Complete Reality Praxis (a gloss)

[deci belle]

This is a response to quoted conversations early last month on topics concerning various aspects of enlightening practice in ordinary situations.

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your posts are excellent and I like it.

Looks that your work belong to Higher virtue of direct realisation focused on Xing.Maybe other who work gradual method as most Nei Dan do cant understand because all start working first on Ming.

My opinion is that Ming is also important as Xing if someone whant to become real Immortal.

 

I see that you mention belonging to Quanzhen and using Chan Buddhism along with it.Can you say to us to which school of Quanzhen you belong?

For those unfamiliar with some of the writer's Chinese Taoist terminology (not that I regularly rely on these terms), I will flesh them out in the course of responding for those who might be interested…

"Higher Virtue" would refer to non-resistance in adapting to events (not that it is higher or lower, per se— what is implied is another order of referential experience). 

To call it "higher virtue" is to recognize that passivity is not what is meant by "virtuous" non-resistance. It implies a sensitivity to an ever-pervasive subtle living potential comprising the existential and transcendent basis any situation one could find oneself in. This is not conjecture or theory. It's taoist science— but, that's not to say that it's Taoist. The tao isn't taoist. No one invented or discovered enlightenment. It's who we are. All authentic awareness teachings are the same, ultimately. They just have different emphasis to meet the needs of the place and time as they continue to change for the benefit of Universal Good.

Direct realization of potential is non-discursive awareness as the moment in terms of one's situational and transformational presence, but the writer seems to be implying some sort of focused aspect of seeing reality (not sure whether the writer's intent is toward enlightening awareness or a strict reference to the sudden (absolute awareness).

I need to affirm that there is no such visual quality of "direct realization" to be construed (if that is what the writer meant) in terms of enlightening activity in the midst of ordinary situations. Seeing potential is just perceiving reality without entertaining the perspective of the personality (the thinker, the knower, the liver of life), without unconsciously construing discriminatory consciousness in the midst of ordinary affairs. Just such non-discursive spontaneous adaption in the midst of affairs IS virtuous non-resistance, in terms of spiritual subtle adaption. What this is all about is not going to the trouble to get mixed up in karmic evolution while in its midst (ie: liberation), while spontaneously satisfying the requirements of the time and situation. Some teachings like to split this up and allocate the former aspect to transcendent buddha activity and the latter as compassionate bodhisattvic activity. It's just a teaching device. There are no rote stages.

The fancy name for this is the supreme vehicle of buddhas (heeheehee)!! Dealing with uncreated potential and NOT dealing with created energy of karmic flux IS practicing non-resestance. Why? There's nothing resisting inside or out. It's not that there is non-resistance in oneself as opposed to not-self. It's that there is no duality in enlightening activity. It's as natural as air— and even less resistant.

Enlightenment is already our nature as human being. I said human being, not human beings. That's a subtlety. It is in and of itself unfathomable. To enter into the inconceivability, one must simply forget to think as the person and just start seeing what is without habitual self-referencing psychological patterns.

Easy to say, immeasurably difficult to carry out without many years of unbending intent— both before and after sudden enlightenment. But still, one can step over eternity in a thrice, because it is already our own nature. Mind is one. There are no two minds. It's as easy as turning over your hand.

Xing and Ming are a pair of technical terms I can vaguely assign to inner (psychosomatic) energy [Ming] and immaterial (selfless/spiritual) potential) [Xing]. As in all things in the ancient quasi-system assigned the name "taoist", there are innumerable levels of understanding of even terms such as yin and yang per their contextual intent. Xing and Ming are certainly more specific in connotation, yet, one must tread carefully, even after many years of study, meditation and direct experience.

Nevertheless, there are those in all walks of life who, through no personal fault or effort, are very close to penetrating the source of this teaching on the turn of a phrase. This is why I dare to publish these seemingly nonsensical posts and threads. Once one sees, it is only a matter of repetitive re-affirmation through adapting to endless situation as one gradually enters the mystery without end (the mystery, that is). As for immortality— that's awareness. To the degree one assimilates to essence and leaves behind the gross elements of the self, that is the degree to which one takes on the characteristics of inconceivability.

Take me for example— this is just crazy-talk-- but every instance of my description, as ancient as it is, is factual. Our nature is inconceivable, and so are we.

The writer goes on to say:

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Maybe other who work gradual method as most Nei Dan do cant understand because all start working first on Ming.

The "Gradual Method" (along with "the sudden" approach), also forms another pair in the terminology of various Chinese spiritual traditions.

"Nei Dan" is the Chinese term referring to the widespread and popular strains of grafting, or energy-work. Though it is called "inner alchemy", it is not to be construed as somehow an advanced practice as oppose to "outer" practice. Any kind of ordinary or esoteric exercise or activity anyone here on the Actualized forum has ever imagined there to be in terms of yogic, sexual, meditative or otherwise, falls into the Nei Dan sphere of activity. Nei Dan, along with general philosophical theoretics and/or speculation make the bulk of what passes for core asian "spiritual praxis", in the popular sense. Here, the writer refers to those who practice Nei Dan as "Nei Dan". Nei Dan refers to psychosomatic energy manipulation, which cannot transcend its own sphere of influence (being creation). Why? Because it is itself created.

Xing, on the other hand, is working directly with that which is uncreated. How is that? Awareness is itself uncreated. It's selfless. It has no self.  It is our direct link with nonorigination. This is immortal. It is our nature. The nonpsychological is spiritual. Working through recognition of nonpsychological awareness (non-self-reflective), people are able to enter into spiritually adaptive activity. It's called using the world to refine the self as opposed to using the world to gratify the self.

This is none other than "turning the light around" to shine directly onto its source, instead of following the light (of creation) to go along with karmic evolutionary bondage. IT'S THE SAME LIGHT. The light is awareness itself— your own mind right now. It's not that it shines somewhere on something. It's already the totality of Suchness. Work within Suchness, and one's selfsame being the light itself is activated and actualized without needing to know.

In my referential experience, I discount the speculative philosophical approach to spiritual evolution because of the literalistic abuses of historic and ancient written material such as doctrinal treatises of buddhistic and taoist bent, but also Confucian writings in particular. At any rate, pretty much any and all documents in both Buddhist and Taoist canons qualify in my opinion— not due to the source materials, but due to the way ego-referential intellectualism literally destroys the very intent and power imbedded in the documents themselves.

Therefore, in a twist of irreverence, I make reference to what the writer attributes to the highest virtuous accord with reality [my term], as "outer work".

Why? Because the esoteric devices of Nei Dan are to carried out in private, while the subtle teaching of selfless spiritual adaption in the midst of ordinary affairs takes place, well, in public! That is the most powerful kind of practice there is, and one carries it out without anyone knowing. It's all totally natural.

Basically, my good friend (I don't know him at all) is hung up on the fact that there is nothing to grasp in terms of dealing with Xing, and he cannot conceive of giving up on Ming, and he makes no bones about it. Whereas all along, taking up Xing is working with what is the same (immortal) and Ming is working with the different (created)— not to mention the fact that he is hung up on immortality (technically speaking of course).

Awareness is already our absolute nature. Immortality, per se, is not even an issue in terms of authentic practice. The basis of mind is itself enlightenment.

Someone else on the same thread from another forum (Dao Bums) made the great analogy that in order to enter this sphere of "advance" practice, one must wipe one's feet (of intellectual understandings), adding, oh, by the way, you're already standing on the floor-mat! it's a matter of stopping (to think habitually), and so begin to see how reality is already working naturally (by the insight of innate nonpsychologically perceptive capacities we are already using without knowing it right now).

Later on (in my Dao Bums thread), this writer also insists that some kind of bodily transformation must be taking place for one to attain immortality. I don't really have a problem with that, really. I mean, whatever~ In terms of his insistence that Ming is important, all I can say is that by taking up Xing by virtuous non-resistant accord within reality, where one sees through phenomena without denying its characteristics, Ming is spontaneously experienced along the way as inconceivable body experiences that occur without any intent or effort on one's part. It's the strangest thing! Ming is included in Xing automatically.

Anyone can tell by reading the writer's quote, that the writer is culturally asian, and it is crucial to understand what an incredible bit of cultural baggage he is dealing with in trying to work this out~ not that he has any more of an impediment than any non-asian does. Even so, you never know …seeing essence and returning to carry on advance practice, entering the way in profound reality— it's possible❤︎

Perhaps I will try to continue this thread here on Leo's site. If not, any one who is interested can peruse about eight years of material (yuck!) by referencing my profile page. deci belle is my name on the Dao Bums website too.

Edited October 10, 2018 by deci belle