Mike: ....A calm mind is not mindfulness itself, but one of the many fruits out of using the tools that brings the energy of mindfulness in one. 1- If I had a fight with my boyfriend and I get entangled into the fight lead by uncontrollable impulse that only means that mindfulness is not present in me at those moments. 2- Given the same situation even when impulse may lead me into the fight but I acknowledge in my mind that as "impulse"(and everything else that is happening in my body and mind at those moments) and even I'm aware of that am unable to stop that impulse. All that acknowledgement is still mindfulness. Mindfulness doesn't discriminates against any emotion, sensation, habit energy ...arising in one. Mindfulness only acknowledge all that. It's all what it does. it doesn't make any judgement or whatsoever of what is acknowledging. It only experiences. However, it is through that acknowledgement and continuos attention that mindfulness detect many other things going on in with whatever sensation also a lot of things going on in one. Such as body language, skin sensations....as all the senses are in motion. And as a result of all that one is more aware of choices one can make right there in the here and the now. Mindfulness does not know about rushing. It takes care of everything in one. But the real difficulty here is this continuos training of bringing the body and mind back to present moment. But is not mindfulness that comes and goes but its energy when diligence is absented. Mayka --- On Thu, 3/3/11, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote:
From: mike brown <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, 3 March, 2011, 11:31 Mayka, Minfulness is a technique. You say it yourself when you write that it "helps us" to be in the present moment. But this is a fragile state to be in. You can calm the mind for a while thru mindfulness, but how long before it reverts back to its usual state of restlessness (a toothache, a fight with your boyfriend, a perceived insult in a post etc.)? A becalmed mind is not a peaceful mind. A truly peaceful mind cannot be disturbed. The nature of the Self is pure awareness - it can't be something that comes and goes (mindfulness). Mike From: Maria Lopez <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 3 March, 2011 19:26:57 Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization Mike: There is nothing of the kind of: "Trying to be mindful", as implying "I'll be mindful in the future. Unless one has been such a fool (as often happens to me) and regreting that one thinks to oneselve " This happens to me for not having being mindful, I'll try to be more mindful in the future". This future is not a far away future it implies when the same situation will arise again. There may also happens that one gets lazy about being mindful and leave for another day. That kind of lazy attitude will be as much as to say: "I'll be sitting down zazen tomorrow" or even better example: "Tomorrow I'll be living in the present moment but today let me alone!. Mindfulness always happens in the present moment. It goes in togetherness with the present moment, it's in harmony with it. But if it wouldn't be that could be called real mindfulness. How it could when mindfulness it's full attention to everything that is going on within and around. Real Mindfulness helps one to live with full attention and awareness of the present moment. It's mindfulness that makes us become the present moment itself. It's not the label of mindfulness that works out here but mindfulness without the label. One has to realice it's insight by practicing, having the direct experience of it. There are no words that can give a description of this energy with and endless grow if diligence practice is applied. And what one has through it is a growing unlimited within space. (Experienced this during long retreat and it was beyond description) Yes, there may be a moment in which one doesn't need to practice mindfulness but that only will be because mindfulness becomes one second skin living way in daily life. Mayka --- On Thu, 3/3/11, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: From: mike brown <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, 3 March, 2011, 9:37 Mayka, Let me see if I can find you again (I owe a debt here to Ken Wilber's talk on Dzogchen)! Mindfulness is one side of a duality because the other side is forgetfulness. Therefore you can practice mindfulness as a technique (as you can meditation). For example, by trying to be 'mindful' you pay attention to the present moment. Trying to "be here now" necessarily implies some future moment when you will then be mindful. Instead, let's take a look at awareness. You can't practice awareness because there is only awareness (of 'I am'), whether you're in shikentaza or glued to the tv. Pure awareness is the present state of awareness before you try to do anything about it - it's this moment before you try anything. "You are already aware; you are already enlightened. You might not always be mindful, but you are always alread enlightened.". Mike From: Maria Lopez <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 3 March, 2011 5:21:21 Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization Mike: Are we talking about the same thing?. You lost me now. Mayka --- On Wed, 2/3/11, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: From: mike brown <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, 2 March, 2011, 17:27 Mayka, Not at all! But that also answers your question about it being one side of a duality (mindful/not mindful). However, even if you forget to be mindful (!) - you're always aware of 'I am'... Mike From: Maria Lopez <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 3 March, 2011 1:38:50 Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization Mike: No but I wish. Are you? Mayka --- On Wed, 2/3/11, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: From: mike brown <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, 2 March, 2011, 15:37 Mayka, Are you mindful 24/7? Mike From: Maria Lopez <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 3 March, 2011 0:20:44 Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization Mike: Even being 'mindful' is not 'it' as it has it's duality in forgetfullness Mayka: I can't see the duality of being mindful. When there is pure mindfulness there is automatically "just this". Mindfulness is full attention and awareness in the present moment. --- On Wed, 2/3/11, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: From: mike brown <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Realization To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, 2 March, 2011, 11:18 Hi JM, Thanks for the question. Meditation is the best practice that I know of, but is not essential. Even being 'mindful' is not 'it' as it has it's duality in forgetfullness. If there is a way, then it has to be simple and everywhen (a nod to Steve). What do we know outside of concepts, thoughts, visualisations, tools, witnessing etc.? We are always beyond doubt existentially aware of 'I am' (a further nod to Ramana Maharishi and Nisargadatta Maharal), so this is a good place to start. But ultimately, even awareness of 'I am' is a product of the mind and so we need to go further beyond that to Pure Awareness ; ) where we all share the same (Buddha) Nature and nothing really needs to be done. Mike From: Jue Miao Jing Ming - 覺妙精明 <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, 2 March, 2011 0:38:16 Subject: [Zen] Realization Hi Mike, According to your witness, is there a practice/way/how to "realize"? Thanks, JM Be Enlightened In This Life - We ALL Can http://chanjmjm.blogspot.com http://www.heartchan.org On 3/1/2011 2:16 AM, mike brown wrote: ED, Maybe, maybe not. It still stands tho that meditation is not essential for enlightenment as it leads us away from Realisation. Therein lies the paradox - for most of us meditation was the way to Realisation. Mike From: ED <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tue, 1 March, 2011 18:20:57 Subject: Re: [Zen] Change I believe that there are relatively few cases of individuals who have claimed to have become spontaneously enlightened or were born enlightened. --ED --- In [email protected], mike brown <uerusuboyo@...> wrote: > > Steve, > > ... I empathise with the Dzogchen claim that meditation is not essential > for enlightenmentm but is useful for developing mindfullness, moral > development, > concentration etc. Only after Realisation is meditation essential for > deepening > the initial breakthrough. > > Mike
