Meditation
Let’s start by asking yourself, what’s it wish to be me without delay? And really check, what’s it wish to be you without delay? In probably the most general sense, how’s your body feel? How are your emotions doing? What’s the state of your mind? What’s the weather report from being you? So, just give yourself a great check-in like that, and regardless of the weather report is–clear skies and sunny, or a tsunami mixed with a hail storm–I’m mixed with a tornado, that’s okay, just let it’s. Perfectly advantageous to be that way without delay.
So, we’re checking in, and essentially completely accepting, and allowing whatever’s happening. Not trying to alter it, or control it, or judge it, or rejoice it, even, but simply let it’s just the best way it’s. Let’s just do this for a minute or two together.
Good. Now, I would like you to assume that you just’re sitting like a tree, to pretend whatever it means for you, that you just’re going to sit down this evening like a tree. But a part of that’s imagining that you might have roots that go down all of the technique to the middle of the earth. This is kind of a big tree–way down, tremendously deep and powerful roots, that not only give tremendous stability but in addition tap into probably the most primordial life force. So, really feel those roots, all the best way right down to the middle of the earth, and outward. Giving tremendous stability, and tremendous life force. Again, we’re just imagining here. Then, one other a part of this tree is that the branches and leaves go as much as the highest of the sky, and fill out the tremendous vast sky.
And, in fact, just as we’re as people, as a tree, we’re a living being. There may be the sap running through the tree, there’s various energies running through the tree. It’s a living system, it’s beautiful and powerful and alive, receiving a lot light on the leaves within the sky, and a lot life force from the roots right down to the middle of the earth. So vibrating with life into energy and stability.
So just feel that in your imagination, and spot that, as this tree, there’s a certain sense of nobility and sweetness. This vast tree has a type of inherent nobility that every of us has, and tremendous beauty–it’s naturally beautiful. There are various more things we are able to say a few tree, but for this meditation, just also notice that this tree accepts itself completely. A tree doesn’t judge its bark, or someway not like a turn of its branch, it’s utterly accepting of itself. It’s wide open, and a tree knows learn how to be still, knows learn how to keep the identical pose for many years, with none strain or effort. So, see in the event you can notice that type of relaxed open stillness, that has a way of beauty and nobility and tremendous groundedness, like a tree.
Notice that the tree can also be incredibly welcoming, feels a way of openness and love and welcoming for birds that will come by, or squirrels, or whatever other beings come by, the tree is welcoming and loving, and likewise a great host. The tree provides shade during which it’s comfortable to rest, even for a meditating Buddha, the tree provides a beautiful spot, a protected spot. We all the time think concerning the Buddha meditating under the tree, but think concerning the tree welcoming and protecting and providing a loving nurturing presence for the Buddha, like a Bodhi Tree of Awakening.
Good. Now, you possibly can let go of that visualization, or that imagination, but still feeling those qualities, tune into your breath because it rises and falls, the rising and falling breath. But don’t do that in a good, narrow, microscopic way. Let it’s really open, really open, it doesn’t take any focus in any respect. Actually, the attention, the open awareness, just is aware of the breath rising and falling in a really nice way. Don’t narrow anything, let it’s wide, wide open. Perhaps the breath is similar to one little squirrel running up and down the trunk, a tasker running up and down the trunk. So, just tune in, and feel the breath rising and falling.
And as you’re doing that, I’m just going to ask you to calm down your brow and your eyebrows. Feel that leisure coming into the face of the cheeks and mouth and lips. Let’s let that naturally release, and just feel open and soft. You recognize how good it feels to calm down any tight expression. And the identical along with your throat and neck and shoulders–we’re not going to do yoga or anything–we’re just inviting the stress to empty away. Tension drains all the best way down through the roots, back into the middle of the Earth, and easily leaves a more spacious, open, relaxed, feeling within the neck and throat and shoulders. You would possibly feel your throat doing that thing where your voice lowers since the muscles there calm down.
Continuing to only notice the rising and falling of the breath within the vastness of awareness, almost like within the background, it’s just there rising and falling.
Allow, now, your arms and hands and fingers turn into as limp as wet rags, so limp you couldn’t use them for anything in the event you tried without tightening them up. They’re just utterly released, not able to go, but almost put away for the moment. And as you’re feeling your face and your head and your throat and neck and shoulders and arms and hands feeling that relaxed, just tune into how good that feels. Tune into the pleasantness there.
We will generally tend to tune into tightness or what’s not relaxing, but I would like you to tune into what’s soft, what’s released, what’s open, what is freed from tension. Concentrate on that part, and spot that, as you do this, you drop now right into a much deeper place, a way more open, and effortless, and wide awake place–vibrant, clear awareness, but tremendous gentle, soft, openness at the identical time. And permit that leisure to affect your chest and diaphragm, and your belly, in order that whole a part of your torso within the front and within the back, just inviting it to release and open. Allowing any tension again to empty away, drain down into the Earth, leaving a way of peacefulness, and softness, gentleness, openness, within the body. At the identical time, a quiet awakeness, not sleepy or dreamy, but quite clear, quite vibrant, quite sharp. Notice how that lack of tension in your belly, your belly just becomes soft and simple and open, but that actually feels good, and allows that sense of the rising and falling breath to be a bit of clearer, perhaps a bit of more forward within the vast sky of awareness itself. That belly feels so good respiration.
Then let the pelvic region calm down, the hips calm down, tension draining away out of your legs and feet, into the Earth, which greedily accepts it. Earth loves that leaving just a way of freedom and gentleness and openness within the legs and feet. The legs turn into as soft and mild as wet rags, no tension in any respect. And as that last little bit of tension leaves the body, just feel the complete body now, dropping just a bit of more completely into openness and ease. A way more profound sense of stillness–the type of stillness that comes from leisure.
And see that in case your eyes are closed, the eyelids are so relaxed, you possibly can’t actually open them without tightening them. So notice that–attempt to open them–you possibly can’t do it unless you tighten them, but they’re so relaxed they’re actually type of stuck shut. The identical thing along with your arms and hands. After all, in the event you tightened them, you may move them, but at this point, they’re so relaxed that in the event you leave them relaxed, you really can’t move them. And that sense of tremendous relaxed stillness then permeates the complete body a lot that apart from respiration, again, unless you tense it up, you possibly can’t move. So relaxed, it’s perfectly still, just respiration gently, but aside from that, can’t move, doesn’t wish to move.
Having fun with the stillness, the wide awake stillness, very vibrant mind. And, that is the interesting thing, because that relaxed stillness within the body permeates the mind as well, the mind finds it type of relaxed stillness. Also, hopefully, noticing the rising and falling, the effortless up and down motion of the breath with none effort and utterly tension-free. Resisting nothing, changing nothing, so let’s sit together for a bit of while here, simply very relaxed, very awake, allowing the sky of the mind to easily rest in itself, because the breath rises and falls inside it.
Notice that it takes zero effort to bear in mind, the attention is all the time already there. Notice the breath rising and falling, without tightening or narrowing in any respect, and spot how good that feels. It’s inherently nice to return to our natural state of relaxed, open awareness, that’s naturally awake with none effort.
Good. Now, just let awareness fill all of space, and if it looks as if anything in any respect is in the best way of that, just recognize that that’s just an idea, that’s only a mental construct–something you’re keeping solid in your mind. But no, there’s a wall there–just let go of those constructs, and permit awareness to easily fill the entire space, with none boundary, with none obstruction, with none limit of any kind. It’s boundless, boundless, awareness, or, lets say, boundaryless. Again, every place where it looks as if it’s not that, just notice that that’s just an idea, and just gently let go of that concept. What if it just fills all space, with none boundary, with none ideas blocking it. Feel what that seems like–tremendously vast awareness.
I’ve noticed that it does that in all directions, even straight down, fills all space in that direction, with no boundary. Straight back–fills all space with no boundary. Straight up, and in all directions, you’re encountering a boundary is just an idea, just an idea. We let go of that idea, and spot the boundarylessness. It just falls open to vastness, without limit. Notice that vastness without delay, boundaryless, boundless awareness.
Again, if there’s any direction that you just’re encountering a boundary, notice the boundary is just in your mind, after which see through it. Allow it to only dissolve or fall away. it’s just in your mind. Notice the opening that follows.
Good. Now, I ask you this query, and I would like you to have a look at what answer arises. How long has this awareness been here? How long has this vast, boundless, awareness been here? Look, without delay. Don’t give you a solution from ideas of how long you’re thinking that it’s been, but look directly at it. How long has it been here? If you look directly, you’ll notice there’s type of two ways to reply that. You either say it’s all the time been here, or that query doesn’t make any sense, because time doesn’t really apply to awareness. It’s in a timeless place. Some people wish to say, well, it’s all the time within the now. But it surely’s not even within the now, because that’s a time expression. The now is just situated between the past and the longer term. That is timeless, it’s outside of time, it’s everlasting. In other words, notice that you just’ve learned to construct a time box in your head, but that’s inside awareness. Awareness just isn’t inside time, so just drop the time box, and spot that awareness is of course free and timeless, in addition to boundless. It’s not some special state, it’s just the best way it’s.
After I say it’s timeless, sometimes people think that I mean they’re going to see the massive bang, or some type of science fiction future, but it surely’s not like that. It’s just outside of time. Time is a construct in your mind, so let’s let that construct go, and also you’ll notice awareness is free, it’s timeless, it’s easy, effortless, wide awake.
Good. So, we have now this eternal, timeless awareness that’s already wide awake with none effort, just by dropping among the constructs that we work so hard to take care of. Just letting those go. In other words, not working hard to maintain them in place they only fall open, and we’re left with boundless, timeless, wide awake awareness, that we all the time have already got.
Now, what’s happening in that awareness without delay? Hear the sounds–are you doing anything to listen to sound? They’re just naturally aware, the crows agree. Feel the air in your skin, feel the cushion beneath you, feel the comfort or pain in your legs or back. Are you doing anything on purpose to feel all that, or is it just simply there in awareness, with none effort? Notice all of the thoughts arising–thoughts are advantageous, we’re not against thoughts. Does it take any effort to note those, or, much more interestingly, does it take any effort to have them, or do they only run on their very own? In your body, notice the emotions which are arising. Perhaps sadness, perhaps fear, perhaps frustration, perhaps joy, perhaps peace, perhaps the entire above without delay. All those emotions are simply there in awareness, presenting themselves with none effort. Just there doing their thing.
What’s in awareness, I asked you, what’s in awareness? All the things is.
Where’s the sense of someone doing something? Here I’m, I’m doing my meditation.
Where’s that? That’s just something arising in awareness, without anybody doing anything. Awareness doesn’t do anything and accomplishes all the things. Notice that now. The complete world arises inside awareness, not the opposite way around.
Boundless, timeless, awakeness that we all the time already are. Let’s rest as that now,
aware of all the things, with none effort. Don’t do anything, just let awareness be.
Good. Now, look rigorously, without delay, where is the attention coming from? What’s its source? It’s boundless, timeless–the complete world is arising inside it. The complete sense of self is arising inside it. Where is it coming from? Look. Look again. Where’s its source? Is there a fountain of awareness in the middle of the top, or some type of awareness tube with awareness rays coming out of it? Where is it coming from?
Notice, you possibly can’t find it. It’s not coming from anywhere. Look as hard as you wish, without delay. You may’t discover a source. Isn’t that crazy? There’s one central fact about existence, you’re aware, without delay, and you possibly can’t find where it comes from. It doesn’t come from anywhere, it’s just there.
Good. Look, What’s awareness manufactured from? What’s it manufactured from? Hint: it’s not manufactured from anything. It’s not coming from anywhere, it’s not manufactured from anything, and yet experience is present. As deep as you look, you won’t give you the chance to seek out any cognons or particles of awareness. The sense of you and the complete world and all of the beings in it arise inside awareness, and awareness itself isn’t even a thing. Notice that now in your personal experience. Your experience of yourself and the entire world is just floating like a dream in itself, vibrantly clear, shockingly vibrant, vivid, intense, and yet groundless, empty.
Now, notice the property of awareness that it’s so open, it accepts all the things, every sight, every sound, every feeling, every thought, every being. Awareness rejects nothing, and this non-rejection, this tremendous openness, is a type of welcoming presence. So, not in your mind, not in your body, not in emotions, but in awareness itself, feel this welcoming acceptance of all the things. Unconditional welcoming presence for all the things and everybody. It’s right there, you don’t need to make it up or attempt to have some feeling of something. It’s that welcoming presence is true there, nothing is rejected, nobody is tossed out, including you, just exactly the best way you’re, with none change by any means. Completely welcome, completely accepted, just the best way you’re, without delay.
Now, meditate like a tree, feel your groundedness within the earth, along with your branches up into the heavens, after which just let go of that again.
Good. In timeless time, it’s crow o’clock–my favorite time. So we’ll end the meditation there. Be happy to maneuver and stretch. To have a meditation when there’s a complete movement class happening right there, a variety of moving and stretching happening sonically, it’s type of interesting.
Q&A
Thanks. So before I type of fall into whatever I feel like pontificating about, I notice that we’ve got quite quite a few bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, sensible people here this evening, so I’ll just invite your curiosity. Be happy to lift your hand and report in your experience, or whatever questions you would possibly have, and we’ll see what we are able to do with those as a gaggle.
Questioner 1: Yeah, I discovered much of that easy within the statement that what you’re describing, that the timelessness thing. I didn’t know learn how to latch onto that. It felt this underlying ground that felt timeless in the best way that the ground that we’re sitting on feels timeless–no perception of it changing. But it surely seems like you’re describing something…
Michael: No, that’s about it. It’s not that it’s not changing, but that it’s not, as I said, sometimes people think it’s going to be really psychedelic to go timeless, but it surely’s really the other. It feels really similar to time doesn’t apply, and that feels either type of still, or open–has a variety of space, but in addition type of normal. It’s just we’re not applying the time box. In case you get the move, the move is simple–just drop the time box, you realize day-after-day because you were about five, you learned learn how to assemble the time box. So we’re just used to doing that effort, but it surely’s a thing you possibly can just not do. It’s a habit which you can not do, and in the event you drop it, all the things’s still there, but there’s no time box.
So, yeah, that sounds pretty reasonable, what you’re describing. It’s a really nice thing to let go of. It’s not hard. People make it hard, but it surely’s not. I believe describing it as a movement, within the sense of like you realize a thing you possibly can stop doing, that type of idea of a move. It’s only a habit that we are able to not engage in. The hard part is noticing the thing that’s doing it, after which, when you notice it, though, it’s easy to go, oh, okay, I don’t have to try this. Then it’s just timeless. What’s interesting, again, is that that’s not even now, because now’s a time idea. It just feels everlasting, or timeless, or something like that, or like time is irrelevant. Awesome, what else is on the market?
You guys feeling like trees?
Questioner 2: Are you able to explain what a fruition is and the way someone can…
Michael: I’ll give my explanation. It’ll probably be type of flawed, but it surely’s how I give it some thought. That word is from a specific a part of a specific tradition, but I don’t really consider it inside those traditional boxes exactly, so I’m not going to provide you the super traditional answer, okay?
I’d just say, a fruition is the culmination of a specific type of wave of meditative insight. So, considered one of the things people think is that meditation is about leisure, but, in fact, if I’m going I’m from Michigan right? If I’m going back to Michigan, and I meet someone that knew me 30 years ago, they’ll be like, oh, what do you do? And, I’m like, I’m a meditation teacher and so they’ll say, oh, I would like to calm down, I would like to calm down. That’s what you do, right? you teach people to calm down. And, you guys were in here, I show people learn how to calm down a bit of bit, but there’s more to do, right?
And, so, as considered one of the things we’re attempting to do is have insights into the character of ourselves the character of the world, etc., and so we are able to consider particular movements or waves of meditation as culminating in an insight. And that movement or wave might take hours or weeks or months, but as we’re going deeper, and opening, and getting clearer, and going deeper, and opening, and getting clearer, eventually we could have quite a profound insight into the character of our sense of self, or into the character of the world, and that’s the fruition of that wave of insight.
Classically, those could be very particular insights, but I believe that so long as they’re of a certain nature and depth, I’d call that a fruition. Often, something to do with seeing some
of the things we were taking a look at here tonight, just very clearly, the sense of self is just something arising in awareness. It doesn’t have any actual basis or location, or it doesn’t exist by itself. Something like that, seen very deeply and really clearly, could be a fruition in my way of understanding.
Classically, you’ll get that insight after having like a type of lights-out temporary cessation type experience, but it surely doesn’t need to occur that way, so far as I’m concerned. There’s other ways in which those insights can arise. Does that even partially answer your query? Okay, other stuff coming from that direction?
I mean the word really is , which is the word “fruit,” so it’s fruition, meaning you’ve grown this whole tree, and eventually you get type of the end result, so the insight comes from all of the work.
Questioner 2: By extension, I’m also excited about cessasions, and what those are. I believe I’ve heard that they generally occur that it’s possible you’ll not notice? What’s a cessation? How is it distinct from a fruition?
Michael: Sure, you possibly can have cessation without fruition. Cessation is solely when meditative insight grows sufficiently clear, the concentration and clarity and equanimity reaches a spot where there’s no fabrication by any means of any sensory arising, and so the complete system can just mainly stop for a moment–zero sensory arising–and even zero sense of awareness for a moment.
It’s very easy to mistake things which are like that for it, so I’m reluctant to you realize give anything but a extremely long description, but I’ll still give a brief description, and say, it’s not similar to falling asleep or nodding out or something, because after a cessation, there’s a really distinct sense of the mind having to reboot all the best way from the underside up. So, it’s not like when your screensaver blanks out for a minute, and also you touch the trackpad, and the entire thing comes back, it’s more like reboot and also you watch all the things rebuild.
So it’s a really distinct thing, and I believe there’s some unique opportunities there when that happens, but that typically comes about–doesn’t need to–but it surely typically comes about from very type of narrow microscopic, very, very high speed, high clarity kind of practice. But not all the time. It might occur even from very wide, open, very non -attentive type practice, but with a variety of just wakefulness. Is that making any sense in any respect to you?
It will be pretty hard to miss. I do know people say you possibly can miss it, but I don’t think that’s possible, truthfully. I believe, after I’ve heard people say, that it’s normally saying that other traditions really have them but just don’t notice, which, to me, no they don’t, you notice it. So, pretty hard to miss.
Questioner 3: I even have a curiosity about how people carry tension. I notice in my body how I’m doing this. Why would I be holding this tension?
Michael: OK, put your hand out and clench your fist, now unclench it. How does that work? I mean we are able to talk concerning the neurology of it, and all that, we have now a reasonably good understanding, but you realize really how the intention to maneuver arises, and all that? If we go deep enough, that’s pretty hard to unpack. We will unpack it fairly deeply, but eventually it’s type of, like, why does anyone wish to do anything? Somewhere in there there’s a desire to act, and it’s causing the muscles to maneuver, but what’s interesting is, we predict of that as very short-term, very temporary. I’m going to select up a coffee cup. I’m going to brush my brow, but, what if some parts of your mind just are holding an motion? Same thing, it’s not any different than this, it’s just these muscles listed here are doing that and never stopping holding.
So what’s the cure? We go in there and find the thing that’s holding, and just calm down it. But that is likely to be really really deep in there. And it could have been doing it so long that even the muscles must relearn learn how to calm down. If it’s really a pattern that’s been over many years. I’d just say doing embodied exploration of that area could be really really, really helpful, but you’ll find, eventually, since you’re alive, it’s not stuck. There’s just something to seek out learn how to calm down. Again, if it’s been over a extremely very long time, it may not want to only calm down, it would should be type of like stretched open, to relearn its relaxed position. Okay, does that make any sense?
Questioner 3: Yes. I even have one other query. Last week I used to be here and I had this experience that I’ve never had before in meditation. I felt like someone turned an enormous light up–it was very white, after which just fell down, and I don’t know what that’s.
Michael: That’s a meditation experience, yeah, it’s super wonderful, but you possibly can’t say what it’s greater than to say that’s a great meditation experience. It’s probably energizing, and clarifying, and motivating and all that. But it surely’s also a special experience, it’s not like each time you meditate that’s going to occur, or that’s a goal, like we could make it like okay, I would like that to occur each time, so here’s what we’re going to do. That doesn’t really help, so what we do is just go, that’s an excellent experience, okay. Next. Just come back and sit some more, but, in fact, it’s a great thing, something nice occurred, and you possibly can describe it in alternative ways, but it surely really just boils right down to–that’s awesome, keep going, don’t get stuck there, don’t think that that’s the thing. Though that’s wonderful, right? It’s very easy for us to attempt to get real conceptual around that stuff, and it’s higher to only let it’s something beautiful and leave it at that.
Other stuff? Yes.
Questioner 4: In today’s meditation after the tree and the relaxing the body, more non-dual stuff, I discovered I couldn’t follow it in any respect, I had this buzzing in my head.
Michael: That’s totally advantageous.
Questioner 3: The questions you were posing, my mind was just not engaged with that.
Michael: Great, how’d that feel?
Questioner 3: Equanimous.
Michael: Yeah, so I said your mind just opens and and relaxes, great. You’re never required to follow the meditation. I would like you to not sleep. You were awake, you were sitting upright the entire time. But, being just wide open, wide awake, clear, not following the concepts–totally advantageous. Let that be the best way it’s, yeah, great.
Questioner 4: I had a matter about interaction around spaciousness. I struggle with that. I used to be very relaxed and still, but yet prefer it’s not aside from setting the intention, it doesn’t transcend that.
Michael: How would you realize if it went beyond that? What could be proof positive that it was spacious?
Questioner 4: I’m undecided.
Michael: So, how do you realize it’s not happening, okay?
Questioner 4: Since it feels similar to before I set an intention.
Michael: So, that’s that’s not a foul answer. What I’d say is, we are able to go about it very technically and say if we start taking a look at the mental images present in your mind, you’ll see, when, even along with your eyes closed, there’s a mental image of a wall over there, and a mental image of the ceiling, but those are only mental images. They’re not actual boundaries, and so if we either see through them, we see that those are mental images, not actual boundaries–that’s enough. But once we see through them, we’d give you the chance to only type of calm down them.
Either way, the seeing through of the mental boundary releases right into a sense of–it just feels spacious–and what you realize you’re doing, similar to there’s a time box, there’s an area box you retain putting yourself in. And it’s really useful for not bumping into partitions whenever you’re walking around, but there’s no reason to maintain it going whenever you’re just sitting still. And so I would like you to learn to acknowledge the space box you’re making. There’s a floor here, there are partitions here, there’s a ceiling there, and also you’re all the time doing that, and it’s only a video game you’re playing in your head. In case you can clearly notice that video game, then it’s very easy to calm down it.
There are a variety of ways we are able to do this. We could do really technical vipassana on mental images until you noticed those arising. So, without delay, consider the way you would go away out the front door. Did you see a series of images? Okay, so with a variety of meditative clarity, you’ll see those pictures very clearly, it’s just semi-conscious without delay, but that’s an area box you’re making. So, close your eyes without delay, consider the room you’re in, the people, the ceiling, the partitions, the ground–all that. That’s just an image in your head, right? Now, just let go of the image or the sense of those being there, and also you’ll feel like, oh, inside awareness, there’s just space. I can construct these conceptual partitions and that’s useful, but I also can let go of them. Are you getting a feel for that?
Questioner 4: Yeah I’m searching for a lightning bolt but it surely’s not going to occur.
Michael: It’s similar to the timelessness–It doesn’t turn into something super trippy. It’s
just, oh, that feels nice. It’s space now within the room, in order that’s all. It’s not hard in the event you just
get it that there’s a game your brain is playing, and we just want you to only rest that game for a minute. Excellent, these are great questions! Anything? Something deeper than like what’s a fruition?
Questioner 5: In the best way that we’re meditating, open awareness nondual way, is it even helpful to have cessations?
Michael: Yes, but we’re not attempting to. If that happens, that’s great, because watching all of the concepts construct back may be very useful, and even in even in non-dual traditions, we are able to speak about penetrating the substrate of the mind, and beneath that’s the open awareness the actual big open awareness, so it’s useful if someone can do this. We will definitely leverage that. Alternatively, there’s other ways to get at the identical thing that don’t require that. So there’s one other way.
Questioner 5: You might have mentioned that cessation is a precursor to insight. In case you’re not having cessations, are there every other things?
Michael: That’s what we just did. You’re all the time searching for the boundlessness, the timelessness, the undeniable fact that all of the sensory arisings are happening in the attention, not the opposite way around. So, technically that’s real vipashyana on this tradition. As an alternative of searching for impermanence and no self and suffering like you’ll do in Theravada vipassana, here with vipashyana, we’re searching for emptiness. What does that mean? Note, for instance, the emptiness of time, notice that point is a mental construct. It doesn’t need to stop, you’re just not making a thing out of it. It’s empty, oh, notice that you just’re constructing a spatial 3D type of stage of the world around you on a regular basis in your mind, and that’s only a constructor making. You don’t need to stop the construct, but notice it’s a construct. Now that scene is empty, right?
So we’re seeing all of those things, including the sense of self, including the sense of the world around you, including very particularly the sense of doership–that’s a really, very vital
one to see the emptiness of. That’s what we’re searching for, those are the insights, and as we see the emptiness of all those things without delay, you’re just left with an amazing awakeness that can also be empty. That’s only the start, but that’s what you’re searching for. You do it on purpose, similar to after we do vipassana, it’s not only that I’m going to be with what’s, it’s I’m going to particularly search for three things, I’m going to search for impermanence, I’m going to search for the dearth of a way of self, I’m going to search for unsatisfactoriness or , or whatever. You’re specifically attempting to see–a thing about reality, or a thing about experience.
Within the non-dual precursors, we’re searching for emptiness, right? So it’s super vital to get what emptiness is, and give you the chance to note it directly. So even in the event you don’t you notice, I believe I only used the word emptiness once tonight and it was an accident, so I used to be just pointing to emptiness without ever saying that word. Saying it’s empty is identical as saying it’s a mental construct, it doesn’t mean it’s not there, but it surely’s also not there in the best way that we are inclined to think it’s it’s there. So once we see all of the mental constructs as fundamentally what they’re–mental constructs–what’s left is de facto interesting. And, again, even that’s only a starting place. Those are the precursors. Awesome! All right, those are some great questions! Thanks.
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