Cool Clean Water
We have presented the Dakinis as the emale principle and the dakas as the male principle to free the human creature from ignorance and restore the Life Force with natural unity between the principles a of nature. Yet Buddha declared that no one can be set free.
Was Buddha insane, lying, mistaken or is it that our depth of understanding does not capture what he is really saying. It is certain that the mere idea that there is a “self” that must be liberated accepts the existence of that “self” as a predetermined factor which inhibits that liberation, but that was not Buddhas point. Practitioners who have not been correctly taught tend to believe that the famous middle path of Buddha dharma is really somewhere on a line which is a continuum between two extremes which they imagine by placing different labels on those extremes.
That is not what Buddha was talking about at all. The two extremes are certainly present in his ideas, as Samsara and Sunyata, but the first error made is in generating the idea that Samsara is something negative and stained. After all some claim.” Samsara is where we are and all is Suffering. Those who think in that way are making an elementary mistake in equating the two. We can have a lake of clear water without it being considered dirty can we not. Well Samsara is like a lake of clear water. There is the form of glass and the name and the form of water and the name and the concept of clean applied to the quality of the water. But we have learned that these are just names applied to something external to our senses. So the glass of clear water is illusion. That illusion is useful for we can enter the water and become cool, catch fish if we are so inclined, for food and drink the clear water.
But there can be debris in the water, which makes it unclean and we cannot use it effectively. We say then that this is a lake of dirty water. We never make the mistake of saying that all lakes are dirty, nor deny the possibility that the lake can be made clean. Yet we forget this analogy when it comes to Samsara. Samsara is a lake and it is filled by the natural dharma of clean healthy illusions. But if one adds debris to that lake it will soon become dirty. One cannot say that the idea which is represented by the word “lake” is dirty. One cannot declare that the idea represented by the word “Samsara” which represents illusion is fouled. It is the debris in the lake and the delusions in Samsara which create the false idea of being flawed.
Without illusion there is no way that the human creature can exist. Those illusions are part and parcel of the life force just as Sunyata, “emptiness” describes the physical emptiness of the lake and the virgin state of Samsara. Only conceptually can there exist a lake without either clean or contaminated water. Only conceptually can there exist Samsara without either illusion of delusion.
So we can see that Samsara, the illusion, is actually a conceptualization of the state of Emptiness generated by differentiation of the totality of all energy in a mentally dual way useful for correct discrimination. Sunyata is an expression for the cognitively unknowable state of emptiness itself.
What the practices do is allow us to dissolve the delusions and see that illusions and the emptiness are two aspects of the same phenomenon. When that occurs something very special occurs that is difficult to understand unless there has been the direct experience. Both Samsara and Sunyata disappear. Of course they only disappear in the sence that since words are only labels for the illusions, cognitive knowledge of the presence of both illusion and emptiness disappear.
When Buddha speaks of the middle path he is speaking of that place of union between extremes where both extremes disappear as concepts. What then remains is (in terms of words) what really is. Let us use the example of the concept of “patience. This concept of “patience” cannot exist without the concept of the “absence of patience” called “impatience”. Neither really exists except as an idea. Those two ideas come into being normally when there is a state of anxiety related to the mind and we say, “ah, that is impatience.” There we have done it. We have invented dual terms. All words have that dual sense. Even in physics there is matter and anti-matter.
Now the problem is, sensing anxiety the blame is put upon the invented and false state of “impatience”. Can you see that that is true. Then we do something quite foolish. We try to develop patience to eliminate the impatience. What we should be doing is looking at that middle ground of Buddha’s where neither patience nor impatience exist.
Now let us get back to the Life Force. We know that “Life Force” is only an expression of two words which represents something natural that is really indescribable in any combination of words at all. It can really only be experienced. Let us use the word Bodhisattva for the moment representing that force. As a word it is dual and so there is both Bodhisattva and no-Bodhisattva in apparent existence. The antithesis of Bodhisattvahood is a state of complete Egoism, or Identity. We call that Self. But that too is just a word which is also dual and has two aspects. Those aspects are Self and no Self.
So we have now Self and No self as two poles of identity and Bodhisattva and No Bodhisattva as two poles of the Life force. Now we are going to pull a card out of the magicians pack. We are going to go to Buddhas middle where neither extreme exists. But since we are avid “namers” we will give that middle for Self and no self a name. We will call it “neither self nor no self”. That you will agree works nicely. Let us do the same with regard to the Life force concept. We end up with “neither Bodhisattva nor no Bodhisattva”.
Now what do we have when we reach that middle in both cases. Nothing at all, just what is. Now when we actually perform practices on these two themes we discover that both Self and Not self are seen to be illusions without any corresponding relation to the absolute and are of no utility whatsoever to the life force. But on the other hand the idea of Bodhisattva and No Bodhisattva have relevance as useful illusions, for they aid in the Awakening to attitudes, intentions, and actions which support that life force.
The question then is whether the practice of the Dakinis, for example Vajrayoguini is a useful illusion which can aid the restoration of the life force. We cannot say immediately either “yes” or “no”, for there are intervening variables. One is a correct understanding of the practice, two is the correct execution of the practice and third is the correct understanding of the consequences of the practice. A fault in any one of these three major aspects of Vajrayoguini practice as well as many minor ones convert, a valid Vajroyoguini practice into a No-Vajrayoguini practice.
Which practice do you know about? Which practice do you wish to develop? Do you cling to the No-Vajrayoguini practice or are you open and flexible and ready to hear the voice of the life force and discover the correct path of practice. Listen to these word of Drukpa Kunley
'Failing to catch the spirit of the Buddhas.
What use is it to follow the letter of the Law ?
Without an apprenticeship to a competent Master,
What use is great talent and intelligence ?
Unable to love all beings as your sons,
What use is solemn prayer and ritual ?
Ignorant of the sole point of the Three Vows,
What is gained by breaking each in turn ?
Failing to realize that Buddha is within,
What reality can be found outside ?
Incapable of a natural stream of meditation,
What can be gained by violating thought ?
Unable to regulate life according to the seasons and the time of the day,
Who are you but a muddled, indiscriminate fool ?
If an Enlightened perspective is not intuitively grasped,
What can be gained by a systematic search ?
Living on borrowed time and energy, wasting your life,
Who will repay your debts in the future ?
Wearing coarse and scanty clothing in great discomfort,
What can the ascetic gain by suffering the cold hells in this life ?
The aspirant striving without specific instruction,
Like an ant climbing a sand hill, accomplishes nothing.
Gathering instruction, but ignoring meditation on the nature of mind,
Is like starving oneself when the larder is full.
The Sage who refuses to teach or write,
Is as useless as the jewel in the King Snake's head.
The fool who knows nothing but prattles constantly,
Merely proclaims his ignorance to all.
Understanding the essence of the Teaching, then practice it!'
This is a good warning for those who might otherwise fall into the traps of the clinging and craving mind. Do not cling to ritual. Do not cling to ceremony. Do not cling to Dogma. The Kalama Sutra cannot be repeated too often.
4. "It is proper for you, Kalamas, to doubt, to be uncertain; uncertainty has arisen in you about what is doubtful. Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher.' Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are bad; these things are blamable; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill,' abandon them.
5. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does greed appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" -- "For his harm, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being given to greed, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by greed, this man takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his harm and ill?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."
6. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does hate appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" -- "For his harm, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being given to hate, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by hate, this man takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his harm and ill?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."
7. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does delusion appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" -- "For his harm, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being given to delusion, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by delusion, this man takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his harm and ill?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."
8. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things good or bad?" -- "Bad, venerable sir" -- "Blamable or not blamable?" -- "Blamable, venerable sir." -- "Censured or praised by the wise?" -- "Censured, venerable sir." -- "Undertaken and observed, do these things lead to harm and ill, or not? Or how does it strike you?" -- "Undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill. Thus it strikes us here."
9. "Therefore, did we say, Kalamas, what was said thus, 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, "The monk is our teacher." Kalamas, when you yourselves know: "These things are bad; these things are blamable; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill," abandon them.'
10. "Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher.' Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are good; these things are not blamable; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,' enter on and abide in them.
11. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does absence of greed appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" -- "For his benefit, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being not given to greed, and being not overwhelmed and not vanquished mentally by greed, this man does not take life, does not steal, does not commit adultery, and does not tell lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his benefit and happiness?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."
12. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does absence of hate appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" -- "For his benefit, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being not given to hate, and being not overwhelmed and not vanquished mentally by hate, this man does not take life, does not steal, does not commit adultery, and does not tell lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his benefit and happiness?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."
13. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does absence of delusion appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" -- "For his benefit, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being not given to delusion, and being not overwhelmed and not vanquished mentally by delusion, this man does not take life, does not steal, does not commit adultery, and does not tell lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his benefit and happiness?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."
14. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things good or bad?" -- "Good, venerable sir." -- "Blamable or not blamable?" -- "Not blamable, venerable sir." -- "Censured or praised by the wise?" -- "Praised, venerable sir." -- "Undertaken and observed, do these things lead to benefit and happiness, or not? Or how does it strike you?" -- "Undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness. Thus it strikes us here."
15. "Therefore, did we say, Kalamas, what was said thus, 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, "The monk is our teacher."
Kalamas, when you yourselves know: "These things are good; these things are not blamable; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness," enter on and abide in them.'
Has it then been made clear?
Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing
nor upon tradition;
nor upon rumor;
nor upon what is in a scripture;
nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom;
nor upon specious reasoning;
nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over;
nor upon another's seeming ability;
nor upon the consideration, "The monk is our teacher."
Only my friends upon Direct experience not likes, dislikes or indifference.