Soh

 

    gl011f21hhgregh4g0d 
    Shared with Your friends
    "👍🏻self/Self is irrelevant when anatta is realized." - Yin Ling
    In reference to fundamental orientation or “way of being” for the self/Self and for that which remains when no-self is realized (Anatta), there is no fundamental orientation or way of being. This includes being formless, avoidant, or “not there.” Thus the aggregates are just what they are and in their naturalness are not of concern, they are simply empty of self, fixation, clinging, and tendency to solidify or become.
    Beyond all dichotomies and not resistant to any formulation… as Dogen describes “No trace continues endlessly.”
    Or the heart sutra:
    “Freed from delusive hinderance.”
    This excerpt from the Samanupassana Sutta elaborates:
    "The five faculties, monks, continue as they were. And with regard to them the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones abandons ignorance and gives rise to clear knowing. Owing to the fading of ignorance and the arising of clear knowing, (the thoughts) — 'I am,' 'I am this,' 'I shall be,' 'I shall not be,' 'I shall be possessed of form,' 'I shall be formless,' 'I shall be percipient (conscious),' 'I shall be non-percipient,' and 'I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient' — do not occur to him."

    14 Comments


    Yin Ling
    Angelo wrote this. I really like this
    “thus the aggregates are just what they are and in their naturalness are not of concern”
    Well described!


  • Angelo Grr
    Yin Ling yes I think it’s an important distinction that the aggregates/DO are not seen to be fundamentally flawed or need to be removed in their naturalness. They are signposts, “look here.” They give us a compass to know where to look to see where the residues of identity, self, clinging, aversion, etc might remain. I think JT says somewhere that “general DO” doesn’t need to be constructed rather the DO in consciousness or how it refers to any remaining self tendency (can’t remember the exact terms he used). I might say natural DO is simply the expression of the unconditioned or unborn that gives rise to appearances, but how it becomes reflected and distorted in consciousness can be examined ongoing to see where any habituated misinterpretation (ignorance) remains.

    • Reply
    • 1h
    • Edited

  • Yin Ling
    I completely agree and I feel that this is a crucial Yet often neglected point esp in the lower tenet school when aggregates are thought to be “suffering” and “impermanent” and should not be “grasped”
    But the method to “not grasped” is not taught.
    By hook or by crook just don’t grasp 😂🤦🏻‍♀️
    Also agree taking DO as a new view helps seeing the remaining self and discard the old view faster ? I thjnk.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    Agree.. There is the general unafflicted dependent origination. It is termed lhun grub in Dzogchen.
    [2:25 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: Malcolm said dependent origination is natural perfection.. just that from like ultimate (forgot the term he used) its like all causes and conditions are empty and there is no distinction of cause and effect.. but its not contradictory. Like the madhyamika refutation of the 4 (diamond slivers) and the six something.. Lhun grub means not made by anyone, everything happens naturally. Dependent origination is not made by anyone and happens naturally
    [2:25 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: Malcolm said kyle is the first person to get his view completely
    [2:26 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: Also he invited me to join his santa fe dzogchen teaching next year, kyle will be joining
    [2:27 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: Kyle asked many qns about rigpa and dzogchen practice.. his main practice now is something like dorje drollo a teaching transmitted by malcolm
    [2:29 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: Btw kyle said his anatta insight happened in two phases
    [2:30 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: The first one which was very intense and he cried and felt death, no seer no hearer etc and he said something like his thought dunno what sinked below.. and he saw time is an illusion etc and you said thats the most intense anatta you have seen
    [2:30 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: Then years later he had another insight which is zero dimensional no distance etc
    [2:30 PM, 9/12/2019] Soh Wei Yu: Then i mentioned is it related to your two stanzas of anatta he said yes
    [3:03 PM, 9/12/2019] John Tan: 👍
    [3:04 PM, 9/12/2019] John Tan: Yes I think you should attend Malcolm dzogchen teaching next year. (Soh’s comments: both John and I did attend Malcolm’s Dzogchen teachings online in 2020 which was great, if you’re interested check out www.zangthal.com)
    [9:10 AM, 9/24/2019] John Tan: But like what Malcolm said, DO is natural perfection.
    [9:10 AM, 9/24/2019] John Tan: One just have to realize this.
    [24/9/19, 9:11:40 AM] John Tan: Then the mind will rest upon nothing, not even the One Mind. Whatever appears, though a mere reflection, is entire and spontaneously perfect.
    [24/9/19, 9:12:21 AM] John Tan: One does not need to sink back to anything else.
    [24/9/19, 9:14:05 AM] John Tan: I think geo is clear about this from what he wrote to me. ...however still have have deconstructed "physicality". That is the idea of "physicality" has not been sufficiently deconstructed to become just mere empty sensations dancing in zero dimension.
    [24/9/19, 9:15:02 AM] John Tan: If the "physicality" is there, one will b disturbed by the "idea" of interaction and locality.
    ....
    On the other hand, there are the 12 afflictive links of dependent origination. Afflictive D.O. arises through ignorance.
    “From the Uprooting Delusion tantra [Per Malcolm]:
    "Because of a lack of mindful attention, self and other are grasped as a duality, and both outer and inner dependent origination occur. The whole universe arises through awareness looking externally. All sentient being arise through awareness looking internally. Through looking there, fearful appearances arise, through looking here, ‘self’ arises. Many mistakes arise from the single mistake about the appearances of here and there. Because of being mistaken about a self, there is a mistake about other, attachment to self, aversion to other. From the seed of attachment and aversion, the whole outer universe and inhabitants are mistakes."” – Kyle Dixon
    Also as John Tan said, both general D.O. and afflictive D.O. are enlightened views.
    “There are two [aspects of dependent origination], general (non-afflictive) and specific (afflictive) D.O. [dependent origination]. Both are enlightened views. Means the mind suddenly stops seeing self and he must drop self/Essence view.” - John Tan, 2015
    ...
    "There never was a self. One must re-orientate oneself that it is functionality and action that give rise to [the sense of a] self/entity rather than [a real] agent giving rise to action. Therefore from anatta, we see Dependent Origination, cause and conditions, action, karma... unlike [the misunderstanding of] no-self therefore no dependent origination and causality. The former is non-substantialist view, the later is using substantialist self view to understand anatta (no-self)." - John Tan, 2015
    "Seeing afflictive Dependent Origination is enlightened view because one sees Dependent Origination. There is no [insight into] afflictive Dependent Origination for sentient beings, there is [the conceiving of a] Self/self... they do not see Dependent Origination." - John Tan, 2014
    ...
    “John Tan: Because there is mind, if there is no mind, what happened?
    Soh: Just activities, thoughts, scenery, sounds.
    John Tan: What is the sense of self in anatta?
    Soh: The activity of grasping.
    John Tan: Very good and well said.
    The anatta insight not only sees through background but directly perceives dependent origination, both afflictive and non-afflictive. Self is that afflictive dependent origination that arises from ignorance. It is that formation. The general dependent origination becomes the effortless spontaneous presence when ignorance is not in action. Both are directly experienced in real-time. So with anatta insight, no-self is authenticated. Afflictive D.O. chain is authenticated, general D.O. is authenticated, the purpose of vipassana is authenticated from moment to moment in real-time. What doubt is there?” - John Tan, 2019
    Zangthal
    ZANGTHAL.COM
    Zangthal
    Zangthal

    • Reply
    • Remove Preview
    • 54m

  • Soh Wei Yu
    "But the method to “not grasped” is not taught. "
    Actually even in the Pali canon the method is very clearly taught... just that not many teachers understand today.


  • Yin Ling
    Thanks the link you paste is super good.
    Yeah Pali canon is complete hahaa the buddhas teaching is complete.
    Just ppl teach without having real xp. I have seen questions being asked “ how do I stop being so attached ?”
    the answers are often very nihilistic. Don’t think. Replace with good thoughts. Keep to the precepts. 😞
    Ppl will think Buddhism doesn’t work.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    "natural DO is simply the expression of the unconditioned or unborn that gives rise to appearances"
    Also, I know Angelo Grr clearly does not have an essence view nor a view of dualism... but just to be careful with language for other readers here.. it is not the case that there is some unborn or unconditioned source and substratum that remains unchanged and underlying what is conditioned or dependently originating (as would be the view during the I AM/one mind phase but seen through after anatta insight). For, to establish an unborn and unconditioned something that underlies and gives birth to conditioned manifestation would be the reification of 'Self' with the capital S even if one does not use that term, and thus would not constitute the overcoming of self/Self in its entirety.
    Rather, the very nature of what dependently originates is to be unborn, non-arising, non-originating and unceasing. As what Nagarjuna and Heart Sutra taught...
    Also as Kyle quoted a few times before and I believe Malcolm too --
    Kyle: "As the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra states:
    "Outside of the saṃskṛtas [conditioned dharmas], there are no asaṃskṛta [unconditioned dharmas], and the true nature [bhūtalakṣaṇa] of the saṃskṛta is exactly asaṃskṛta. The saṃskṛtas being empty, etc. the asaṃskṛtas themselves are also empty, for the two things are not different. Besides, some people, hearing about the defects of the saṃskṛtadharmas, become attached [abhiniveśante] to the asaṃskṛtadharmas and, as a result of this attachment, develop fetters."
    ...
    "Since arising, abiding and perishing are not established,
the conditioned is not established;
since the conditioned is never established,
how can the unconditioned be established?
-- Nāgārjuna
    So it is not that there is indeed an unconditioned nirvāṇa which abides apart from conditioned phenomena. The 'unconditioned' is merely knowledge of the actual nature of 'conditioned' phenomena. Phenomena [dharmins] are themselves, in essence, unconditioned, their unconditioned nature is their dharmatā.
    "Good son, the term 'unconditioned' is also a word provisionally invented by the First Teacher. Now, if the First Teacher provisionally invented this word, then it is a verbal expression apprehended by imagination. And, if it is a verbal expression apprehended by imagination, then, in the final analysis, such an imagined description does not validate a real thing. Therefore, the unconditioned does not exist."
-- Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra"
    ....
    Also, from a conversation between Mr. J and John Tan years ago:
    Someone wrote,
    "Dependent Origination only applies to the reflections, but not to the mirror. The reflections are dependent upon the mirror. The mirror is not dependent upon anything."
    Thusness replied,
    "When mundane reflections are realized to be always free from extremes and non-arisen,
    Why the special interest in mirror?
    Dependent arising is taught so that the nature of phenomena can be realized to no different from nirvana. Whatever arises in dependence is empty and non-arisen.
    Where then is the need for movement and preference from here to there, from reflections to mirror?
    And how is even movement possible?
    Confusion is the only movement. Ultimately nothing ever arose.
    Gassho and good luck!"


  • Soh Wei Yu
    "the answers are often very nihilistic. Don’t think. Replace with good thoughts. Keep to the precepts. 😞
    Ppl will think Buddhism doesn’t work."
    Yeah that is very restrictive and sad. If that is the teaching of Buddhism there would not need to be Buddha or Buddhism at all.. just teach the standard moral education in class can liao
    Obviously not enough to end suffering


  • Yin Ling
    Soh Wei Yu yeah I said this not to judge but bec I personally went through alot of confusion receiving such teachings and it didn’t work for me one bit. Now I hear it I feel so sien. It doesn’t work.. the ppl who teach never try it out first.
    It wasn’t until I really got time to go deep and found out that ppl don’t understand the Buddha, the Buddha is extremely profound
    Also Mahamudra teachings help me change how I look at aggregates. It was seeing nature rather than pushing away. So thank goodness I met Mahamudra along the path.


  • Aditya Prasad
    Now THIS is the content I signed up for! No idea what any of it means, but looking forward to getting it 😂


  • Mr. LZG
    Soh Wei Yu ""But the method to “not grasped” is not taught. "
    Actually even in the Pali canon the method is very clearly taught... just that not many teachers understand today."
    One of the Theravadin monk who taught such method is bhikku Aggacitta Bhikkhu. His method involved opening the eyes and other senses, and notice whatever comes and goes to the five senses and mind without grasping('touch and go').
    In one of his vids he admitted that such method exists in Tibetan system,so I'd presume he was referring to shamata without object.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    I don't think Yin Ling is talking about shamatha. She is talking about how anatta insight leads to degrasping via severing self/Self and I-me-mine making and appropriation of the aggregates in that way. Without the penetrative insight, there cannot be overcoming of clinging in a fundamental way. Shamatha alone does not result in nirvana.

  • Reply
  • 12m
  •  
  •  



    • Mr. LZG
      Soh Wei Yu I do agree that,as in all Buddhist path,liberation comes from insight and not shamata but vipassana(with different approaches in different systems). I should have put it into context that the open awareness was taught in relation to cittanupassana(one of the four foundations of mindful), but eventually only Dharmanupassana that will leave to insight.


    • Mr. LZG
      Possibly for Theravada tradition, Joseph Goldstein might be one of the fews who teaches it,but again I havent attended or check out his teaching before.
      Bhikkhu Bodhi once reminisce his encounter with renowned meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein. When Bhikkhu Bodhi asked Joseph Goldstein what style of meditation does he practice,he merely replied that he practised non-clinging.


    • Angelo Grr
      Soh Wei Yu indeed there is no essence, no background no source, nor does one have grasp an essence-less view, both will lead to delusion. The terms and phrases can be helpful but due to the nature of language they are only relational, contextual and conditions-based and should be understood that way. Similar to terms like “I” and “me” and “my” they are practical terms bot don’t refer to a self structure, bc there isn’t one, anywhere 😂


    • Soh Wei Yu
      Must give rise to insight. Before that, letting go is dissociative and efforting. But still impt as a skillful means of practice.
      Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives
      AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
      Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives
      Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives

    • Reply
    • Remove Preview
    • 1m
     
Soh

 

Second noble truth "Clinging is suffering".
A practitioner's understanding.
A friend kindly advised me to "not skip steps" in the buddhadharma and to developed the noble 8 fold paths first..
before talking about awakening. ( I think that what he meant)
...which i cannot relate.
As I am practising almost all the time in my waking moments, I am living the paths all moments.
practise = enlightenment is what Dogen encouraged and I fully know what he meant.
Hence I always go back to the noble truths to check each other's understanding for most of the time it is wherein the problem lies.
.
.
I realise,
For traditional explanation/theoretical explanation of the second noble truth - clinging is suffering
It will be explained as - clinging to feelings, sense of self.. yada yada
But have one ever wondered why the Buddha did not tell you directly if it is clinging to feelings if he meant that? Why did he just say clinging ? did we miss sthg?
The Buddha is the clearest, most direct teacher that I have ever know, and he don't speak in riddles, why would he omit half a sentence?
I oft ask myself this. Clinging to WHAT?
How do one even Cling to Self? Who cling to self? you need a Self cling to cling to self! That is not even logical.
It was only after insight that I completely understand. A flash of clear understanding.
An understanding prior to insight is always DISSOCIATIVE.
because that person is seeing from a SELF.
Hence , that person will say
"don't cling to suffering, don't cling to aggregates, don't cling to this, don't cling to that".
But if one is sincere, one is curious, one will know it is impossible to NOT cling to feelings. What do you mean?
Happy but pretend to be not happy?
Sad but try to not feel sadness?
I don't know how to do that!
and the Buddha never teach something that is impossible to do.
one need to contemplate carefully
With insight one will understand CLINGING itself is SELF-ing, it is appropriating.UPADANA.
Selfing the ROOT of all suffering.
If you ask a person with a view of personhood/selfhood, not to cling.
you don't really understand the teaching in an alive way yet and you will give that person more confusion.
It is exactly the SELF = clinging = appropriation.
The problem does not lie in your feelings, nor your 5 aggregates.
They are fine and dandy.
It is that extra imputation of SELF - ing , APPROPRIATE-ing of phenomanas that causes the whole suffering.
.
So once you understand, you won't ask a person who still sees a self to "LET GO'.
where can she go?
At most one can only dissociate with the situation, and act accordingly so that good karma can be generated.
Karma will still be generated due to a self.
The stain will be there, no choice, but at least good karma for better rebirth until self is seen through.
So methods have to be practised until insight arise.
You will also not advise ppl who have seen through self and emptiness to NOT CLING.
There is no self to do that appropriating.
Now they need strengthen and deepend their realizations
because in a place where no I or no MINE,
there is NO CLINGING.
to root is cut off, the emotional afflictions as the branches will not grow.
but this is a lifetime practise, and they will know clearly what to do.
with insight THIS will is their sole aim - to not generate karma and let old karma wash off by itself
They will see the teachings so clearly, they will not have doubt.
all small bit of self-ing will throw them back into separation and it is actually very obvious and very painful because
their usual xp is blissful and peaceful.
There is a HUGE contrast
They are seeing clearly.
Hence CLINGING = SELF-ing = APPROPRIATING
UPADANA = APPROPRATION
.
.
So the noble 8 fold paths need to be tailored to where each practitioner is at,
and only THEY themselves could tell,
of course basic understanding is needed so one could practise
ONE right view now is not another's right view
Right view gets updated with each new insight,
The ultijmate right view is full enlightenment, buddhahood.
and i do not know what is that, yet.
One right mindfulness is also not another one right mindfulness.
There is nothing left but the mind post awakening.
Mindfulness become effortless.
.
.
So if one wants to teach
one need to teach from realizations and insights.
from one's own experience.
from an understanding of the conditions of each practitioners.
If one cannot do that, leave it to the Dalai Lama, and the other awakened ppl to teach.
because the path is never dogmatic.
It is alive.
2 Comments

Ng Xin Zhao
Not telling you lah, you're already up there. I meant as advice, teaching tips from the enlightened for the audience of those who are not yet enlightened.
This post is very good!
Some other posts where you just posted the results, without how to get there seems like can generate more frustration. When can I get to the result?
So I requested for more how to get there posts. That is on the noble 8fold path.
Separate point: on what level do you think it's ok to teach the dhamma by unenlightened people? We don't exactly expect Sunday dhamma school teachers to need to be stream winners first before teaching kids and teenagers right?
3rd point: it seems that unless one is enlightened, there cannot be non dogmatic way of teaching the dhamma.
Suttas where the Buddha said we should or shouldn't spread the Dhamma
DISCOURSE.SUTTACENTRAL.NET
Suttas where the Buddha said we should or shouldn't spread the Dhamma
Suttas where the Buddha said we should or shouldn't spread the Dhamma
  • Reply
  • 2h
  • Edited

Yin Ling
I don’t need teaching tips as I am not a teacher and don’t intend to be one 🙂 I am still on the path and need a lot of practise. 🙂 if you project me as a teacher, you have to be responsible of your projections 🙂
I don’t differentiate who is enlightened or not too. Insight is not that black and white. What really is enlightenment?
So what if we are enlightened? Can don’t practise? Cannot right.
So if cannot, makes no difference, why differentiate? Why not just practise ?
I don’t see a “results”. There is no results on the path until one is Buddha. Then there is buddhas practise.
It’s all practise and more practise and one never reach the end, this is my view.
So when one wants to teach others, imo one need to truly ask themselves, can I give this advice to this person? Is this my practise ? Do I have realizations in this? Have I experience what he experience ? Is the Dalai Lama a better teacher to her or him,? Should I point them to other teachers ?
But imo for me, if one doesn’t have much insight yet, life is too short to teach ppl, practise hard.
You don’t know if you will get a second chance at being human. Why busy go teach ppl when sendiri not kao Tim yet?
That’s my personal view hence have turned down teaching requests . Not gonna delude myself when I have only got a few months of insights and go and simply tell ppl what to do lol.
And truly from my experience,
If one is not awakened,
They really cannot imagine what is awakened state because it is so radical.
The self is so powerful. Don’t underestimate it.
Even an awakened person might not be able to teach well and wake ppl up.
That’s why Buddha always say, you have to liberate before you can liberate others. If you haven’t , please go and practise hard. Don’t waste this life. The buddhas teaching is complete.
🙏🏻
      • Reply
      • 1h
      • Edited