tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post3447299438926887122..comments2023-10-16T13:06:42.360+01:00Comments on Happiness of Being: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: Witnessing or being aware of anything other than ourself nourishes our ego and thereby reinforces our attachmentsMichael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-9640306331565324632019-05-30T13:19:31.985+01:002019-05-30T13:19:31.985+01:00I practiced Vipassana meditation for a short time....I practiced Vipassana meditation for a short time. I started with the witness stuff, as indicated, but my attention went always and invariably to self-awareness alone. When I told the monk, she got very angry and said contemptuously that many people get stuck there. She wouldn´t give me further explanations so , I don´t know what she meant but I left the practice thinking that what happened to me as trying to practice Vipassana meditation was something quite wrong. <br />Michael, on the contrary, gives exhaustive, detailed and reasoned explanations. The rest is up to each one, but if tendency to attentive self-awareness survives so many obstacles, there must be a reason for it. And so with any other path, I guess. <br />.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12379570382779918899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-38033814797564702352019-05-30T07:04:43.399+01:002019-05-30T07:04:43.399+01:00Witnessing is an indirect method but it still work...Witnessing is an indirect method but it still works....!!..Vipasanna is ultimately a device to observe what we call "ourself",i.e our thoughts,our emotions and our feelings .....these components only create the "self" or "me"....in witnessing ,ego is still there but instead of being in the "doer" mode,it gets into the "observer" mode...because as an observer it can learn to watch it's dramas,it's stories and it's lamenting ,it's exuberance,all of it,in a detached manner....the Ego learns to stop deriving it's identity from these fleeting/impermanent entities of thoughts,feelings,emotions,body etc.....But it is not easy,as we have spent our entire lives being identified with every single thought that arises at the doorstep of our consciousness,we are held hostage by the programmings of our deeply conditioned thought and behavior patterns....hence initially the mind or ego is asked to observe an outside gross tangible phenomenon like Breath,Sounds,etc....once mind gains some proficiency in observing these objects without reacting,it then moves on to the subtle object like thoughts,emotions etc...now it becomes easy to observe them,without falling prey to thier seduction......a stage comes when ego is no lonher all that attached to discursive thinking mind and it's movements,it is at this stage that this crystallized ego or the "observer" ego can be "attacked" by atma-vichara....observer is this entity that is not this discursively flowing thought stream nor is it the stream arising and passing emotions,but then what is it?...who is it that observes all this?....at this stage, Self-inquiry can cut through like a sword and lead one directly to the sinking of mind in the Self,the destruction of Ego......!!!...so my point is Vipassana is not contradictory to Self-inquiry,rather it is complementary.....as this two-fold approach,investigative meditation(Vipassana) followed by Self-inquiry (Atma vichara) is used in many schools of Zen Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhist Tantra schools like Mahamudra...... Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13570976496677031098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-15313407666917312662018-04-14T07:45:06.365+01:002018-04-14T07:45:06.365+01:00Dear Michael,
I simply want to call attention to y...Dear Michael,<br />I simply want to call attention to your phrasing: “we must try to be aware of ourself alone, in complete isolation from any awareness of any other thing.” This seems to entail that we can be separated from the objects we are seeing, as if we, ourselves, were another separate object. Using the example of the screen, how can one isolate the screen from the images projected on it, and be aware of the screen alone? Being aware of the screen entails being aware of the images projected on it. Can you focus on the screen, without being aware of the images on it? <br />If we were talking about attending to the breath, then surely, we can say that we can be aware of the breath, in complete isolation from everything else. But if we are talking about the awareness (what is aware) of the breath, then to experience that in complete isolation means that the awareness of the breath is something objective that can be isolated and experienced. <br />It would be immensely helpful if you could clarify.<br />Thank you!<br />Yoyo07noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-79369829129665745862018-04-14T07:41:52.498+01:002018-04-14T07:41:52.498+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02581050424363539734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-18989153279266852832015-08-01T23:20:57.252+01:002015-08-01T23:20:57.252+01:00Michael,
It is said that the ego did create the wo...Michael,<br />It is said that the ego did create the world and its objects.<br />Hence we should be able without difficulties to separate ourself not only from other objects but also from whatever objects we currently experience as ourself.<br />Sometimes vasanas gain power of myself. Then the confused mixture of myself and various objects - the ego - is ruled by rajas and tamas and any clear self-awareness seems to be far away. Consequently the illusion that I am a person with body and mind comes to life again.<br />Thank God, something keeps my hope on perfect clarity alive.<br />Arunachala !Amenophisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-48820679169537915332015-07-20T21:55:38.090+01:002015-07-20T21:55:38.090+01:00Michael,
the feasibility of the "simple prac...Michael,<br />the feasibility of the "simple practice" that Bhagavan taught us - as you write in your comment to Sankarraman - seems to be not easy.<br />My attempts to overcome my reluctance to let go of the ego seem to be not persistent enough and therefore not successful. My effort to direct all of my attention back to myself alone seems to be merely a weak breeze instead of a powerful constant storm.<br />It seems to be sheer mockery that the ego derives all its seeming power only from me.<br />But instead of starting howling and wailing I will keep on "simply watching" the ego because we alone are what is real.Amenophisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-62386068664433790482015-05-25T06:29:54.540+01:002015-05-25T06:29:54.540+01:00"Vipassana" is not "mindulness"..."Vipassana" is not "mindulness"; "sati" is "mindfulness." Sati is being used to practice "vipassana," the investigation of the nature of reality, which is supposed to lead to the conclusion that "reality" is transitory and unsatisfactory, and that no permanent "self" can be discovered in any "dharma," "thing." That being said, there's disagreement between the various Buddhist schools about anatman; the Theravada-tradition, for example, says that nirvana is unconditioned; critics see this as re-constituting some sort od eternal reality. Best regards, Joshua Jonathan.Joshua Jonathannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-51285876146443922892015-05-10T04:20:35.626+01:002015-05-10T04:20:35.626+01:00Thanks for the very instructive reply clarifying t...Thanks for the very instructive reply clarifying the teachings of Bhaghavan in a most clear intellectual language.Sankarramanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01718256859263931847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-60257002802985231192015-05-09T16:22:32.279+01:002015-05-09T16:22:32.279+01:00Sankarraman, as I explained in Being attentively s...Sankarraman, as I explained in <a href="http://happinessofbeing.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/being-attentively-self-aware-does-not.html" rel="nofollow">Being attentively self-aware does not entail any subject-object relationship</a>, when we attend to ourself alone, we are not attending to any object, so there is then no ‘subject-object dichotomy’, as you call it. The distinction between subject and object arises only when we attend to or experience anything other than ourself.<br /><br />Now we are experiencing objects — things that seem to be other than ourself — and so long as we do so, we are experiencing ourself as this ego, which is an adjunct-mixed form of self-awareness. Though we experience the adjuncts with which we are thus mixed (such as our body and mind) as if they were ourself, they are actually just objects, because they are not what we actually are. Hence the subject (namely this ego) who experiences any objects is itself a confused mixture of ourself and various objects that we mistake ourself to be.<br /><br />Therefore the only way in which we can free ourself from this subject-object duality is to try to attend to and experience ourself alone, and our attempt to do so is what Bhagavan calls <i>ātma-vicāra</i>. When we practise <i>ātma-vicāra</i>, we are trying to turn our attention back towards ourself alone — and hence away from all objects — so by doing so we are beginning to isolate ourself not only from all other objects but also from all those objects that we now mistake to be ourself.<br /><br />Initially we may not be able to isolate ourself from all objects, but we are at least beginning to do so, and with persistent practice we can gradually gain the skill to isolate ourself more and more successfully, until eventually we will be able to experience ourself alone, in complete isolation from everything else, and by experiencing ourself thus, we will experience what we actually are.<br /><br />Therefore, as you say, subject and object remain at least to a slight extent until we eventually experience ourself as we actually are, but in the meanwhile the more we succeed in attending to ourself alone, the more we will be turning our back on all objects and thereby separating ourself from them.<br /><br />Though the ego that we now experience ourself to be (which is the subject that experiences all objects) is itself a confused and conflated mixture of ourself and objects, when we try to attend to this ego alone, the element in it that we are trying to experience is only ourself, so by doing so we are separating ourself not only from other objects but also from whatever objects we currently experience as ourself. Therefore this practice of <i>ātma-vicāra</i> is the only effective and reliable means by which we can separate ourself from all objects, including even the most subtle objects that we experience as ourself.<br /><br />This is the unique value and efficacy of this simple practice that Bhagavan has taught us as the only means by which we can experience ourself as we actually are.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-18610320441826848622015-05-09T05:26:53.157+01:002015-05-09T05:26:53.157+01:00As long as self- realization hasn't happened, ...As long as self- realization hasn't happened, whatever one does is a form of mental ideation, the subject- object dichotomy being there. Sankarramanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01718256859263931847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-36858840159115123682015-05-03T14:17:23.182+01:002015-05-03T14:17:23.182+01:00Thank you Micheal
I enjoyed reading your article ...Thank you Micheal <br />I enjoyed reading your article <br />BobBob - Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-41457984993173538432015-04-30T01:31:38.179+01:002015-04-30T01:31:38.179+01:00Thanks Michael for your words of encouragement.
At...Thanks Michael for your words of encouragement.<br />At first view of the self-ignorant ego it seems to be a paradox play that the self-attentive centripetal force of ourself must overcome the deluding diverting centrifugal force (of the ego) which derives its seeming power from us ourself.<br /><br />Saying "directing all our attention back towards ourself alone" and using the word "back" you are emphasizing that we should direct our attention in the opposite direction to the one in which it was directed(diverted away) before.<br /><br />In my experience all questions about the permissibility that the ego can derive its seeming power from us ourself or who is the permission giving authority are fruitless and remain inconclusive. So we are left with no alternative but to finish the paradox masquerade - in intense 'contact' with the enemy that is our reluctance.<br />Because the ego seems to be like the moonlight which is not radiated by the moon itself but only reflected light which is given off by the sun we as the sun (should) have chances of winning the fight to the death. Now I (as the ego) declare war on the ego.<br />May my readiness and willingness for bitter battle be no mirage and never weaken, oh Arunachala.Amenophisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-1026470639635840882015-04-29T18:55:12.166+01:002015-04-29T18:55:12.166+01:00Yes, Amenophis, our ego seems very powerful, but i...Yes, Amenophis, our ego seems very powerful, but it derives all its seeming power only from us, so it is possible for us to overcome it.<br /><br />It deludes us by masquerading as ourself, but it can only do so by diverting our attention away from ourself towards other things, so by simply watching it — that is, directing all our attention back towards ourself alone — we can easily expose its subterfuge and thereby destroy the hold that it seems to have over us.<br /><br />However, its power lies in its ability to make us reluctant to let go of it, so we must overcome our reluctance by persistently trying to be self-attentive. If we persevere, we will certainly succeed sooner or later, because as you say, a mirage cannot more powerful than what is real — and we alone are what is real.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-91756683221885439412015-04-29T14:32:43.878+01:002015-04-29T14:32:43.878+01:00The article is very convincing in arguments and sp...The article is very convincing in arguments and speech.<br />But to put it into practice<br />shows that I am only a "poor dog".<br />Only hope and confidence in the power of Arunachala keep me i.e my self-ignorant ego up in the terrible fight to destroy one day the seeming superior strength of the illusory ego.<br />It cannot be that a mirage is more powerful than the original reality.Amenophisnoreply@blogger.com