Friends

I decided to get other opinions on this article since I thought it was sort of odd, lying isn't considered good Karma, so I'm kind of on the fence as to why the monk phrased his inability to explain his studies to an audience in this manner. The article I'm talking about can be found here:

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=60,8766,0,0,1,0

I'm of the opinion he could've handled himself differently in this situation since he was asked to present to an audience, but that's just one opinion.

What's yours?

Namaste,

Angie

Current Location:	My Room
Current Mood:	cold
Current Music:	Push it - Static-X

Yesterday I had a lengthy argument with some members of this community about the description of the Absolute Reality in an old Gnostic scripture.

I have pointed towards the fact that this description is similar to the one that can be found for Tathata (Suchness) in the Mahayana Buddhist texts.

Based on this similarity, and other similarities found in the descriptions of the Absolute Reality related by different mystics and spiritual masters from different religious traditions and cultural backgrounds, I have presented the hypothesis that the Absolute Reality contemplated by a mystic's mind is the same despite the differences of cultural and religious indoctrination.

But my opponents in the debate did not want to see what I was pointing to.

Thus I present here a concise description of Tathata (Suchness) which I have copied from The Awakening Faith in Mahayana, one of the most influential Mahayana scriptures:

"In its very origin suchness is of itself endowed with sublime attributes.

It manifests the highest wisdom which shines throughout the world, it has true knowledge and a mind resting simply in its own being.

It is eternal, blissful, its own self-being and the purest simplicity; it is invigorating, immutable, free...

Because it possesses all these attributes and is deprived of nothing"

For the ones interested to compare, please see the description given by the Gnostics here:

http://community.livejournal.com/buddhists/2813143.html

                                    You say I am repeating
Something I have said before. I shall say it again.
Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,
To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
    You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
In order to arrive at what you do not know
    You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
    You must go by the way of dispossession.
In order to arrive at what you are not
    You must go through the way in which you are not.
And what you do not know is the only thing you know
And what you own is what you do not own
And where you are is where you are not.

I have a very mild form of Cerebral Palsy that affects my left side, and so my muscles, especially in my left leg are tight. I was looking at lotus positions and...They're incredibly difficult, actually quite impossible for me to do. lol. When I started meditating initially, I would lie down flat, on my bed, actually, which I'm beginning to think has bad connotations. However, since I sleep on my stomach, if I lie on my back and close my eyes, my mind just switches to meditation mode automatically. But I'm disappointed because I want to see if different methods help in different ways...

I'm just stuck.

Thanks for your help in advance, guys!

Current Mood:

calm

ever notice that when there is no urgency, it's hard to stay motivated?

What are things that you do to keep on task, do chores, or little things at work; when you feel that the last thing that you want to be doing is sitting at a desk working off items on your to-do list?

As Buddhists, we are taught that the natural state of mind is pristine and enlightened in itself. To embody this view of the natural state, first we need to work with our mind through discipline. In our meditation practice, sometimes we are present with this experience of the natural state and sometimes we are not. When something pleasant arises, we often grasp at it, and when something unpleasant arises, we may reject it. Our discipline is to transcend these grasping and rejection tendencies that cause us so much suffering.

Over time, as we feel more self-confident and secure in our practice of meditation -- and in our understanding of the true nature of mind pointed out by our teacher -- we will see that the true nature is pristine and stainless. In the traditional analogy of the ocean and its waves, it is said that however large or small the waves, all are essentially made of the element of water and cannot be separated from the ocean. Similarly, in the view of meditation, all our thoughts and various feelings arise out of the natural state of mind and are ultimately made out of the same "material." That material is empty awareness itself. If we do not succumb to habits and insecurities, or preconceptions about meditation and how our mind should be, we can then recognize that everything that arises is simply a manifestation of this very nature. Any expressions that arise from this enlightened nature can be understood as enlightened expressions when we do not approach them through the habits of acceptance and rejection.

Realizing this, we can begin to experience relaxation, as well as a lessening of judgments and reactivity. We experience more openness and acceptance. Slowly, and naturally, we begin to see the world as pure -- not as in "pure" versus "ugly," but pure in the sense of seeing the perfection of its existence. This existence is not determined according to some concept or idea of the way it should be; it simply has come to exist naturally. Its beauty is found in it being just the way it is. The world has found its own shape, form and colour. All of it arises out of the nature of mind.