You can’t attain Oneness.
You simply surrender twoness.
And that is Oneness.
Ants and the Sangha Body
You can learn a lot by watching ants. Like bees, they are the ultimate team players. Everything they do they do for the ant colony and the queen. No ant ever said, “This job is boring. I’m out of here. I’m going to start my own ant colony.” Instead of separate, independent, individual minds, they seem to have one mind. Everything they do, they do for the benefit of the whole colony. Everything they do is for the whole. Bees have a hive mind. Ants have a colony mind. Ants practice the Sangha Body perfectly.
To the human ego, this may sound horrible. “That sounds like slavery. Where is my individual freedom to discover and be who I really am.” By who I really am, the ego simply means a better version of the ego.
Rocks In A Can
Living in a monastery as a Buddhist monk or nun is like putting a bunch of rocks into a can and shaking it vigorously. Most rocks begin with a number of sharp edges. You may know people who have sharp edges. These sharp edges protect the ego from the world and other people. The more sharp edges, the harder it is to get along with such people. The sharp edges are their resistance to life. Novice monks and nuns often enter the monastery with their own sharp edges. Living in a monastic environment is like shaking the can. Eventually those sharp edges are worn away by rubbing up against other rocks. Zen monastic traditions have thousands of years of practical experience removing those sharp edges. And this explains why Zen monasteries have lasted for thousands of years.
Hippie Communes of the 60s
Back in the late 1960s and early 70s, there were thousands of communes all over the US. I was in one and had friends in dozens of other communes. Today only three that I know of from that time still exist. Despite our good intentions, the failure rate speaks for itself. And yet thousands of years later, many of the original monasteries still exist. What’s their secret?
It’s the rocks in the can. It’s removing those sharp edges. Monasteries have a central purpose that trumps the individual purpose. Back in the late 60s, we had some wonderful goals: peace, love, to change the world. But somehow the ego was still too strong. Those sharp edges may not have been visible, but they were still there under the long hair, peace signs and beads. We may not have been on “ego trips”, but the ego was still there undercover and still running the show.
Michael Jordan and the Team
We love to watch star athletes like Michael Jordan. He and others like him are an amazing testimony to what the physical body is capable of doing. But no star athlete can succeed without the team. Even in individual sports like tennis, competitive swimming or martial arts, the athlete cannot succeed without a great coach. The coach and the athlete are the team. When star athletes exhibit astounding abilities, we may not notice the team that makes this all possible. Our focus is riveted on the star player. And in individual sports, we never get to see the coach and all the behind the scenes work that makes this athlete so outstanding.
The ego would like to believe that it is all the effort and work of one person that makes this possible. The ego looks for separation everywhere and so it finds it, even if it’s not here. And the truth is, it never is. But that doesn’t stop the ego from finding it. The simple realization that no separate, independent self can exist is the greatest threat the ego faces, because that means that the ego doesn’t exist.
Questions and Answers
I answer many questions each day. I love doing this. But without the question, where is the answer? An answer needs a question to exist. And I learn just as much from these questions and answers as the one who asked the question. There is no separation anywhere. A teacher cannot exist without a student. A student cannot exist without a teacher. The teacher and the student are completely dependent on each other. The teacher and student “inter-are”, as Thich Nhat Hanh would say. If I think of myself as a separate, independent role of a teacher, then I have a big problem. The teacher is the student. The student is the teacher. No answers can appear without a question. The question and answer are one. The student and the teacher are one. To realize this fully is to live an effortless life, like flowing downstream in a river, there is no separation and no resistance anywhere.
Rubbing off those sharp edges simply makes the ego less dominant and makes it easier to get along with others. But it puts us solidly on the path of the realization that the ego never existed and that we have never been separate from the life we created those sharp edges to protect us from.
Everything in life is teaching us this. You only have to spend a little time watching ants to see.
Three Circles of Enlightenment
Kensho or Satori are the Japanese terms for the initial awakening, the first taste of enlightenment. Imagine a large circle with a small dot in the center. The large circle is the universe or all that is. The small dot in the center is you.
The Dot at the Center of the Circle
Before this experience of awakening, you experience yourself as the dot in the center of all that is. When you look up at the stars at night, it is you looking at stars. You and stars are not the same. You are the one looking. The stars are what are being seen by you. You are here. The stars are there. The stars are outside of and separate from you. You might think something like, “I am seeing the stars.” But you never question deeply what this “I” is.
This is your experience of everything and everyone. There is you and there is the rest of the world or universe. As you can see you when you look at this circle, the universe is very large and you are very small. This is a precarious situation to live in, tiny you vs huge universe. A subtle or not so subtle experience of fear or anxiety is normal in this situation. There is also frustration and disappointment when the universe doesn’t cooperate with your wishes, needs and demands.
Is it any wonder that life seems challenging? And when it gets challenging enough, is it any wonder that some people want to wake up, to discover a different way to live? Often the spiritual search begins in just this way.
The Dot is Gone. Only the Circle Remains.
The first taste of awakening occurs when the dot in the center of the circle is erased. In Zen, we call this “dropping body and mind”. Suddenly there is no dot. There is no you. There is just the circle, just the universe, just all that is. This is such an enormous relief that we are filled with great freedom, joy, peace and love. Tears of gratitude rush forth. Bursts of spontaneous laughter erupt. Sometimes the entire body shakes with this great release, as if we had been holding it tensely our entire life up until this moment. All conditioned thoughts have been burnt up in the brilliant sun of this powerful realization of truth.
The dot of you can dissolve gradually into the vast universe over many years of spiritual practice or it can occur spontaneously in a sudden and unexpected burst as it did for me when I was just twenty-two-years-old. If we are young, immature and don’t have a strong spiritual foundation (practice, meditation, learning, teacher), this sudden and spontaneous realization usually does not last long. This was true for me as it only lasted for ten days, although it did completely alter my life. Desperate to regain this amazing experience, I set my feet firmly on the spiritual path, eventually discovering the practices and teachers necessary for a foundation that could support this realization in daily life. A spiritual foundation is not like the hard, inflexible concrete that makes up the base of a building. It must be flexible enough to continue growing, as the depth of this realization never stops growing. Even after awakening, we never stop learning.
In this first moment of realization, we realize and directly experience that there is no separate self here, nor is there a separate self anywhere else. We are not separate from anything or anyone in all existence. The love experienced from this realization is unlike anything we have ever experienced before. We are absolutely in love with all that is. We and everything else are nothing but love. It radiates from us like the sun.
If our foundation is strong, this will be more than a wonderful moment in our lives, an interesting story to tell our friends, a new way to feel special, now still separate but better. It will be the beginning of continuous growing and deepening. But what do we do with this realization? How does it serve the benefit of all? There is only the all. We fully realize that now. So how does this realization, through this unique body and mind, serve to benefit all?
The Dot Returns
Now the little dot returns. But it is entirely different. No longer feeling separate from the universe, from all that is, the dot now lives only to serve all that is. It knows its true function. And its true function is to be of benefit to all that is in every moment. There is no longer even a hint of self-serving, of I, me, mine. These things only exist as words. They no longer have any meaning. The dot is here as a vehicle, but it no longer experiences any of the separation it felt in the first circle. It is the universe. The universe is it. There is not an inch of separation anywhere.
Its actions no longer arise from the mind, from conditioned thoughts, plans, beliefs and ideas of what the right thing to do is. Now its actions arise completely spontaneously in each moment. The universe always knows what is of the greatest benefit for all in each moment. This body and mind are the perfect vehicle to carry this function out.
The mind is in a permanent and perfect state of Not Knowing or Unknowing so that it is the perfect empty vehicle for the Universe to act through.
This is what we mean by the word Emptiness. It is clear and clean, a perfect channel with no obstructions to block life from expressing itself without interference. In the first circle, the little dot believed it was separate from the rest of the universe. It had thoughts, knowledge, ideas and beliefs it had accumulated that it believed were real and important. It believed these thoughts, knowledge and beliefs were protecting it from the rest of the universe which it perceived as threatening to it. In this way, it was like a clogged pipe that water could not move through. The universe could not move freely through this separate self. It was too clogged with its own thoughts, knowledge and beliefs to realize that it never had been separate from the universe.
After erasing all the thoughts, knowledge and beliefs that created this dot as something separate from the Universe, the dot is now used as the perfect vehicle for the Universe to express itself for the benefit of all that is. It does this automatically and spontaneously. In the first circle, the dot relied entirely on the mind to make decisions and carry out actions, often for the benefit of only itself or a small circle of beings. Now the dot doesn’t rely on the mind at all and effortlessly acts for the benefit of all through the vast wisdom of the Universe Itself.
The First Challenge
The first challenge is awakening, erasing the dot completely. Even after the first realization, it can take time to completely erase the dot, the experience of a separate self. This is why practice is important not only to awaken but for the continuous deepening into awakening and the functioning of awakening in the world.
The Second Challenge
The second challenge is embodying awakening. How does awakening function in the world to benefit all beings? The experience of a separate self disappears, but the body and mind do not disappear. They are still here. And that’s a good thing. Without a body and mind, how could we benefit all beings? It is now clear that both body and mind are also empty of a separate self. They are not self-existing entities. Just like you, they are not separate from the entire Universe. This is also true of all thought, emotions, sensations and perceptions. They are all transient, impermanent, coming and going, changing in every moment. This is the true nature of all life. And yet there is a unique body and mind, and a multitude of other bodies and minds. There are trees, rivers, rocks and mountains. All of this is here. All of this exists. It’s just that none of them have a permanent self-nature. None of them are separate from anything else. This is the great realization we discovered when the dot in the center of the circle disappeared. How this realization functions in the world of name and form is the realization in the third circle when the dot returns.
Your Heart Is Not Separate From the Rest of You
Look at your own heart. Can it be separate from your lungs that supply the heart cells and all other cells with the oxygen they need? Can it be separate from your parents or grandparents? If they never met, where would your heart be now? Is the food you eat separate from your heart? Is whether you exercise or not separate from the condition of your heart right now? Are your thoughts, beliefs and emotions separate from your heart? If you are able to see your heart clearly, you will realize that nothing in all existence has ever been separate from your heart. The same is true of your brain, your kidneys, your liver, your stomach and intestines. In western medicine we like to think of the heart as an organ separate from the lungs, brain, kidneys and liver. But can this really be true? Everything in your body is connected and depends on every other part for its health and its very existence. If western medicine were more aware of this, there would be far less malpractice suits and a far healthier population.
This body is not separate from you. And you are not separate from this body. Nor are you separate from any other body. Without trees, you would not have the oxygen for your lungs to breath clean air. Without the sun, you would have no trees or food. We are completely dependent on all other things for our existence. There is no separation anywhere. Thich Nhat Hanh has created the word inter-being to describe this. We inter-are with all of existence.
When the dot at the center of the circle dissolves, at first we feel we are infinite space. Everything that exists arises in and returns to this infinite space that we are. Then we notice that this space also has no separate, independent self-nature. The space depends on all the things that appear in it. And all the things that appear depend on this space.
The western language is built on duality. Everything has its own name and all these names and the things they describe are separate from each other. Each name has a separate, independent self-nature. But after we awaken, we realize that this is not true. Using western language to describe this realization is not easy. To the unawakened mind, it often sounds like zen poetry or a metaphor.
I am a glint of sunlight reflected off the windshield of a passing car.
I am the cicadas heralding the coming autumn.
I am the sound of raindrops on a tin roof.
This may sound like poetry, a metaphor or a cryptic Zen koan.
But I assure you it is simply a statement of basic truth. All things are one with everything else.
We might also say, “I am you. But I am not me.” Again, this can sound confusing if we still believe that things have a separate, independent self-nature.
When we believe everything has a separate self-nature, we say that mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. When we first realize this is not true, we might say that mountains are rivers and rivers are mountains. They inter-are. To apply this understanding in the world for the benefit of all, another step is needed. I may see that mountains are indeed rivers and could not exist without rivers and all existence. But when I climb a mountain, I do not swim up it. So the functional application of mountains are rivers is that mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. I climb the mountain and I swim in the river. Awakening does not mean we have gone insane or that we can no longer function in the world. In fact, we function far better than we did before.
Here are some links to help you delve deeper into the awakening process and the discovery of your infinite True Self.
Map of Consciousness – Journey to Awakening
Map of Consciousness – Intro
Introduction to the Map
If we are to set out on a journey, it’s a good idea to have a map of where we want to go. If it is a new journey, there are places on the map we have not yet discovered. These places are completely unknown to us. Friends may have described some of these places, but all we really know is that they sound interesting and seem worth directly experiencing. Other places on the map we know pretty well. We’ve spent some time there. And still other places we have only briefly glimpsed through the car window as we passed by.
This map of consciousness is like this. Some places you are very familiar with. It is where you live or where you have lived before you moved on to this new place. Some places you have just had short glimpses of. And other places you have not yet experienced at all.
On our spiritual journey it is important to know where we are and where we used to be. Where we used to be is the state of consciousness we transcended to get to the state of consciousness we live in now. Where we are is the state of consciousness we live in now. There are also states of consciousness we have had brief glimpses of in meditation, on retreats, while reading a spiritual book or just in daily life. These are brief glimpses of a higher state of consciousness but they have not yet become the state of consciousness we live in. And then there are still higher states of consciousness we have not yet experienced at all.
This map is useful to show us where we are, where we have been and where we are going. States of consciousness are more dynamic than physical places on a map. Even in the very beginning of our journey, we may have powerful glimpses of very advanced stages. In Zen, we often call these brief experiences Kensho or Satori. Because these glimpses of our True Nature have not yet been integrated, they are usually very short and not yet our day-to-day experience. This makes a map like this, along with the advice and practices for each stage, particularly useful.
It should be obvious that we can only describe where we are and where we have been. Where we have yet to be we cannot describe, just as on a physical map. We can describe the brief glimpses we had through the car windows in passing, but these will be limited and superficial. We’re actually pretty good at describing and understanding where we used to be from the higher vantage point of where we are now. We’re actually not that good at describing and understanding where we are now when it comes to consciousness. And we’re much less capable of understanding those brief glimpses. Limited as it is, this makes a map like this quite useful.
Don’t think of these as hierarchies or any form of judgments. Higher and lower are just words. To the awakened mind, they have no meaning. I use the words higher or lower because it makes it easier to understand. At some point in consciousness, the meaning of language falls away. Certainly in Oneness, all hierarchies must dissolve.
You Are Already at the Final Destination
And here’s something very important to realize. You are already at the highest state of consciousness. In fact, you are this highest state of consciousness. This is what you truly are, your True Self, although you may not be aware of it yet. And that’s what the map is for, to show you what you already are but simply are not consciously aware of yet. The truth is you are already at the final destination. The map is just one of several tools to help you realize this. Even this map cannot show you what the final destination actually is if there even is one. Like all journeys, the spiritual journey is an ongoing process that has no end.
You can view this map in two ways. You can see it from Stage One, The Dream, to Stage Seven, Living Awake, as the progression you are taking to realize what you truly are. Or you can view it from Stage Seven to Stage One to begin with what you truly are and see the various stages that obscure this but are always included in it. Look for where you currently are on this map and where you have already been. It will be easy to see where you are because where you have been will be very clear. Where you are may be a little less clear. We always see the previous stage in our evolution with more clarity than the stage we are on. Also notice the stages you have had brief glimpses of from time to time but do not live at yet. Everything comes from pure consciousness, so it is natural to have glimpses of higher stages of consciousness even though that is not your normal day-to-day experience. These brief glimpses show you where you are heading.
At each higher level of consciousness you will experience greater freedom, spaciousness, inner silence and stillness, peace, love leading to unconditional love and happiness leading eventually to bliss. Each higher level of consciousness comes from surrendering the limitations and restrictions of the current level of consciousness. The path of awakening is a continuous letting go. Beginning in Stage One, Consciousness as Ego / The Dream, specific meditation practices help us move to the next stage. By Stage Four, Consciousness as Love / Something More, meditation becomes a natural part of living rather than something we do. It becomes more of our natural state.
Click here for the Map of Consciousness
Living Awake
What happens after this great enlightenment? We’ve realized clearly that everything is one. There is no separate self anywhere. We are this great freedom, bliss, peace and love we have been searching for. All suffering has come to an end.
Now we bring this great benefit to the world in the most ordinary of ways. As we say in Zen, “We chop wood and carry water.” We serve life spontaneously in every moment and yet we don’t feel as if there is a me doing anything. It is simply life happening naturally. We no longer take credit for what we do. There is nothing separate from life itself. It is simply life acting.
From the perspective of the dream, this must feel extremely mundane. After this long path to awakening, this is the end, chopping wood and carrying water, living an ordinary life? But don’t be fooled. Any action done through this enlightened consciousness brings enormous benefit to everyone it touches. It doesn’t matter what the action is, it is the enlightened consciousness itself that makes the difference.
We come to see that everything we once perceived as an obstacle to our awake consciousness is actually none other than a momentary appearance of this same awake consciousness. Everything that arises in each moment is seen as the miraculous gift it truly is. Since everything we think, feel and perceive is this same one awake consciousness momentarily appearing in different forms, we no longer have problems with anyone or anything. It is all awake consciousness and all entirely for our benefit and the benefit of all. In this recognition, how can a problem arise?
Mountains are Mountains. Rivers are Rivers.
When we began our spiritual search, we perceived mountains as mountains and rivers as rivers. We believed that name and form were what we perceived. We believed our thoughts about people and things were true. And we believed that those thoughts were who we were. In spiritual terms, we call this the Dream, Maya or the Great Illusion.
Mountains are Rivers. Rivers are Mountains.
As we deepened in our spiritual realization, we began to see that our thoughts were not true. They were simply an abstract distortion of reality. As our belief in our thoughts faded, we came to realize something much greater than what our perceptions were showing. Eventually we realized that reality cannot be contained in any thought. We experienced a great openness free of all limitations. Everything is connected and interdependent on everything else. Nothing is separate from anything else. Nothing has a separate, independent, self nature. In Zen terms, you might say that now mountains are rivers and rivers are mountains.
Mountains are Mountains. Rivers are Rivers.
Now, after this great awakening, we return from the mountaintop and this great realization does what it does best. It effortlessly and spontaneously provides great benefit for all. We realize the truth of the world. Knowing full well that everything is one and there is no separation anywhere in the universe, we serve the world in exactly the way it needs to be served. We use words freely to the greatest benefit of those being served. Although we said “Mountains are mountains.” in the dream stage of consciousness and we are saying exactly the same thing here, their meaning is entirely different. Here we are completely free of language and of names and forms. Everything arises spontaneously in this infinite freedom.
In the Ten Ox Herding Pictures, this last stage is called “Returning to the marketplace with bliss bestowing hands.” It is wonderful to be enlightened, but how does this enlightenment function in the day-to-day world? Enlightenment is not for ourself alone. There is no separate self to be enlightened. From now on, our life is of benefit to all. No longer do we act in the world in self-centered ways, as if the universe revolved around us. Now we effortlessly and spontaneously bring the greatest benefit to all. “We return to the marketplace with bliss bestowing hands.” Before awakening, we may have done our best to be of benefit to all. But this was still self-centered. There was me serving and I was a separate being from those I was serving. Now there is no such discrimination and differentiation. It is all simply the effortless and spontaneous flow of life. It is reality. I cannot be separate from those I am serving. There is no separation anywhere.
A Life Of Complete Freedom
In this way, I walk through the world in complete freedom. Wherever I go and whatever I do brings great benefit to all. Gone are the former preferences and ideas of good and bad, I see everything that arises in each moment as the complete perfection that it is. In this way I am always completely present. I neither resist nor attach to anything. I let everything come and go in its perfect expression of the continuous flow of life.
Practices
Meditation
Meditation continues, but there is no separate self who is meditating. There is no doer. It is simply the effortless flow of life. The forms that meditation takes are the spontaneous deepening into this infinite presence. There are no longer plans or structured practices. There is simply the continuous arising of each moment. This is appreciated on its deepest level in silence and stillness. And this same silence and stillness permeates our life even in moments of action or speaking. Everything arises from this deep silence and stillness.
If we are teaching meditation at this point, we do the same practices we are teaching. As the continuous flow of life, we never stop learning. Everything is for the benefit of all.
Teachers, Teachings, Books, Etc.
Without the experience of a separate self, we remains always humble. There is nothing to lose and nothing to gain. Every moment is always complete just as it is. And at the same time, everyone and everything is our beloved teacher. We are continuously learning from every momentary expression of this infinite Oneness, which we are not separate from. Seeing every moment as a great gift, we are enormously grateful for whatever arises in this precious moment.
I will not recommend teachers, teachings or books at this point. Everything you need will arise spontaneously and perfectly exactly as you need it. You are not separate from the eternal and infinite flow of life. In every moment you have complete access to whatever is needed in that moment. Teachers, teachings, books and other resources arise spontaneously as part of this great perfection. There is no longer anything to worry about or try to accomplish or attain. You are the infinite and eternal flow of life expressing itself temporarily in a human body. To others it may seem like you are doing an enormous amount of work and accomplishing a great deal. It may seem like you have attained something very special in this great awakening. But everything happens completely effortlessly for you. Does the river need to make an effort to flow downstream? You are this river of life flowing effortlessly to the infinite ocean. And you are the infinite ocean that is the source of this river flowing effortlessly back to itself. Only your belief in and attachment to the experience of being an independent separate self prevented you from realizing this.
Map of Consciousness – Journey to Awakening
Three Circles of Enlightenment
The World’s Greatest Magic Trick
If you love magic tricks the way I do, you may also be fascinated with figuring them out. How did they do that? Magic tricks are illusions and, if they are done skillfully, they appear absolutely real. I think it is natural to be intrigued with magic tricks because the clever magic tricks professional magicians perform actually point to a much deeper and more fundamental magic trick that is a big part of our every-day life. When we watch stage magicians, even though the illusion appears very real, we know it’s not. That’s the fun of it. If you actually believe the magician pulled a card out of your ear, it wouldn’t be fun at all. You’d probably seek medical attention. But this other illusion I’m thinking of we do believe is real. And that’s where the trouble comes in.
Most magic tricks use distraction as a fundamental tool. While we’re watching the right hand, the left hand is setting up the illusion. And the magic trick that is continually going on in your daily life also uses distraction. You might say both the illusion and the magician is the internal thought of the separate self, what you commonly call I, myself. While your attention is riveted to this thought of me, you’re distracted from seeing what life and reality are constantly showing you – there is no me. There is no separate self.
In this way, you are actually living in this magic trick, this state of perpetual illusion, without even knowing it is a trick of the mind. It feels exactly like reality to you. That’s why I say this is the greatest magic trick there is.
Just as the stage magician has a number of assistants, both seen on stage and behind the scenes, your mind magician also has many assistants. Those assistants – friends, family members, colleagues, teachers, society, language – all reinforce this illusion, which they also believe completely. Without these tireless assistants, the trick would fall apart. The mental distraction alone would not be enough without this constant reinforcement.
Because this particular illusion is nowhere near as much fun as the ones you see in a magic show, and, unlike the magic show, actually create suffering in your life, at some point you develop a strong desire to peek behind the curtain. You begin your spiritual search. You begin doing spiritual practices, like meditation and self-inquiry. And, eventually, if you are diligent and focused, you do get to peek behind the curtain. And you discover that there is no separate self there. There is no separation at all. That was just the smoke and mirrors of distracting and heavily reinforced thoughts.
You may never be able to create a mental concept of what you do find behind that curtain, other than the same analogies and metaphors other finders have used. But these are just pointers. What you discover cannot be described in a language or thought that is incapable of describing it. But it doesn’t matter. You are free. You have discovered the greatest magic trick of all time. You’ve broken through the wall of illusion and the sun of reality is shinning brightly.
Is it surprising you want to tell others about it?
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