|
|
Post by dramos on Oct 3, 2009 13:26:27 GMT -5
I have always enjoyed the beauty of nature and animals, there is much joy to be found in each as well as teaching tools.
I have two dogs and four cats.........yeah, I know.....lol. I have become more in tune to recognize how they react to certain things as well as each other, it is an ongoing observation. One of the greatest recognitions is how they are "masters" at living in the moment. Each day brings with it new discoveries, new challanges and how quickly they adapt to that moment. They remember certain things, like where that rabbit hole is as well as certain commands that are given, but they don't concern themselves with dwealing on the past or what will tomorrow bring, they live in "this moment" the here and now.
Also amazing is how their "peacefullness" can be disturbed, either by word, sound, movement or scent changes.
My in-laws had been searching for a puppy, after some time they found one they liked. It was a big "change" for this puppy coming into this new environment. As she adapted, she became more hyper, wanted to play all the time.........at times all you can do is laugh at the things she does. My youngest dog is about a year old, he's a freak'n horse, which he is still quite playful.
I decided to get the both of them together to play each other out a bit. The interaction between them is like watching children play together. Their puppy is tied on a leash so that she stays within a boundry, I bring my "horse" out with a hand leash to let them play. The leashes kept inner twineing as they played, so the one day I decided to take my dog off his leash to see what would happen. It was an amazing discovery because of the intense focus on one another and having their pup leashed they both maintained this focus within her boundry. Now as the observer I was mindful of the things that could distract them and would take the necessary steps to return them to their focus. In essance this is how the Divine conscious works.
Just a side note, it's hard to catch my own peaceful moments, stillness; with all the activity around here but I learn much and find great joy in watching these things unfold around me. When a "break" comes my way, I hop on board and enjoy the stillness of the moment.
|
|
|
|
Post by lightmystic on Oct 5, 2009 11:24:06 GMT -5
What I enjoy most is that Peace that is irrespective of degree of activity...
|
|
|
|
Post by dramos on Oct 13, 2009 14:27:16 GMT -5
It's amazing how things unfold before you, not truly realizing this to be the case until that moment just hits you.
I have come to realize that everything is only of the here-now. What you see Is, what you hear Is, what you taste Is, what you smell Is and what you touch Is. We are living in moments of experience. None of the senses recognize anything different, it's only the mind that has been programmed to be aware of the senses or give "word" of recognition.
Like when I burn a scented candle, it smells nice, but only the mind recognizes the scent from experience and the word that was accompanied to the scent. Same goes for each of the other senses.
In understanding of this I realize too that there is no time other than here-now, a continuum of infiniteness. Like I had mentioned before the awareness of my keeping track of time is only for others, in the taking care of appointments with them. Beyond that, well.......................
|
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on Oct 13, 2009 15:53:16 GMT -5
Dramos: Yes, most of us live our lives in a dream. Almost all of us have had the experience of driving down a highway and suddenly realizing that we didn't see the highway consciously for twenty minutes or more. Sometimes this comes as a real shock. The question often arises, "Who was driving the car while I was daydreaming?" The answer: the same one who pumps blood, transmits nerve impulses, daydreams, and causes galaxies to collide.
As we turn our attention more and more often to direct sensory perception, we leave daydreams behind and focus upon what is--the red-tailed hawk sitting on a treelimb or swooping down to grab a rodent, the deer munching grass beside the highway, the clouds drifting overhead, or the smell that follows a summer rainstorm. We may see cars in front of us come to a standstill, but there is no thought, "it shouldn't be this way," or, "I don;t have time for this." It clearly MUST be this way because it IS this way, and we have no time for anything other than it being this way! People in other cars become angry and frustrated. We see their rage and understand that they are being jerked around by their thoughts, but we remain unperturbed. The cars remain as they are--motionless while a distant wreck is being cleared away. Hum diddle diddle, and roodle de dee, what a nice day to see what we see. Nowhere to go, and nowhere to be, other than here, and here we be.
|
|
|
|
Post by vacant on Oct 16, 2009 3:42:14 GMT -5
Love this kind of inspiration, ZD. I'm memorizing the here-we-be rhyme to apply when things SEEM they're not going my way.
But are we to find that things always go our way really?
|
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on Oct 16, 2009 10:19:35 GMT -5
Vacant: That's a great question, but whose way would that be? When you say "my way," or "our way," there is an underlying implication that there is someone here who is separate from the action. The intellect is grasping for a formula that will provide an escape of some sort. What I'm pointing to is something that is beyond rules and predictability of any kind. This can't be grasped with the mind. It is beyond logic and rationality. Here is an old koan re-stated in different words to elucidate the matter:
A deeply enlightened spiritual master gets caught in a rush-hour traffic jam. She accepts reality totally and relaxes. While waiting for the traffic jam to clear, she watches her breath for a while and then idly and unperturbedly watches the drivers of the other cars, some clouds drifting by, some birds flying overhead, etc. She knows that she is exactly where she has to be. A second deeply enlightened spiritual master gets caught in a rush hour traffic jam. He is on his way to a wedding where he is the best man, and he has one of the rings that will be used in the wedding. He sees what is happening, and understands that this must be happening, but is totally p***ed off and irritated. (Koan 1) Were the actions of the two masters the same or different? If you say the same, I'll hit you with my Zen stick, but if you say different, I'll ring my bell (ending the interview) (2) Why did the two masters act the way that they did? (3) Which master was correct? If you answer one or the other, I'll reach for my stick again!
To see through this koan, as well as your own question, you have to become one with the issue. Here are two things to remember. First, enlightenment is nothing more than a deep and continuing realization of oneness--a realization that no separate entity exists. This does not mean that two enlightened persons will act in the same way if placed in the same situation.
ZM Seung Sahn used to tell his students to do things 100% and to do only one thing at a time. He said, "If you're eating breakfast, just eat breakfast 100%, and pay attention to what you're doing." One day a student walked into the Zen Center kitchen and saw ZMSS eating breakfast while reading a newspaper. The student asked him why he was doing two things at the same time. ZMSS responded, "Because now it's time to eat breakfast while reading the newspaper. Don't get too attached to 'one-thing-at-a-time'."
The funniest story along this line that I ever heard was related by Gangaji, the Advaita master who lives in Oregon and travels all over the world teaching. She once told a large group of people, "A year ago my husband and I bought a new car that I enjoyed driving; it was beautiful. One day I was driving along and a lady wasn't looking where she was going and plowed into my new car. I climbed out of the wreck, looked at my car, and got really angry. The lady looked at me and suddenly recognized me. She said, 'Why, you're Gangaji, the spiritual teacher. You're not supposed to get angry!'"
To join many Zen traditions, one has to take a set of precepts (I vow not to kill, steal, drink heedlessly, be lustful, etc). Later, one may take a longer set of vows (I vow not to show off, wear jewelry, handle money, wear perfume, etc). These precepts have their place, but they are only a temporary guide for people still trapped in the intellect. As one's understanding deepens, precepts are seen as relational, and later as unnecessary. For example, a lie may be a deeper good in some situations than telling the literal truth. If a wife asks her husband how she looks, the answer must always be "beautful!" Is she asks, "Do I look fat?" Even if she is a hundred pounds overweight, the answer is always "No!" LOL.
So, going back to the original post about being stuck in traffic, most of the time it is advantageous to accept reality as it is, let go of ideas, and relax. The daughter of one of my friends heard me talking about this issue one night many years ago. She later told her parents that it was a big help because afterwards she stopped getting upset in traffic; she realized that she was always experiencing exactly what she was supposed to be experiencing. She understood that aspect of the message, but she may not have understood the limits of its applicability. Getting free of thoughts is usually a big help, but after getting free of thoughts, it is impossible to predict how reality will manifest in a particular human being. The bottom line? There is no escape. Jesus appears to have been deeply enlightened, but he got nailed to a cross, and there wasn't much bliss involved in that experience no matter how fully it was accepted.
My point was that most of us live almost totally in our heads, and we usually respond to life like programmed robots. Fortunately, it is possible to escape our conditioning and discover the living truth, which is totally mysterious. Here are two final stories:
There was once an enlightened family--father, mother, and daughter. Someone asked the mother if it was difficult to get enlightened. She replied, "It's the hardest thing in the world." Someone asked the father and he said, "It's the easiest thing in the world." Someone asked the daughter and she said, "It's neither hard nor easy; the truth is shining on the dew-soaked tips of every blade of grass." All three of them were pointing to the same thing.
A particular Zen Master was on his deathbed when a student asked him if he objected to dying. The ZM laughed and said, "How could I object? When I die, absolutely nothing will change; I will still be here." Another Zen Master was on his deathbed when he shouted to his students, "But I don't want to die!"
All of these stories are pointing to something that is far too mysterious for the mind to comprehend. Cheers.
|
|
|
|
Post by vacant on Oct 17, 2009 9:29:00 GMT -5
Haha, I KNEW that was coming just as I typed the question! Ok, koan 1: the situation is different, you can't compare apples and pears. 2: the first relaxes with the flow, the second lives the annoyance to groom & bride. 3: I don't care if they are correct or not, it's irrelevant or meaningless.  Some clarification please: in the zen master game you are playing, is the bell ringing (ending the interview) an appraisal or rejection? Thanks. |
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on Oct 17, 2009 14:19:53 GMT -5
Vacant: Ha ha. Yes, I knew that you knew that your question would get a response. I'm just grateful for the opportunity of finding people who enjoy this path as much as I do. Fortunately, there is no end to what any of us can learn. When I first started going on silent retreats, about twenty-five years ago, I did some seriously intense meditation, but as the fog cleared, I gradually pursued formal meditation less and less. During the last few years I have done almost no formal meditation. However, the exchanges on this website have had a surprising effect upon me. I am now, once again, finding myself sitting in contemplation for long periods of time. I have been re-reading obscure dialogues between Zen teachers from a thousand years ago, and am now seeing through some of the exchanges that were at one time impenetrable. Very mysterious!
You may know this already, but various books can be used to test your progressive understanding. When I first read "The Zen Teaching of Rinzai," it was like reading Greek; 99% of the exchanges were utterably incomprehensible. Gradually, after several years of silent retreats and meditation, I saw through more and more of the dialogues. Today that book seems transparent. However, there are passages in "The Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang," and some other books that still strike me as highly enigmatic.
AAR, I am not a Zen Master, and I only use koans for fun. I think Richard Rose was on target when he said that the most important koans are the ones that come from our own daily life. At the same time, I went on Zen retreats for many years, did lots of face to face interviews, solved lots of formal Zen koans, and interacted with several Zen Masters, so I do understand the methodology. As far as your answers to the koans I presented, they are neither good nor bad; they are simply off target a bit. Zen Masters are always looking for answers that are simple and direct--answers that come through the body rather than the intellect. Let's say that I hold up a bell and ask you, "What is this?" Here are some possible answers:
1. It's a bell. No, that's a thinking answer.
2. It's a metallic object. No. Another thinking answer.
3. It's a telephone pole. Ahhh, now this indicates something far deeper, but it's still wrong.
4. It's you! Ahh, another deeper answer, but still off target.
5. I don't know. Good. This is an honest answer in this situation, but, still, only 50%.
6. You slap the floor with your hand. We call this a "like this" answer. Good, but only 50%.
7. Reach out and ring the bell. Yes, this is 100%. We call it a "just like this" answer.
I slap the floor and ask you, "What does this mean?"
All you have to do is slap the floor in response. That is what slapping the floor means.
I say, "Today is October 15." What does that statement mean?
You answer, "Today is October 15." The answers to all koans, once penetrated, are simple and obvious. Sometimes koans require a word-answer and sometimes they require a physical-action answer.
Imagine that you became consumed by the question, "Does God exist?" or "How can I meet God face to face in some tangible or direct way?" These are heavy-duty koans, and no one will ever find an answer to them unless they are deadly serious and willing to spend whatever amount of time is necessary, but it is possible to have experiences that will definitively satisfy a person on this kind of quest. Ramana Maharshi's primary koan was, "Who am I?" But some Zen Masters advise students not to work on this koan unless they are willing to spend a minimum of ten years going after the answer. The "Who am I?" koan is an enlightenment koan and it is just as heavy duty as any of the "God" koans.
At the level of people who have awakened, this is the highest form of play, and some typical exchanges might go something like this:
ZM1: Who are you?
ZM2: What was the question?
ZM1: Who are you?
ZM2: Thank you.
or this:
ZM1: Do you know who you are?
ZM2: Yes.
ZM1: Well, who are you?
ZM: I don't know. (this would be followed by a lot of laughter because the two masters are moving back and forth between the relative and absolute, and they both understand how the words are being used)
or this:
Student: What would you say if someone asked you who you are, fundamentally?
ZM2: Speak! Speak!
Student: I asked you. Why do you ask me to speak?
ZM2: Too late, the arrow has already passed downtown. (you've already missed the action)
Lots of fun. Cheers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Portto on Oct 17, 2009 21:03:29 GMT -5
Your stories are wonderful, zendancer - I always enjoy reading them.
You are like Santa - with a bag full of stories.
In my experience, the intellect is just an extension of the body - like an extra arm. Answers that come through the body are not necessarily better than the intellectual ones, although they may be.
The body is a story as much as the mind is a story - only the rate of change is different.
|
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on Oct 18, 2009 9:21:29 GMT -5
Porto: I, too, see the intellect as if it were an extension of the body, sort of like a built-in personal computer. The problem is that people get attached to what's happening on the computer screen and forget about reality. They are like a teen-ager who gets attached to one of those world-simulation video games on his home computer. All he wants to do is play the imaginary game of interacting with imaginary people in imaginary situations. Meanwhile, his friends are playing baseball games, going to dances, talking with each other, etc. but he stays glued to his tube 24/7. After a while he comes to believe that his Sim World is real and forgets that anything exists that is not on the screen. He enjoys his meta-realistic world so much that he sees no value in leaving it to go have experiences in the real one. It is almost like a drug habit. Until he breaks the habit, he will remain lost in a trance-like state.
|
|
|
|
Post by Portto on Oct 18, 2009 13:34:24 GMT -5
Porto: I, too, see the intellect as if it were an extension of the body, sort of like a built-in personal computer. The problem is that people get attached to what's happening on the computer screen and forget about reality. They are like a teen-ager who gets attached to one of those world-simulation video games on his home computer. All he wants to do is play the imaginary game of interacting with imaginary people in imaginary situations. Meanwhile, his friends are playing baseball games, going to dances, talking with each other, etc. but he stays glued to his tube 24/7. After a while he comes to believe that his Sim World is real and forgets that anything exists that is not on the screen. He enjoys his meta-realistic world so much that he sees no value in leaving it to go have experiences in the real one. It is almost like a drug habit. Until he breaks the habit, he will remain lost in a trance-like state. You are right, social activities are more useful than being completely absorbed in the mind (imagination). However, social activities can be addictive, too. Ultimately, the inner world (imagination) and the outside world (physical objects) are made of exactly the same substance, and we can identify with both. Generally, the mind "spins" faster - so it can have a more hypnotizing effect. The mind appears to be more volatile, but the body is volatile as well. |
|
|
|
Post by dramos on Oct 27, 2009 9:50:58 GMT -5
Being a member of another forum, one asked "who is God", thy response was this:
Regards to the second question, let me begin with this, I understand us to be universal cosmic beings, individual but whole, we are a living conscious of what God IS. We try to place a name to this "ONE" but we can not and nor should we try because it creates a seperateness. We are a part of him as well as he is part of us.
Another question was asked in reguards if there was any "agendas", thy response was this:
To say that their is an agenda, creates a hidden theme or a scheme, there is none, things are the way they are. You "listen" to what is given to you. If you are meant to seek an understanding, you will seek, you won't find the answer, IT will find you. If you knock and the door opens, IT is not open by you, IT will open for you. If you are to share, then share. If you are given something, you give.
Thyself understands the here-now and the illusion of time itself. The here-now is infinite. If you understand this, then you understand that "that" is all there IS. So there is "nothing" to plan for or any "agendas" to be weary of. The past are experiences but a guide for us from memory. Thyself is humbled each time a "realization" is made and this Light gets brighter and brighter. endless possibilitiies await. Don't "think" to know what they are because you will stumble, Know and accept what they are as such. This is freedom, this is your inner Peace, this is Love.
|
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on Oct 27, 2009 12:49:40 GMT -5
Dramos: I think you gave some good responses to those questions. Good stuff!
|
|
|
|
Post by loverofall on Oct 31, 2009 0:47:42 GMT -5
This looks like the right place to share this. I have had a monumental week spiritually. I do believe it’s because I actually engaged on this board and had exchanges with those who see reality clearly. In addition the learning and applying small moments of “resting in awareness” all day long in short moments has changed the game.
I have worked hard the past 3 years and continually do the opposite of my ego to the point of headaches and nausea. If any thought creates any feeling of being more or less it is thrown away. If someone is mean to me I return kindness and compassion. My family tests me on this daily as they have been affected by my older self and not only do I have to overlook their ego errors, I have to overlook my suffering that I am responsible for many of their walls conditionings. It’s a great training ground to undo the ego. I am tested daily but it’s true, the more you interact and do the opposite of the ego, the weaker it becomes and the walls of separateness dissolve.
I went to a football game and really felt like I was watching deluded people but instead of the usual disturbing feelings, It was a feeling of wonder and amazement at watching everyone get so worked up over their thoughts about a game of strangers. I had a great time talking with a drunk about his illusions and why it is suffering to root for one team against another like he did and how this is probably the most emotions these many of these people show all week. Of course he eventually switched seat to get way from the crazy man.
It’s better and clearer. I wake up wanting to go deeper and deeper. There are still patterns of anxiousness and other sufferings but they are easier to dispel and shorter. Obviously I need to keep doing what I am doing and the meditation that was recommended. Katie Byron’s book “1000 Names for Joy” is making SO MUCH MORE SENSE!. I guess I am writing this more to share in an exited way but of course any insight is greatly appreciated.
Love
p.s. I even proofed this for a change. Sorry for the other posts. It’s a conditioning that needs undone.
|
|
|
|
Post by dramos on Oct 31, 2009 9:24:08 GMT -5
Loverofall, awareness to any given situation is a key, even when it comes to awkward moments like the football game, diverting the awkward moment can be a challenge. It happens to me all the time, but diversion of this moment can be quit fun and can put you past the awkwardness. This can be the "twix" theory..... need a moment...
I have said things here and there that seemed awkward to some and all of a sudden it is silent. O snap, need a moment..... quick, quick..... think of something. This is where being aware of the things around you can help. Like say your football game, if you began noticing an awkwardness between you and that person, grab that "twix" bar........ then maybe you might have said, "don't mind me I'm crazy". Well that one didn't work, now I got the whole bench to myself.......... for me to say what could of been said I can't only because of not being in that situation.
For myself, anytime that awkwardness happens I will think of something quick to divert it. I will say something........ Oh no there's that silence... I will then make use of something to divert the awkwardness and then we all laugh, the awkwardness disappears.
Everyone of us are on different levels in life, some will understand us and some won't but it is all good, we just have to be able to adjust to any given situation and the key, again, is awareness of the moment. Things will become much clearer for you when this is understood.
|
|
