The Mystic Experience/Path

The mystic experience is indeed different; let me try to express what the magic about it is!

Mystics are of course human, some of them are more of supermen and some are indeed common men.
Is it their extraordinary capacities to do gymanastics that makes them different, or extraordinary power of intuition? I see, that in my particular kind of mysticism, both don’t qualify to mark someone as a mystic or a yogi … though these may be individual characteristics of the person (so no offences meant here;) … but extraordinary power to foretell the future/capacity for gymnastics or similar stuff has nothing to do with the path. The difference is only in the intention, in the will, in the mind of the yogi—Is there desire? Is there aversion? If these two aren’t there, the person is a mystic, a yogi.

But this seems an incomplete and incompetent description of a yogi. So let me add. These mystics are generally on a path to non-existence, which is akin to non-existence of suffering. As long as there is being, there is suffering. There is endeavor required to break the gyre, tremendous effort, and tremendous skill. So, like any other job that requires skill: pottery, programming, painting…you need to align you limbs, your body, your mind to be able to do the task. Mystics here learn this skill in meditation, they make this effort and the energy starts building up. Now one common misconception is that some people are the ‘kind’ to become mystics, its not everyone’s kind of a thing. But from my experience I think all of us breathe, all of us experience and all of us suffer. All beings in fact … suffering is common to all. May be you could say, a mystic is one who is actually working on removing this suffering from their life, and to some extent they succeed, they are on the path, and to some degree have a claim on the mystic experience …afterall it is the goodness that counts! Mystics discover this way to goodness, I am doing that and perhaps that’s my mystic experience.

Mystics work hard on their thought process. Normally people are easily distracted, they become used to things…surprisingly mystics don’t, they are the first one to go out-of-the box …yeah, now may be you would find them less boring  So the first signature is that mystics become original, creative, consistent …this perhaps explains some mystics are too radical for the societies they live in

Mystics start following a moral lifestyle. This may look like the first baby step but actually the strings are far up and beyond … may be one could look at it this way-morality makes them akin to the final goal, they become more aligned with what they are trying to achieve, the message is sent to the universe … I will not harm.

I see how much morality appealed to me as I wanted to advance in meditation, how I kept coming back to the precepts for shelter and protection. For a mystic, the capacity to be immoral dies or reduces visibly. (for ref. to what is morality (abstain from sexual misconduct, lies, killing, intoxicants, and stealing (five precepts)

I became a vegetarian by choice … these changes came gradually. As old habits clung to me I started behaving differently from friends and family. Things that were completely acceptable till now lost appeal. Change begun. Everyone begins to witness their changes, its so personal

I have had a simple life. I heard someone ask a monk “you have done nothing wrong, you ordained as a child, have you not had enough of meditation, what guilt are you trying to get rid of?” And the monk answered in Pali, “hiri” he said. There is no English word for this … but yeah meditation will prevent you from falling. This is the only security, otherwise we are capable of harm. One moment we may be sitting and meditating and in another we will kill an ant, cheat on our beloved, or entertain an unwholesome thought. Fully enlightened monks become perfect, that’s the aim. Perfect not only in this material universe but also in future existences. Mystics, may be, are born like any one of us, but their death is ‘real experience’

To be able to be fearless and bold in the death transition is the extraordinary capacity of the monk. I remember my first few months in meditation in a monastery. I was meditating alone, it had been a few days since I had even spoken to anyone. I had not been told about the death-significance yet. I came back to my single room and slept. And woke up to experience I didn’t have a body, something similar to dying, I realized how extraordinary is the desire to enter a womb, I would have chosen any womb, a pig, reptile …anything! To be without body, and to be used to sensory experience is a compulsion, you are left with no choice. I think it lasted some few unbearable moments … so next time you go to the meditation hut expecting bliss, you know better ;)

So knowing how to die … I remember before I learnt meditation I would think why did the Buddha not make life convenient, like from his vast knowledge why did he not give us clean sources of energy, or cordless means of communication Look at our researchers today they are rendering technology that can be used by everyone… ahhhh I understood the nature of knowledge on beginning to learn meditation  Objects, names, mechanics is constantly changing form. If we look at the larger picture, the questions of utter significance were death, suffering, impermanence and non-self. And yes, it was for common use, any one could come and join the bandwagon and learn to meditate, nature has its laws, one has to learn to take on the reins, and drive.

Ok, metaphors are not very good here. Lets keep things clear, since we are talking mysticism;) What is it to learn to take the reins? It simply means to be able to do what one really wants to do. I want to lose weight, exercise everyday, not be late, be peaceful at all moments … most cases we are ruled by thousands and thousands of splits, sucking and soaking our energy. Meditators work on their presence. They can really listen, without anyone interfering. They can really be. I think that’s how its relevant for everyone.
All this talk about being in the moment, being real does not get real unless one has some preliminary capacity to concentrate. In my current state I will be thrown out of the Zen schools if I ever went there, these are people with high attention to details, fantastic memories, and yeah the skilled ones are really coming close to perfection. I am dirty clumsy forgetful limp! ( meditation teaches you to be okay, to progress but without the guilt of what or where you are)

So, here forth its largely heresay. As one learns to concentrate one gains clarity and starts getting intuitive knowledge … not about lottery numbers but something like what is the next level in meditation. Just don’t stop progressing, no matter how much or how little you know about mysticism. You wont even have to think and changes will come embrace you. Some of the mystics will go on and on and progress on the path of meditation till they reach the final goal, and some will stop to preach, worse still, some of us will leave the path, without reaching the final goal.

Kill me Joy

Sure gonna die!

Keeping Good Company

Were I a magician, the strongest magic potions would have been the five moral precepts*


Coming back to the good company part ...it does start from good moral precepts and grows with time and metta. The Sangha renders a lot of intangible substrates that do become tangible effectively.

All I say here is get rid of bad company, all you will be left with will be good company, even if you are left with nothing!


Good company is people who can speak the truth, who are not greedy, who are on the path of dhamma! These people/merit will be your guide till you reach the final goal, even as you see noone around you, this will intervene and interfere in your dreams, in your life, in incidents and leave you drenched with love, at times unexpectedly ... without leaving a trace behind




:)

About the Blog

This blog is more or less uselss, even for me.

Like most religious texts, it only talks About it. I do not give any info about practicing vipassana, it is only this practice that automatically brings about changes*. I do not mention anything about the technique, but only talk of things like shedding passion, how does it help the layman?? I dont have an answer! It does open things to wrong interpretation. Meditative life is both tough and easy, freaking tough and freaking easy!




*Largely because there are already well-structured centers teaching the technique, I m one of the millions who are touched. http://www.dhamma.org/

* Do dogs have Buddha nature?

It is easy and acceptable to say all beings have Buddha nature. If you like to hear that, then I have said it :) Go no futher.

What I personally feel is that a question, sometimes, is not answered pointing out the obvious, but also the dissimilarities. Like if I sell a product telling what it can do, but I skip some functionality where it is crucial to tell what it does Not do, then I have not really given the information. Like if I sell magic potions, the 'can not do this' part becomes really important. But you know some companies do not really believe in this, and I end up paying more for less :(

Now:

Buddha is rid of the something very significant. Buddha nature isn’t much about what he is, but more about what he is not. No defilements, no more birth, no more circles of existence…even nibbana is a no-definition. With great momentum (all the preparation yogis make for, is this final Olympic) he has broken a few barriers and experienced through the physical experiences (ahh I remember a long forgotten dream here, this dream helped me understand this with great symbolic pictures). He has experienced a state after aeons of merit as a yogi, a vipassi. Some existences were of a fish, other animals, kings, devas and humans. But is that fish, is that dog, is that human in the previous existence this Buddha?












*But you know some questions are null questions, they should have not been asked in the first place! I know the theories of educationists/no question is irrelevant ... there is a skill to asking the right questions, life-changing questions, and there is a whole set of misleading questions, life-challenging questions

Pardon me, I express only personal opinions here

To tumble onto things

Like if you carry a weight for too long, or a scent for long enough, there are moments when you forget its there at all. Passion is such, so much of it is there that we forget how much it is present in things, like salt in food. Its got everything colored in its taste, so much of it!

I say this realising that when you take this weight off your back you realise it was there afterall. You 'feel' it even if it gets lighter by a little bit. I realised there was less of passion when I see my usual reactions to things chnage. I didnt find myself ready to take on a fight, not willing to feel excited, or sad, or elated or any of those things. At the same time I felt very comfortable, very comfortable with things around me, more efficient. The most terrific thing was that I was not thinking in terms of gain or loss. I m feeling lighter and better, swifter and stiller.

Contrary to this love (which is not passion) makes you feel closer to people without having to have a physical presence near them. You listen more intently, feel more beautiful, feel healthier, love truth, are unafraid and yes, simple. Love makes you tolerant and strong, humbler and definitely more poised, more sure about yourself.

Waterbed!