ZEN… The ZEN of Zen... O! ZEN
The Nature of Zen
Your True Nature
What Really Exists Is the Limitless, Infinite, Unobstructed Space of Perception… there is no self, no barrier.
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What You Really Are Is Always Behind: Behind what you perceive, behind what you think, what you feel, what you feel with the senses.
Where the light of your awareness goes out where the Darkness, the Unknown, the Unconscious begins, There Reality Spreads.
Relative consciousness (what you can perceive and understand) is but a speck of awareness in the Ocean of True Nature, it is not the Whole of Nature, but only the enlightened part of your Nature.
To Know Who You Really Are, Your Reality, Your True Nature, you must surrender to That which Birthed you and Sustains you (you, as relative consciousness, as me).
To confine yourself only to what your awareness illuminates, where your thought, or your senses illuminate, and to consider this as all existence, the only reality and the absolute truth, is simply ignorance, delusion and always has an end: What you perceive is not Existence, Life, but only what you perceive of Life (and in an imperfect way).
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What You Really Are (your True Nature) Is Always Here, Ever-Present and Perceived when you awaken from the dreamlike state of perception (of a separate existence), thought, senses.
You are That which Perceives, which thinks, which feels, you are not perception (ego), thought, feeling (body and world).
What You Really Are Is Eternal, Free, Unbounded, except when you decide to limit yourself to thought (identify with thought), or sense (identify with sense).
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What You Really Are Is All-Pervading Awareness, It Can Be Here, There, Anywhere (always within the Infinite Space of Here), it is not concentrated in one point, but is present at any point, it is all Space, in All Space, in all things.
What You Really Are is beyond all activities of existence, and thus It is Eternal: It can exist even if there is no body, thought, relative existence, any activity. It sinks into Immensity and reaches Non-existence, Primordial Chaos.
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No matter how much you look for it, you will not find it... When you stop looking, you will feel it in the palm of your hand!
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The Nature of Zen
Nature Is What It Really Is. It is the True Essence of all beings (whether they realize it or not). It works regardless of whether we are Experiencing it or whether we are experiencing something else, different. It functions as the Basis, the Background, the Essence of Life, upon which all other experience is built. When We Experience Our True Nature (which is Common to all and without self, without thought, without personal experience…) We experience Nature in Its Absolute Mystery, We Experience Nature As It Is, in its ultimate State (or more correctly Beyond all situations).
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Calm and Activity is not Nature As It Is. They are only States of Nature, Relative States, Perceptions of Nature. It's Nature As It Appears. In this case we do not experience Nature As It Is (in Its Absolute Mystery) but Phenomenal States, that is, not Being but processes, images, visions of Reality, not Reality. And while Experiencing Nature As It Is, in Its Absolute Mystery is Fixed, Eternal, Beyond Change, Time, Anything... in the other case, where we experience Nature (As It Seems) in Tranquility and Activity, the experience it is a continuous flow (of perception), change, a constant change. Thus, the Relational World of Flow, of Maya, of Becoming, the World of Duality is revealed.
In this Experiential Space, Tranquility (the apparent lack of activity) is a Transparent State that allows Nature to be seen as it is. It is not Reality but an apparent state (reflecting) that shows what Reality is like, a Vision of Reality. It is the truest state within the relative world of duality.
Rather Activity is the condition (or rather the process) that blurs experience, that distorts the vision of Reality, that interposes other images into Reality. And the more we are absorbed in this process, the more we move away from Reality to immerse ourselves more and more in a personal (illusory) vision of Reality. In this case We are not Experiencing Reality, we are not even seeing what Reality looks like in its Real State but we are falsifying Reality, creating another reality, thinking about Reality and regulating our further activity according to this personal vision of Reality.
In this state all creatures, the entire universe, are immersed. As all beings come from One Source and rely on the same Foundation to create their personal vision of Reality it is only natural that they have common experiences of Reality, commonalities and similarities in what they perceive. This is the deepest meaning of Universal Delusion. It is intersubjectivity (that is, the communication of separate subjects on a common basis) that creates the illusion that we all live in a common reality. But this illusion breaks down when beings try to actually communicate and get along. Then it turns out that everyone has their own perception of the world and it is difficult to understand how the other perceives. Thus, beings end up in strife, in the rule of the strongest, in injustice and in the current chaos of the world.
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Behind everything that happens and we perceive, Nature works. Regardless of what we perceive (or understand). Reality Is What We Experience, Not What We Think. In this sense Unadulterated Perception of Reality has (the being) he who is in the Absolute Mystery of Nature, who Experiences Nature As It Is beyond duality. This is True Awakening, True Enlightenment. Thought is not an Experience, but an imitation, sometimes very successful, of an Experience.
When we are within the relative world of flow, of becoming, then we perceive Reality (as a Phenomenon) in terms of duality and distinguish two states, Tranquility, the Universal Unity of Being, the True State (As It Seems) and Activity, of ignorance, of individuality, of false reality. Although Tranquility is a State that Shows Reality As It Is, yet it remains a Phenomenon (and cannot be eclipsed as the Ultimate Reality). It should not be taken as the True State, the True Enlightenment, because being in the world of flux, of becoming, it is just another phenomenon, it is a false enlightenment. But often creatures are misled and take this state to be the True State. In the world of Activity, of personal perception and action, creatures are in the river of life and move with more or less consciousness of what happens to them. Identified with activity, thought, sensations, they perceive them as absolute reality and continue their (metaphysical) sleep.
When we are immersed in the world of duality we separate the world into enlightenment and ignorance, reality and illusion, stillness and activity, etc. The pursuit of enlightenment leads to a false enlightenment of our own making (a personal delusion). False enlightenment is always revealed in the end. It is like Gold and gilt. The fake sooner or later is caught in the net (snares) of duality and revealed how fake it is. The possession of enlightenment (the perception that we are – some ego – enlightened) is but another delusion of the ego. In the state of ignorance the ego emerges as the absolute judge of Reality, the ego is projected above all, making the perversion of Nature apparent and proving the magnitude of our folly, but at least it is seen how abnormal this state is.
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In the Zen Perception (of the World) There is only True Nature (As It Is), the Experiencing of Reality, anything else is but illusion. Awakening from the dream of duality is True Enlightenment.
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The True Light is the Transcendental Darkness of men, where all is transparent... The light of thought is distorting light with bright spots and shadows. We don't need it to see and often don't use it. Sometimes we turn on the light of thought not so that we can see, but so that others can see us. The enlightened world of humans is really very dark, but the mole people do not understand this.
The True Enlightenment
In Pure Awareness, beyond duality, We Just Exist, We Live the Oneness of Being that transcends all States (whose occasional action does not alter Experience). We do not distinguish Subject-Object, we are not in Evolution, we do not come, we do not go, we do not become. All the Activities of Becoming are but passing clouds in the Vast Sky of Awareness. Our True (Living) Nature is the Sky, not the passing clouds of activity.
True Enlightenment is a State beyond Duality (beyond Stillness and Activity which are only States, Manifestations of Essence): Open, Boundless, Unobstructed Awareness that does not discriminate (enlightenment-ignorance, etc.).
It is at the level of Duality (within the Cosmic Action of Opposites, Tranquility-Activity) that "enlightenment" is posited as the goal and opposite of ignorance. But such enlightenment sought, realized, is but a relative enlightenment, a false enlightenment (of the ego).
Only when the deception is perceived and we stop operating at the level of duality by abandoning all futile activities can we Emerge into True Enlightenment: True Enlightenment Blooms as Understanding, Manifests as Infinite Awareness and Experiences as Living Absence, A Transcendental Fullness, An Indescribable Bliss in Absolute Silence, An Undifferentiated State that Renew and Flows Without Changing, the Consummation of all states... something that one must Experience to understand what we are talking about and that words are inadequate and too poor to capture Life, Experience and to transmit it: Life is Transmitted as Life, Through Life and is Only Life, not words, not worldly experience, nothing that fits into the small human mind.
In True Enlightenment (Open Infinite Unobstructed Awareness) there is no self, enlightened, enlightenment, Only Pure Awareness. Enlightenment that one achieves (maintaining the perception of self) is only the projection of the idea of enlightenment onto existence, an imaginary state and not Reality.
True Enlightenment is selfless. Self, ego, is identification: identification with the perception of an ego, with thought, feeling, sensation, object, world... What matters is where we see, how we see, not what we see. In Pure Awareness Everything is Mirrored and everything flows without identifying with anything: Pure Awareness Is Only a Mirror, without a trace of dust... In egoic perception we identify with the ego, the thought, the feeling, we stand facing the world, at a distance from the world: this awareness is a mirror full of dust and dirt (which distorts Reality).
If you really want to Experience Reality simply abandon yourself, and all its contents. In Absence you will be "Reborn", in Absolute Silence you will begin to Live, in the Infinity of Awareness you will be One with All... there is no other Way.
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Life and Thought
When you truly Live (when you live with awareness of your situation), this immediate experience of life is so Full that it is exhausted within its limits…. We don't need to think, comment, explain anything. We just live. This is the Way of Nature, the natural Way, the True Spirit of Zen.
Then Truth is simply the experience of life itself, our life. There is, beyond the simple fact of life, no theory, no teaching, nothing to impart or say. This is the Only Way of True Teaching. This is the transmission of the flame of life by flame, not by words.
A true Master in the Way of Zen is one who Lives Zen, who Lives Naturally, who simply Lives his life. He has nothing to teach, nothing to say, nothing to offer anyone. The True Master Walks His Lonely Path… He neither needs nor has disciples.
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When you don't live with awareness but wander through life, you try to fill your darkness with thoughts, theories, explanations, excuses and words, words, words... This is the way of man, the artificial way of culture, society... the animal...
Then Truth becomes intellectual understanding, definition, theory, words and more words next to it and more words beyond. This is how people accumulate knowledge, transmit knowledge, and move through the arbitrary division of time into the future of their imagination.
He is not a Teacher who wants to be a Teacher and have students. Even if he denies the title of Master but acts like a Master, it is still wrong. His Teaching is not Life but only words describing life. It's really a shame to be a Master and it's a shame to be a student, because you just accept and show your inadequacy, your stupidity and your insignificance.
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So, that's why Real People are just people and just live life. They March Alone, but in this Lonely March They Meet and Unite with the Whole Universe, They March to the End with the Whole Universe.
The True Religion of Nature, the True Spirit of Zen (and of all genuine religious experience) is to Move Effortlessly, One with All, for You are All, and All is One Essence, One Life, One Reality, One Eternity.
So go ahead! Stand on your feet! Break all boundaries and Become Nature, the Whole Universe. Find Within You the Direct Experience of Your Life, the True Meaning of Existence, which is of Itself Full Life, Full Awakening, Full Bliss, Eternity Itself.
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True people Walk Alone, but in their Journey Unite with All, Become All, are All... The religious in all earthly religions begin as a whole, as a group, as a society and end up hating and eating each other... That's why follow the Path of Truth and not the path of religion. This is neither a command, nor advice, it is simply the essence of life, of experience... if it is useful for something.
The most eloquent language is Silence. To Feel, to Live, to have Experience, True Experience, which cannot be expressed in words, because Life does not transform into words... On the contrary, it is the lack of experience, the lack of experience that needs the crutches of thought, expression, words, of the futility of the knowledge that wants to be transmitted (except that what is transmitted is not life but dead words).
Live!... Don't fill the darkness with thoughts, with words, with knowledge, with culture, with pride... with foolishness.
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Only Life can Conceive, Understand Life as something living, as a direct experience of the common essence of life (which all living things have). It is only on the basis of the Common Essence that the differences, the particularities, are truly understood (and in their proper magnitude): Thus, everything seems to be conceived as something alive (the common essence) at a particular moment as it flows through existence (for all is not fixed beings but "becoming"). We perceive the common essence with all, we are one with all, we co-exist with all, despite superficial external changes of form... This is the Way of Zen and of all genuine religious experience of life.
But it is not the Way This way of the binary mind, of the analytical mind, which separates the ego, the subject from the object, which it sees opposite, as something foreign and grasps it through static concepts (category, order, genus, species, person, etc.) and understands it as a set of static properties: But what is conceived in this way is not the living being (a manifestation of life) but a "mental fossil".
You can Live Life, See the Same Essence in everything, respect everything, go along with everything, in the same river of life... or you can stand against everything, see it as foreign, put it in its drawers of your mind as "objects", treating everything, even people, as objects, you can conquer the whole universe, but you will never succeed in grasping life, reconciling with life, living in peace, leaving in peace … what do you win? Only you choose your Path... The Path of Life or the path of thought (which is ignorance, unhappiness and destruction).
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The True Zen
The True Zen
True Zen comes from within as an Expanding of Understanding, not from outside, from external information.
True Zen is Understanding, i.e. Direct Experiential Apprehension of Reality and not mental apprehension.
True Zen is Unobstructed Perception that Spreads Freely Everywhere and not a mental construct, which is a limited conception of Reality, since it consists of building blocks of knowledge, particular construction and given perspective.
True Zen is Unlimited Perception, it is not limited perception and does not stop at situations, perceptions, or experiences.
True Zen is Complete and Integral Experiencing Reality, Now Here, Always, not born, not directed, not ended anywhere. True Zen is True Bliss since there is neither gain nor loss, only Unhindered Acceptance of Reality.
True Zen is Our True Nature, and You Only Understand It When You Experience True Nature Within You, Not Outside, Through External Means.
True Zen is Experiencing the Oneness of Reality and does not recognize (when Experienced Holistically) distinctions, Inside-outside, Before-after, Enlightenment-non-enlightenment, or any other distinction of opposites.
True Zen is the Only Zen there is because any other experience is simply not Zen... so the label "true Zen" is simply an abusive redundancy.
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Our True Nature
There are Two States of Consciousness about which we can say nothing (but little):
The Consciousness of Emptiness (the Complete Absence).
The Consciousness of the Whole, the One, the Complete, the Integrated (which is the Inverse Positive Aspect of Consciousness of Emptiness).
These Two States of Consciousness are Darkness and Light.
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The State of Consciousness of which we can say something is (the Reflection of the Transcendental Light) the Cosmic Consciousness (the Consciousness of the Unity of Being) which we meet in Creation, which has already effected the separation of Subject-Object, though in This Level, Subject Object They are the Same, they are identical. It is Consciousness towards the Other (the Object, the Content of Perception, the Phenomenon). It is always the "Consciousness of Something." Either "it" is the Self Itself, or the external world (which will emerge as a phenomenon within evolution and time). This Consciousness is called in the Traditions Manas, Vijnana, Tao with distinctions, Being, Mind and various other names.
What exactly is This Consciousness? Consciousness (or its synonym Perception, in its transcendental form) is not a substance, something fixed, nor something that lasts, although it has continuity: It is an Activity that is constantly evolving and has continuity, never being the same since it is constantly changing the content (the "something").
In other words, Consciousness (or Perception) is a Stream of Consciousness, a Stream of Awareness and not something fixed. Originating from a Greater State of Present Consciousness, its Participation in Creation, and its Withdrawal (again) into a (Same) Greater State is Individual Existence, Present Consciousness, (me, you, the other, each of us).
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The Present Consciousness (more correctly the Present Stream of Consciousness) is more than the totality of the experience of the ordinary man.
Consciousness Itself, as Consciousness, as Perception, is clearly Something Different from its "Content". It is the "Consciousness of Content" that Differentiates and gives Individual Character to the Stream of Consciousness. The Maintenance of this Stream of Consciousness, the Absorption in its Content, the Identification with what we perceive creates the personal existence, the individual experience, the particular life. The way Consciousness Limitation is done through certain processes-functions is not the same in all Fields of Existence: However, Limitation is understood symbolically (and sometimes literally) as "birth" in the field of experience.
Expanding Perception (through a Physical Process) beyond limitations is experienced as Liberation.
Violent Separation from the content of Perception with which we are identified is a traumatic experience and is characterized as "death".
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The Exit to the Absolute
The Exit from any state of our Consciousness (the present, our own consciousness) to the Absolute, to the Supreme Reality, to the Experiencing the Absolute State of Full Perception, which springs Spontaneously from the Nature of Consciousness, and not from any activity (supermental, mental, or physical), to Perfect Non-Activity, to Integral Tranquility (which is beyond Stillness or Activity), does not belong to the realm of Activity, Time, Change... There is nothing that must to be achieved. There is no way to make something happen. There is no way out, in any direction.
The Exit is in the Present, in the Now, in the Moment we live in (which does not belong to Time) and not in the space of thought, which creates the perception of time, continuity, realization, i.e. imagination.
The Exit is instantaneous, like lightning, an Inner Glow, the Direct Passage to the Level of Non-Activity, Silence of thought... and not the result of any effort. This – the Immediate Realization, the Immediate Transition from one level to another – is the result of the Understanding that all activity of thought is futile, imaginary and without content. The Complete Renunciation of it all, the Great Renunciation, Leads to Light, Full Understanding, Tranquility and Bliss.
There is no other way. There is not even a road. All the paths of religious activity, teachings, meditations, efforts, all belong to the realm of relative, nonsense and are a waste of time and energy.
Understanding This Great Truth is not the result of erudition, or experience, or efforts. And an uneducated person can understand... perhaps more easily than the learned. Thinking, erudition, searching, does not lead us to Reality... The more this activity is used, the more we sink into the imaginary.
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Acceptance, Humility and Experience
If the Nature of Consciousness is Infinite, Free and Eternal, then the Sages are right who have been telling us this for years...
If Awakening, Enlightenment is an Innate Ability that Comes from our Nature then sooner or later it will manifest…
If this is so, then what prevents us from the darkness to Emerge into the Light, is only ignorance, which raises walls or deviates from the Path of Nature, carving difficult paths in the wilderness of existence, just because it believes that this is freedom...
If all this is true, then the Acceptance of our Nature, which blossoms on its own and carves its own path, is Wisdom and not fate...
If Humility shows us the path on the road that opens by itself then it is True Action and not servitude...
If Experience as We Walk Our Way Unites us with the Whole, then it is Certainty and not blind faith...
If We Walk the Path then we have already Arrived, the Horizons are open and our eyes rest on the Immensity...
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The Direct Experience of our own life
You Meditate Truly, when all effort of meditation or realization, or attainment, has been exhausted: Then you are Calm, Awakened, Steady and Just Alive:
You see "things" in their "place" and in their proper "dimensions"... You distinguish the Path That Opens Alone as you go... You pass through "things" and situations, with nothing to hinder you, without anything to touch you, without anything causing you confusion, agitation, or fear.
You realize that Existence is exactly this process, to react without effort to everything that enters the space of your supervision: to be Everywhere and to react where necessary without losing the General vision, (when you identify with something, you reject the rest... that's how you become one-sided, biased and you lose your orientation)… Existence is not about being something, becoming something, heading somewhere, realizing something in time, somehow… trying to find excuses for all of that.
You understand that Life as an Experience is in itself Complete at every moment, and does not need to have any causes, any purpose, evolve, be directed somewhere (this somewhere is only an imagination)... Life Just Manifests, Flows, nothing else .
You realize that You Just Exist, without focusing somewhere, on any ego, without putting limits somewhere in your perception, without being bound by anything... Your consciousness Dissolves into the Vast Consciousness from which it had emerged.
You are Here, Now, Out of time, out of phenomenon, forever. You transcend the phenomenon and Expand into the Infinite (you are not in relation, opposition, or identification with the phenomenon...)... You simply Are.
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The Six Meditations of Zen
(The Road to Liberation)
The Unlimited and the LIMITED
The UNLIMITED and the limited
The UNLIMITED and the LIMITED
The Unlimited and the limited
The "Single Space"
The "No Space"
1. The Unlimited and the LIMITED
Consciousness (in its True Character) is Pure Awareness. Its "Space" (the Space of its perception) is defined by its "content".
When Consciousness turns to the LIMITED (needs, sensations, desires, thinking) and is "absorbed" in this "content", it is "caught up" and "perceives" that the only space of existence is the one it perceives (the LIMITED). It cannot perceive that within the Physical (self-existent), Vast Open Space of the Limitless, the LIMITED, is a "dependent" very small space... and so it is consumed in its small space...
What "holds" and "absorbs" the Consciousness in the LIMITED, is the "desire", the desire to exist, to survive, to dominate, to live...
The "elimination" of desire, as well as its feeding, are two extremes that lead nowhere. The Middle Way is the recognition of the true dimensions of "needs" and their (in moderation) satisfaction.
This principled treatment of "desire" (needs) reveals that beyond the limited space of desire (the LIMITED), extends the Open Space of Freedom, of Real Existence...
You "observe" (and this is the meaning of "attention") everything that comes and goes, without getting involved... This alone, "reveals" to you that you are something "Other" (much more), than all this... What “you are” is Unlimited, and you discover it in the “course”…
2. The UNLIMITED and the limited
Freeing Consciousness from the needs of the limited Opens Consciousness to the Vast Space of the UNLIMITED…
Living in the UNLIMITED Consciousness perceives and responds to the needs of the limited without getting involved, without rejecting anything, without being absorbed in anything, without being contaminated...
In This State Consciousness Lives the Authentic Life of the Spontaneous, the Alive, the unpredictable, etc…
Consciousness Lives in the Open Space of the UNLIMITED, without denying the limited, which has its own small place within the UNLIMITED...
3. The UNLIMITED and the LIMITED
At the third level (of its "evolution") Consciousness "Balances" between the UNLIMITED and the LIMITED, "regarding" them as "of equal importance"... Thus, the last obstacle to Liberation (of Consciousness) is "removed" allowing Consciousness to pass from the state of "distinction" to the first perception of the Single Space...
4. The Unlimited and the limited
Consciousness "ceasing" to give different meaning to the Unlimited and the limited, "Lives" in a state of carelessness for both, not engaging in anything, not "pursuing" anything... Sinks into the Unknown Depths of Existence... renouncing everything... Essentially it finally "abolishes" in this way any distinction (completely and definitively) between the Unlimited and the limited... Here, Now... and "passes" into Eternity...
5. The Single Space
The Space of Consciousness Is One, without any "distinction"... Within the One Space, "whatever appears" belongs to the One Space, is born from the One Space and absorbed back into the One Space... There is no worry, about anything. Everything goes on its way... It is understood that "discriminations", "splitting" of Space, "absorption" (either in the Unlimited or in the limited), are "dream constructions" of Consciousness (which have no deeper meaning... and are not worth let Consciousness deal with them…)… Consciousness Supervises All Space of Existence, Now, Here, Eternally… It has reached the Higher Stage of its “evolution”… It “fills” everything… There is no more space to “move”…
6. THE NO-SPACE
Consciousness Is Pure Awareness… What is born (Within) and catalyzed is perceived but does not “alter” its State of Awareness…
Consciousness Is Fully Awakened… Supervises everything… All Is Light… Consciousness is not “contained” in any “content”, it has no “space”…
Consciousness Experiences the State of Complete Freedom…
Consciousness Identifies with its very Essence, It is NO-SPACE... (the "DEPTH" From Which Everything "Becomes").
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Emptiness
It is often said by the Sages that "Nature", Reality, is Emptiness. Emptiness Alive, different from the emptiness of nothingness… It is like the Void which is full of activity, which includes all, which perceives all, renounces nothing, is not polluted by all these, nor clings to anything…
There is an Important Difference between the Emptiness of the Sage and the emptiness of a fool who empties his "mind", or a log, or a stone... The Wise Experience it. Idiots think they are wise by emptying their "minds", logs, and stones don't even "feel" their emptiness... What's the difference? That the Wise are full of activity, while fools become idle…
The Wise Know it but do not comment on it, nor reveal their secret. And everyone "discovers" it by himself when he becomes Wise... or he can become Wise because he "discovers" it... What does he "discover"? The answer can only be given by a "fool" (like "me"): He "discovers" Active Emptiness, or maybe the emptiness of activity, or nothing, or both (when words lose their meaning), or both two (when we want to say something knowing that we are not saying anything) …
The Living Emptiness has nothing to do with the vain emptiness (of theories) of men... But how does the Emptiness of the Sages prove to be Living without being contaminated? Only those who have passed (in their "time") to the Other Side, those who have passed through the Impenetrable Gate, Know this... those who are very "ripe" (of life)... those who have "renounced" sincerely and completely (due to "satiation " of life), the "always"... only they are free, and only they Experience the Active Emptiness and the emptiness of activity... those who "arrived" without traversing any path, without walking any path, once and for all... because "the Truth is us", we don't find it somehow, somewhere, sometime, because...
It's that "easy"! It is so hard"! It's so "natural"! It is so "indifferent"!... Like the wind that blows sometimes this way, sometimes that way... like the water that flows sometimes here, sometimes there... like the earth that is always here and we step on it without thinking about it... like life which simply exists without "because"... like ourselves…
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The Way of Zen: Living the Zen Moment
In the vast tapestry of existence, the thread that weaves seamlessly through the essence of being is the profound simplicity embodied in the Way of Zen. This ancient path is not a labyrinth of esoteric practices or a cryptic doctrine shrouded in mystery; instead, it is the most direct and intimate relationship with life itself.
Awakening the Senses: The Mirror of Nature
Imagine standing in a meadow, the horizon stitched with the soft hues of dawn. The song of the morning birds reverberates in your ears, every note an invitation to open your eyes and see the boundless expanse of the sky. This, the Way of Zen insists, is where enlightenment begins. Use your eyes not merely to see but to perceive the aliveness in every blade of grass, the play of light on dewdrops, and the graceful arch of a bird in flight. It is in this seemingly mundane awareness that the extraordinary unveils itself.
The Dance of Desires: Insight Beyond Illusion
Desires flutter into our consciousness like butterflies, their colors captivating but transient. Zen teaches us to use insight to navigate this ephemeral landscape. To distinguish between the desires that flit and those that root themselves deeply within, we must cultivate a discerning mind. This insight is not about suppression but understanding the nature of desire – to see how it arises, takes form, and eventually fades. In recognizing this ebb and flow without attachment, we find liberation not in denial but in profound comprehension.
The Inner Mind: The Birthplace of Thought
Dive deeper into the currents of the mind, and you encounter the paradox of thoughts. They emerge, often unbidden, sprouting like wildflowers in the fertile ground of consciousness. The Way of Zen urges us to use our inner mind to witness this genesis. Where do thoughts come from? Where do they go? In observing without judgment, we begin to see that thoughts, like clouds, pass across the sky of the mind. Clarity arises not from control but from an unstrained awareness that thoughts are transient phenomena playing on the canvas of the infinite.
The Inner Sight: The Unity of Reality
Beyond the mind resides the spirit's inner sight – a vision that transcends the dualities of existence. Here, Zen invites us to perceive the UNITY OF REALITY, a oneness that defies the fragmentation imposed by conventional perception. The inner sight reveals that the multiplicity of forms and phenomena are simply expressions of a singular essence. The separations we perceive are mere constructs; the true nature of reality is an unbroken continuum of being. In this realization, the spirit finds its home, seeing the self not as an isolated entity but as an integral part of the cosmic dance.
Direct Vision: The Revelation of True Nature
In the zenith of this journey lies the attainment of DIRECT VISION, the unmediated apprehension of one's TRUE NATURE. This vision pierces through the veils of illusion and cultural conditioning, unveiling the ONE NATURE OF EVERYTHING. It is here, in this timeless moment, that the Way of Zen culminates. This is the ETERNAL reality, the fundamental essence that pervades all existence. Recognizing this, one understands that to live in accordance with this vision is to live in harmony with the very fabric of the cosmos.
Zen in Daily Life: The Seamless Integration
Zen is not an abstract philosophy but a practice deeply entwined with the rudiments of daily life. It beckons us to embody these realizations in every step, every breath, every interaction. To walk, to look, to perceive, to experience – these are not detached actions but sacred rituals that bring us closer to the essence of Zen. This path is not about renouncing the world but engaging with it in a state of awakened presence.
The Perennial Wisdom: Living the Zen Moment
Ultimately, the Way of Zen is a call to return to our natural state. It asks nothing extraordinary of us, other than to open our eyes, our minds, our hearts. To look, to recognize, and to live – these are simple yet profound acts. In doing so, we partake in the mystical dance of existence, finding peace not in escape but in the full embrace of the present moment.
In this light, the Way of Zen is revealed not as an arcane secret but as the luminous truth of our existence. It is the gentle reminder that life, with all its beauty and imperfections, is the ultimate teacher. To follow the Way of Zen is to walk hand in hand with the eternal, to see the world through the eyes of the spirit, and to live each moment as an expression of the infinite. So, close not your eyes, for in seeing the world, you glimpse the divine tapestry of Zen – ever present, ever unfolding, and ever luminous.
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The Gradual Enlightenment
(Buddha's Natural Consciousness)
(This text is neither a theoretical interpretation of Zen, nor a metaphysical theory, nor a technical analysis of meditative practice... It is simply some empirical practical findings, which define some things, which untangle some opinions and speculations... and we believe, put things in the right based on them... In other words, it is simply a "description" of "Physical Reality").
Consciousness (in its general sense) is One Vast, Limitless, and "Unobstructed", Space (in the terminology of Buddhism, Asamskrit, Tathata, Chitamatra, Sunyata, Bodhi...)...
By its Nature, Consciousness has the (Natural) Ability to Perceive what flows into its "space" and to react...
In its Natural State Consciousness (a State of Physical Tranquility) stands "above all" (of conscious events), perceives all and reacts where necessary... But this State requires great vigilance and energy and is not the ordinary state of Consciousness...
From "origins", "education", "interests" and "orientations", the Consciousness is directed (concentrated and absorbed) to some specific categories of conscious inputs...
When Consciousness is attached to the material body (in Buddhist terminology, 'rupa') it usually turns to psychosomatic functions (in Buddhist terminology, 'samjna') and external senses (in Buddhist terminology, 'vedana')… and a stream of consciousness is thus consolidated (in Buddhist terminology, "mano-vijnana") that passes from event to event, in a successive series, which constitutes for Consciousness the (any) experience of life...
The result of all this "behavior" is that the Consciousness loses the Natural Ability to perceive everything (conscious events) and to react where necessary... (This Natural Ability is not abolished but is repelled and exists "potentially"... until become active again...)... Consciousness is absorbed into a limited special function, into a "personal" experience and life...
Zen is neither metaphysical nor exotic... The whole effort is to awaken the Natural Potentials of Consciousness, to reactivate abilities and functions that have been "dormant"... There is nothing more natural than that...
Simple Vigilance. On such a "path" the first thing we can and must do is to be simply alert and quietly observe what is happening (what is without giving it "dimensions", interpretations, perspectives...). This simple awareness can reveal to us the depth (intensity) of our one-sided absorption in certain (limited) functions, the breadth of our dependence, and the true meaning of what is happening (the perspective, the purpose, the end result…)… Recognizing the limited, stupid, and impasse of our behavior leads to liberation from limited behaviors... It is enough to "see" it, to "do" it...
The Great Vigilance. It is precisely this "de-addiction" from limited functions and obsessions that expands the "space" (supervision) of Consciousness. It allows the Consciousness to perceive more (conscious events) simultaneously and to react where there is a need. This Great Alertness (in the technical terminology of Zen, Kenso) is a dynamic state of continuous expansion of Consciousness, continuous Deepening (into ever more interior, transcendental states)…
Into the "Space" of Consciousness (in its Space of Supervision) flow not only the "things that are out there" (through the senses)... In a First Immersion we perceive all the deepest desires and orientations that "bind" us to the outer life (in Buddhist terminology, "Samskaras").
In a Greater Deepening we perceive how thoughts arise, how they unfold, and how they give way to other thoughts, thoughts that have content in the "external life" (in the terminology of Buddhism "Vijnana")...
In an Even Greater Depth we perceive the Oneness of Everything (in Buddhist terminology "Alaya Vijnana") ... that is, within Consciousness (in its Supervising Space) simultaneously manifest spiritual states, mental processes, dynamic functions and external psychosomatic (physical) phenomena: We function and We react throughout cosmic space (simultaneously)…
The Awakening or Supreme Alertness. When the Consciousness, unfolding all its Natural Powers, Balances and Returns to its Natural State, it has the ability (within its Calmness) to perceive "everything" and to react where necessary... In a "supreme ascent" it has the (Physical) Ability to perceive not its "contents" (everything that enters her Surveillance Space), but its OWN SPACE... its Vast, Boundless, and Unobstructed, Space, the ABSOLUTE Void, which is not the Void of nothing, but the Basis of the Perception of Existence, and of all conscious events and phenomena. This is Awakening or Supreme Alertness (in the technical terminology of Zen, Satori or Dai-Kenso), it is the Experiencing of the Buddha's Essential Nature, Buddha's Natural Consciousness, or True Human Nature...
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The Direct Enlightenment
ZEN means DIRECT LIGHT. DIRECT LIGHTING has no "time", it does not "happen" in time...
Also, there is no process that leads from the "state we live in" to an "other state"...
There is no "change" that we can define, describe, follow, to achieve something.
DIRECT ILLUMINATION must be “achieved” Here, Now, in the “heart of the situation we live in”.
The Secret of DIRECT ENLIGHTENMENT (of the Instant Shift from the "state we live in" to the State of Enlightenment) cannot be revealed (by NATURE ITSELF) to those who "seek" Enlightenment, to those who are active in any way to achieve it Enlightenment, to those who "seek"...
DIRECT ILLUMINATION Revealed only to those who can "directly see their TRUE NATURE", without any activity... an inner working... insight...
All beings have (by their NATURE) the ability to DIRECT LIGHT... But it is revealed only to those beings who use their direct vision...
Our LIGHT Reveals the TOTALITY OF REALITY, IN and OUT, REALITY and ILLUSSION… A REALITY where all distinctions are abolished… THE ABSOLUTE ONENESS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, the ALL, the ABSOLUTE…
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Experiencing True Zen
1) Those who Experience TRUE ZEN (i.e. their Pure Transcendent Nature, beyond the activities of the mind),
they don't "think" about it (their "understanding"),
nor do they "comment" on it (to compare it with other situations),
nor do they try to "transmit" it (by pretending to be "teachers")…
So futile are all these activities (they do not belong to the True State, but to the activity of the mind).
2) THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE SAGE (Experiencing ZEN) is Free,
centerless (ego),
always Present (but without "continuity" in time),
without memory and without destination… but with Full Awareness…
COMPLETELY FREE… like the flight of a bird in the sky…
3) CONSCIOUSNESS IS HERE... It does not come from anywhere, it does not go anywhere, it is in its "Home"... and all the Infinite Space is its own... and wherever it "is" it is in its "own space"...
4) CONSCIOUSNESS, SPACE, EXPERIENCE, have merged into the Oneness of Existence, the Eternal Undifferentiated State, which "distinguishes" but does not "involve" the varieties of experience...
5) THE SAGE does not "teach" or "interest", and does not "do"... he simply LIVES Reality... And precisely because of this attitude he becomes a Light and a Guide, and an Example, and thus (without "teaching") he teaches the "greatest lesson"... He is like the Sun that lights up the world...
6) The "teachers" who "possess" Zen, who "transmit" it, are like people who have found a torch and, holding it in their hand, go around the world thinking they are enlightening it... sometimes the torch may be "lit" … most of the time it is “off”…
7) TRUE ZEN is You, it is Within you, in your TRUE NATURE (when you Let It Manifest).
TRUE ZEN needs no effort… on the contrary, it is the end of all “effort”… the “supreme renunciation” of all…
TRUE ZEN is to be a Clear, Clear Mirror of Reality…
TRUE ZEN is Being, Knowledge, Truth… It is Virtue, Justice… It is Life…
TRUE ZEN is to LIVE and not to interpret life...
TRUE ZEN is the Resounding Silence that is heard throughout the "universe"... It is the SONG of your NATURE, of your "heart"...
TRUE ZEN is the fruit of your "humility", the greatness of your Being, and the immensity of your Nature...
TRUE ZEN is the All, the Beginning and the End, the Cycle and the Completion, Time and Eternity, Truth and Falsehood, All and Nothing...
TRUE ZEN is not found in these words unfolding here… IT IS IN THE SILENCE THAT FOLLOWS…
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Zen without Zen
Reality Is One, for those who have Full Awareness... and there is no ignorance, no division into enlightenment and non-enlightenment...
For those expressed in the language of men, duality, there are two states, Enlightenment and non-enlightenment, which are not connected (in terms of their characteristics) but are two aspects of reality, two possibilities of consciousness, two paths, two ways perception and life...
A "Gate" separates and unites two realities. You can be inside and look "out", or you can be "out" and look "in"...
There are two ways to Experience ZEN and talk about it: Either be inside and look "out", or be "out" and look "in".
One who "truly perceives", perceives that there is nothing within, there is no enlightened one, there is nothing realized, there is nothing to be imparted. So, he has nothing to say... And if he does say something, it will be about human stupidity, which is left "outside"... Such a person, even if he finds himself in the position of a "teacher", does not teach anything (what teach?), he doesn't help anyone (who should he help?), he simply "handles" the human folly that approaches him seeking, in vain, wisdom... For him there is no "Gate", it is the Impenetrable Gate...
There are others who, when given the opportunity, have something to say about Zen, something to teach, something to inform... and there are also some who are deluded into thinking that they are someone who needs to be enlightened, that there is enlightenment, salvation, another life... Blind leading the blind... If they do not fall into a pit, they will turn around, or wander into nothingness... They try in vain to pass the "Gate", they do not understand that there is no "Gate"...
So, what is ZEN? Who exercises it? To what enlightenment can it lead? Which activity or activities should it perform?... When one tries to analyze it, one has lost it...
ZEN is non-thought, like a flowing State... not like an activity!
Is ZEN non-thought? Any activity? Deconstructing dialectical thinking, logical analysis, the duality of perception, which manipulates opposites? It may be... but this Zen leads to imagination...
Is ZEN the calm contemplation of what is happening in thought, in perception, in the world, without getting involved? And the stones are not involved but they are not illuminated...
No matter how hard you look, you can't find it... Not because it doesn't exist, but because you're looking in the wrong way... the Zen you're looking for is a fantasy...
ZEN is Something much more substantial. It is so simple that no human being can easily perceive what is actually happening... When you try to understand, you do not understand. When you try to realize you don't realize. When you try to "give up" all efforts, you get even more confused... When you try to explain you're just babbling...
ZEN is a Step into the Void! What will happen? Will you stay where you are, one with the world, or will you fall? There is an answer to this. Give it... or do something else! Total resignation has no return...
ZEN is Instant Shift, in Full Perception, it is not a process! How is time abolished? The Secret is not revealed to you unless you decide to do it!
ZEN is not a practice, it is not an exercise, it is not an activity, ZEN simply does not exist. All external activities, za-zen, zoriki, kenso, musodo...satori, are not ZEN, they are a parody...
Searching in books, on the net, you can find a lot of information about Zen... All this is not about Zen, but about "what" people think Zen is.
Who will pass through the Impervious Gate? This is the only koan there is.... Who is free? There is no answer to this...
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ZEN… the ZEN of Zen... Oh! ZEN
The ZEN
Real Human Nature IS. It IS from the beginning and through all (outside the cosmic process, beyond space and time...). It is what it is. It does not evolve, it does not change, it does not "fall", it does not awaken, it does not materialize... The Space of Zen is Silence. Infinite Silence... of Perception, of Speech and speech, of action (sacred and not). Nothing but Silence... When you ARE (outside of every process) how can you become what you ARE?... Every activity is "ontological redundancy", every activity shows only lack of understanding and stupidity...
When "some don't understand Zen but think they do" they smile at all the fools who think about Zen, talk about Zen, practice Zen, and teach it to others... How can you teach Zen? When "those who don't understand but think they do" see others, the fools, talking about Zen they smile. You're lucky they're not stupid like the others. But are they different from others? Even a smile is an activity (from the edge of the world)... Unfortunately...
And the others who understand Zen without actually understanding it? They are "enlightened" (in their "sleep")... Certainly they are Enlightened in Nature's Way (from the beginning and throughout), but not in their own way (in their "sleep"). They think they are "enlightened" (in their "sleep")... In the middle of Nowhere they think they are somewhere, or they are trying to get somewhere, to lead others to their somewhere. They do not understand that the somewhere is based in the Nowhere, and that the Nowhere is Somewhere. They get confused and don't understand that they have already reached where they are trying to get to and that it is all mind games...
The ZEN of Zen
Nature Is Silence, Zen Is Silence, Zen is practiced in Silence, with Silence for Silence... all else is nonsense of the mind... No one can speak of Zen and he who speaks of Zen, only for Zen does not speak... But everyone will reasonably ask, now, here, are we not talking about Zen? Wrong… Personally, we don't understand Zen and that's why we talk (about Zen). If we understood it we wouldn't be talking... But we talk nonsense only for one reason. For the other person to understand that we are talking nonsense and to stop reading nonsense...
The True Master is always alone, he has no disciples. And if any student approaches him as a student (the Master drives him away or) he quickly leaves. Why? The True Master Knows. And the student knows. A Master who has disciples is not a Master.
O Master who teaches! What do you teach? Do you teach the sun to rise? Do you teach the breeze to rustle? Do you teach the smells of the earth to travel? Do you teach life to live?
O disciple! You are your own Master. Life does not need guides, Life Always Finds its Way, it has no dead ends. Your Understanding is your Teacher... and when you Find the Teacher within yourself you will quickly run away from all the deceitful merchants of "knowledge" (which is not Knowledge, but ignorance).
The True Master does not Teach. The Real Disciple needs no Masters. Nature Moves on its own, without deviating for a single second from its Course.
Oh fool! what are you trying Fix Nature? Do you think there is a difference between Silence and the noise of your mind? You can neither add anything nor take anything away... So why are you confused? Collect your mind and leave Nature alone...
Oh! ZEN
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Zen, the five steps
Consciousness Is One. This is a conclusion of a spiritual integration and not an axiom on which a system of thought, a theory, an intellectual commentary, etc. could be founded... Consciousness cannot be Defined... Because it escapes all limits and all descriptions ... and not because it's something unknown...
Consciousness transcends Being (It is Pure Being) so it can be and not be, be like this, be anyway, be here and not be here, etc...
Consciousness is a Stream of Awareness without boundaries, but which can fit anywhere, not some limiting activity or substance...
So to say, Universal Consciousness and individual consciousness are the same, can be absolutely true since it can be confirmed…
So, within the Present Consciousness (whatever consciousness we are) there is the One Consciousness, the Absolute Consciousness, the Liberated Consciousness, but also limitation, and separateness, and the ego, and the limited, all...
Certainly, the Natural Consciousness (the Liberated Consciousness, the Expanded Consciousness) cannot be identified with anything "limited" (but at the same time it can function by absorbing the limited)...
Therefore we should define Spiritual Awakening (Effort, Action) as liberation both from (metaphysical) limited activities of Consciousness (such as existence-being, intellect, energy, etc.) and from the perception that results from our association with a material carrier (brain, nervous system, body, world, as an extension of the senses)...
Spiritual Awakening lies precisely in perceiving spontaneously, directly, clearly... and not through paranoia, misconceptions, hallucinations...
1. Since Consciousness (as a Single Open Dynamic Space of Awareness) Within Which Everything Can Happen) is the Only Space in which we exist and function, it must be understood that Consciousness (as Pure Consciousness, as Physical Consciousness, as Absolute Consciousness) It is Always the Background, whatever happens... We are not separated from our Nature when we operate in one way or another. So, whatever happens, it happens, it is grounded in and presupposes the Same Universal Background that we all are, even if we don't understand it... No matter how far one wanders one will return. Return is always Nature's way.
2. When we try to approach Reality (not to let Nature work Spontaneously but), to "reach" through personal effort we actually move away from our goal... All willful personal effort is by its nature limiting and leads to in commitment and not in liberation... So, even the most spiritual effort, act, is limited, restrictive, and leads to the limited... So, we must understand that those who try are in the movement of the world, in ignorance, in paranoia, to misunderstand, to hallucinate...
3. In reality, Consciousness Is One. Pure Consciousness, limited consciousness, enlightenment, ignorance, here, there, everything happens in the Same Space of Consciousness... All separations are not about Consciousness, they are only about perceptions, what we perceive... When Nature Works, It Works as One, does not make divisions, the divisions are made by our own intervention, our own activity, our own perception... All this does not concern our Nature but the activity... Within the One Consciousness, as in a clear sky, the shadows again fade away, all is fleeting and passing... Leaving them alone they go where they must... dissolve again into nothingness... True Life Is in our Nature and not in activity... When this is understood it has no it matters not whether we are at rest or in activity... There is no difference... We do not perceive activity through activity (as something different)... We are completely outside the movement of the world...
4. When we understand our Essential Nature, when we Experience the One Consciousness, Free, Expanded, out of motion as thought, of the world... When there is no difference between stillness and activity, we are free to act within the heart of the real ... Absolute and relative, Eternity and time, Limitless and limited, have no meaning... All in Consciousness is Light and all within Light transforms into pure, is pure life, pure perception...
5. Having reached this State, we live in One Consciousness, having completely forgotten ourselves. The awakening of consciousness, the course of enlightenment, the attainment, the return, all seem like a dream. Our dream? Human's? Of nature? Of what nature? Nature works without thinking of itself...
What we have described above are the five steps into the void... Awakening is the Only Real State... the dream has no substance... but whoever dreams and believes in the dream must walk... five steps... no step... in the dream...
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The Zen
(From the "point of view" of orthodox Buddhism)
Zen is perhaps the "model" of Decentralizing Meditation (as opposed to Concentrating Meditation, of Yoga)...
Zen is not simply a historical development of Buddhism, but rather a "metatheory" of Buddhism... not simply as an investigation of the epistemological theory and epistemological methods of Buddhism, but as the actual epistemological method that responds to "things"... Understanding, the Buddhists, (in the historical development of Buddhism) that True Nature (Mind) Is completely pure, empty, transcendent... realized that one need not "realize what one already is"... on the contrary, the notion that we are something else turns out to be fundamentally untrue and imaginary... All engagement with Nature, enlightenment, realization, thought, etc., belongs to the imaginary...
The Taoists had reached a similar understanding, that the Ultimate Nature (the Tao) remains pure and unadulterated, even when it follows the path of creation (i.e nature)... "Nature" follows its path and emerges again in the Its Primary Purity... And so not only do we not need to interfere with the "work", the "actions" of Nature, but on the contrary when we intervene, we are diverted from Nature, towards the non-natural, the imaginary...
Thus, from the two religious currents of perception arose, as a supreme experiential truth, the Perception of Zen, in which Reality, Enlightenment, evolution, life, time, all merge into "full awakening," a State that comes from nowhere, does not it is based nowhere, it is directed nowhere, it exists beyond time, in an "immovable reality" alive, within which everything moves... and the natural world...
Mind, There is, Pure, Void, It is the Only Reality... There is no one to experience anything. There is nothing to experience. Nothing to be imparted (as a secret experience)... Nothing to be realized... All this so-called evolution, belongs to the imaginary space... True Awakening is the realization that Mind is always (and forever), Pure, Empty... but Alive...
The Natural Mind
The Mind, the Self-Self Mind, the Absolute Mind, the One Mind, which constitutes the "Essence of the Buddha" and the Essence of all existences, the Ultimate Reality, the Source of all... It is the Emptiness, the Infinite Unobstructed Space, Within Whom all "emerge" and in Whom they "disappear" again, when their circle is closed... It is the Self, the Essential Nature... It is the True Mind, Unconceived by the intellect, the Non-mind (go- sin)...
All that “exists” is only Mind, only “representation”, phenomenon (Vijnapitamatra). All "varieties" of Consciousness (Vijnana) are only "functions", processes, phenomena. The objects of vijnana, “discriminations” (vasana) are but “phenomena”... even “matter”... All arise in Mind and disappear in It... In Universal Consciousness (AlayaVijnana), the "all-containing consciousness" all the varieties of vasanas (discriminations) that create the phenomena are kept latent...
Mind Is All-Existence, encompassing the 'I' - the complex of imprinted perceptions, perceptions, habits, etc. - which is but an “event” ... The mind, the empirical mind, the ego (sin) is nothing but a complex of vijnana which sustain a flow of suffering, within the space of relative existence, and fuel a continuous activity...Sin does not belong to the Nature of Mind, but arises from the relation to the "phenomenon", when it is considered as something "external"...
Physical Mind, Being, and "Biological Organism"
Mind, Self-Self Mind, Absolute Mind, Is in Its Nature, Transcendent, out of space-time...
In Its Cosmic Existence, It is represented by AlayaVijnana, the Universal Consciousness, (which has three levels of operation) ...
In Its Individual Existence, It becomes Vijnana (individual existence, individual mind) … It exists as a “person” in the cosmic space, as a “Samskara” (personality, soul)…
But when it is "connected" with the biological organism, "rupa", new functions (phenomena) "mano-vijnana", "samskaras" (mental impressions), "samjna" (perception of the external world) "vedana" emerge from this relationship (senses of the external world)...
Three streams of consciousness
Three streams of consciousness are thus created: The stream of vijnana (sin, ego, personality), the "subordinate" stream of samskara (mental impressions, intellect, mentality, etc.), the "subordinate" (in the previous two) stream of samjna (perception, with the help of the senses) ... These three currents of consciousness work simultaneously and are distinguished in particular functions... (A lower function presupposes a higher one, while a higher function is sufficient for itself and does not presuppose a lower one...)...
In order to really free the Mind, the Consciousness, from the lower functions that immerse it and keep it in the imaginary, the perceptual stream of consciousness (the perceptual flow) and then the mental stream of consciousness (mental flow) must be progressively freed, and finally the egoic stream of consciousness (egoic flow)... Then only the Mind is released into the metaphysical space...
In reality, these are all imaginary, but as long as a consciousness perceives them as reality, we conventionally accept this perception to lead the consciousness to awakening.
Freeing the perceptual flow
In normal conditions when we are in contact with the body, with the world (through perception), all three streams of consciousness (ego – intellect – perception) are functioning but the “burden” falls on perception... Consciousness actually exists only in the present, in what is happening, in this moment...
Consciousness spontaneously handles everything that falls within its scope and can react to everything... But when it concentrates on something and is absorbed in it (either simply in the perceptual thing, or by "placing" it in the perspective of imaginary time - past, present, future, or giving it a special meaning for the ego), then this process makes us stop at that object, Consciousness goes out of the normal flow of the present... to the point where we even become unconscious of the rest environment. This stopping (grabbing from the object) introduces us to the realm of the imaginary... This is useful as a point in practical life but often creates problems and entanglements and confusion (as to the perception of reality)...
When we try to find a solution, to control the process of perceptuality (the flow of perception), to possibly stop it, to channel it somewhere consciously, etc... we will fail... because the "observer" is not something different from observed, the flow of perception, is of the same nature... this leads to a vicious cycle...
So, what can we do? Absolutely nothing. We just have to not get absorbed in something. We must let Consciousness itself handle all this spontaneously, react to everything, without getting absorbed in anything. This is not difficult for one to do, nor is it something mysterious... our "nature" does it... When we do this then consciousness ceases to be absorbed in things... it has been transferred to the very stream of perception, it flows along with the present, he perceives what is now here, at this moment, without stopping anywhere...
But this is but a step beyond absorption, a second view of perceptual reality. Actually, the Consciousness, the Seer, is simply seen, sees, it is the sight (the perceptual awareness) that flows, not the Consciousness. Consciousness is still, outside everything and simply perceives everything that happens and reacts to everything. It is not the Consciousness that flows but the "content". This is the third view of perceptual reality...
Consciousness has shifted to the Self, neither following the external flow, nor grasping at things... Now can Consciousness deal with the innermost processes, the mental flow, and the egoic flow then...
Freeing the mental flow
Release of egoic flow
The Attainment (partial release)
When the Mind, the Self-Mind, the Absolute Mind, the Consciousness is freed from the three lower streams of consciousness, it reaches a State of Self-Knowledge, of the Real Nature of Consciousness, a Perception of Consciousness that transcends the body (but can also function within in the body)... It is a State of higher awareness, within which Reality, the Higher Implicit Reality and the physical world unite together... Mind and object without any distance between them. It is the Universal Objective Consciousness (in which the subject-object distinction has been overcome)... It is the State of Immovable Wisdom (fudochi in Japanese) which considers through eternity what happens in the lower worlds... and at the same time the Entrance for the higher metaphysical realms, of inner "being"... From the point of view of the ordinary man this State is Wu-xin, no-mind. It is the universal spirit, the spirit without consciousness...
The Depth of Reality
Beyond the external practice of Zen which is intended to lead to Still Wisdom, i.e. the detachment from the current (the three currents) of consciousness directed towards the external world... there is an internal path, three internal stages of meditation, in which the Consciousness is freed from all conscious process, all related perception...
It is gradually freed from “Samskaras” (soul)… by renunciation of all “inner desires”…
Then Freed from the "Vijnana" (individual mind)... (by practicing the Four Dhyanas, in orthodox Buddhism)...
Finally Immerse in “AlayaVijnana”… (by practicing the Four Samapattis, in orthodox Buddhism)…
The Final Achievement
The Final Attainment, the Truly Enlightened Mind Experiences Its Own Essence, directly, without process... Even the Consciousness of a Universal Existence is dissolved...