Showing posts with label Yin Ling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yin Ling. Show all posts
Soh

英文原文 (English Original): When Sound Hears Itself: The Journey to Experiencing Anatta

当声音自己听自己:体证无我的旅程

Soh

下是Yin Ling与Albert Hong最近关于无我(anatta)的一些富有洞见的评论与反思。正如Yin Ling所指出:

感谢Soh Wei Yu。他整理了我所有零散的帖子以及Albert非常好的评论、John对AI的训练,并将它们汇总在一起。
以下是一个我希望每个人都能体证的关键洞见。
当你浴佛时,佛就是你,水是你,寺庙是你,你的手是你,水瓢是你,而你就是心性。
你不是这具身体,你是心。你不死、不变、不动,你即是佛。卫塞节快乐。愿一切众生皆觉醒于其本性,止息苦痛。

Yin Ling论心与禅修

禅修的第一步是确认那能知的心(MIND)。没有它,就不会有体证。鸟、天空、触觉、咖啡,全都是你的心。心一旦被确认并得到强化,就会将人从“我见”中带出,导向体证,这样我们就不会迷失。

《念处经》(Satipatthana sutta)是达成洞见的绝佳指南。
“于身观身”,在修习时,不要思考。感受。
真正从身体内部去感受身体。从声音本身去感受声音。(1) 待续

(2) 在受、想以及所有六根之中,并透过其本身去感受它们。
就好像你把觉知安放到感受中央,从内部去感受。

(3) 持续不断地修习四念处,坚持数月乃至数年。
佛陀的念处修习旨在转化我们的心:1) 削弱核心的自我能量,以及 2) 意识到觉知始终浸润在六根之中,而非与之分离。

(4) 如果你得到了正确的指导,并且每天坚持修习两小时,四念处将带你进入强而有力的无我体证。
心的能量将会在8到12个月内迅速转化。

我经历了内观(vipassana),随后进入了带有强烈能知感的非二元,接着是无我。

Albert Hong论意识与感觉

Albert Hong提供了以下视角:

令人惊叹的是,聆听即是声音本身。没有距离或间隙。观看即是颜色。感觉即是感觉本身。没有任何多余的东西。只有那生起的颜色、味道、感觉、声音。
而那其中的滋味与质地,正是意识。

这真的很令人惊叹。去扩展那种意识感,我们以前只把它强调为先于思想的东西,或者是眼睛后方某种局部的感觉。我们必须注意到那是一种极其细微的造作,一种正在运作的假设。

意识的滋味正是感觉、颜色、气味、感觉本身。就像,我的天,根本没有聆听者。没有观看者。没有感受者。那始终只是一个假立的假设。

比如你进入感觉。感觉与感觉之间并没有实际的联系。只有那个感觉,而那正是光明的滋味。并且它与其他任何东西都没有真实的联系。思想碰触不到它,气味碰触不到,颜色也碰触不到。令人惊叹的是,假立之念能够假设将它们揉合在一起,形成一个看似实存的“实体性”。

但即便在一个感觉与另一个感觉之间。始终只有那即是感觉本身的生起。没有在先的什么,所以你甚至没有一个对比。你永远无法抓住两个事物。只有那个感觉。多么令人惊叹。一切都包含在当下。没有任何在先的什么,因此怎么可能甚至有一个感觉。哪里有连续性?根本没有空间或时间让连续性存在。然而它神奇地看起来好像是有的。

甚至那个见证者。说到底也只是一种感觉。没有在先的什么在体验这个见证者的感觉。感受正是那个感觉。或者让我们把它扩展为整个存在感的界域。又是一个感受与感觉而已。所有这些都不必消失。那种认为有一个感受者的额外假立,必须被看作是荒诞的。从来没有过,过去也未曾有过,只是从来没有被真正审视过。

Yin Ling与John Tan的进一步分享

Yin Ling的分享:

最近,Yin Ling分享了一对深刻的引言,直指体证的本质。她首先引用了那洛巴(Naropa)

“我是那空无一人的隐修室,
烟从我的烟囱里冒出,
但家中无人。”

然后她将其与帝洛巴(Tilopa)的这段话配对:

“明光之心
伪装成
窗台上的灰尘,
一把椅子,一张桌子,
甚至你最爱的咖啡杯……
万物都是一种跳动的指引
指向一个
根本无一物存在的世界。”

Yin Ling评论了两者之间的联系:
“我截取这两段是因为这两个洞见构成了‘无我体证’。缺了任何一个都是偏颇的。必须两者兼备。”

John Tan与AtR机器人的对话(2023年):

John Tan: “什么是无我?”

AI: “无我是去体证从来就没有一个真实存在的心/大心/觉知/梵/临在/终极现实等。心、觉知、观看等,所有这些都只是为了描述持续不断的显现而使用的约定俗成。根本就没有观看者-观看-被观之物。”

John Tan: “无我是看透与‘自我’相关的实体化的心理建构。有两个主要的洞见,一个与实体化的心理建构有关,另一个是对意识即是显现的直接体验。”

AI: “是的,完全正确。无我是去体证在六根持续不断的显现之外,没有真实存在的自我或意识。它涉及看透与自我相关的心理建构的实体化,并获得对意识即是显现的直接体验。”

John Tan: “如果我们仅仅否定‘自我’的实体化建构,而没有确证意识即是显现,那么这仅仅是对无我的概念性理解。”

AI: “是的,完全正确。仅仅否定自我的实体化建构而未获得意识即是显现的直接体验,将只会是对无我的概念性理解。要真正体证无我,一个人还必须看透意识的实体化,并直接体验到它仅仅是显现。”

一行禅师论观察禅与无我

禅宗大师一行禅师解释了关于修习的一个关键点:

“在解释了十六种有觉知的呼吸法之后,佛陀谈到了四念处与七觉支。存在的一切都可以被归入四念处之一——身、受、心、法(心之所缘)。表达‘心之所缘’的另一种方式是‘一切法’,意即‘存在的一切’。因此,四念处的全部内容都是心之所缘。在这部经中,我们通过有觉知的呼吸来修习对四念处的全然觉知。为了全面理解四念处,请阅读《念处经》。

“于身观身”、“于受观受”、“于心观心”、“于法观法”这些短语,出现在该经的第三部分。“观察禅”的关键在于,观察的主体与观察的客体不被视为分离。科学家可能会试图将自己与她正在观察和测量的客体分离开来,但禅修的学生必须消除能知与所知之间的界限。当我们观察某物时,我们就是那物。“非二元”是关键词。“于身观身”意味着在观察的过程中,你不要站在自己的身体之外,仿佛你是一个独立的观察者,而是你要百分之百地将自己与被观察的客体认同。这是唯一能导向对现实的穿透与直接体验的道路。在“观察禅”中,身与心是同为一体的,禅修的能与所也是同为一体的。这里没有将现实切成许多块的分别之剑。禅修者是一个全然投入的参与者,而不是一个分离的观察者。”

- (2011-12-20T22:58:59). Awakening of the Heart. Parallax Press. Kindle Edition.

一位撰稿人分享了以下一行禅师关于无我(anatman)的引言:

“当我们说下雨时,我们的意思是下雨这件事正在发生。你不需要上面有某个人来执行下雨。并不是说有雨,同时还有一个让雨落下的人。事实上,当你说雨正在落下时,这非常滑稽,因为如果它没有落下,它就不会是雨。在我们的说话方式中,我们习惯了有一个主语和一个动词。这就是为什么当我们在英文中说‘it rains(天下雨)’时,我们需要‘it’这个词。‘It’是主语,是那个使下雨成为可能的东西。但是,深入观察,我们不需要一个‘下雨者’,我们只需要雨。下雨和雨是同一回事。鸟群的阵型与鸟是同一回事——这里没有‘自我’,没有起主宰作用的老板。

有一种心理建构叫做寻(vitarka),即‘初始的念头’。当我们在英文中使用动词‘to think(思考)’时,我们需要该动词的主语:我思考,你思考,他思考。但实际上,一个念头的产生并不需要一个主语。没有思考者的思考——这是绝对可能的。思考就是思考某事。感知就是感知某事。能知与所知是同一回事。

当笛卡尔说‘我思故我在’时,他的观点是,如果我思考,那就必然存在一个‘我’,思考才有可能。当他发表‘我思’的宣言时,他相信他能够证明‘我’是存在的。我们有着相信自我的强烈习惯。但是,非常深入地观察,我们可以看到一个念头并不需要一个思考者才可能存在。思考的背后没有思考者——只有思考;这就足够了。

现在,如果笛卡尔先生在这里,我们可能会问他:‘笛卡尔先生,您说,【你思考,因此你存在。】但是您是什么?您就是您的思考。思考——那就足够了。思考显现,而不需要其背后有一个自我。’

没有思考者的思考。没有感受者的感受。如果没有我们的‘自我’,我们的愤怒是什么?这正是我们禅修的客体。所有五十一心所的发生与显现,其背后都没有一个自我来安排这个出现,然后那个出现。我们的意识习惯于将其自身建立在自我的概念上,即末那识(manas)上。但我们可以通过禅修来更加觉察我们的藏识,在那里我们保存着所有那些目前并未在我们的心中显现的心所的种子。

当我们禅修时,我们练习深入观察,以便为我们看待事物的方式带来光明与清晰。当获得了无我的洞见时,我们的错觉就被消除了。这就是我们所说的转化。在佛教传统中,有了深刻的理解,转化是可能的。当无我的洞见存在的那一刻,末那识——那个难以捉摸的‘我是’的概念——便瓦解了,我们会发现自己在当下这一刻享受着自由与幸福。”

进一步说道:

“当我们说‘我知道风在吹’时,我们并不认为是有某个东西在吹动另一个东西。‘风’与‘吹’是伴随的。如果没有吹动,就没有风。认知也是如此。心即是认知者;认知者即是心。我们在谈论与风相关的认知。‘去认知’就是认知某物。认知与风是不可分割的。风与认知是同一回事。我们说‘风’,这就足够了。风的存在表明了认知的存在,以及吹动这一作用的存在。”

“……最普遍的动词是‘to be(是/存在)’:我是,你是,山是,河是。动词‘to be’并没有表达宇宙动态的、鲜活的状态。为了表达这一点,我们必须说‘become(生成/变化)’。这两个动词也可以用作名词:‘being(存在)’、‘becoming(生成)’。但是是什么存在?生成什么?‘生成’意味着‘不断演化’,并且它和动词‘to be’一样普遍。不可能将一个现象的‘存在’和它的‘生成’表达得仿佛两者是独立的。在风的例子中,吹动既是存在,也是生成……”

“在任何现象中,无论是心理的、生理的还是物理的,都有动态的运动,即生命。我们可以说,这种运动、这种生命,是普遍的显现,是最常被认可的认知作用。我们绝不能把‘认知’看作是从外部进来为宇宙注入生命的东西。它本身就是宇宙的生命。舞蹈与舞者是同一回事。”

理解“其本身”

以下这段摘自之前“Awakening to Reality”帖子的讨论,阐明了在《念处经》等教法中常见的短语“其本身(in and of itself)”:

来源: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2008/01/ajahn-amaro-on-non-duality-and.html

HARISH(2010年4月29日):

谢谢您先生。佛陀的这段引言非常有力量,在过去的几天里似乎以某种方式触及了深处,使得正念比以前“更容易”了!

“这就是比丘如何在身体的其本身中保持对身体的专注”
您能指导我如何理解与身体相关的引言部分中“其本身”的含义吗?

Soh(2010年4月29日):

嗨Buddha Bra,很高兴它对你有效 :)

关于“其本身”,这里有一行禅师的一些解释:

“《念处经》这部教导觉知(awareness)的佛教经典,使用了诸如‘于身观身’、‘于受观受’、‘于心观心’、‘于法观法’之类的表达。为什么要重复身体、感受、心以及心之所缘(法)这些词呢?阿毗达摩的一些大师说,这种重复的目的是为了强调这些词的重要性。我的看法不同。我认为这些词的重复是为了提醒我们不要将禅修者与禅修的客体分离开来。我们必须与客体生活在一起,与之认同,与之融合,就像一粒盐为了测量海水的咸度而融入大海一样。”

同样在相关的话题上……John Welwood博士写道:

“我们只能通过一种非概念地、无条件地向事物敞开的觉知,才能感知到事物的真如本然,允许它们在它们的如是状态中自行显露。正如诗人芭蕉所暗示的:

‘从松树
学习松树
从竹子
学习竹子。’

在评论这几行诗时,日本哲学家西谷启治(1982年)解释说,芭蕉的意思并非

‘我们应该【仔细观察松树】。’他更不是要我们去‘科学地研究松树’。他的意思是让我们进入一种存在的模式,在那里松树就是松树本身,竹子就是竹子本身,然后从那里去看松树和竹子。他呼吁我们置身于事物以其真如本然显现的维度中。’(第128页)

本着同样的精神,禅宗大师道元建议:‘你们不应将自己局限于仅仅从人类的视角来学习看水。要知道你们必须以水看水的方式来看水’(Izutsu,1972年,第140页)。‘以水看水的方式看水’意味着在水的真如本然中认识水,免除了所有从一个退居于经验之外观察的心中产生的概念。”

.......
你会看到“其本身”在整部《大念处经》中被强调,我所引用的只是一小部分。
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.than.html

Yin Ling论亲证洞见

Yin Ling澄清了佛教中“亲证洞见”的含义:

当我们在佛教中谈论亲证洞见时,
它的意思是……
整个生命存在的能量导向的一种字面意义上的彻底转化,深透骨髓。

声音必须真真切切地自己听自己。
没有聆听者。
干净。清晰。
一种从头到尾的束缚在一夜之间被斩断。
然后逐渐地是其余五根。

那时才能谈论无我。

所以如果对你来说,
声音自己听自己了吗?

如果没有,那还没到。你必须继续前行!参究并禅修。
你还没有达到更深的洞见(如无我与空性)所需要的基本洞见要求!

体证是当

这种洞见深透骨髓,你甚至不需要一丝一毫的努力,声音就能自己听自己。

这就像你现在带着二元感知生活一样,非常正常,毫不费力。

拥有无我体证的人毫不费力地生活在无我中,无需使用思考来导向。这就是他们的生活。

他们甚至无法退回到二元感知中,因为那是一种假立,它被连根拔起了。

起初你可能需要付出一些努力刻意去导向。

然后到了某一点就不需要了……进一步,连梦境也会变成无我。

那就是亲证。

除非达到了这个基准,否则就没有体证!

Soh Wei Yu论亲证

Soh Wei Yu总结了亲证的一个关键方面:

“重要的是要有亲证,它会导向一种向外扩展至所有形状、声音、光明的宇宙的能量扩展……这样一来,就不是你在里面,在身体里,向外观看树木,从这里聆听鸟鸣。
仅仅是树木在其本身中栩栩如生地摇曳,光明地,没有一个观察者。
树木自见,声音自闻。
没有体验它们的所在位置,没有观察点。
能量向外扩展至生动鲜明的显现,无边无际,然而它并非从一个中心扩展开来,根本就没有中心。
没有这种能量的转变,就不是真正体会到无我。”

- https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2022/12/the-difference-between-experience-of.html

Soh Wei Yu论洞见、体验的稳定性以及修习光明的强烈程度

Soh在2011年写给另一个人:

“很好的洞见。体验的稳定性与洞见的展开和加深有着可预测的关系。比如,如果在一个人的心底,细微的二元知见与实有见以及习气继续浮现并影响我们每一刻的体验——例如,想象出一个不变的源头或心,导致一种不断退缩并把体验归结为一个源头的倾向——那么非二元的体验能有多么无缝和毫不费力呢。

例如,即使看透了一切都是觉知或心的显现,可能仍然存在一些将其归结为一个源头、觉知或心的细微倾向,因此无常没有被完全体认。体验到了非二元,但人又退回到了实体化的非二元中——总是有一个指向一个基础、一个‘觉知’的回归,尽管这个基础与一切现象是不可分割的。

如果一个人升起了这样的洞见,即我们关于一个不变的源头、觉知或心的想法只又是一个念头——根本上就是念头接着念头,所见接着所见,声音接着声音,并且不存在一个固有的或不变的‘觉知’、‘心’、‘源头’。当体证到觉知、观看、聆听真正是什么,而它仅仅是被看到的事物……被听到的声音……无常本身时,非二元就变得隐含且毫不费力。无常本身就在流转并了知,找不到认知者或其他‘觉知’。就像离开流动就没有河,离开吹动就没有风,每个名词都暗示着它的动词……同样,觉知仅仅是认知的过程,与被认知的事物不可分割。风景在观看,音乐在聆听。因为在无常之外没有任何不变的、独立的、终极的事物,所以不再有退回到一个源头的情况,取而代之的是完全安住于无常本身之中的彻底自在。

最后,请继续修习光明的强烈程度……当看着网球时,仅仅是全然地感觉那个网球……不去想一个源头、背景、观察者、自我。仅仅将网球作为明亮的光明。当呼吸时……仅仅是呼吸……当看着风景时,仅仅是景象、形状和颜色——强烈地光明且生动鲜明,没有一个主宰者或观察者。当听音乐时……鸟鸣声,蟋蟀声……仅仅是那个——啾啾虫鸣而已。一位禅宗大师在他开悟时指出……当我听到钟声响起时,没有我,也没有钟……只有钟声。对无心与光明的强烈程度的直接体验……这就是佛陀所教导的修习四念处的目的。”

- Soh,2011年

更新:关于实现入流/无我的修习建议

以下是分享给一位Reddit网友关于修习的建议:

理解入流

首先,重要的是要理解在“Awakening to Reality(AtR)”中基于巴利三藏所提出的入流见解,通常不同于网上其他地方常见的解释。正如Soh Wei Yu在Reddit上指出的:

“Krodha在这个帖子里说的是对的:‘达到入流是相当罕见的,我参与佛法已经十多年了,而久经考验、真正入流的人用一只手就能数得过来。尽管如此,去参究《婆醯迦经》(Bahiya sutta)与《迦罗迦罗摩经》(Kalakarama sutta),并修习初禅。’

我想补充的是,许多人误解了入流是什么。在Reddit上可能有99%的人都是如此。在streamentry这个子板块里,唯一正确呈现入流的帖子可以在这里找到:https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/comments/igored/insight_buddhism_a_reconsideration_of_the_meaning/ ,这是一篇很好的读物,强烈推荐阅读。

我还要补充的是,尽管它很罕见,但通过正确的指引和修习,它是非常可以达到的,而且我认识的入流者比krodha认识的要多得多。(相关文章:Genuine Realisation is Rare, Most Claimants are Delusional

——

很高兴你喜欢它。如果那让你感兴趣,我想这个也应该会让你感兴趣。关于非二元觉知及其本质以及洞见的微妙之处:

🙏 :) 附注:我是Soh,而Thusness(John Tan)是我的导师……在我的旅程中,我经历过类似的阶段”

修习建议

虽然在AtR中通常首先推荐参究(Self-Enquiry)以体证“我是(I AM)”,但对于那些更喜欢内观(Vipassana)或寻求突破至无我(anatman)的人,建议采用以下方法:

“建议你以这种方式修习内观:

同时参究:

它将导向无我(anatman)的体证与突破”

参究 vs. 内观

John Tan(Thusness)早在2009年就对参究(通常被视为一种专注于‘观察者’或‘我是’的直接路径方法)与内观(通常被视为一种渐进路径方法)之间的关系提出了洞见:

“嗨Gary,

似乎在这个论坛上有两群修行者,一群采用渐进的方法,另一群采用直接的路径。我在这里很新,所以我可能弄错了。

我的看法是,你正在采用一种渐进的方法,但你正在体验直接路径中非常重要的东西,即‘观察者’。就像Kenneth所说的:‘Gary,你正在触及一些非常宏大的东西。这种修习将让你解脱。’但是Kenneth所说的需要你觉醒于这个‘我’。它需要你有一种‘尤里卡!’式的体证。觉醒于这个‘我’,灵性的道路就会变得清晰;它仅仅是这个‘我’的展开。

另一方面,Yabaxoule所描述的是一种渐进的方法,因此淡化了‘我是’。你必须评估你自己的条件,如果你选择直接的路径,你不能淡化这个‘我’;相反,你必须完全彻底地将整个的‘你’作为‘存在’来体验。对于直接路径的修行者来说,当他们直面非二元觉知那‘无痕’、‘无中心’和‘毫不费力’的本质时,我们那清净本性的空性自然会介入。

也许谈一点这两种方法在哪里交汇会对你有所帮助。

觉醒于‘观察者’的同时会‘打开’‘直下之眼’;也就是说,它是一种能够立即穿透散乱思想,并且毫无中介地去感觉、感受、感知被感知之物的能力。它是一种直接的认知。你必须深刻地觉察到这种‘没有中介的直接’式感知——太直接以至于没有能所间隙,太短暂以至于没有时间,太简单以至于没有思想。正是这只‘眼睛’能够通过成为‘声音’而看到整个的‘声音’。在进行内观,也就是处于‘纯粹’状态时,也需要同样的这只‘眼睛’。无论是修习非二元还是内观,两者都需要打开这只‘直下之眼’。”

在2009年的另一条评论中,John Tan建议道:

“嗨Teck Cheong,

你所描述的很好,它也可以被认为是内观禅修,但你必须清楚以那种方式修习的主要目的是什么。具有讽刺意味的是,真正的目的只有在升起了无我的洞见之后才会变得明显。到目前为止,我从你的描述中收集到的内容并不太多是关于无我或现象的空性的,而是更倾向于觉知的修习。所以,从理解觉知真正是什么开始将会是很好的。你提到的所有修习方法都会导向一种非概念性的体验质量。你可以对声音、味道……等等有非概念性的体验,但在我看来,更重要的是,你应该从直接的、非概念性地体验觉知(初步瞥见我们的光明本质)开始。一旦你‘尝’到了觉知是什么,你就可以思考‘扩展’这种纯粹的觉知,并逐渐从觉知的视角理解‘提升与扩展’意味着什么。

接下来,尽管你在‘永恒当下(An Eternal Now)’的论坛里到处都能听到和看到‘非二元、无我和缘起’(你最近买的Toni Packer的书是关于非二元和无我的),但一开始保持‘二元对立’并没有什么错。即使在直接非概念性地体验了觉知之后,我们的知见仍然会继续是二元的;所以不要有二元对立是不好的这种想法,尽管它会阻碍彻底的解脱体验。

Dharma Dan给出的评论非常有洞见,但最近我意识到,在进入这样的理解之前,首先直接瞥见我们的光明本质是很重要的。有时候过早地理解某事会让人失去实际的体证,因为它变成了概念性的。一旦形成了概念性的理解,即使是合格的导师也会发现很难引导修行者走向实际的‘体证’,因为修行者会将概念性的理解误认为是体证。

祝好,
John”

“我所体证的无我是相当独特的。它不仅仅是对没有自我的体证。但它必须首先具有对临在的直觉洞见。否则将不得不颠倒洞见的阶段。”

- John Tan,2018年

这一对话进一步澄清了某些内观方法可能缺少的东西:

对于那些对参究方法感兴趣或想要更广泛地了解AtR修习的人,推荐阅读《修习指南》:


为什么无我不仅仅是解除认同:法印的两种亲证与无常显现的光明

Soh撰,2026年:

一个关键的澄清是,无我(anatta)不应被还原为仅仅是解除认同。正如Yin Ling所指出,许多人在谈论无我时仅仅将其视为“解除对自我的认同”,但若仅限于此,这充其量只是一种概念化。如果一个人仅仅是从思想、感受和感知中退后一步,给它们贴上“不是我,不属于我”的标签,那么通常会残留一个微细的观察者或见证者,独立于现象之外。正如John Tan明确指出的那样,抽离(disassociation)仍然会使人处于一种二元结构中。当无我的洞见真正升起时,“没有中心,没有基础,没有主宰者”;只有缘起的现象。正如Yin Ling所描述的那样,这种深刻的转变不仅仅是远离自我,而是“向整体的认同转变……非常基于感官且非概念的。”

同时,无我不仅仅是“无心”的体验、非二元的滋味,或者是能所分裂的暂时瓦解。修行者经常体验到无心,却在潜意识中仍然保留着“一源心”、“单一实体”或一种不变的背景觉知的知见。正如我之前在关于不同程度无我的文章中所写,我曾经读过一位著名的韩国禅宗大师的著作,他非常优美地阐述了无心,他说:“声音是清明心,清明心是声音。声音和聆听没有分离,只有声音。”然而,他仍然持有一种实有的、普遍的、不变的实体的知见——将法性比作仅仅改变形态为雨、雪或冰的H2O。他体验了无心,却将一种本体论上的、不可分割的基底实体化了。

类似地,一位美国禅宗作家雄辩地表达了真实修习的状态:“钟声杀死了你,整个宇宙中只有‘boooong’的声音……”然而,他也缺乏对无我(anatman)的体证,继续断言觉知是客体来来去去的“不变的领域”或“不可改变的维度”。尽管有非二元的体验,实有见依然很强烈并且带有微妙的二元性。

当我和John Tan讨论这个问题时,他回答说:

“缺乏正见导致的错误体验。在我看来那是禅宗的问题。无心是一种体验。无我的洞见必须升起,然后才能升华一个人的知见。”

无我看透了关于任何源头、基底或不变觉知的实有见。它体证到,只有生动光明的显现在认知与流转,而其背后从来没有一个认知者、一个主宰者,或一个形而上的本质。

正因为如此,真正体证无我需要两个不可分割的亲证:

  • 偈颂1:只有思考,没有思考者;只有聆听,没有聆听者;只有观看,没有观看者。背景主体、主宰者、观察者和造作者都被看透了。一切皆是任运生起。
  • 偈颂2:在思考中,只有念头;在聆听中,只有声音;在观看中,只有形状和颜色。看即是所见。自己的光明、明晰与临在-觉知被直接亲证为一切显现——即山川、河流与大地。

这两段偈颂都至关重要。没有第一段,仍然有一个隐蔽的观察者。没有第二段,就没有将自己的光明直接亲证为所有生动显现的体验,从而使无我变成一个干瘪的概念,或者仅仅偏向于无造作。

关键是,这第二种亲证揭示了无我不仅仅是“无中心的光明”。它是直接体证到光明绝非别物,正是无常的显现本身,且绝对没有任何背景。正如在《光明藏三昧》(Kōmyōzō Zanmai)的反思中所体现的那样,“光”根本不是一个恒常的基础,而是刹那生灭的璀璨光明。在颜色之外没有觉知、观看或聆听;颜色就是那能知的光明。

这正是禅宗大师道元在宣告“无常即是佛性”,以及心即是山河大地、日月星辰时所指出的。正如John Tan多年前写道:

“道元说‘无常即是佛性’,意思是要我们在那些无常的现象本身中去直接亲证佛性——在山川、树木、阳光和脚步声中,而不是在仙境里的某个超级觉知中。”

世界背后并没有隐藏着什么超级觉知。无常本身就是活生生的法之真理,以及佛性的完全显现。

最终,这意味着无我不是观看者消融为纯粹显现的暂时阶段,也不是改变了的意识状态。无我是一个法印它是事物本来如此的真理。在所见、所感或所知之外,从来就没有一个“我”、一个观看者或一个实有的觉知。体证无我需要能穿透并彻底看透“内部参考点”这一虚幻建构的般若智慧。

因此,体证无我不仅仅是体会到“没有自我”。它是体会到意识的光明、能知感与鲜活的心不再被据为己有成为一个自我、见证者或背景,而是直接显露为现象本身的自发光明的实相。曾经看似“觉知的基底”的东西,从作为背景或不变基础的实体化中被释放出来,变成了无基底、无边际、无中心且自发光明的显现,即意识本身的生动光明。

世界由此以生动、奇妙、光明、充满活力且神奇的样貌显现出来——这并非因为在事物上附加了某种形而上的本质,而是因为对自我实体化的执着已经脱落。在那种无我的状态中,闪耀出的是一个奇妙而生动的世界,在六根中闪烁着璀璨与鲜活的光明,这是一种童话般的仙境,同时又极其直接且平凡。

因此,无我不仅仅是解除认同。仅仅解除认同,往往仍会残留一个微细的见证者。无我要深远得多:它是体证到“所知背后从来没有认知者”这一法印,伴随着实体化的背景觉知彻底消融并释放入“无心之心”——即直接亲证:心绝非别物,正是当下这一刻生动、无常且无主宰者的显现。

Labels: Anatta, Yin Ling
Albert Hong, All is Mind, Anatta, John Tan, Luminosity, Yin Ling |

Soh

Yin Ling

Stability of insights and insights post
Don’t have any other photos 😂🤦🏻‍♀️ but want to pen down some thoughts before it fades off my consciousness.
when we talk about stabilisation of insight,
It is not hard because that insight when stabilised won’t feel like an insight anymore unless you make comparison to before, it will feel like a new default mode of perception, and then we can let go of that practice and ascend to the next insight which needed to former as condition.
Insight they build on each other. The grossest must drop off first before we talk about subtler stuff, for eg mind is grosser than mind’s nature. Or sense of self is grosser than sense of Inherency in phenomena. But one will take one into another due to the change of perception, reality taste different and one can see deeper. That’s what I believe from my own experience.
Once insight matures and stabilise, we won’t even consider or talk much about it because another way of perception completely take over and previous way of  perceiving doesn’t even leave a shadow, that’s when we know we are quite “there”. “Stable” as I call it. For eg, for insight of anatta, third fetter.
At first you will feel as though something “drop off” and one “becomes big”. You lost the sense of separate self  when the contraction of self drop and mind opens up, rather than stuck inside the brain. You feel as though the whole world knows itself in its place, you say funny things like song hears, scenery sees. Haha. It is usually sudden at first then gradually matured over a few years, and one day you realise you don’t even feel different anymore, the shadow of a subject is completely gone! U cannot generate even the sense of it. Everything is “pushed forward” without any shadow of subject anymore, clean. You think it u were born this way, u wouldn’t even know about personal self! It is just everything in everything. And when you dream, u slowly realise ur dream is like that too! No background. Then u completely forgot no-self and u rarely talk about it. Because it is as normal as dualistic perception in others and no one talk about them perceiving dualistically. U just get on with ur life. U don’t think u r stream enterer blah3 lol. It’s so normal.
I remember asking a friend with many years of this insight would he go back to dualistic view if he has a choice?
He said, “I wouldn’t know where to look!”.
It is like this. The insight transforms one perception completely and this is our aim. We practice the instructions and time to time evaluate ourselves our own mind, not others. We will know our own cultivation level. Don’t fake it with yourself or others.
Don’t teach the stuff you don’t know and not stable, because ppl knows u r faking it and they will lose confidence , and that is a lack of integrity too.
For emptiness of phenomena insight, the essence or substances of “stuff” will efface until you can’t sense it in ur mind anymore one day. It is zero doing, and very very natural. Zero contrivance comes from a very diligent and dedicated practice day after day on dependent origination. You keep meditating on it again and again a million times and you rest in the insight. Read the Madhyamaka to get confidence. The results will show and you will know so clearly.
You wake up groggily seeing ur room vividly, but no substance at all! Not in ur body, not in ur room, nor outside, the wall feels substanceless too, so ur mind “transcend the wall”, so to speak.
Everything moves in tandem, at once, the sound of the bird not separated from the cold air on ur body, tree connected to your bed etc.. the interconnection is not in words but experience. Not in thinking but a real felt sense. If you are born this way you wouldn’t even know there’s such thing call essence or separation of things!
I believe high bodhisattvas will be born this way.
Once it is stabilise, this happens at all times.
And then…. (There’s no end to insight..)
when emptiness is stabilised, you actually feel abit strange calling it “emptiness” anymore, because somehow the right thing to say is “it’s not really about empty or not empty, this feels like it is what it is originally.. everything sensed is vividly felt as empty the same instant, it is like the bitter and sweet of dark chocolate, you cant say bitter or sweet, it is dark chocolate.. if u taste it u know it. Then u know it is the mind’s nature. You wonder for the 100th time if it is going to be the end? (But I know of course not from experience and I dare not ever call myself  enlightened lol unless I want to embarrass myself next month when mind transform again.)
And I can’t talk about further insights bec I do not know. I don’t talk about anything I don’t yet experience stably .. so tbc!
Just remember, for those who want to say “do nothing”, or “nothing to meditate, no path to cultivate, nothing to realised”..
Make sure you are there and really “non doing” - one performs action without a shred of a sense of self or phenomena at all with full integration, which means you must be able to handle war, surgery without anaesthesia and the likes.. because no sense of self means no attachment to body.. because that would be what is expected of you speaking these words! Or else it will be a sense of shame 😝

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I watched “The Little Buddha” movie again the other day.
Keanu reeves acted as Buddha. Haha.
The best thing in the movie was the spirit of Buddha which was beautifully portrayed in the movie, something I didn’t appreciate when I was 7. His level of determination to find the end of suffering, to not bother about hunger and pain, to say no to riches and women, to sit under the bodhi tree and tell himself I am going to sit here until I realise the truth, despite all the beautiful Mara daughters and Mara himself attacking and persuading him - a symbolism of our own afflictions, he didn’t give up and I am so grateful forthat
Why did Buddha do that? The 6 years of intense asceticism, the time under the Bodhi tree, the determination to teach even tho ppl wanted to kill him, defame him, to meditate everyday.. he is showing us the spirit of the Dharma with his one short human life
As I reflected, how I miss seeing such spirit in the children of Buddha. His resolve, his determination, his fierceness against afflictions, the fire in his whole being to go against odds, I sensed it and I felt it vividly, and second day for the first time in a long while, I make myself wake up to my alarm at 4, and sit on my cushion. Let’s get my act together, &not waste Buddha’s sacrifice and compassionate effort
To conquer oneself and our own afflictions through right view of emptiness and dependent origination is the hardest job there is.. to rid off self conditionings, to be discipline and abide by nature of reality is not something for the meek.
“Remember that all conditioned phenomena is impermanent, and strive hard for your own liberation”- the Buddha last words before parinibanna reverberating in my consciousness.
“There is no where to look for enlightenment, except your own mind.” I remember the Buddha under the bodhi tree, one hand touching earth, earth as witness and not separated from one, and I encourage myself to be fearless, determined, to uphold the teachings in my whole being, to have conviction, to have confidence in my mind.
Buddha exhibited determination, fearlessness and compassion in his life.May we all walk in his footsteps, carry his spirit & practice hard
 

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  • Little Buddha | Full Movie HD
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    Little Buddha | Full Movie HD
    Little Buddha | Full Movie HD

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  • Sim Pern Chong
    Mr RB ... sent me this video about Maha Bua talking about his Arhant attainment moment. He talks about the Luminous Mind being the ultimate danger/deception as well as his recollection of countless lives. Very inspiring (to me).
    There are people who commented that Maha Bua's description of citta is out of line with Buddha's teaching... but i guess i will never know. But relics from his cremation don't lie ... i guess..
    😅
    Luangta Maha Bua: Shedding tears in amazement with Dhamma
    YOUTUBE.COM
    Luangta Maha Bua: Shedding tears in amazement with Dhamma
    Luangta Maha Bua: Shedding tears in amazement with Dhamma


    Yin Ling
    Sim Pern Chong thanks! Why ultimate danger?


  • Sim Pern Chong
    Emm.. i don't think i am qualified to comment on the realisation of an arhant .. but this is just my take.
    I hope i understood why he say the brilliance of the Citta is also the ultimate danger. Could it be similar to my experience of the alaya consciousness brilliance and vastness... 'overriding' the inclination to propel rebirths. I see that very exalted state as the core state that is actually generating rebirths due to residue imprints of regrets/dissatisfactions/trauma/desires and hence subject/object splits into a big self (at the level). The exaltedness of the experience overshadows the dynamics or rebirths. In my experience, the imprints were not recognised as defilements.. but were instead used as the driving force of rebirth.. in the seek for resolution. This is how i see it.
    In a way, not recognising that nature of anatta and emptiness, even at the level of the vastness/exaltedness.. is driving the rebirth.. For from the level of the 'citta' (prior to awakening).. there is the focus of deathlessness.. but not the recognition of suffering..
    At that level, the lower gross thoughts, physical sensations all are cut off.. and the 'citta' is in all brilliance, vastness. I was confused and blinded by that exaltedness. In NDEs, people are talking about the awesomeness and brilliance of that experience.. its blinded them.. into thinking that all that matters is that .. while the pain of their physical existence is insignificant. I don't know how to explain this well. But switching back and forth from that brilliance and 'physical attention'.. helps to confirm that the dichotomy and the subsequent amnesia (of both that exalted state and the 'physical') is a problem.


  • Sim Pern Chong
    This post of yours seems to explain very clearly... and not sure whether Maha Bua is also talking about the Alaya when he says the Brilliance of the citta is the ultimate danger.


  • Yin Ling
    Sim Pern Chong thanks! I like what you said and I agree. We sometimes focus alot of the luminosity, citta, hence some teachings focus so much on awareness.. but for me that is not the point of Buddhism. Any grasping even to the luminosity of awareness is still a grasping… we have not yet recognise the problem - which is Inherency or essence.
    Diamond sutra says “应无所住而生其心” ,is literally talking about this problem- grasping onto essence, we don’t see our true nature.
    That is what I think is the heart of Buddhism for our liberation, not the citta but the emptiness of appearances so we r not able to hold at all, total release and we 见如来。

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    • Edited

  • Sim Pern Chong
    Yin Ling Ah I see... Thanks so much for sharing.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    I agree with Sim's posts and notes, although it is true that Ajahn Maha Boowa falls into eternalism. He went through I AM (which he mistakenly calls Anagami), and then his Arahantship is the falling away of the subject-object Witness into nondual consciousness. I have read his books. However he still reifies a transcendent and unchanging citta/consciousness or luminosity, even though it is now nondual. It is not yet the anatta insight or proper stream entry. Acarya Malcolm also mentioned before that sharira/relics does not necessarily indicate that a person is enlightened or liberated.
    Ajahn Maha Boowa's insight does not go beyond substantialist nondualism or Thusness stage 4. Still, his book is very inspiring and nice to read.
    Also I posted before:


  • Soh Wei Yu
    " Ajahn maha boowa is a very sincere and experienced practitioner and his account of his journey is very inspirational. I dont necessarily agree with his definition of arahatship but he details very well the journey to developing samadhi, overcoming of mental hindrance, I AMness realisation to the collapse of the witness into nondual awareness. Whats missing is the overcoming of inherent view of the transition from substantial nondualism (one mind/thusness stage 4) to anatman and emptiness. That being said his practice in terms of samadhi may be more advanced than myself.
    .....
    (11:26 PM) AEN: read dhammanando's posts.. lol
    (11:26 PM) AEN: ......As for Ajahn Mun & Co., does anyone seriously wish to argue that their doctrine of a transmigrating consciousness that lives for ever (and that is a reality, not a prajñapti) can be reconciled with the Abhidhammic account of momentary consciousness? Leaving aside Abhidhamma, can it even be reconciled with the teaching of the dependent arising of consciousness in the Mahata?hasankhaya Sutta? I once put this very question to a senior disciple of Ajahn Maha Boowa, and was told that it couldn't, but he didn't care. His very words: "Our ajahn's an arahant and doesn't make mistakes. If what he teaches contradicts the Suttas then so much the worse for the Suttas." So here we have a monk who, in effect, acknowledges that his teacher's dhamma is indistinguishable from that taught by the stupid and ignorant bhikkhu, Sati the fisherman's son, and yet he isn't the least bit nonplussed about it!.....
    (11:26 PM) AEN: ....
    Yes, I'm referring to him and to all those of his disciples who propagate the partial-eternalist doctrines of the "pure, everlasting, transmigrating citta" and the "one who knows". As a western monk in Thailand you often get approached by credulous lay followers of these monks who try to talk you into going to stay with their pet ajahn. I try to explain to them, with reference to the Suttas, why I don't accept their teachings and don't believe the stories about their supposed attainments. The result is always the same: they can't defend their ajahn's teachings with reference to the texts, nor with reason, and so they blow up and start resorting to argumentum ad baculum. It usually takes the form of old wives tales about people who criticized Ajahn Maha Boowa and were suddenly struck down in a fatal accident or with a mysterious illness, or who mysteriously disappeared. So, if I should suddenly vanish from E-sangha you'll know why. scared.gif
    Best wishes,
    Dhammanando Bhikkhu...
    (11:32 PM) AEN: .......
    It seems to me that it is, though not by all of them. The exporting to the West of the forest ajahns' errors is largely the work of those who ordained as bhikkhus from the mid-60's to the late 80's. Back then only a minority of western monks in Thailand had any substantial background in Buddhism prior to ordaining. This minority was greatly outnumbered by footloose hippies, backpackers and sex tourists who would flee to places like Wat Nong Pa Phong or Wat Suan Mokkh after their appetites for cheap drugs and cheap sex had become jaded. Being almost wholly ignorant of the Dhamma they just swallowed hook, line and sinker whatever flapdoodle their ajahns told them, supplementing it only with readings of pop Zen books and Carlos Castaneda. So, if they went to Ajahn Chah they tended to end up as eternalists, and if they went to Buddhadasa they tended to become annihilationists. However, since none of the western monks ordained by Buddhadasa lasted long in the robes (except Santikaro) it is the eternalism of Ajahn Chah that has gained the stronger foothold among western Theravadin
    (11:32 PM) AEN:
    Admittedly, in passing on their ajahn's eternalist misconceptions, their presentation is not as unambiguous as it is in, say, Ajahn Maha Boowa's writings, but it's there all the same. One can detect it nearly any time they start discoursing about "the heart". Look at what they predicate of this so-called "heart" and it's clear that it's not the hadaya-vatthu of the Pali Abhidhamma, nor the physical heart, nor even the western conceptual fiction of a human being's emotional centre. What they call "heart" is an essentialist atman-like entity that is not mentioned or implied anywhere in the Pali texts. Moreover, this "heart" is not a minor aspect of their Dhamma exposition but is central and pivotal to it.
    On the other hand, from the 1990's onwards the Ajahn Chah scene in Thailand (and indeed the western bhikkhu scene in Thailand in general) changed considerably. There were fewer and fewer social degenerates coming out here to ordain, and more and more monks with a reasonably solid Dhamma foundation, albeit confined to the Suttas — there are no abhidhammikas among them yet, as far as
    (11:32 PM) AEN: as far as I know. I'm not quite sure how this came about, but I suspect the advent of widespread internet use may have been a major factor. It made it much easier for would-be monks to do a bit of homework beforehand. Anyhow, the upshot of it is that one can't really generalize about the views of the younger generation of monks in the Ajahn Chah tradition, for they are actually highly variegated.
    Best wishes,
    Dhammanando Bhikkhu
    (11:32 PM) AEN: ..........
    (11:33 PM) AEN: -----------
    (11:33 PM) AEN: Hi caveyogi,
    QUOTE(caveyogi @ Jan 25 2007, 06:49 AM)
    Though I am not a Theravadin, I highly respect the tradition, and have read the life stories of certain Arhats with a lot of joy. I am wondering though what for you the pure Dhamma is.
    There is the pure Dhamma of the scriptures, consisting in the three baskets of the Tipi?aka when correctly expounded. And then there is the pure Dhamma of realization, comprising the four ariyan paths, four ariyan fruits, and nibbana.
    QUOTE
    I always thought the Ajahns Mun and Maha Boowa were beyond reproach, so a little bit more explanation for this ignorant chap (me) would be much appreciated.
    A bhikkhu who announces to the general public that he is an arahant, as Ajahn Maha Boowa has frequently done, is not beyond reproach:
    The Vinaya only permits a bhikkhu to notify fellow upasampannas (i.e., bhikkhus and bhikkhunis) of any high attainment that he has, or that he believes he has. As a Dhammayutt-trained monk Ajahn Maha Boowa canno
    (11:34 PM) AEN: As a Dhammayutt-trained monk Ajahn Maha Boowa cannot possibly be unaware of this rule. It might also be noted that this rule is one of those which it would be impossible for a real arahant to transgress, and so MB's public declarations of arahantship are effectively public declarations that he is not an arahant.
    Furthermore, a bhikkhu who teaches nonsense like this is not beyond reproach:
    "The citta itself never dies. Do you understand this? The citta never dies. Kamma is buried there in the citta. Good kamma leads the citta upward to the heavens and the Brahma realms. Then, when the good kamma is exhausted, the bad kamma that remains buried there pulls the citta back down into the hell realms. As if the citta were climbing up and down a flight of stairs. Do you understand? Such is the way it is, so wake up and take notice."
    (Ajahn Maha Boowa, Shedding Tears in Amazement with Dhamma)


  • Soh Wei Yu
    This is how the Buddha reproached a foolish bhikkhu who taught such a dhamma:
    Sati: "As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through
    (11:36 PM) AEN:
    Sati: "As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of rebirths, not another."
    The Buddha: "What is that consciousness, Sati?"
    Sati: "Venerable sir, it is that which speaks and feels and experiences here and there the results of good and bad kammas."
    The Buddha: "Misguided man, to whom have you ever known me to teach the Dhamma in that way? Misguided man, in many discourses have I not stated consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without a condition there is no origination of consciousness? But you, misguided man, have misrepresented us by your wrong grasp and injured yourself and stored up much demerit; for this will lead to your harm and suffering for a long time. [....] Bhikkhus, what do you think? Has this bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, kindled even one spark of wisdom in this Dhamma and Vinaya?"
    (Mahata?hasa?khaya Sutta, MN 38)
    (11:36 PM) AEN:
    QUOTE
    So, what is wrong with Mun's teachings,
    (11:36 PM) AEN:
    Assuming that Ajahn Mun taught what his disciples teach (and I'm not saying he necessarily did; I really don't know), what is wrong is firstly that it's eternalism (and thus a wrong view that deviates from the middle way), and secondly that it's being peddled as Buddhadhamma. And so those who teach such a dhamma "misrepresent the Tathagata by their wrong grasp, injure themselves, and store up much demerit. It will lead to their harm and suffering for a long time."
    I will make this my final post on this subject (well, for now at least), as I should prefer to focus upon exposition rather than polemic. If after all that I've written on it, people are still so intellectually befuddled and emotionally besotted as to think that the dhamma of the Ajahn Mun forest tradition is faithful to the Buddha's Dhamma, or that the ajahns in this tradition who teach the "eternal citta" doctrine have "kindled even one spark of wisdom", then no further words from me are likely to persuade them otherwise.
    Best wishes,
    Dhammanando Bhikkhu
    (12:12 AM) AEN: i looked into the glossary of ajahn maha boowa's book:
    (12:12 AM) AEN: citta: The citta is the mind’s essential knowing nature, the fundamental quality of knowing that underlies all sentient existence. When associated with a physical body, it is referred to as “mind” or “heart”. Being corrupted by the defiling influence of fundamental ignorance (avijjã), its currents “flow out” to manifest as feelings (vedanã), memory (saññã), thoughts (sankhãra), and consciousness (viññãõa), thus embroiling the citta in a web of self-deception. It is deceived about its own true nature. The true nature of the citta is that it simply “knows”. There is no subject, no object, no duality; it simply knows. The citta does not arise or pass away; it is never born and never dies.
    Normally, the “knowing nature” of the citta is timeless, boundless, and radiant, but this true nature is obscured by the defilements (kilesa) within it. Through the power of fundamental ignorance, a focal point of the “knower” is created from which that knowing nature views the world outside. The establishment of that false center creates a “self” from whose perspective consciousness flows out to perce
    (12:13 AM) AEN: perceive the duality of the “knower” and the “known”. Thus the citta becomes entangled with things that are born, become ill, grow old, and die, and therefore, deeply involved it in a whole mass of suffering.
    In this book the citta is often referred to as the heart; the two are synonymous. The heart forms the core within the body. It is the center, the substance, the primary essence within the body. It is the basic foundation.
    Conditions that arise from the citta, such as thoughts, arise there. Goodness, evil, happiness, and suffering all come together in the heart.
    Samãdhi meditation provides confirmation of the heart’s significance. When the citta gathers all of its outflowing currents into one point, the calm, still state of samãdhi arises. From the meditator’s perspective, that experience is centered in the middle of the chest. The stillness, the brightness, and the awareness of this experience appear to emanate prominently from the region of the heart. The knowing nature of the citta is pronounced right there. Thus, the true seat of consciousness is
    108 Glossary
    in the heart; an
    (12:14 AM) AEN: in the heart; and it is wise, therefore, to avoid thinking of the “mind” as essentially cerebral and located in the head.
    There is a strong tendency to think that consciousness results purely from complex interactions within the human brain, and that when the brain dies, consciousness ceases. This mechanistic view is wholly mistaken. While there is evidence that certain parts of the brain can be identified with certain mental functions, that does not mean that the brain produces consciousness. In essence, the brain is a complex processing organ. It receives and processes incoming data impulses that inform about feelings, memory, thoughts, and consciousness, but it does not generate these mental functions; nor does it generate conscious awareness. That is entirely the province of the citta. (for a more detailed discussion see the Appendix on page 95


  • Soh Wei Yu
    Consciousness is Momentary
    Malcolm posted:
    Life, personhood, pleasure and pain
    — This is all that's bound together
    In a single mental event
    — A moment that quickly takes place.
    Even the spirits who endure
    For eighty-four thousand aeons
    — Even these do not live the same
    For any two moments of mind.
    What ceases for one who is dead,
    Or for one who's still standing here,
    Are all just the same aggregates
    — Gone, never to connect again.
    The states which are vanishing now,
    And those which will vanish some day,
    Have characteristics no different
    Than those which have vanished before.
    With no production there's no birth;
    With becoming present, one lives.
    When grasped with the highest meaning,
    The world is dead when the mind stops.
    There's no hoarding what has vanished,
    No piling up for the future;
    Those who have been born are standing
    Like a seed upon a needle.
    The vanishing of all these states
    That have become is not welcome,
    Though dissolving phenomena stand
    Uncombined from primordial time.
    From the unseen, [states] come and go,
    Glimpsed only as they're passing by;
    Like lightning flashing in the sky
    — They arise and then pass away.
    ....
    Also, the Buddha was quite clear that phenomena, including minds, were momentary. The Buddha may not have elaborated in detail upon what a "moment" was, but in the end, the basic unit of time in Buddhism is number of moments it takes to form a thought. In reality, moments are partless. Partless moments that perish as soon as they arise have no observable duration and are immune from Madhyamaka critique.
    The notion that the mind is permanent (i.e. not momentary) is just a Hindu idea, Vedantic.
    Labels: Ācārya Malcolm Smith, Impermanence, Sariputta |
    Consciousness is Momentary
    AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
    Consciousness is Momentary
    Consciousness is Momentary

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    A short excerpt from Yuan Yin Lao Ren writing on post realisation practice. Every sentence is gold.
    His realisation here is re two fold emptiness - self and phenomena, a deep insight in Buddhism.
    How to stabilise this realisation through meditation and post meditation, how to improve, what will happen regarding the powers, regarding the kind of powers post realization has and what powers are not due to realisations(which is useless).
    I don’t have capacity to translate but u can use some AI if you think it will be helpful to you at ur stage of practice, not useful for pre-realisations.
    元音老人悟道后修行的方法,共勉之
    上面说过,我们于悟道后,不是一悟就休,还要好好地保护它,⻓养它,把习气除尽,犹如婴儿成⻓为大人了,那时候才 能随心所欲放手空行。于初悟时不保是不行的,怎么保呢?一面上座养定,一面在日常事务中磨练 培养,既不住空,也不住有,一切随缘,任何工作都能做,虽做而不着做,毫无爱恶之心。宗下所 谓:“于心无事,于事无心!”终日忙碌,而心中无事;心中无事,而不妨终日忙碌是也。假如做事 时被事做了去,那就不行,要赶快拉回来,放下来,勤于觉照,精于锻炼;假如自觉力量不够,那 就要多打坐。为什么呢?因为打坐能培养定力,使你在境界之中有主宰,有力量。你不打坐,定力 不够,在境界中锻炼的时候,一浑就浑掉了,被境界拖着走了,落于悟后迷,就不行了,这是最重要的关键。
    复次,刚刚打开本来时,是没有什么奇特的。修行人往往不识,以为没有什么神奇,不是自性,而
    忽略错过,哪知这灵妙真心是一丝不挂、一法不立的绝相妙体。初⻅性时,习染尚在,只是素法
    身,一无所有。须待修者于识得后,勤于磨练,将无始旷劫的妄习消尽,方能显发神用。故修行人
    须弄清修行的次第,千万不要因暂时未发神通,不敢承当而错过开悟的良机,更不要因自己不识而
    以讹传讹,贻害他人。其实开悟⻅性并非难事,因为这妙明真心不在别处,镇日在各人自己面⻔放
    光,无有丝毫离异,只是人们迷相着境忽略不识罢了。
    有人虽修行多年而不悟者,都是为自己所瞒,以为发神通才是,而不知所谓神通者,就是日常动 用。若不是神通怎会说话、工作?怎会穿衣吃饭?又怎会嬉笑怒骂?在在处处都是它的神用而不自 知,偏偏要个奇特,自遭败屈,岂不冤苦?有些人自己不识,甘愿在苦海中头出头没也只罢了,还 要贻害别人,说未发神通为未开悟,开悟的人是六通俱全的。他哪里知道悟道在先,发通在后的序 次。《大日经》云:“菩萨住此(即⻅道位)勤苦修习,不久即五通⻬发。”悟道后还需经过一番打磨, 将历劫多生的妄习消尽,方能显发神通。
    所以我们修行人,不要自暴自弃,于初打开时,识得它,当仁不让,敢于承当。不为神通奇特所淆
    惑,然后勤于保养,尽除妄习,不久将来,自然神通大发。又因修行人根机各各不同,也有先通后
    悟的,但现在这种人并不多⻅。现在有些特异功能的人,也没有经过修行,就有了神通,这是报得的神通,是暂时性的,过后就慢慢地消失了。我们佛教所说的神通有好几种:有报得的、修得的、
    证得的与依得的种种不同。修得的,是用一种法专修一种通,密宗修神通的法就很多;依得的是依
    靠外来的助力,如神、⻤、妖等而得的通。但这些都不究竟,一口气不来就没有了,没用处,还是
    在生死轮回中,不出苦海。只有证得的通才是真正的通,那是我们⻅性人经过事上的磨练,消尽了
    习气,恢复了本性的功能,焕发出来的无穷无尽的神通,它是永远不会磨灭的,而且尽管妙用无边
    而不着神用,镇日如痴如呆相似,诚所谓大智若愚者也。

    3 comments


    Soh Wei Yu
    ChatGPT translation:


    As said above, awakening isn’t “wake up once and you’re done.” You must protect it, nourish it, and wear old habits thin—like an infant maturing into an adult. Only then can you range freely with nothing to hinder you. At first awakening, you must protect it. How? On the one hand, sit regularly to build steadiness; on the other, train amid daily affairs. Neither abide in emptiness nor in existence; flow with conditions; do any work that needs doing—yet, though doing, don’t cling to doing, and keep the heart free of liking and disliking. As the Chan tradition puts it: “No affairs in the mind; no mind in affairs.” Busy all day, yet inwardly nothing to do; nothing to do in the mind, yet it doesn’t hinder a day of busyness. If, when you act, you get acted by the task, that won’t do—pull the mind back, lay it down, be diligent in clear knowing, and skilled in training. If you feel short on strength, then sit more. Why? Sitting cultivates samādhi-power so that, amid circumstances, you have mastery and strength. Without sitting, your steadiness isn’t enough; when you “train in the midst,” one blur and you’re swept away by conditions—falling into “delusion after awakening.” That won’t do. This is the crucial point.


    Further, when you first “open the original,” there’s nothing flashy about it. Practitioners often fail to recognize it, thinking, “Nothing marvelous—so it isn’t the self-nature,” and they overlook it. They don’t realize this numinous, wondrous true mind is the utterly bare, signless, marvelous body. At first seeing the nature, habits still remain; it is merely the plain dharma-body—nothing added. Only after recognition, with diligent tempering to exhaust the beginningless habits, can its spiritual functions shine forth. So you must be clear about the order of practice. Don’t miss the chance to awaken just because powers haven’t appeared yet and you don’t dare to accept it. Still worse is failing to recognize it yourself and then passing on errors that mislead others. In truth, awakening and seeing the nature isn’t hard, because this bright, wondrous true mind is nowhere else—it shines at your very face all day long, never the least apart. People only miss it by being deluded by appearances and chasing conditions.


    Some practice for many years without awakening because they deceive themselves, thinking “only when powers appear is it the real thing,” not knowing that what we call “powers” are your everyday functioning. Without “powers,” how could you speak and work? How could you dress and eat? How could you laugh, scold, get angry? Everywhere and always it is its spiritual functioning, though you don’t know it. Craving the strange and marvelous, you defeat yourself—isn’t that a pity? Some don’t recognize for themselves and are willing to bob up and down in the sea of suffering; but then they also harm others by claiming, “No powers yet means no awakening; the awakened must have all six powers complete.” They don’t know the sequence: awakening first, powers later. As the Mahāvairocana Sūtra says, “When a bodhisattva abides here (at the seeing-the-path stage) and diligently cultivates, before long the five powers arise together.” After awakening you still need a round of polishing; only when the long-accumulated habits are exhausted do powers manifest.


    Therefore practitioners should not give up on themselves. When it first opens and you recognize it, take it up without shrinking back; don’t be confused by marvels and powers. Then tend it diligently, remove delusive habits, and before long powers will naturally flourish. Of course, capacities differ. There are cases of “powers first, awakening later,” but such people are rare nowadays. Some with “special abilities” who never cultivated have powers—these are karmically received powers, temporary and fading with time. In Buddhism, powers are of several kinds: received (by past karma), cultivated, realized, and dependent. Cultivated powers come from training a specific method (Tantra has many such methods). Dependent powers rely on outside aid—from spirits, ghosts, demons, etc. None of these are ultimate: when a single breath stops, they’re gone; they can’t carry you out of birth and death—they don’t cross the sea of suffering. Only realized powers are true powers: after seeing the nature, through tempering in affairs you exhaust habits and restore the functions of the nature; then inexhaustible powers blaze forth. They never wear out, and yet—even with boundless functioning—there’s no clinging to “function.” All day one may look like a simpleton: truly, great wisdom looks like foolishness.




    Yin Ling
    Soh Wei Yu beautiful , Thanks!








  • Jack Huang
    元音老人的“复次“那段太好了 初见本来面目 真的没有神奇的 千万不要路过近山而不识

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Yesterday I met with my training supervisor for a review of my performance.
He told me I have one of the highest GP exam scores in the Midlands. He also looked shocked and flabbergasted that I have done a lot of work in my first year.
Well. Honesstly, it didn’t really matter to me.
I’m talking about this because this is the first major post-grad exams I took after awakening and heavy meditation. I have been meditating 3-4 hours for almost 4 years plus.
I was meditating 3-4 hours in my first year of training.
I cut it down to 2 hours 12 days before exams and use it to study.
I was doing everything I need to do as a trainee and everything I need to do as a practitioner.
I want to say, awakening and meditation won’t affect worldly intelligence and I have not become dumb.
I am able to understand concepts very well even though I am practicing heavy non-conceptual meditation.
I think some ppl wants that reassurance.
Including my mom who thinks I will go mad!
Well I’m functioning extremely well! 🤪