This is one of the most powerful and effective inquiry and meditation practices. I shared this during the Monday Satsang and Transmission.
Truth
Spiritual Truth
Shift your attention from words to silence and you will hear.”
Nisargadatta MaharajSilence is truth. Silence is bliss. Silence is peace. And hence silence is the Self.”
Ramana MaharshiBeing still and quiet is the ultimate spiritual practice.”
Adyashanti
Not nothing. Not everything. Not fullness. Not emptiness. Not two. Not one. Not dual. Not non-dual. Then what? It is beyond all words and thoughts. Even God, Self, Emptiness, Source, Truth, Consciousness, Awareness do not come close. These too are words and thoughts. So then what? What is this? What is Truth?
Only in the absence of all words and thoughts can it be found. Then what can you say?
Oh, there’s the rub. Saying something you fall into infinite error and destroy Truth. Saying nothing you leave those starving for Truth without true direction, lost in the dense weeds of their minds. This is the constant paradox of the awakened teacher.
This points to the elegance and wisdom of the silent transmission. Not falling into either trap, Truth shines forth without obscuration.
Such is the true value of Satsang.
In silence, the Buddha held up a single flower. Was even that necessary?
In Satsang, we explore the depths of this silence. Through simple practices and guided meditations we directly experience Truth beyond words and thoughts. We taste the great peace, love and bliss of our fundamental True Nature.
You can enjoy Satsang with Peter both online and at the Zendo of the Awakened Heart in Sedona, Arizona. Learn more and get directions to the Zendo or how to participate online here: Living Awake Satsang
Satsang meets online every Saturday at noon Pacific Time and every Monday both online and at the Zendo from 7:00 to 8:30 pm Arizona Time. There is also a silent meditation each Sunday from noon to 2 pm Pacific Time.
Sign up here and directions to the Zendo and online participation will be emailed to you as well as the schedule and any change in schedule.
The Birth and Death of Conditioning
A friend sent me an adorable picture of his new born nephew. My first thought, “Welcome to the dream, Little One.” Even at one day old, it is unlikely this little fellow will ever experience reality or what he really is. Before his birth, the conditioning had already begun in the fetus stage. The conditioned mind of his mother is transmitted without words to the growing fetus in the womb. And, as we all know, conditioning continues and is reinforced throughout our lives.This can give you some idea of your own conditioning, where it comes from, how pervasive it is and its effect on you.
Very few of us ever awaken from this conditioned dream. Very few of us ever experience reality, truth or what we really are. Yet some do. Perhaps this little one will be one of those few. I hope so. I hope it for you. I hope it for everyone.
Most of us don’t realize we are living in a dream. We consider it reality, life and who we are. But some do realize there is something more or feel there must be something more. That’s a start. Some of us have even had glimpses, direct experiences, of what that something more might be. And, far more rare, some of have awakened or are in the process of awakening right now. Perhaps this little guy will be one of those. I hope so. I hope it for you. I hope it for everyone.
As you can see conditioning is continuous in all societies. It begins even before birth in the transmission of the mother’s conditioned mind. It includes the conditioned minds of the father and everyone else connected to the baby. The conditioned mind is transmitted with or without words. Unlike what the conditioned mind perceives, there is really no separation anywhere.
There are many aspects that go into every awakening from this heavily conditioned dream. One of those is a time of isolation from human contact for a period of time after the awakening experience. Without this isolation from other conditioned minds, an awakening experience, no matter how powerful, will eventually be pulled back into conditioning again. You can see this time of isolation from other conditioned minds in the experiences of Mooji, Eckhart Tolle, Ramana, Papaji and many other awake beings.
Another aspect is spending time in the presence of one free of the conditioned mind. This is the purpose of Satsang, silent retreats, etc. Unlike the transmission of the conditioned mind which happens with most people and reinforces our conditioning, this is the transmission of a mind free of conditioning and helps free us from conditioning.
Today being in the presence of an awake being is easier than ever. You have access through books, YouTube videos, internet, retreats, Satsangs, etc. You are most fortunate.
Many spiritual teachers today believe and claim they are free of this conditioning but are not. Only a small handful are. It has been like this throughout human history.
You may feel it is difficult to discern who is free and who is not, but it is far easier than you think. Thinking is only your conditioned mind. Leave it alone. You know entirely and only by what you experience. If you experience a great freedom, peace, bliss and unconditional love for no reason at all, then you are in the presence of someone who is free of the conditioned mind, someone who is awake. They may speak or not. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what they say or teach or if they say nothing at all. You know by your direct experience. Leave the mind alone. The mind is only conditioning. Trust your direct experience.
Both Mooji and Eckhart Tolle are easily accessible and both are awake. You have access to Ramana Maharshi and Papaji through books and videos. They are no longer in a physical body, but nobody really dies. Remember, there is no separation. You may have to take this on faith until you experience it.
You may find yourself sitting next to a stranger and suddenly this great freedom, peace, bliss and unconditional love overcomes you. You are in the presence of one free of conditioned thought. That is enough. You don’t need to ask questions or imagine you found your teacher. That experience is the teaching. That is enough. Leave your mind alone.
You may be totally alone and find yourself overcome with this great freedom, peace, bliss and unconditional love. This is even better. You have discovered your True Teacher. The appearance of all awakened beings is only an illusion. Remember, there is no separation. Stay here in this great freedom. Allow it to overcome you, to overcome the dream of you. This is the only teaching there is. Your mind will never understand this. This is truth. This is reality. It is not conditioning. It is freedom from conditioning. You’re waking up. Welcome Home.
Your Essential Nature
Meditation Into Your Essential Nature
Whatever thoughts appear realize for just a moment that they are not appearing to you. They are not happening to you. They are not happening for you. They are not your thoughts. They are simply happening. That is all. There is no you for them to happen to or to own them. They are simply happening. They simply are.
Whatever feelings arise, notice that this is also true of all feelings. They are not happening to you or for you. They are not your feelings. There is no you for them to happen to or for. There is no you to own these feelings. They simply are.
Whatever experiences arise, notice this is just as true for them. Good or bad or neutral, they are not your experiences. They are not happening to you or for you. There is no you for them to happen to or for or to own them. In this moment they simply are.
And that’s all you can really say about you as well. You simply are, not as a person, a human, a male or female, not as a body, not as thoughts or stories of a life, not as experiences. Not as anything you can conceive of. You are non-conceptual reality, which is the only reality there is. Everything else is a just a thought, an illusion, a dream.
This is what it means to be Self Realized. This is the Self that is realized. It is not an object you can look at, analyze, describe or understand. It is the fundamental nature of reality. When you let go of the entire imagined story of you, this is what is left. Neither nothing nor something nor somebody has anything to do with it. These are just concepts. This is reality.
As long as you hold any concepts about it or anything else, you are distracted from the simplicity and unlimited infinite nature of reality. And this is what you are. This is what everything you perceive really is.
And all you can say about it is that it is. You cannot say what it is. You can only say it is. Everything else is a concept that distracts you from what is. It’s far better to say nothing at all, for that is closest to reality. But this is a start.
Let this painting be a reminder for you. If you feel drawn to it, you can copy it from this page. Prints are also available form the link below.
Bodhicitta – The Enlightened Mind
Bodhicitta is the Enlightened Mind, the Mind of Love. The Bodhisattva Vow is to serve all beings, to help all beings be happy and free from suffering. The Bodhisattva puts the happiness and liberation of all beings ahead of his or her own happiness and liberation. That is Bodhicitta, the Enlightened Mind.
Most of us seek happiness, peace, love and enlightenment for ourselves. We want to be happy, at peace and loved. We want to be free from suffering. We want to be enlightened. Many search their entire lifetime for this. I have students who have spent years living in ashrams and monasteries, studying with many teachers, reading every spiritual book they could get their hands on. Yet they are still not awake. They still suffer. They have not found the fundamental happiness, peace, love and freedom that is their True Nature.
When we seek for ourselves, we always end up frustrated. That is the nature of the separate self, the I, me and mine. The approach of Bodhicitta is the opposite. Bodhicitta is already the awakened mind. Yet before we fully realize this Enlightened Mind, which is our True Nature, we can practice living this way. To practice living this way, we practice Bodhicitta.
Instead of desiring happiness, peace, love, freedom from suffering and enlightenment for ourselves, we change our attitude to desiring it for others. We desire, happiness, peace, love, freedom and enlightenment for all beings. This is a fundamental change from the way we have been conditioned to seek for ourselves.
Tonglen
Tonglen is a powerful spiritual practice that comes from Tibetan Buddhism. Tonglen is a practice of Bodhicitta. Say you have the flu. You have a headache and your entire body aches. You’re tired and weak. You have a fever. Your throat is so sore you can’t speak. You feel miserable. You’re suffering. You may not realize it, but this suffering doesn’t actually come from the flu symptoms. It comes from your attention on I, me, mine. “I’m miserable. I’m weak. I’m in pain.” That’s why you feel so miserable.
The practice of Tonglen turns all of your conditioned thinking upside down, and with it your suffering. Instead of focusing all your attention on how miserable you feel, you turn your attention to other beings. There are seven billion humans on this planet. Certainly some of them must also be experiencing these same flu symptoms right at this very moment. And some may be experiencing them worse than you are. Some with weakened immune systems or who are elderly may even be dying from them. Let your attention go to them. Breath in your awareness of these other beings. As you breath out, send healing energy to all of them. Your entire mind, heart and being focuses fully on their healing. Breath in all their illness and suffering. Breath out healing to all of them.
As you continue doing this, bring your awareness to beings who are suffering in other ways. Not everyone is suffering from the flu, but many are suffering. Some have just lost a spouse or child. Some are dying alone in a hospital bed. Many beings are suffering. Breath in their suffering and send out healing to all of them. Humans are not the only beings who are suffering. Some factory farms keep animals confined their entire life in unnatural ways before they are killed. Let your heart go to these beings as well. Breath in their suffering and send healing to them.
As you continue with this practice, you will before long completely forget about you and your flu symptoms. You will completely forget about I, me and mine. You will begin to feel an intimate connection with all these beings. You will begin to realize you are not separate from a single one of them. In many cases, as you get better at this wonderful practice, you will notice that your flu symptoms seem to have vanished. And even if they have not, you feel wonderful. You feel connected to the entire world. You feel love, peace, freedom and happiness.
How did this happen? You didn’t do anything for yourself. You forgot about yourself. And yet here is this great love, peace, happiness and freedom from suffering.
Don’t take my word for it. You must do the practice and discover this for yourself.
The Ferry
Sometimes Bodhicitta is described as a ferryman ferrying beings across the river to the shore of enlightenment. The Bodhisattva is the ferryman. The concern of the Bodhisattva is for the enlightenment of others, of all beings. The ONLY reason the Bodhisattva seeks enlightenment is because it makes him or her a better vehicle for helping others. It makes him or her a better ferry operator. The interesting thing, and for a Bodhisattva it is unintentional, is that when the ferry reaches the shore of enlightenment, the ferryman, the Bodhisattva, is also there. And that’s how it works. In your desire to help other beings be happy and free from suffering, you find that you are happy and freed from suffering. The only way to be truly, fundamentally happy and free from suffering is enlightenment. And when you ferry those beings across to the shore of enlightenment, you are also enlightened, even if that wasn’t your intention.
What’s even more amazing is that without doing a single thing, simply setting your intention fully on liberating all other beings, you are already liberated. The mind of Bodhicitta IS the Enlightened Mind.
Acting in the World
When your mind becomes more attuned to Bodhicitta, you naturally act in the world in this way. You are no longer self-centered. There’s no more I, me or mine. You don’t feel separate from a single being in the entire world so it is only natural that you act for the benefit of all beings you encounter. If a snail is crawling across a busy sidewalk, you naturally pick it up and place it in the grass where it won’t be stepped on. Instead of killing insects in your house, you gently and lovingly carry them outside. I often find that when I have plans to do something for myself, at the last minute someone will call me with a question. I immediately drop my plans and might spend hours helping them. This may seem like a sacrifice, but it’s not. I benefit as much as they do from this. There is great happiness in serving, in benefiting others.
Giving and Receiving Are Not Two
Giving and receiving are not two separate things. I was surprised and grateful to discover this. We have no control over receiving. We can’t control whether anyone loves us. But we do control giving. We can give whenever we want. We can love whenever and whoever we want. Eventually we can learn to love all beings as this is our natural way. It is the way of Bodhicitta.
Because our conditioning is very self-serving, this may seem quite radical. But the truth is, if we truly want to help ourselves in the best way possible, help others.
A Mountain Monk
A Mountain Monk When I say I am a monk, people often ask me what kind of monk. Am I a Buddhist monk? A Zen monk? Am I affiliated with a certain monastery or lineage?
I suppose I should say I am a mountain monk. I learn from the mountains. The mountains are my teachers and my lineage. I have a Zen lineage also that goes back thousands of years all the way to Shakyamuni Buddha. But my main lineage is these mountains and it is far older.
I don’t only learn from these mountains. I learn from everything. The sun, the stars, the wind, the birds, the coyotes, the mountain lion, snakes, spiders and ants are all my noble teachers. I learn from people too. People like Buddha, Dogen, Ramana Maharshi, Thich Nhat Hanh and Mooji understand mountain wisdom too and so I learn from them.
And I learn from other people as well. From the media and conversations, I learn to trust my mind and opinions. I learn that some things are good and some bad. I learn pride, arrogance, disappointment, anger, judgment and fear. I learn suffering. And I learn confusion because most people do not understand mountain wisdom. And if I spend too much time listening to their thoughts and opinions or my own, I don’t either.
So mostly I just listen to the mountains. The mountains teach me silence and stillness. They teach a timeless wisdom affected by neither birth nor death. Do not imagine that mountains cannot speak. They are always speaking. Do not imagine that mountains are limited to this planet or that they were not here before this planet. Do not imagine that these mountains have any limitations at all. Do not imagine that there is a hair’s breadth of separation between you and these mountains, because that is not what mountains teach.
When you understand the wisdom of mountains, you may learn to speak the language of mountains. People being people, not many will understand you. They are still listening to their thoughts. But some will.
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