Friday, April 14, 2006
The Doctrine of Vibration
For, like a grain of fire
smoldering in the heart of every living essence
God plants His undivided power --
Buries His thought too vast for worlds
In seed and root and blade and flower...
(Thomas Merton, from a poem published today by Ivan Granger)
Question: Do we dip into ecstasy only now and again, or do we strive to maintain the bliss consciousness throughout the day as we go about our usual activities? "Accomplished masters " are said to maintain transcendent consciousness at all times (though some accounts of their day to day behavior would seem to belie this notion.)
During my unpacking, I came across the book of ancient wisdom titled "The Doctrine of Vibration." It is from the tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism, which I deeply resonate with. I opened it to this passage:
It is possible to penetrate into supreme consciousness directly without the mediation of any means. In fact, all means ultimately lead to the practice of "No-means" for it is the direct experience reality has of itself as the uninterrupted awareness the yogi acquires when he penetrates into his true nature. "No practice" is the only practice which conforms fully to reality. Consciousness is ever revealed; it cannot be sullied by anything outside it. Nothing can be added or subtracted from its fullness. Those who are ignorant of this fact fall to the lower levels of consciousness and so have to practice. . .
In fact, there is nothing we can do to free ourselves. All forms of practice, whether internal or external, depend on consciousness and so cannot serve as a means to realize it. He who seeks to discover this reality by practice is like a man who tries to see the sun by the light of a firefly. . .
(It--that is, the path of No-means), is liberation itself. (It) is the way of bliss, it is the untroubled rest within one's own nature experienced when the recognition dawns that it is this which appears as all things. At that instant the powers of will, knowledge, and action merge into the bliss of consciousness.
"In this way, even supreme knowledge, divested of all means, rests in the
power of bliss said to be (the presence) of the absolute here (in every moment of experience.)"
I had a taste of such "unbroken awareness of bliss" at the beginning of my awakening experience, but it has long since worn off. Now I go back and forth from transcendent to mundane consciousness, experiencing the bliss mainly during "practice" (for me, music and slow movement), then moving into "every day consciousness" thereafter. Of course, my "practice" is quite short, sometimes only five or ten minutes of intense bliss flows. And sometimes, I confess, I don't even do that. I was never very disciplined in my approach--and my awakening came as a gift of grace. Much of what has come about since also seems to be more from grace than something earned by arduous effort, at least in recent years. I do not do hours of yoga or formal meditation or other forms of "practice." I seem to fall into the moment of joy instantly and effortlessly, for whatever reason.)
And, as always, I wonder if the ancient realized ones were more able to sustain their powers because of their protected environment. In the street, in the hustle and chaos of the city sidewalks, in the world of today when we seem to live on the edge of imminent disasters one after another--is such a state possible for the majority?
And, do we really want to reside in the "bliss state" at every moment? I believe it was Kabir who said, "I like the taste of honey, but I don't want to be honey."
What is the appropriate state of consciousness for our times?
We do the best we can, and are grateful for those moments which are given.
smoldering in the heart of every living essence
God plants His undivided power --
Buries His thought too vast for worlds
In seed and root and blade and flower...
(Thomas Merton, from a poem published today by Ivan Granger)
Question: Do we dip into ecstasy only now and again, or do we strive to maintain the bliss consciousness throughout the day as we go about our usual activities? "Accomplished masters " are said to maintain transcendent consciousness at all times (though some accounts of their day to day behavior would seem to belie this notion.)
During my unpacking, I came across the book of ancient wisdom titled "The Doctrine of Vibration." It is from the tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism, which I deeply resonate with. I opened it to this passage:
It is possible to penetrate into supreme consciousness directly without the mediation of any means. In fact, all means ultimately lead to the practice of "No-means" for it is the direct experience reality has of itself as the uninterrupted awareness the yogi acquires when he penetrates into his true nature. "No practice" is the only practice which conforms fully to reality. Consciousness is ever revealed; it cannot be sullied by anything outside it. Nothing can be added or subtracted from its fullness. Those who are ignorant of this fact fall to the lower levels of consciousness and so have to practice. . .
In fact, there is nothing we can do to free ourselves. All forms of practice, whether internal or external, depend on consciousness and so cannot serve as a means to realize it. He who seeks to discover this reality by practice is like a man who tries to see the sun by the light of a firefly. . .
(It--that is, the path of No-means), is liberation itself. (It) is the way of bliss, it is the untroubled rest within one's own nature experienced when the recognition dawns that it is this which appears as all things. At that instant the powers of will, knowledge, and action merge into the bliss of consciousness.
"In this way, even supreme knowledge, divested of all means, rests in the
power of bliss said to be (the presence) of the absolute here (in every moment of experience.)"
I had a taste of such "unbroken awareness of bliss" at the beginning of my awakening experience, but it has long since worn off. Now I go back and forth from transcendent to mundane consciousness, experiencing the bliss mainly during "practice" (for me, music and slow movement), then moving into "every day consciousness" thereafter. Of course, my "practice" is quite short, sometimes only five or ten minutes of intense bliss flows. And sometimes, I confess, I don't even do that. I was never very disciplined in my approach--and my awakening came as a gift of grace. Much of what has come about since also seems to be more from grace than something earned by arduous effort, at least in recent years. I do not do hours of yoga or formal meditation or other forms of "practice." I seem to fall into the moment of joy instantly and effortlessly, for whatever reason.)
And, as always, I wonder if the ancient realized ones were more able to sustain their powers because of their protected environment. In the street, in the hustle and chaos of the city sidewalks, in the world of today when we seem to live on the edge of imminent disasters one after another--is such a state possible for the majority?
And, do we really want to reside in the "bliss state" at every moment? I believe it was Kabir who said, "I like the taste of honey, but I don't want to be honey."
What is the appropriate state of consciousness for our times?
We do the best we can, and are grateful for those moments which are given.
