Nargajuna’s Middle Way (MMK- mulamadhyamakakarika)

 

    Yin Ling

    edntp19gaA 31Mf7M3ta804y6gtm:1    
    The more I read Nargajuna’s Middle Way (MMK- mulamadhyamakakarika), the more I find the usual way of perceiving the world seem so weird and strange.
    Concepts which are taken for granted to be true like :
    Arising and dissolution
    Cause and effect
    Movement
    Characteristics of things
    Actions
    .. Are only fictional. If one investigate just a lil bit, they don’t even make any sense, ludicrous even.
    Nargajuna is truly masterful. For us modern ppl who didn’t go through the middle way school standard training, I find it slightly easier to read MMK after insight of anatta and some direct experience into emptiness, even with that it takes up a lot of brain juice. Not easy but easier with repeated reads.

    17 Comments


    Jayson MPaul
    Yes all those concepts yielded great results when continuously seen through in practice.
    Arising seen through is non-arisen insight
    Cause and effect can lead to conditionaly/DO
    Movement deconstructs identity over space
    Characteristics was instrumental in second-fold emptiness
    Actions can lead to total exertion glimpses (at least so far)




    • Sumit Kumar
    What is second fold emptiness and total exertion?


    • Yin Ling
    Sumit Kumar second fold emptiness is emptiness of all phenomenas (first fold is emptiness of the personal self)
    And total exertion basically is
    What is Total Exertion?
    AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
    What is Total Exertion?
    What is Total Exertion?


    • Sumit Kumar
    That's wonderful
    Total exertion very interesting.
    I tried to observe the conditions of the current experience, then I came back to thinking. And it felt like "me" doing is stressful and the whole experience supported by the conditions felt relaxing.
    Though now I am not very sure


    • Sumit Kumar
    But what Jayson meant when he said "Actions can lead to total exertion"…
    See more

    • Reply
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    • Edited

    • Yin Ling
    Sumit Kumar will let Jayson MPaul explain his insight 🙂


    • Jayson MPaul
    Sumit Kumar i meant the deconstruction of action after anatta can lead to total exertion glimpses. MMK is great for working through all your cognitive obscurations and blindspots







    • Sredharan Ramakrishna
    When reading a book, how long the ideas stay in yr awareness?


    Yin Ling
    Sredharan Ramakrishna I don’t get what you mean? Sorry

    • Reply
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    • Edited

    • Sredharan Ramakrishna
    Yin Ling i used to read books thinking they provide answers, now my view is just books provide mind entertainment.


    • Yin Ling
    Sredharan Ramakrishna depends on what you read. And how you read 🙂







    • Sumit Kumar
    Isn't arising and dissolution, movement, cause and effect are experiential?
    Isn't fictional only applies to conceptual understanding of above truths?


    Yin Ling
    Sumit Kumar hehe need to read MMK to understand 🙂


    • Mark Lackey
    Hi Yin! Would you mind sharing which particular translation you are reading?


    Yin Ling
    Mark Lackey I use mark siderits 🙂


    • Mark Lackey
    Thank you 🙏

  • Reply
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Life and Death

 

Yin Ling

ernoos 3mautM8M47t71:i8y0a1 06a1 A 68 
I love this. I still don’t have the deep conviction going beyond life and death yet but I have the inferential insight so I like to practise asking myself,
“Now in my experience, what is it that dies? Point to it”
Then I let my mind find. 😁😁😁
this, just what is. It's so
simple that you can't even call
3:53 / 4:24

Simply Always Awake

ernoos 3mautM8  

Yin Ling

steS1a4 c 7y510a1Mt M 8Al702:l 
Love this!
When every breath, every sound, every taste, every touch is direct and without self as filter, it is so blissful as though the radiance of awareness contains unlimited bliss in it. One will know. Every breath is prominent bliss, can’t miss that.
One can’t help to keep feeling oneself, mind feeling mind.
0:16 / 4:55

Simply Always Awake

steS1a4 c 7y547a1Mt M 8Al602:l 
Yummm
 M47t71:i8y4a1 06a1 A 67 
A fun little jaunt...




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Affirming Negation or Non Implicative Negation

 John Tan wrote:

André A. Pais  Similar to no-self of ATR, if the pointing does not result in the direct recognition of suchness (pure appearances) free from apprehender and apprehended or recognition of appearances as one's radiance clarity, then it is not anatta proper.  Which is what imo Shentong Madhyamika is trying to emphasize with affirming-negation.

However to me, for a path that is based on reasoning and analysis, negation should be non-implicative because practitioners along the path are always dealing with a dualistic and inherent mind.  If there is no dualistic and inherent mind, then there is no need for any path as there is nothing to sever.  Hence, affirming-negation imo is less skillful as that would promote rather than sever the habitual tendency which is not the import of the analytical path.  

If one wants to talk about the self-arising wisdom, it should not be by way of reasoning and analysis, the padaegogy will have to be radically different.  It will probably have to be like dzogchen that takes the result as path.  Then emphasis should not be just non-referential ease and space-like emptiness but includes all the magic of clarity's radiance.

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Advise on Contemplating Emptiness

John Tan answered someone on contemplating emptiness:

 

John Tan:

Hm... There r 4 parts to really penetrate... If he really keen to penetrate.  He should contemplate:

1. non-arisen

2. Dependent arising of a vivid hearing of sound from hitting a bell... Where is that sound? Not found in any of the conditions, not found even if all conditions added yet when conditions are there, sound is heard. How is the world now articulated this way understood as compared to the dualistic and inherent paradigm then how is experience like?

3.  Then how to apply these insight emptiness, non-arisen, dependent arising relate to the world of delusory, the world of dreams, the world of pure appearances free from conceptual taints, what does it tell us about these 3 "worlds"?  

4.  Lastly after he understands 3, how he understand freedom comparing to how he sees now, freedom from conceptualities.
[9:40 pm, 15/05/2022] John Tan: For 1 he can contemplate:
[9:41 pm, 15/05/2022] John Tan: We seldom realize the baggage of notions that thoughts carry.  They are extremely "weighty" and tie down tremendous energy.  In addition to the notion of "self" that some have seen through, the next set of heavy weighty notions are "arising, abiding and ceasing". 

There are several times the cryptic phrase "non-arisen" has been asked and even though explanations are being made that conceptual notions are "empty and non-arisen", they do not exist much like a rope being mistaken as a "snake".  "Snake" never existed despite its "delusory appearance" when in confusion. 

But it can't trigger the "aha" moment that can free the mind and releases its energy much like in anatta.  Why?  Because “uprooting" of our deeply hypnotic spell cannot come from textbooks; the entire "weight" of these deeply ingrained notions must be felt so that we can feel the "weight" that spell-bound us to samsara.  So for those that r interested, they can contemplate:

1. This moment ceases as it arises, does it arise or does it cease.

2.  Past does not exist since it is already gone. Future does not exist since it is yet to arise and present is merely the intersection of past and future, then "present" also does not exist.  So "present" that is undeniably "here", does it exist or not exist?

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Some Chinese Translations by Me

 

必须直接体悟本来无我

 (2022-05-16 12:41:38)[编辑][删除]
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无我

宗喀巴大师说过，单单不假设有自我是不足够的；必须直接体悟本来无我。


保持无念只是修定，外道也是修无想定，佛法不只要修定而更重要的是要开启般若智慧。

翻译: “根除无明的过程……不是仅仅停止思想，而是积极地体悟那无明所误解的相反。无明不仅仅是缺乏知识，而是一种特定的误解，它必须通过体悟它(无明)的对立面来消除。 在这方面，宗喀巴大师说，不能仅仅通过停止概念来摆脱对“固有存在”(自性见)的误解，就像一个人是不可能以尽量不去想它的方法来摆脱黑暗洞穴中有恶魔的想法一样。就像一个人必须拿着灯，看到那里没有恶魔一样，所以需要智慧的照明来清除无明的黑暗。”

Napper， 伊丽莎白， 2003， p. 103"

original: "The process of eradicating avidy (ignorance) is conceived… not as a mere stopping of thought， but as the active realization of the opposite of what ignorance misconceives. Avidy is not a mere absence of knowledge， but a specific misconception， and it must be removed by realization of its opposite. In this vein， Tsongkhapa says that one cannot get rid of the misconception of 'inherent existence' merely by stopping conceptuality any more than one can get rid of the idea that there is a demon in a darkened cave merely by trying not to think about it. Just as one must hold a lamp and see that there is no demon there， so the illumination of wisdom is needed to clear away the darkness of ignorance."

Napper， Elizabeth， 2003， p. 103"


心只是一个名字

 (2022-05-15 02:37:36)[编辑][删除]
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龙树菩萨

 

空性

 

无心

 

无我

 

中观

翻译： “知者感知可知【的事物】；
没有可知【的事物】，就没有知；
所以你为什么不承认
既不存在所（对相）也不存在能（主体）？

心只是一个名字；
除了它的名字，它不存在于任何东西；
因此，将识视为一个名称；
名也无自性。

无论是在内还是在外，
或者介于两者之间，
一切耆那 （意译为情欲的战胜者，即圣人）从未找到心；
所以心有幻相的本性。

颜色和形状的区别，
或者客体与主体的区别，
男性、女性和中性的——
心没有这种固定的形式。

简而言之，佛陀从未见过
他们也永远不会看到【这样的心】；
那么他们怎么能把它看作是有自性
那没有自性【的心】？

“实体”是一种概念化；
没有概念化是空；
在发生概念化处，
怎么会有空？

在知和知者方面的心，
这是如来从未见过的；
哪里有被知和知者，
就没有开悟。

无相也无生，
无实体的存在，也超越言语，
虚空、菩提心【觉醒心】与觉悟
具有不二的特性。”

- 龙树菩萨，《菩提心论》(Bodhicittavivarana)


原文：“The cognizer perceives the cognizable;
Without the cognizable there is no cognition;
Therefore why do you not admit
That neither object nor subject exists [at all]?

The mind is but a mere name;
Apart from it's name it exists as nothing;
So view consciousness as a mere name;
Name too has no intrinsic nature.

Either within or likewise without,
Or somewhere in between the two,
The conquerors have never found the mind;
So the mind has the nature of an illusion.

The distinctions of colors and shapes,
Or that of object and subject,
Of male, female and the neuter -
The mind has no such fixed forms.

In brief the Buddhas have never seen
Nor will they ever see [such a mind];
So how can they see it as intrinsic nature
That which is devoid of intrinsic nature?

"Entity" is a conceptualization;
Absence of conceptualization is emptiness;
Where conceptualization occurs,
How can there be emptiness?

The mind in terms of perceived and perceiver,
This the Tathagatas have never seen;
Where there is the perceived and perceiver,
There is no enlightenment.

Devoid of characteristics and origination,
Devoid of substantiative reality and transcending speech,
Space, awakening mind and enlightenment
Possess the characteristics of non-duality.”

- Nagarjuna, Bodhicittavivarana


(2022-05-15 02:39) [编辑] [删除]
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无我

 

无心

需知真心，只是假名。不可误为实有。
故龙树中论说，如是实有又如何幻化。

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