Emptiness of Emptiness - 223

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The Emptiness of Emptiness - 223

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THE EMPTINESS OF EMPTINESS ~ Karl Brünnholzl

The place where emptiness hits its own ground-or rather its own groundlessness-is called "the emptiness of emptiness." When we deal with emptiness, there is still the danger or the tendency to solidify emptiness itself. Though it is meant as the final antidote for clinging or solidifying, our mind still tries to solidify even the very lack of solidity since it is such an old habit of ours.

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This is why the Buddha taught the 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, meaning that we need to let go of whatever understanding of emptiness we may have too since it is not the real thing. We need to let go of any sense of insight, realization, or wisdom, any sense of "I got it," because that still involves duality, solidification, and reference points.

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Since emptiness means that there is nothing to solidify and nothing to hold on to, it defeats the purpose if we make emptiness into some kind of principle, universal law, or higher truth because then we are still holding on to something.

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The teachings on emptiness always say very clearly that 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. Non-existence is just another headache, it is just another thing that we make up. Non-existence still depends on existence and we cannot even conceive of non-existence if we have not previously thought about existence. In other words, for any negation there must be something that we can negate in the first place. We cannot negate nothing whatsoever to start with; we must have something and then we can negate it and say, "I ended up with nothing." But that "nothing" only works in dependence on the "something" that was there before.

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Emptiness points out that both existence and nonexistence are just superimpositions that, moreover, depend on each other and that 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. However, to go beyond existence and non-existence 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙖 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝘽𝙊𝙏𝙃 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙀𝙄𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩. None of these theoretical options gets us out of the box of dualistic mind.

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Existence is one extreme and non-existence is another one, so if we put them together, how does that make things any better? It is even worse to blend two mutually exclusive possibilities and think that this is more sophisticated (though it is extremely popular to do so). If we say "neither existence nor non-existence," it maybe sounds smart but "neither" is still based on the previous two mistaken options of existence and nonexistence.

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Of course, we could go on and on like that, but we are screwed every time because we are still depending on what we came up with before, just trying to wiggle our way out of the last option that did not work. That is why emptiness means to completely step out of this cycle of dualistic mind and all its ramifications, dropping anything that we have ever conceived of. Naturally this is very hard because creating concepts about everything is what we do all the time. It is the essence of dualistic mind to set up black-and-white categories and then rearrange them and combine them in all kinds of ways.

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Emptiness simply means, "Just stop that, drop it now." However, this is difficult because it does not tell us what we should do instead. Since we are so used to always doing something, it is completely against the grain to not do anything at all. Undoing cannot be done; it is not another kind of doing, not even the opposite of doing. We are basically left with nothing. No previous experience or strategy is of help here; we need to let go of everything we know and then see what happens.

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Via: André A. Pais

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Comments:

It was perfect until he started saying that we should "Just stop that, drop it now."

That is an extreme view. It is based on dualistic thinking.
Thinking that thinking, conceptualisation and discrimination / differentiation are simple inherently 'bad'.

The true solution is not to accept this while rejecting that, but the Middle Way free from all extremes & middle, free from all acceptation and rejection in absolute terms. Beyond good & bad, acceptation & rejection, movement & rest.

The solution is to directly realise the inconceivable true nature & dynamic of everything, of Reality as it is here & now, of our self-conditioning cycle / karmic cycle. Realising their true nature is enough, no need to 'drop' anything.

That is easy to understand when our path is based on the Union of the Two Truths; and it is more difficult when we base our path on first grasping at emptiness, and then trying to fix it.

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More about this

[𝔸𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕦𝕚𝕟𝕖-𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕧𝕤. 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕖-𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤] - 𝕄𝕚𝕡𝕙𝕒𝕞

-- Form: JAMGÖN MIPHAM - His Life and Teachings, Douglas Duckworth, 2011

Part 3 : Select Translations

𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: 𝔼𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔸𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕤

For Mipam, 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, although that is one of its meanings. Since the lack of true existence is still tied into the fabricated 𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, it cannot be the 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, which is [non-dualistic &] non-conceptual. Even so, using concepts and analysis to move toward an understanding of emptiness remains an essential part of the process of realizing its meaning. While emptiness must be known experientially, beyond all ideas, Mipam emphasizes the role that concepts can play to transcend concepts and evoke experiential insight. In an important way, analysis clears the way for wisdom to shine forth. In the passage that follows, we can see how he attributes a vital role to analysis and how it is a prerequisite for overcoming the habits of misconceiving reality. Emptiness, as both a product of analysis and an inconceivable reality, has a predominant role throughout Mipam’s works.

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"Only at the start, 𝙞𝙛 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 is not taught, there will be no method to eradicate the beginningless habit of mistakenly apprehending entities;

𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 [𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚] 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚, some narrow-minded people will think, 𝘈 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺!” This grasping at emptiness will become an incorrigible view.

Further, there are two ways to grasp:

1. grasping at emptiness as an entity and

2. grasping at emptiness as a non-entity.

One may think, “It is not suitable to grasp at any extreme!” and throw away the certainty induced by reasoned investigation, which is the source of the nectar of profound emptiness, the antidote for all diseases within existence.

Thinking, “It is not suitable to engage the mind at all!” is entering into the thick darkness of oblivion, where it is difficult to view, see, conceive, or experience this profound truth."

— MIPHAM WORDS THAT DELIGHT GURU MAÑJUGHOṢA, 88"

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(𝘪.𝘦. 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 / 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦-𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴; 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴 & 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 / 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 / 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺), 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 / 𝘰𝘯𝘦); 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵. 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 / 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘢-𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 / 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 '𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴'?)

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𝕊𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝟜: 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕡𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕝𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕪

This selection shows Mipam’s explanation of “𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘄𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆.” It is taken from his overview of Longchenpa’s commentary on the Secret Essence Tantra, and nearly the same words can also be found in his commentary on the Ornament of the Middle Way. This illustrates the importance of this Middle Way view in the contexts of both sutra and tantra. Through a fourfold scheme, he outlines a process for those who progressively engage in the meaning of non-conceptuality through 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆, 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Beginning with the object of negation, true existence, each of the stages 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙮. The process culminates with equality, free from all concepts and dualities, which is beyond all distinctions between sentient beings and buddhas, nirvana and samsara.

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Step 1 - [𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀:] When beginners properly investigate using the reasons that establish emptiness—such as [the reason of] being neither singular nor plural—through contemplating the meaning of the non-establishment of a pot and so forth, they [mistakenly] think that the abiding reality is 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 itself because, although existing when not analyzed, nothing is found upon investigation. Therefore, through alternating appearance and emptiness, the empty quality dawns.

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Step 2 - [𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀: 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 / 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮:] At that time, by contemplating that the non-existence of phenomena also is just a mere imputation not actually established, or by contemplating the manner in which things appear while empty from the beginning, one generates the distinctive certainty that while empty, they appear and while appearing, are empty, like [a reflection of ] the moon in water. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 “𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮.”

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Step 3 - [𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 / 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 / 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 / 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀:] At that time, certainty is generated in the manner that both—the lack of inherent nature and dependent arising—although different in being expressed by two phrases, are 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 without the slightest difference in essence. Thereby, the thought that apprehends appearance as the basis of negation, which is affixed to an object of negation that is eliminated, naturally deconstructs.

(𝘪.𝘦. 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 / 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 / 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 / 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 / 𝘵𝘸𝘰 / 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 / 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 / 𝘰𝘯𝘦 / 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.)

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And then dawn the qualities of a 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨, such as the ability to remain naturally free from negation and affirmation, adding and removing.

(𝘪.𝘦. 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 '𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 & 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴' 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 / 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘢-𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 / 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 / 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘴 & 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 / 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢.)

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Step 4 - [Gaining certainty is liberation:] Through becoming familiar with such a freedom of constructs again and again, all aspects of dualistic phenomena, in which one sets apart particular objects and their distinctive suchness, are purified.

(𝘪.𝘦.  𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 '𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴' 𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 / 𝘕𝘰𝘯-𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 / 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨: 𝘦𝘹. 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨 -- 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 / 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵; 𝘰𝘳 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙨; 𝘰𝘳 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘢 & 𝘯𝘪𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘢; 𝘦𝘵𝘤.)

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Through bringing forth 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙖 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, one reaches completion.

—OVERVIEW: ESSENTIAL NATURE OF LUMINOUS CLARITY, 461–62

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Quotes on the subject

"Enlightenment is totally possible. It is as close as the air we breathe. But our habitual dualistic view that divides self from phenomena, and divides emptiness from clarity (the two truths), and divides samsara from nirvana, is deeply established. Our main meditative task is to dis-establish that habit of impure perception and quit our habitual thought process of grasping, in favour of the non-dual pure perception of the enlightened view"

- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

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Via: Rob Dowling

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Morning lines

"in searching for nirvāṇa

and seeming to have crossed

the vast ocean of saṃsāra,

we find ourselves coming around

happy to meet saṃsāra again,

afresh, lucid and ever complete"
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From: Steppen Wolf

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The Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures

# 10. Return to Society

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"Enlightened now, the oxherd returns to the world.

The circle is complete.

Going about his daily work sharing existence with all around him.

"Entering the marketplace barefooted, mingling with the people, smiling to all.

I use no magic power, yet around me dying trees return to life."

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From: https://www.gilehtblog.com/2021/01/ten-bulls.html 

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𝔻𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕞 𝕀𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕠𝕠𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘

All the philosophical theories that exist have been created by the mistaken dualistic minds of human beings. In the realm of philosophy, that which today is considered true, may tomorrow be proved to be false. No one can guarantee a philosophy's validity.

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Because of this, any intellectual way of seeing whatever is always partial and 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 (i.e. 1𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 - 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰-𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦).

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The fact is that there is 𝙣𝙤 [𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 / 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙡 / 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚 / 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜] 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 (𝘪.𝘦. 2𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 - 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦) to seek or to confirm logically; rather what one needs to do is to discover just how much the mind continually limits itself in a condition of 𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺. (𝘦𝘹. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 / 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴; 𝘦𝘹. 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 emptiness 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 / 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦s / 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 / 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘢)

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𝘿𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙨. All our 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙨 and beliefs, no matter how profound they may seem, are like nets which trap us in 𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢. When we discover our limits we have to try to overcome them, untying ourselves from whatever type of religious, political or social conviction may condition us.

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We have to 𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣 such concepts as 'enlightenment', 'the nature of the mind', and so on, until we are no longer satisfied by a 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚, and until we no longer neglect to integrate our knowledge with our actual existence.

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(𝘪.𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 '𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣' 𝘣𝘶𝘵 '𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙'; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘺: 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 (𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 / 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 / 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴), 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 / 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 / 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳-𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺. '𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨' 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 & 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 & 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩; 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 / 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 / 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 / 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 / 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 / 𝘯𝘰𝘵-𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴. 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 / 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 / 𝘵𝘸𝘰 / 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭. 𝘌𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥(𝘴), 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 & 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 & 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.)

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Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State

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Via: Michael Gregory

Comments like (𝘪.𝘦. ) from Gilles

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