1)Insight - Apprehending naked Awareness directly !
2)Commitment - Decisively knowing that there exists nothing other than this naked Awareness !
3)Conduct - Continuing with confidence that whatever arises will self-liberate in and as naked Awareness !
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These three precepts are neat. The last one especially resonates with me, "whatever arises will self-liberate in and as naked Awareness."
ReplyDeleteRegarding the second one, it seems as though This is all there is. I don't know for sure, but don't feel a need to know. Sure, curiosity arises, but there is peace in not-knowing...at least for "me."
Diane, I would rather call the "Three Words" pointers than precepts.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, they are famous in the Dzogchen teachings of Tibet, and have been translated in many ways and with much commentary. You may find some inspiration there.
Like all pointers, they are crude and imperfect, and yet MAY have a powerful effect.
The version I posted is largely my own - I haven't found one that I'm satisfied with -neither am I satisfied with what I posted and may tinker with it.
So, as they say, don't worry too much about the finger - look "where" it's pointing !
"Not-knowing is most intimate."
Peaceful not-knowing to "you."
Tom- this is a great post and definitely strikes the "Yes!" chord in me. One: Awareness! (the ineffable). Two: Seeing everything is awareness (the ineffable) in either "solid, liquid, vapor" appearance (so to speak). Three: trust in the ineffable as/through all...
ReplyDeleteThere is a passage from Ramana that reminds me of your post, but no time to post it here now, maybe tomorrow.
I enjoyed reading this post earlier at my job, but I was unable to comment due to blockers on my work computer. Thanks for this post- it gives me a sense of sweeping evermore into/as the ineffable awareness.
Thanks Colleen for this wonderful response!
ReplyDeleteYour "echo" of the Three Words happens to be similar to something I just recognized as another expression of the Three Words, which however, is not explicitly called that.
In chapter seven of the book "Counsels From My Heart", H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche is giving a talk to students on recognizing the Nature of Mind (Awareness) as "opposed to" thoughts. This seems to be the usual point of departure in the practice of Dzogchen.
I wish I could write out the whole chapter, but I'll have to settle for some excerpts.
"What if you are able to break out of your chain of thoughts? What is awareness like? It is empty, limpid, light, free, joyful! It is not something bounded or demarcated by its own set of attributes. There is nothing in the whole of samsara and nirvana that it does not embrace. From time without beginning, it is within us, inborn. We have never been without it, yet it is wholly outside the range of action, effort, and imagination."
Next comes the part where he expresses the Three Words. I'm going to capitalize the Three Words per se; in the book they are italicized.
"When you recognize it for yourself,it is then that YOU ARE INTRODUCED TO YOUR OWN NATURE."
"All the appearances of both samsara and nirvana are but the display of your own awareness; TAKE YOUR STAND UPON AWARENESS ALONE."
"Just like the waves that rise up out of the sea and sink back into it, all thoughts that appear sink back into awareness. BE CERTAIN OF THEIR DISSOLUTION, and as a result you will find yourself in a state utterly devoid of both meditator and something meditated upon---completely beyond the meditating mind."
Powerful words that stop the mind. Thank you Tom.
ReplyDeleteYour welcome Colleen, our exchange is also beneficial to "this mindstream."
ReplyDeleteHi Tom. Maybe the word commitment in the second one sounds too much like effort or action. If I have to do something in order to get something else then that kind of sounds like it's not here or now already.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get that peaceful "feeling" that awareness is all there is, maybe that is like knowing. Feeling is associated with the body, so that's not the right word. I associate "knowing" with what the mind does, so I have difficulty using that word also. Maybe intuition is a better fit for "me."
Aha, I just remembered the word apperceiving! That's it!
I enjoyed reading the exchange between you and Colleen.
Hi Diane, I would say that "apperceiving" is the "First Word."
ReplyDeleteThe Tibetans don't seem to use "commitment" as the "Second Word" but use instead phrases like "taking a stand" and "decisively deciding."
The "Second Word" seems to be about "staying with" - "not getting distracted." This is admittedly dualistic, relative. The Tibetans know this. I respect their focussing on what we might call "walking the walk" - which is left to take care of itself by most neo-advaita teachers.
The question, as I see it, is not so much, "What is THE Truth?" as, "What is MY truth?"
In the "Third Word", these "two questions" may dissolve.
I'm not suggesting that anyone simply swallow whole the Tibetan approach. However, I don't think it's wise to hastily discount their long experience in these matters.
I wouldn't discount any of it, I'd just like to understand it. What does "taking a stand" mean to you? To me it sounds like defending an opinion. I'm not disagreeing, just wondering...
ReplyDeleteHi Diane, I wasn't thinking that you were discounting the Tibetans. I was thinking of the attitude of "no duality allowed!"
ReplyDelete"Taking a stand" is not a phrase I'm that fond of, but in this context, it seems to mean "believing in and caring for what you know."
My latest post is called "natural mindfulness." In the context of what we're discussing (and otherwise), I'd like to know what you think about that.
Thank you so much for your explanations. I'll take a look at "natural mindfulness."
ReplyDelete