Indra's Internet

Why is the internet one of the richest places to seek enlightenment?  With all of the readers connected by way of this web, I can't think of a better illustration of one of the most basic metaphors for the nature of reality: Indra's Net of Jewels.

Oh, and hi there.  Welcome to this node, Jewel.



Francis Harold Cook describes the metaphor of Indra's net from the perspective of the Huayan school in the book Hua-Yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra:


“Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each "eye" of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars in the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring."



photo credit:  Spider web by JimmyDick on DeviantArt

Alleys, Backstreets and Internet Enlightenment

In addition to email work, I currently guide on one of those free forums named in the link bar above.  And right now, I'm noticing a trend. It's one of Inquiry Laziness. 

It appears that a guided inquiry into whether a separate self exists can make it seem as though the so-called process is just a wee bit too easy. 

It's a case of not believing in the quality of the cow what with all that free milk...

If you recognize yourself in that paragraph above, I don't mean that to insult.  But I do mean to shake you up.

Ok, I'm going to lay aside all of that nondual or enlightenment speak and put this in plain, everyday language.

Listen.

A guide or teacher will not and cannot give you a shortcut or free pass by convincing you that there is no separate self.  The inquiry has to be done in its entirety, and it has to be done, ironically, by this supposed "You".  What's more, to do this direct inquiry, you need to be hungry for finding out what's TRUE, not thirsty for what Feels Good.  I'm not sure this is news, but looking to have a guide or teacher 'teach you no self' just plain doesn't work.

Philosophical debates with the guide, by the way, are absolutely POINTLESS.  The reason for this is that debates are of the mind, and the mind's basic function is to create a chasm between understanding and imagination.  That chasm IS the illusion of separation.  And you've got to know by now that in this inquiry, the mind and its tools are the very last weapons you should be wielding. 

TRUST your guide not to give you a shortcut, but to figure out how to kick you in just the right place to get you started in finding your own way.  Because all they're trying to do is to get YOU to look for yourself.  We have no special powers or ability or insight that you don't currently have.  Right now. I'm not kidding.  None. 

All we can ever do is to show you how to hold up a mirror and try like hell to get you to notice what's not in it.  Once you do, the next task is to stop you from turning away from your own absence.

If you're working with a guide or teacher who is repeatedly and stubbornly asking you to examine your own direct experience, then you've found something worthwhile.  Stick with your direct perceptions, the findings of your senses.  And when the 'Yes, BUT' thought comes in to contradict what's been directly experienced, know it's the mind.  Take a breath.  Don't go for what looks like an easy out by turning to the guide or teacher to remove that doubt for you. 

You've got to do it all by yourself. 

Where is the "yeah, but" coming from if not other than thought?  Those thoughts are little protests against the truth, born solely of conditioning.  Good ole conditioning, the comfortable quilt that snuggles thought into the grooves of memory, is what prompts the 'yeah, buts'. 

In the face of your findings, They Lie. 


Ok, shall we let the nondual comments begin?  ;)

With love,
Delma



photo credit:  Taking the Backstreets by Quiddative on DeviantArt

We're in an Impossible Situation, You & Me

We're in an impossible situation, You and Me.
With no you.
With no me.
With no place to 'situate'.
With no time to exist IN.

There's nothing I can tell you.
With no I.
With words that aren't the thing itself.
With no things.

You'll never hear this.
No one is there to hear.
There's no there, there.
No here, here.

You'll never get this.
The most impossible situation of all.
Nothing to be gotten
Everything to lose.
No one losing it.
No it.

Ok, then.


So....


With acceptance
by the imagined self
who seemingly has something, everything to lose
and insists on a willingness to lose it...

Just See!
In the simplest way possible.
Not "YOU LOOK". 
Instead JUST the looking.  Seeing.  Notice it's just the seeing, happening.
Alive seeing.
Seeing can't be helped!  Can't be stopped.  Can't help itself!
No looker, no director of looking.
Just the display, seeing itself.
Verbing.
Seeing.
Scenery.


And then, too....

This is not understood.
Not with thought. 
Thoughts divert.
Seeing can't be studied, thought through.
Waking up can't be gathered, grasped.

Seeing scenery and it becomes clear.
Seeing needs no seer, and it's the end of you.
Yet that's not quite true.
Endings don't come to something that never was.

Impossible.
The impossibility of it, is itself, impossible.
Because anything's possible.

So give up.
And just (as in "do no more than") look.
Then stop.
Stop.
Where is the you who is frustrated with this nonsense talk, this gibberish?
When did the you begin reading this post?  Before this word?  Or did the "I" appear...

As a single thought.
Appearing.
Just
Now.

Only after the question was asked?



photo credit:  Impossible by Illyism on DeviantArt

Decide

It seems you have a decision to make.


What exactly is your motive for inquiring into the existence of a self, separate from Life.  Is it because you want to... have to... know the truth?  Or is this a half-hearted attempt relieve your self of misery?  Because remaining on one of those two paths nearly guarantees you'll remain a seeker for a long, long time.

Choose.

photo credit:  The Decision by Contorted Truths on Deviantart

The Separation that Leads to Freedom

When you strip away all the new age mumbo jumbo and religious

connotations, enlightenment is simply a state of detachment. But detachment from

what? From the ideas and concepts about life that we have come to see as

absolute, permanent truths rather than the subjective, temporary beliefs they are.

That's it. The things you hear about "being one with the universe," "having a

direct experience of God," and the like are merely interpretations of this

detachment and only serve to complicate the concept.

-Blair Warren, The No Nonsense Guide to Enlightenment

Is this true?  Maybe.  But why not test it out?  What if enlightenment wasn't about reaching the state of being 'one with the universe' without first understanding the very practical notion of being able to separate fact from fiction, or concepts about life from Life Itself?  Your first priority should be to simply find out what's true in your own direct experience only.  Then let the rest fall into place as it will.  

photo credit:  photosbykev on deviantart

Everything You Think

I interrupt this blog to bring you an important message.

"Don't believe everything you think." is likely the single most helpful directive alongside, "Just Look!"  It's also very likely to be overlooked.

So how do you know which thoughts to believe, and which to toss aside as 'mind stuff'?  There's no need to choose.  Because in order to make the decision, what you'll do is to think about thinking.  And then you'll congratulate yourself when you've hit on something you feel is a Spiritually True thought.

There's no such thing.

Instead of thinking about it, let's try something different.  What happens when you do this exercise?  Does the world go anywhere?  Does it collapse without the incessant chatter? 

Is it still all very much there in all its color, texture, vibrancy, and richness?  Or is it even richer than ever?


photo credit:  TaoLife Studio

The Irony of Trusting Your Self

 

 

I sit with each of your emails, each forum post, or message, and wait for a response to come, knowing that anything that ends up written out won't be something "I" determined or decided.  Because of this lack of a controller or doer, the words will just flow.  And if you hear and understand the message, that's not your doing either. 

Anything written here in this blog or in my responses to your inquires is a concept, an idea which will, due to causes and conditions, trigger thoughts in the your experience.  Given the right time and circumstance a message might hit home.  But it will still only be a thought.

As we work through the inquiries and exercises, the only reality you can use as a reference point  is what is gleaned from sensory input.  As you sit there, the senses tell you that the feel of the chair underneath your rear is 'real' when compared to the self.  That chair can be touched or seen.  As you read, background sounds can be heard.  Those things are real to the senses.  Detectable.

There is no sense which detects a self.


At this level of our inquiry, my entire task is to get you to understand the difference between this sensory reality and what exists only within thought and imagination.  Doesn't that seem a simple notion?   It is.  So why does it so often take weeks, months, and sometimes years to see this? 

The answer to that is indeed a paradox. 

Truthfully, you need to trust yourself.  You need to trust your current, immediate exprience and findings above all else, above all the teachings and conditioning that's been introduced from childhood.  You need to defy collective common sense that says there's a You in that body and brain, and see the truth of reality without all of the concepts accumulated through an entire lifetime.  And then you need to trust that this finding is the absolute truth of the state of things, and you need to hold the conviction that your direct experience of reality is more true than the imaginary stories you've been innundated with for years.

But.

"Trust Yourself" doesn't mean there's a self to trust, it means that the sense of self that is currently held going into the inquiry, is the very sense of self which needs to surrender to the simplest of findings.  Finally, it's seen that there was never anyone to surrender.

Trust yourself to get you to see through yourself.



photo credit:  Trust Life a Little Bit by norynn on deviantart