Forwarded from Words of the Buddha
Ulun Danu Tamblingan water temple, Lake Tamblingan, Bali, Indonesia during dry season. Ulun Danu = lakeshore, Tamblingan = heal the soul/ awareness. A place by the lakeside to heal the soul.
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"How should we act, Lord, respecting the body of the Tathagata?"
"Do not hinder yourselves, Ananda, to honor the body of the Tathagata... At a crossroads also a stupa should be raised for the Tathagata. And whosoever shall bring to that place garlands or incense or sandalpaste, or pay reverence, and whose mind becomes calm there — it will be to his well being and happiness for a long time."
Partial excerpt from DN 16 : Maha-parinibbana Sutta
"Do not hinder yourselves, Ananda, to honor the body of the Tathagata... At a crossroads also a stupa should be raised for the Tathagata. And whosoever shall bring to that place garlands or incense or sandalpaste, or pay reverence, and whose mind becomes calm there — it will be to his well being and happiness for a long time."
Partial excerpt from DN 16 : Maha-parinibbana Sutta
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19. Santakàyo santavàco
santavà susamàhito
Vantalokàmiso bhikkhu
upasanto' ti vuccati. 378.
HE IS PEACEFUL WHO IS FREE FROM ALL WORLDLY THINGS
19. The bhikkhu who is calm in body, calm in speech, calm in mind, who is well-composed, who has spewed out worldly things, is truly called a "peaceful one". 378.
Story
A monk was very calm and quiet and his composed demeanour attracted the attention of the other monks. The Buddha, hearing of his exemplary behaviour, advised the monks to emulate him and uttered this verse.
===
Ajahn Chah, Buddhist teacher of Thai forest meditation of Theravada Buddhism channel:
https://t.me/ajahnchah_buddhism
===
santavà susamàhito
Vantalokàmiso bhikkhu
upasanto' ti vuccati. 378.
HE IS PEACEFUL WHO IS FREE FROM ALL WORLDLY THINGS
19. The bhikkhu who is calm in body, calm in speech, calm in mind, who is well-composed, who has spewed out worldly things, is truly called a "peaceful one". 378.
Story
A monk was very calm and quiet and his composed demeanour attracted the attention of the other monks. The Buddha, hearing of his exemplary behaviour, advised the monks to emulate him and uttered this verse.
===
Ajahn Chah, Buddhist teacher of Thai forest meditation of Theravada Buddhism channel:
https://t.me/ajahnchah_buddhism
===
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Ajahn Chah - Theravada Thailand Buddhism
Collection of teachings of Venerable Ajahn Chah, a foremost meditation and Buddhist teacher from Thailand
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Forwarded from Words of the Buddha
Dhammapada Verses 54 and 55
Anandattherapanha Vatthu
Na pupphagandho pativatameti
na candanam tagara mallika va
satanca gandho pativatameti
sabba disa sappuriso pavayati.
Cadanam tagaram vapi
uppalam atha vassiki
etesam gandhajatanam
silagandho anuttaro.
Verse 54: The scent of flowers cannot go against the wind; nor the scent of sandalwood, nor of rhododendron (tagara), nor of jasmin (mallika); only the reputation of good people can go against the wind. The reputation of the virtuous ones (sappurisa) is wafted abroad in all directions.
Verse 55: There are the scents of sandalwood, rhododendron, lotus and jasmin (vassika); but the scent of virtue surpasses all scents.
Anandattherapanha Vatthu
Na pupphagandho pativatameti
na candanam tagara mallika va
satanca gandho pativatameti
sabba disa sappuriso pavayati.
Cadanam tagaram vapi
uppalam atha vassiki
etesam gandhajatanam
silagandho anuttaro.
Verse 54: The scent of flowers cannot go against the wind; nor the scent of sandalwood, nor of rhododendron (tagara), nor of jasmin (mallika); only the reputation of good people can go against the wind. The reputation of the virtuous ones (sappurisa) is wafted abroad in all directions.
Verse 55: There are the scents of sandalwood, rhododendron, lotus and jasmin (vassika); but the scent of virtue surpasses all scents.
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As a water-drop on lotus plant,
as water does not stain a lotus flower,
even so the sage is never stained
by seen, heard, or whatever’s cognized.
Certainly the wise do not conceive
upon the seen, the heard, and cognized,
nor wish for purity through another,
for they are not attached nor yet displeased.
Partial excerpts from Snp 4.6 : Jara Sutta
Image: Red Lotus Lake (Talay Bua Daeng), Udon Thani, Thailand.
as water does not stain a lotus flower,
even so the sage is never stained
by seen, heard, or whatever’s cognized.
Certainly the wise do not conceive
upon the seen, the heard, and cognized,
nor wish for purity through another,
for they are not attached nor yet displeased.
Partial excerpts from Snp 4.6 : Jara Sutta
Image: Red Lotus Lake (Talay Bua Daeng), Udon Thani, Thailand.
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Forwarded from Words of the Buddha
The Experience of Insight, A Natural Unfolding by Joseph Goldstein
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Forwarded from Words of the Buddha
Liberation Through Non-Clinging Across Buddhist Traditions
How approaches from different Buddhist traditions can complement and support each other on the path to awakening
By Joseph Goldstein
Part 1 of 3
Other Paths of Practice that Cultivate Nonduality
Many paths of practice may not explicitly emphasize nonduality, yet may lead to that understanding, even if it is described as “selflessness” or “emptiness of self.” Although the explicit term nonduality gained prominence in early Mahayana Prajnaparamita texts (1st century BCE–1st century CE), several hundred years after the Buddha lived, the experience it points to is already present in the well-known Bahiya Sutta from the Pali canon:
Then, Bahiya, you should train yourself thus:
In the seen there will be merely the seen;
in the heard, merely the heard;
in the sensed, merely the sensed;
in the cognized, merely the cognized.
That is how you should train yourself.
When, Bahiya, for you in the seen there is merely the seen . . .
then, Bahiya, you will not be with that.
When you are not with that, you will not be in that,
When you are not in that,
then you will be neither here nor beyond nor in between the two.
Just this is the end of suffering.
Perhaps the term selflessness, then, more clearly reflects what the state of liberative nonduality reveals.
Right Effort
This raises interesting questions about different modes of practice. H.H. the Dalai Lama has recounted how even Milarepa, one of the greatest Tibetan yogis, faced tremendous difficulties and needed arduous effort over many years to attain complete enlightenment. In vipassana practice, significant emphasis is placed on mindfulness of the body, as it is the first of the four foundations of mindfulness the Buddha declared to be the direct path to awakening. Some teachers in this tradition emphasize the importance of strong effort to penetrate the object of meditation as a means of going beyond our conceptual understanding of it. However, this strong effort can sometimes reinforce the sense of someone actively exerting that effort.
Effortless Awareness
But even within methods that emphasize strong effort, proper practice naturally leads to a state of effortless awareness. From this state, the mind can open to what is called “gaining the vision of the dharma,” or the “opening of the dharma eye.” That marks the point at which the belief in self has been completely uprooted.
A salient point emerges here in both vipassana and explicitly nondual practices: how to rest in effortless awareness (however we arrive there) without identifying with that awareness, without making awareness the home of self, the last hold-out of “I.” Sometimes awareness feels boundless and centerless, yet this too can mask a subtle identification with self. Even in this wonderfully expansive state, there can be a subtle identification with awareness or a faint sense of someone experiencing it.
Mahasi Sayadaw, a renowned vipassana meditation master of the 20th century, highlighted one aspect of this in his talk “The Purification and Progress of Insight”:
At times there is nothing to note, with the body disappearing and the sense of touch lost. However, at this moment, knowing consciousness is still apparent. In the very clear, open space of the sky there remains only one very clear, blissful consciousness, which is very clear beyond comparison and very blissful. The yogi tends to delight in such clear, blissful consciousness. But this consciousness is not going to stay permanent. . . . It has to be noticed as “knowing, knowing.”
We see the same caution about identification with awareness in Dzogchen and other nondual traditions as well. In Dzogchen and Mahamudra, although using different terminology, the fundamental nature of mind is expressed as the union of clarity and emptiness. Thrangu Rinpoche observed that the nature of mind is sometimes obscured because the clarity aspect (knowing) obscures the emptiness aspect.
How approaches from different Buddhist traditions can complement and support each other on the path to awakening
By Joseph Goldstein
Part 1 of 3
Other Paths of Practice that Cultivate Nonduality
Many paths of practice may not explicitly emphasize nonduality, yet may lead to that understanding, even if it is described as “selflessness” or “emptiness of self.” Although the explicit term nonduality gained prominence in early Mahayana Prajnaparamita texts (1st century BCE–1st century CE), several hundred years after the Buddha lived, the experience it points to is already present in the well-known Bahiya Sutta from the Pali canon:
Then, Bahiya, you should train yourself thus:
In the seen there will be merely the seen;
in the heard, merely the heard;
in the sensed, merely the sensed;
in the cognized, merely the cognized.
That is how you should train yourself.
When, Bahiya, for you in the seen there is merely the seen . . .
then, Bahiya, you will not be with that.
When you are not with that, you will not be in that,
When you are not in that,
then you will be neither here nor beyond nor in between the two.
Just this is the end of suffering.
Perhaps the term selflessness, then, more clearly reflects what the state of liberative nonduality reveals.
Right Effort
This raises interesting questions about different modes of practice. H.H. the Dalai Lama has recounted how even Milarepa, one of the greatest Tibetan yogis, faced tremendous difficulties and needed arduous effort over many years to attain complete enlightenment. In vipassana practice, significant emphasis is placed on mindfulness of the body, as it is the first of the four foundations of mindfulness the Buddha declared to be the direct path to awakening. Some teachers in this tradition emphasize the importance of strong effort to penetrate the object of meditation as a means of going beyond our conceptual understanding of it. However, this strong effort can sometimes reinforce the sense of someone actively exerting that effort.
Effortless Awareness
But even within methods that emphasize strong effort, proper practice naturally leads to a state of effortless awareness. From this state, the mind can open to what is called “gaining the vision of the dharma,” or the “opening of the dharma eye.” That marks the point at which the belief in self has been completely uprooted.
A salient point emerges here in both vipassana and explicitly nondual practices: how to rest in effortless awareness (however we arrive there) without identifying with that awareness, without making awareness the home of self, the last hold-out of “I.” Sometimes awareness feels boundless and centerless, yet this too can mask a subtle identification with self. Even in this wonderfully expansive state, there can be a subtle identification with awareness or a faint sense of someone experiencing it.
Mahasi Sayadaw, a renowned vipassana meditation master of the 20th century, highlighted one aspect of this in his talk “The Purification and Progress of Insight”:
At times there is nothing to note, with the body disappearing and the sense of touch lost. However, at this moment, knowing consciousness is still apparent. In the very clear, open space of the sky there remains only one very clear, blissful consciousness, which is very clear beyond comparison and very blissful. The yogi tends to delight in such clear, blissful consciousness. But this consciousness is not going to stay permanent. . . . It has to be noticed as “knowing, knowing.”
We see the same caution about identification with awareness in Dzogchen and other nondual traditions as well. In Dzogchen and Mahamudra, although using different terminology, the fundamental nature of mind is expressed as the union of clarity and emptiness. Thrangu Rinpoche observed that the nature of mind is sometimes obscured because the clarity aspect (knowing) obscures the emptiness aspect.
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Forwarded from Words of the Buddha
Mingyur Rinpoche elaborated on this, emphasizing that the teaching in both is not to reify the awareness as self nor to perceive objects as having independent, substantial existence. Khyentse Rinpoche makes the same point: “Those who cling to the lucid or to the void aspect of the mind are caught in dualistic attachment to subject and object.”
In any instruction to rest in awareness, we need to understand that awareness implies recognizing its empty nature as well as its lucid aspect—and not getting attached to emptiness is equally important. Nagarjuna, one of the greatest of the Indian adepts, warns that even the view of emptiness can become a trap when grasped as a view. He writes, “It is sad to see those who mistakenly believe in material, concrete reality, but far more pitiful are those who are attached to emptiness.”
The question then arises: How do we cut through this subtle identification with the knowing capacity of mind, with awareness itself? At one point in my practice, a simple linguistic shift became a pathway for cutting through this identification. By changing how we language our experience (even silently to ourselves) from the active voice to the passive voice, we can settle effortlessly into a receptive, selfless mode.
For example, we usually think of what we’re doing in the active voice: “I’m moving, I’m thinking, I’m hearing.” In the passive voice, this might become: “Movement being known, thought being known, sounds being known.” This shift is striking because the “I” is no longer the subject of the action. Instead, things simply arise and are known effortlessly without a sense of self. As the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein noted, much philosophy is “a shadow cast by grammar”; our language habits easily conjure a “self” behind experience.
The Buddha gave a succinct and powerful teaching on this in his discourse, The All. In this sutta, he described the totality of our experience in just six concise phrases: “the eye and visible objects, the ear and sounds, the nose and odors, the tongue and tastes, the body and tactile objects, the mind and mental phenomena.” By being mindful of these six categories as being known, we gain glimpses—and sometimes sustained experiences—of selflessness, of empty phenomena rolling on.
To deepen this experience of selflessness, we can then ask the simple yet profound question: Known by what? In meditation, as different sounds arise, I may ask myself, Can I find what’s knowing this sound? The sound is being known—but by what? There’s nothing to find. And yet, as the Tibetan Dzogchen master Tulku Urgyen remarked, in searching for awareness, “the not finding is the finding.” This inquiry helps dissolve the subtle identification with the knowing itself, which, when unnoticed, perpetuates the felt sense of a knower.
Even after these transformative insights arise, the path continues. The 12th-century Korean Zen Master Chinul expressed this in his teachings on sudden awakening and gradual cultivation:
Although we have awakened to original nature, beginningless habit energies are extremely difficult to remove suddenly. Hindrances are formidable and habits are deeply ingrained. So how could you neglect gradual cultivation simply because of one moment of awakening? After awakening, you must constantly be on your guard. If deluded thoughts suddenly appear, do not follow after them. Then and only then will your practice reach completion.
Chinul’s follow-up reminder is equally vital:
Although you must cultivate further, you have already awakened suddenly to the fact that deluded thoughts are originally void and the mind’s nature is originally pure.
===
Words of the Buddha channel:
https://t.me/wordsofbuddha
===
In any instruction to rest in awareness, we need to understand that awareness implies recognizing its empty nature as well as its lucid aspect—and not getting attached to emptiness is equally important. Nagarjuna, one of the greatest of the Indian adepts, warns that even the view of emptiness can become a trap when grasped as a view. He writes, “It is sad to see those who mistakenly believe in material, concrete reality, but far more pitiful are those who are attached to emptiness.”
The question then arises: How do we cut through this subtle identification with the knowing capacity of mind, with awareness itself? At one point in my practice, a simple linguistic shift became a pathway for cutting through this identification. By changing how we language our experience (even silently to ourselves) from the active voice to the passive voice, we can settle effortlessly into a receptive, selfless mode.
For example, we usually think of what we’re doing in the active voice: “I’m moving, I’m thinking, I’m hearing.” In the passive voice, this might become: “Movement being known, thought being known, sounds being known.” This shift is striking because the “I” is no longer the subject of the action. Instead, things simply arise and are known effortlessly without a sense of self. As the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein noted, much philosophy is “a shadow cast by grammar”; our language habits easily conjure a “self” behind experience.
The Buddha gave a succinct and powerful teaching on this in his discourse, The All. In this sutta, he described the totality of our experience in just six concise phrases: “the eye and visible objects, the ear and sounds, the nose and odors, the tongue and tastes, the body and tactile objects, the mind and mental phenomena.” By being mindful of these six categories as being known, we gain glimpses—and sometimes sustained experiences—of selflessness, of empty phenomena rolling on.
To deepen this experience of selflessness, we can then ask the simple yet profound question: Known by what? In meditation, as different sounds arise, I may ask myself, Can I find what’s knowing this sound? The sound is being known—but by what? There’s nothing to find. And yet, as the Tibetan Dzogchen master Tulku Urgyen remarked, in searching for awareness, “the not finding is the finding.” This inquiry helps dissolve the subtle identification with the knowing itself, which, when unnoticed, perpetuates the felt sense of a knower.
Even after these transformative insights arise, the path continues. The 12th-century Korean Zen Master Chinul expressed this in his teachings on sudden awakening and gradual cultivation:
Although we have awakened to original nature, beginningless habit energies are extremely difficult to remove suddenly. Hindrances are formidable and habits are deeply ingrained. So how could you neglect gradual cultivation simply because of one moment of awakening? After awakening, you must constantly be on your guard. If deluded thoughts suddenly appear, do not follow after them. Then and only then will your practice reach completion.
Chinul’s follow-up reminder is equally vital:
Although you must cultivate further, you have already awakened suddenly to the fact that deluded thoughts are originally void and the mind’s nature is originally pure.
===
Words of the Buddha channel:
https://t.me/wordsofbuddha
===
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Daily teachings of Buddha Dharma
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Forwarded from Words of the Buddha
Free Buddha Dharma ebook
Mountain Dhamma
A Collection of Dhamma Talks by Ajahn Suchart Abijhato
Mountain Dhamma is a well-known book by the highly respected Thai Forest monk Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto. It is a compiled collection of his insightful Dhamma talks and Q&A sessions focused on core Buddhist meditation practices, developing wisdom, and training the mind to overcome mental defilements. The book reflects the classic, direct style of the Thai Forest Tradition. Rather than focusing on heavy intellectual or scriptural study, it emphasizes practical, everyday mental cultivation.
Free download available:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15MNiCNA8Bt5sGnbkryjIKA2bgvgIEWjL/view?usp=drive_link
===
Mountain Dhamma
A Collection of Dhamma Talks by Ajahn Suchart Abijhato
Mountain Dhamma is a well-known book by the highly respected Thai Forest monk Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto. It is a compiled collection of his insightful Dhamma talks and Q&A sessions focused on core Buddhist meditation practices, developing wisdom, and training the mind to overcome mental defilements. The book reflects the classic, direct style of the Thai Forest Tradition. Rather than focusing on heavy intellectual or scriptural study, it emphasizes practical, everyday mental cultivation.
Free download available:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15MNiCNA8Bt5sGnbkryjIKA2bgvgIEWjL/view?usp=drive_link
===
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Forwarded from Words of the Buddha
Free Buddha Dharma ebook
Mountain Dhamma
A Collection of Dhamma Talks by Ajahn Suchart Abijhato
Mountain Dhamma is a well-known book by the highly respected Thai Forest monk Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto. It is a compiled collection of his insightful Dhamma talks and Q&A sessions focused on core Buddhist meditation practices, developing wisdom, and training the mind to overcome mental defilements. The book reflects the classic, direct style of the Thai Forest Tradition. Rather than focusing on heavy intellectual or scriptural study, it emphasizes practical, everyday mental cultivation.
Free download available:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15MNiCNA8Bt5sGnbkryjIKA2bgvgIEWjL/view?usp=drive_link
===
Mountain Dhamma
A Collection of Dhamma Talks by Ajahn Suchart Abijhato
Mountain Dhamma is a well-known book by the highly respected Thai Forest monk Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto. It is a compiled collection of his insightful Dhamma talks and Q&A sessions focused on core Buddhist meditation practices, developing wisdom, and training the mind to overcome mental defilements. The book reflects the classic, direct style of the Thai Forest Tradition. Rather than focusing on heavy intellectual or scriptural study, it emphasizes practical, everyday mental cultivation.
Free download available:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15MNiCNA8Bt5sGnbkryjIKA2bgvgIEWjL/view?usp=drive_link
===
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Liberation Through Non-Clinging Across Buddhist Traditions
How approaches from different Buddhist traditions can complement and support each other on the path to awakening
By Joseph Goldstein
Part 2 of 3
The Distortions of Perception, Mind, and View
After realizing selflessness or emptiness, some may mistakenly believe their work is finished, assuming that everything they do arises from that realization. This misconception can then become a rationale for not paying attention to the defilements that remain. Teachings in the Pali canon explain how hindrances and strong habit energies can still influence our minds, even after uprooting the belief in self. This is the teaching on the vipallasas, or the distortions of mind. The Buddha says in the Vipallasa Sutta:
These four, O Monks, are distortions of perception, distortions of thought, distortions of view. . . . Sensing no change in the changing, sensing pleasure in suffering, assuming “self” where there’s no self, sensing the unlovely as lovely.
The distortions differ in degree and consequences. Misperception, such as mistaking a rope for a snake, is easily corrected through closer observation. Distorted thought refers to the thoughts and feelings that arise from such misperceptions, which also can be remedied with careful attention. The deepest and most challenging to uproot is distortion of view, an entrenched belief that persists despite contrary evidence. This is particularly evident in deeply polarized political landscapes, where no amount of reasoning can break through attachment to certain views.
Even after the strong view of self has been uprooted, distortions of perception and thought will persist. The good news is that although these two are still operative, they are easier to dispel over time. Once we are free from the view of self, these distortions naturally diminish.
However, there is a cautionary note: Unless we recognize Chinul’s reminder about the ongoing work required, these distortions may remain unnoticed. Even those with genuine realization can fall into unskillful behavior by failing to recognize these lingering tendencies. This can foster the conceit of “I am the one who has awakened,” reinforcing a subtle sense of self.
Impermanence and Dukkha as Gateways to Nondual Awareness
Along with nonself, insight into impermanence and dukkha also open the door to the freedom of the non-clinging mind. The Buddha repeatedly emphasized the transformative power of contemplating impermanence: “When perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated it eliminates . . . all ignorance, and it uproots all conceit ‘I am.’ ”
After teaching contemplation of impermanence, the Buddha added: “Contemplating thus, one does not cling to anything in the world. When one doesn’t cling, one is not agitated. When one is not agitated, one personally attains nibbana.”
As I was sitting during one retreat, a familiar line from the Pali texts came to mind: “Whatever has the nature to arise will also pass away.” Although I had read this many times, in that moment it settled deeply into my experience. Because everything that arises must also pass away, there seemed little point in craving a new or different experience in meditation, since whatever I desired would inevitably disappear. With this understanding, the mind naturally relaxed, releasing any sense of wanting or striving. When I then turned my attention to the nature of this non-wanting mind, it was the same experience as awareness, empty of self.
The experience of dukkha can also function as a gateway to nondual awareness. My first teacher, Munindra-ji, described how, during meditation, he felt as if his entire body was being consumed by fire. It was through the intensity of this dukkha that his mind opened to the unconditioned.
How approaches from different Buddhist traditions can complement and support each other on the path to awakening
By Joseph Goldstein
Part 2 of 3
The Distortions of Perception, Mind, and View
After realizing selflessness or emptiness, some may mistakenly believe their work is finished, assuming that everything they do arises from that realization. This misconception can then become a rationale for not paying attention to the defilements that remain. Teachings in the Pali canon explain how hindrances and strong habit energies can still influence our minds, even after uprooting the belief in self. This is the teaching on the vipallasas, or the distortions of mind. The Buddha says in the Vipallasa Sutta:
These four, O Monks, are distortions of perception, distortions of thought, distortions of view. . . . Sensing no change in the changing, sensing pleasure in suffering, assuming “self” where there’s no self, sensing the unlovely as lovely.
The distortions differ in degree and consequences. Misperception, such as mistaking a rope for a snake, is easily corrected through closer observation. Distorted thought refers to the thoughts and feelings that arise from such misperceptions, which also can be remedied with careful attention. The deepest and most challenging to uproot is distortion of view, an entrenched belief that persists despite contrary evidence. This is particularly evident in deeply polarized political landscapes, where no amount of reasoning can break through attachment to certain views.
Even after the strong view of self has been uprooted, distortions of perception and thought will persist. The good news is that although these two are still operative, they are easier to dispel over time. Once we are free from the view of self, these distortions naturally diminish.
However, there is a cautionary note: Unless we recognize Chinul’s reminder about the ongoing work required, these distortions may remain unnoticed. Even those with genuine realization can fall into unskillful behavior by failing to recognize these lingering tendencies. This can foster the conceit of “I am the one who has awakened,” reinforcing a subtle sense of self.
Impermanence and Dukkha as Gateways to Nondual Awareness
Along with nonself, insight into impermanence and dukkha also open the door to the freedom of the non-clinging mind. The Buddha repeatedly emphasized the transformative power of contemplating impermanence: “When perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated it eliminates . . . all ignorance, and it uproots all conceit ‘I am.’ ”
After teaching contemplation of impermanence, the Buddha added: “Contemplating thus, one does not cling to anything in the world. When one doesn’t cling, one is not agitated. When one is not agitated, one personally attains nibbana.”
As I was sitting during one retreat, a familiar line from the Pali texts came to mind: “Whatever has the nature to arise will also pass away.” Although I had read this many times, in that moment it settled deeply into my experience. Because everything that arises must also pass away, there seemed little point in craving a new or different experience in meditation, since whatever I desired would inevitably disappear. With this understanding, the mind naturally relaxed, releasing any sense of wanting or striving. When I then turned my attention to the nature of this non-wanting mind, it was the same experience as awareness, empty of self.
The experience of dukkha can also function as a gateway to nondual awareness. My first teacher, Munindra-ji, described how, during meditation, he felt as if his entire body was being consumed by fire. It was through the intensity of this dukkha that his mind opened to the unconditioned.
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Another powerful illustration involves a monk in the Buddha’s time, affectionately known as the dullard, who struggled to remember even a four-line verse of teaching. The Buddha instructed him to stand in the sun and briskly rub a white cloth in his hands. As the cloth grew soiled, the monk contemplated impermanence and the unattractive aspect of the body. This insight led to his full enlightenment through non-clinging.
In another discourse, the Timsamatta Sutta, the Buddha reminded thirty forest-dwelling bhikkhus of the beginningless cycle of rebirth, prompting their minds to be liberated by non-clinging:
Bhikkhus, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. . . . Enough to be disenchanted toward all formations, enough to become dispassionate toward them, enough to be liberated from them. . . . And while this exposition was being spoken, the minds of the thirty bhikkhus were liberated from the taints by non-clinging.
In this context, the phrase empty phenomena rolling on, which emphasizes nonself, might become endless phenomena rolling on, reminding us of the liberating power that comes from deeply understanding the nature of samsara—the beginningless rounds of rebirth.
Years of dedicated forest practice had prepared the minds of these monks so well that simply listening allowed the words to carry a transformative power. The lesson here is that both teaching and listening to the dharma are themselves acts of meditation, and that awakening can arise from either. Liberation can occur through myriad insights, with practices tailored to each individual’s unique conditioning and capacity.
Integrating the Teachings from Different Practice Traditions
The question then becomes how different approaches can support each other rather than be in conflict. This integration occurs quite naturally when we realize that different systems of practice can each serve as skillful means for cultivating non-clinging—the essence of a free mind. One helpful way to understand the differences in various approaches is to reflect on the union of knowing and object. While some practices emphasize non-clinging to the object, others focus on non-clinging to the knowing itself.
A clear example of this distinction appears in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. In these traditions, the nature of mind is described as the unity of emptiness and clarity (or cognizance). Although the two traditions use different terminologies and methods, their underlying essence and endpoints are the same. Mahamudra emphasizes a gradual development, initially working with the appearances in the mind, such as thoughts and sense objects, in order to recognize their empty nature. Once this recognition is stabilized, the training is to then rest in the unity of clarity and emptiness. Dzogchen, on the other hand, emphasizes a direct introduction to resting in awareness itself. Thus, even in these liberating nondual traditions, we find different emphases at various stages of practice.
We can observe similar differences in emphasis across many Buddhist traditions and lineages. Yet regardless of the particular emphasis, genuine freedom requires non-clinging to both the object (appearance) and the knowing (clarity). Each of us may be drawn to a particular path that resonates deeply, but as we learn from other traditions, we may find that different teachings become interwoven strands of practice, with each strengthening the other. Much as a rope gains its strength from multiple strands woven together, our practice can become stronger through this integration. While each tradition offers its own skillful means, a shift in perspective from another system of practice can sometimes reveal new insights that serve the ultimate goal: the end of suffering.
In another discourse, the Timsamatta Sutta, the Buddha reminded thirty forest-dwelling bhikkhus of the beginningless cycle of rebirth, prompting their minds to be liberated by non-clinging:
Bhikkhus, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. . . . Enough to be disenchanted toward all formations, enough to become dispassionate toward them, enough to be liberated from them. . . . And while this exposition was being spoken, the minds of the thirty bhikkhus were liberated from the taints by non-clinging.
In this context, the phrase empty phenomena rolling on, which emphasizes nonself, might become endless phenomena rolling on, reminding us of the liberating power that comes from deeply understanding the nature of samsara—the beginningless rounds of rebirth.
Years of dedicated forest practice had prepared the minds of these monks so well that simply listening allowed the words to carry a transformative power. The lesson here is that both teaching and listening to the dharma are themselves acts of meditation, and that awakening can arise from either. Liberation can occur through myriad insights, with practices tailored to each individual’s unique conditioning and capacity.
Integrating the Teachings from Different Practice Traditions
The question then becomes how different approaches can support each other rather than be in conflict. This integration occurs quite naturally when we realize that different systems of practice can each serve as skillful means for cultivating non-clinging—the essence of a free mind. One helpful way to understand the differences in various approaches is to reflect on the union of knowing and object. While some practices emphasize non-clinging to the object, others focus on non-clinging to the knowing itself.
A clear example of this distinction appears in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. In these traditions, the nature of mind is described as the unity of emptiness and clarity (or cognizance). Although the two traditions use different terminologies and methods, their underlying essence and endpoints are the same. Mahamudra emphasizes a gradual development, initially working with the appearances in the mind, such as thoughts and sense objects, in order to recognize their empty nature. Once this recognition is stabilized, the training is to then rest in the unity of clarity and emptiness. Dzogchen, on the other hand, emphasizes a direct introduction to resting in awareness itself. Thus, even in these liberating nondual traditions, we find different emphases at various stages of practice.
We can observe similar differences in emphasis across many Buddhist traditions and lineages. Yet regardless of the particular emphasis, genuine freedom requires non-clinging to both the object (appearance) and the knowing (clarity). Each of us may be drawn to a particular path that resonates deeply, but as we learn from other traditions, we may find that different teachings become interwoven strands of practice, with each strengthening the other. Much as a rope gains its strength from multiple strands woven together, our practice can become stronger through this integration. While each tradition offers its own skillful means, a shift in perspective from another system of practice can sometimes reveal new insights that serve the ultimate goal: the end of suffering.
That said, it is important to develop some depth of experience and understanding in one practice before attempting to integrate teachings from others. Rushing this process and jumping from one method to another before establishing a solid foundation can lead to confusion and doubt. But when approached skillfully, the breadth of wisdom from different traditions can be a powerful resource as we continue on the path.
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Dhammapada, beloved and favorite teachings of the Buddha channel:
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Dhammapada, beloved and favorite teachings of the Buddha channel:
https://t.me/dhammapadas
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