Dan Ingram on non-duality

Excellent writing about how the illusion of self creates 2 different modes, e.g. Rigpa VS distraction, enlightened mode vs deluded mode. Dan Ingram can really write well on non-duality. From Dharma Overground.

At some point there will no longer really be either option, as the thing will just be the thing, the field as the field of sensations, of manifestation, of qualities, textures, colors, and aspects

call it True Self
call it no-self regardless, it is happening, as it always has
and there are various modes of attention, as there always have been

and various modes of perception arising and vanishing, which may highlight various qualities over others, it seems

and there is nobody to decide that this full, rich, transient, direct, interdependent, causal field is either

but thoughts that it might be one or the other can still arise, as they did before

and in that direct perception, the divisionlessness of it eliminates the subtle sense of some thing that is choosing modes

though the sense of those apparent choices and decisions arising on their own may still occur

and this lack of a split, this lack of an illusion of some separate, permanent, continuous something that could truly stand outside of all of this and make such choices is seen through as part of the whole of the flickering, shimmering, transient thing

so look carefully at the patterns that seem to be deciding between those various modes and notice them and just get to know them, such that what is getting to know them and them are both clearly comprehended on their own, by themselves, aware/manifest where they are

and all modes will come to be clearer about having that same quality of directness, of where-they-are-ness, in a way that eliminates finally the sense that any of those specific modes is the one true ultimate mode, but all modes are truly the thing itself, as the qualities of fundamental perceptual truth are universal and apply to all states and qualities and modes of perception and attention without exception

spend time enjoying the nice ones if you wish, as all modes of attention reveal the universal truths if perceived clearly, so if the nice modes happen, perceive them clearly, and if the modes you don't like as much happen, perceive them clearly, though it is true that the most pleasant and unpleasant ones as well as the least interesting ones are not as easy for some to just see as they are, as our reactions of enjoyment, aversion and boredom may seem to cloud clear perception

but with clear comprehension from good practice, the fundamental truths reveal themselves, and a fluent clarity and facility in all states of manifestation becomes natural and habituated

such that apparent exceptions and finally the sense of fundamental options become finer and more subtle and may eventually vanish

.......

The common way of looking at this is as you said, that there are zillions of sensations but we can only comprehend a limited number of them.

Except that perspective actually misses a really essential point that is strangely obvious once you think about it and yet also quite slippery, given how we are so used to not seeing things this say, or so we think.

That point is that each sensation already knew itself when it arose. If it arose, then the comprehension was build into it, intrinsic to it, the same as it.

We have this notion that there is some central comprehender, some liner processor of all of that stuff out there, and yet all of the stuff out there already processed itself it as it arose, as that arising was the processing, and what the seeming central processor does is to make some additional secondary impression (that is also just more sensations that are aware where they are and of themselves), but we actually believe that this secondary impression, this echo, this stand-in, is actually the awareness, the comprehension, when it is actually just a secondary effect from the first cause, that being the first sensation that the second sensation follows.

Said another way:

All of the sensations know themselves as and when and where they are, always have, always will, couldn't be any other way. Awareness and phenomena just always are not n a 1:1 ratio, they are actually just the same thing.

When reality seems filtered through this odd secondary central processing habit, it appears that some middleman, some potentially overburdened one-at-a-time system, is perceiving them, when actually it is just making poor copies one at a time of something that is vast and rich and already comprehended itself and never really actually needed any poor copies made to already be known.

So, just let the field in all of its richness speak for itself, including the small, central, limited copying process, and, seen thusly, the knot of perception that doesn't realize that the things already happened and already knew themselves will eventually and perhaps in stages shift to the whole thing knowing itself directly, as it actually always has but just somehow failed to know that at the level that makes the difference.

I, for one, see no reason not to enjoy the state you are able to get into, as, done well, most such things get boring after a time, no matter how amazing, and eventually familiarity with it will, if you are lucky and when the thrill and novelty wear off, lead to better and more clear senate comprehension, which is the first basis of insight.

Dukkha is a power hog only because it fails to realize that the work was already done, that phenomena already knew themselves naturally, and so it is when that overcompensation stops that the whole thing fully knows that it shines on its own without having to do anything.

....

I am actually talking about something much more fundamental than the way you seem to read me, as I interpret your words.

It can be hardwired, become the way all sensate phenomena are perceived, which is to say perceive themselves, as it actually always was the way all phenomena were manifesting, but this can finally be known directly and automatically without exception and regardless of things like states, modes, chakras, insight stages, and all of that, as, being the way things are, is intrinsic to however the specifics manifest in all their rich occurrence.

So you glimpsed the Natural State! Wow! (Poem)

A poem inspired by my teacher's lineage, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Tulku Urgyen

So you glimpsed the natural state! Wow!
But right now you use it
like a rich man uses a holiday home -
to brag about,
and visit occasionally to escape stress.

How to remember to practice throughout your day?
Your question is simply a reflection of your priorities -
you are like a man with a winning lottery ticket
who keeps forgetting to cash it in,
because he thinks it's only worth a tenner.

Look, every single second you spend in delusion,
your mind blinds and bewilders you with more illusions.
You amass more and more karma,
weighing yourself down with more preferences, opinions, desires and hatred,
as surely as someone watching Fox News.

Look, with every single person you meet,
if you're not recognising Rigpa,
your filthy karma oozes over them
like an oil spill, indiscriminately harming friends, loved ones, strangers,
further poisoning the karmic ecosystem in ways you cannot imagine.
All your dharma friends, deities and Buddhas surround you like Greenpeace,
begging you to urgently contain the karmic Fukushima that is your mind!

is it still hard to remember?

You talk about the nature of mind very nicely
saying how beautiful, wide open, and free of suffering it is.
How tragic that you don't even buy your own spiel!
If you really think it's so great,
why don't you stay there all the time then?

There is no 'how' in remembering,
either you want to, or you don't.
If, for you, Dharma is just a hobby, that's fine,
each must go his own way.
I heard that samsara is nice this time of year.

But for those for have an idea that they want to practice,
then get your priorities straight,
engage all your heart and guts into practice!
Then you will not have to ask how to remember.

A squirrel or other small animal
does not need reminding
to keep looking around whilst eating.
fearful for its life, it twitches its head and eyes upwards constantly, always alert for predators.
Such is the power of fear!
But you see conditioned existence as a familiar old dog, stinky but comforting.
Be like the squirrel and cultivate a healthy fear of the hound of samsara!
Fear can surely save you from your complacency!

A teenager who is swooning in fresh romance
does not need reminding
to call her lover.
He is on her mind as soon as she wakes, eats, sleeps, he lives behind her every word.
Such is the power of love!
But you, like a bad spouse, you have allowed your infatuation with Rigpa to dwindle.
You're no longer enthused about being truly intimate with Reality - when it beckons, you claim to have a headache.
Like a lovestruck teenager, you should yearn for it constantly, pining every single moment that you are separate from it.
Love can surely save you from your complacency!

A proud gardener
does not need reminding
to pull up weeds.
Just seeing a single weed in his beloved beds hurts so much, that without prompting he will pull it up from its roots
Such is the power of care!
You neglect your mind, with no idea of how easily the weeds of your delusion propagate, or how deep their roots go.
Like the gardener, generate a healthy pride for the stainless nature of your mind!
Care can surely save you from your complacency!

A man who falls into some excrement
does not need reminding
to clean it off when he gets a chance.
Revolted by the smell, he will scurry away to a bathroom, hiding from people so it does not offend them.
Such is the power of disgust!
But you walk around reeking of dualistic confusion, with no compassionate regard for others.
Develop a deep revulsion for all your deluded habits, no matter how cute you think they are.
Disgust can surely save you from your complacency!

Cultivate fear of karma like a squirrel fears being torn apart by predators,
Fall in love with reality so hard that all you want to do is be totally naked together, all the time,
Start to care about the nature of mind such that seeing anything defile or obscure it is unbearable,
Become so disgusted by your cowardice that even the scent of it makes you wretch,
These four roads all lead directly back to the natural state. Your effortless progress is guaranteed!