.
Eightfold path is summarised as sila samadhi prajna.
Conduct, samadhi / meditative composure, insight / wisdom are important.
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  Soh Wei Yu
  "I'm more of the lower capacity type -- I took 4 years after I first had faith and a modicum of conceptual discernment in the three dharma seals as explained to me by John Tan, before I could have a direct realization of anatta. Even to reach the first step took me about a year or two of talking with John Tan, before that my understanding of anatta and three dharma seals was still blurry."
  This is also why it is important to be patient when explaining dharma to people. Patience [also a bodhisattva's paramita] is a virtue I am still learning from John Tan If it took years for me to even conceptually understand, it may take much longer for someone stuck in substantialist phases like I AM or One Mind for many years to understand it. But don't give up because I've seen many people in the I AM and One Mind phases broke through to anatta. Who can make it or who cannot, it's hard to judge or tell. Open mindedness is a key.
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  Soh Wei Yu
  Yin Ling wrote a week ago:
  Yin Ling
  Lisette Cardenas-Paris
  Imo it is a balance
  Between
  Reading/listening , contemplation and meditation.
  These 3 need to happen for clear insights to happen.
  Due to being deeply deluded, we are not able to see truth with our current perception. Hence reading the right view of how things are actually and orientate to right view will facilitate progress
  The terms can be a headache unfortunately
  Contemplation and meditation is crucial to integrate what have been learnt.
  So each part shouldn’t be ignored.
  Each person should learn to balance this by themselves , I personally go through periods of studying alternate with deep meditation when I don’t read much at all until whatveee I read has been integrated , this works well for me.
  I also have a teacher who can point the right way so the amount of reading and finding things out by myself is greatly reduced
  Hope this helps
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  • Yin Ling
    Soh Wei Yu thanks soh
    From my own xp, I also think one crucial ingredient that could make or break us modern practitioners is the strong confidence in whoever our teachers mentors or spiritual friends are and the teachings
    Sounds v simple but for me it was always the barrier because the way of seeing after insight is so radically different from usual that I sometimes wonder if it’s correct or not , with just a speck of doubt the mind cannot release into its nature and one is always hovering at the brink. I hover a lot lol actually so whenever I receive a message from more advanced practitioner sharing with me how to they see, how things would be etc etc that doubt will suddenly break and suddenly there will be a deepening, but I must trust the person fully
    Even now I feel there’s something blocking on me that idk what lol.
    So if a practitioner gets to have a teacher or mentor he totally trust and is confident in, like u towards John , like me towards my teacher and John.. etc .. it helps tremendously
    So often when ppl ask me about who to learn from as teacher I ask them to explore first by themselves because if they and the teacher “no spark” the trust won’t be there and the realisation is hard also.
    With confidence it is also hard let alone without. Also why I think In traditions, devotion towards to guru is so emphasised
    Sometimes I feel it is not much use i just point even though the pointer is powerful and from insight, if the trust between 2 persons is not there, one will never see. So they need to go to someone they completely trust like they Dalai Lama or sthg haha.
    Sorry long unstructured blah3
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    Soh Wei Yu
    Yin Ling
    They must also have tremendous good karma to find the right teachers otherwise their faith will also hinder
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    Soh Wei Yu
    on a related note just watched this days ago:
    https://youtu.be/cXvebvXZMvY
    https://youtu.be/njkxCZJmJuI
    https://youtu.be/WlcFDfCm_3U
    
    YOUTUBE.COM
    坐禪奧義(九之一)-正師
    坐禪奧義(九之一)-正師
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    Yin Ling
    Soh Wei Yu
    Yes it is the view that makes one stuck.
    They have the confidence in the wrong view and confidence in their teachers, which is not wrong, except this will be the biggest hurdle to overcome. 神都帮不到
    It’s like talking to someone with theistic view. Not much different one. Can only pray for them.
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    Soh Wei Yu
    Yin Ling
    On the trust part also that is generally true and impt.. although there was on a few occassions they seem to break through even though they were very argumentative with me
    Then suddenly they break through after they went back contemplate and realise the truth to what i said lol
    But that is not say v common
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    Yin Ling
    Soh Wei Yu but if they suddenly have very strong confident in a person MAYBE can break through I think
    HH Dalai Lama etc
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    Yin Ling
    Soh Wei Yu haha yeah. U r patient and u garner a certain degree of confidence from others so they can borrow that confidence
    For me if I notice this I just send them to the Dalai Lama. My appearance this life will not convince anyone I better don’t waste time
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