Original Face, Ultimate Reality

This article appeared here previously, on February 15, 2009

The Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard wrote: "...that with such passionate clearness a man sees and knows over what he is in despair, but about what it is, escapes his notice..."

Kierkegaard further wrote on this topic: "For the "immediate" man does not recognize his self, he recognizes himself only by his dress, he recognizes that he has a self only by externals... In possibility, everything is possible, thus a man can go astray in all possible ways. One form is wishful... the other form is melancholy fantastic--on one hand hope, on the other fear or dread... In order to will in despair, to be oneself, there must be consciousness of the infinite self."

The self who one might think of as the 'original face,' the face that existed before you were born. Yet we are all blind by definition. We may see the other clearly, but not ourselves. As Ezra Bayda writes in At Home in the Muddy Waters, 'to the extent that we're not aware...we're bound to follow this predictable path. When two people who don't know themselves reach the point of conflict, the result is a collision... even though it may be easy to see how unaware the other person is, our own blind spots are blind by definition.

Yet these [persistent] conflicts are clues that we're in the dark... believing in our reaction is another tell tale sign of darkness to self. Many power struggles have resulted from a perceived notion of a failing, or loss of a good or promise to us. We then act to recoup what must be ours, partitioned, from our now enemy. But in the exchange, we are mired in both our hopes and our fears; we despair to will to be ourselves, the face that exists now and infinitely.

Failure to work with, and work out our perceived 'need for power, our self centered desires to possess, our fear based need to control results in hatred, intolerance and aggression. The blindness to self first, and towards the other second, is the source of all conflicts...without inner understanding, individuals and societies flounder,' writes Bayda.

Part of the simple mind, joy in relationships, comes not so much from getting what we think we need or from happiness, but from contact with our essential self, our infinite or original self. The expression of this connection is through generosity, a sharing of that self infinite. It is like a well, we drink of its unending source all that is essential.
 

Dharma in Love

"My soul glowed from the fire of your fire. Your world was a whispering water At the river of my heart." --by the poet Rumi

While in love we often fear, often unconsciously fear, that another will subsume us, that we will drown in relationship, and to some extent this is true. The ego must move aside for the opening to the path to love. Love and the soul however will not be lost or drown in another. Rather these are our immutable essences; they cannot be lost or drowned, and yet ego strongly fears this fate. Our sense of self-protection that is ego rapidly assesses any situation in which we must potentially yield to be a threat.

There is a fundamental mystery to the soul, however, writes Deepak Chopra in his book, The Path to Love. He writes further, "its integrity is not violated by merging with another person. The blending of two spirits brings more to the union than each partner started with. The process of soul-making that used to be [for me alone] "me" is now for "us." The poet Rumi expressed this thought with these words:

My soul glowed from the fire of your fire.

Your world was a whispering water.

At the river of my heart.

With the growth of spiritual realization is the awareness that two can be as one; that the multiple aspects of the Dharmakaya are are work; that the Christian idea of a triune relationship within the soul of a great spirit, communing with God are all infinite and possible. While in the state of ego, on the other hand, persons remain isolated and self-protected as if in a siege mentality. There then is no room for the other; often a feeling of isolation and a vague, undefined loneliness results. Yet spirit calls to us powerfully, first, in romantic love. 

We fall in love and for the first time as Rumi passionately writes, we have the opportunity to engage our self into self as an expansion of identity. The Spirit uses relationship as its vehicle. No man is an island; spirit calls to us to overcome our fears such that love may be its replacement.

Once in relationship, however we gain a foothold over ourselves despite the passion, despite the growing self awareness, and ego often returns to us with a vengeance. Falling in love is delightful; it is passion, and a glimpse of the spirit itself. Being in love, love itself entails commitment, and a certain struggle. Many who come to this place in their spiritual journeys feel a sense of loss, and fear what is to come next. 

Relationships have consequences. While they give to each person a sense of belonging, friendship, security and compassion, love also demands something from each partner. Things like patience, devotion, persistence are part of the work and struggle to be realized along the path. Sometimes relationship is hard and painful. Resolution brings joy, and it brings disappointment. "The only real difference between romance and relationship, spiritually speaking, has to do with surrender. Surrender comes naturally to two people when they first fall in love." Love's first flush gives us the courage to do that, to be fearless and act under its protective power. Spiritually, surrender is a solution to the paradox existing between ego and spirit. 

Yet persons who love, who are intimates, over time often find that the ego, now returned carries them on its own agenda. Lovers play games to test one another, they withhold themselves; they are unwilling to give to spirit, and they are unwilling to give to and serve one another. Surrender now must be conscious. It must be an act of free will, of choosing this as your path. Chopra writes, "this isn't to say that surrender isn't hard work; it is conscious work. As such it can bring the same joy and delights as falling in love, the same sense of play which relieves lovers of the ego burdens." 

The British writer and poet, D. H. Lawrence wrote, "That is the crystal of peace, the slow hard jewel of trust, the sapphire of fidelity. The gem of mutual peace emerging from the wild chaos of love."

A free loving commitment of the will made to another is the realization over time of: peacefulness, a companionship and a trust made by the Spirit to another which is, and is not self. "When they are fully committed... they see God in each other." On that basis, they are able to surrender, not to one another so much, as to surrender themselves to the God in each other, and to the God, the Dharmakaya in all things. Dharma is an ancient idea. It means perhaps most fully, sacredness. In its Sanskrit origin, dharma means to sustain or uphold. 

Thus what upholds, honors, or respects another's life is in keeping with dharma. It is, for example in dharma not to tell lies, to deceive oneself or others. Dharma looks to the sacred, it is tied to and intimately guided by spirit. Dharmakaya, likewise, is Karuna, love; love then is a guiding force emanating from the great being, the Dharmakaya. Thus surrender in relationship is surrender to spirit, to dharma. In the Way of the Beloved, the dharma is "a vision of spiritual equality; when you perceive life through this vision, separation ends."

Seeds Like Dharma Rain

"When you listen to a Dharma talk, just allow the rain of Dharma to penetrate to soil of your consciousness. Don't think too much, or argue, or compare... Just allow your consciousness to receive the rain..." --Cultivating the Mind of Love by Thich Nhat Hanh

Consciousness, writes Thich Nhat Hanh in his book, Cultivating the Mind of Love: The Practice of Looking Deeply in the Mahayana Buddhist Tradition, "is said to be composed of two parts-- store consciousness (alayavijnana) and mind consciousness (manovijnana). In our store consciousness are buried all the seeds, representing everything we have ever done, experienced, or perceived. When a seed is watered, it manifests into your mind consciousness.'

"The work of meditation is to cultivate the garden of our store consciousness. As a gardener, we have to trust the land, knowing that all seeds of love and understanding, all seeds of enlightenment and happiness, are already there. That is why we don't have to think too hard or take notes during a Dharma talk. We only need to be there, to allow the seeds of love and understanding that are deep within us to be watered. It is not just the teacher who is giving the dharma talk; the violet bamboo, the yellow chrysanthemum and the golden sunset are all speaking at the same time. Anything that waters these deepest seeds in our store consciousness is the true Dharma."

Dharma deals with the present moment. The Dharma is not just a matter of time. If you practice the Dharma Way, peacefulness and joyfulness are there as soon as you embrace the Dharma. A healing takes place through embrace of the "dharma-in-the-now." Embracing the now, you are in the ultimate dimension as Mahayana teaches. There is nothing more real than this moment, the ultimate moment of now. As all seeds are already contained within; at any moment you may become what you are most deeply. The Lotus Sutra teaches this is possible.

When we are in the state of mindfulness, we are in the now; we dwell in warmth, peacefulness. When mindful, we are fully engaged in the present moment, and we experience a quietness, a calmness, peacefulness; we may be inspired with strength, confidence, joy and happiness. There is no fear, because fear is what has not yet occurred; we are not in the past because it is already past. At present moment, we dwell with ourselves as we are, in this moment, present. Forming or joining a Sangha for support and practice is a good idea. Sangha may be composed of two or more persons.

To Mahayanists, in the present moment, the Lotus Sutra teaches us, "we too, can be everywhere at once. From any point in the cosmos, people can touch us wherever we are, and wherever they are. We are not at all confined by time and space," Hanh informs the reader. He further explains this is so because of the nature of inter-being.

Gaining the energy of compassion, as Hanh describes it, in deep practice of the Lotus Sutra, "energy, of compassion, in you will transform your life, and make it more beautiful. Compassion is always born of understanding, and understanding is the result of looking deeply."
simplemindzen.blogspot.com