The Mystery Made Plain:

Samadhi and the Aim of Samadhi

 

 

Drop all concern for your-self. Ignore the self-inquiry of the following worries:

• • • • • What will I do?
        • What will I say?
        • How do I look?
        • Where will I live?
        • What can I get?
        • Will I have fun?
        • Where will I sleep?
        • What will I eat?
        • How will I manage?

The endless list of concern for your-self are the multiple identities with the things of the world. The mystery of samadhi is to identify yourself with your true-original nature, not your worldly conditions of doing, getting, having, keeping and putting your name on all the things you have collected.

Taking credit and seeking the fruits of your labor inhibits realization.

Discarding more and more things is a practical approach to letting go of concern for yourself. You see, our incessant desire to become a somebody and find, get and have a something is a root to all the self-ego’s concern.

Read the list again. Add your own take on it. Tally up the concern in black and white. Then, strike each one out. Can you do that?   This is practical spiritual work. Practical Zen right there in the situation and circumstance of your life.

Here’s some of the more difficult concerns. These concerns are labeled under the opposites of good and bad. AND…these concerns are in general put together with stronger adhesives of attachment. Find out for yourself. Add what you need to add. See if you can cut loose those attachments that appear and feel gut-wrenching.  Before you read the list, remember everything, every person, every place, every role or position follows the law of impermanence. OK. So. with that truth under our belt let’s see what we are up against.

Oh, wait! Be astute. Be alert to notice how you tend to favor one identity over the other.

The list is called the GOOD & the BAD.

• • • • • Am I good mother?
        • Am I bad mother?
        • Am I good father?
        • Am I a bad father?

How you doing? Have picked one side over the other. Stop and consider what it feels like to pick one over the other. In essence, you have judged your ego-self. What is the root of your judgement? And did you learn to measure yourself? If yes, what standard of measure are you using? A ruler? Yardstick? The length of a mile? How do we measure any one of the four categories?

I know there’s lots of questions, but take some time and contemplate what you are measuring and where did this business of measurement come from? Is it helpful?

Let’s continue with a few more.

• • • • • Are you a good sister?
        • Are you a bad sister?
        • Are you a good brother?
        • Are you a bad brother?

Are you even interested in splitting up whatever and setting a mark on it? Sounds was off the mark. These categories of good and bad are the epitome of self-ego concern.

Let’s do one more set.

• • • • • Are you a good husband?
        • Are you a bad husband?
        • Are you a good wife?
        • Are you a bad wife?

Hmmm. Sounds very much like the same self-ego evaluation.

Now, a little further explanation of spiritual practical life. One of the things that most, if not all spiritual traditions touch upon is that a spiritual practical life is found in everyday realization of our true original nature (which is called by many names). So, if we look back at our tiny selection of categories of opposites, we can ask does this dichotomy of our ego-self and others help us realize out unborn, undying, immutable self? Or does it put us and others in a box that we incessantly divide into good and bad.

You see, dear ones, our spiritual practical life is to become one with our true, original nature. IT is to see the unborn, undying immutable everywhere. For all things come from the One and al things return to the One. And…to realize and know everything is embodied with Divinity; a wholeness that we tend to divide up again and again.

Much of the dividing is based on projection. Our projection of wanting something to get and something to be what we want. This tendency is not helpful. It keeps us ignorant of the reality of the wholeness (holy) existence of which we are part. We tend to project onto our self-ego, others and things which we fabricate into a habit. In a very real way, we sink our own boat by sending out the waves of picking and choosing.

Take your mind off of yourself, others and things and turn within to study the Buddha Way within. It requires that you forget yourself. Don’t give up. Keep going.

 

 

May we with all beings realize

the emptiness of the three wheels,

giver, receiver and gift.

Don’t give up. Keep going.

 

OM

Fashi Lao Yue

[1] Samadhi: Unity with your true, original nature.