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
where we come to understand who we are

by seeing and realizing what we are not.

So in the Vedic tradition sometimes they
have this term Netti netti, which means

not this, not that. And so we we come to
see what we are by recognizing the false

self in all of its different incarnations.
So what is that, what is that false self?

What is the ego?

There are many ways 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 think about

a little kid, that luminosity coming from
the eyes and that aliveness and that

engagement with life, 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

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

experiences of the the little kid. So
these experiences create a resistance

within that self structure within the
body, the body mind.

And that resistance gets wired in over 
time. So these charges happen and

sometimes the charge is 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 just

get wired in. And so these resistances
in the body create this wiring for

patterns of craving and aversion. So over
the child learns 'I want this I don't

want that' and there can be behaviors that
get created as the child gets positive

feedback from the world. So they learn
if they behave a certain way then they

get approval you know, they behave a
different way then they get scolded.

So they learn to move in a certain way,
they start to change their their natural

behavior and they start to behave
according to other people's expectations

or the world's expectations. They create
this false Persona in order to pacify that

craving or or to get rid of something that
feels uncomfortable.

And so we we craft this false self, this
false persona and so that false self

is nothing but resistance to what is.
It's literally, if you think about wiring,

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

patterns that electricity makes when it
hits something. So the the electricity

hits something and it creates almost like
a little tree 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 the mind. And the whole universe
is made up of that, you know.

When we look at the you know dark matter
in the universe with 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 universe is made

up of these same patterns. The dark
matter forms what look like neuron

pathways through the universe.
So everything is this one mind.

And the experience of being separate, to
be a separate being is this resistance,

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

in life is our preferences that we have,
the preferences really tie us to the ego

structure. So have a little teaching that
comes from the Zen tradition, it's

about 15 minutes long and it's called
'The Great Way' or sometimes it's called

the 'Faith Mind Poem' and it really cuts
to the heart of what ties us to the ego.

It's a really beautiful non dual teaching
and really makes it clear how these

preferences of choosing one thing over
another, you know, judging as right and

wrong all of these things, 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