Category: General

My meditation teacher once posed me a question asking how many objects are there in the world for a meditator to be mindful of? Being naive, I said “many” – as there are so many things at each moment to give attention to, not to mention the multi-tasking nature of the mind. His answer was six. Six?

Of the many variation of sound there is only hearing
Of the many variation of colors there is only seeing
Of the many variation of sensation there is only touching
Of the many variation of smell there is only smelling
Of the many variation of flavor there is only tasting
Of the many variation of mind states there is only perceiving

All these six are housed in one and yet they have never known or met each other. The function of hearing is to hear. It does nothing except hearing and thus will never know what seeing, touching or anything other than hearing, is. To each its own the function works, day in, day out, oblivious to what is around. They will never know as knowing is not their function. Perception never knows except the function of perceiving.

With these six in mind, the world is taken care of. It is in these six I found myself experiencing the world. But wait a minute – who am I then? If all the six senses does not know, where do “I”, who knows, stand? If body and mind does not know, what is that who knows?

In the six there is only one
Consciousness.

Behind each consciousness the world is experienced. In each experience are found ideas – ideas that binds, and ideas that frees. Behind these ideas are found either ignorance or wisdom. Ignorance knows – knowing wrongly; Wisdom knows – knowing rightly. Right and wrong is neither good nor bad, except a distinction, differentiation the knowing. What recognizes both? Wisdom too. Wisdom recognizes ignorance, and thus arise further wisdom. It is like the analogy of attitude – when wrong attitude is recognized, right attitude comes into being. Wrong attitude can never know it is wrong, except to be recognized by the right. To put it simply, ignorance is wrong mindedness and wisdom is rightmindedness. Wisdom has the ability to recognize ignorance but not the reverse.

What is knowing the wrong thing? Seeing falseness as truth. Seeing what is inessential as essential. What is knowing the right thing? Seeing falseness as falseness; and seeing inessential as inessential and in that space truth arise

Ignorance nature is to continue ignoring, creating delusion along its way. Wisdom nature is to continue attending, thus undoing ignorance. Recognizing both ignorance and wisdom, Wisdom goes beyond, un-finding “myself” to the eternal unconditioned, uncreated, unmanifested, unseen or God. There are merely names to mean what is beyond the world, beyond the unthinkable including what can and cannot be think, what can and cannot be known, what can and cannot be experienced.

GONE TO THE UNSEEN

At last you have departed and gone to the Unseen.
What marvelous route did you take from this world?

Beating your wings and feathers,
you broke free from this cage.
Rising up to the sky
you attained the world of the soul.
You were a prized falcon trapped by an Old Woman.
Then you heard the drummer’s call
and flew beyond space and time.

As a lovesick nightingale, you flew among the owls.
Then came the scent of the rosegarden
and you flew off to meet the Rose.

The wine of this fleeting world
caused your head to ache.
Finally you joined the tavern of Eternity.
Like an arrow, you sped from the bow
and went straight for the bull’s eye of bliss.

This phantom world gave you false signs
But you turned from the illusion
and journeyed to the land of truth.

You are now the Sun –
what need have you for a crown?
You have vanished from this world –
what need have you to tie your robe?

I’ve heard that you can barely see your soul.
But why look at all? –
yours is now the Soul of Souls!

O heart, what a wonderful bird you are.
Seeking divine heights,
Flapping your wings,
you smashed the pointed spears of your enemy.

The flowers flee from Autumn, but not you –
You are the fearless rose
that grows amidst the freezing wind.

Pouring down like the rain of heaven
you fell upon the rooftop of this world.
Then you ran in every direction
and escaped through the drain spout . . .

Now the words are over
and the pain they bring is gone.
Now you have gone to rest
in the arms of the Beloved.

– Jalaluddin Rumi –

Life is liken to a tightrope walk, balancing itself consistently. More often than not, the major bulk of work is towards balancing rather than being balanced. The balanced state seems to be illusive, escaping my attention over and over again. But then again the act of being balanced is not without balancing, albeit steadiness – it is an ongoing process of balancing that sustained the balanced state, like one riding on a bicycle. Even though a person is skilled in riding, his balanced is sustained by the act of balancing. In other words, existence is exhaustive, continuously tending towards support.

The nature of the body is such – it needs to be continuously tended so as to maintain optimum health. Any imbalance of the basic elements is enough to create stress in the mind. The world too is in the state of balance – finding a common ground to live in harmony. Even then the state of harmony is elusive, as tolerance is always on the prowl, making acceptance a mockery. The climax is also in constant balance – flowing in tandem with the destruction humanity is creating.

Permanent peace is unachievable so long as this state of balance is ongoing. Paradoxically peace can only be appreciated when there is conflict. When peace is taken for granted, conflict arise again for peace to come into existence. Thus the whole cycle of balance, balancing itself, to be destroyed and rebuilt again.

Existence is a balancing act and thus the ending for the need to balance, to be supported, is beyond reach as it is not found within its equation. It is not about you or me that contributes to this imbalance – it is the nature of the world, of existence.

Swans fly the path of the sun; those with the power fly through space; the enlightened flee from the world, having defeated the armies of Mara.
– Dhammapada 175

Let one who has found the world, and has become wealthy, renounce the world.
– Gospel of Thomas

What is existence but the realm of the mind. I am in constant tussle with its need – wanting and not wanting, resisting and holding on to whatever it grasp. To face the mind is to face its addiction to phenomenon, in hunger for balance and yet unable to find its solution. Each doing is a need to find its balance, a futile act that propels more doing, more imbalanced. This reminds me of Albert Einstein definition of insanity:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

That is what the nature of the mind is all about. In ignorance, without finding any other ways, it repeats itself, hurting everything, everyone, along the way. It is of no wonder to the eyes of great Masters, we are all insane! The inability of the mind to strike a balance brought about the meaning of insecurity that propels itself to hoard, to attach, to keep having more – burnt by the desire of grasping.

The beginning of letting go the mind is to enter into the state of being, of abiding, of non-doing, accepting and allowing the nature to dance itself out. Through introspective observation of what is already in existence, understanding or wisdom releases the falseness of attachment to the mind – the egocentric self – thus releasing the grip for the need to balance, ending the whole entire cycle of continuum.

Hence the arising of Absolute Peace.