Illusion to Reality

Views in our minds, which is erroneous by nature, is made right and true by delusion. And with craving playing its function of holding the view in place, we have a perfect marriage of both (delusion and craving) making our views so right and not easily reversible. That is why we cannot move beyond the views that arise in our minds at each moment. In fact, due to view’s realness, we don’t at all question the view’s validity, not to mention of not being aware it is but just a view.

Take for example the sense of “I”. Do you know it is a view? You will dispute it is a view. To you, it is not a view. It is really you, a self, a person. Real isn’t it? What is real? What if that realness of “I” is actually the work of delusion? And what if with craving being in the equation, holding the view in place, you get a good experience of “I”, so difficult to notice it is actually a view. What if, what if it is true that delusion and craving are behind the scene?

What about this body that you identified as you? Real isn’t it? And the world around you with its universes – are they really real? What a question! It is crazy or even madness to think otherwise. Probably such a thought don’t even exist in your mind. To think otherwise is suicide, you may think.

But instead of brushing it aside and leave this topic hanging, what about considering the following — if there is a way of minusing delusion and craving from the mind, what would be the result? If it is true that there is such a reality in the mind called delusion and craving, would you find a way of identifying them and with the right way, solving them and directly realized for yourself the outcome of it? Probably, by then that realization cannot at all be disputed since you come directly face to face with what is true instead of just a concept told by another?

How then would you start the exploration? Obviously, you need to get information about delusion and craving. You need to know what is delusion and what does it do to the mind? The same goes for craving. You need as much right information about them. If you have not heard about them you don’t even know they exist. If you heard it you cannot just believe it except to find it out for yourself whether they are true or false. And where would you get this information? Surely it must be from those who have explored and found them. And where then can you find such being?

That is a big mission. And even if you found one, you have to make sure his case of realizing delusion and craving is for real. Real to mean came into a direct realization of it. Are you ready for it? Are you sure you wish to walk in this direction — the truth and nothing but the truth — about yourself, about the world and the universe?

If you are sincere to know, you can be certain there is a way. Or, rather the Way will find you. As the old adage goes — when one is ready the Master will appear. But if you wish to forget what you have read and taken it as just another fictitious wild imagination, nothing is lost. One day, you will question yourself, as the journey had already begun when you unknowingly started reading this material. Time will tell. Nothing is wasted in the scheme of time, except ignorance. Welcome to the process of the undoing of what you thought is real.

Awareness is not difficult. Awareness is a light and simple knowing or noticing what is happening to your mind or even your bodily processes now. How difficult can that be?

So what then is making awareness difficult to develop just as some of you may have experienced? It is the obstacles to awareness, not awareness. There are many causes to it and it has nothing to do with awareness.

First on the list is forgetfulness. Our busy mind over other matters, including matters of others, is what makes us forget the importance of awareness. In this case, it seems like others are more important than us, but how can that be since entertaining or busy with others involves our mind? As a matter of fact, there is no moment that doesn’t involve our mind. And that mind of ours that is so busily involving outside is causing us stress, which we not aware.

We cannot experience the world. We only experience our mind, about the world. This knowledge may be new and surprising to you. All these while you are only experiencing your mind. When you go on holiday, your mind is happy. Happy is your only experience. You cannot experience the place or the holiday. When you go for a movie, the fear, the horror, the joy, the anger is your only direct experience. You cannot experience the movie. You may say I am seeing the movie, yet seeing is your direct experience. What is been seen is also your mind’s perception or interpretation at that time. Awareness enables us to know this. In short, understanding your mind is more important.

The second reason is the mind’s tendency. The tendency of seeking outside is what makes being aware difficult. Both are of different directions – awareness looks inward, attachment looks elsewhere. Whichever that has been conditioned for too long will supercede the other. As such, developing awareness is a new trade to your mind. Your patience will pay off over time if there is consistency.

The third reason is involving in too many responsibilities. Stress, worries, or not having enough time to handle everything makes the mind scattered and restless. Not that you cannot be aware or mindful, but if you are a beginner it is more difficult. You really need a lot of personal faith and dedication to steers it up.

The fourth final reason is that you have yet to see the benefits arising from awareness. If you were to taste the amazing benefits that come from awareness, you wouldn’t have given it up so easily. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say all of our unnecessary sufferings arise because of not being aware. Awareness makes you know what is happening now. Awareness makes you notice how your stresses come to be. Awareness is your refuge in time of anxiety, fear or inevitability. More importantly, awareness if developed correctly, in accordance with right view, can blossom a unique kind of transcendent wisdom. Wisdom is an asset to the mind. It is a treasure that cannot be compared to anything in this world, not even money or gems. Why? Because it brings ease, equanimity and also good wholesome qualities to the mind irrespective what is taking place around you.

Where wisdom is present in the mind, greed, aversion and delusion cannot exist. And these three that makes out the unwholesome mind, when absence, is what wholesomeness is. When the mind is wholesome, it is kind, loving, generous, patient and more. What else can you ask for?

Shown a clump of clay, you would have ignored it, nor even take a second look, not to mention keeping it. But when mold into different shapes, you would have loved it, valued it, or even kept it. Such is the deception of delusion. Unrealized, craving brings specialness to the world. Delusion is not you.

The valuable paintings found in this world are just blobs of colors, the ancient precious priceless pots are just clay, stories are just fanciful ideas. The music you hear are sounds made up by odd-shaped objects. Everything being experience thru all the six-sense doors are well-deceived by delusion making it feels there is a “you” that love and hate for a little while, born and die and have to struggle, suffer or happy.

Such is the nature of the world where delusion breeds, where shapes and forms are valued. But they are not stand alone realities except dependent on its material. Not seeing this truth, craving held it on tightly for what was originally valueless.

In this way investigate all the experiences one can ever have, all the mental activities or processes one can ever lay hands on, with unbiased or prejudices – love, hate, anger, joy, loneliness, superiority, anything for that matter – and one will be joyfully shocked to come to realize they are only minds, all mind made they are. And what is mind? Empty in essence by nature, impersonal, impermanent and nothing satisfactory, likened to the valueless clay.

What are you going for?