On opposites
Posted on Sep 19th, 2007
by 
Gishin
Gishin
On opposites
One way to start to reform your views and thinking is by gradually eliminating opposites and seeing them as one. By this I do not mean to totally disregard their existence in our world of senses and concepts but to simply see them as one.
For example lets start with night and day. There is darkness and brightness but to go from one state to the other in a day this is done gradually. Even when we close the light in a room with no window this seems fast to our eyes but in reality it is gradual as well. The problem is that our eyes and mind just cannot see this directly. The same goes for many changes and physical states in our world. We can also use this way of seeing for life and death as well. It took time for us to be physically born in this world and takes a certain laps of time for our physical body to be extinct and retransformed again. When our body fades it just ceases to exist under this form and is just recycled in emptiness. So our form is to be regarded as just a temporary state.
In our world of mental conceptualization all phenomena’s are this way moving from one sate to the other. Some that we can predict like day and night and some that we cannot predict since they are too great for our comprehension and conceptualization. Therefore by gradually seeing all opposites as one we can start to end our human worries in daily life. Since seeing them as a progression as one in emptiness we can in our own minds let go of them since we can now see that they are empty in form and are not permanent.
By the way what I am writing here is also a form of conceptualization. So please do not cling to it or see this as absolute. The main point of this concept would be that with time we can start to stop holding to pre made concepts and just see the true nature of our existence EMPTINESS.
The Pure Land, The concept of being enlightened, God, Hell etc. Are all human inventions. Reaching a higher state of clearly seeing reality as it is can only come when you accept to enter the path and start seeing those concepts as empty and void of a true existence.
So to enter a path in which you already are into but just cannot see it the secret is not to seek anything in particular just reform your views since this the only practice in which you can find your own truth. This in the end cannot be verbalized to others or given to you by another. Those who believe so are clinging to the romance of the white bearded master giving them enlightenment. There is no such thing. How can you say this master or that teacher is enlightened? The only reason why you can say this is because you have already deep in you the true enlightened nature it is just that we did not start to truly practice in order to manifest it.
In Zen Buddhism what do we really practice, Nothing other than Prajna (Hannya) transcendental wisdom. A form of wisdom the goes beyond words, concepts and all phenomena’s. This is the bridge to the other shore a shore that is already there. A bridge that can only be crossed once we start to stop holding on to concepts as we think they exist. Have I been there? One moment YES and the other NO. When do I go there? When I do Zazen and fall deep into great meditative state? The answer is not really. Its actually when you start to exist and start to have resolved life and death and are not clinging to the concept of I. When you can start to live and feel this way then you are on the road. This state is also not permanent but it is what we should seek if we really want to talk about something to seek.
One way to start to reform your views and thinking is by gradually eliminating opposites and seeing them as one. By this I do not mean to totally disregard their existence in our world of senses and concepts but to simply see them as one.
For example lets start with night and day. There is darkness and brightness but to go from one state to the other in a day this is done gradually. Even when we close the light in a room with no window this seems fast to our eyes but in reality it is gradual as well. The problem is that our eyes and mind just cannot see this directly. The same goes for many changes and physical states in our world. We can also use this way of seeing for life and death as well. It took time for us to be physically born in this world and takes a certain laps of time for our physical body to be extinct and retransformed again. When our body fades it just ceases to exist under this form and is just recycled in emptiness. So our form is to be regarded as just a temporary state.
In our world of mental conceptualization all phenomena’s are this way moving from one sate to the other. Some that we can predict like day and night and some that we cannot predict since they are too great for our comprehension and conceptualization. Therefore by gradually seeing all opposites as one we can start to end our human worries in daily life. Since seeing them as a progression as one in emptiness we can in our own minds let go of them since we can now see that they are empty in form and are not permanent.
By the way what I am writing here is also a form of conceptualization. So please do not cling to it or see this as absolute. The main point of this concept would be that with time we can start to stop holding to pre made concepts and just see the true nature of our existence EMPTINESS.
The Pure Land, The concept of being enlightened, God, Hell etc. Are all human inventions. Reaching a higher state of clearly seeing reality as it is can only come when you accept to enter the path and start seeing those concepts as empty and void of a true existence.
So to enter a path in which you already are into but just cannot see it the secret is not to seek anything in particular just reform your views since this the only practice in which you can find your own truth. This in the end cannot be verbalized to others or given to you by another. Those who believe so are clinging to the romance of the white bearded master giving them enlightenment. There is no such thing. How can you say this master or that teacher is enlightened? The only reason why you can say this is because you have already deep in you the true enlightened nature it is just that we did not start to truly practice in order to manifest it.
In Zen Buddhism what do we really practice, Nothing other than Prajna (Hannya) transcendental wisdom. A form of wisdom the goes beyond words, concepts and all phenomena’s. This is the bridge to the other shore a shore that is already there. A bridge that can only be crossed once we start to stop holding on to concepts as we think they exist. Have I been there? One moment YES and the other NO. When do I go there? When I do Zazen and fall deep into great meditative state? The answer is not really. Its actually when you start to exist and start to have resolved life and death and are not clinging to the concept of I. When you can start to live and feel this way then you are on the road. This state is also not permanent but it is what we should seek if we really want to talk about something to seek.
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Buddhism
November 2007 