01-22-2008, 12:01 AM
Quote:Why are we so fortunate (or unfortunate depending on your perspective) as to make this "seeking" such an important aspect of our lives?
Hi Bob!
Tibetans Lamas put a very big emphasis on us valuing the fortunate circumstances that we find ourselves in if we have discovered even a very small glimmering of Truth, or if be by either karmic connection or circumstance come in contact with great teachers and teachings.
So I count myself as very wealthy in that regard, and I can't say it was other than a kind of Synchronicity or Luck.
In my twenties, in one weekend, I met Carlos and then the 16th Karmapa, all while hitchiking to see friends. It was totally unplanned. For a long time I lost contact all with Tibetans, but now I have a study group in my own backyard!
I had always wanted to study Tibetan Mahamudra teachings, which is one of the Crown Jewel practices and was held very closely for a long time. Hooking up with this group was also meant to happen I think. Then again I feel a sense of urgency here. I'm not getting any younger.
But ...
The secret is very simple. ...
We always, always, always, get what we need.
But some part of us has to be awake in Reality to see what we need. And what we want and what we need are very different things.
If a person is either a sheep or a machine, they won't see it, or value it and they will be the grist for the millwheels of Karma. The Wise try to prevent that, and are given assistance as we as well. Gurdjieff called this "the Terror of the Situation". In other words our predicament as humans is much worse than we can possibly imagine. It is so bad in fact that we just self-medicate, or go to sleep.
So we have 2 actions going on. 2 movements.
The movement of the Karmic Wheel and the movement of the Dharmic Wheel. The grasping, winding movement of Karma, the unwinding letting go of Dharma.
If we somehow align ourselves with the Dharma, then we are given "help".
I say "help" in quotation marks because sometimes "help" might be a slap in the face, it may not look like of feel like help.
But if we affirm "this is what I need" then we can use it to our advantage.
I firmly believe that if we are aiding the Dharma or truly doing God's work, then we will be aided.
Quote:And the more we realize this, the more we realize how ignorant we are. Because we begin to understand that the the Unknown is a much larger "place" than we could ever have imagined.
Zen Master Seung Sahn was a proponent of "Don't Know Mind". It's very big in the Korean Zen community. I got to have a workshop with him once at the Lama Foundation in Taos, btw.
Thomas A Kempis descibed it as the Cloud of Unknowing. Others call it the Dark Night of the Soul.
Practicing "Don't Know Mind" is something we can do. It opens us to "what is".
The action of "what is" or Great Reality upon our feeble brains is a kind of shock.
If this action is repeated enough then we can create the conditions for growing our soul. In other words, self initiation of the Alchemical process.
"Not Knowing" is the key.
Ignorant people don't get it, they don't care.
Quote:"They don't know. They don't wanna know."
And they should care as they pay the price every day for their heedlessness.
Being selfish and ego-centric will cost you ... everything.
Hi Bob!
Tibetans Lamas put a very big emphasis on us valuing the fortunate circumstances that we find ourselves in if we have discovered even a very small glimmering of Truth, or if be by either karmic connection or circumstance come in contact with great teachers and teachings.
So I count myself as very wealthy in that regard, and I can't say it was other than a kind of Synchronicity or Luck.
In my twenties, in one weekend, I met Carlos and then the 16th Karmapa, all while hitchiking to see friends. It was totally unplanned. For a long time I lost contact all with Tibetans, but now I have a study group in my own backyard!
I had always wanted to study Tibetan Mahamudra teachings, which is one of the Crown Jewel practices and was held very closely for a long time. Hooking up with this group was also meant to happen I think. Then again I feel a sense of urgency here. I'm not getting any younger.
But ...
The secret is very simple. ...
We always, always, always, get what we need.
But some part of us has to be awake in Reality to see what we need. And what we want and what we need are very different things.
If a person is either a sheep or a machine, they won't see it, or value it and they will be the grist for the millwheels of Karma. The Wise try to prevent that, and are given assistance as we as well. Gurdjieff called this "the Terror of the Situation". In other words our predicament as humans is much worse than we can possibly imagine. It is so bad in fact that we just self-medicate, or go to sleep.
So we have 2 actions going on. 2 movements.
The movement of the Karmic Wheel and the movement of the Dharmic Wheel. The grasping, winding movement of Karma, the unwinding letting go of Dharma.
If we somehow align ourselves with the Dharma, then we are given "help".
I say "help" in quotation marks because sometimes "help" might be a slap in the face, it may not look like of feel like help.
But if we affirm "this is what I need" then we can use it to our advantage.
I firmly believe that if we are aiding the Dharma or truly doing God's work, then we will be aided.
Quote:And the more we realize this, the more we realize how ignorant we are. Because we begin to understand that the the Unknown is a much larger "place" than we could ever have imagined.
Zen Master Seung Sahn was a proponent of "Don't Know Mind". It's very big in the Korean Zen community. I got to have a workshop with him once at the Lama Foundation in Taos, btw.
Thomas A Kempis descibed it as the Cloud of Unknowing. Others call it the Dark Night of the Soul.
Practicing "Don't Know Mind" is something we can do. It opens us to "what is".
The action of "what is" or Great Reality upon our feeble brains is a kind of shock.
If this action is repeated enough then we can create the conditions for growing our soul. In other words, self initiation of the Alchemical process.
"Not Knowing" is the key.
Ignorant people don't get it, they don't care.
Quote:"They don't know. They don't wanna know."
And they should care as they pay the price every day for their heedlessness.
Being selfish and ego-centric will cost you ... everything.