deci belle

Again, taking up the noted quote from Hongzhi's practice instructions, this time addressing the second part. "This is called taking up the burden from inside and is how to shoulder responsibility", is a reference to so-called selfless spiritual adaption where the whole world is necessarily not "outside", not beyond the true self, not separate. All at once, is generally a reference to the Absolute (nature of reality), in terms of the selfless nonoriginated perspective of sudden illumination. The task and responsibility of enlightening activity both before and after the sudden, is to actualize the expression of enlightening being, nonoriginated, all at once, without psychological differentiation between self and other. There being no outside (or inside) relative to enlightening perspective actualizing one's latent sagehood in the world, the ancient taoist elucidation defining all prior illuminates is that "the world is the sage." Unless one's working parameter is "all at once", albeit step by step along the dusty path of authentic self-refining practice in the midst of endless karmic cycles, there is no actualized latent sagehood to be expressed. Therefore, "…taking up the burden from inside to shoulder responsibility." is the basic directive of authentic self-refining practice in response to situations and the means to stabilize the enlightening operative of "perceiving nothing" whereby everything is illuminated fully without making personal distinctions in terms of inside and/or outside relative to the psychological function of individuals who see potential and adapt enlightenment to conditions. When you find the road (or even if you don't), all things act in concert. Settling into situations, one simply awaits inevitability in the natural course of enlightening responsibility. One simply shares oneself openly in selfless adaption, responsibly responding in accordance with the time in terms of situational potential. Awaiting the celestial in stillness, one observes return, which is the spontaneous arising of the celestial potential latent in situationally karmic creative evolution. Taoism says to "refine the self and await the time." The only thing necessarily "wonderful" about creative evolution, is the fact that there is no way to find and absorb potential but for the kinetic incremental action of all things acting in concert by virtue of karmic momentum. For enlightening beings and deluded people alike, karma is the only thing to work with. The deluded follow creation's cycles of birth and death, while spiritual adepts turn the light around to shine on its source. As referenced above, "East Mountain walks on water" is indicative of one's impersonal (spiritual) function beyond movement and stillness. So awaiting the time, per se, isn't simply a matter of passive stillness while waiting for inevitability's fulfillment in terms of potential, or, more commonly, conditional assumptions of personal ascendancy over others in terms of complacent opportunism (privateering), speculative advances, avoidance strategies, or kinetic nullity relative to attraction, rejection, obtund satiety or else mere existential distraction. Enlightening beings' perspective neither by movement nor stillness is the living bestowal of one's inherent potential in the midst of affairs when one has learned to "turn the light around." This is uncontrived, sincerely open vulnerability. Enlightening being isn't operative or passive conditionality. It also isn't a matter of active or passive approbation, in terms of societal convention, due to the reality of nonoriginated potential being the essence of karma. This means that at all times or even "in between", enlightening activity is necessarily inconceivable; no one knows. Spiritual adaption is a task of secrecy, carried out in broad daylight, due to the nature of inconceivability. As such, enlightening activity's mode of operation is by definition an "open secret" in terms of wu-wei. Some people like to throw around the term wu wei. But it has been defined accurately in the above post as "seeing nothing", that is, in seeing potential by not using the light of awareness to follow objects as if they are intrinsically "outside" oneself, on account of the world being the sage, there is nothing to warrant inside or outside differentiation or influence pertaining to impersonal enlightening response to conditions. This means enlightening activity is not dependent on personal influences or obvious circumstantial factors. Honzhi says, "Unobstructed and free, beyond restraints, they do not depend on even subtle indicators, and their essential spirit cannot be eclipsed." Wu wei is "East Mountain walks on water." But adepts aren't metaphors, so they swim in suchness. Wu wei isn't a thing, nor is it an event. It is a name for the essential character of one's functional enlightening being which is not to be conceived as a separate reality. It is the aware totality of oneself, unborn (before the first thought); spontaneous selfless response: "acting without acting" in everyday ordinary situations. Penetrating the profound reality of wu-wei is a never ending path for those with the "all at once" vision of suchness. This is the "tiger eye" (dharma-eye) of enlightening being(s). Watching over the task and function of the aperture of the mysterious female, one witnesses changes. In recognizing changes, one does not go along with creation. So selfless adaption isn't a matter of accommodating phenomena, it is inconceivable response to the time. In introducing the term suchness, above, it must be mentioned that Creation is already one's self, but response to other is why sameness within difference is spoken of in terms of suchness. The buddhist teaching of sameness within difference is a device to help those whose "stream-entry" is immature and fraught with instability. All students of reality know the instability of "stream-entry." But stream-entry is a conditional aspect of authentic practice that must be worked out sufficiently over a long long time before one can cross rivers, where one's life hangs in the balance. Nevertheless, one's steps are unhurried yet not lagging, progressing naturally, fulfilling (refining) one's karmic burden, until death arrives to compliment the dissolution of one's current temporal lifetime. Karma needs time. So adepts excel in waiting. Enlightening beings respond to the time in order to absorb potential from within the conditional. The temporal is inherently comprised of the nature of the absolute, so in responding to the time, enlightening beings respond to situations effectively by abstraction, which is seeing through phenomena without denying the characteristics of the phenomenal to aid nonpsychological "all at once" transformation without going along with created cycles of karmic evolution from within karmic spheres. Transcendent adaptivity isn't an accomplishment "divorced" from delusion— it is enacted by virtue of delusion; being the meaning of "turning the light around to shine on its source." The light of creation and the source of the light is one. Otherwise, the secret of potential wouldn't be real. Seeing is itself the functional aspect of suchness as is. Those partaking of ineffable reality do so by virtue of seeing alone. In seeing potential, one's acts do not rely on one's own power or personal motivation. Power is necessarily a matter of seeing potential, inherently so, by virtue of situational evolution itself. So in partaking of reality, real humans go in reverse, opposite the flow of creation. This is all there is to turning the light around spoken of in the Secret of the Golden Flower. If one gets this, one knows the meaning of the saying, "It is as easy as turning over your hand." Just this is entry into the inconceivable, spoken of as the Supreme Vehicle of buddhas, saints, sages, adepts, wizards and all prior illuminates. ed note: change "stabilizing" to "operative" in 5th paragraph; typo 9th; add last quote; parenthesis to enlightening being(s) in 11th; italicize "seeing" in 1st and 2nd sentences of 14th paragraph

From Hongzhi Zhengjue's quoted text in the first post: The brackets "[ ]" were included in the original volume published by North Point Press and translated by Taigen Daniel Leighton, with additional insight informing the translated text by Yi Wu, Professor of Chinese Language at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. The content of those two brackets is extremely important. Just this simple change in one's relationship with Creation is the absolute key distinction for students of mind only praxis, clarifying the working parameters of authentic enlightening activity. Spiritual activity, per se, is simply beyond rational connotations of morality, self, other, or value judgements of good, bad, right or wrong. When one sees potential instead of things distinct from the perspective of the personal human mentality, this is one's selfless, open awareness conjured by the operative terms valley spirit and mysterious female. To "illuminate everything fully" is the inconceivably liberated capacity of the light, latent in one's innermost self, to see the light without distinctions pertaining to self and other. This is not some other light. The light is your own mind right now. When people stop using the light to habitually reference the psychological apparatus of the being that is going to die, reality doesn't look any different to the physical eyes than delusion. It's just that reality is void of distinctive psychological factors referencing the habit-energy of one's ingrained pattern consciousness. Therefore one sees what is as is, without employing filters perpetuating purely psychological perspectives keeping the true human bound by psychological momentum. Psychological momentum is what makes true spontaneity impossible in terms of the arising of potential. The term "karma" is a bundle of tendencies relative to the dual nature of the creative element of kinetic incremental time based thought-energy. Karma, as such, isn't a thing. Karma is the tacit "inert ingredient" forming the web of creation constituting instinctual tendencies perpetuated by the psychological function of being. As such, karma is actually another word for creation. Everything created is karmic without exception. This is how and why karma and creation are deemed "empty" of absolute nature, in terms of reality. Reality is empty too, but true emptiness is not void. True emptiness is the nature of potential comprising karma. Therefore karma is empty in terms of delusion as well as enlightenment. The nonpsychological is spiritual function expressing the selfless intent of nonorigination, which is universally good. How can "good" be universal, and not a relative aspect of "bad?" Goodness, in this context, is the nature of the selfless (spiritual) purity of nonorigination, or potential, in terms of the essence of creation. The Flower Ornament Scripture says that Universal Good is not by a country, being itself the source of civilizations. Nonorigination is the nature of your own mind. The term nonorigination is used because awareness is not created. As for sudden enlightenment, those who cease distinctions of self and other in authentic practice of self-refining open wonder in the midst of everyday ordinary situations for a long long time, realize that seeing potential is none other than enlightening activity, both before and after experiencing sudden illumination. The sudden and the gradual are a singularity in terms of nonorigination, being the uncreated quality of awake, selflessly so. Some people might be disposed to give this singularity a name in relative terms, such as "god." That's ok, because god is you, but you are not god. It is very important to not form mental, psychological or emotional attachments to conceptual constructs relative to speculations regarding nonorigination, sudden enlightenment, or buddhahood, before awakening— much less in its aftermath. Being attached to notions of one's Absolute nature before, or in the aftermath of awakening to the valley spirit/mysterious female and/or sudden illumination, is just as delusional as being attached to conventional views of self and other relative to adherence to ego-consciousness in the throws of delusional everyday ordinary existence. When I say "awakening", this is not an automatic reference to the sudden. Awakening is having "penetrated" the aperture of the mysterious female, which is seeing reality as is by perpetual mitigation of habitual reference to one's personal psychological apparatus. Awakening, as such, is simply the cessation of habitual self-reifying tendencies of mental pattern-conscious analysis in one's perceptive capacity. The tendency being psychological momentum itself. Psychological (conscious) knowledge has mass constituting gravity and momentum because it is relative to the person, which is created. The selfless knowledge of reality is immediate and non-discursive. Real knowledge has no mass, no momentum, no tendency, because real knowledge is not relative to the person. Therefore, real knowledge does not perpetuate illusions of ego-consciousness even though it sees through phenomena without denying its characteristics. Nonoriginated awareness being uncreated is your own mind right now without karmic momentum of creative overlays that are natural trappings of the psychological awareness of a created person's human mentality. There is nothing wrong with the amazing and necessary functionality of psychological awareness. The problem is the habitual tendencies properly attached to the psychological apparatus' overarching obstruction and obfuscation of the nonpsychological. The psychological usurps the natural enlightening authority of the nonpsychological. Authentic self-refinment is the reformative restoration of the original healthy relationship shared between the psychological and the nonpsychological. Mind is really one. There are no two minds. As for the term buddhahood, this is simply a reference to the permanent stabilization of a reformed and restored healthy relationship of unified selfless awareness functioning inside and outside a body without needing to distinguish psychological and nonpsychological functions. ed note: Moderator corrects spelling of "valley" in thread title; change "clarifies" to "clarifying" in 3rd paragraph; change "inherent" to "instinctual" in 5th; add third quote; insert word "of" in last line of penultimate paragraph; add last quote

The aperture of the mysterious female has no sexual connotation in taoist spiritual alchemy, whereas BDSM sexual practices, ritualized sex magic or taoist psychosomatic "grafting" exercises practiced by older people to enhance energy for meditative concentration, do make the distinction. Those who penetrate the immaterial aperture of the mysterious female pass through ego reifying identity issues— sex being one of them. How then could the nonpsychological spirit of the heart of heaven and earth be categorically differentiated by clinging to literal descriptions by those obsessed with identity issues in general? There's a special place in hell waiting for those poisoning themselves and others with such absolute rubbish. Ego is a function, not an identity. Polemic tooling by social engineering hacks in order to maneuver a constituent demographic is an unspeakable denial of humanity. Absolutely no good will come of it. Eventually such societal manipulators will reach an impasse. Resist the ploy. As for the so-called aperture of the mysterious female, how does one describe that which has no location? Fortunately, it doesn't matter, as the puzzle is without remainder, only entertained by the doubts of the human mentality. The valley spirit is where potential is activated; where change originates. Those who see Change transcend the karmic power of its changes. Resting in the highest good is taking over the pivot of awareness, where one spies Change as potential becomes karmic energy. That's why the point of enlightening perspective is called the pivot of awareness. The mysterious female is a metaphor. Mystery means movement: yang. Female means stillness: yin. Neither yin or yang, East Mountain walks on water. East Mountain walks on water is an ancient buddhist epitaph, indicating entry into the inconceivable. Neither yin nor yang is the realm of enlightening activity, where there are no words, much less relativities begetting dualities of self and other, ie: identity issues; or good and bad, or right and wrong. How then could there be discussion of location as pertains to the aperture of the mysterious female? The heart of heaven and earth is one's innermost self. The heart of heaven and earth is the center; the immaterial body of awareness which has no location. Standing ready by the gate and door of the Mysterious Female, observe life and death. This is knowing the pivot of change. Just this is not a reference to mystical experience, although it is applicable. When one can be psychologically still, yet perspicaciously fluid, one can witness return in everyday ordinary cycles of yin and yang. Return is the action of the Way. Seeing return is seeing potential. Where else would the valley spirit and the mysterious female be? When one sees the Mysterious Female, one attains the power of the center. Observing stillness and movement, one is not subject to change. This is because the Mysterious Female is the locus of change where the physical and psychological elements do not adhere; where change originates; where adepts steal potential. When you see the the Mysterious Female and attain the pivot of creation, you attain it forever. Standing ready by the gate and door of the aperture of the Mysterious Female, you see the world sail through its aperture as if bound by its own karmic momentum, like an astronaut careening through the vast void of space …because that is exactly how it is. It's kind of sad, in a way. But you're not!❤ The Art of War states that victory is up to the enemy and that one must choose the ground of death in order to live, find the place of victory, and wait for the enemy to fulfill fate. Adepts know the gate and door of the Mysterious Female and wait there for the arrival of inevitability. Here are two terms not customarily used: inner and outer Mysterious Female. The above quote is from Thomas Cleary's notes to his translation of ancient alchemic poems of female adepts in Immortal Sisters — Secret Teachings of Taoist Women. 1989, North Atlantic Books ISBN 1-55643-222-4 ed note: omit one word in first sentence

Both these terms would seem to fall squarely within the lexicon of primordial and core taoist lore as both terms are mentioned by Laotze in the 6th chapter of the Tao te Ching. Both terms are also discussed at length in the various texts, treatises, manuals and esoteric songs and classic scriptures constituting the voluminous taoist canon. The Valley Spirit and the Mysterious Female are references beyond philosophical discussion, as the terms point to the qualitative substance and phenomenally functional aspects of one's transcendent activity within an impersonally operative nonpsychological milieu through recognition, cultivation and practice by one's inherent resonant potential. Surprisingly, the short introductory text below is found in the Practice Instructions of the great Chan buddhist teacher and illuminate, Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091~1157). Hongzhi lived in China and died about 60 years before the Japanese progenitor of what is popularly known as Zen (Chan) buddhism, Eihei Dogen, who arrived in China in 1223. Hongzhi's enduring influence cannot be underestimated and becomes obvious to anyone who enters into the practical application and serious study of Chan Caodong and Zen Soto traditions. The text of The Valley Spirit and the Wind Master, from Hongzhi's Practice Instructions found in "Cultivating the Empty Field" ISBN 0-86547-475-3: Patch-robed monks practice thoroughly without carrying a single thread. Open-mindedly sparkling and pure, they are like a mirror reflecting a mirror, with nothing regarded as outside, without capacity for accumulating dust. They illuminate everything fully, perceiving nothing [as an object]. This is called taking up the burden from inside and is how to shoulder responsibility. Wisdom illuminates the darkness without confusion. The Way integrates with the body and does not get stuck. From this unstuck place, engaging and transforming at the appropriate opportunity, the wisdom does not leak out. Clearly the Way does not get stained. The valley spirit echos the sound. The wind master walks in the sky. Unobstructed and free, beyond restraints, they do not depend on even subtle indicators, and their essential spirit cannot be eclipsed. Fulfilled, wander around and arrive at such a field. The entire place secure, the entire place at leisure, the open field of the white ox is plain and simple, of one color. If you chase the ox, still he will not go away. You must intimately experience and arrive here. ed note: typos, trim quote box and out-maneuver paragraphical dysfunction in paragraph 3

What follows, depending on one's degree of subsumption in acknowledgement of selfless awareness; then gradual sublimation and stabilization in this enlightening perspective, is basically the same old thing. Sorry, but it's no catwalk. Nobody knows. I didn't say a word of it to anyone for fifteen years and have only been divulging the mechanism anonymously for fifteen years now, for the benefit of those who are ready to hear of its secret potential. What is significant is that enlightening perspective is itself the means to adapt to conditions based on primal nonoriginated potential wholly inherent in conditions themselves. Therefore one's adaptive exigency is derived of the essence of the situation itself, not one's own power. One's action based on inconceivably sourced energy is not dependent on societal convention or personal prerogative, bias or inclination. Obviously, one has no doubt, hesitation, personal ego investment or second thoughts in carrying out spontaneous adaptive response to potential. In the aftermath of such pivotal situational movement, one certainly doesn't look back in terms of any rational perspective— again, it's not a matter of anyone knowing. Who knew? If, due to conventional situational ramifications or residual anticipatory consciousness relative to karmic momentum, there are traces, well, just ask Jesus. It's not over until one ascends into heaven in broad daylight. Just that term entered into the lexicon of ancient Chinese folklore since time immemorial and beyond. Certainly, such an event is noteworthy, but evidently such occurrence is not that rare. I digress. "Ascension into heaven in broad daylight" is a reference to relative culminations of sorts, in terms of going through endless transformations based on inherent potential. When I say "traces", it is a reference to people, in general terms, and thought, in particular. As for transcending created cycles,I only speak of Jesus' actions, not any teachings attributable to the selectively highlighted historic personage. The point of such spiritual (selfless) adaption is absorption of potential. Absorption is automatic, natural. One doesn't do anything. Fact: enlightening being, beings and situations in the world, not to mention the world and creation en total, is comprised of the essence of potential in terms of nonorigination. Since just this is the essential nature of human being, absorption of situational potential by virtue of seeing it is the means of freeing karma from the bondage of duality and returning it to unity. Just sayin'. It is what it is and it does what it does. NO ONE KNOWS WHY. For those who resonate with this potential, a gradual assimilation in its inconceivable characteristics is natural. Such naturalness has nothing to do with levitation, trance-states, coddling lions, riding lactating tigresses, entertaining bunnies and birdies (depending on the season) or leading processions of venomous snakes. Doing so, at any rate, is certainly the stage some individuals seem to need to go through— but such is not natural. As in all things pertaining to the perpetual and gradual path of self-refinement, it is best to neither rush through nor tarry in such instances. The bottom line is that enlightening perspective in terms of adaption to the use and experiential power of selfless desire is not a view relative to the person. I only bring it up as a device to introduce the matter of seeing potential in everyday ordinary situations unbeknownst to anyone, so that those who are naturally disposed to such potential can hope to familiarize themselves with refining the various vulnerabilities attuned to such psychological/nonpsychological terrain. ed note: a few "clarififications" (uh-huh), and typos

This is wonderful, ma cherie~ and so it goes on and on. It's like this forever. It has no fancy sanskrit title. In the center of essence is the wholeness of desire, the spark of the erotic, hovering in stillness on the verge of going into action in perpetuity. With this perspective, we can follow our heart's desire and witness longing for what it is— a consensually and necessarily instinctual bit of pattern-consciousness revolving lifetime after lifetime… some people say it's what makes the world go 'round —an intoxicating sense of anticipatory consciousness certainly does keep the karmic world turning, without a doubt. Ask me why I know ~~❤︎ ed note: fluff and buff last paragraph

I see you really went with mixing the cadence, Astra… I have this one to share with you for now ❤︎ Who spells it out leaves my ear ringing without a doubt without a trace in wonder? They all say who knows the way but who hears it coming from you like thunder? Our own mouths can melt metal but who can forge an open secret like you? Whisper me homeless pearly words when we meet in the middle in the middle of nowhere. Sing me rungs of hollowpoint leaned against the new moon by passerine nightbirds. Talk me down from siamese heights and vault me beyond the veils …yonder.

Somebody wrote: Yes, I would love some guidance on how to get off on the world without going along with it. When you said that you are not addressing the kind of work that amounts to initiatory stages of provisional teachings of stopping and seeing in terms of carrying out discipline recognizing and discriminating habitual psychological patterns relative to sense-objects.… Which would have been my approach; so I'm floundering slightly. …being an entirely understandable predicament❤︎, because our ordinary perspective is programmed in this way through everyday ordinary conditioning. Enlightening perspective set forth by all the world's authentic teachings has to account for that which does not reference relative psychological postures, so the confusion felt by beginners is directly attributable to the fact that reality can only be seen in a gradual fashion after having slowly gained a sober stability in the nonposychological perspective, which has absolutely nothing to rely on in terms of instinctual and learned biases and inclinations based on personally created and consensually perpetuated mental distinctions. The nonpsychological (spiritual) perspective is the perspective of nonorigination, which sees its nonoriginated perpetual potential as naturally as can be, in terms of the world as situational (impersonal) relativity. So in this way, the relative has its enlightening aspect inherently so, without any such self-referential discriminatory element inclusive or abiding. In the knowledge of nonoriginated sameness within difference, one just rests in the unfolding presence as is without activating the discriminating mind. Bankei said, "Don't turn the Unborn into other states". Bodhidharma said, "Don't know". The Tao te Ching's opening verse elucidates the fact that there is no fixed path, therefore the perpetual has to be discovered for oneself at every turn, and it doesn't have to be pretty. Nevertheless, using the provisional as a handrail or ballet-barre is entirely appropriate. And when such an approach has proceeded effectively to the point where one begins to forget to perpetuate self-referencing pattern-awareness— this is because the processes of effective self-refinement are slowly dispersing the human mentality's suffocating atmosphere of its own specious identity in terms of a karmic existence. A luminous still presence can then abide as clarified space being one's reverted nonpsychological posture, whereby nothing to refine quickens without remainder. Mind is one, there are no two mentalities. Delusion ultimately expresses an unskillful use of mind, having long obscured its inherent enlightening potential. Sudden realization of one's essential nature is the result of such enlightening activity, not the cause of it. When you see your nature, you not only see that that has been your true identity all along, you know that ALL being is thus, before the first thought. When I say that I am not addressing the kind of work that amounts to initiatory stages of provisional teachings of stopping and seeing in terms of carrying out discipline to recognize and discriminate habitual psychological patterns relative to sense-objects, it means that what I am bringing up is relative to enlightening activity beyond the stage of personal self-refinement. This is entry into the inconceivable. We are all just this inconceivability. Inconceivability is your own mind. I have to admit that there is not much difference between stages (in fact, there are no stages to speak of in terms of reality). Just know that self-refinement in terms of gradual practice and gradual practice of enlightening being are one continuum. In the aftermath of the sudden, the emphasis of gradual practice is just a bit different, that's all. Since there is no difference in terms of enlightening being before or after the sudden, I speak of the perspective of selfless enlightening function in ordinary situations because when dealing directly with essence in terms of "turning the light around" spoken of in the Golden Flower teaching, there is no intermediary. This teaching is essentially no different than the subtle operation within suchness spoken of by Chan buddhism or the term "entering the Tao in reality" mentioned in the school of Complete Reality (Quanzhen). I can recommend a small manual which has passages discussing gradual practice leading up to and in the aftermath of the sudden called Minding Mind. It is translated by Thomas Cleary, the ISBN is 1-57062-004-0. this is a place… it is just where you are, not a property of intellect. Its expression is one's relationship with reality. Yes, knowledge is a place, yet who can say it has a location? ed note: change first word; typo, 5th paragraph

Another response… The thrust of this thread is following true desire arising from within one's situational vulnerability as a result of spontaneous accord with mutually arising conditions in order to carry out the subtle operation of enlightening being. The kind of work you are referring to involves various initiatory stages of provisional teaching relative to stopping and seeing by virtue of reformative discipline recognizing psychological patterns habitually clinging to sense-objects. What I am hoping to introduce here is conscious acceptance of whole being as-is in terms of a purity of desire that requires no action based on personal longing (or rejection)— only a selfless (that is, nonpsychologically motivated) response to situations based on potential itself. "Based on potential itself" means sensing in accord with reality, which is simply seeing without layering psychological projections onto pure sensual and intuitive perception. In this way, one one enters directly into opportunities continually arriving at the incipient well-spring of presence. Taoism calls this "resting in the highest good." Buddhism calls this the pedestal of awareness, or the pivot of awareness. On the surface, just this much is all a person can do— it is just the quality of impersonal objectivity, the functional perspective of enlightening being adapting to conditions according to the time and situation. The pivot of awareness, with no bias or inclination, is seeing suchness as is in terms of mutual response. "With no bias or inclination" doesn't predispose one in terms of a certain categorically "enlightened" manner of response according to conventional norms or propriety. Not at all. Here one is liberated from all manner of convention, being that opportune outrage may be perfectly suited to the occasion, yet— perhaps not from convention's consequences. Nevertheless, it is possible to carry out audaciously ruthless compassion spontaneously without selfish motivations of clinging or rejection. Just this comes into being by virtue of karmic awareness— that is, psychological momentum. One is essentially empty already. Emptiness isn't void. The emptiness of enlightening being is potential itself because selflessness is the sage's unity within the temporal. Everything as oneself is sagehood. When one is blind to egotism and possessiveness, one sees all sorts of striving come to an end. This is existence beyond karmic awareness. No longer expending energy on speculative relationships and their outcomes, adaptivity to conditions naturally gathers potential as unrefined elixir. This is selfless (enlightening) action beyond moralistic self-reprobation. It's just being natural. Enlightening activity has no motive to gather. Alchemy is just a description of enlightening reversion whereby situational karmic energy is set up to assume its potential. Such authentic practice is an "advance" mode of transformation within delusion for those whose potential is commensurate with the requirements. Whether or not one has yet gained the perspective that sudden enlightenment affords is immaterial. Why? The fact is, the vast majority of self-proclaimed "awakened" individuals are obviously unable to avail themselves of such activity. The truth is, the sudden is nothing more than a spontaneous, impersonal event. It is just the way it is and no one knows why. The gradual approach, whereby one learns to work with essence directly without intermediary, is already predisposed to such spontaneous results, allowing students the facility to meet the unforeseen challenges thrust upon anyone who happens to stumble into one's selfsame source of inconceivability. Chang Po-tuan, in his tome, Understanding Reality, wrote a thousand years ago, stating in the second verse: Let this quote serve as a warning to those who consider themselves "awakened" or else those conceiving spiritual aspiration. Such (self) refinement is both in terms of the psychological faculties as well as the nonpsychological function. Mind is one. It isn't that karma exists or not or that potential becomes real after it wasn't… after one sees essence, karma and potential are one sameness. Before people learn to see, they need applicable teachings commensurate with their development to deal with reality according to their level of virtuous accord with the Way in order to transcend the false and abide in the real. Before that development reaches a critical mass of energetic response whereby one actually can recognize the medicines, the teaching of alchemy has been left behind by prior illuminates to enable the wise to work with the polluted in order to realize the pure. When one practices the real in the heart of the false for a long time, the false reverts of itself and one experiences spiritual movement based on psychological stillness. There is nothing to understand. All processes are spontaneous. Just this is following the will of God without knowing it. When one sees, there is nothing whatsoever to know. Dealing with situations, one follows desire in order to introduce guidance, which, among other meanings, is a code-word for observing the obscure as it gradually assumes clarity. Desire is. It turns into wisdom with eyes that see the world as oneself. Understanding Reality by Chang Po-tuan ISBN 0-8248-1139-9 ed note: try to fix paragraphical anomallies… unsuccessfully, add ISBN of Understanding Reality

I've gotten other responses… I set up a new espresso machine, so I'm not asleep yet at 2am and the wind is blowing with immanent snow❄︎❄︎❄︎ S'body said: It is "reined in" only by forgetting to use it, so reversion to its pre-conditioned state, i.e. settled isn't a matter of will-power. Nevertheless, if it is allowed to go off on its own by unmindfulness, this is ordinary ignorance; following thoughts unawares. Self-refining subtle observation is settling the mind by concentration in stillness and activity without relying on rote configurations of formality, whether that be posture, time or environment. This is mindful observation. This is precisely the way to carry out subtle practice regardless of conditions. This is akin to seeing oneself and the world as the void itself and void of itself. In the void, there is only unity. Observing coming and going within unity is just seeing. Just this is profound practice when carried out continuously with unbending intent. hahhaaa!! But there is something in the recognition. As far as following the smell, there is discernment, which is immediate knowledge. Does he like it or not? Puppy likes it if he rolls in it. When puppy comes home, clearly it is obvious that he has stepped over the line. So in recognition of potential, the knowledge is immediate. One already sees it as oneself. When a point of light appears in the void, this is desire. It will come to us with all possibility intact. Recognition is following. Mindful observation is following. Rolling in it changes it, and this is going too far. But stopping at smelling deeply might not be going too far. In any case, it depends on the situation. But our desire isn't usually just a smelly or a glistening lump. It may have a volition that requires our response. Desire is karmic. Enlightening activity is a matter of seeing potential by virtue of karmic energy, and absorbing its potential without incurring karmic debt. In following desire without stepping over the line, though we might recognize desires as selfish projections (without needing to judge), it is because we still may not yet clearly see the essence of desire as already complete. Should we then act, seeking to do something with it, then essence loses its uncreated potential and so do we, in regards to our relationship with the situation, should we choose to "help it along" by ignorant activity. Now here's the constant, factored in to the timing aspect of subtle spiritual adaption practiced by adepts of immortalism: when potential eventually does fall into the created sphere, as it inevitably will, it changes into the killing energy of the situational cycle taoism calls the "yin convergence." One must observe evolution in terms of the timing of the yin convergence. Smelling the situation is a very good simile. Even pressing one's nose into it without incurring too much stickiness is ok. Otherwise, should we take some home with us, we have already changed the situation. That is the real danger of working with desire. When the created energy of desire does turn into killing energy, one must then withdraw the fire into recondite secrecy, in order to store the unrefined potential elixir, void of intellectualism— not letting so much as a spark leak out of the empty vessel of the real body of awareness which has no location. So dealing with change/karma/potential/desire must be a matter of knowledge. Those who see change are not subject to Change. That is the rule. Otherwise, "one will get hung up in the bush without a guide." Discretion is essential. True desire's potential is like the essence of a verrry erotic spark. It must be handled with a kind of flair …style, if you will. Otherwise it is best left alone for another time. Taking it home isn't wrong. Taking it home is like putting medicine in the cauldron to be cooked. It is dangerous. One must be able to maintain a subtle quality of nonpsychological unminding throughout the process. Though the situation is banging on our door, we do not let it in. Though our own mind is fire, we do not let it out without our conscious intent. So dealing with desire effectively is a very delicate affair, where the difference between not enough and too far is as a hairsbreadth. This is how we must measure the medicines. This is how powerful potential is. Having taken it home, one has now setup a kind of workable karma for the present. Keeping this volatile karmic presence present and viable by maintaining its quality of potential intact is described in the alchemic manuals as observing unrefined elixir. If one can manage to seal it away by mind without damaging its essential undefinable nature (by not defining it through habituation to intellectualism), the unrefined potential will cook by a subtle unminding concentration void of intellectual conjecture, into a refined state of potential whereby it is then absorbed naturally in the center of one's immaterial real body at the right time. You will see it when it is ready, without venturing to "help it along."

Continuing the PM response, introducing an alchemic description of advanced taoist self-refining practice… Alchemically speaking, following desire is "advancing the fire". Advancing the fire is like accepting Power's challenge to audition the potential of a new cycle which is preceded and entered into by one's silent illumination in the midst of ordinary situations. I say this to make it undisputably clear that authentic 24/7 meditation has absolutely nothing to do with formal sitting zazen practice. A veritable state of grace is the fire of silent illumination which is advanced, because before potential is seen, there is no advancing, only a subtle abiding at the site of incipient awareness. Once it is seen, it is advanced. Therefore, it is seeing itself which constitutes "advancing the fire." A wordless knowledge one endeavors as proof, in an actual situation without knowing the twists and turns the situation will inevitably engender, is what real vulnerability to (karmic) inevitability substantiates. From here on, it's like Jesus entering on a donkey amid palm fronds, and an unbending, selfless intent requiring sticking to the story line, and its fully played out inevitability (with the to-die-for cool ending). This is "passing through", in terms of transcending endless cycles entering the tao without remainder. I used the "Jesus" metaphor in endeavoring to emphasis the fact that any and all created cycles HAVE to end. The law of creation is one birth and one death. Jesus' dramatization of this fact is just evidence of how transcendence works in its midst, every time. Cycles come and go, while transcendence plays along without trying to be "different." Why? Because reality isn't different than delusion, it's just not created. Who knew? In real practice, one advances the fire simply because it is the time to do so. It's not one's desire to do so. Desire, per se, is essentially immaterial. The essential is in seeing alone. Alternately, when it is time to stop, one stops without aversion or conflicted emotional/psychological (karmic) momentum. Conversely, one follows desire when it arises. It's all about the timing. When one sees the line (relative to recognizing conditioned attachment to outcomes), one then stops advancing the fire. Advancing and withdrawing, one subtly follows the process, carefully operating the furnace of creation and watching over the cauldron containing the medicinal potential of fire and water to be refined into the elixir of immortality. In adapting to the potential of a new cycle, one "goes along" to see what reality is without projecting habitual psychological patterns onto the situation engendered by the volatile (unrefined) potential energy inherent in the newly arisen cycle of possibility fueled by created karmic energy (psychological momentum). Karmic energy is real (potential) energy mixed up as polluted (created) energy. Spiritual alchemy is a recondite process of recognizing the real by virtue of the false and absorbing the real by refining (clarifying) the "false." When one sees the real, it is by virtue of not acting on the false, though they are actually one and the same. Observing from the selfish perspective of the principal psychological agency, working with the unique natural essence of potential and karmic energy in subtle transcendent spiritual operation is an impossibility for rational discernment, because karma and the psychological perspective are already a self-perpetuating illusion. To say one follows desire without going over the line is to have already gotten rid of the tendency to employ the psychological function in exclusion of one's nonpsychological potential. Seeing itself is the essential point and means of enlightening activity (authentic practice) in the midst of everyday ordinary situations unbeknownst to anyone. Transcendent activity isn't done by the person— it is an impersonal response to inherent situational potential by virtue of immanent selfless knowledge. The open secret is that the world is not separate from the individual. A "sage" is one who knows this and proves this in actual affairs. The ancient taoist saying is "the world is the sage." To repeat, the world is not separate from the individual. This is the reality behind unified awareness actualizing oneself and potential without differentiating between self and other. Only those who can prove the world is not separate, by virtue of actual affairs, are those who see potential and adapt "selflessly" without perpetuating karmic energy in the course of adapting to situations. Seeing potential is the same as not acting on potential, inasmuch as seeing potential is already transcendent activity (obviating ego-awareness), therefore by seeing alone, one gathers (absorbs) potential for further refinement. It is all a matter of seeing karmic "things" as real potential. Why? Because that's what self-refining enlightening activity is. Harmonize with the secret natural process as such and you can become a wizard. Somehow, in the course of one's affair with Power, one gives the world what it wants (by following desire), without losing one's unified nonoriginated selfless self (by acting on potential in such a way as to perfectly match creation without projecting so much as a spark of ego-awareness). The word match has a very special connotation. For now, that is all I can say about it. Taoist alchemic tradition calls this subtlety stealing potential. It is really like this. The imagery of going into the dragon's or tiger's lair and stealing the jewel or pearl comes from the extremely ancient tradition of wizardry. Immortals, wizards, buddhas and enlightening beings are all getting away with their lives, over and over and over in the course of endless transformations. The terms are based on the reality. It is a stupendous secret. This is the development, activation, fruition and storage of inconceivable, real knowledge. Ordinary people don't know this, nor is it necessarily desirable that they do. So those with the aspiration to discover who they really are, do not deviate from operating on the level of ordinary people. That is, they accept their enlightening function exactly as an ordinary person in the midst of what ordinary people do, because ultimately, all people are the same, as they all function by virtue of Mind, which is essentially enlightenment. The world being the sage is so, because the sage knows perpetual nonoriginated reality by virtue of delusion is already perfect seamlessly undifferentiated unified awareness. That is what a sage sees. Such seeing is already your own mind right now. It's not good, or right~ it's just real. Such seeing is already naturally transcendent to boot. In seeing perfect seamlessly undifferentiated unified awareness by virtue of delusion (situational evolution), I hope it is obvious to those hung-up on emptiness, that such is not dependent on the Absolute (sudden realization), nor its multifarious anticipatory and post-operative mis-interpretations; the secret of Mind being entry into the inconceivable, is that enlightening activity is neither ordinary nor holy. Buddhism's teaching of suchness transcending karma by virtue of karma is called the Supreme Vehicle of buddhas, tathagatas and bodhisattvas. Suchness is just this "neither ordinary nor holy." Wizardry is recognizing the light hidden within desire, and following it in reverse (as potential). Worldlings follow desires as the light of their lives (Creation) in the normal course of delusional existence. The one gains immortality by riding on nonoriginated potential through endless karmic transformations in the course of events and the other accedes to endless cycles of birth and death, in this life, not to mention the next. ed note: add penultimate paragraph

What the topic-starter will find as a constant beyond his years, is that he will end up the same as what he works with. Drugs are created. They can only be used briefly, under the auspices of a qualified enlightening being, a prior illuminate who has been there and done that (without necessarily indicating drugs or not). Enlightenment is an entry-level experience that only happens once, not twice (or more). Ever more trips on more drugs will NEVER suffice to interrupt consciousness other than in the most inconsequential way. Even if successful, the achievement will always be flawed with respect to its overarching premise and reliance on external devices. Even those who see essence spontaneously, in accord with conditions, only see once. It is then necessary to withdraw into concentration on all accounts. The buddha continued his vigil under the Bodhi tree for years, stabilizing and maturing his entry into the inconceivability of the Absolute, before establishing the teaching. Entry into inconceivability does NOT depend on the sudden— sagehood being the only requisite. Buddhism emphasizes seeing essence first, but it doesn't matter. Taoism's emphasis is the Palace of Water, then Fire (the so-called Science of Essence). Even so, taoism admonishes one to "see essence on your own" since it cannot be taught; only then seek a teacher (to guide one along in the Science of Life). So it really doesn't matter whether one seeks the sudden or the gradual, because the path of authentic enlightening practice is a singularity, a continuum of cosmic proportions. It's not zen or drugs. Mind is one. It's swllowing the entire ocean in one gulp, not a little teacup to tide you over until the next dose~ pffffff Breakingthewall is absolutely terrified of Buddhism, and I don't blame him one bit. Nevertheless, it's perfectly ok to steal a little here and there from the great traditions of authentic transcendent teaching. It's only a teaching. All the authentic modes of transcendence are direct pointing to the source without distinction. Reality is formless, not empty, as the drug-takers all seem to spray. They simply have not broken through. Buddhism never invented anything. Mind is nonoriginated. No buddha can reach you there. Reality is already your own mind before the first thought right this very instant. Who but the accomplished and perspicacious can see through phenomenon without denying their characteristics giving rise to views of self, other, before, after, good, bad, right and wrong? Therefore, the psychology of the person and its functional apparati are dependent on having a body, even if that be metaphysical (a body outside the body). Sensory and strictly mental phenomena relative to perception on account of drug ingestion is still relative to the person~ however strung-out such a one may be. Even sudden enlightenment is possible only because of "dropping the skinbag" however temporarily. Return is inevitable, and the inevitability of return from the Absolute is actually fraught with challenges. What are the drug-takers going to do without their crutch? Don't even start! Those who insist on arguing the merits of drugs never say why they continue its use even as they insist they have accomplished their objective by achieving themselves spiritually. Getting back to the point of my first sentence, taoism has a very ancient dictum stating that you work with what is the same. If you work with what is created (drugs), you will only accomplish what is created. You won't ever enter the realm of potential and master the Science of Life. That is why those with the highest potentials eschew such crutches and enter straight away into endless transformations without any doubts. Working with essence directly without intermediary, the accomplishment doesn't take thirty years. One just awakens to potential by sheer open sincerity to one's lot as is and begins using everyday ordinary situations to set up the alchemic foundation, the furnace, the cauldron and the medicines. It is only necessary to recognize the timing and gravity of energies present. Taoism calls it stealing energy, buddhism calls it saving energy. You can call it any name you want; if its real, you use just this without remainder before the first thought. ed note: typo 4th paragraph

If you have to ask, you will never know. Pop some drugs …again, please. Or do real practice stone sober for 30 years. Your choice~ hahahhahahhahhahahahahhahahhahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahhahaaaaa

This is an excerpt from a recent PM… On the topic of fetish, you've mentioned desire in some of your posts and following it but not all the way. What did you mean by that? Yes. "Following desires without stepping over the line", is the taoist term. Well, an openness and sincere vulnerability to a genuinely human awareness of natural subtleties that enter our lives is to be cultivated in order to expand our spheres of practice, which enables us to penetrate worldly aspects constituting the real, on the nonpsychological level, after awakening to potential. This is in stark contrast to renunciatory regimens espoused by conventional reformative orthodoxies projecting provisional teachings for those with lesser potentials. This does not mean it is another level of experiential sensitivity~ only that consciousness is void of attachment to conditioned tendencies reifying one's attention-nexus of psychological patterning. Just this is not different than ordinary perception; only one fails to "step over the line" in terms of following unique relationships and endeavors to the extreme of creating future karmic cycles on account of selfish desires being projected by unconscious psychological momentum. Living one's true awareness in total commitment to nonpsychological presence is just this "not stepping over the line." Taoism has no tenet denying one's spontaneous authentic desire. Desire is real, in terms of potential. But what we, as people, project onto it, or rather, turn it into, by appropriations relative to psychological momentum, change incipient potential (real knowledge) into karmic energy (conscious knowledge). That such activity accounts for universal convention does not constitute a naturalness of true sanity; only a conditioned behavioral phenomenon. To habitually seek and satisfy psychological projections creating endless streams of self-reflective stimulus-craving is patently delusional. Otherwise why would self-actualization be a thing? It is not a matter of intending vulnerability for a reason, though. Vulnerability is a way of saying, among other things, that one is still, empty and complete as is without habitually following thoughts unawares conjuring what would be, could be, or should be, by sustaining a psychological façade to avoid who one really is right now. Just being really naked to the world, without psychological momentum (habit energy) to hide behind, is a way of understanding the meaning of being truly vulnerable. Vulnerability, as such, is a relatively high-level enlightening mode of practice. Recognizing real desire lies in seeing potential. Not stepping over the line is a matter of not using potential. Not using potential is the meaning of the saying, "Wisdom is easy, not using it is difficult." In taoist terms, potential is another word for real knowledge. This is the secret to absorbing potential. When one absorbs potential by not using (processing) potential psychologically when seeing it, one has entered the realm of nonorigination on the spot. It's not woo woo at all. The codex of alchemic practice takes up desire and potential, vitality and real knowledge, lead and water, yang and advancing, as the aspect of following desire in some kind of capacity in terms of describing alchemic firing processes at various levels, depending on the time. Yin, which I have not mentioned up to this point, represents essential nature, which has the function of beckoning knowledge. Yin is solitary seeing that isn't relative to the person. The technical phrase is, "solitary vision that no one else sees." "No one else" is a reference to the person. This is so because the person does not see potential. The true self, the nonoriginated self, the selfless self, is itself the nature of awake that constitutes seeing. Seeing reality is wordless, selfless seeing. It is not a psychological process. It happens in real time. Real knowledge is immediate, nondiscursive knowing. True seeing is (as if) seeing the entirety of creation as a dark void. Occasionally, a point of light is discerned in the dimness. Seeing a point of light hovering within the vastness of the dim void of creation is recognizing the real when it arises. Desire is real, but only in not using it does it turn into unrefined alchemic elixir. This is entry into the inconceivable. It is everyday ordinary practice by spiritual adepts and it is natural, but there is nothing ordinary about it in the sense that ordinary people are unable to see potential, because they are habituated to psychological processes that obscure the real when it arises. Reality already is. That's why taoist tradition calls such actualized people who see, real humans. This is because real humans see and partake of the real which is accomplished by abiding in the midst of the delusional (temporal conventional existence) without construing karmic energy in the three times. All people have enlightened mind as the essence of awareness. The only reason for the authentic traditions keeping the knowledge of transcendent self-refinement alive is that the runaway mentality must be gradually tricked into forgetting to unconsciously perpetuate its self-reflective function (out of pure habit based on an insane existential fear). Ego-function, per se, does no harm, in and of itself. Moreover, enlightening activity is void of ideas promulgating kinetic futures perpetually cascading lifetimes of wasted energy. Habit-energy chronically changes the Unborn into death-energy (the dualistic karmic processes perpetuating the laws of Creation constituting before and after). Enlightening being is the selfless intent of nonorigination. Other than an adaptive function abiding in circumstance as is (and a much more effective one at that, compared to one's psychological apparatus)— enlightening being is actually (were it known for what it is), the expression of awake nonbeing in the midst of conscious being. The day-job of enlightening being(s), for those of you who have ever wondered, is seamlessly indistinguishable abidance extent within delusion because Reality as is, in terms of its inconceivable nature, is not different than delusion, only its transcendent nature, abundantly so, for those who see. To talk about it in terms of the absolute would be nonsense, and to describe it in terms of the created would be impossible. So we just effectively adapt impersonally to circumstances openly and sincerely as karma transforms creatively, without unconsciously creating additional selfish karmic bonds. Just this is facilitated by following our true desire without attaching to outcomes. Stepping over the line is therefore a reference to ego-motivation.

Zen is how one says Chan in Japan. Dogen brought Chan to Japan in the 1200s from China. While in China after 1225, he eventually found Tiantong Rujing, who helped him realize that viewing reality from the empty philosophical perspective of the Absolute, is just as deluded as viewing reality from the incremental perspective of one's self-reifying human mentality. The whole point of effective, authentic spiritual practice is simply abiding "before the first thought." The foremost crystallization of Chan transmission is to activate the mind without dwelling on its contents. What's worthy of cringing here, hmmmmm? Evidently, the cringers are already hung up on form, it seems… emptiness would be needless to say, at this point. Methinks the "cringers" around here are assuming themselves to be woke apologists— who are convinced the bell is tolling for someone else… Even so, reality is formless. Since the formless is not empty, therefore neither formal rites, meditation regimens, dogmatic postures, nor traditions, teachers or teachings or any such culturally-grounded shenanigans transmit true reality that has no remainder~ that is, an absence of the self-inclusive that has nothing whatsoever to leave out, including those who are habituated to leaving themselves out of the scene when "cringing" on account of others. Sorry, but …the bell tolls for thee, dearies❤︎