Gautama the revolutionary

The intellectual view of mysticism, which has most of its fan base in academia, is led by "constructivism" which assumes that the mystic's background is pivotal in the mystical experience itself.  (This almost suggests that the mystical experience can be deconstructed.)  

"Constructivism is the view that in significant ways the mystic's conceptual and linguistic scheme determines, shapes, and/or constructs his or her mystical experiences" (Robert K.C. Forman, Mysticism, Mind, Consciousness, p. 1).

We can surmise from this that there is an assumed correlation between the mystic's background and his mystical experience.  But there is a problem with this.  Strictly speaking, there is no actual identity between background and experience since correlation is never identity.  In fact, it could even be argued that the background, at least some portions of it, is the current the Buddha-to-be goes against when he was still a Bodhisattva.  And while it might be true for the general lot of mankind that the world they inhabit is their collective construction which, in Emerson's words, "confines the spirit," this same constructed, oppressive world is the world the mystic longs to transcend—even to put aside the desire to construct.  In plain terms, the mystic is more of a revolutionary.

Certainly, one of the great mystics, if not the greatest, was Gautama the Buddha, the awakened one.  He came from a culture that tolerated diverse religious experiences.  The Buddha’s own peak experience certainly went against the worldly culture of his day; nor was his experience like those of other religionists of his day who claimed absolute knowledge.  He also drew a sharp distinction between the worldly (prithagjana) and the noble (aryan).  Only the noble person (arya-pudgala) could become awakened—never a worldly person.

What we can glean from Gautama’s mysticism is that it is a first person experience that was not entirely an unsharable experience.  Secondly, it came from the belief that behind the conditioned world is an unconditioned substance that can be awakened to when the states of mind are completely transcended.  Thirdly, the world we perceive is but a projection of the unconditioned which means the things of the world are illusory, that is, there is nothing apart from the unconditioned substance which is free of suffering. 

Comments

[The Zennist]

dooyen: This blog shall continue to preach what the Buddha taught, that glomming onto the psychophysical organism, which is never without suffering, is the etiology of suffering. Above all, it is the second noble truth that needs to be put away (S.v.422), according to the Buddha. This is done by a process of transcendence which leads to awakening realizing that I have always been spiritually separate from the suffering aggregated body since now I fully recognize my true spiritual body (manomayakaya). Dooyen, you seem to think like a materialist ("You only know this mind through your body and therefore your brain"). I would not be surprised to learn that you are, also, a self denier, in addition to someone who doesn't accept rebirth (punarbhava) and karma.

[dooyen]

You can speculate about the unborn that is without suffering as long as you want. You only know this mind through your body and therefore your brain. No one braindead has ever written a sutra. As soon as heavy pain as from giving birth, pancreatic cancer, amputation and the like would arrive, all the words about the enlightened mind would really be put in an enlightening spotlight. So actually "there is nothing apart from the unconditioned substance which is free of suffering" would just become your screaming out of pain, right here and now. The problem therefore in this blog is that the "unconditioned" is placed in a "transcended" world instead of IN THIS world.

[minx]

My master told me;
 
" Listen well and take note,
 
 Once awakened  to the deathless principle  behind all things, your awakened introduction [1] and daily practise is entirely focused on this light filled and most subtle self-nature [2] of said principle . 
 
Proper practise [3] is useless on anything else,  because your mind,  from here on, cannot accept anything conditioned as replacement to the suffering and unreal nature [4] of the skandhas. 
 
From this time on, Mara´s lies and myriad permutations  will simply not  work on your mind as they have done so easily before  because the adept of kensho,  refuses to dwell in the false light of avidya - which in my book equals spiritual incompleteness.
 
This  practise becomes an ongoing skillful process,  one  entirely based on the noble tenfold path [5] until your mind is completely immersed in the uncreated light [6]  of this principle.  With the powerful aid of this light you can  thus detach your purified spirit from the distressing consciousness field of the skandhas at will. A crucial step, one  unknown to most buddhist practitioners,  and a very good reason they fail to realize their buddha nature.
 
This skillful disembodiment beyond [7] the false consciousness field of the skandhas, enhances your spirits chance of enlightenment immensely.
 
Once this starts happening,  things develop very fast.  First of all it means that  all  bad seeds of countless past existences  are almost exhausted.  Secondly, it is here in the Minds Pure land, your spirits first enlightenment [8]  occurs spontaneously and with the spiritual assurance  [9]  of your spirits  great heroic progress - Suramgamasamadhi
 
The fully awakened spirit.  The noble one, now seeing beyond the limited consciousness field of the mortal carcass and its illusory skandhic aggregates,  possesses now the complete vision and sole identification with the One Mind as purely such [10].
 
Whether you refer to this noble one as a bodhisattva,  Mahabodhisattva, or even Buddha, such and such,  the apprehension of any such subtle or crude  conceptualization,   does not apply in any way whatsoever on the true nature of this great spiritual being and light of entire buddha-fields". 

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Commentary:

[1]. Right view of the deathless. Kensho. Having a right view of pure Mind means, given enough time, one can choose the right path towards the complete immersion into that Mind.
 
[2]. Svabhava . The true self nature of the unconditioned,  one which is hidden behind all things that are seemingly going in and out of existence in the unawakened mind stupefied by the skandhic consciousness field.
 
[3].  The Six Paramitas (Perfections)
 
1/ The Perfection of Generosity (Dana Paramita). By dwelling in the above mentioned principle,  the first perfection arises naturally and spontaneously. The sole effort lies thus in dwelling in the principle and the unobstructed permission for the principle to freely purify the dweller at its own accord.
 
2/  The Perfection of Ethics (Sila Paramita).
3/  The Perfection of Patience (Kshanti Paramita)
4/  The Perfection of Enthusiastic Perseverance (Virya Paramita)
5/  The Perfection of Concentration (Dhyana Paramita)
 
6/  The Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna Paramita).  By abiding in this principle,  the sixth and most important  perfection arises naturally and spontaneously. The sole effort lies in the complete dwelling in the principle, allowing the principle to effortessly purify the dweller. The more complete the dwelling, the more efficient the purification process, the stronger the arising of Prajna or Bodhicittpada (the clear light of the Pure Mind or noble wisdom)becomes.

It is this singular light of flawless spiritual intuition that enables spirit to one day spontaneously penetrate the skandhic veil of self-ignorance. When the dweller sees or senses this light, he or she knows the good news of nirvana are not far away,  and rejoices in blissful certainty (sukkha).
 
[4]. This is the true meaning of sunya/sunyata.   Atman, as stated by Buddha Gautama,  cannot be found in any of the five aggregates eg. anywhere within the preview of the artificial body consciousness field generated by these five skandhas.   They are thus void of (anatman] your true self  (atman), Buddha-nature and hence not a source of nirvana or Mahaparinirvana, eg. the absolute reality of Dharmakaya.
 
[5]
1.   Right view  (kensho)
2.   Right intention
3.   Right speech
4.   Right action
5.   Right livelihood
6.   Right effort
7.   Right mindfulness (of the principle)
8.   Right concentration (on the principle)
9.   Superior right knowledge (noble wisdom)
10. Superior right liberation/release
 
 
[6]. Bodhicitta/Bodhicittopada,  the pure light of noble wisdom  or light of the Clear Pure Mind that dispels the darkness of the skandhas. This is the light produced and used by bodhisattvas and Buddhas.
 
[7]. There are  two forms of disembodiment. One  within the hallucinatory inverted light of the skandhas and one beyond them. Most beings experiences the former through processes like dreaming,  accidents, heart surgery, death, and unskillful spiritual practises in the dim light of the lower vehicles.
 
The latter on the other hand,  refers to the disembodiment from the skandhic body consciousness  and entrance into the light of Pure Consciousness/Mind,  which exponentially with each such disembodiment, purifies  spirit from eons of accumulated bad seeds until the swiftly approaching reality of Satori  becomes the sole reality of the Mind. Hence Mind Only or the expression  "there is only light,bodhi,  everything else is illusion".  It is in this reality,  the Mind of the emerged bodhisattva  does not respond with grasping or aversion, thus not generating  any seed of future karma.
 
The greater part of buddhists fails to carry out the latter,  because in this dharma ending age this dharma is not revealed to them due to a number of reasons of which a few are; ignorant teachers, their own spiritual inadequacies, or the mere fact that they refuse to let go of the grinding wheel of worldly matters and anything related to the body consciousness feeding them this everchanging realities and apparent existences in the six realms. Basically heavy sleepers and dreamers who refuse to awake  because they are too enchanted or entangled in the
kaleidoscopic  dream-web of the Evil One, Mara.
 
[8]. Satori
 
[9].Nirvana
 
[10].  Tathata, meaning  "as such", Mind of Suchness. The perfectly pure, unborn Mind of the Tathagata.