HereNowThisMoment

@Telepresent I agree with you that my original definition is a bit too black and white. For example, awareness itself is not a tangible thing but it is definitely very real or we would not be having this conversation right now. So to say that the only things that are real are those that are tangible, while unreal things are intangible was incomplete and a bit misleading. They are both experiences, however, a thought is conceptually derived while a sound is true in and of itself. They both feel very real. But a thought can be changed anyway you want it to be changed (For example, I can think that I can fly but that does make that real). The sound, on the other hand, exists as what Is.

My understanding is that an emotion is a physical manifestation of the uncognized mind. It is a "ready-made" response to a situation that allows us to quickly respond the way we "should" in a certain situation based on prior conditioning. I like your wave metaphor, except that, as you pointed out, it limits you a bit. To have a better experience of what an emotion is, try to trace it back as far as you can. Continuing with your wave metaphor for energy, yes, the energy goes away in stillness. Throw a pebble into a pond and ripples will form momentarily but the waves will settle and stillness will resume. The mind is the same way, left undisturbed it will be still.

@Leo Gura If I were to cling onto any one moment, even after it has passed, then that is the dysfunctional state that most people are in. That doesn't mean we disappear (not like "poof" I'm gone!), just that we are clinging to a false self (which, essentially means that the "true self" does disappear, so I guess the answer to that question is a convoluted yes). But to answer more directly: This moment = Now --> every moment is Now --> Now never disappears --> Now is the only constant --> Therefore I am Now

Starting point huh? hahaha I thought that was already the point of realization After becoming grounded in the emptiness and silence of Now, is that just a starting point for getting deeper into Now (i.e. deeper enlightenment)?

@cetus56 Awesome, I'll give that a try today!

Great, thanks! And that's good to know about koans, I haven't used koan practice much at all, but that one popped into my head for some reason when I read your earlier post.

@Telepresent I would say that an object is anything that is tangible. To loosely quote Peter Ralston "I have a concept of a chair in my head, but I cannot sit on that." Basically, that's the difference between a thought (intangible/unreal) and an object (tangible/real).

@cetus56 Is this practiced by observing stillness? I'm going off on a tangent now, but is this kinda like what the koan "what is the sound of one hand clapping" refers to? One hand clapping makes no perceivable sound, but when two hands come together the sum is greater than its parts. It is out of silence that the sound seemingly arises out of nowhere. But is it actually that in the silence the sound always existed? In the same way, what we see as one sunset is actually every sunset that ever existed or ever will?

I'm a bit confused by what you mean that the essence does not change. If I am interpreting it correctly does it mean that if we take an infinitely small time point to be the Now, then in that instant there is no change? Like a time point so small (infinitely so) that it would mean that even the vibrations of the atoms are frozen, etc.? So that would mean that even what seems to be occurring Now is an illusion? For example, I'm looking out of my window right now and seeing leaves blowing in the wind. But the only way I can detect motion is based on knowing that in a previous instant the leaves were in a different position. So reality is actually a standstill?

@Telepresent Great post, thank you! See the thing is, I think the I in that statement is secondary. It's unnecessary. The moment can exist just as it is without needing to project oneself into it. The focus of that statement is more on the Being aspect of it. "Am" implies present moment and exists without precept. Yeah, this is one of the things that I've thought about quite a bit. There is the illusory nature of time that includes past and present in its context. For example, a weather forecast may say that it will rain at 3 PM today, but that is not real, it is a prediction/projection. I can think about what I had for breakfast this morning, but again that is a memory which can only exist as a conceptualization. So then that leaves us with this moment, in which reality occurs. cetus56 brought up a great point that these are all actually snapshots that are strung together which I hadn't thought about before. But this idea of time becomes convoluted because I also have to think about the difference between what is real in the moment. An object is tangible, so we call it real. A thought is intangible, so it is not real. I can think about a microwave and conceptualize it, but I can't use that thought to heat my food. I need the real object to do that. I'm going off on a tangent again haha Because if you are clinging on to any one moment then that is already in the past. It is experiencing each thing without holding onto any one thing. This is exactly it. It got rid of unnecessary emotional baggage. More importantly it turned my actions from a means to an end to an end in and of themselves. By not being so attached to a vision of the future, I can focus more fully on what is right in front of me. I still have goals that I'm working towards, but I'm not as concerned about the fruits of the labor anymore. Well, I guess that is the next question that I have to focus on because it is essentially the same as asking, "what is reality?" All I can say about that is, reality just is. Hahah very unsatisfactory answer I'm sure, but I don't think there's any way to describe what is real. I can describe what the plant in front of me looks like, but anything I can say is only a concept. The plant is the truth in and of itself. To think about it another way, it is like the park bench scene in Good Will Hunting. Robin Williams' character says something along the lines of "you have read about the Sistine Chapel, but can you tell me what it smells like?" There is no description for reality. Nothing that can fully capture the essence of what is true. This is an excellent point. If we are holding that reality must be constant, then the only answer for that is a paradoxical one: nothing is constant. Everything changes. The only constant that can be is nothingness. Holy shit. Oh my. If everything is changing, then the only thing that is unchanging is nothing. Yeah, I think without realizing it that is exactly what I was trying to do.

@cetus56 Thank you! That really clears up a lot of things. "Each moment is a still or snapshot that is static." Mind blown. I never though about it like that. Conceptually the things that you said all make sense, so if I want to move deeper, should I stop trying to intellectualize things and just sit instead? What would you suggest I do?

Ohhhh okay, I understand what you were referring to now. Yes, I've learned through this process that I am not the labels that I place on myself or the ones that other people place on me. So then is it fair to say that the only true description of the self is "I am?" Once all precepts are pared away all that is left is Being. Which again points to the self being nothing more than this moment, this current reality because if I am not the conceptual framework of my mind the only thing that is constant is Now (sorry to keep harping on this point, I don't know if I am just trapped or if this is It and that's what I'm trying to figure out.). In regards to the physical body vs. rest of reality, my understanding is that the body is just another object, but it is one that we happen to identify with. However, even as the body changes, grows old, and eventually dies the ultimate reality of the universe continues on (for example, in the grand scheme of things life and death is not really a big deal). Just as a thought has a birth, life, and death the body has the same. All things arise in and fade out of Now. So in "life" and "death" there is change, but the stage in which it takes place, the ultimate reality of this moment always remains as this moment. Eckhart Tolle speaks about the inner body which remains radiant, vibrant, and alive as long as we are aware of it. So while the body will get older, the inner body will still have the same constant feeling (I have felt this sensation myself and it is inexplicably calming). He also speaks about how this inner body connects us more deeply into the Now. Similarly, Leo has said in a video something along the lines of "reality is only what is happening right now in my senses... if you realize that every moment is reality then you will become enlightened." Furthermore, in Peaceful Warrior, a film about enlightenment, Dan Millman has a narrative that says "Where are you? Here. What time is it? Now. What are you? This moment." (Fun fact that is what my username is in reference to haha). Reading "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" also led me to the same conclusion that zazen, especially shikentaza is about being aware of this moment. Peter Ralston begins his book by talking about the profound realization he had that every moment is Now. I could go on but the point that I'm trying to get at is that in all cases the common thread that all of these spiritual works have is an emphasis on this moment. So how can I be anything else other than right Now? Please feel free to pull me out of this trap if that's what it is, but for what it's worth I've felt much more at peace ever since I came to this realization, but I don't know if that is nothing more than complacency.

There are different schools of thought. Some say that your gaze should be focused on something, others say that the gaze should be unfocused as if you are looking out of your peripherals, some sects of Zen face other practitioners while doing zazen, while others face a blank wall. All this is to say that there isn't one "right" way. Personally, I practice with my gaze unfocused and blink whenever the need naturally arises. In my experience I have found that I become a bit more distracted if I am facing a wall, but that may have also been because I mainly used that method when I first started.

@Telepresent Thank you for your detailed answer. Which is why I'm wondering if by labelling this moment as being what I am, I am just building a framework... but I can't find anything with the same degree of constancy as the underlying truth that this is this moment. This is a cool idea, but it seems a bit circumferential. I could go on endlessly labelling all the things that I think I am not ("I am not the plant I'm looking at, I am not the carpet under my feet, etc."). But then that contradicts with ideas of non-duality and by saying "I am not this" it creates a separation between "me" and "something other than me." So, in essence, even if I am thinking about what I am not, I am still labelling things in accordance to precepts. I don't know. After many, many hours spent doing self-inquiry I'm at the point where I think I'm just thinking too much about it haha and that what it really Is, is just the current reality that I find myself in without my egoic self bringing prior concepts/biases/thoughts/labels into it.

@carlo Thanks for the link. I will quote the description of that video, "Shinzen talks about the technique he calls "do nothing", which is associated with what other traditions call choiceless awareness, just sitting..."

I haven't seen Leo's video about "Do Nothing" meditation, but I think it is just referring to shikentaza, in which case it is just sitting as described before.

Although there are many great videos on enlightenment (name dropping a few - Jiddu Krishnamurthi, Eckhart Tolle, Peter Ralston, many Roshi's, Leo, etc.) I think this one does a good job of illustrating something we oftentimes seem to forget:

"Just sit." This was the advice given to me by a teacher. It's as simple as it sounds. Sit and be fully aware. Don't try to filter thoughts, just observe them. Gradually the frequency of thoughts decreases.

Do not turn enlightenment into a goal because then it is in the future. Entry is here and now. The difficulty is in realizing that you are already it. Enlightenment is nothing special. And yet it is something special. It's paradoxical, which makes it difficult to realize. Letting go of the egoic self is a matter of letting go of precepts. In the present moment there are no concepts unless you bring them in based on prior conditioning. Peace is in accepting things as they are.