Trying to awaken

The substance of the fabric of existence is only Mind.  This Mind is most primordial.  Intrinsically, we are this Mind which is also the Buddha-nature or the âtman.  However, we do not realized this; nor do we recognize this Mind as we should.  Only a Buddha does.  

The word ‘Buddha’ just means to have awakened to this Mind having been, before, asleep—a deluded sentient being.  According to the Buddha a sentient being is one who delights or craves form (rûpa) becoming caught up in it.  More precisely, a sentient being is one who delights or craves the conditioned world, this includes their psychophysical body.

The most logical way to undo this terrible predicament is to find a helper to set us upon the right path, a path that will eventually lead us to awakening.  But finding such a helper is no small challenge since there are so many poseurs, many of whom are relatively honest but mainly deluded.  It is the deluded/sincere types who are perhaps the most troubling and numerous.  They are deluded in the sense that teaching the full realization of Mind is not the basis of their understanding of Buddhism—especially Zen Buddhism—while they appear sincere in their teaching, actually believing this is all there is.

The best helper is naturally our own mind wherein is hidden the true Mind we are seeking, or the same, our Buddha-nature.  But we must arise to the occasion, becoming self-reliant, being able to control our passions.  This means that we must be capable of taming our monkey mind and reducing our craving for conditionality; after all, we are striving to awaken to Mind which is unconditioned.

We have to put aside much of our worldly concerns and thinking.  We cannot allow ourselves to be overly seduced by the glitziness of this world.  Becoming mesmerized by it will only lead us in the wrong direction.  It is important to always remember that the conditioned world has no essence at all.  All our worldly thinking, worries, and concerns are really meaningless.  One day our flesh and bones will be no more while that which animated this puppet-like body will continue as blind as ever into new and different existences, unawakened.

Comments

[Methexis]

n. yeti I think the main point of "faith" is to realize one's own limitations!

[n. yeti]

In the nirvana sutra, buddha states: "we say that unsurpassed Awakening has faith as its cause. The causes of Awakening are innumerable, but if stated as faith, this covers everything."

Faith can be misunderstood. As I realize faith, it is not a static state, neither an external object or concept of devotion, which has efficacy only as it arises and can be recognized as mind. Rather, it is a dynamic system where both dhyana and devoted study coincide toward the raising of faith. I feel that many times people can lose the link to this incipient rising of spiritual purpose amid so much dogma and method seeking.

I think it is always worth remembering the original purpose of approaching the spiritual path, because this often nameless arising of "something" (I call it faith) has enormous power to convey the earnest seeker through the countless obstacles along the way. People turn zen into something terribly complex. I find faith in the simplicity of practice, and retreat to faith amid this maelstrom of samsara.