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everything is generated out of nothingness, mystery.
Things are simply generated spontaneously out of nowhere.
there is no real explanation at all.
mystery is treated as a thing. The idea that there is no answer is
relied upon and dwelled upon as the answer.
psychological attitude of...
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The hinayana approach to reality sees impermanence as the great mystery:
describe the universe in terms of atoms existing in space and moments existing in time.
atomistic pluralists.
hinayana meditation practice is twofold: contemplation of the many aspects of impermanence—the processes of birth, growth, decay, and death, and their elaborations; and mindfulness practice which sees the impermanence of mental events.
Nagarjuna’s conclusions are summed up in the principle of “nondwelling,” the main principle of the Madhyamaka school. He said that any philosophical view could be refuted, that one must not dwell upon any answer or description of reality, whether extreme or moderate, including the notion of “one mind.”
Nagarjuna’s way was one of nonphilosophy, which was not simply another philosophy at all. He said, “The wise should not dwell in the middle either.”
we have to learn in order to unlearn.
We start by learning to deal with neurotic thoughts and emotions. Then false concepts are removed through the understanding of emptiness, of openness. This is the experience of shunyata.
Shunyata in Sanskrit means literally “void” or “emptiness,” that...
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develop a confidence in our understanding, clearing out all preconceptions; nihilism, eternalism, all beliefs have to be cut through, transcended.
when a person is completely exposed, fully unclothed, fully unmasked, completely naked, completely opened—at that very moment he sees the power of the word.
shunyata provides a new atmosphere, a new environment, which will not support clinging or grasping.
shunyata also makes impossible the planting of the seed of karma,
How is one to begin to see what is? A: By not beginning, by giving up the idea of a beginning.
You have to give up the idea of territory altogether.
Sudden enlightenment comes only with exhaustion.
Its suddenness does not necessarily mean that there is a shortcut.
enlightened people,
do not plan for the future because they have no desire to provide security for themselves.
They do not need to know the pattern of the future anymore. They have conquered the p...
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Enlightened people have completely mastered the restless and paranoid activities of mind.
Samadhi is complete involvement and nirvana is freedom and both are connected with shunyata.
preconceptions are a form of security.
place too much value on seeing form naked of preconceptions.
We search for emptiness so that it too becomes a thing, a form,
give up our ambition to see form as empty.
Compassion contains fundamental fearlessness, fearlessness without hesitation.
“generous fearlessness” is the fundamental nature of compassion and transcends the animal instinct of ego.
Ego would like to establish its territory, whereas compassion is completely open and welcoming.
It is a gesture of generosity which ex...
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True awareness must be open rather than cautious or protective.
true compassion is ruthless, from ego’s point of view, because it does not consider ego’s drive to maintain itself. It is “crazy wisdom.”
it is crazy as well,
because it does not relate to ego’s literal and simple-minded attempts to ...
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So-called love relationships usually take one of these two patterns. Either we are being fed by someone or we are feeding others. These are false, distorted kinds of love or compassion.
An individual or organization or institution or anything could become our infant;
and we say, “I love you,” often we are hoping that we will be able to lure them into our territory, over to our side. This kind of proselytizing love is extremely limited.
As long as there is territory involved with a person’s love,
Real openness exists on a much larger scale, a revolutionarily large and open scale, a universal scale.
It is not exactly giving but opening, relating to other people.
It is a matter of acknowledging the existence of other people as they
are, rather than relating to people in terms of a fixed and preconceived idea o...
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the tenth and last stage of the bodhisattva path: the death of shunyata and the birth into “luminosity.”
Prajna transforms into jnana or “wisdom.”
