Author: asitisnow

At the end of the day, to realize delusion is the function of awakening i.e. to realize that this nature of delusion is perpetuating in nearly all of our so-called moment to moment “reality”. When we live by this so-called deluded truth of our own, we seldom question our thoughts, not to mention what we perceive, feel, touch, hear, see, smell etc. This is exactly what delusion does – not knowing what is true, and thus making what one knew before, true for the moment now – a typical example of delusion. It may sound relatively subjective as one can only know what one knows and does not know what one does not know – as such it is alright wherever one is. Yet, if we look into the arena of our lives, we get glimpses of our past experiences that points to the fact that our lessons of pain many a times are due to the ignorance of what is at that given moment.

Delusion and ignorance rise hand in hand together. Because of the nature of delusion, the mind inclines toward not noticing what is exactly in front, thus ignoring the obvious. One common error in nearly all of our life’s transaction is this thing called “experience”. We experience having a new house, we experience having a good relationship, we experience stress in our work place, we experience someone betraying us once or again, and many more uncountable experiences we have within a day. In truth, we can’t experience anything that is outside except experiencing our perception about it. Thus we can’t experience a new house except our meaning about the house. If our so-called new house is plague with lots of malfunctions, we have to experience the meanings of those malfunctions, hence our unpleasantness deriving from it. Similar if our perception is in tandem to what the house is, pleasantness arise. Whatever it is, our experiences has nothing to do with the house except our meanings or perception about it. We have never once left our mind, and all our so-called worldly experiences are all based from it.

Similarly when we experience betrayal of another, we are in truth experiencing our own invested interest turning sour. We did not notice that the meaning the mind gives to the world backfired by unmet expectation. We did not notice that trust upon another is delusional as it is deeply invested in self-interest. There must be a payoff in certain form when we give ourselves away to another – else we wouldn’t have done it in the first place. After all that has been said, it is not about seeing wrongness in our actions or putting a blame to what is but rather, to see the reality that when delusion is not recognized, pain is rampant, suffering is inevitable. Yet the good news is that when one wakes up from it, each and every meaning of pain and suffering just disappears right away – just as darkness cannot exist in the midst of light.

What if the stark reality of life is that what we think it is, is not exactly what we think it is. What if we are now told that what we think it is, is not at all closer to any truth, except our own imaginary perceived reality. With this information, and with the wisdom within one to reflect upon this, the journey towards self-awakening is possible. But if one was to brush it off as nonsensical then the phrase ignorance is bliss will stay true until Truth comes a knocking. Only then the journey begins from scratch, slowly but surely towards arriving at one’s own door.

For those already on the Path, a wiser self-reminder is non-conclusion as to put a conclusion to any situation, event or experience is to invite delusion into the pathway.

Often than not, when I come into closer contacts with friends whom I have touched in their lives, I seem to hear that their trying to use what they have heard and learnt to resolve their life issues brings them into deeper frustration and helplessness. Some even confessed that they are better off without what they have learnt!

Little do they notice that the problem lies not in what they have learnt which results in them being worst off than before; but rather the eagerness in applying the information to resolve the issue quickly, instead of using the information as a way to look at things is what brings them into the pitfall of seeming pain again. It is not unusual not to realize that the information offered to them are just merely information, and there is no special formula or magic in those information except as a supporting view to allow them to explore whether what has been heard is actually potentially truer to that moment instead of using it as a tool to fix what is there. In other words, it is a little homework that each has to do in exploring what they have heard. Those information are not meant to be a fix-all as that is not exactly what information are for – data for consideration or contemplation.

Information is important as they are the basis for right perception. But how one uses information for their own means, is another thing altogether. In other words, their perception of information can be thwarted for their own payoff or advantage, not realizing that it is not their job to do anything about the information, except as a means for furthering their expansion for observation, for discernment.

Where teaching or sharing is concerned, the one who gives is merely speaking from his or her own realization, and sometimes, possibly, mere hearsay. For a listener to apply it blindly can be disastrous. That is where the fault lies in people coming to a religion – it is not religion per se that segregates humanity but rather the way the religion is being interpreted that subjects everyone to segregation. It is healthy to question what one has heard from a religion or in fact, anything and put it to test for self verification rather than subscribing to it blindly. What a teacher shares are effects of their own realization and to the one who listens, that effect cannot be used to apply as their own preferred effect. Instead, what they could do is to seek how these effects came to be. That is working on the causes which then results in their own realization as the effect.

When one comes to a block in their journey, one need not be advised to slow down, to return to basic or to make the practice simple again – none of that sort at all as to do that is to miss the mark of what is not seen at that point. One just needs to remind and to realize for himself or herself  that their eagerness to control a specific confronting situation to fit into their needs is what caused them the stresses and frustration. And what is simply required at that moment is to step back to non-interference and to check his or her own attitude whether there is loop of wanting to fix or control occurring at the background of the mind. That is all that is needed and the journey will be a breeze again. Let what one learnt be an education rather than for an end.

The sound is not out there
or is the touch
or sight
or taste
or even smell
except all happening in here

yet “in here” is also not true
as there is no “in here” or “out there”
except happening
occurring

the body makes it so
a separator for defining in and out
separating
what was never separated
making what is true
thwarted into two
and sometimes, more

if happening is all it is
what then are the meanings
of your thoughts
or my thoughts?

if you know it happening, it is you to settle
if I know it happening, it is me to resolve

what else is there to quarrel
what else to segregate
only to live in delusion
cheating oneself over and over again