takso

Samsāra - Why is there something rather than nothing?

In the Buddhist contexts, the dependent nature is known as samsāra. Samsāra literally means ‘continuous flow’- referring to a repeating cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth. But why is there such a scenario in samsāra? Now, let us analyse into it. The inherent quality of dependent nature is emptiness. In other words, emptiness is the underlying element that exists everywhere within the dependent nature. On another front, energy is a quality that can neither be created nor destroyed and the sum of all energies in a system is a constant or never changes – as per the Law of Conservation of Energy. Therefore, we could conclude that both the emptiness and energy are fundamental qualities in the system of dependent nature because every single thing or happening would involve with it, without exception.

When one sees into energy, one sees into emptiness; when one sees into emptiness, one sees into energy. This is the rationale for the saying, ‘Form is Emptiness.’ The principle in effect: seeing into form is seeing into matter, seeing into matter is seeing into energy and seeing into energy is seeing into emptiness. At the same time, emptiness is a necessary pre-requisite for any objects to exist; without it, the object would be impossible and this hypothesis attributes to the saying, ‘Emptiness is Form.’

In the dependent nature, there would be a scenario of cause and effect. Frankly speaking, these are two different aspects of the same thing i.e. cause is effect and effect is cause. For instance, Cause 1 conjures up Effect 1, Effect 1 conjures up Cause 1-1, etc. As such, cause and effect are inter-changing, inter-relating and inter-waving with one another. This is how the conventional reality works i.e. not in-linear but in inter-dependence, inter-woven and inter-relation since the dawn of time in a very comprehensive and complicated network of existence. In other words, cause and effect cannot be referred independently in a linear point of reference and therefore, no first cause, no first effect can be found within the dependent nature. Precisely, one should think about the scenario of cause and effect as: this arising, that arises; this ceasing, that ceases.

Right now, there is a circumstance of duality or multiplicity in the dependent nature, but why? It is because of mind arising. Why is there mind arising? It is because of energy. Why is there energy? It is because of emptiness. And why is there emptiness? It is because of emptiness of emptiness. In other words, the emptiness of phenomena is both the cause and consequence of the dependent nature of phenomena. Emptiness of phenomena exists in the way it appears in direct perception and without the need to reference of any other entity. It is completely defined by its own nature. In other words, emptiness of phenomena is an inherent existence that is uncaused. It is indestructible and eternal. It is unchanging when viewed externally and cannot undergo any internal changes of state. It has no constituent parts and nothing can be thrown out or removed from it. Nothing can be added to it and no change in the external conditions can affect it.

As mentioned earlier, the elements of energy would give rise to the mind that in turn conjures up perceptions, conceptions, labels, boundaries, names, activities, shapes, relations, descriptions, stereotyping, beginning, ending, etc. Therefore, we shall be clear by now that mind is the forerunner of all states i.e. the architect for classifying all the existences in the dependent nature. These circumstances of duality or multiplicity are merely the end result of various activities of aggregation being observed by the mind under the influence of conditional phenomena. In fact, mind is known as consciousness in individuality i.e. it involves clear discrimination – differentiates and understands the characteristics of objects or matters. And only when there is a balance circumstance, there is a chance for the integrating process i.e. under a balance phenomenon, one could witness shapes or forms; under an imbalance phenomenon, one could witness no shapes or forms - and the cycle of conditional phenomena continues. This scenario can be portrayed in the cycle of dependent origination shown as below: -

Balance leads to stability. Stability leads to aggregation. Aggregation leads to agitation. Agitation leads to information. Information leads to knowledge. Knowledge leads to representation. Representation leads to memory. Memory leads to compulsion. Compulsion leads to ignorance. Ignorance leads to blindness. Blindness leads to disorientation. Disorientation leads to confusion. Confusion leads to irrationality. Irrationality leads to impulse. Impulse leads to sparkling. Sparkling leads to inkling. Inkling leads to volition. Volition leads to awareness. Awareness leads to consciousness. Consciousness leads to manas. Manas leads to mind and body. Mind and body lead to sensation. Sensation leads to six sense bases. Six sense bases lead to conductivity. Conductivity leads to contact. Contact leads to stimulation. Stimulation leads to feeling. Feeling leads to experience. Experience leads to craving. Craving leads to grasping. Grasping leads to clinging. Clinging leads to unsettling. Unsettling leads to becoming. Becoming leads to creation. Creation leads to birth. Birth leads to energising. Energising leads to mobility. Mobility leads to hauling. Hauling leads to aging. Aging leads to draining. Draining leads to death. Death leads to fragility. Fragility leads to segregation. Segregation leads to diffusion. Diffusion leads to imbalance. Imbalance leads to adjustment. Adjustment leads to alignment. Alignment leads to new balance.

For general understanding, every existence would contain with the basic elements of energy, matter and space. In other words, mind and body are present in every created thing as one integrated whole, without exception. Even an atom has a kind of mind that is unique or individualised. The nucleus of the atom, around which electrons vibrate in standing waves, constitutes the atom’s individuality. As a result, one atom distinguishes from another atom – just as one person is different from another person or as one thing is different from another thing; thus it maintains a self-identity.

When one ponders as a subject on the other side of the object or matter, one would notice that energy takes on various forms and reborn all the time in the dependent nature. Therefore, it is correct to mention that all objects are empty and exist conditionally without an eternal essence. They only exist in relation to each other as appearances that in turn vary as per the perceptions of the beholders (or precisely, the minds of the beholders). It is difficult for one to see into the ultimate truth because the mind is dependent arising and the presence in the waves of dependent phenomena has clouded the mind from discerning the reality of circumstances i.e. ignorance arises. With ignorance blindfolding the mind since the dawn of time, suffering arises and continues to arise in the dependent nature.

As a conclusion, both the emptiness and energy are the inherent qualities of the dependent nature. These inherent qualities are the core basis for all the rising and falling activities in samsāra. In fact, the repeating cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth in samsāra is due to its relevance to inherent existence and anything that inherently exists would not involve change. In other words, samsāra is neither identical to, nor entirely different from the inherent existence. This is the correct understanding on the principle of emptiness that is in accordance with Buddhism i.e. all created things or happenings can never be in an absolute discrete orientation.

Once again, the dependent nature is all about mind versus matter and mind versus mind. As mentioned by the Buddha, mind is the forerunner of all states. When there is mind arising, the dependent nature arises. In other words, the dependent nature is a classification being performed by the mind. Without the mind, there is no classification of the dependent nature. Therefore, both the mind and the dependent nature are inter-dependent of one another. And with the presence of emptiness, the potential movement of the mind from non-enlightenment towards a state of enlightenment would be possible. Seeing the Dhamma is seeing the Buddha – it is seeing and knowing the ultimate reality of things and happenings and not to get entangle with it.

takso

Two Sides of the Same Coin

The wise Buddha has laid emphasis that one should see in all angles of things or matters while searching for the ultimate truth. Without it, any conclusions made out of one’s observation would not be balance or in a wholesome nature. In Buddhism, wholesome would mean in totality of perspective (skillful) and unwholesome would mean in non-totality of perspective (unskillful). There is no holy or sinful thought or act in the eyes of the Buddha.

In fact, the Buddha has recommended Middle Path as an ideal approach when addressing a problem. Middle Path is all about focusing on core, neutral, balance and upright. It means to investigate and break through the core of life and all things without any attitudes of favouritism. Any investigations must commence based on unbiased grounds i.e. on neutral and upright positions. In other words, one needs to investigate the problem from various angles, analyse the findings, understand the truth thoroughly, and find a reasonable conclusion.

For general understanding, every subject matter can be viewed in two different ways. Literally, it means all things or matters are very closely related although they seem different. This is what the principle of emptiness is all about i.e. all created things or happenings can never be in an absolute discrete orientation. Therefore, we could rightfully mention that all things or matters are closely inter-depending, inter-waving and inter-relating with one another since the dawn of time in a very comprehensive and complicated network of existence. This is the rationale for the saying, ‘...neither identical to, nor entirely different from... but forms part of a causal continuum...’ And this scenario explains well on the saying, ‘No two minds are the same.’ In other words, Buddhism sees in a basis of blueprints in individuals or things that is always evolving under the influence of conditional phenomena.

Right now, let us study into the elements of energy. As scientists have discovered, energy can neither be created nor be destroyed and it is ever transforming and changing in continuum. But the sum of all energies in a system is a constant or never changes. So is energy a variable or a constant element? Paradoxically, energy corresponds well to both of these elements. As mentioned earlier, every subject matter can be viewed in two different ways and each way is very closely related with one another although they seem different. Therefore, energy is a constant element on one perspective and concurrently, it is a variable element on another perspective. By understanding well and observing thoroughly into the characteristics of energy, one could gain insight into the nature and its orientation.

As a conclusion, both the emptiness and energy are the fundamental qualities of the nature because every single thing or happening would involve with it, without exception. On one hand, the nature would bear with the conditions of beginning and ending and on the other hand, it would bear with the conditions of beginning-less and end-less. In other words, the nature is a system that is universal i.e. it is inherent existing and dependent arising concurrently. Likewise, the best way to respond to the question of, ‘Who am I?’, would be, ‘I am what I am.’ ‘If you think this is what I am, then I am’ and ‘If you see that is what I am, then I am.’ At the end of the day, any conclusions made are merely two sides of the same coin.

takso

Mind...oh Mind

Well, how does the mind derive? Let us analyse into the principle of causality shown as below: -

The mind and body are born from manas,
The manas is born from consciousness,
The consciousness is born from awareness,
The awareness is born from volition,
The volition is born from inkling,
The inkling is born from sparkling,
The sparkling is born from impulse,
The impulse is born from irrationality,
The irrationality is born from confusion,
The confusion is born from disorientation,
The disorientation is born from blindness,
The blindness is born from ignorance,
The ignorance is born from compulsion,
The compulsion is born from memory,
The memory is born from representation,
The representation is born from knowledge,
The knowledge is born from information,
The information is born from agitation,
The agitation is born from aggregation,
The aggregation is born from stability,
The stability is born from balance,
The balance is born from alignment,
The alignment is born from adjustment,
The adjustment is born from imbalance,
The imbalance is born from diffusion,
The diffusion is born from segregation,
The segregation is born from fragility,
The fragility is born from death,
The death is born from draining,
The draining is born from aging,
The aging is born from hauling,
The hauling is born from mobility,
The mobility is born from energising,
The energising is born from birth,
The birth is born from creation,
The creation is born from becoming,
The becoming is born from unsettling,
The unsettling is born from clinging,
The clinging is born from grasping,
The grasping is born from craving,
The craving is born from experience,
The experience is born from feeling,
The feeling is born from stimulation,
The stimulation is born from contact,
The contact is born from conductivity,
The conductivity is born from six sense bases,
The six sense bases are born from sensation,
The sensation is born from mind and body,
The mind and body are born from manas, etc.

From the above cycle of dependent origination, one would notice that the mind is dependent arising and it arises in accordance with the principle of emptiness i.e. all created objects or things can never be in an absolute discrete orientation. In the dependent nature, mind is the forerunner of all states. This means it is the core basis for all the perceptions, conceptions, labels, boundaries, names, activities, shapes, relations, descriptions, stereotyping, beginning, ending, etc. And with the existence of mind, the state of ignorance and suffering would arise concurrently in samsāra i.e. this arising, that arises.

The ultimate goal in the Buddhist practice is to quest for an everlasting happiness that is unconditional via enlightenment. Therefore, one has to explore and understand well the luminosity of the mind (the nature of clarity of the mind) before making the right effort to transform it into an awakening state. In Buddhism, it is mentioned that only a human can attain enlightenment as a fully enlightened Buddha. This is because humans are just one type of sentient being with both the prevailing and subtle conscious mind stream that can find balance between happiness and suffering via the meditating processes. In fact, the prevailing mind consciousness plays a key role in conjuring up one’s sheer determination to end the state of suffering conclusively; without it, the attaining of full enlightenment is impossible.

When one has gained enlightenment while sustaining with a living body, the mind would still exist but with a paradigm shift into seeing all the things or happenings in the ultimate perspective without delusion or hesitation. The mind has not gained with a complete liberation yet and this circumstance is also known as cessation with remainder. The ultimate liberation or cessation without remainder can only be achieved without sustaining a living body i.e. the passing into parinibbāna. During one last time of disintegrating process, the subtle conscious mind would be absorbed into the black hole of emptiness and then followed by the prevailing conscious mind. In the absence of the mind, the dependent phenomenon would die out concurrently. Ultimately, there is no mind remaining in the infinite, unchanging, permanent and unconditional state of nibbāna and this is the ambience for an eternal bliss.

For general understanding, nibbāna is a completely neutralised state of affairs that is boundless, timeless and permanent – this is the ultimate goal of Buddhism. The wise Buddha has merely seen the urgency to put a complete end to dukkha that arises in samsāra - right here, right now. All other matters are considered as trivial if compared with the reality of dukkha arising in the samsāra. And the only way to end the dukkha permanently is to get through to the state of nibbāna via enlightenment. All other states of paradise or heavenly realms could promise one with merely conventional happiness that is conditional and impermanent. So the choice in the way of life is yours ultimately – to pursue an ultimate happiness that is non-conditional and permanent or a conventional happiness that is conditional and impermanent.

takso

No Reincarnation...only Rebirth

Buddhism rejects the term ‘transmigration’ or ‘reincarnation’ altogether, but why? Literally, ‘trans-’ is a prefix meaning through or across. And transmigration denotes the movement or conveyance from place to place. If we mention that a soul would transmigrate from a body to another new body, it means the same ‘unchanging’ soul does the movement or conveyance throughout the time stream (past, present and future).

However, in the conventional reality, no ‘unchanging’ soul would transmigrate from one body to another and on this pretext, Buddhism upholds the term ‘rebirth’ or ‘re-arising.’ The Buddha sees in no transmigration of all things or matters but instead, in the constant and continuous transformation of all things or matters via the process of permeation (diffusion). Just like the orientation of energy in the cosmos i.e. energy would only transform - to transform is to change, to change is to become, and to become is to reborn. So energy is ever ‘reborn’ all the time in the dependent nature. By understanding well and observing thoroughly into the characteristics of energy, one could gain insight into the nature and its orientation.

In the case of rebirth, an individual soul does not migrate from a physical body into another one. No, it just won’t fit at all. Every individual or thing that exists would not be the same - it could only be in a similar condition e.g. twins are similar but never the same individuals (likewise, no two minds are the same). Every individual is unique respectively and no individuals would be the same even though they do share some sort of the same genes before time. For example, you may have heard in various stories whereby a spirit or ghost has the ability to possess into the body of an individual but it never absolutely overtakes the soul of the possessed individual. This is because one cannot simply exchange the soul at one’s whim and fancy. Even individuals with the most powerful magic charm could not perform this feat. Another example will be the human organ transplant cases, whereby the new recipients need to take immunosuppressive drugs to treat any transplant rejections – live long.

In Buddhism, rebirth refers to evolving consciousness or stream of consciousness of a person (upon death) and the new consciousness arising in the same person (in the new person) is neither identical to, nor entirely different from, the old consciousness, but forms part of a causal continuum or stream with it. The basic cause for this persistent re-arising of personality is the abiding of consciousness in ignorance; when ignorance is uprooted, rebirth ceases. For example, a flame is transferred from one candle to another, or a fire spreads from one field to another. In the same way that it depends on the original fire, there is a conditioned relationship between one life and the next; they are not identical but neither are they completely distinct.

And it is possible for rebirth to take place from a single source into different identities at any various point of time, just like how the genetic lineage works for generations. This is how we explain the destiny of being siblings, being life partners, being close friends in one’s lifetime. Somehow or somewhere before time, the so-called relevant individuals are inherited from the similar source of predecessors. Thus in the present lifetime one has the opportunity to meet and know with the relevant beings and not the other non-relevant beings (as per the law of attraction).

Ultimately, it is the wonder of nature that every created object or thing is neither identical to, nor entirely different from each other. This is how the conventional reality works i.e. not in-linear but in inter-dependence, inter-woven and inter-relation since the dawn of time in a very comprehensive and complicated network of existence. At the end of the day, the inter-connectedness of all things in the nature is what the principle of emptiness is all about - as per the teachings of the Buddha.

takso

Buddhism - 31 planes of Existence and Nibbāna

Buddhism speaks of 31 planes of existence. These 31 planes are divided into three types of worlds:

1. Kāma-loka or kāmabhava (the sensuous world) – 11 planes
a. Kāmaduggati Bhūmi
- Four states of deprivation (apāya) : Niraya (Hell), Tiracchana Yoni (Animals), Peta Loka (Hungry ghosts) and Asura (Demons).
b. Kāmasugati Bhūmi
- Manussa Loka (Human beings) and Cātumahārājika Heaven, Tāvatimsa Heaven, Yāma Heaven, Tusita Heaven, Nimmānarati Heaven and Paranimmita-vasavatti Heaven (six other planes of heavenly gods).

2. Rūpa-loka or rūpabhava (the world of form/fine material world) – 16 planes
The different planes of devas:
a. Pārisajja Brahma – Retinue/Servants of Mahā Brahma.
b. Purohita Brahma – Ministers/Advisors of Mahā Brahma.
c. Mahā Brahma – Great Brahmas.
d. Parittābha Deva – Devas of Limited Radiance.
e. Appamāņābha Deva – Devas of Unbounded Radiance.
f. Ābhassara Deva – Devas of Streaming Radiance.
g. Parittāsubha Deva – Devas of Limited Glory.
h. Appamāņāsubha Deva – Devas of Unbounded Glory.
i. Subhakiņņa Deva – Devas of Radiant Glory.
j. Vehappala Deva – Very Fruitful Devas.
k. Asaňňa Sattā – Mindless beings.
l. Aviha Deva – Devas not Falling Away.
m. Atappa Deva – Untroubled Devas.
n. Sudassa Deva – Beautiful Devas.
o. Sudassi Deva – Clear-sighted Devas.
p. Akanitta Deva – Peerless Devas.

3. Arūpa-loka or arūpabhava (the formless world/immaterial world) – 4 planes
The pure abodes of four realms (the purest of the 31 planes of existence): -
a. Ākāsānaňcāyatanupaga Deva – Sphere of Infinite Space.
b. Viňňaņaňcāyatanupaga Deva – Sphere of Infinite Consciousness.
c. Ākiňcaňňāyatanupaga Deva – Sphere of Nothingness.
d. Nevasaňňānāsaňňāyatanupaga Deva – Sphere of Neither - perception nor non-perception.

In Buddhism, human realm is merely one of the above-mentioned 31 planes of existence and these different planes would exist only with the mind arising. For instance, heaven or hell is not a plane of existence waiting for exclusive memberships. Instead, it is the so-called member that has made up the chance for the heaven or hell plane to arise. Just like inhabitant is a necessary pre-requisite for any villages to exist; without it, the village would be impossible. Therefore, heaven or hell is not a plane of existence to be found ‘up-there’ or ‘down-there’ yearning for the so-called rightful elements. The fate in one’s subsequent life is very much dependent on the characteristics of one’s subtle mind consciousness i.e. it is the architect for the 31 planes of existence. Mould it well at all times and if possible, one should achieve enlightenment to eradicate the suffering of it.

And finally, one could notice that nibbāna does not belong to any of the 31 planes of existence. In an ultimate sense, nibbāna does not exist at all. This is because there is non-existence of the mind to provide with descriptions, perceptions, names, shapes, etc. within the state of nibbāna. Nibbāna is a non-dependent arising state of affairs i.e. with no rising and falling activities taking place. In other words, nibbāna is a completely neutralised state of affairs – in contrast with the 31 planes of existence that would subject to the conditional influences i.e. in a continuous and constantly changing state of affairs.

takso

Cause and Condition

Buddhism basically touches on the scenario of cause and condition more than the case of cause and effect. Frankly speaking, all phenomenal existences are products of the proper combination of causes and conditions. For example, according to the philosophy of yin-yang, our bodies are made up of the combination of four great elements of earth, water, fire and wind and if any of these elements are not in a harmonious orientation, we would be taken ill physically. These four elements would represent the causes and the conditions would be the need for it to orientate with one another harmoniously at all times or otherwise, our bodies would fall sick as the result.

The principle-in-effect: -

This arising (the cause and condition), that arises (the result);
This ceasing (the cause and condition), that ceases (the result).

In other words, everything that exists is the result of multiple causes and conditions. Each of the causes would need other causes to be present together with their respective conditions. Just like for a new house to exist, we need the bricks, cement, wood, iron rods, roof tiles, plastic pipes and other materials. The construction can only be completed when one has all the essential materials and all the pre-requisites are met, such as the skillfulness of the workers, the time allocation, etc. The wood needs the forest, the sunshine, the rain, etc. The workers need their parents, their meals, their clothing, their shelters, etc. If we were to observe these scenarios in its entirety, we could realise that everything in the cosmos attributed to the existence of the new house; without it, the new house would be impossible. The clear fact here is that one cause is never enough to bring about an effect. A cause must, at the same time, be an effect, and every effect must also be the cause of something else.

The principle-in-effect: -

Cause 1 conjures up Effect 1,
Effect 1 conjures up Cause 1-1,
Cause 1-1 conjures up Effect 1-1,
Effect 1-1 conjures up Cause 1-1-1,
..., etc.

Therefore, cause and effect are simply two aspects of the same thing. The only difference between these two aspects is the time of event. In other words, cause and effect are inter-changing, inter-relating and inter-waving with one another. This is how the conventional reality works i.e. not in-linear but in inter-dependence, inter-woven and inter-relation since the dawn of time in a very comprehensive and complicated network of existence. In other words, cause and effect cannot be referred independently in a linear point of reference and therefore, no first cause, no first effect can be found within the dependent nature. Instead, there is only inter-dependent co-arising of all things or matters. This means everything that exists is empty because there is no essence to anything and nothing has ever existed in its own quality – nothing is permanent and unchanging. All objects exist conditionally without an eternal essence i.e. every existence is empty and emptiness is in every existence.

takso

Everything is One and One is All

Why is emptiness an important element to ponder at? Why Buddhism stresses on seeing into emptiness? Frankly speaking, it is imperative for one to realise on the emptiness of all things because this would lead one into seeing all things as they really are. When we examine our usual mind, its delusion is negated, what is left is a nature of clarity of the innate mind. And Buddhism articulates on one’s potentiality of exploring the base level of the mind that is luminous.

From direct experience, we know that humans and things cause pleasure and pain, and that they can help and harm. Therefore, phenomena certainly do exist but the question is how? They do not exist in their own quality but only have an existence dependent upon many factors, including a consciousness that conceptualises them. In other words, one cause is never enough to bring about an effect. A cause must, at the same time, be an effect, and every effect must also be the cause of something else. This means all things exist conditionally without an eternal essence i.e. all things can never sustain in an absolute discrete orientation.

In the dependent nature, we do know one thing that is consistently constant i.e. becoming. This becoming process is the main reason for all the things that we observe right here, right now. When there is a becoming process, there is a changing process. The changing process would then conjure up an ability of sorts that is known as ‘energy.’ Therefore, we shall be clear by now that energy is something that has always been in existence and remaining as constant - as per the Law of Conservation of Energy that says energy in a system can neither be created nor destroyed and the sum of all energies is a constant or never changes.

For general understanding, energy is nothing but mere vibration. When there are opposing forces, there would be vibration. The alternate movement of the opposing forces would generate a pattern of waves oscillating up and down in continuum. This is the main reason for all the repeating cycle of rising and falling activities that one could witness in the dependent nature or samsāra. In other words, by understanding well and observing thoroughly into the characteristics of energy, one could gain insight into the nature and its orientation.

Right now, we start to understand that the fundamental qualities in the dependent nature would be energy and emptiness because every single thing or happening would involve with it, without exception. When one sees into energy, one sees into emptiness; when one sees into emptiness, one sees into energy. This is the rationale for the saying, ‘Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form.’ The principle in effect: seeing into form is seeing into matter, seeing into matter is seeing into energy and seeing into energy is seeing into emptiness. On the same pretext, emptiness is a necessary pre-requisite for any objects to exist; without it, the object would be impossible.

In order for one to develop the skills of realising into emptiness, one could perform a series of Buddhist virtues known as the four immeasurables or brahmavihāras. Through meditation, one could cultivate and radiate out to all beings in all directions the mental states of: -

1. Mettā (Loving-kindness).
2. Karunā (Compassion).
3. Muditā (Emphathetic joy).
4. Upekkhā (Equanimity).

The above four immeasurables are powerful antidotes that would act as means for weakening the links of suffering in the wheel of life and concurrently, it would expedite one’s effort of attaining enlightenment in the present lifetime.

The principle in effect: -

A stream of loving-kindness and compassion would conjure up empathy,
A stream of empathy would conjure up boundless,
A stream of boundless would conjure up voidness,
A stream of voidness would conjure up stillness,
A stream of stillness would conjure up peacefulness,
A stream of peacefulness would conjure up enlightenment.

Once again, all subject matters are empty and comprise with energy per se. It is the wonder of nature that all things are neither identical to, nor entirely different from one another. The circumstances of duality or multiplicity are merely the end result of various activities of aggregation being observed by the mind under the influence of multiple causes and conditions. The mind is actually a pattern of consciousness that is born from awareness. When awareness touches on objects, consciousness would arise simultaneously. Consciousness is naturally looking outward to objects and it is flitting all the time. Whereas, mind is something more objective and involves clear discrimination – differentiates and understands the characteristics of objects.

And one utilises mind to understand things because mind understands the manipulation of consciousness. Subsequently, the untrained mind brings forth the false mode that all living beings, things and phenomena could establish their respective rights or qualities. However, one could distinguish between appearance and reality by fully realising on the emptiness via cultivating the four immeasurables or brahmavihāras. Retrospectively, one would realise that all things are born from the same fundamental qualities i.e. emptiness and energy that would orientate as one integrated whole in continuum. This is the ultimate reality of all things or matters. As the saying goes, “The peace of your mind is an ease of my heart.” All subjects and objects are inter-dependent and inter-connected at all times.

takso

Meditation – The Only Way

As the saying goes, ‘Seeing is believing, but practising is perfecting.’ Therefore, it is certainly inadequate for one to gain the knowledge on things by mere reading all the relevant scriptures, doctrines, sutras or attending to the dhamma talking sessions or exchanging thoughts or ideas among each other, etc. While enlightenment is about realising the ultimate reality, wisdom is about applying it into one’s daily perspectives and decision making, wholesomely. Just like the saying goes, “One has to gain the knowledge first and then apply the understanding and the experience with common sense and insight – that is wisdom.”

Therefore, if one wishes to gain enlightenment and wisdom, one would need to walk the walk and not talk the talk. In other words, enlightenment can never be achieved through desire for it is a mere intention of building castles in the air. Buddhism is about the sheer determination to pull one’s act together to end the state of suffering conclusively and not just blowing hot air. And the only way that one could put in place the end result of seeing, knowing and letting go of things is via upholding direct experience and recognition i.e. cultivating meditation.

As Ajahn Chah (an influential teacher of the Buddhadhamma) has mentioned, ‘If you have time to breathe, you have time to meditate.’ This means the basic tool for practising meditation in our daily lives has been taging along with us all the time i.e. our own breath. Therefore, we could make the full use of our breathing flow to begin a meditating session at our convenience or at any interval of time. Basically, we could commence a simple meditation by watching calmly and mindfully the air intake and discharge through our nostrils and lungs. This is what the samatha and vipassanā meditation are all about. Samatha meditation is to calm or tranquil the mind by means of concentration. Whereas, vipassanā meditation is to mould the mind into seeing all things as they really are – an insight into the true nature of reality. The main focus of vipassanā meditation is to attain pure awareness via mindfulness.

Vipassanā is often preceded by samatha but nonetheless, both types are inter-dependable throughout the meditating practices in order to achieve favourable results. Upon entering deeply into a meditative state (in full concentration), the prevailing mind consciousness would separate from the subtle mind consciousness. The main reason for engaging samatha meditation is to calm or tranquil the wilderness of the subtle mind consciousness. Thereafter, the prevailing conscious mind enters a state of pure observation (mindful) without identification on the flow of thoughts conjured up by the subtle conscious mind until pure awareness is attained.

Once we have mastered the breathing skills of meditation, we could progress on developing the skills of realising into emptiness by performing a series of Buddhist virtues known as the four immeasurables or brahmavihāras. Through meditation, one could cultivate and radiate out to all beings in all directions the mental states of: -

1. Mettā (Loving-kindness) – the unconditional and limitless love, goodwill and kindness with all beings or things.

2. Karunā (Compassion) – the aspiration to remove the sufferings or misfortunes from others.

3. Muditā (Emphathetic joy) – the delighting in the well-being of others.

4. Upekkhā (Equanimity) – the balancing of mind in all circumstances.

The above four immeasurables are powerful antidotes to expedite one’s effort of attaining enlightenment in the present lifetime.

As a conclusion, Buddhism has got nothing to do with the scriptures, doctrines or sutras. History facts have shown that the teachings of the Buddhadhamma were solely dependent on the oral transmission among the practitioners or followers in the early era of Buddhism. No doubt the available scriptures, doctrines or sutras did play an important role in keeping the essence of Buddhism, but how many of the so-called Buddhists nowadays have gained full enlightenment by mere reading or reciting it? The key point here is not merely about the mastering of theoretical knowledge on Buddhism but instead, more on the practicality and the direct experience of it. As Ajahn Brahm has mentioned, ‘Do not eat the menu, just taste the food.’

Therefore, it is imperative for one to emphasise on the direct experience and recognition more than anything else if one is sincere in upholding the Buddhadhamma. Therefore, meditate, meditate and meditate to see and taste the real truth. The state of nibbāna is inexplicable in conventional terms but it can be tasted by the practitioner during deep meditation only. Mould a right attitude and it would open up a new horizon of things.

takso

Mind, Brain & Buddhism

What is mind? And where is mind? Is the mind same as the brain?

Buddhism often articulates about mind and matter or mind and body. This means that the mind and the body (matter) cannot be understood independently of one another. Basically, mind is a pattern of consciousness that is born from awareness. In fact, mind is known as consciousness in individuality and it is more objective and involves clear discrimination – differentiates and understands the characteristics of objects. If one refers to the cycle of Dependent Origination, manas that unfolds against the backdrop of consciousness (preliminary) is an architect that activates mind and body creations. Mind and body are simply two aspects of the same thing.

In the dependent nature, everything that exists would comprise with energy and energy is nothing more than mere vibration. Therefore, manas would vibrate in a certain unique frequency – a wave of collated high and low vibrations. This blueprint of vibrations would subsequently bring forth the conflation of mind and body. The principle in effect: the lower the frequency, the slower the vibration; the higher the frequency, the faster the vibration. Slower vibration would lead to the body and the sense bases formation and faster vibration would lead to the mind formation. Collectively, it brings about a new life existence with a unique individuality that would not allow the disruption by any kind of external interference; thus it maintains a self-identity.

In other words, mind and body are present in every created thing as one integrated whole. Even an atom has a kind of mind that is unique or individualised. The nucleus of the atom, around which electrons vibrate in standing waves, constitutes the atom’s individuality. As a result, one atom distinguishes from another atom – just as one person is different from another person or as one thing is different from another thing. Therefore, the origin of individuality is the same as the origin of the mind. Nevertheless, the mind is comprised with two terms i.e. prevailing conscious and subtle conscious. Both the prevailing and subtle mind consciousnesses would arise in the sentient beings but for other things, merely subtle mind consciousness would arise. In addition, it is the mind, the consciousness of individuality, which holds together the atoms and molecules as one integrated body in a lifetime. Scientifically, the atoms are held together by covalent chemical bonds but the synergies of it would give rise to the mind, the consciousness of individuality.

For general understanding, consciousness is synergy. Synergy is generally defined as the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc. In other words, synergy is energy that expands through cooperation and it is a key to the geometric expansion of consciousness. When the nervous system in a new body is formed, sense consciousness would arise simultaneously. Sense consciousness is a subtle synergy resulted from the interaction of subtle mind consciousness in the new body i.e. the electrochemical transmission along the neurons throughout the nervous system. Moreover, the central nervous system especially the brain would comprise with the highest density of neurons in the entire nervous system of the new body and this circumstance would give rise to another type of synergy identified as prevailing mind consciousness – a prevalent synergy.

The prevailing mind consciousness is regarded as the ‘working’ consciousness or the mind-in-comand i.e. the mind that can lead, take charge, concentrate, make decision and convey action. Basically, prevailing conscious mind is closely related to the physical body or more specifically, the brain. This means there would be a biological clock being attached within it i.e. there would be duration for staying awake and for resting. Without the brain, there would be no prevailing mind consciousness in existence. In other words, mind consciousness and brain are symbiotic; one never exists without the other. The brain is actually a coagulated form of the conflated prevailing and subtle mind consciousnesses itself - just as water looks like ice, the mind looks like the brain, and the body. With high density of neurons, the brain could perform a variety of complex functions beside transmitting signals and sending messages to each other parts of the body. Among the complex functions are controlling, regulating, analysing, organising, wishing, interpreting, memorising, etc. – for these complex functions are basically, the roles of prevailing and subtle mind consciousnesses.

On the other hand, subtle mind consciousness is somehow independent from the physical body. For general understanding, subtle mind consciousness does not consume as much energy as prevailing mind consciousness. Subtle mind consciousness can process and store information without a lot of work or the intervention of prevailing mind consciousness. In other words, subtle mind consciousness could operate in the absence of prevailing mind consciousness with the least of energy consumption on 24 hours/day and 365 days/year - this would mean a plenty of energy reserves for prolonging the lifespan of a body in a lifetime. In fact, for over 90% of the time in a lifespan, the body is administered by subtle mind consciousness and it simply operates like a radar detector – sensing all spectrums of vibrational frequencies from the surroundings and across the time stream (past, present and future). As such, one would notice that an enlightened subtle mind consciousness would operate like a long range radar detector which is highly luminous and vigilant to any development of circumstances and surpassing time.

When one has reached the maturity of a lifespan, the mind and body would go through a dying process, inevitably. And the first type of consciousness to depart the body would be the prevailing mind consciousness. In the sentient beings, the prevailing mind consciousness that bonds strongly the atoms and the molecules together would die out and evolve into other energies concurrently. This incidence would lead to an impulse occurrence with a demonstration of a final burst of energy nearing the moments of death. Subsequently, the segregating process would conquest with most of the subtle mind consciousness departing the death body.

For an ignorant being, during a disintegrating process, the elements of prevailing consciousness or so-called the 'chain of consciousness’ would die out and the force of Ignorance (an outward tendency force) would overcome the force of Awakening (an inward tendency force). The elements of subtle consciousness would then liberate into fragments. The amount of liberated fragments is very much dependent on the level of Ignorance or Awakening within the being. And for an ignorant being, the level of Ignorance would surpass the level of Awakening and this would mean the intensity of Ignorance is higher than the intensity of Awakening. A higher intensity of Ignorance would mean a higher intensity of becoming. A higher intensity of becoming would mean a higher amount of liberated fragments. On the other hand, for an awakened being, the amount of liberated fragments is much lesser than an ignorant being because there is lower intensity of Ignorance as compared with the intensity of Awakening. Also, the dispersion of liberated fragments is more confined and restricted to much fewer new individuals.

As a conclusion, mind and brain are two aspects of the same thing. In fact, the brain is a coagulated form of the mind itself. The prevailing mind consciousness and sense consciousness would not arise without the manifestation of a physical body. In other words, there is a need for the existence of a physical body or precisely, a brain, before the attaining of a full enlightenment by individuals is made possible. This is because prevailing mind consciousness is a necessity for conjuring up one’s sheer determination to end the state of suffering conclusively; without it, the achieving of full enlightenment is impossible. On the other hand, subtle mind consciousness that is somehow independent from the physical body and would continue to play a significant role in the wheel of life. During the segregating process, sense consciousness and the lingering subtle mind consciousness would evolve into other energies concurrently with the body decomposing process. At the end of the day, the fragmented subtle mind consciousness with some retained subtle information within the elements of subtle memory would sustain freedom of sorts and waiting for the next aligning process and the new balance phenomena to arise, thus depicting the continuous flow or repeating cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth - known as samsāra.

takso

Kamma and Wishes

Buddhism often touches on the law of kamma. But what does kamma mean? In Buddhism, kamma is translated as ‘volitional action.’ But the general meaning of kamma is beyond that term. Kamma can be loosely translated as mere ‘action.’ Therefore, when we talk about the law of kamma, we talk about the law of action. When we talk about the law of action, we talk about the law of reaction. And these laws are part of the universal laws i.e. the natural phenomenon laws – not shaped by someone else; no one owns it; neither Buddhism. It is merely a natural law of balancing that helps to attain the circumstance of equilibrium in the nature.

In other words, when we speak about kamma, we speak about action. When we speak about action, we speak about motion. So for one to gain an insight into kamma, its orientation and consequences, one has to observe and understand thoroughly into the law of motion. Right now, let us ponder at the three physical laws of motion that were discovered by an influential English physicist and mathematician, namely, Sir Isaac Newton, shown as below: -

1st Law of Motion
Every object in a state of consistent motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force applied to it.

2nd Law of Motion
It is pertaining to the the relationship between an object’s mass, its acceleration, and the applied force. In this law, the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.

3rd Law of Motion
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Generally speaking, there are two categories of motion i.e. the constant and the variable motion. When we mention that a rising force of something would generate a new equal opposing force, such as the Newton’s third law of motion, we are actually referring to a process of action and reaction under a circumstance of constant motion (constant opposing forces). In other words, we could mention that the come factor is equal to the become factor: -

Come factor = Become factor

However, under a circumstance of variable motion, the opposing forces would orientate in a unique harmonising mechanism, such as the Newton’s second law of motion, shown as below: -

Scenario 1 - Acceleration

When come factor accelerates, the relative become factor would decelerate: -

Force Acome ↑ Force Abecome ↓

For example, the thought experiment of twin paradox which concerns a twin who flies off in a spaceship traveling near the speed of light and returns to discover that his or her twin sibling has aged much more. This scenario depicts the circumstance of time dilation in Einstein’s special theory of relativity. Literally, the acceleration of spaceship would decelerate the becoming process of the twin who sits inside it. The deceleration of the becoming process would mean the slowing down of the aging process for the same twin. In other words, the mental and the physical progression of the twin who sits inside the spaceship would slow down relatively.

Scenario 2 - Deceleration

When come factor decelerates, the relative become factor would accelerate: -

Force Acome ↓ Force Abecome ↑

For example, if the speed of the car decreases, it is literal to speak of deceleration; mathematically, it is acceleration in the opposite direction to that of motion and vice versa. Besides, this scenario explicates that a physically sick or a mentally stressful individual is advisable to go for a full resting at home or a cool vacation elsewhere for this state of affairs would decelerate the come factors in or around the same individual. Consequently, the process of recuperation on the same individual, both mentally and physically, would speed up.

In Buddhism, it was mentioned that the precise working out of the results of kamma was one of the four unconjecturables and to speculate about it would bring madness and vexation to anyone who conjectured about it. But why is it so difficult for one, even the Buddha, to predict the timeline for the end result of kamma? The rational explanation to this enigma lies in the orientation of come factor and become factor under the different circumstances of motion. Naturally, we always involve in motions that vary in frequencies under the influence of conditional phenomena. Therefore it is literally impossible for us to contemplate on the end result of all the different types of motion inter-waving with one another in continuum.

As mentioned earlier, when we talk about the law of action, we talk about the law of reaction. This scenario is basically due to the elements of attraction existing in the cosmos and the universal law of attraction states that we attract what we are sending out i.e. like attracts like, unlike repels unlike. Hence, favourable energies attract favourable energies and unfavourable energies attract unfavourable energies. Human thoughts are cosmic waves of energy that penetrate all time and space and it is the most potent vibration that can attracts what is desired or wished for. In other words, all sentient beings are electro-magnetic beings with the subtle mind consciousness that acts as an antenna or a radar detector constantly attracting and magnetising vibrational frequencies. Human thoughts are frequencies to which other similar frequencies are constantly resonating. This resonance is the basis for a universal law – the law of attraction.

With all the above clarifications, we begin to understand that it is sensibly possible for any wishes to ‘come true’ or ‘be granted’ within the desired timeline. It all depends on the skills of the individuals who conduct the wishes. In Buddhism, there is a cardinal virtue known as mettā bhavana or the cultivation of loving-kindness. It is a foundation for the brahmavihāras and also a powerful antidote to accelerate the realisation of emptiness in the dependent nature. When we talk about realising into emptiness, we talk about the progressive comprehension of the mind on the reality of things. And emptiness would mean the absence of inherent existence i.e. all beings or things are inter-dependent, inter-waving and inter-relation with one another. Just like the saying, ‘Part of you is part of me, part of me is part of them.’ This phrase implies the inter-connectedness of all things in the nature and the significance of mettā bhavana is to condition and transform the mind from a delusive state into a non-manipulative and non-discriminatory ones. This is because the mind is naturally something more objective and involves clear discrimination – differentiates and understands the characteristics of objects. And the cultivation of loving-kindness would inspire the deluded mind into seeing all things as they truly are.

Basically, the cultivation of loving-kindness is performed by radiating out to all beings in all directions the unconditional and boundless love, goodwill and kindness. Through the practice of meditation, one could begin the radiating of loving-kindness towards oneself, such as, ‘May I be well and happy, may I be peaceful all the time, may I be free from harms and dangers, may I be strong in facing difficulties, etc.’ Thereafter, one could continue with the similar wishes and progress into the immediate family, the good friends, all the known and unknown beings, and gradually the entire universe. When one has fully realised into the significance of cultivating loving-kindness, the state of egolessness and compassion would arise concurrently.

Nevertheless, these strong wishes for the happiness and the well-being of oneself and others must be carried out in a meditative state with full concentration and mindfulness. Mettā bhavana is considered one of the powerful antidotes for alleviating the immeasurable suffering in samsarā because the end result can be witnessed by oneself immediately - right here, right now! This is mainly due to the deceleration of the come factors i.e. the wishes being radiated out in a discretely clear and slow tempo recitation (as per the above illustrated Scenario 2 – Deceleration). As such, we could see that the mettā blessing from a highly revered monk who has attained the advance level of jhana is very powerful and could generate the immediate and promising results to the recipients. Jhāna is an altered state of consciousness with profound stillness and concentration. At the pinnacle of the jhānas, there is a transformation of the mind consciousness into a potent black hole of emptiness that strongly attracts and magnetises vibrational frequencies and this is the beginning of attaining psychic powers among individuals. In other words, within the innate mind of all individuals, there is a compelling black hole of emptiness and it is also known as the Clear Light in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

At the end of the day, we would realise that ordinary people do not always get what they wish for in life because for most of the time, they have engaged with the wrongful techniques. Any wishes by individuals must be radiated out in a discretely clear and slow tempo recitation and must be in full concentration and mindfulness in order to catch a glimpse of the immediate result. Therefore, meditation is a key tool for realising one’s wishes sooner than later. Besides, there is a need for one to understand well and observe thoroughly the law of motion before gaining insight into the law of kamma. In fact, the law of kamma is nothing more than the law of balancing in the dependent nature. For general understanding, nature is a system of constant with a factor of intermediation or absence. If one stirs up in any phenomena of existence under volitional or non-volitional term, the natural law would take its course to balance it in one way or another across time and the plane of existence. Otherwise, a constant factor cannot be achieved at all in the nature and this is the core basis for the three physical laws of motion that were discovered by Sir Isaac Newton.

takso

The Power of Stilled Mind

A stilled mind is a balanced mind. A balanced mind is a mind that is in a state of equanimity. Equanimity or upekkhā is one of the brahmavihāras (Buddhist virtues) that shapes a ground for wisdom and liberation. In other words, equanimity is all about sustaining the mind that is exalted, radiant, abundant and compassionate in a circumstance of not too tight, not too loose. Therefore, upekkhā touches on the evenness or impartiality of consciousness and it has become the crux for the Middle Path. Middle Path is all about focusing on core, neutral, balance and upright. It means to investigate and break through the core of life and all things without any attitudes of favouritism. Any investigations must commence based on unbiased grounds i.e. on neutral and upright positions.

According to the Buddha, mind is the forerunner of all states. This means mind is a key tool for all the manipulation and discrimination in the dependent nature. In addition, a stilled mind is luminous and it is highly commanding and even sharper than a sword that can pierce through the time stream, the space and the plane of existence. Therefore, the best self-defence for oneself lies within the mind innately more than anything else that is external. In fact, the will-power is subdued within the prevailing mind consciousness and as a consequence, one should not seek to surrender in blindfold on the external factors as a way out to any complications faced in one’s life.

In other words, it is crucial to master your mind to design your destiny. This is because human thoughts are cosmic waves of energy that penetrate all time and space and it is the most potent vibration that can attracts what is desired or wished for. In other words, all sentient beings are electro-magnetic beings with the subtle mind consciousness that acts as an antenna or a radar detector constantly attracting and magnetising vibrational frequencies. Human thoughts are frequencies to which other similar frequencies are constantly resonating and this resonance is the basis for the universal law of attraction. Therefore, one should not underestimate the vast potentiality or capability of the mind.

For general understanding, ordinary mind is comprised with the conflation of prevailing and subtle mind consciousnesses. On the other hand, a stilled mind can be described as the prevailing conscious mind liberating from the thoughts churned out by the subtle conscious mind i.e. making observation without identifying with the thoughts. This liberation from thought identification to thought observation is called the experience of the Buddha nature. In fact, the stilled mind is so powerful that it could quell and quash the black magic spells and influence the becoming processes indefinitely. Therefore, ordinary people should not fall prey to any unscrupulous spiritual masters unnecessarily and instead, they should make full use of their own stilled mind - that is intimate, compelling and also a cost-free resource.

As a conclusion, a stilled mind is dependent on the manifestation of a physical body. In other words, there is a need for the existence of a physical body or precisely, a brain, before the attaining of a tranquil state of mind by individuals is made possible. Conscientiously, one should free the prevailing mind consciousness from identifying with the thoughts churned out by the subtle mind consciousness. The prevailing mind consciousness is regarded as the ‘working’ consciousness or the mind-in-command i.e. the mind that can lead, take charge, concentrate, make decision and convey action. But since it is closely related to the physical body or more specifically, the brain, there would be a biological clock being attached within it i.e. there would be duration for staying awake and for resting. In fact, our minds and physical bodies are like rechargeable batteries. As such, it is imperative for one to meditate diligently in order to boost up the mental and physical strengths at all times. And with the attaining of stilled mind, one could carry out the myriad of wonders, just as or when one wishes.

takso

Let’s Meditate - Right Here Right Now!

As Ajahn Chah (an influential teacher of the Buddhadhamma) has mentioned, ‘If you have time to breathe, you have time to meditate.’ This means the basic tool for practising meditation in our daily lives has been taging along with us all the time i.e. our own breath. Therefore, we could make the full use of our breathing flow to begin a meditating session at our convenience or at any interval of time. Basically, we could commence a simple meditation by watching calmly and mindfully the air intake and discharge through our nostrils and lungs. This is what the samatha and vipassanā meditation are all about. Samatha meditation is to calm or tranquil the mind by means of concentration. Whereas, vipassanā meditation is to mould the mind into seeing all things as they really are – an insight into the true nature of reality. The main focus of vipassanā meditation is to attain pure awareness via mindfulness.

Vipassanā is often preceded by samatha but nonetheless, both types are inter-dependable throughout the meditating practices in order to achieve favourable results. Upon entering deeply into a meditative state (in full concentration), the prevailing mind consciousness would separate from the subtle mind consciousness. The main reason for engaging samatha meditation is to calm or tranquil the wilderness of the subtle mind consciousness. Thereafter, the prevailing conscious mind enters a state of pure observation (mindful) without identification on the flow of thoughts conjured up by the subtle conscious mind until pure awareness is attained.

During the circumstance of deep meditation, the two terms of the mind would separate from each other - the prevailing conscious mind would play in a dominant role, whereas, the subtle conscious mind would remain in a submissive condition. The role of prevailing conscious mind is like mind-in-command i.e. the mind that can lead, take charge, concentrate, make decision and convey action. An enlightened mind can be described as a prevailing conscious mind with liberation from the thoughts i.e. instead of being the thoughts; the perspective is shifted to watching the thoughts churned out by subtle conscious mind. In other words, it means the prevailing conscious mind would make observation without identifying with the thoughts – the subtle conscious mind. This liberation from thought identification to thought observation is called the experience of the Buddha nature.

Once we have mastered the breathing skills of meditation, we could progress on developing the skills of realising into emptiness by performing a series of Buddhist virtues known as the four immeasurables or brahmavihāras. Through meditation, one could cultivate and radiate out to all beings in all directions the mental states of: -

1. Mettā (Loving-kindness) – the unconditional and limitless love, goodwill and kindness with all beings or things.
2. Karunā (Compassion) – the aspiration to remove the sufferings or misfortunes from others.
3. Muditā (Emphathetic joy) – the delighting in the well-being of others.
4. Upekkhā (Equanimity) – the balancing of mind in all circumstances.

When we talk about seeing into emptiness, we talk about the progressive realisation of the mind on the reality of things. Therefore, emptiness can be realised into stages as below: -

Stage 1 Elementary Realisation
• All things and phenomena are lack of core essence.
• Nothing is unchanging and permanent.
• Everything is inter-related.

Stage 2 Intermediary Realisation
• Ability to differentiate the way things are perceived to exist and the way things really exist.
• Only seeing without believing.

Stage 3 Advance Realisation
• No dualism of the subject and object, and no appearance of multiplicity.
• All things and phenomena rise and fall within a singular condition.
• Only uniformity exists.

Stage 4 Ultimate Realisation
• All dependent arising are completely blown off or extinguished.
• No string attached, and nothing is left remaining.
• Infinite, unchanging, permanent, and unconditional.
• Exists beyond all conventional phenomena.

The ultimate realisation of emptiness by the mind would mean a phase of perfect intermediation being accomplished by the mind. A perfect intermediation would mean a comprehensive absence of any or all units under consideration. It is also known as a complete neutralisation of conditional phenomena. But an absence of any or all units under consideration is not equivalent to nothingness of any or all units under consideration.

Samatha Meditation

The main purpose of samatha meditation is to calm or tranquil the mind or more specifically, the subtle mind consciousness, by means of concentration. The subtle mind consciousness would function like a roller-coaster and flit all the time. As such, there is a need to sedate the wilderness of subtle mind consciousness before any development in the spiritual mind is made possible. Besides, samatha meditation is crucial to invoke the state of jhanā. Jhāna is an altered state of consciousness with profound stillness and concentration. At the pinnacle of jhānas, there is a transformation of the mind consciousness into a potent black hole of emptiness that strongly attracts and magnetises vibrational frequencies and this is the beginning of attaining psychic powers among individuals. In other words, within the innate mind of all individuals, there is a compelling black hole of emptiness and it is also known as the Clear Light in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

A focused or concentrated mind is a stilled mind. And a stilled mind is a balanced mind. A balanced mind is a mind that is in a state of equanimity and it shapes a ground for wisdom and liberation. In other words, equanimity is all about sustaining the mind that is exalted, radiant, abundant and compassionate in a circumstance of not too tight, not too loose. Samatha meditation is a necessary pre-requisite for the stilled mind to arise; without it, the state of one-pointedness would be impossible. And a one-pointedness mind is a unique state of mind that glimpses into the within of the within of things and it is highly luminous, commanding and even sharper than a sword that can pierce through the time stream, the space and the plane of existence. Therefore, it is imperative for one to practise the samatha meditation because it would bring forth the transformation of the mind from scatteredness into one-pointedness. This would mean a chance of making inroads into realising the innate mind that is pure, boundless, potent and luminous (the experiencing of the Buddha nature) by individuals.

Vipassanā Meditation

The key objective of vipassanā meditation is to mould the mind into seeing all things as they really are – an insight into the true nature of reality. For general understanding, the pure nature of the mind is luminous and it is due to the presence in the waves of dependent phenomena that has clouded it from discerning the reality of circumstances i.e. ignorance arises. As such, vipassanā meditation is a prerequisite for transforming an ignorant state of mind into an enlightened one via thought liberation. An enlightened mind can be described as prevailing mind consciousness with liberation from the thoughts i.e. instead of being the thoughts; the perspective is shifted to watching the thoughts churned out by subtle mind consciousness.

Therefore, the main focus of vipassanā meditation is to attain pure awareness via mindfulness. In the dependent nature or samsāra, there is an element of suffering or dukkha. Suffering means ‘bearing with’ in the Buddhist context and ‘letting go’ is the antonym of it. Literally, there are no elements of grasping when one practises letting go. When no grasping arises, the becoming process would slow down. This is because everything in the dependent nature is nothing but energy. And energy is nothing but mere vibration. When the becoming process slows down, it means energy is vibrating at lower frequencies. When the becoming process ceases, energy literally stops vibrating. Energy just got ‘frozen.’ Zero vibration means zero becoming. Zero becoming means an absolute cessation of any changing activities. Thus an absolute stage of absence is achieved. Absence means a perfect state of balance. Therefore, absence is not about nothingness but instead it is about no-thing-ness. No thing means no becoming or no changing. No changing means no suffering. No suffering means no mind. Mind is the forerunner of all states. No mind means a completely neutralised state of affairs - that is nibbāna. The state of nibbāna is inexplicable in conventional terms but still, it can be tasted by the enlightened ones during deep meditation.

The Buddha has merely taught that one has to see all things as they really are, to liberate from it and to be enlightened i.e. not to get entangled with it ignorantly. And one of the basic footsteps to achieve enlightenment and reach nibbāna is to practise ‘letting go’ via vipassanā meditation. To see it, know it and let go – no need to grasp it – this is how one practises, ‘Seeing things as they really are.’ See only with eyes and mind, don’t get into any involvement - more importantly, let go the self and ego factors. Be freed, be liberated, be neutralised!

takso

The Significance of Memory

What is memory? In psychology, memory is defined as an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. But where is it stored? Actually, the elements of memory are stored within the elements of consciousness and it can be categorised into two terms i.e. prevailing memory and subtle memory. The prevailing memory is also known as the ‘working’ memory. It is a short-term store and would exist alongside with the prevailing mind consciousness and the physical body or more specifically, the brain. Whereas, the subtle memory is a long-term or indefinite store and it would exist concurrently with the subtle mind consciousness, and sustain with or without the physical body.

Right now, let us analyse into part of the cycle of dependent origination shown as below: -

Balance leads to stability. Stability leads to aggregation. Aggregation leads to agitation. Agitation leads to information. Information leads to knowledge. Knowledge leads to representation. Representation leads to memory. Memory leads to compulsion. Compulsion leads to ignorance. Ignorance leads to blindness. Blindness leads to disorientation. Disorientation leads to confusion. Confusion leads to irrationality. Irrationality leads to impulse. Impulse leads to sparkling. Sparkling leads to inkling. Inkling leads to volition. Volition leads to awareness. Awareness leads to consciousness. Consciousness leads to manas. Manas leads to mind and body. Mind and body lead to sensation. Sensation leads to six sense bases. Six sense bases lead to conductivity, etc.

For general understanding, every existence would comprise with the three basic elements - energy, matter and space. These basic elements would subject to the cyclic influence of balance and imbalance phenomena. Under a balance phenomenon, these elements would start to integrate with each other to create aggregation. Under an imbalance phenomenon, these elements would start to disintegrate from each other to create segregation. During the process of aggregation, some sort of information would be produced, stored and recalled in the integrated elements. This recorded information would act as a reference for the present and the future consciousnesses. Without any references deriving from the recorded past consciousness, the present and the future consciousnesses could not begin at all i.e. the past consciousness is linked to the present consciousness and the present consciousness is linked to the future consciousness. In other words, memory is a necessary pre-requisite for any consciousnesses to exist; without it, the consciousness would be impossible.

Basically, the elements of memory would involve with two key functions i.e. deposits and withdrawals of information – the act of retaining and recalling facts. If the elements of memory are absent, the becoming or rebirth process for all things would be deemed impossible. For example, ice, water and steam are different appearances deriving from the orientation of H2O properties under the influence of the external conditions. In fact, it is the orientation of H2O properties that has taken place to conjure up the the appearance i.e. the momentary outcome of the process of aggregation that varies according to the subjected conditions. And without the elements of subtle memory within the H2O properties, it would be impossible for the ice, the water and the steam to resurface into their respective appearances repeatedly under the varying external conditions.

Also, it is interesting to note that the process of mutation taking place in the beings or objects can be referred to as the ‘memory loss’ arising in the nucleus of the cells or atoms of the beings or objects. For instance, cancer is a class of diseases that refers to out-of-control cell growth. Normal cells in the body would go along a regulated path of growth, division, and death. When this process goes wrong or breaks down due to the memory loss in the regular cells, a mass of abnormal cells would grow and divide uncontrollably to form masses of tissue called tumors. And for general understanding, mutation is a natural process just like the biological aspects of ageing. In other words, it is an inevitable development among all the natural things; without it, the process of evolution or the condition of multiplicity is impossible in the dependent nature. Therefore, it is just plain impossible to obliterate the disease of cancer from the human beings, just like the kamma-vipāka (the law of kamma).

Besides, the elements of memory would bear with both the seeds and the fruits of kamma. The seeds of kamma are comparable to deposits of information and the fruits of kamma are comparable to withdrawals of the deposited information upon maturity. Therefore, it is not correct to mention that a newborn being has no memory of a previous life. Every single newborn being would surely bear with the seeds of kamma deriving from the previous lives. The seeds of kamma are comparable to deposits of information and the fruits of kamma are comparable to withdrawals of the deposited information upon maturity. In other words, it is not that the newborn being has no memory of a previous life but rather the fruits of kamma have not ripened yet. Only upon maturity could the newborn being start to recall events related to his or her previous lives. Therefore, without the elements of subtle memory, the law of kamma would be impossible in the realms of existence.

In addition, according to Buddhism, suffering arises out of ignorance. But ignorance could not arise out of thin air. Definitely, it needs to arise out of something that has happened beforehand. In this case, we would conclude that ignorance arises out of the elements of memory. When one is proclaimed as an ignorant being, it means the person is uneducated, unaware, uninformed of some kind of things or happenings that arise beforehand and this would mean the past events that have been retained and recalled as references for the present and the future events. Without any references deriving from the recorded past events, the present and the future events could not begin at all i.e. the past event is linked to the present event and the present event is linked to the future event.

Let us illustrate, for Ignorance 1 to link to Ignorance 1-1 and Ignorance 1-1 to link to Ignorance 1-1-1, the memory involvement is inevitable. Without it, the linking processes of the past, present and future could not take place at all. In a layman term, this process is called the becoming and re-becoming within beings or things. If the memory aspect is absent, the cycle of rising and falling activities in the dependent nature would be deemed impossible because all the things or happenings are inter-depending, inter-waving and inter-relating with one another. Without the elements of memory, whatever information generated from the past events would be instantly forgotten or erased and the progression of becoming or rebirth process would be impossible across the time stream (past, present and future). Therefore, the elements of ignorance and memory are closely inter-dependent of each other – just like, shadow follows the body.

As a conclusion, during the process of aggregation, some sort of information would be produced, stored and recalled in the integrated elements. In a layman term, this process is called the creation or pro-creation within beings or things. If the elements of memory are absent, the process of replication could not arise in the beings or things at all. Let us illustrate the learning of speeches among young children. If a child has no ability of memorising, then whatever lessons that were taught on would be forgotten or erased instantly and the progression into the next advance level would be deemed impossible. However, in Buddhism, there is a recommendation for one to always see and live in the present; neither in the past nor in the future. When one lives well in the present, one would lead to a cessation of memories of the past and this would subsequently lead to a cessation of ignorance in the future.

takso

Kamma-vipaka

In Buddhism, kamma is described as volitional action and vipaka refers to the end result of any particular volitional actions. For general understanding, kamma literally means action but in Buddhism, there is a focus on the enthusiastic action (potent kamma) that would instigate discernible reaction (potent vipaka). Therefore, it is imperative for one to tell apart the term ‘kamma’ as per Buddhism and the general definition of it in order to avoid any conflicts of understanding that may arise later on.

Generally speaking, volition is referred to an act of making a choice or decision. In other words, it is the act of making a ‘conscious’ choice or decision. Therefore, we need to investigate into the state of mind while understanding into the kamma-vipaka because mind is the forerunner of all states. Literally, the mind is comprised with two terms i.e. prevailing consciousness and subtle consciousness. Both the prevailing and subtle mind consciousnesses would arise in the sentient beings but for other things, merely subtle mind consciousness would arise. The role of prevailing conscious mind is like mind-in-command i.e. the mind that can lead, take charge, concentrate, make decision and convey action. However, subtle conscious mind is like herd of wild horses - roaming in discrete directions and needed domestication. This means the prevailing mind consciousness would act as a guarding chain to the wild and monkey-like subtle mind consciousness.

In Buddhism, the focal point of kamma is the volitional thought or action and it would arise concurrently with the existence of prevailing mind consciousness. This means in the absence of prevailing mind consciousness, the term ‘volition’ would cease to exist. As such, the prevailing mind consciousness is a prerequisite for the process of kamma-vipaka. Any thoughts or actions that require the utilisation of prevailing mind consciousness would subject to the law of kamma-vipaka as per Buddhism. This is because volitional human thought or action would generate the most potent vibration that penetrate all time, space and subsequently attracts what is desired or wished for. Just like the swelling of big waves with the enormous waves of energy would require longer time to fritter away and generate a visible and long-lasting implication to the surroundings. In other words, all sentient beings are electro-magnetic beings with the prevailing mind consciousness that generates potent kamma and the subtle mind consciousness that acts as an antenna or a radar detector constantly attracting and magnetising other similar vibrational frequencies (discernible vipaka) within the cosmos.

As a conclusion, when we talk about the law of action, we talk about the law of reaction. This scenario is basically due to the elements of attraction existing in the cosmos and the universal law of attraction states that we attract what we are sending out i.e. like attracts like, unlike repels unlike. Hence, favourable energies attract favourable energies and unfavourable energies attract unfavourable energies. In Buddhism, the initiation of new kamma (volitional thought or action) arises mostly in the human realm if compared with the other higher or lower realms of existence. This is because all the realms of existence with the exception of human realm are merely reaping the end result of the preceding kamma. The main reason is that humans are just one type of sentient beings with both the prevailing and subtle conscious mind stream. This means human realm is a plane of transition whereby it is a centric plane for the process of kamma-vipaka with the faculty of choosing or resolving.

As such, one should be grateful for the destiny of being reborn as a human and live it well with all the meaningful purposes. The ultimate purpose of human beings is to attain the opportunity to learn to live wholesomely. It is regardless whether one would live a good life, a luxurious life, a poor life or a pathetic life. By being alive as humans, we have all the liberties or choices of pathway to begin with. Therefore, it is crucial for one to live a life wholesomely at all times – at least there would not be a regret factor arises in one’s life later. Living wholesomely would mean living a healthy life with exploration and enjoyment to the fullest extent with wisdom and not with ignorance.

takso

Does ‘nothing’ exist?

If we were to split up the word ‘nothing’, it would turn up as ‘no thing’. Literally, no thing means no becoming or no changing and it is not the same as nothingness. Instead, no-thing-ness is the same as emptiness.

One needs to realise that everything in the cosmos is dependent on one another. All things merely exist conditionally without an eternal essence i.e. all things can never sustain in an absolute discrete orientation. For instance, from direct experience, we know that humans and things cause pleasure and pain, and that they can help and harm. Therefore, phenomena certainly do exist but the question is how? They do not exist in their own quality but only have an existence dependent upon many factors, including a consciousness that conceptualises them. This means everything that exists is empty because there is no essence to anything and nothing has ever existed in its own quality – nothing is permanent and unchanging. All objects exist conditionally without an eternal essence i.e. every existence is empty and emptiness is in every existence.

In the dependent nature, we do know one thing that is consistently constant i.e. becoming. This becoming process is the main reason for all the things that we observe right here, right now. When there is a becoming process, there is a changing process. The changing process would then conjure up an ability of sorts that is known as ‘energy.’ Therefore, we shall be clear by now that energy is something that has always been in existence and remaining as constant - as per the Law of Conservation of Energy that says energy in a system can neither be created nor destroyed and the sum of all energies is a constant or never changes.

For general understanding, energy is nothing but mere vibration. When there are opposing forces, there would be vibration. The alternate movement of the opposing forces would generate a pattern of waves oscillating up and down in continuum. This is the main reason for all the repeating cycle of rising and falling activities that one could witness in the dependent nature. In other words, by understanding well and observing thoroughly into the characteristics of energy, one could gain insight into the nature and its orientation.

Literally, there are no elements of grasping when one practises the letting go of things. When no grasping arises, the becoming process would slow down. When the becoming process slows down, it means energy is vibrating at lower frequencies. And when the becoming process ceases, energy literally stops vibrating. Energy just got ‘frozen.’ Zero vibration means zero becoming. Zero becoming means an absolute cessation of any changing activities. Thus an absolute stage of absence is achieved. Absence means a perfect state of balance. Therefore, absence is not about nothingness but instead it is about no-thing-ness. No thing means no becoming or no changing. No changing means no mind. No mind means no existence. And mind is the forerunner of all states. No mind means a completely neutralised state of affairs.

For general understanding, mind is a pattern of consciousness which is born from awareness. In fact, mind is known as consciousness in individuality and consciousness is nothing but mere synergy. Therefore, the origin of individuality is the same as the origin of the mind. Mind is something more objective and involves clear discrimination – differentiates and understands the characteristics of objects. And one utilises mind to understand things because mind understands the manipulation of consciousness.

Now, we need to look at the definition of existence. What exists is defined as that which can be known. If it cannot be known by the mind, then it does not exist. And conventionally, things can exist as in fallacy or in reality. But in the ultimate reality, things do not exist in the ways that concepts and language imply they do. Things would only exist as in deepest facts i.e. it is beyond mind and beyond concepts and words in the sense that it is beyond our usual ways of perceiving things.

So, how does something arise from nothing? Frankly speaking, something that arises as in object is not out of nothing. In the material Universe, there are plenty of existences or activities that cannot be discerned by our naked eyes. When we mention that the elements of emptiness and energy are everywhere in a system of dependent nature, it means that both of these qualities have fully occupied such a system. Therefore, we could conclude that something as in object would arise out of the elements of energy that exist in a system. This is because energy and matter are simply two aspects of the same thing, both reflected in different forms per se (as in Einstein’s formula, E = mc2). And since we are unable to discern the elements of energy with our naked eyes, we would name it as empty instead of nothing.

Then, what is the first cause for the start of the material Universe? Frankly speaking, the ultimate first cause for anything or everything is the nature. Without the nature, nothing would ever exist – no things or happenings would arise. Now, how does the material Universe begin? For general understanding, dependent phenomenon is a necessary prerequisite for the material Universe to exist; without it, the material Universe would be impossible. Dependent phenomenon is also known as a conditional phenomenon – that consists of two terms i.e. balance and imbalance. Under a balance phenomenon, aggregation would arise and one could witness multiple shapes or forms. Under an imbalance phenomenon, segregation would arise and one could witness no shapes or forms. The cycle of conditional phenomena continues repeatedly depicting the rising and the falling activities in continuum.

Therefore, the material Universe would start with the dependent phenomenon that in turn conjures up the elements of energy. Since the dawn of time, energy has been in existence within the system of dependent nature (inherent existence). Under a balance phenomenon, the elements of energy would turn into the elements of matter through the process of aggregation. Likewise, under an imbalance phenomenon, the elements of matter would turn into the elements of energy through the process of segregation (dependent arising). In other words, the material Universe is merely a momentary appearance conjured up from the orientation of energy and matter in space under the influence of conditional phenomena in continuum. Just like ice, water and steam are different appearances deriving from the orientation of H2O properties under the influence of the external conditions. In other words, it is the orientation of H2O properties that has taken place to conjure up the momentary outcome of it.

As a conclusion, one could summarise that dependent nature is nothing but merely flux of energy orientating in continuum. No duality or multiplicity would arise in the non-existence of the mind. This is because there is no subject to ponder on the object or matter. When there is no mind arising, no phenomenon would arise. When there is no phenomenon arising, no dependent nature would arise. When there is no dependent nature, there would be no perception, no conception, no label, no boundary, no name, no activity, no shape, no relation, no description, no stereotyping, no beginning, no ending, etc.

Mind is the forerunner of all states. In the absence of the mind, all things would be poised in a completely neutralised state of affairs. A completely neutralised state of affairs would mean a state of no-thing-ness, a state of perfect intermediation, a state of absence of any or all units under consideration. It is not equivalent to a state of annihilation but merely a blown-off state of all things.