Wei Wu Wei - I move/I repose...

Art Mazarine Memon

I move... 

Space becomes ( as the result of my movement),
Time is born (as a result of my movement in space),
I have objects (because I have become the subject of space and time),
Dualism is established,
The Universe appears,
I identify myself with my objects (and there are illusionary egos),
I suffer illusorily (and suffering becomes universal).

I repose...

Space vanishes (for I have ceased to move),
Time ceases (for there is no movement to measure),
There are no objects (for I am no longer a subject),
Dualism is no more,
The universe disappears,
There are no illusory egos,
There is no suffering,
I am, but there is no 'me'.

Chuck Surface - Gates of Heaven

When we enter the Gates of Heaven,
Both “limited” and “limitless” vanish.

This is what is meant by “Infinite”;
Not endless space,
But the vanishing of space, altogether.

When we enter the Gates of Heaven,
Past, future, and “now” vanish.

This is what is meant by “Eternal”;
Not endless existence in time,
But the vanishing of time, altogether.

When we enter the Gates of Heaven,
The Enjoyer of Enjoyment vanishes.

This is what is meant by “Unalloyed Ecstasy”;
Not endless pleasure had by an “experiencer”,
But the vanishing of the experiencer, altogether.

When we enter the Gates of Heaven,
We vanish.

This is what is meant by “Liberation”;
Not the Benediction of “i”,
But the vanishing of “i”, altogether.

No space
In which objects can arise.

No time
In which objects can be perceived.

No objects
To be perceived.

No subject-perceiver-experiencer
To perceive, experience, cognize.

The vanishing of…
Everything.

Everything…
Gone.

Emptiness.

And yet…

Absolute, Unimaginable, Inexpressible,
Fullness and Completion.

The Unalloyed Ecstasy of Pure Being.

Unalloyed.

And when “we” return from Heaven
To this Dream of space, time, and form,
Formlessness moving as form,
Into and as this Locus of Experience…

It is this Ecstasy that shines in our Heart,
This Water from The Ocean of Bliss,
This Warmth from The Sun of Liberation,
This Fragrance from The Blossom of Pure Being…

The Embrace of The Beloved,
With us, within us, Always…
Always…
In the Wellspring of the Heart.

Within... and as.

Not merely Peace, Happiness, and Joy,
As those who wander the frontiers say.
This Bliss, this Ananda…
Is… Rapturous.

Rapturous.

And oh… the Greatest Blessing,
The most Unimaginable Grace,
The most Inexpressible Beatitude,
Is that we needn't enter the Gates of Heaven…

For this Light to Shine within…
For this Fire to warm our Hearts…
For this Living Water to quench our Thirst…
To be held in the Beloved's Embrace…

For Heaven to Illuminate,
Every aspect of our Being,
Gross and subtle,
Spirit and flesh.

And oh… the Greatest Miracle of all
The most Unimaginable Grace,
The most Inexpressible Beatitude,
Is that this Love, once Shining…

From the Wellspring of our Heart,
Is a wordless Blessing,
To the Hearts of all Beings,
To the Heart of all Creation.

http://www.gardenofthebeloved.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adrift-in-the-Ocean-of-Bliss/291596150965852 

Robert Wolfe - The Meaning of Love

Question: I viewed the 46 minute interview on YouTube, and found your words and presence deeply resonant with my understandings. I did come away with one question or topic that I did not hear you speak on: the presence of Love Abiding. Is there a place in your writings that I can read your thoughts on love as permeating Nondual Presence? Or do you speak of Nonduality without any framing of that presence in terms of love? - Rev. Roy R.

Robert:
Because it is so much at the very root of spirituality, an entire book could be written on how love is perceived by an enlightened being. As a pastor, you are asking how love is expressed in the context of nonduality.

By the way you framed the question, I think we can agree that we are not considering love in its common conception as mere affection and attachment toward another person or object; benevolent concern for other animate beings; romantic or sexual attraction; or worship and devotion toward an idol or supernatural image. All of these are relationships which reflect a dualistic perception. As Ramana Maharshi has said of this, "When you talk of 'love' there is duality, is there not: the person who loves and the entity…which is loved."

In the transcendence of the dualistic perception is the profound love which the nondual sages refer to. The Sanskrit term ananda is often translated into English as "bliss," but the bliss is the consequence of experiencing unconditional love: the word unconditional is defined as "absolute." This is love for all that exists: that means the "good," the "bad," and whatever is in between. It means a love that inclusively makes no distinction between what is manifested from moment to moment, and the omnipresent Totality which manifests it.

Ramana uses various words to indicate the ever-present actuality, such as God or Self, that ti which all things owe their be-ing. So he says, " Expansion of love and affection would be a [proper] term for a true devotee of God," or the sublime Presence. But he emphasizes that thjis infinite Presence "is not 'somewhere else', but is inside [as well as outside] of each of us; so, in loving all, one loves only the Self…The individual is not separate from God."

He is telling us that this love and affection expands to embrace the good, the bad and the indifferent—in ourselves, equally as in others. This is the "unconditional" aspect, which, relates to our being nonjudgmental and non-interfering, and thus eliminates conflict, inward and outward.

This "love" is not an alternative to "hate"; it's the transcendence of divisive polarities: such as that some people, or developments, are "good" or "bad"; or that they should be this way, and should not be that way. This is what Ramana means by "the absence of love or hatred."

The infinite Being is above hatred, and above love as well, in the discriminatory sense. But that within each of us which has the capacity for the expression of unconditional love, or compassion, is a manifestation of the Presence which loves itself through the medium of being all things which can be the subject of love.

Thus Ramana says: "Love is not different from the Self…[in this sense] God is love…Love itself is the actual form of God…Call it pure bliss, God, or what you will."

"It is only through jnana [Self-realization] that the bliss that derives from true love will arise…Die yourself [into the eternal Self] and lose yourself, becoming one with love…To be the [nondual] Self that you really are, is the only means to realize the bliss that is ever yours."

So, in summary: God is love (as well as all else), and this God manifests as all that is.

http://livingnonduality.org/home.htm

Nathan Gill - The Play of Life

Seeing with clarity, life appears as a great play. You – Consciousness play all
the roles in the play, and appear as the whole show spontaneously arising
without cause.
It is part of the play that you – Consciousness play the roles usually without
knowing your real identity, but sometimes, as part of the show, you allow
yourself to know what you really are.
When you – Consciousness – are involved as a character in your play without
allowing yourself to know your real nature, the role is taken seriously and all
the dramas of life appear from this.
If a role is played where you notice what you are, the play is seen for what it
is. The character who notices it’s real identity doesn’t disappear with a flash
and a bang – although that is possible because there are no rules for the play,
- or put on ochre robes and have disciples, or teach ‘spiritual’ truths, although
any of these are possible, depending on the pattern of the character’s role in
the play. The character will likely appear as he or she did before knowing
their real identity. The character is likely to continue to lead what is an
ordinary life in the play. It is not even necessarily so that the character tells
anyone or communicates what is now obvious.
There is no point to this seeing with clarity. It is part of the play and has no
merit associated with it. If the character was suffering or had a problem
before the clarity, then that may still be part of the character’s role. There
could be bliss or delight, but only if that is a part of the role being played.
There are absolutely no rules or conditions. The whole play has no purpose
or point and is just you – Consciousness – celebrating yourself. You are your
play. It has no separate existence from you.

Clarity PDF

Jesus of Nazareth - Inner Light

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal;
For where your treasure is, there will your Heart also be.
The Light of the body is the Eye. If, therefore, your eye be Single, your whole body shall be Full of Light."
~ Jesus (Matthew 6:20-21)

Hafiz - I Will Hire You as a Minstrel

Take one of my tears,
Throw it into the ocean

And watch the salt in the wounds
Of this earth and men begin to disappear.

Take one of my tears
And cradle it in your palm.
Mount a great white camel
And carry my love into every desert,
Paying homage to every Prophet
Who has ever walked in our world.

O take one of my tears
And stop weeping only for sadness,

For there is so much More to this life
Than you now understand.

Take one of my tears
And become like the Happy One,
O like the Happy One –
Who now lives Forever
Within me.

When a drop from my Emerald Sea
Touches your soul’s mouth,
It will dissolve everything but your Joy
And an Eternal Wonder.

Then,
The Beloved will gladly hire you
As His minstrel

To go traveling about this world,
Letting everyone upon this earth

Hear
The Beautiful Names of God
Resound in a thousand chords!

Hafiz himself is singing tonight
In Resplendent Glory,

For the cup in my heart
Has revealed the Beloved’s Face,
And I have His oath in writing

That He will never again depart.

O Hafiz, take one of your tears,
For you are weeping like a golden candle-

Throw one tear into the Ocean of your own verse

And let the wounds
Of every lover of God who kneels in prayer
And comes close to your words
Begin, right now,
To disappear.

From: I Heard God Laughing – Renderings of Hafiz – Daniel Ladinsky

 

 

Rumi - I'm Light Within His Light

I circled awhile with each of the intelligences,
the nine fathers that control the levels of spirit-growth.
I revolved for years with the stars through each astrological sign.
I disappeared into the kingdom of nearness.
I saw what I have seen,
receiving nourishment as a child lives in the womb.
Personalities are born once,
a mystic many times.
Wearing the body-robe,
I've been busy in the market,
weighing and arguing prices.
Sometimes I have torn the robe off
with my own hands and thrown it away.
I've spent long nights in monasteries,
and I have slept with those who claim to believe nothing
on the porches of pagodas,
just traveling through.
When someone feels jealous,
I am inside the hurt and the need to possess.
When anyone is sick,
I feel feverish and dizzy.
I am cloud and rain being released,
and then the meadow as it soaks it in.
I wash the rains of mortality from the cloth around a dervish.
I am the rose of eternity,
not made of water or fire or the wandering wind,
or even earth.
I pay with those.
I am not Shams of Tabriz,
but a light within his light.
If you see me, be careful.
Tell no one what you've seen.

-- Ghazal (Ode) 331
Version by Coleman Barks
"Say I Am You" Maypop, 1994 

Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche - What a wonderful miracle!

You know the supreme path that is free from coming and going,
And you teach the true nature of all phenomena,
While never leaving a single being out of your compassion’s embrace,
Great mother, noble Tara, I bow at your feet.
Since all phenomena, outer and inner, are dependently existent mere appearances,
They have no inherent nature, they are just appearance-emptiness.
If you know how they resemble dreams and illusions,
All comings and goings will be open and relaxed.
Since appearances of friends and enemies are dependently existent,
Both are appearance-emptiness, like rainbows, and if you know this,
That is called, “meditation on illusion.”
Within openness you will achieve inner peace.
A planet and a particle are equal,
An aeon and an instant are equal, the Buddha taught.
If you gain uncontrived certainty in this,
Within spaciousness, any work you do will come out alright.
When you are expert at studying your own mind
All that appears becomes your guru,
And even your enemies become friends of your Dharma practice -
E ma! What a wonderful miracle!

http://www.ktgrinpoche.org/ 

Nobody's notes - Goosebumps All Over

Hi N,

So I realized something yesterday and hopefully I can articulate it in a way that makes sense.

The ego isn’t actually our thoughts and emotions, but the false “I” or person that clings to and identifies with these thoughts and emotions in order to keep itself alive. But then, when you witness a thought that passes through, and you feel yourself clinging to it, and you ask yourself “Who is it that clings to this thought? Is there someone actually there?” you realize that there’s no one actually there that identifies with any of it. It’s just thought and emotion passing through and this whole time I thought there was a real person identifying with these thoughts and emotions, or that I WAS these thoughts and emotions, but when you try to see who identifies with them you realize there isn’t anyone there.

When you stop identifying yourself as your thoughts and instead try to see who associates itself with them you realize there is nothing left for you to identify yourself with, other than emptiness. So there’s literally nothing left to identify with when you try and see who is it that identifies with thought and emotion that passes through on its own. Because for the most part the thought and emotion comes and goes before I even have a chance to notice it or catch it happening. It’s there and gone so quickly and then it moves on to another thought, so how can that really be me?

After I realized this yesterday it seems like I kept going in and out of my mind and when I was out of my mind, just witnessing it and asking if someone’s actually there, I kept feeling ripples of goosebumps all over.

- G

Very well articulated. 

There is no one.

There is no seeker. There is no finder. There is nothing lost and there is nothing to be found. All there is, is emptiness, silence, God. You are That.

Life happens in this emptiness. Thoughts arise in this emptiness and pass into this emptiness. You are This Emptiness. You always were. You always will be.

Relax your efforts now to articulate, to discuss, to analyze your realization. Don’t bring it back down to the level of the thinking mind. Writing it out in your email has served you, and writing will probably serve you more at a later time, but for now, go deep into this emptiness. Don’t worry about how you are going to speak about it. Dive in, head first.

I’m reading Bernadette Roberts at the moment. Here’s something of relevance for you:

“The secret of allowing an insight to become a permanent way of knowing and seeing is not to touch it, cling to it, dogmatize it, or even think about it. Insights come and go, but to have them stay we have to flow with them, otherwise no change is possible.”

Flow with this insight. Relax. Let it unfold as it should, not for you, because there is no you. Let it unfold for Life itself.

http://nobodysnotes.com/