Day 2 - Teaching 2- The Great Way/ Faith Mind Poem

okay so I'm going to talk a little bit about 
what's been called the negative path or the  

the Via Negativa so it's it's where we come to 
understand who we are by seeing and realizing what  

we are not so in the Vedic tradition sometimes 
they they have this term Netti netti which means  

not this not that and so we we come to see what we 
are by by recognizing the false self in in all of  

its different incarnations so you know so what is 
that what is that false self what is the ego and  

you know there are many ways to to bring it into 
Focus bring it into Clarity but one way I like to  

talk about it is beginning when we're a little 
kid if you if you think about a little kid you  

know that that Luminosity coming from the eyes you 
know and that that aliveness and that engagement  

with life you know it's just it's just a very 
natural sort of direct connection to life when  

we're a little kid the ego hasn't been cultivated 
yet and then what happens is experiences which  

are sort of overwhelming or they they there's a 
charge to the experiences of the the little kid  

so these these experiences create a resistance 
within that self structure within the body the  

body mind and and that resistance gets wired in 
over time so that so these charges happen and and  

that sometimes the charges a big charge in the the 
case of a trauma you know it can be some very deep  

wiring sometimes they're just repetitive patterns 
that that just get get wired in and so so these  

resistances in the body you know there's there's 
this wiring for these patterns of of craving and  

aversion so over time the child learns you know 
I want this I don't want that and and you know  

there can be behaviors that that get created as 
the child gets positive feedback from the world  

so they they learn if they behave a certain way 
then they get approval you know they behave a a  

different way then they they get scolded you know 
so they they learn to move in a certain way they  

they start to change their their natural behavior 
and then and and they start to behave according  

to other people's expectations or the world's 
expectations they create this false Persona in  

order to feel that you know to pacify that 
craving or or to get rid of something that  

feels uncomfortable and so so we we craft this 
false self this false Persona and so so that  

false self is nothing but resistance to what is 
it's literally if you think about wiring you know  

or in in science they have these things called 
Lichtenberg figures where they're they patterns  

that electricity makes when it hits something 
so the the electricity hits something and it it  

creates almost like a little tree of of branching 
patterns and so you you see when when electricity  

or energy hits something it creates these Pathways 
and it and it looks like neural pathways it looks  

just like what you see in in the mind and the 
whole universe is made up of that you know when  

we look at at the you know dark matter in the 
universe with a one of those supercomputers  

the max plank Institute did this this big thing 
called the Millennium run with a supercomputer  

and you can see that the the universe is made 
up of these same patterns the Dark Matter forms  

these what look like neurop pathways through 
the universe so so everything is this one mind  

and and the experience of being separate you know 
to being a separate being is this resistance this  

some form of resistance to what is so one of 
the you know the biggest forms of resistance  

in life is our preferences that we have you the 
preferences really tie us to the EG structure so  

I have a little teaching that comes from the Zen 
tradition uh it's about 15 minutes long and it's  

it's called the great way or sometimes it's called 
the faith mind poem and uh it really cuts to the  

heart of what ties us to the ego it's a it's a 
really beautiful nonu teaching and really makes  

it clear how these preferences of of choosing one 
thing over another you know judging as right and  

wrong all of these things we we become attached 
to those things and that forms an ego and then we  

we think we're that you know it's I am I am this 
person who has this belief or this affiliation  

or this moral code or whatever it is anything 
can can become an attachment yeah so I'm going  

to read this and I might pause along the way at 
certain points there's certain things in here  

that are particularly relevant for meditation 
practice as well so I might Point those things

out so this is the great way and this 
was written by one of the founders of  

uh Chan Buddhism which is the 
uh the Chinese version of Zen

basically the great way is not 
difficult for those who have no

preferences When Love and Hate are both 
absent everything everything becomes clear and

undisguised make the smallest distinction 
however and Heaven and Earth are set  

infinitely apart if you wish to see the 
truth then hold no opinions for or against

anything so when it says love and hate are 
both absent and everything becomes clear  

and undisguised it's not saying to become an 
unloving person it's it's talking about the  

duality of love and hate good and bad so some 
spiritual teachers talk about Divine love you  

know as our natural state so it's not talking 
about that it's talking about the polarity  

you know the the Judgment of of you know I 
love this I hate that that kind of duality

when the deep meaning of things is not understood 
the mind's essential piece is Disturbed to no  

avail the way is perfect like vast space where 
nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess  

indeed it is due to our choosing to accept or 
reject that we do not see the true nature of

things live neither in the entanglements 
of outer things nor in inner feelings of

emptiness be Serene in the Oneness of things and 
such erroneous views will disappear by themselves  

when you try to stop activity to achieve 
passivity your very effort fills you with

activity as long as you remain in one extreme 
or the other you will never know Oneness those  

who do not live in the single way fail in 
both activity and passivity assertion and  

denial to deny the reality of of things is to 
miss their reality to assert The Emptiness of  

things is to miss their reality the more you 
talk and think about it the further astray you  

Wander from the truth stop talking and thinking 
and there is nothing you will not be able to

know to return to the root is to find the meaning 
but to pursue appearances is to miss the source  

at the moment of inner Enlightenment there is 
a going Beyond appearance and emptiness the  

changes that appear to occur in the empty 
world we call real only because of our

ignorance so in meditation you know often we 
get this idea that we have to somehow move  

Beyond thoughts you know to come to this 
emptiness but the the truth is you know  

the non-dual state is not one or the other 
it's there's that Duality actually falls  

away so I I'm going to be reading the heart 
Sutra tomorrow and it says form is exactly  

emptiness emptiness is exactly form and that's 
what they're getting at here so the the non-dual  

truth is beyond these dualities there there 
actually is no form and emptiness there's  

no such thing as either it's just the Mind 
construct it's our concept that creates these

dualities do not search for 
the truth only cease to cherish

opinions do not remain in the dualistic State 
avoid such Pursuits carefully if there is even  

a trace of this and that of right and 
wrong the Mind Essence will be lost in

confusion although all dualities come from the one 
do not be attached attached even to this one when  

the Mind exists undisturbed in the way nothing 
in the world can offend and when a thing can  

no longer offend it ceases to exist in the old 
way when no discriminating thoughts arise the  

old mind ceases to exist when thought OB objects 
vanish the thinking subject vanishes Es as when  

mind vanishes objects vanish things are objects 
because of the subject the mind is such because  

of things understand the relativity of these two 
and the basic reality the unity of emptiness in  

this emptiness the two are indistinguishable 
and each contains in itself self the whole

world if you do not discriminate between coarse 
and fine you will not be tempted to Prejudice  

and opinion to live in the Great way is neither 
easy nor difficult but those with limited views  

are fearful and irresolute the faster they 
hurry the slower they go and clinging cannot  

be limited even to be attached to the idea of 
Enlightenment is to go astray just let things  

be in their own way and there will be neither 
coming nor going obey the nature of things and  

you will walk freely and undisturbed when thought 
is in bondage the truth is hidden for everything  

is murky and unclear and the burdensome 
practice of judging brings annoyance and

weariness what benefit can be 
derived from distinctions and

separations if you wish to move in the 
one way do not dislike even the world of  

senses and ideas indeed to accept 
them fully is identical with true

Enlightenment the wise person strives toward no 
goals but the foolish person Fetters themselves  

there is one Dharma not many distinctions arise 
from the clinging needs of the [Music] ignorant  

to seek mind with the discriminating mind 
is the greatest of all mistakes akes and  

this is a really important line I want to 
highlight this line to seek mind mind with  

a capital m so to seek the self to seek our 
true nature with the discriminating mind so  

with the egoic mind you know with the character 
is the greatest of all mistakes and this is what  

we highlight over and over in self- inquiry 
you know somehow we we recognize that which  

is already present so anything that we're 
seeking for anything that conditioned mind  

is seeking for it's it's looking around for 
something focused on the realm of thoughts  

and Sensations but awareness is always 
already already present so we give up  

that seeking to recognize we we we U relax 
into presence and recognize what is already

present rest and unrest derive from

illusion with Enlightenment there is no liking and

disliking all dualities come from ignorant 
inference they are like dreams or flowers  

in the air foolish to try and grasp them 
gain and loss right and wrong such thoughts  

must finally be abolished at once if the eye 
never sleeps all dreams will naturally cease

if the Mind makes no distinctions the 
10,000 things are as they are of single

Essence to understand the mystery of 
this one Essence is to be released from  

all entanglements when all things are 
seen equally the Timeless self Essence  

is reached no comparisons or analogies 
are possible in this causeless relation

State consider movement stationary and the 
stationary in motion and both movement and rest  

disappear when such dualities cease to exist 
Oneness itself cannot exist to this ultimate  

finality no law or description of applies for 
the unified mind in accord with the way all  

Center all self-centered striving ceases doubts 
and irr resolutions vanish and life in true faith  

is possible and when they say life in true Faith 
sometimes this is called The Beginner's mind poem  

so there's some interest translation things going 
on here so when they they say the faith mind or  

beginner mind what they're talking about is a mind 
that is in direct connection with life you know so  

it's like a beginner's mind it's not filtering 
through the past conditioning but we experience

directly

with a single stroke we are freed from bondage 
nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing all  

is empty clear self-illuminating with no 
exertion of the mind's power here thought  

feeling knowledge and Imagination are of 
no value in this world of suchness there  

is neither self nor other than self to come 
directly into harmony with this reality just  

simply say when doubt arises not to in this not 
to nothing is separate nothing is excluded no  

matter when or where Enlightenment means entering 
this truth and this truth is beyond extension or  

diminution in time or space in it a thing a 
single thought is 10,000 years emptiness here  

emptiness there but the infinite Universe 
stands always before your eyes infinitely  

large and infinitely small no difference for 
definitions have vanished and No Boundaries are

seen so too with being and non-being don't 
waste time in doubts and arguments that  

have nothing to do with this one thing all 
things move among and intermingle without  

distinction to live in this realization 
is to be without anxiety about non

Perfection to live in this Faith or beginner's  

mind is the road to nonduality because 
the nondual is one with the trusting

mind words the way is Beyond language for in 
it there is no yesterday no tomorrow and no

today

so not going to say much about that I'll just 
let it land one thing that some times comes  

up for people is this idea of no preferences you 
know how do we live life with no preferences and  

you know the Awakening that happens is just 
simply a flip from that conditioned eye that  

character where all the preferences reside 
to the unconditioned or the the true self so  

in that sense you know nothing changes like 
when we're in that samade state you know the  

character goes on you know doing whatever it's 
doing it can do whatever it wants it could have  

preferences no preferences but it has nothing 
to do with the true eye the true eye is free  

has always been free from those preferences so 
you know so people think you know if I awaken  

I'm not going to enjoy chocolate anymore I'm not 
going to pick my favorite tea that's that's not  

true the character will always do what it does 
you know if it if a special diet is required  

for that body to be optimal it's still going to 
choose that diet nothing changes in that sense  

but but the the sense of I you know you you could 
say I have no preferences when that flip happens  

you know we know where those preferences reside 
so it's an an interesting thing that nothing  

nothing has to change in the world upon 
Awakening everything is exactly as it is