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The profound significance of being

We should learn to see everyday life as mandala – the luminous fringes of experience, which radiate spontaneously from the empty nature of our being. The aspects of our mandala are the day-to-day objects of our life experience moving in the dance or play of the universe. By this symbolism the inner teacher reveals the profound and ultimate significance of being.

– Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

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Liberation from the self

"A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive."

--- Albert Einstein, 1954

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“Buddhists think of reincarnation as an illusion and yet believe in it. Westerners think of it as something that might be a fact and find it difficult to believe in it. Westerners adapt the idea of reincarnation as a comforting idea. Buddhists are trying to get out of reincarnating [, laughs, laughs again]. It’s very funny.”

- Alan Watts

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When there is no more separation between "this" and "that", it is called the still-point of Tao. At the still point in the center of the circle, one sees the infinite in all things. Right is infinite; wrong is also infinite.

Therefore it is said, "Behold the light beyond right and wrong".

— Chuang Tzu

#Advaita

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Hold on to the I Am

"Hold on to the sense ‘I am’ to the exclusion of everything else. When this mind becomes completely silent, it shines with a new light and vibrates with new knowledge. It all comes spontaneously; you need only to hold on to the ‘I am’."

— Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

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Not Enlightened Yet?

Q: I thought the goal of spiritual practice was to obtain some sort of enlightenment or wisdom, but I don't seem to be anywhere near that. What am I doing wrong?

Miguel Chen: Perhaps you are overthinking it.. Let's consider "enlightenment" or "wisdom" to simply mean "seeing things as they really are." If you're setting a goal for things to be different than the way they are, you have already missed the point.

The truth is right in front of us at all times. We're not trying to change it; we are simply trying to connect to it. This is much less about attaining something, and much more about removing obstacles.

In fact. setting lofty goals can create extra obstacles. having a goal like "enlightenment" brings with it expectations about what that might like look. Expectations carry a lot of weight. Let that weight go.With this simple step, you will have removed some obstacles, and this will surely help you connect to the truth.

When in doubt, simplify. Perhaps the goal can be better understood as a moment of silence. It doesn't sound as fancy as "enlightenment," but even one moment of true silence can have a profound impact. When you are truly silent, there are no obstacles between you and the truth. In the space of that moment, what you seek can reveal itself. Just be careful not to attach to that idea either, for the moment you realize you have reached that moment is the moment you have fallen out of it.

- Miguel Chen is the bassist for punk rock band, "Teenage Bottlerocket", a teacher at Blossom Yoga Studio and author of "I Wanna Be Well".

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The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge

Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Råjagiha at Vulture Peak mountain, together with a great gathering of the sangha of monks and a great gathering of the sangha of bodhisattvas. At that time the Blessed One entered the samådhi that expresses the dharma called “profound illumination,” and at the same time noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, while practicing the profound prajñåpåramitå, saw in this way:

He saw the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Then, through the power of the Buddha, venerable Shåriputra said to noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, “How should a son or daughter of noble family train, who wishes to practice the profound prajñåpåramitå?” Addressed in this way, noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, said to venerable Shåriputra, “O Shåriputra, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajñåpåramitå should see in this way: seeing the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Shåriputra, all dharmas are emptiness. There are no characteristics. There is no birth and no cessation. There is no impurity and no purity. There is no decrease and no increase. Therefore, Shåriputra, in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no appearance, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no dharmas; no eye dhåtu up to no mind dhåtu, no dhåtu of dharmas, no mind consciousness dhåtu; no ignorance, no end of ignorance up to no old age and death, no end of old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of suffering, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no nonattainment. Therefore, Shåriputra, since the bodhisattvas have no attainment, they abide by means of prajñåpåramitå. Since there is no obscuration of mind,

there is no fear. They transcend falsity and attain complete nirvåna. All the buddhas of the three times, by means of prajñåpåramitå, fully awaken to unsurpassable, true, complete enlightenment. Therefore, the great mantra of prajñåpåramitå, the mantra of great insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, the mantra that calms all suffering, should be known as truth, since there is no deception. The prajñåpåramitå mantra is said in this way:

OM GATE GATE PÅRAGATE PÅRASAMGATE BODHI SVÅHÅ

Thus, Shåriputra, the bodhisattva mahåsattva should train in the profound prajñåpåramitå.”

Then the Blessed One arose from that samådhi and praised noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, saying, “Good, good, O son of noble family; thus it is, O son of noble family, thus it is. One should practice the profound prajñåpåramitå just as you have taught and all the tathågatas will rejoice.”

When the Blessed One had said this, venerable Shåriputra and noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, that whole assembly and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

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Lotsåwa bhikúhu Rinchen De translated this text into Tibetan with the Indian païçita Vimalamitra.

It was edited by the great editor—lotsåwas Gelo,

Namkha, and others. This Tibetan text was copied

from the fresco in Gegye Chemaling at the glorious Samye vihåra. It has been translated into English

by the Nålandå Translation Committee, with reference to several Sanskrit editions.

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“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

- Albert Einstein

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Sri Mooji: The Song of the Avadhut

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Right Interest

Right effort is effort with wisdom. Because where there is wisdom, there is interest. The desire to know something is wisdom at work. Being mindful is not difficult. But it’s difficult to be continuously aware. For that you need right effort. But it does not require a great deal of energy. It’s relaxed perseverance in reminding yourself to be aware. When you are aware, wisdom unfolds naturally, and there is still more interest.

– Sayadaw U Tejaniya, "The Wise Investigator"

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The Truth of the Breath

Everything that is true about anything is true about breath: it's impermanent; it arises and it passes away. Yet if you didn't breathe, you would become uncomfortable; so then you would take in a big inhalation and feel comfortable again. But if you hold onto the breath, it's no longer comfortable, so you have to breathe out again. All the time shifting, shifting. Uncomfortableness is continually arising. We see that everything keeps changing.

– Sylvia Boorstein, "Body as Body"

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So long as duality persists in you the Guru is necessary. Because you identify yourself with the body you think the Guru, too, to be some body. You are not the body, nor is the Guru. You are the Self and so is the Guru. This knowledge is gained by what you call Self-Realisation. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, "Talk 282", 16th November, 1936 (at New Haven Zen Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqJC4SUpBDE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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It is always the false that makes you suffer, the false desires and fears, the false values and ideas, the false relationships between people. Abandon the false and you are free of pain; truth makes happy, truth liberates. — Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj #Satsang #Advaita #AdvaitaVedanta #NisargaYoga #Nondualism #Nisargadatta (at New Haven Zen Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqGb8M8JwN1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=