In the Journey to the West, Vairochana is mentioned in the third book, and is part of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Obviously then, Wu Cheng'en is illumining the Avatamsaka Sutra through the imagined exploits of the Monkey King - by a stretch. :)
Indeed, Buddha Vairochana is represents Pure Awareness, and helps the disciple to center her consciousness in this sphere of Reality.
in the Vajrayana text the Mahavairocana Tantra, Vairochana is an emanation of Adibuddha and represents the cosmic element of form (rupa). He is the primordial (transcendent) wisdom of the sphere of reality. His is in the center of the mandala consisting of the five Transcendental (Dhyani) Buddhas, and his rites pacify negative emotions. He is white and his two hands are held against the chest with his thumbs and forefingers touching. He radiates the light of Buddhahood and his consort is Akashadhateshvari, who is the sovereign lady of infinite space.
So the dance of light and the space for it to radiate through creates the united dance of Dharmadhatu (Emptiness, the realm of truth known as Buddha Nature). It is this dance that is represented by these unions and the sexual imagery depicted in Tantra.
Other names for Akashadhateshvari is Dhatvishvari or White Tara.
Showing posts with label awareness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awareness. Show all posts
20130226
Dharma That Is Experienced
The dharma that is taught and the dharma that is experienced are descriptions of how to live, how to use your life to wake you up rather than put you to sleep. And if you choose to spend the rest of your life trying to find out what awake means and what asleep means, I think you might attain enlightenment.
-Pema Chödrön, "Wisdom of No Escape"
"Dharma" refers to teachings and disciplines related to Buddhist. It also refers to phenomena that is either physically experienced (local events that happen in the world) or mentally experienced such as thoughts.
Thus the purpose of the dharma that is taught is to awaken you spiritually so that you are mindfully aware of the dharma that is experienced.
Even taking shower becomes alive in mindfulness.
When I chose to become mindfully aware almost 25 years ago, I wanted to find out what mindfulness means. It means the same as being truly awake.
I also realize what asleep means: remaining oblivious to the beauty discovered while on the journey of spiritual awareness and, due to craving, fearing the imagined loss of the egocentric existence.
When once he slept unaware of the richness in life found through meditation, more and more a fool such as myself is awakening to that richness.
For this, I am grateful to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha!
Originally published: January 1, 2006 2348H
Updated edited: February 26, 2013 2057H
-Pema Chödrön, "Wisdom of No Escape"
"Dharma" refers to teachings and disciplines related to Buddhist. It also refers to phenomena that is either physically experienced (local events that happen in the world) or mentally experienced such as thoughts.
Thus the purpose of the dharma that is taught is to awaken you spiritually so that you are mindfully aware of the dharma that is experienced.
Even taking shower becomes alive in mindfulness.
When I chose to become mindfully aware almost 25 years ago, I wanted to find out what mindfulness means. It means the same as being truly awake.
I also realize what asleep means: remaining oblivious to the beauty discovered while on the journey of spiritual awareness and, due to craving, fearing the imagined loss of the egocentric existence.
When once he slept unaware of the richness in life found through meditation, more and more a fool such as myself is awakening to that richness.
For this, I am grateful to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha!
Originally published: January 1, 2006 2348H
Updated edited: February 26, 2013 2057H
20130104
With the Diamond Mind (poem)
With the diamond mind, the awakened one can clearly see:
If consciousness and awareness meant the same thing,
then an unconscious person would be unaware of the mind
Though a conscious person may too unaware of the mind,
he too is able to be aware of the mind.
Yet an unconscious person cannot be aware of the mind,
just as an unaware person is conscious only of no-mind.
Imagine if you will boundless wisdom,
and at the same time, boundless compassion.
They represent Amida, the Thus-Come-One,
He who is highly aware of consciousness only, and
He who is highly conscious of his mind only,
the brilliant and magnificent diamond mind.
For awareness and consciousness are but two facets
of the ordinary and quite normal mind,
while compassion and wisdom are but two facets
of the extraordinary and magnificent diamond mind.
If consciousness and awareness meant the same thing,
then an unconscious person would be unaware of the mind
Though a conscious person may too unaware of the mind,
he too is able to be aware of the mind.
Yet an unconscious person cannot be aware of the mind,
just as an unaware person is conscious only of no-mind.
Imagine if you will boundless wisdom,
and at the same time, boundless compassion.
They represent Amida, the Thus-Come-One,
He who is highly aware of consciousness only, and
He who is highly conscious of his mind only,
the brilliant and magnificent diamond mind.
For awareness and consciousness are but two facets
of the ordinary and quite normal mind,
while compassion and wisdom are but two facets
of the extraordinary and magnificent diamond mind.
Mind and Consciousness As Viewed by the Buddhist
Is the mind a quality of consciousness? No, the mind cannot be a quality of consciousness as it (the mind) arises through the outflow from the brain.
It is an impossibility for conscious to be aware of the mind, since the mind being aware indicates consciousness, whilst consciousness is a quality of the mind.
Is consciousness a quality of the mind? Yes, for the mind is conscious of self and others.
With respect to the consciousness-only school of Buddhism, consciousness itself arises from the mind, which itself arises from the brain's activities.
If the brain dies, so too does consciousness and the mind. Therefore, it can be said that consciousness is also a quality of the active brain.
Thus, consciousness is vaguely aware of itself but to be conscious of consciousness is redundant in syntax. This is why such consciousness is called awareness. Another term used is meta-consciousness, though I haven't heard of it or read of it.
If we replace consciousness with awareness, then the questions are better answered.
Is the mind a quality of awareness? No, because you need a mind to be aware of itself and consciousness.
Is awareness a quality of the mind? Yes, because the mind can be aware of itself and consciousness.
However, could the mind become a quality of awareness? It is possible, despite syntactical errors.
Then it is possible for consciousness to be aware of consciousness, and for the mind to be aware of consciousness. However, the mind can be aware of itself too. Such a mind is known as the diamond mind. Being aware of itself implies clarity of mind as well as mental transparency (the ability to see things through).
Thus awareness is not equal to consciousness but are two facets of the mind..
Since both the mind and consciousness can be aware of consciousness, it follows that the mind is similar to consciousness.
Yet the mind cannot be equal to consciousness since without the mind, it is gone.
Yet is an unconscious mind aware? No, it cannot use the senses.
You'll find that using the senses one can find out a lot about the mind: it can experience phenomenon, both inner (of the mind) or outer (material). Also, the mind can experience phenomenon that has no existence outside fictional works be it in print, on the big and silver screen, especially video.
As well, the mind can be aware of the fact that every character and sentient being in a manga is a conscious entity and thus possesses consciousness, despite the fact that every character and sentient being have no physical existence apart from a poor sketch of each character.
Going further, since Amida Buddha has a cover story, it depicts a mythical king who pledged allegiance ot a Buddha of a bygone era before the historical Buddha, and consequently founded a Buddha world called "The Pure Land of Bliss." After many lifetimes he became the twin Buddhas, Amida Buddha and Amitayus Buddha (Boundless Light of Wisdom and Boundless Life of Compassion respectively. These twins meditated for many eons and soon merged as one, called Amida Buddha.
How is this related to awareness and consciousness? Metaphorically, awareness denote a generalization of the feeling of being aware that is shared between all sentient beings. In contrast, consciousness is the generalization of the feeling of being consciousness. Just as one can be conscious of having a mind, a mind can be aware of being conscious. Thus being conscious and being aware are almost alike just a Amida and Amitayus are alike and just as Wisdom and Compassion are alike.
Compassion applies being able to be selfless enough to lose self-consciousness. Ergo it is associated with awareness. Thus one can be aware of being compassionate, yet have an awareness of compassion.
Wisdom on the other hand applies to experiencing phenomenon from a personal point of view, must as being conscious is. Thus one can be conscious of being wise, and wisdom is thus the shared view of being wise.
Thus awareness of compassion is possible and being conscious of wisdom is too possible.
Likewise one can be aware of being wise, and be conscious of compassion.
Therefore wisdom and compassion are but two facets of the diamond mind.
It is an impossibility for conscious to be aware of the mind, since the mind being aware indicates consciousness, whilst consciousness is a quality of the mind.
Is consciousness a quality of the mind? Yes, for the mind is conscious of self and others.
With respect to the consciousness-only school of Buddhism, consciousness itself arises from the mind, which itself arises from the brain's activities.
If the brain dies, so too does consciousness and the mind. Therefore, it can be said that consciousness is also a quality of the active brain.
Thus, consciousness is vaguely aware of itself but to be conscious of consciousness is redundant in syntax. This is why such consciousness is called awareness. Another term used is meta-consciousness, though I haven't heard of it or read of it.
If we replace consciousness with awareness, then the questions are better answered.
Is the mind a quality of awareness? No, because you need a mind to be aware of itself and consciousness.
Is awareness a quality of the mind? Yes, because the mind can be aware of itself and consciousness.
However, could the mind become a quality of awareness? It is possible, despite syntactical errors.
Then it is possible for consciousness to be aware of consciousness, and for the mind to be aware of consciousness. However, the mind can be aware of itself too. Such a mind is known as the diamond mind. Being aware of itself implies clarity of mind as well as mental transparency (the ability to see things through).
Thus awareness is not equal to consciousness but are two facets of the mind..
Since both the mind and consciousness can be aware of consciousness, it follows that the mind is similar to consciousness.
Yet the mind cannot be equal to consciousness since without the mind, it is gone.
Yet is an unconscious mind aware? No, it cannot use the senses.
You'll find that using the senses one can find out a lot about the mind: it can experience phenomenon, both inner (of the mind) or outer (material). Also, the mind can experience phenomenon that has no existence outside fictional works be it in print, on the big and silver screen, especially video.
As well, the mind can be aware of the fact that every character and sentient being in a manga is a conscious entity and thus possesses consciousness, despite the fact that every character and sentient being have no physical existence apart from a poor sketch of each character.
Going further, since Amida Buddha has a cover story, it depicts a mythical king who pledged allegiance ot a Buddha of a bygone era before the historical Buddha, and consequently founded a Buddha world called "The Pure Land of Bliss." After many lifetimes he became the twin Buddhas, Amida Buddha and Amitayus Buddha (Boundless Light of Wisdom and Boundless Life of Compassion respectively. These twins meditated for many eons and soon merged as one, called Amida Buddha.
How is this related to awareness and consciousness? Metaphorically, awareness denote a generalization of the feeling of being aware that is shared between all sentient beings. In contrast, consciousness is the generalization of the feeling of being consciousness. Just as one can be conscious of having a mind, a mind can be aware of being conscious. Thus being conscious and being aware are almost alike just a Amida and Amitayus are alike and just as Wisdom and Compassion are alike.
Compassion applies being able to be selfless enough to lose self-consciousness. Ergo it is associated with awareness. Thus one can be aware of being compassionate, yet have an awareness of compassion.
Wisdom on the other hand applies to experiencing phenomenon from a personal point of view, must as being conscious is. Thus one can be conscious of being wise, and wisdom is thus the shared view of being wise.
Thus awareness of compassion is possible and being conscious of wisdom is too possible.
Likewise one can be aware of being wise, and be conscious of compassion.
Therefore wisdom and compassion are but two facets of the diamond mind.
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