Are freedom and liberty Śūnyatā?

Introduction

This morning I attended another half-day meditation retreat to spend some dedicated time in meditation away from the interruptions and concerns of the mundane world. It has been a struggle of late to commit time to my meditation practice, so when the opportunity arose to get away in a little bit of seclusion I was glad to accept it.

The initial meditation period began like most other in the Chan Buddhist Monastery with chanting the Heart Sutra, before settling down into your sitting posture of choice. I can sit comfortably in a half-lotus position for around three quarters of an hour and chose this posture, with right leg over left, for the first period. I had just settled in, quietening my mind with the breath-counting technique and then focusing my attention on a subject, when a lecture on concepts of freedom was begun over the broadcast system.

The lecture focused on the difference between self-indulgence and real freedom, contrasting the sense of freedom popularised these days as a freedom to do whatever one chooses against the freedom of being liberated from delusion. In typical Buddhist style, the lecture pointed out that the freedom to pursue whatever pleasure one currently desires is certainly a level of freedom, but it is only freedom in the sense that one is still a slave to the desires that motivate you and that no real freedom can exist while allowing the sensory inputs to dictate your desires. And so it was that with the conclusion of this lecture, the first period of seated meditation finished.

As the second meditative period commenced, I was pondering on the significance of one’s liberty and freedom and chose this as my point of attention and contemplation. Once settled and focused, it was not long before thoughts began to stream into my awareness and I felt a certain penetration and clarity of mind on the subject matter. It is always difficult to recall verbatim what was received in meditation and I am usually left with a more or less vague remembrance of what was comprehended. However, what was clear was that my past concepts of liberty and freedom where fundamentally questioned.

Background concepts of freedom

Historically, my political persuasions have varied in the course of time and in my maturity as an adult. From my early 20’s as a student I was very concerned with the rights of those who were unfortunate and needed the support of others so that they may not lack for the conveniences of a modern existence. The responsibility of an all-powerful government to tax and provide welfare on top of essential services to all was what formed my view. A view that would have had me classed as a socialist, until I decided to marry and assumed the responsibilities of providing for first, my wife and then a growing family. It took no time at all in this new reality of increased demands for my views to change and for utopian ideals of a perfectly equitable welfare state to be replaced by the obvious direct benefits of a lower taxing, less intrusive government where a social safety net was important. These reformed views would have classed me as a left-of-centre liberal, were it not for the rise of Global Warming. With achieving a sense of financial security through paying off and owning my home, I could indulge my socialist persuasions with Global Warming concerns and I became a member of the Greens party that felt the moral imperative to tax income earners to subsidise the development of greener, more sustainable industries and technologies, while improving the distribution of wealth for the common good.  This view would have classed me as an environmental communist, but for yet another change in the circumstances of life. At the same time as Climate Gate revelations of fabricated climate change models and data that hinted at a Global Warming conspiracy and the global financial crisis demonstrated the impacts of collusion between banks and governments around the world, new financial constraints quickly enforced themselves to reshape my views yet again. Seeing clearly the dangers of a life dependent on the benevolence the powerful be they Red, Blue or Green in colour, as they ride roughshod over individual rights for popularised collective outcomes while unrelentingly creating new laws to constrict freedoms, create new taxes, reduce wages, sell assets, expose regulated unprotected domestic businesses to competition from unregulated heavily protected foreign organisations, manipulate currency values and interest rates, I have been firmly encamped with the libertarians since 2007.

At its root, the libertarian ideal is for absolute individual responsibility over personal matters, the rule of common law as the means of protecting the rights and properties of the individual and the operation of a small and constrained government where matters of common wealth and interests exist. That is, individual property rights are guaranteed and protected, government is constrained to its role as facilitator in matters of the common good and the sovereignty of the individual is absolute, within the bounds of no injury to others. But is this seemingly fundamental articulation of liberty and freedom also subject to change?

The true significance of liberty and freedom (within the undistorted mind)

No matter what rights one has secured against the tyranny of government and others that would enslave you to their world view, or the financial freedoms that might be achieved with wealth outside of the fiat currency systems of a totalitarian banking industry, one cannot be free while ever delusional thoughts occupy the mind. This was the insight given in meditation.

As I have outlined above, my ideas of the rights of others have changed over the years commensurate with the degree of delusion I have held over the benevolence and omnipotence of government and that the delusion I have had has been a measure of personal desire, financial constraint and populist opinion presented as fact. How trustworthy are any personal concepts of liberty and freedom when they are subject to such variable inputs?

Instead, true freedom comes through observing the limitations imposed on the conception of ideas by these inputs and realising that liberty can only be achieved through the eradication of these delusional thoughts such that a mind of pure consciousness can be attained. In terms of the Heart Sutra, it is in the absence of thought-coverings, the compounding distortions to the original and universal consciousness, that true liberation is attained.

In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been made to tremble,

he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.

Contemplations on the 3 Refuges and 5 Precepts

Having one’s ideas and desires stimulated through the senses is, therefore, the path of delusional thought and while there is a degree of freedom to choose how you fulfil those desires, ultimately you are not in control of the formulation (Causes and Conditions) of that which gives rise to what you think and desire. Hence, your volitional actions arising from such thoughts are subject to the control over your sensory inputs. This realisation reminds me of Aldous Huxley’s “A Brave New World”, in which the actions of the masses are controlled by those that control and stimulate the inputs to their senses, while the masses feel they are free and are repulsed by those that have no such controls over them.

It is in this light that one can perceive the value in the 3 Jewels of Buddhism, where the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are the rocks that stand fast and provide support against the delusions that exist in a world where nothing can be trusted as authentic or true.

-          The Buddha – an example of enlightenment and realisation of the Bodhi mind;

-          The Dharma – the path to enlightenment and ultimate liberation; and

-          The Sangha – the community that will support your quest for liberation.

The 5 Precepts are likewise observed against this backdrop of delusional ideas and erroneous thinking as guiding principles to navigate through a world of shadow in which one’s own ideas cannot be trusted to be dependable and authentic. The precepts are:

-          Refrain from killing;

-          Refrain from stealing;

-          Refrain from sexual misconduct;

-          Refrain from false speech;

-          Refrain from intoxicating substances.

The path to true liberty and freedom (Role of the 3 jewels and 5 precepts)

Moral rules such as the 5 Precepts can now be considered in a wider context than the behavioural constraints imposed by a religious order for the sake of compliance, and their role considered on the path of seeking liberty and freedom from existence in a world where thoughts are delusional. When the causes (events) and conditions (prevailing public sentiments) that shape our thoughts are apt for control by others, are not the very ideas with which we identity and that define us Śūnyatā, devoid of any intrinsic, unconditioned existence?  Are our understandings and concepts of freedom and liberty likewise Śūnyatā?

The meditation that I undertook this morning was profound in this respect. It is only through directly attaining the unconditioned, that state of consciousness embedded in the very fabric of our existence, that we shall know true liberty. To do so requires the elimination of the layers of delusion and erroneous concepts that have been built up during the multitude of existences in this realm and others. Although our Buddha nature is already within us, discovering it is not trivial and demands a serious undertaking. Vowing to take refuge in the 3 Jewels and to follow the 5 Precepts is a way of committing to the Path.

May we all attain the Bodhi mind.

Namaste.

Sunyata and the coming financial collapse

James Rickards in his book Currency Wars, describes the conditions and causes of a collapse in the financial market in this way:

"Following is one scenario...the triggering event happens at the start of trading day in Europe. A Spanish government bond auction fails unexpectedly and Spain is briefly unable to roll over some maturing debt... ...enough to cause a few Dutch pension fund dollar stalwarts to change their mind in favour of gold...the dollar quickly moves outside its previous trading range to hit new lows...stress in the foreign exchange markets immediately transfers to the dollar-based stock, bond and derivatives markets in the same way an earthquake morphs into a tsunami."

Economists and authors have described the underlying instability of complex systems that lay in wait for the triggering event that adds to the built-up of financial stresses in the global economic system, tipping the balance from the status quo into global disintegration and collapse. The proverbial Black-Swan event. This in-turn has caused a number of economic commentators to wheel out the metaphor of an avalanche being triggered by the last snow flake that lands to help explain the concept.

In all these descriptions and metaphors I am struck by the alignment of the Buddhist maxim that nothing arises independently, the concept and topic of this blog known as emptiness or Sunyata. 

Buddhists have long identified that all of observed existence is a result of causes and conditions and nothing exists independently, or in other words, there is no independent origination. A thing occurs (an avalanche), only as a result of causes (the last snow flake to land) and the existent conditions (a build-up of snow). But the Buddhist insight of Sunyata is much more profound, as it is recursive and exhibits the self-similarity that is the hallmark of the fractal nature of the universe. For instance, the causes (falling snow flakes) and conditions (build-up of snow) are themselves the result of their own respective causes and conditions and so on infinitely, demonstrating the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things. This is so significant that the Buddhists maintain that wisdom and enlightenment come from a deep realisation of Sunyata being the nature of our reality and that without that, we are all living in a delusional state that gives rise to Greed, Anger and Ignorance (The Three Poisons).

What’s more, the realisation of Sunyata provides an understanding of the impermanence of all things. That is, the seeds of an object’s destruction are sown into the very creation of the thing itself, as the nature of that destruction is dependent on the causes and conditions of the destruction event, of which the object is a part. This is no better exemplified than the terminal growth of debt being the conditions for the destruction of a debt based global fiat currency system, with the cause that triggers its destruction being a failed auction of sovereign debt (bonds) as described by Rickards.

In any event (literally), we can certainly see the Greed, Anger and Ignorance of our so called leaders, the global bankers and war mongers everywhere as a clear demonstration of their failure to grasp the concept of Sunyata or the nature of avalanches and by definition, their lack of wisdom and their fundamental delusion.

Namaste,

Gino

The Law of Work

There seems to be a universal law at play in that requires work to create desired outcomes, or in the Buddhist view, things only arise through the existence of their causes and conditions. That is, there is nothing in the universe that arises on its own, including enlightenment. Hence, in the Buddhist view one can not become enlightened without cultivating the mental aptitude for clear and focused thought (condition), building the desire to become enlightened and undertaking the practice of introspection known as meditation (causes). In short, one has to apply work (mental or physical) to achieve an objective.

It struck me that Nassim Haramein provided a great example of that, combining both experiences in meditation and with a study of physics to arrive at his understandings.

Tao Te Ching, Verse 33.

“One who knows others is intelligent,

One who knows himself is enlightened.

One who conquers others is strong,

One who conquers himself is all-powerful.”

Namaste

Sacred Geometry and Unified Fields

I ran into a very interesting video of a lecture given by a fellow called Nassim Haramein in which he gave a somewhat scientific explanation for why there is no independent reality and how geometry plays a fundamental part in the structure of the manifested universe. He also made some interesting observations for how, in a universe of infinite energy density, everything is fundamentally interconnected. I found his explanation of a radiating and spiralling energy vortex very similar to my meditative experience that can easily encapsulate much of what I received about the nature of percieved reality and how consiousness is embedded in the radiated light through both the macrocosm and microcosm.

It is a quite long and detailed presentation, but perhaps worth your viewing if you have found this site.

Namaste

Part 7: The Task of the Present

In 2002 I visited Bangkok and discovered the Royal Palace was home to an Emerald Buddha. Being a keen meditator and alternative healer, I determined to visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and quickly made plans to do so. Upon arriving at the temple I was immediately gratified to see others kneeling and prostrating in various forms of paying homage and meditating and found a spot on the floor where I might kneel, express my gratitude and meditate.

Upon commencing my meditation when I closed my eyes I could still "see" an impression of the Emerald Buddha in my mind’s eye. I began contemplating the significance of the green colour in the context of the chakra system and as I did so I watched and felt a ray of green light extend to my Heart Chakra from the Buddha image. I then began to receive and have thoughts about the significance of the Heart Chakra in the transformation process. Through the rush of communication I most clearly recalled the following:

Emerald Buddha Meditation

1. The heart chakra is the centre of one's compassion, love and understanding for others.
2. Identifying and respecting others as individual expressions of the universe is the first step in cultivating compassion, love and understanding for others.
3. It is only after being able to feel an unconditional compassion, love and understanding for others that we can begin to speak or communicate with a universal truth.
4. It is only after being able to speak on matters of universal truth, with unconditional compassion, love and understanding in our hearts that we will be able to consciously see the realities that lay beyond our current condition.
5. The task of the moment is to open the heart in compassion, love and understanding.

I wrote these words upon returning from the excursion to the temple and have found them to be very profound in forming my view of the universe and our position in it. I hope they might help you also.

References:I must acknowledge the contribution also to my view of the following:
The Law of One, L/L Research. Online reference: http://www.llresearch.org/library/the_law_of_one_pdf/the_law_of_one_pdf.aspx

Part 6: Motivation for Attainment of Higher States

Why should one seek to attain higher states of consciousness? Why does the Earth rotate around the Sun or the Galaxy rotate around its centre? Why does a baby strive to walk or a bird leave its nest? Why does an artist paint or a musician play? It is the nature of the creation to seek perfection through its various manifestations.

The way this manifests in relation to the specific Mind/Body/Spirit complex of ourselves is itself complex, however, it can be grasped in terms of the archetypal elements of each of the Mind, Body and Spirit. This is of less importance than how to attain perfection, but is of interest to the inquisitive seeker struggling with aspects of rationalising the creation into a mental construct to assist its understanding for the basis of its seeking.

The archetypes exist as facets of each of the Mind, Body and Spirit that contribute to the development and fulfilment of each.

• Matrix – the Matrix is the store of all knowledge and experience.
• Potentiator – The Potentiator is that which potentiates action or work.
• Catalyst – The Catalyst is that within the environment that stimulates.
• Experience – The Experience is that which occurs as a summation of Matrix, Catalyst and Potentiator.
• Significator – The Significator is that which which informs and provides discernment and discrimination.
• Transformation – The Transformation is that which occurs through the processing of the Experience by the Significator.
• Great Way – The Great Way is the path of progress that comes as a result of the distillation and integration of the previous archetypes.

Hence it can be seen that the basis of ensuring and stimulating the motivation for attainment or realisation of potential exists within the fabric of existence. Through the capacities that are pre-existent and the potentials established for that existence (karmic and otherwise), work is guaranteed to occur through catalytic action that leads to experience, that informs and in turn transforms, propelling oneself on the great way of progress.

The speed of transformation, the direction of progress and the strength of desire to transform is, however, unique to each individual circumstance. Complexity is the basis for everything, and creates the circumstances for infinite variety; therefore we see again the need for tolerance, compassion and charity for not only those other-selves we encounter on our path, but for oneself as well. For it is a complex and integrating process that we each undertake over many lifetimes, harvesting the experiences of one lifetime, processing the lessons learned, planning the potentials of the next that will support our advancement and minimise karmic effects, inadvertently taking detours and working through the limitations of our ignorance by degrees.

The diligence with which one approaches the purification of its being of the afflictions that block or limit the realisation of its potential, the faster and more profound will be its transformation. However, one’s motivation for spiritual advancement is not often as pure or one-pointed as might be hoped, so do not be disappointed should you find your flashes of insight and understanding separated by periods of routine existence where all the issues of life are thrown at you. After all, what good is a classroom where lessons are not followed by exams?

Part 5: The States of Attainment for Mind/Body/Spirit Complexes

The attainment of higher states of consciousness may be a clear path, but is a path where complexity has planted its minefield of issues to be encountered and overcome. Issues such as Control/Acceptance, Fear/Faith, Obsession/Moderation are ever present and ready to test your attentiveness and sincerity. Likewise the pull of desire to lower states of being is never far away, with issues from lower levels of consciousness such as desire for control over a group limiting one’s ability to love unconditionally, or obsession with an activity relating to an individual that limits one’s ability to contribute or participate in a social context.

Balancing the energies within each chakra is the key to progressing through the levels of awareness for the mind/body/spirit complex and attaining the associated states of consciousness. Similarly, one may follow other paths, such as the 6 paramitas of Buddhism or the 10 commandments of the Judeo tradition, for example. However, Consciousness is a part of the light and the states of consciousness can be expressed in terms of the Chakra energy centres with their relationships. In this, all energy centres exist, but are active and unblocked in proportion to the balance one obtains in the corresponding aspects of their existence.

Root – To achieve a balanced position in the Root Chakra, one must move beyond the concerns of material goods to enhance one’s ability to survive. Less material possessions is definitely more in the spiritual maturity stakes, as it allows one to go beyond such concerns and progress to higher levels of awareness. Is it not sufficient to be able to support and sustain one’s self and dependents? Indeed, with a mediocrity of material needs, the effort to provide and sustain that provision is reduced. As a foundation for your spiritual growth and development, it is important that less variability over ones material survival needs be achieved and the associated stress be reduced or eliminated. For how can one seek to advance with a weight of worry and concern over their very survival cast as a yoke around one’s neck, tethered as it were to the survival concerns? Debt, living beyond one’s means, a high maintenance lifestyle demanding an ever greater cash flow that creates marital confrontations, sexual disfunction and family breakdown, all keep one’s attention focused on the basic survival issues of life.

Sacral – To balance the Sacral Chakra, one must move beyond concerns over individual relationships. Worries of the perceptions of others, criticism of the others, participating in gossip, the fear of being the focus of gossip, all go to maintaining an unbalanced position in the energies of the sacral chakra. Where we can see ourselves and others as unique expressions, or foci, of the universal Creator or Intelligent Infinity, can we not come to accept ourselves and others as they are? Each being on its own path through the Creation, seeking to balance its own energies and perceptions, confused by their own ignorance of the nature of their reality, afflicted by its own imbalances, fears, obsessions and desires. With this awareness, cultivating compassion for both ourselves and others is possible and will rapidly move one to a position of balancing the energies of the Sacral Chakra. But alone, an intellectual compassion for others is not enough as we exist in the physical world and must understand also that our experiences inform beliefs and are themselves an expression of ourselves. If we have a store house of compassion and tolerance, then surely we must bring forth such into the physical world through our actions and statements. We are complex beings of Mind, Body and Spirit and therefore our development and attainments must be expressed through each of the realms of the Mind, Body and Spirit. To do so, it becomes imperative to see others in their true nature as aspects of the creation, filled with the Consciousness of the Creator, unique elements of Intelligent Infinity as you yourself are. Are you not therefore one with those others you encounter? Should you not afford to others the courtesies, assistance and support you yourself would desire? Indeed, the Golden Rule is the path to follow through balancing the relationships with others.

“Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you.”

In this, we can clearly see the importance of being charitable, tolerant and compassionate. Where others can be viewed not as separate entities but as aspects of ourselves. Where our own desires for love, companionship, assistance, respect, privacy, security, property rights and liberty are the very same desires for the other-selves we encounter or observe because they are also on the same path as ourselves. By and large, the balancing of our sacral energies is attained through the humility we express with respect to others, not because of some ill-informed perception of inferiority, but through a deep respect for the connection that exists within this expression of reality we experience and that ultimately we are each Śūnyatā, or void for any separate existence.

Solar Plexus – To balance the Solar Plexus Chakra, one must discover their relationship to the society of which they are apart and be able to express themselves within that social context. To contribute to the extent one can for the greater good of the whole, while honoring the contribution of other-selves is key to attainment of a balancing of the energies of the Solar Plexus Chakra. The combinations and permutations of social groupings is extensive, but it is well to head the words of the one who said:

“whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with thy might”

For the contribution you make in your social groups is the expression and measure of your attainment of a balanced and flowing Solar Plexus energy centre.

That is not to say you should become the doormat for organisations and leaders of organisations which you find objectionable, but rather, it is important to discover how you may achieve fulfillment through contributing to the society and social groups you are a part of and which operate in harmony with your own existence. Mutually supportive is the key concept, be it a recreational scuba diving club, investment group, sports team, religious group, charity organisation or business enterprise. Where you’re contribution supports, encourages and progresses the group, while sustaining and fulfilling your own sense of being and the well-being of society as a whole.

Heart – To balance the Heart Chakra, one must learn to sense and express unconditional love for the Creation and all sentient beings that exist within it. Unconditional love is that kind of love that exists between a caring parent and their child, or for those without children, between respectful child and their caring and supporting mother. It is the kind of love that exists without condition of any kind, but simply because the other exists. Of course, the saying:

“Familiarity breeds contempt”

is very true for the individual unaware of the other-self relationship. Hence, unconditional love is a capacity felt most easily by the innocent and within the purest of relationships. Where self-respect is deficient and emotional stress exists through issues of fear, control and financial weakness for example, it is very unlikely an emotional continuum of unconditional love can be maintained. There may be flashes of extraordinary compassion and self-sacrifice, but it is a sustained sense of unconditional love that is the key to unlock the energies of the Heart Chakra.

That is not to say that one must sacrifice themselves to the depravations of their enemies out of a sense of a commitment to practicing unconditional love for all other-selves, such an act is unbalanced as it does not reflect any self-worth, or unconditional love for the self you are closest to, yourself. Instead, unconditional love allows others to be with whom you are not in accord, without judgment or bias, while maintaining that exquisite sense of love for those whom you are, including yourself. Neither does unconditional love express itself through seeking to control and change the beliefs of others where your assistance or intervention is unrequested, but allows them to experience this reality we share as they see fit, while informing them of your willingness to assist should they desire it and remaining ready to assist whenever requested.

Through breaking one’s emotional attachments to issues, places and things, seeing every other-self as if they are your own child or mother, for indeed they may well have been sometime within the plurality of your existences, one is able to open one’s Heart to unconditional Love and progress beyond the mundane, conditioned existence of your prior experience.

Throat – To activate and balance the energies of the Throat Chakra, one must communicate the truth of their reality to those who seek to understand it. From the confidence attained through the open hearted love and acceptance of oneself and other-selves, the ability to utilise these energies is almost immediate. For with unconditional love and acceptance of oneself and other-selves, a direct insight into the true nature of reality being Śūnyatā is gained and all fear is lost as your meta-physical authority as a sovereign being integrating the aspects of Mind/Body/Spirit asserts itself.

However, the Tao Te Ching maxim that:

“Those who speak do not know, those who know do not speak.”

Should automatically manifests itself within one who has attained this state of consciousness. While our unconditional love may seek to lead all beings beyond the grips of their ignorance, the respect for the freewill of other-selves will contain the desire. Rather, such outlets for communication are found that will ensure one’s audience has expressed their desire for what one has to say, without inflicting oneself on the other-selves that would otherwise object. Be that a Shifu giving a Dharma talk within a temple, a Priest lecturing from a pulpit, an Imam giving instruction in a Mosque, a Guru providing a discourse in a forest, or an enlightened master speaking in parables so that only the elect may understand, there is the respect for others not willing or ready to hear what is being communicated. So, if you have ever wondered why you have not seen so many enlightened beings running around telling everyone over the TV about the nature of reality or why those that do don’t seem so enlightened, you may have found your answer.

Brow – To activate and balance the energies of the Brow Chakra is beyond my ability to say. When one has found Wisdom, it is certainly not a balanced expression of wisdom to waste time on other-selves who are unprepared? When one sees Śūnyatā everywhere how may such a one utilise their awareness.

“Do not cast pearls to swine”

Would such a one intervene for the benefit of other-selves and if so, under what circumstances? With what would they occupy their time? The answers are beyond the ability for one without perfect wisdom to guess at, but acting in harmony with the Creation, learning the skills of a co-Creator in envisioning your own reality is what I suppose.

Crown – The Crown Chakra expresses the totality of one’s being and is not an energy centre that can be conceived of as being balanced through its own Mind/Body/Spirit correspondences. Instead, it exists as a reflection of the degree of energy flow through the preceding chakra centres. With optimal balance of the 6 lower chakras, such an entity is a Co-Creator operating as an individuated part of the Intelligent Infinity with freewill and constrained only by their ability to use the light of creation.

“Svaha”

Within the realisation of perfection, all is well, as it always has been.