Monday, October 10, 2016

Dualistic notions and The three doors of liberation (2)

Read deeply the following article regarding The Doors of Liberation by Thich Nhat Hanh.
http://www.lionsroar.com/the-doors-of-liberation-may-2014/
The followings are key phrases.

Quote:
2. Signlessness (Formlessness)
A sign marks the appearance of something, its form. We recognize things based on their sign, but we are often fooled by the outer form of things. The Buddha said, “Where there is a sign, there is deception.

It’s impossible to pass from being into nonbeing. Your beloved one is still somewhere there. If you have the wisdom of signlessness, you can still recognize your beloved one in her new forms.

We are not only the body, thoughts, and feelings we have right now. Every thought, word, and action we produce continues after our bodies have disintegrated. We don’t need to worry about no longer existing. Our forms change, but nothing is lost.

3. Aimlessness
Aimlessness means you don’t put anything in front of you as the object of your pursuit. What you are looking for is not outside of you; it is already here. You already are what you want to become. Concentrating on aimlessness releases your longing and craving for something in the future and elsewhere.

You may be running all your life instead of living it. You may be running after happiness, love, romance, success, or enlightenment. Concentrating on aimlessness consists of removing the object of your pursuit, your goal.

This insight helps you stop running. Only when you stop running can you get the fulfillment and happiness you have been looking for. ... You are the manifestation of the cosmos. You are wonderful just like that.

We are taught to think that if we are aimless, we won’t get anywhere. But where are we going? We think we are born and we have to achieve something before we die. ... Even before the moment of conception, the seeds of the child existed in other forms. Point B is a moment of continuation. There is no beginning.

We believe that at birth we passed from nonbeing into being, and we believe that at death we will pass from being back into non- being. Looking deeply into our notions of being and nonbeing, aware of the emptiness and signlessness of all things, we touch the reality of the birthless and deathless nature of all things.

When we walk through the doors of liberation, we extinguish all notions. There is no longer any need for fear. If the wave knows how to rest in the water, she enjoys going up and she enjoys going down. She’s not afraid of being and nonbeing. She’s not afraid of coming and going. She is capable of touching the ocean in herself. The three doors of liberation remind us that we are no different than the wave: empty, signless, and able to touch the ultimate inherent in us at any moment.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
"touching the ocean" means to touch the whole cosmos, awareness, non-separate self, or true self. And the wave is liken to ego, separate self, or fake self. All we need is to transform ourselves from ego to awareness. In other words, All we need is to revive awareness in us. I understand that the best method is mindfulness. But I find so many fake mindfulness in the world. Right Mindfulness must enable us to stop thinking. You can check your mindfulness teacher by asking, "Do you think?". If your teacher answers "Yes", s/he is a fake mindfulness teacher. If your teacher is a true mindfulness teacher, s/he must answer, "No, I attain insight without thinking."

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WBTLNEU

Thích Nhất Hạnh