The Perennial Advance of the Dharma

[deci belle]

While I like to say that inherent buddha-nature is simply one’s impersonal enlightening function as it meets the perpetual result of the dharma, intellectuals are very quick to refute this observation and counter with resentments at issue with “claims of realization”.

This is what is referred to as the conceit of ignorance, which is patently irrelevant to one’s enlightening function meeting the perennial advance of the dharma.

Enlightening function has no position (Panda recently wrote on the daobums forum that I and my threads have no position as a snarky comment (that I absolutely LOVED)— and so she has subsequently removed it from the Recognizing Reality thread). Too bad that Panda, Taomeow and rainbowvein just love to hate this realized woman ~ hahahaa!!

Enlightening function having no position is so since it is the antithesis of conditional identities that exist by virtue of the relative position.

Ego is a valid function itself, relative to the psychological apparatus of the being that is going to die. It being absolutely empty of identity is naturally effective in terms of its purpose and capacity. That it becomes habituated to “positions” relative to identities of self and other is the root of deluded karmic imprisonment and is hence the focus of self-refinement in terms of the raison d'être of the authentic teachings, not to mention the selfless imprint of primordial awakening— Mind being the singular signifier attributing any relevance of an historic lineage of teaching tradition.

Seeing your nature is a pretty major deal, beyond simply being an evidence of efficacy of one’s practical achievement of self-refinement, in terms of setting up the potential permanent stabilization of one’s application of aware potential in ordinary situations. Buddha’s instructions were to refer everything to the self~ why would it be recommended to leave this particular experience out as “not that big of a deal”, quoting Taomeow, who doesn’t seem to be talking much about issues and challenges relevant to the application of subtle operation by virtue of having seen her nature.

Touting enlightenment as not that big a deal is what Dogen referred to as “it-doesn’t-matter” Zen. It only doesn't matter after you see your nature.

Even so, enlightening activity is not dependent on having already seen one’s nature. Why? The reason being is one’s nature is already thus. Everyone is already just this enlightened mind, but it is necessary to experience it for oneself to gain the power of unified awareness in order to apply it in actual situations unbeknownst to anyone.

So, the selfless wonder doesn’t require experiencing sudden enlightenment to begin to develop the perspective attributable to the application of inherent enlightened mind.

Mind is itself the universal peerless teacher. One’s own mind stripped of the human mentality is just this mind; just this teacher. As such, it is available to all with the discipline, audacity and selfless open wonder to step over eternity itself.

How do I know? By going through this and surpassing thoughts of "the other side" to take up gradual practice once again. This is because the function of enlightening being is itself the endless process of self refinement. Self-refinement freeing the capacity of primordial open awareness from the calcification brought on by the human mentality’s penchant for routine habituation is the gradual process of dissolving the ingrained habit-clusters that perpetuate self-reification.

Enlightening activity deepens as self-refinement clarifies the basic mind-ground Honzhi refers to as the Empty Field. One uses worldly situations (the empty field of the world being none other than Mind itself) to the point where sudden realization naturally resonates having reached a critical harmonic point of no return. The "point of no return" is just experiencing nonorigination.

One discovers that one has never been but thus: nonoriginated, selfless, aware. The point of no return is selfless knowledge of that which one has never otherwise not been, without ever beginning to be so. It has never begun even now. The reason why the Absolute  has no such Buddha is because such a one cannot exist by virtue of nondifferentiated unity. "People turn into buddhas and buddhas turn into people." It's not that there has ever been a separate buddha-nature to awaken to. Even now, one's awareness is not created. Reality is Unborn. Having seen, one then seamlessly returns to the world having achieved nothing whatsoever. Buddha said, “Nothing is gained by complete perfect enlightenment”, All beings are thus". Seamless return to the emptied human mentality now fully empowered as the mind of tao which had always been thus, only now just discovered as thus, proves that there is only one mind, not two.

Therefore, enlightening experience of no-mind, empty of voidness, impersonal, uncreated; the essential nature of creation, nonbeing within being, is the result constituting a potential entry actualized outside of time, being, creation, psychological and hence karmic matrices by virtue of fusion with cosmic immaterial primordial uncreated aware reality. Though you are not it, just this is your nature, your mind, right now.

By the way, It IS a mystery. Really!! It is inconceivability. It is beyond understanding. Don’t even try. Such knowledge is not by the person, but by Mind alone.

This potential permanent stability no different than the nature of awareness itself is the entry-level achievement. Inasmuch as permanent stability of ever-awakening enlightening function selflessly adapting to creation has reached a critical juncture fully dependent on further self-refining activity no different than before experiencing the sudden, is proof of gradual and sudden being a singular continuum.

This is why I say that enlightening being functioning impersonally therefore adapting independent of former habits of self-reifying psychological patterns relative to illusory created karmic cycles constituting everyday ordinary situations is not dependent on sudden enlightenment.

Enlightened mind is already in place, is already your inherent function; only obstructed by the human mentality unawares. This is the root of beginningless karmic bondage. By becoming aware of one's karmic actions, one learns to respond without employing self-reflexive patterns: thus habit energy isn't perpetuated unawares, and the process of self-refinement gradually proceeds without end transforming through numberless creative karmic cycles.

Intellectuals refute reality as Mind, and attribute the basis to the being's psychological apparatus— it is obvious why the ancient discipline of open sincere wonder activating an objectless process of self-refinement leading to authentic entry into the path of complete reality independent of before and after and free of conditional identities is the prerequisite illuminating the positionless perspective that abides as the Unborn: being none other than your own mind right now.

The spontaneous power released in terms of one’s own potential by that which is inherent in each situation one finds oneself in proves the basis of aware function as being unity inherent in karmic evolution (conditions/change), awaiting the perennial advance of the dharma as is. This is just stating that selfless unity is inherent, and that karma and enlightenment are therefore actually the same for those who see potential. Seeing potential is simply a matter of not experiencing the world relative to the habitual thought-energy of the person. One awakens to spiritual awareness by intending subtle observation of psychological awareness, over a long long time. Eventually, it craps out and one's heretofore unbroken stream of habitual thought is interrupted forever.

Resting in the highest good is floating around within the "center of the compass" without categorizing a separate self identifiable in terms of a relative position. This is itself dispensing with habit-consciousness to impersonally adapt to situations. It is not that enlightening activity requires doing anything. Seeing through phenomena without denying their characteristics, taking over creation and stealing its potential is as easy as turning over one’s hand. If people only knew… 

It is simply one’s inherent impersonal enlightening function naturally so. Should one discover this function and accept its subtle application, one should then (as Honzhi says), take the forward step, entering the world to adapt the spiritual subtlety freely without admitting one’s own power and generously give of oneself without reservation in terms of entering situations completely without thoughts of survival.

 

 

ed note:change "because" to "since" in 4th paragraph; typo 12th paragraph; typo 18th paragraph

Edited March 8, 2020 by deci belle

[Consilience]

Hard read but very interesting. Thank you for taking the time to write this ??

[deci belle]

Thank you so much for the comment, Consilience!

Yes, I have to admit that the content of my writing is quite technically oriented and dense, as it is loaded with culturally imbedded references to that which normally requires years of serious study in the various ancient Chan/Zen buddhist and Complete Reality/Quanzhen taoist lexicons.

Of course, ultimately,  it's not zen buddhism or taoism at all, it is Mind, alone. It's your own mind, right now. These two ancient teaching traditions are still viable in terms of their emphases denoting methods for efficacious self-refinement. I'm not referring to the well-known baby-sitting programs of rote formalist silent sitting (meditation), which is a method of comfort, primarily (and habit-forming as well). Sitting meditation should be dispensed with after its beneficial aspects have accrued. Ultimately, real practice is formless 24/7 subtle observation of mutual response and spontaneous accord in reality.

Not to mention the fact that the nature of reality is inconceivable~ it is beyond words. People have to discover and develop their inherent capacity to function in this realm. It's really akin to wizardry, in a way. Simply put, it's not words at all that enables people to revert to their natural enlightening function that automatically unifies creation and nonorigination. Creation and nonorigination are undifferentiated potential in terms of the Absolute. Enlightening activity is the realm of no words [Suchness (buddhist) and Complete Reality (taoist) terminology]. This realm is accessible by seeing reality. It is neither ordinary nor holy. Buddhism calls such seeing capacity the Dharma Eye.

Abiding in Suchness or Complete Reality is the Supreme Vehicle of Tathagatas (another transcendently exquisite Buddhist euphamism!). In simplest terms, it is none other than the "middle way". So you see, the middle way is not a matter comprised of reasonable conventionality at all. It is inconceivability itself, naturally so. Carried out oneself alone, unbeknownst to anyone, is solitary knowledge in terms of adapting to conditions. Yet the solitary knowledge of the Dharma Eye is not the perspective of the individual. Seeing reality is the capacity of activated enlightening being, which is the totality of unified selfless awareness in terms of any given situational sphere of potential in which one may find oneself.

Quote

"When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point." —Dogen

What you call interesting is the natural affinity the imbedded knowledge has with your inherent nonpsychological potential. These resonate because they're the same. Immediate knowledge is recognizing one's affinity beyond words.

The style of writing is deliberate as well. It is a device to discourage the tendency of most readers to seek intellectual resolution. This kind of knowledge is best suited and most effective in terms of opening avenues to awakening by letting it work, alchemically, so to speak, in suspension without letting the psychological apparatus relegate its content as "intellectual property". This allows its potential to revert from habitual mental postures back to pristine wonder without bias or inclination. It's a long process, but "grain by grain", the elixir of immortality coalesces.

 

ed note: add 3rd and 4th paragraphs; include quote from prior thread topic

Edited March 8, 2020 by deci belle