Knowledge and Religion

The art of introspection

Now that several pressing questions were answered we can get back to Padma’s The Tibetan Book Of The Great Liberation: The next few verses are my favorite. Here Padma is asking us to verify what he is saying by looking into our own mind. And if you think you know what your mind is, you will be in for a pleasant surprise.

How is your mind different than you think?
First, your mind is much bigger than just a few thoughts in your head. In fact it contains the whole universe.

Secondly, it contains time, but in itself it is free from time, unborn and undying. It is the still place where you stand that allows you to see the movement of time.

And thirdly it is indestructible. It cannot be burned by fire, or destroyed by wind or flooded by water.

For these reasons and more, if you are willing to look afresh at your own mind, you will be in for the ultimate adventure.

What is Voidness?
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Making Your Wisdom Come Alive is like a novel where you are the main character. It takes many surprising twist and turns, and in the end you find yourself standing in the place of wisdom and joy, where you always are,and always will be.

For more information go to:
Amazon.com

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So what is this Voidness that Padma often talks about? Voidness is not the same as a vacuum or thoughtless state. Rather it is a state that does not fit into your thinking process. So if you believe that the only way to know something is through your senses and thought processes, it will seem as if the Void is nothingness.

However, there is another way; you can know the void by standing in your original state, which contains its own wisdom. Here the Void shines by its own light without the need be another light. It is a light that shines even in darkness.

Wisdom can change your life

If you want to see how your wisdom can change your life, the following is the perfect question. When your identity gets deeper, the world changes in a way that you did not expect. This is the real adventure that life has to offer you. When you change your viewpoint, the world changes right before your eyes and your situation begins to change too. Read the question and answer below for the details. The name was removed at the request of the questioner.

Dear Michael!

Everything in the last month is turning against me. There is something going on with me because I am losing faith and know that certain events in dealing with money were unwise but I cannot undo what is already history. The past is no more but the NOW the present is for some UNKNOWN reason meeting every job interview with a turndown or a negative impression from the person that does the Hire. I am becoming very discouraged and almost desperate. I know that is probably when I go for job interview like today I feel defeated before I go there and then sure enough it went bad again.
I have NEVER experienced this before. Usually things go great but what is going on?

Maybe if you have some time you can enlighten me. Without money we cannot live and money is becoming to me at this moment the most important item a job but where????    In desperation

Michael's reply:

Hi,

I am sorry to hear about your troubles. But if you can discover how, in the depths of your heart, we are not really separate people, you will discover something that will make all of your troubles seem worthwhile.

You will see that people are connected on a very deep level; the name for this is oneness. This means that when you go in for an interview you are not talking with a separate person. You are really talking with yourself. Having this knowledge, feel as comfortable talking with others, as you would talking with yourself.
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Making Your Wisdom Come Alive is like a novel where you are the main character. It takes many surprising twist and turns, and in the end you find yourself standing in the place of wisdom and joy, where you always are,and always will be.

For more information go to:
Amazon.com

____________________________________________________________________

We are much greater than the person
As you know from reading Making Your Wisdom Come Alive, our identity is much greater than a body, mind, or even the thought, 'I'. Our identity actually encompasses the whole universe, every person and everything.

So when you meet someone for an interview, rather then thinking that you will fail, use the opportunity to explore how you are connected, and to make a friend. With this attitude you will surely discover how we are really one, in wisdom and joy.

The harmony that connects us all
Although this doesn't guarantee that you will get the job, your attitude will leave you at peace and who knows, when you make a friend, other opportunities may turn up. You should know that in this world there is a very deep harmony that connects us all. It is not really you against the world. Furthermore, if you want to wake up to the source of wisdom and bliss, everything in the world will give you a helping hand, and you will be taken care of. It may not be in the way you expect, but you can rest assured that things will work out.

Find the source of happiness and your cup will be full
As you probably know, jobs and money cannot buy happiness. But if you can find the source of happiness, your cup will be full with more bliss than you ever imagined. And best of all this bliss will not depend on the condition of your mind, body, or your situation in the world.

This means that as your situation in the world changes, your peace will remain the same. I hope that this helps.

Feel free to ask questions
Now I want you to experience your self-nature in its full glory. So please feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows you to abide in your natural freedom.

If the comment section of this blog doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend

                                                                        Best Wishes,

                                                                        Michael Gluckman

Wisdom dawns in accordance with its own time

The amazing thing about this teaching on the nature of the mind is that you have to experience it to understand it. This teaching just doesn’t fit into your thoughts. As a matter of fact, to your thinking process, these verses make no sense at all. That’s because you can’t know your mind like you know an object. Rather, although it has no form of its own, mind is the substance that all forms are contained in.

Look again with fresh eyes
However when you search for the nature of your mind, you do have one advantage. You already experience your mind as it is, and just overlook it. But if you are willing to look again with fresh eyes, you will be amazed to find that here lies the substance of the whole universe. In fact mind is the thing that gives substance and meaning to all of your experiences.

So as this verse draws to an end, Padma is asking you to look afresh without any preconceived nations of what your mind is supposed to be. Mind will reveal itself by itself if you just get out of the way.

The three voids
Here the three voids deal with past, present, and future. But in reality the void contains no time at all. That’s why the three voids are called undifferentiated. So now let’s see how Padma describes the nature of your mind in The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation:
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Making Your Wisdom Come Alive is like a novel where you are the main character. It takes many surprising twist and turns, and in the end you find yourself standing in the place of wisdom and joy, where you always are,and always will be.

For more information go to:
Amazon.com

____________________________________________________________________

Mind is non-created
The self-born, qualityless mind, being like the Three Voids undifferentiated, unmodified, how can one assert that mind is created?

Mind being without objectivity and causation, self-originated, self-born, how can one, without having endeavored to know mind, assert that mind is created?

Inasmuch as Divine Wisdom dawns in accordance with its own time, and one is emancipated, how can opponents of these teachings assert that it is created?

Mind being, as it is, of this nature, and thus unknowable, how can one assert that it is created?

The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation
By Padma-Sambhava
translated by Karma Sumdhon Paul, and Lobzang Mingyur Dorje
Edited by Evans-Wentz
Oxford University Press

Dawns in accordance with its own time
Without time or objects, you find that mind always has the same taste. This means that it is the reference point from which we see change, but in itself has a profound stillness that never changes. Another way of saying this is that mind has its own time without a beginning and without an end. If there is no start or end to your mind, it was not created.

Mind is unknowable
Also you cannot stand apart and know mind as a separate thing. But you can know mind as it is because this is your real home. You know mind because that’s what you really are. If this is still a little hazy, in the next verse, The Yoga of Introspection, appearing in the next blog, Padma will make this crystal clear.

Feel free to ask questions
Now I want you to experience your mind in its full glory. So please feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows you to abide in your natural freedom.

If the comment section of this blog doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend

                                                                        Best Wishes,

                                                                        Michael Gluckman

The attributes of your real mind

Remember the purpose of Padma’s verses in The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, is to help us to take a fresh look at our mind. We all know what our mind is supposed to be. It is a bunch of thoughts going around in our head, right?

Well if we can discover what Padma is pointing to, we will see that mind is a lot more than it’s cracked up to be. In fact it lacks the attributes and boundaries that we usually ascribe to it. 

This is like attempting to discover the nature of our mind in last night’s dream. We would find that the thing we thought was limited to an individual really supported the whole dream. Moreover, the mind was not dependent on the dream at all. It was perfectly at home, no matter in what state it seemed to be in, waking or dreaming.

Now back in the waking state, if we look at our ordinary mind, we will find that it is very deep. Although it is easy to experience the nature of our mind, it is very difficult to frame our experience in words and thoughts. At the most we can point to something that’s at the core of life itself. Padma is a master of pointing to the nature of your mind so that you can see what it really is. So here is a continuation of the verse, Mind is Non-created:
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Making Your Wisdom Come Alive is like a novel where you are the main character. It takes many surprising twist and turns, and in the end you find yourself standing in the place of wisdom and joy, where you always are,and always will be.

For more information go to:
Amazon.com

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