Soh

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  • Mr./Ms. PZS
    Soh Wei Yu
    The way you’ve described it above, it is an experience.
    Sometimes you’re in it, sometimes you’re not.
    It comes, and it goes.
    When the insight is temporarily forgotten, what changes exactly, experientially ?

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  • Soh Wei Yu
    You might have misunderstood. Realisation of anatman is not an experience of no-mind. There is no entry or exit. This is unlike a peak experience of no-mind which can be merely temporary.
    Anatta is a Dharma Seal or Truth that is Always Already So, Anatta is Not a State
    Wrote in 2018:
    "If someone talks about an experience he/she had and then lost it, that's not (the true, deep) awakening... As many teachers put it, it's the great samadhi without entry and exit.
    John Tan: There is no entry and exit. Especially for no-self. Why is there no entry and exit?
    Me (Soh): Anatta (no-self) is always so, not a stage to attain. So it's about realisation and shift of perception.
    John Tan: Yes 👍
    As John also used to say to someone else, "Insight that 'anatta' is a seal and not a stage must arise to further progress into the 'effortless' mode. That is, anatta is the ground of all experiences and has always been so, no I. In seeing, always only seen, in hearing always only sound and in thinking, always only thoughts. No effort required and never was there an 'I'.""
    Also:
    Differentiate Wisdom from Art
    Replying to someone in Rinzai Zen discussion group, John Tan wrote recently:
    “I think we have to differentiate wisdom from an art or a state of mind.
    In Master Sheng Yen’s death poem,
    Busy with nothing till old. (无事忙中老)
    In emptiness, there is weeping and laughing. (空里有哭笑)
    Originally there never was any 'I'. (本来没有我)
    Thus life and death can be cast aside. (生死皆可抛)
    This "Originally there never was any 'I'" is wisdom and the dharma seal of anatta. It is neither an art like an artist in zone where self is dissolved into the flow of action nor is it a state to be achieved in the case of the taoist "坐忘" (sit and forget) -- a state of no-mind.
    For example in cooking, there is no self that cooks, only the activity of cooking. The hands moves, the utensils act, the water boils, the potatoes peel and the universe sings together in the act of cooking. Whether one appears clumsy or smooth in act of cooking doesn't matter and when the dishes r out, they may still taste horrible; still there never was any "I" in any moment of the activity. There is no entry or exit point in the wisdom of anatta.”
    Labels: Anatta, Zen Master Sheng-yen 1 comments | |
    Soh wrote in 2007 based on what John Tan wrote:
    First I do not see Anatta as merely a freeing from personality sort of experience as you mentioned; I see it as that a self/agent, a doer, a thinker, a watcher, etc, cannot be found apart from the moment to moment flow of manifestation or as its commonly expressed as ‘the observer is the observed’; there is no self apart from arising and passing. A very important point here is that Anatta/No-Self is a Dharma Seal, it is the nature of Reality all the time -- and not merely as a state free from personality, ego or the ‘small self’ or a stage to attain. This means that it does not depend on the level of achievement of a practitioner to experience anatta but Reality has always been Anatta and what is important here is the intuitive insight into it as the nature, characteristic, of phenomenon (dharma seal).
    To put further emphasis on the importance of this point, I would like to borrow from the Bahiya Sutta (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/.../kn/ud/ud.1.10.irel.html) that ‘in the seeing, there is just the seen, no seer’, ‘in the hearing, there is just the heard, no hearer’ as an illustration. When a person says that I have gone beyond the experiences from ‘I hear sound’ to a stage of ‘becoming sound’, he is mistaken. When it is taken to be a stage, it is illusory. For in actual case, there is and always is only sound when hearing; never was there a hearer to begin with. Nothing attained for it is always so. This is the seal of no-self. Therefore to a non dualist, the practice is in understanding the illusionary views of the sense of self and the split. Before the awakening of prajna wisdom, there will always be an unknowing attempt to maintain a purest state of 'presence'. This purest presence is the 'how' of a dualistic mind -- its dualistic attempt to provide a solution due to its lack of clarity of the spontaneous nature of the unconditioned. It is critical to note here that both the doubts/confusions/searches and the solutions that are created for these doubts/confusions/searches actually derive from the same cause -- our karmic propensities of ever seeing things dualistically.
    John Tan adds: "This is the seal of no-self and can be realized and experienced in all moments; not just a mere concept."
    Labels: Anatta |
    Anatta is a Dharma Seal or Truth that is Always Already So, Anatta is Not a State
    AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
    Anatta is a Dharma Seal or Truth that is Always Already So, Anatta is Not a State
    Anatta is a Dharma Seal or Truth that is Always Already So, Anatta is Not a State

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  • Mr./Ms. PZS
    So you’re saying in this life it is never forgotten, and always so, but in the next life it can be forgotten?
    Thanks!


  • Soh Wei Yu
    Mr./Ms. PZS Yes. Anatta is realised as a dharma seal, always already so. That realisation will not be forgotten this life but may be forgotten next life. Just like when you grow up and realised santa claus is fake, you will never again be tricked into believing santa claus is real in this life. But in your next life you may be tricked into believing in santa claus again.


  • Mr./Ms. PZS
    Soh Wei Yu I’m just curious how this corresponds to the idea of rigpa being fragmented/interrupted for anyone that isn’t a Buddha, as we say in Acharya’s Dzogchen circle.
    It seems an Arya still has equipoise and post equipoise. Any thoughts ? I’m trying to understand what changes between those two states.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    Mr./Ms. PZS Joyfully delight in the uninterrupted vision of the objects of the six senses!
    Whatever you enjoy, bodhi will blaze more and more.
    When one has obtained the power of the supreme presence and become familiar with it,
    Meditating means leaving the six sense consciousness free and relaxed!
    ...
    It is thought that creates the duality of mind and object;
    It is wisdom that perceives them as non-dual.
    Meditation means understanding there is nothing to enter into or exit from.
    Not grasping what appears is the state of self-liberation!
    ~ Dzogchen book The Supreme Source


  • Soh Wei Yu
    Mr./Ms. PZS I recall John Tan said many years ago for him there is no entry and exit with regards to agent-agency-perceiver-perceived, the same for me. There is no subject-object duality or perceiver or agent all the time, no entry or exit to nondual experience, which is also the same here. He also commented something about characteristics of phenomena not being permanently eliminated all the time, although he has since made further breakthroughs that eliminates cognitive obscurations.
    Also related,
    “John Tan
    Just free ourselves from sense of self first, then it is probably 60% done. After then gradually to all notions into supreme purity.
    · Reply · 1d
    Arthur Deller
    John Tan I like that. Where did the 60% factor in!?!? No self is true. For whom would the other 40% apply. 😎
    · Reply · 1d
    John Tan
    Arthur Deller an arbitrary number...haha. "For whom" is within the 60%. If we start from other notions like cause and effect, will most likely end up as intellectual entertainment.😝
    · Reply · 1d
    Arthur Deller
    in the words of Maximus. “Are you not entertained”.
    I’ve had enough intellectual stimulation to last an eon or so.
    In thinking no thinker
    Thought with no thinking.
    · Reply · 1d
    John Tan
    If both thinker and thinking are deconstructed, why do you keep that thought?
    · Reply · 1d
    Arthur Deller
    John Tan I don’t. They just come and go. Like pixels. Fuzzy characters with no landing place.
    · Reply · 1d
    John Tan
    Arthur Deller then notion of "coming", "landing" and "going" must be subjected to the same scrutiny like thinker, thinking and thought.
    · Reply · 1d · Edited
    Arthur Deller
    John Tan I had a feeling that you picked up on that. Was gonna go into the non-arising via DO, but my brain 🧠 said it isn’t necessary.
    · Reply · 1d
    Arthur Deller
    John Tan you just lit a 🔥. In deep samadhi and insight meditation that’s very clear. On the go throughout the day while interacting, not as much.
    · Reply · 1d
    John Tan
    Arthur Deller distinguishing appearances and imputed notions added to mere appearances is a life long journey and indeed, daily engagement is the real meditation.
    · Reply · 1d · Edited
    Arthur Deller
    John Tan Hence the other 40%. Nice.©


  • Soh Wei Yu
    In the Mahamudra path, equipoise and post-equipoise begins to be mixed at the yoga of one taste, although it is not perfected until the yoga of non-meditation. See Mahamudra: The Moonlight:
    The stage of one flavor consists of the mind being settled
    evenly in its primal purity without affirming or rejecting
    the concepts of whether all things of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa
    are empty or not empty and of whether the mind has
    detached itself from the view of phenomena as absolute
    arising or dissolving. Je Phagdru explains:
    By meditating on the one flavor of all things,
    The meditator will cognize the one flavor of all these
    things.
    The diversity of appearances and nonappearances,
    Mind and emptiness, emptiness and nonemptiness,
    Are all of one flavor, nondifferentiable in their
    intrinsic emptiness.
    Understanding and lack of understanding are of one
    flavor;
    Equipoise and postequipoise are nondifferentiable;
    Meditation and absence of meditation are unified into
    one flavor;
    Discrimination and lack of discrimination are one
    flavor
    In the expanse of reality.
    Je Shang says:
    When the one-flavor stage dawns,
    One will cognize the characteristics of mind;
    One will realize that the diverse things of saṃsāra and
    nirvāṇa
    Arise from the mind’s nondiscriminatory dharmakāya.
    Appearance and absence of appearance,
    Stability and absence of stability,
    Emptiness and absence of emptiness,
    Clarity and absence of clarity
    Are all of one flavor in the luminous dharmakāya.
    The nonmeditation stage consists of [an enlightened
    mind] that has cleared all stains of inner sensation and
    experience and has achieved a harmonious blend of the
    understanding of the illuminating process with the abiding
    nature of the mind. Such a mind is completely detached
    from the duality of absorption and postabsorption,
    mindfulness and distraction. Je Phagdru writes:
    By perfecting this [nonmeditation stage]
    The meditator attains naked, unsupported awareness.
    This nondiscriminatory awareness is the meditation!
    By transcending the duality of meditation and
    meditator,
    External and internal realities,
    The meditating awareness dissolves itself
    Into its luminous clarity.
    Transcending the intellect,
    It is without the duality of equipoise and
    postequipoise.
    Such is the quintessence of mind.
    Je Shang concludes:
    When the nonmeditation stage of yoga dawns,
    The essence of awareness detaches itself
    From any inborn supports.
    The yogin will find nothing to meditate on,
    Because the unreality of the meditator has been
    exposed.
    It is proclaimed that the potential of enlightenment
    Is contained in every mind.
    Adorned with the three transcending forms 200
    And the five aspects of awareness,201
    One will discover this by oneself.
    Since there is agreement among most of the oral
    transmissions concerning the identification of the four
    stages of yoga, I have not elaborated on them here.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    6. The difference between absorption and
    postabsorption
    Je Gomchung comments:
    At the one-pointed stage there arise
    Both appropriate equipoise and postequipoise.
    At the nondiscriminatory stage there arise
    Differentiable equipoise and postequipoise.
    At the stage of one flavor there emerges
    The union of equipoise and postequipoise.
    At the stage of nonmeditation
    There is an all-round absorption.
    Since no exact nondiscriminatory awareness emerges in
    the one-pointed stage, there is no distinctive meditative
    absorption. Similarly, there is no distinctive
    postabsorption, since illusionlike postabsorption does not
    arise without the realization of the nonarising [emptiness]
    of all appearances. However, it is possible for the
    meditator, on this level of practice, to absorb his mind into
    the meditation and also to regain it immediately after
    getting distracted by simply revitalizing the mindfulness.
    The distinctive meditative absorption is achieved in the
    nondiscriminatory stage, because the awareness that dawns
    consists of a dimension of nonduality. As a
    nondifferentiating awareness it is detached from the mind’s
    clinging to the dualities of subject-object, external and
    internal. The distinctive postabsorption is achieved when
    the meditator cognizes the [inevitable] simple appearance
    of duality as only ephemeral illusion. And thus meditative
    absorption and postabsorption are differentiated.
    In the absorptive equipoise at the stage of one flavor, all
    dualities such as appearance and emptiness are perceived
    as being nondual. Even during postabsorption, whenever
    the meditator through mindfulness of nonduality cognizes
    appearance and emptiness as nondual and illusionlike, his
    practice is merely described as a blend of absorption with
    postabsorption.
    In the stage of nonmeditation, even though sensory
    appearances continue to emerge, they arise and dissolve in
    nothing other than the absorptive equipoise. Hence there is
    considered to be nothing but total absorption.
    Je Shang sums it up thus:
    Whenever one is absorbed in primordial awareness,
    Whatever one may be doing – jumping, running,
    murmuring, or talking –
    One is still in equipoise.
    Whenever one is detached from primordial
    awareness,
    One slips into postabsorption,
    Even though one may be sitting in meditation.
    He continues:
    However high the spiritual attainment,
    As long as one has not mastered meditation,
    There will emerge the dualities
    Of absorption and postabsorption,
    Sustained and unsustained mindfulness,
    A distracted and undistracted mind.
    Once the meditational state dawns
    Without any need to strive for it,
    Then this is described as the stage of nonmeditation.
    Whenever an innermost awareness encompasses each of
    the first three yoga stages, the meditator is in an
    appropriate equipoise, even though he may be engaged in
    jumping, running, or talking. But whenever such an
    awareness is absent, the meditator’s mental stage is
    reduced to a postabsorptive perception, even though he
    may be sitting in meditation. As long as the meditator has
    the need to strive for meditational perfection, there will be
    such dualities as equipoise and postequipoise, sustained
    and unsustained mindfulness, a distracted and undistracted
    mind. It must be noted that the actual nonmeditation stage
    consists of the union [of luminous awareness and the
    supreme illusor y form] on the path of noncultivation.202


  • Soh Wei Yu
    7. The time of realization for each of the four yoga
    stages
    Je Gomchung comments on the time thus:
    It comes when one is deeply absorbed in the onepointed
    stage,
    When one masters both equipoise and postequipoise
    in the nondiscriminatory stage,
    When one succeeds in blending equipoise and
    postequipoise in the stage of one flavor,
    And when one realizes the stage of nonmeditation
    [enlightenment].
    The meditator achieves a definite experience in
    meditative equipoise at the one-pointed stage when he
    maintains the inner sensation and the conscious certainty
    through revitalized mindfulness. He reorients his
    meditation to the perception during the period of
    postabsorption through a vigorous mindfulness. The
    meditator masters both equipoise and postequipoise at the
    nondiscriminatory stage when he meditates first on the
    spacelike absorption with sustained mindfulness and then
    on the illusionlike postabsorption during the period of
    postabsorption. The meditator achieves the one even state
    of all things at the stage of one flavor when he meditates on
    the union of absorption and postabsorption by being
    perfectly aware of the nonduality of appearance and
    emptiness. The meditator achieves the indivisible union of
    equipoise and postequipoise at the stage of nonmeditation
    when he perfects this meditation to its ultimate limit.
    Je Gampopa comments on the realization:
    A spontaneous fulfillment is achieved
    When one masters the one-pointed stage;
    A nondual awareness is achieved
    When one masters the nondiscriminatory stage;
    The inconceivable nature of mind is realized
    When one masters the stage of one flavor;
    The ultimate perfection is realized
    When one masters the stage of nonmeditation.
    8. Some other characteristics of these four stages
    Je Gyare comments:
    At the one-pointed stage
    Inner sensations dawn and diminish;
    Karma is accumulated,
    For this is the path of the transient world.
    At the nondiscriminatory stage
    One focuses on the nondual state [the transcendental
    path],
    The way one perceives one’s fatherland [with
    familiarity],
    And stabilizes the contemplation in absorption and
    postabsorption.
    At the stage of one flavor
    Appearance emerges as meditation,
    Which lasts
    For an uninterrupted period of time.
    The stage of nonmeditation
    Is the seat of dharmakāya.
    This means a pure concept
    For most meditators on this level.203
    Je Gyare explains further:
    By meditating on the one-pointed yoga for a long time
    The meditator will inevitably eliminate
    His attachment to sensory pleasures
    And will gain certain powers achieved by the ancient
    ascetics,
    Such as the power of supercognition, transformation,
    and the like.
    By maintaining the awareness of the
    nondiscriminatory yoga
    The meditator will perceive the great spectacle
    Of uncertain reality and its false appearance.
    He will attain certain vital qualities of a Bodhisattva,
    Such as compassion without any self-concern,
    According to the intensity of his training
    And the level of his intelligence.
    By maintaining the state of one flavor for a long time
    He will perceive the great spectacle of the pure lands
    of the Buddhas.
    No matter what he does, whether sitting in a reclining
    position,
    Standing on his head, or walking,
    [His absorption] is immobile, like a king who is
    firmly seated;
    [He perceives] the interrelated unity
    Of the apparent and ultimate realities,
    Like the sight of a magnificent silk cloth in the
    sunlight.
    He attains certain qualities of enlightenment
    And will then fulfill the hopes of innumerable sentient
    beings.
    When the meditator reaches the highest level of
    nonmeditation,
    He will achieve the transcendental qualities
    And will then carry out his spiritual functions
    To their ultimate limit.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    It is a much longer book than Clarifying the Natural State, another must read book by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal. But the longer book is also very good and worth reading, I read it a decade+ ago.


  • Soh Wei Yu
    On the other hand, if one merely have a peak experience of no-mind, it is not yet without entry and exit, and is before the realisation of anatman. This is what is spoken here:
    Session Start: Sunday, 29 May, 2011
    (7:17 PM) Thusness: anatta is often not correctly understood
    it is common that one progress from experience of non-dual to no-mind instead of direct realization into anatta
    (7:19 PM) Thusness: many focus on the experience
    and there is a lack of clarity to penetrate the differences
    so u must be clear of the various phases of insights first and not mistake one for the other
    at the same time, refine your experience
    these few days...have deeper sleep and exercise more
    balance your body energies
    Conversations with Thusness 2009-2013 on I AM, One Mind, No Mind and Anatta:
    (9:12 PM) Thusness: no mind is an experience, it is not an insight
    (9:14 PM) Thusness: ppl that have experienced no-mind knows there is such experience and aims towards achieving it again.
    (9:14 PM) Thusness: but insight is different...it is a direct experiential realization.
    (9:14 PM) AEN: icic..
    (9:14 PM) Thusness: that all along it is so.
    (11:19 PM) Thusness: u may have no-mind as an experience and understood that there is such an experience as simple manifestation or just the radiant world
    (11:19 PM) Thusness: but still it remains as a stage
    (11:19 PM) Thusness: u have no idea that it is a wrong view
    (11:20 PM) Thusness: we do not 'see' that it is the wrong view that 'blinds'
    a mistaken view shaping our entire experience
    (11:22 PM) AEN: icic..
    (11:23 PM) AEN: dharma dan calls it the knot of perception rite
    (11:23 PM) Thusness: yes
    (11:23 PM) AEN: so no mind is a strage?
    stage
    (11:24 PM) Thusness: no-mind is the peak of non-dual, the natural state of non-dual
    (11:24 PM) AEN: oic
    (11:24 PM) Thusness: where the background is completely gone
    (11:25 PM) Thusness: very often a practitioner in an advance phase of non-dual and One Mind, will naturally knows the importance of no-mind.
    And that becomes the practice
    they know they have to be there
    (11:26 PM) Thusness: however, to come to this natural state of non-dual where the background is deemed irrelevant, it requires insight of anatta.
    (12:09 AM) Thusness: and say yes, u realized ur mistake. wrote too fast.
    Awareness is just a label...
    (12:11 AM) Thusness: some of the texts u quoted are also misleading
    (12:12 AM) Thusness: when one spoke to others in longchen forum, some is to lead one into non-dual from "I AM" coz they can't accept anatta insight but is able to penetrate non-dual.
    (12:13 AM) Thusness: when anatta insight arises, one realizes there is no background
    (12:14 AM) Thusness: when insight of emptiness arise, then all is just sharing the same taste, luminous yet empty
    (12:14 AM) AEN: icic..
    (12:15 AM) Thusness: that is, i do not see Awareness, just a luminous manifestation
    there is no sense of Self/self
    or Awareness
    (12:16 AM) Thusness: there is always only sound, forms, smell...sweetness....hardness...thoughts...
    effortlessly manifesting
    (12:16 AM) Thusness: non-dually experienced
    (12:18 AM) Thusness: in terms of actual experience, what that is written in the forum is not enough
    (12:18 AM) Thusness: the intensity of luminosity isn't there.
    (12:19 AM) Thusness: first u go through the "I AM" for a period first
    later u will understand what i mean
    (12:12 AM) Thusness: not by way of non-identification.
    (12:13 AM) Thusness: by realization -- the arising insight there the mirror does not exist
    (12:15 AM) Thusness: if at the back of one's mind, there is this belief of a self, then will experience of no-mind be intermittent or permanent?
    (12:16 AM) AEN: intermittent
    (12:17 AM) Thusness: so how is one without the realization have a permanent experience of no-mind? There is no clarity, no doubtlessness of no-self, is it possible that there is a permanent and effortless experience of all sensate experiences without self?
    Thusness: ...To be more exact, the so called 'background' consciousness is that pristine happening. There is no a 'background' and a 'pristine happening'. During the initial phase of non-dual, there is still habitual attempt to 'fix' this imaginary split that does not exist. It matures when we realized that anatta is a seal, not a stage; in hearing, always only sounds; in seeing always only colors, shapes and forms; in thinking, always only thoughts. Always and already so. -:)
    Differentiating I AM, One Mind, No Mind and Anatta
    AWAKENINGTOREALITY.COM
    Differentiating I AM, One Mind, No Mind and Anatta
    Differentiating I AM, One Mind, No Mind and Anatta

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  • Soh Wei Yu
    “William Lam: It's non conceptual.
    John Tan: It’s non conceptual. Yup. Okay. Presence is not conceptual experience, it has to be direct. And you just feel pure sense of existence. Means people ask you, before birth, who are you? You just authenticate the I, that is yourself, directly. So when you first authenticate that I, you are damn happy, of course. When young, that time, wah… I authenticate this I… so you thought that you’re enlightened, but then the journey continues. So this is the first time you taste something that is different. It is… It is before thoughts, there is no thoughts. Your mind is completely still. You feel still, you feel presence, and you know yourself. Before birth it is Me, after birth, it is also Me, 10,000 years it’s still this Me, 10,000 year before, it’s still this Me. So you authenticate that, your mind is just that and authenticate your own true being, so you don't doubt that. In later phase…
    Kenneth Bok: Presence is this I AM?
    John Tan: Presence is the same as I AM. Presence is the same as… of course, other people may disagree, but actually they're referring to the same thing. The same authentication, the same what... even in Zen is still the same.
    But in later phase, I conceive that as just the thought realm. Means, in the six, I always call the six entries and six exits, so there is the sound and there’s all these… During that time, you always say I’m not sound, I’m not the appearance, I AM the Self that is behind all these appearances, alright? So, sounds, sensations, all these come and go, your thoughts come and go, those are not me, correct? This is the ultimate Me. The Self is the ultimate Me. Correct?
    William Lam: So, is that nondual? The I AM stage. It’s non-conceptual, was it nondual?
    John Tan: It’s nonconceptual. Yes, it is nondual. Why is it nondual? At that moment, there is no duality at all, at that moment when you experience the Self, you cannot have duality, because you are authenticated directly as IT, as this pure sense of Being. So, it’s completely I, there’s nothing else, just I. There’s nothing else, just the Self. I think, many of you have experienced this, the I AM. So, you probably will go and visit all the Hinduism, sing song with them, meditate with them, sleep with them, correct? Those are the young days. I meditate with them, hours after hours, meditate, sit with them, eat with them, sing song with them, drum with them. Because this is what they preach, and you find these group of people, all talking about the same language.
    So this experience is not a normal experience, correct? I mean, within the probably 15 years of my life or 17 years of my life, my first... when I was 17, when you first experienced that, wah, what is that? So, it is something different, it is non conceptual, it is non dual, and all these. But it is very difficult to get back the experience. Very, very difficult, unless you're in when you're in meditation, because you reject the relative, the appearances. So, it is, although they may say no, no, it is always with me, because it's Self, correct? But you don't actually get back the authentication, just pure sense of existence, just me, because you reject the rest of that appearances, but you do not know during that time. Only after anatta, then you realize that this, when you when you hear sound without the background, that experience is exactly the same, the taste is exactly the same as the presence. The I AM Presence. So, only after anatta, when the background is gone, then you realize eh, this has the exact same taste as the I AM experience. When you are not hearing, you are just in the vivid appearances, the obvious appearances now, correct. That experience is also the I AM experience. When you are even now feeling your sensation without the sense of self directly. That experience is exactly the same as I AM taste. It is nondual. Then you realize, I call, actually, everything is Mind. Correct? Everything. So, so before that, there is an ultimate Self, a background, and you reject all those transient appearances. After that, that background is gone, you know? And then you are just all these appearances.
    William Lam: You are the appearance? You are the sound? You are the…
    John Tan: Yes. So, so, that is an experience. That is an experience. So after that, you realize something. What did you realise? You realise all along it is the what, that is obscuring you. So… in a person, for a person that is in I AM experience, the pure presence experience, they will always have a dream. They will say that I hope I can 24 by 7 always in that state, correct? So when I was young, 17. But then after 10 years you are still thinking. Then after 20 years, you say how come I need to always meditate? You always find time to meditate, maybe I don't study also meditate, you give me a cave last time I will just meditate inside.
    So, the the thing that you always dream that you can one day be pure consciousness, just as pure consciousness, live as pure consciousness, but you never get it. And even if you meditate, occasionally probably you can have that oceanic experience. Only when you after anatta, when that self behind is gone, you are not 24 by 7, maybe most of your day, waking state, not so much of 24 by 7, you dream that time still very karmic depending on what you engage, doing business, all these. (John mimics dreaming) How come ah, the business…
    So, so, in normal waking state, you are effortless. Probably that is the, during I AM phase, what you think you are going to achieve, you achieve after the insight of anatta. So you become clear, you are probably in the right path. But there are further insights you have to go through. When you try to penetrate the… one of them is, I feel that I become very physical. I am just narrating, going through my experience. Maybe that time… because you experience the relative, the appearances directly. So everything becomes very physical. So that is how you come to understand the meaning, how concepts actually affect you. Then what exactly is physical? How does the idea of physical come about, correct? That time I still do not know about emptiness, and all these kind of things, to me it is not so important.
    So, I start going into what exactly is physical, what exactly is being physical? Sensation. But why is sensation known as physical, and what is being physical? How did I get the idea of being physical? So, I began to enquire into this thing. That, eh, actually on top of that, there is still further things to deconstruct, that is the meaning… that, just like self, I’m attached to the meaning of self, and you create a construct, it becomes a reification. Same thing, physicality also. So, you deconstruct the concepts surrounding physicality. Correct? So, when you deconstruct that, then I began to realize that all along, we try to understand, even after the experience of let’s say, anatta and all these… when we analyze, and when we think and try to understand something, we are using existing scientific concepts, logic, common day to day logic and all these to understand something. And it is always excluding consciousness. Even if you experience, you can lead a spiritual path you know, but when you think and analyze something, somehow you always exclude consciousness from the equation of understanding something. Your concept is always very materialistic. We always exclude consciousness from the whole equation.” - https://docs.google.com/.../16QGwYIP.../edit
    ATR Meeting 28 October 2020
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    ATR Meeting 28 October 2020
    ATR Meeting 28 October 2020

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    Soh Wei Yu I have a hard copy, it is very long I have barely dipped into it 😯


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Soh

John tan commented on one of Adyashanti’s videos back in 2020, “ It is a good video but a bit long.  There is also genuine distinction between All as Self which is Non-dual but substantialist and no-self that is Non-dual and non-substantialist.  One does not need to take side but have to b objective and unbiased.  Hence clearly discerning the differences and implications r key to understanding how the mind reifies and how confusions arise.  Therefore on top of experiences which is quite difficult to differentiate clearly the two in experience (all as Self and No-Self) and authentication of pristine consciousness in real time, clearly seeing how the layers obscures is part and parcel of maturing our experiences and insights.”


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"They point to different insights, and there are different insights even for nondual, substantialist and nonsubstantialist. David loy isnt clear about this point

His original nonduality book, he seems to confuse anatta with no mind state. Not clear about anatta as realization

He is conflating all is self with no self insight

The implications are huge [different view and realization]

(Soh: Read this article on the two different types of nondual insight, one of John Tan's 'must read' articles: 4) Realization and Experience and Non-Dual Experience from Different Perspectives )

His latest book seems to be clear about anatta realization i think


I wrote back in 2011 April,


Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

This is why I said most masters are still at the phase of substantial non-dual.

As for David Loy, he is a little unique. It could be that he has realized Anatta... but his insight is shadowed by his attempt to link up the religions (he was doing inter-religious comparison). Therefore he was unable to differentiate substantial non-dualism from anatta. In his book 'Non-duality', this is clearly the case.

However it is also likely that he is still in substantial non-dual phase.


Thusness replied:

Wow...If I am not wrong, David Loy is a qualified Zen Teacher and a Ph. D in Philosophy.  For you to make such a comment , you must be doubtless of your realization.

I am glad of your confidence and clarity of your realization.  This is the difference between having insights (clear seeing of the nature of experiential reality) and having mere experiences of no-mind and non-dual.

In my opinion, even though the insight is clear, to be like what Ted has remarked in the article Where There Is No Cold or Heat will still take some time.  Practice diligently and enter deeply into the 6 entires and exits "where there is no cold or heat".  This experience too can be as natural as breathing in our moment to moment of experience if we embrace the right view fully.  Have no doubt about it. :-)

 

But not everyone that realises anatta are clear about the different phases of insights, the impact of view experience realization etc.

The same for alan watts although his insights are clear

[12:16 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: U have to understand Alan Watts equates Taoism, Buddhism and Advaita as the same because he sees the beauty of unity.
[12:16 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Also, he sees a state of no-mind in all the teachings
[12:16 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: Sounds like david loy
[12:16 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Yes
[12:17 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: This is not that they do not have the insights
[12:17 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: But they see the beauty
[12:18 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: However they may not differentiate insight from experience and view
[12:18 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: And may not see the importance of that...
[12:18 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: So it depends
[12:19 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: All have different conditions, how one penetrates the teaching differs.
[12:20 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: I find Alan Watts very insightful though his life doesn't reflect that...lol
[12:20 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: Lol
[12:21 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Actually I m still looking for texts that can differentiate them clearly
[12:21 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Or books
[12:22 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: On fact Malcolm is already very unique
[12:22 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Lol
[12:22 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Kyle also
[12:24 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Dzogchen however seems to equate DO from only the afflictive point of view unlike the gelug, they put lots of emphasis on DO not from afflictive perspective.
[12:25 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: DO is the king of reasoning, it is the middle path and the essence of Buddhism.
[12:26 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: texts that can differentiate advaita from emptiness/D.O.?
[12:26 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Emptiness cannot b understood apart from DO.
[12:27 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Texts or books that and differentiate experience from insight and present the view in relation to anatta experience.
[12:27 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: oic..
[12:28 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: The same experience when experienced from substantialist view will end up subsuming.
[12:30 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: But we see buddhism many spoke of a state of no mind but using DO and Emptiness not as the presentation of the right view but as a path of disassociation towards an ultimate awareness.
[12:30 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Teacher cheb seems to b that approach too.
[12:30 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: yeah..
[12:30 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: In fact Theravada teaching is more anatta
[12:30 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: ven. hui lu seems different in that regard
[12:31 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: in that video he criticised other religion eternalism and said "permanence" is simply the emptiness and dependent arising of impermanence
[12:31 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: However they r anatta in no-self but view isn't strong
[12:31 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Yes ven hui Lu is quite good
[12:31 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: oic..
[12:32 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: What I din see in hui Lu is it remains as wisdom teaching
[12:33 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Experience wise I prefer that 王洪亮?
[12:33 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: "What I din see in hui Lu is it remains as wisdom teaching" what do u mean
[12:34 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Although hui Lu comment is good and clear, anatta isn't clear.
[12:35 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: The experience no mind due to anatta insight then into DO and Emptiness is important.
[12:35 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: "
再来,第一,令诸众生获得十四种无畏功德,即【1、不自观音以观观者,】因为观世音菩萨修耳根圆通的。不自观音就是不会拿这个音声……以观观者,第一个“观”叫做能观,“观者”就是所观。他不会拿这个音声,来变作一个能观跟所观。意思就是:观世音菩萨已经证得金刚三昧,就是心境一如的意思。不自观音就是不拿这个外在的音声,化为一个能观,一个所观,因为音声就是清净自性的缘起相,没有二相,缘起相就是真如相。所以,不自观音以观观者,观世音菩萨不会拿外面的这个音声,化作一个能观、所观。众生都是这样,听到美好的音声,心都跑掉了,一个能听,一个所听,心就跑掉了,就迷迷茫茫了。观世音菩萨知道,音声是幻灭的,幻灭就是实相的显现,缘起就是实相。【使受苦众生即得解脱,】让受苦的众生就得到解脱,【是为无畏。】"

"
大 悟之人不见法。他没有任何东西,因为法法本空,法法不相到。也不见身。为什么?四大本空,五阴本来就没有“我”。所以,什么叫做照见五蕴皆空?色即是空, 受想行识即是空。为什么讲色即是空?色即是空,空就是佛性,色就是佛性的展现。所以,真正的悟道的人,他的心性流露在一切缘起法里面,即于生灭,即得不生 不灭的无为法,也没有所谓有为跟无为,刹那即见永恒,永恒就是刹那,平等不二。 因此我们要了解:不见法,也不见身。身,地水火风所构成的,四大本来就空,五蕴——色受想行识,本来就是不可得。一切法,智者了知一切法,本来就无我。这无我里面,当下就是佛性。所以,佛法讲否定的时候,凡所有相,皆是假相。讲肯定的时候,尘尘都是真心,每一个颗粒微尘都是真心的影现,一切法全部都是真。 当他破除无明烦恼、破除执着、破除分别的时候,完全都是真心展现的,尘尘尽是真,没有一法不是真心,这个是站在肯定的角度。站在否定的角度,是凡所有相不 可得。站在本体界的角度,凡所有相,都是本体界的展现,都是清净心的影现,没有一法不是真实。"

- ven hui lu
[12:36 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: this is still more like nondual, not anatta?
[12:36 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: I got to read
[12:36 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: What is that Zen teacher name?
[12:36 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: 洪文亮?
[12:36 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Yes
[12:37 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: U see hui Lu is speaking from highest form of teaching
[12:38 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Actually very good
[12:38 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: U should pass your mom
[12:39 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: ok
[12:40 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: I also like 洪文亮。 i think these two, hong wen liang and hui lu fa shi are the only chinese masters i really resonate lol
[12:41 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Yeah only two that is really clear
[12:41 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: But u cannot read it from ur understanding
[12:41 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: It is not suitable for many ppl
[12:41 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: What do u mean
[12:42 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: This text is very good. But not suitable for many ppl.
[12:43 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: It involves anatta insight, emptiness and DO, clarity from anatta perspective.
[12:44 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: oic..
[12:46 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: He should say 尘尘假相都是真心
[12:48 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: The text that I wrote for u to teacher Chen, paste it here
[12:52 AM, 5/19/2020] Soh Wei Yu: 深入观行, 婆酰迦经。
了悟经旨, 直指无心。
无执能所, 忘却身心。
方知见性, 只需明相。
明相见性, 见色明心。
真心空性, 随缘显相。
迷时幻相, 悟时真心。
山河大地, 原是法身。
色声香味, 尽是妙心。
[12:52 AM, 5/19/2020] John Tan: Lol




-------




4. On Non-Dual Experience, Realization and Anatta

I have just casually gone through some of your forum discussions. Very enlightening discussions and well presentation of my 7-phases-of-insights but try not to over-emphasize it as a model; it should not be taken as a definite model of enlightenment nor should you use it as a framework to validate others' experiences and insights. Simply take it as a guide along your spiritual journey.

You are right to differentiate non-dual experience from non-dual realization and non-dual realization from the insight of anatta. We have discussed this umpteem times. Non-dual experience in the context we are using refers to the experience of no-subject-object division. The experience is much like putting two candle flames together where the boundary between the flames becomes indistinguishable. It is not a realization but simply a stage, an experience of unity between the observer and the observed where the conceptual layer that divides is temporarily suspended in a meditative state. This you have experienced.

Non-dual realization on the other hand is a deep understanding that comes from seeing through the illusionary nature of subject-object division. It is a natural non-dual state that resulted from an insight that arises after rigorous investigation, challenge and a prolonged period of practice that is specially focused on ‘No-Self’. Somehow focusing on “No-Self” will spark a sense of sacredness towards the transient and fleeting phenomena. The sense of sacredness that is once the monopoly of the Absolute is now also found in the Relative. The term ‘No-Self’ like Zen-Koan may appear cryptic, senseless or illogical but when realized, it is actually obviously clear, direct and simple. The realization is accompanied with the experience that everything is being dissolved into either:

1. An ultimate Subject or
2. As mere ‘flow of phenomenality’

In whatever the case, both spells the end of separateness; experientially there is no sense of two-ness and the experience of unity can be quite overwhelming initially but eventually it will lose its grandeur and things turn quite ordinary. Nevertheless, regardless of whether the sense of Oneness is derived from the experience of ‘All as Self’ or ‘as simply just manifestation’, it is the beginning insight of “No-Self”. The former is known as One-Mind and the later, No-Mind.

In Case 1 it is usual that practitioners will continue to personify, reify and extrapolate a metaphysical essence in a very subtle way, almost unknowingly. This is because despite the non-dual realization, understanding is still orientated from a view that is based on subject-object dichotomy. As such it is hard to detect this tendency and practitioners continue their journey of building their understanding of ‘No-Self based on Self’.

For Case 2 practitioners, they are in a better position to appreciate the doctrine of anatta. When insight of Anatta arises, all experiences become implicitly non-dual. But the insight is not simply about seeing through separateness; it is about the thorough ending of reification so that there is an instant recognition that the ‘agent’ is extra, in actual experience it does not exist. It is an immediate realization that experiential reality has always been so and the existence of a center, a base, a ground, a source has always been assumed.

To mature this realization, even direct experience of the absence of an agent will prove insufficient; there must also be a total new paradigm shift in terms of view; we must free ourselves from being bonded to the idea, the need, the urge and the tendency of analyzing, seeing and understanding our moment to moment of experiential reality from a source, an essence, a center, a location, an agent or a controller and rest entirely on anatta and Dependent Origination.

Therefore this phase of insight is not about singing eloquently the non-dual nature of an Ultimate Reality; contrary it is deeming this Ultimate Reality as irrelevant. Ultimate Reality appears relevant only to a mind that is bond to seeing things inherently, once this tendency dissolves, the idea of a source will be seen as flawed and erroneous. Therefore to fully experience the breadth and depth of no-self, practitioners must be prepared and willing to give up the entire subject-object framework and be open to eliminate the entire idea of a ‘source’. Rob expressed very skillfully this point in his talk:

One time the Buddha went to a group of monks and he basically told them not to see Awareness as The Source of all things. So this sense of there being a vast awareness and everything just appears out of that and disappears back into it, beautiful as that is, he told them that’s actually not a skillful way of viewing reality. And that is a very interesting sutta, because it’s one of the only suttas where at the end it doesn’t say the monks rejoiced in his words.

This group of monks didn’t want to hear that. They were quite happy with that level of insight, lovely as it was, and it said the monks did not rejoice in the Buddha’s words. (laughter) And similarly, one runs into this as a teacher, I have to say. This level is so attractive, it has so much of the flavor of something ultimate, that often times people are unbudgeable there.


What then is the view that Buddhism is talking about without resorting to a ‘source’? I think the post by Vajrahridaya in the thread ‘What makes Buddhism different’ of your forum succinctly and concisely expressed the view, it is well written. That said, do remember to infinitely regress back into this vivid present moment of manifestation – as this arising thought, as this passing scent – Emptiness is Form. :)
Soh

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AwakeningToReality/posts/9936020633105944/?__cft__[0]=AZU3CzA-lkxT7qJS20VO8yu8tqae_XhIOqncQ4cQokvotSjKY2tA3rq2FmYk1g41mhDAJmw1h4G1SfzIOShlA0j7ruUK3JjkYB7RXNUWqfHYU4KwpnfkECtbOhlL6OdehzPPDC3TuHF3X6sdLNsaO30FmfzPqHO4WATazVNuByPKKjkuUHP13bSb5_-EIOfuxSc&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

 
 
 

Mr. NK
What if suffering is a case of identity at all, being the mistake?

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Yin LingAdmin
Top contributor
Mr. NK don’t understand?

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Mr. NK
What if identification ( with anything at all ) is the problem ?

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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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Mr. NK
Not wrong. As John Tan said before years ago,
“Just send. When she explains "I M" as real, just without hesitation and say that is 妄 (delusion) and 苦的根源 (the root of suffering)。
That is all.”

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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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Mr. NK
Also

As John Tan said,
"Though buddha nature is plainness and most direct, these are still the steps. If one does not know the process and said ‘yes this is it’… then it is extremely misleading. For 99 percent [of ‘realized’/’enlightened’ persons] what one is talking about is "I AMness", and has not gone beyond permanence, still thinking [of] permanence, formless… ...all and almost all will think of it along the line of "I AMness", all are like the grandchildren of "AMness", and that is the root cause of duality.” - John Tan, 2007”

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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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Mr. NK nevertheless I AM is an important realization of one’s luminous essence

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Mr. NBTop contributor
The relaxation bit is actually a very good pointer.
Not sure what’s going on with this fellow’s other videos, though.

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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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Mr. NB i have no ideas too, never watched his other videos

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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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Mr. NK
The witness is the preliminary rigpa beginners start with even in dzogchen teachings


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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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(See krodha/kyle dixon posts)

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mr-curiouser
Op ·
4 mo. ago

Rigpa is not the “witness” according to Dzogchen.
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krodha
·
4 mo. ago

    Rigpa is not the “witness” according to Dzogchen.

It is when you start out.
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mr-curiouser
Op ·
4 mo. ago

Fair point. But if one stays attached to THINKING “ah there it is! I am aware and of my awareness. There you are Rigpa!” Then the practitioner stops further progress until this way of thinking and believing is transcended and released.
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optimistically_eyed
·
4 mo. ago

    It is when you start out.

Would you mind fleshing that out for me? I’m not sure I follow.
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krodha
·
4 mo. ago

Rigpa in normal sentient beings is just the dualistic mind as the vijñāna skandha. Meaning it is an inner subjective observer. The “subject” in the subject-object duality that in fact is vijñāna, dualistic consciousness.

As you progress on the path you begin to realize the emptiness of that subjective aspect, but it is very concrete and well established in normal sentient beings.
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optimistically_eyed
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4 mo. ago

That’s helpful. Thank you.
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krodha
·
4 mo. ago

Rigpa not being an observer pertains to the domain of āryas and tathāgatas. The rest of us certainly have dualistic vision with subject and object.

The rhetoric being thrown around in this thread about rigpa not being an observer or witness is true in certain contexts, but it is big talk. It really is something that accomplished yogis realize.
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optimistically_eyed
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4 mo. ago

This clarifies and demystifies things significantly. Thank you again.
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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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Kyle Dixon wrote before,


“I don’t see why not. Stream entry involves recognition of the true nature of the clear, bright, knowing, cognizance of your mind.


As your practice progresses you should begin to familiarize with that knowing capacity. Even with bipolar, in the height of happiness, the depths of depression, in the intensity of anger, that knowing capacity is always the same, stable, bright, clear. Like the surface of a mirror.


Anger, sadness, happiness and everything else are like reflections that appear in the surface of the mirror but don’t affect it.


Be the mirror and don’t get caught up in the reflections.


This is not yet stream entry. But it can be a basis for practice that will help you get there.



In initial practice, if you treat your knowing conscious clarity of mind as something like the surface of a mirror, and the sensory stimuli as reflections that appear on the mirror, anchor your view as being the mirror and the view will always be stable no matter what appears.”


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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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Aditya Prasad
Soh Wei Yu I don't understand this quote. "Stream entry is X. This is not yet stream entry." I think I am misunderstanding which parts describe stream entry and which do not. Is the distinction here the same as initial rigpa vs mature rigpa ( = stream entry)? Kyle Dixon · 49m
Soh Wei Yu
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Aditya Prasad
Kyle Dixon is saying that recognising the clarity aspect of rigpa is not stream entry but is an important preliminary realisation. Realising the empty nature (i.e. anatman) of that clarity of mind is stream entry.

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Soh Wei YuAuthor
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As for the matured rigpa post emptiness realization, Kyle also expressed:
"'Self luminous' and 'self knowing' are concepts which are used to convey the absence of a subjective reference point which is mediating the manifestation of appearance. Instead of a subjective cognition or knower which is 'illuminating' objective appearances, it is realized that the sheer exertion of our cognition has always and only been the sheer exertion of appearance itself. Or rather that cognition and appearance are not valid as anything in themselves. Since both are merely fabricated qualities neither can be validated or found when sought. This is not a union of subject and object, but is the recognition that the subject and object never arose in the first place [advaya]. ", "The cognition is empty. That is what it means to recognize the nature of mind [sems nyid]. The clarity [cognition] of mind is recognized to be empty, which is sometimes parsed as the inseparability of clarity and emptiness, or nondual clarity and emptiness." - Kyle Dixon, 2014

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