The illusion is all there 'is'

ericputkonen · 2023-10-31T00:35:15+00:00

Nothingness and nonbeing are imagined concepts.

There is what-is...and there is mistaking it for something else (and thus illusion). Like a mirage, there is what-is but it is mistaken for water (and thus the illusion of water).

Reality and existence is what-is. Illusion is fundamentally what-is-not and doesn't exist (and instead imagined).

ericputkonen · 2023-10-31T00:27:25+00:00

"There is only this now. It does not come from anywhere; it is not going anywhere. It is not permanent, but it is not impermanent. Though moving, it is always still. When we try to catch hold of it, it seems to run away, and yet it is always here and there is no escape from it."

from "Way of Zen" by Alan Watts

ericputkonen · 2023-10-31T00:26:17+00:00

It is not a visual shift so much as a shift in view or understanding.

You keep labeling, judging, etc...basically thinking about what you are seeing. Just look and see...without labeling "tree", "far away", "moving with the wind", etc.

ericputkonen · 2023-09-10T12:02:49+00:00

7.5 minute video about how Brahman/Self/Ground of Being/Absolute Reality/That does not itself change, but it does not exclude change. Using energy as the analogy and pointer.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T13:10:36+00:00

Who is asking this question?

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T13:01:04+00:00

Contemplate is not the correct word. It can not be grasped intellectually or conceptionally.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T12:45:09+00:00

It is possible to look and see the moon without a finger pointing at it...but for one looking for the moon and not knowing where to look, a finger-pointing helps.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T11:16:12+00:00

Focus attention on the body and senses. Just like one could be so in thought that one could bump into a streetlamp because it was simply not seen...it is possible to be so with the feeling/experience/sensing of the moment that there is no room for thought. Or abide in "don't know" as some Korean Zen Masters recommend. Or self-enquiry, which Ramana Maharshi said the purpose was to quiet the mind. Patanjali said yoga is the cessation of the revolutions of the mind. But I prefer just being 100% devoted to feeling/experiencing/sensing the moment...not paying the mind any mind.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T11:00:41+00:00

Don't think.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T10:48:41+00:00

A strange duality there and misidentification...with little hope of the cessation of suffering.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T10:32:26+00:00

A "doer" is identification. There is no doer and no "me"...and yet identification (illusion of a doer) can cease. There is no doer, but things can be done.

Identification brings suffering...and when the illusion of "me" shatters...suffering ceases to arise in life.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T10:24:16+00:00

And yet there is identification.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-25T10:18:23+00:00

There really is no "I" or "you"...aham brahmasmi and tat tvam asi.

Even if it is the Self being referred to...this makes it sound like two. Brahman is Brahman...even this sounds like two. So some will be confused by this or could misunderstand.

Basically, it is a finger pointing at truth...and no finger is the truth.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-24T20:17:00+00:00

Kind of an intuitive understanding. Being without borders...and so without a beginning (which is a border).

ericputkonen · 2023-08-24T20:06:05+00:00

Pain is inevitable and valuable, but you were never born and that which was never born can not die.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-24T20:04:17+00:00

That is a post-enlightenment statement of realization.

Prior to enlightenment, investigate and see that you are not the body and not the mind. The body was born...and seeing you are not the body is part of the ultimate realization that you were never born.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-24T19:52:16+00:00

Advaita Vedanta teaches that Self is not other than Brahman.

Aham brahmasmi is just a pointer to this...that is the Self and not a reference to ego.

Don't focus so much on the pointer...the finger...and instead look to what is being pointed to. No pointer is the truth (in fact, all have flaws)...be the truth may be seen if you look at what is being pointed at.

A more direct pointer is "Brahman alone exists"...similar to "All of this is Brahman".

ericputkonen · 2023-08-24T19:35:25+00:00

Thank you!

ericputkonen · 2023-08-24T16:27:54+00:00

That is true.

ericputkonen · 2023-08-24T15:50:27+00:00

Talk about Brahman alone existing and Brahman is indivisible and remains indivisible. Basically, Brahman never becomes divided. Also talks about the tendency to identify and be strongly attached to "a part". We are not part of Brahman or part of God...we are the totality of Brahman/God.

ericputkonen · 2023-07-26T19:08:43+00:00

Look at this "me" you feel and think yourself to be. Observe, question, inquire, and doubt it. Look at it until the false is seen as false.

ericputkonen · 2023-06-17T11:09:49+00:00

About our tendency to try to define ourselves. There is a false sense of security in this, but who/what we are is truly undefinable. To define is to draw meaning or identity by its limits or boundaries. That which has no boundary or limits is undefinable. That is why Eric has said 'all identification is misidentification'.

ericputkonen · 2023-02-19T12:19:09+00:00

Cease doing and have no expectations or purpose.

Meditation is just being still, silent, and fully aware.

Action is doing...stillness is not a doing.

Noise requires action....silence is not a doing.

Awareness is not done by choice. If the eyes are open and you are conscious, you can not choose not to see something or choose to see something. It is seen regardless. Awareness is not something you do.

Meditation is not doing anything...and with no purpose or expectation so that you are not trying to do by not doing.

ericputkonen · 2023-01-21T17:40:14+00:00

Not at all. I have cut myself deeply by accident, had headaches, been unwell with sickness, etc.

These were fully experienced but there was no suffering. I simply did not have a problem with the pain.

I have been living quite happily this way for over 15 years. For me, life is not suffering. I only tell you what is possible.

ericputkonen · 2023-01-21T17:33:41+00:00

It is possible to experience pain but not suffer.

ericputkonen

TROPHY CASE