Wear Shoes

This passage provided lots of insight that was easier for me to follow than the previous passages assigned for reading.

Ramana Maharshi discusses reality.

He states that we continue our habit of regarding that which is unreal as real. But what do we regard as unreal? I don't think he is talking about anything tangible, so to grasp this concept is a bit difficult. However, we are told that when we stop regarding the unreal as real, is when reality alone will remain, and we will be that.

Good to know that we are reality when it's all said and done.


To be able to have the mind happy makes it so that the whole world will be happy. How do you find out how to become happy yourself though? Is it as simple as making a decision to have that kind of attitude? Or must you have experienced certain circumstances in order to qualify for this state of mind?

I really enjoyed Maharshi's analogy where he says "Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the whole world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simples to wear shoes." He seems to almost imply that we must walk on some stones and thorns in order to reform the world. Just like we must discover our true selves if we want to cover the whole world with leather- no, I'm only kidding. But, in reality, we can't expect to be able to help others when it is ourselves who need to be helped first. If I understood it at all…

So figure out who you are, break free from life's sorrow, lose the ego, and just accept that we need not seek reality, because we are reality.

Water can't feel thirsty.

Supposedly.

How Strange and Marvelous!

Padmasambhava.

The first passage in this reading from The Tibetan Book of the Dead didn't capture much interest from me, mostly because I can't relate to being on a deathbed with spiritual people whispering in my ear... However I like the thought of the female Buddha Samantabhadri (Dharmata) and the male Buddha Samantabhadra being inseparable. The former is symbolized through a state of mind that is pure emptiness, and the latter is symbolized through a state of mind that is unobstructed, sparkling, pure and vibrant. We are told that ultimately, a great light is formed. The second passage from The Book of the Great Liberation proved to be a little more enlightening for me. We are given the definition of the mind in its true state: "naked, immaculate, transparent, empty, timeless, uncreated, unimpeded; not realizable as a separate thing, but as the unity of all things, yet not composed of them; undifferentiated, self-radiant, indivisible, and without qualities." It would be a true accomplishment to be able to succumb your state of mind to be able to fit this definition.
For me, I'd have to admit that I'm still in the Samsara stage- but not in a bad way. I have learned peace, but I still think that what I want is to enjoy MY life here, through friendships, monetary accumulation, being merry/fiestas, traveling...but I have learned to appreciate each stage of life, whether it be sorrow, joy, anger, bitterness, happiness, etc. (although I'm not always successful) Despite my attempts to attain this ultimate peace that we are learning of (which I assume everyone naturally desires) I still find myself preoccupied with things that really don't matter in the universal perspective.

"It is only because of deluded ideas, which you are fee to accept or reject, that you wander in the world of Samsara."