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Awareness happens on its own.

 

Awareness is not a strategy.

 

The me who wants to " do " awareness is a thought, the imagined subject of a

thought like, " Am I doing it right? "

 

This thought appears In awareness.

 

This thought pretends that it refers to something real, that this something

( " me " ) possesses awareness.

 

Actually, it is the other way around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consciousness............speaking through

 

Joan Tollifson

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Nisargadatta , " toombaru2004 " <cptc@w...> wrote:

>

> Awareness happens on its own.

>

> Awareness is not a strategy.

>

> The me who wants to " do " awareness is a thought, the imagined

subject of a thought like, " Am I doing it right? "

>

> This thought appears In awareness.

>

> This thought pretends that it refers to something real, that this

something ( " me " ) possesses awareness.

>

> Actually, it is the other way around.

 

>

> Consciousness............speaking through

>

> Joan Tollifson

 

 

 

" I'm hungry and want to go home now. "

 

Conciousness............... speaking through

 

Joseph Siemion

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Nisargadatta , " josesiem " <josesiem>

wrote:

>

> Nisargadatta , " toombaru2004 " <cptc@w...>

wrote:

> >

> > Awareness happens on its own.

> >

> > Awareness is not a strategy.

> >

> > The me who wants to " do " awareness is a thought, the imagined

> subject of a thought like, " Am I doing it right? "

> >

> > This thought appears In awareness.

> >

> > This thought pretends that it refers to something real, that

this

> something ( " me " ) possesses awareness.

> >

> > Actually, it is the other way around.

>

> >

> > Consciousness............speaking through

> >

> > Joan Tollifson

>

>

>

> " I'm hungry and want to go home now. "

>

> Conciousness............... speaking through

>

> Joseph Siemion

 

" I'm not home, not IAM, and not Consciousness "

 

Nonconsciousness speaking through a glass, darkly

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  • 1 month later...
Guest guest

Nisargadatta , ombhurbhuva <ombhurbhuva@e...> wrote:

> Hi Lewis and Anders,

> Ordinary language tries to distinguish between

awareness

> and consciousness but the boundries are permeable. Raja Yoga with its

> graded meditations starts with a gross object and ends with the

objectless,

> immaterial. In this view is of things, you become aware of

something, you

> notice something. They would reject as imprecise the expression 'he

> recovered consciousness'. This allows them to accept consciousness

in deep

> sleep but not awareness. Awareness would be linked to 'vritti' or

mental

> modifications and the general shape of these vrittis would be

determined by

> the sort of sense modalities that the human has. These are a sub

set of

> what are sometimes called upadhis or forms of limitation. They are

species

> specific. The forms of limitation are forms of limitation (limiting

> adjuncts) of Pure Consciousness and as that retain its nature of

immediate

> self consciousness. This nature is the key to the self-inquiry of

the jnana

> marg.

>

> Using an analogy of material identity, awareness is considered to

be like

> the bangles, bracelets, rings that are made out of the gold of

> consciousness. Waves, billows, foam are all alike ocean/water etc.

Usually

> the distinction is marked by the contrast between (lower

case)consciousness

> and (upper case) Pure Consciousness.

>

> Lewis, as you know, there are those who reject the idea of

Consciousness and

> accept awareness. There are even those who covertly impugn

awareness and

> affect to puzzlement re self consciousness. The Tenth Man story

may be

> relevant here. Certainly it is an important juncture in the

seeker's life

> to hear from a wise bystander - That thou art.

>

> Michael

 

Hi Michael,

 

Maybe one could see it the other way around: awareness is the gold,

and consciousness is that gold molded into forms?

 

/AL

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--- ombhurbhuva <ombhurbhuva wrote:

 

Hi Lewis and Anders,

 

Michael: Ordinary language tries to distinguish

between awareness and consciousness but the boundries

are permeable. Raja Yoga with its graded meditations

starts with a gross object and ends with the

objectless, immaterial. In this view is of things,

you become aware of something, you notice something.

They would reject as imprecise the expression 'he

recovered consciousness'. This allows them to accept

consciousness in deep sleep but not awareness.

Awareness would be linked to 'vritti' or mental

modifications and the general shape of these vrittis

would be determined by the sort of sense modalities

that the human has. These are a sub set of what are

sometimes called upadhis or forms of limitation. They

are species specific. The forms of limitation are

forms of limitation (limiting adjuncts) of Pure

Consciousness and as that retain its nature of

immediate self consciousness. This nature is the key

to the self-inquiry of the jnana marg.

 

Lewis: A restatement follows: Vritti are also

considered to be thought waves produced by various

mental functions in relation to mind substance

(chitta) in Raja Yoga. Depending on what is focused on

the vritti, appear as modifications of the mind stuff.

A tree is focused on and the mind stuff through mental

functions forms a tree, which appears. An upahdi has

several meanings. Upadhi is a vehicle or base that is

the mere appearance of unseen Reality or center of

consciousness. The body, for example, would be an

upadhi housing the Atman and veiling its appearance,

acting as a limiting adjunct to/of it. It can also be

seen in the way it is used above as superimposed

attribute that veils and colors the view of any

appearance experienced that lies under it, before it,

above it, becoming the base of how the appearance

appears. So a single appearance appears different to

two observers engaging different upadhis and even more

so for a third, who has no such upadhis. It is similar

to a taken-for-granted reification in that both act as

limiting adjunct, lens, instrument, to whatever is

viewed through it. The upadhi or reification as

superimpositions are removable. The removal reveals

the appearances closer to what they are and diminishes

identity and self-consciousness and reveals Pure

Consciousness and Nirvana. Upadhi is found in both

Hindusim and Buddhism. [upaadaana is a cognate term].

Awareness can be considered to be an upadhi in its

relation to vritti, mental functions, and mind.

 

Michael: Using an analogy of material identity,

awareness is considered to be like the bangles,

bracelets, rings that are made out of the gold of

consciousness. Waves, billows, foam are all alike

ocean/water etc. Usually the distinction is marked by

the contrast between (lower case) consciousness and

(upper case) Pure Consciousness.

 

Lewis: Awareness can be considered to be an upadhi in

its relation to vritti, mental functions, and mind, a

lower consciousness, a " surface awareness. "

 

Lewis, as you know, there are those who reject the

idea of Consciousness and accept awareness. There are

even those who covertly impugn awareness and affect to

puzzlement re self consciousness. The Tenth Man story

may be relevant here. Certainly it is an important

juncture in the seeker's life to hear from a wise

bystander - That thou art.

 

 

Michael

 

The Tenth Man

An Advaita Vedanta Version.

 

The story about the Swami and his disciples crossing a

river. When arriving on the other shore, the Swami

counted his disciples and it turned out that only nine

persons had successfully crossed the river! He counted

all his disciples over and over again, concluding:

" There is one missing. We are only nine people, and it

should be ten! " Then a stranger walked by. He

overheard the conversation, and said to the Swami:

 

" But there are actually ten persons. You have forgot

to count yourself. You are that tenth person! " . From

the uttering of these words, the Swami at once

realized that he was the tenth person.

 

Well, the words of the stranger gave the Swami direct

knowledge about himself as the tenth man. He didn't

have to put this knowledge into practice or anything.

The very understanding came immediately by the words

of the stranger. ShravaNa gave him perfect knowledge,

because he was the tenth man from the very beginning.

He did not become the tenth man.

 

 

Another Version of the Tenth Man Story.

 

The 'Tenth Man' Story

by Wei Wu Wei

 

You know the quaint story of the ten monks traveling

together from one Master to another, in search of the

enlightenment they had failed to obtain? Crossing a

river in flood, they were separated by the swift

current, and when they reached the other shore, they

reassembled and one counted the others to make sure

that all were safely across. Alas, he was only able to

count nine brothers.

 

Each in turn counted the others, and each could only

count nine. As they were weeping and bewailing their

drowned brother, a passing traveler on his way to the

nearest town, asked what their trouble was and, having

counted them, assured them that all ten were present.

But each counted again, and the traveler being unable

to persuade them, left them and went on this way.

 

Let us continue the story:

 

Then one monk went to the river-side in order to wash

his tear-stained face. As he leant over a rock above a

clear pool he started back and, rushing to his nine

fellow-monks, he announced that he had found their

poor drowned brother at the bottom of a pool. So each

in turn went over to the rock in question and, leaning

over, looked into the depths of the pool.

 

When all had seen their poor drowned brother, whom,

owing to the depth of the pool, they could not reach,

they celebrated a funeral service in his memory.

 

The passing traveler, returning from the town, asked

them what they were doing and, when he was told,

pointed out to them, and assured them, that since each

had celebrated his own decease, and since all had

celebrated the decease of each, one and all they were

well and truly dead. On learning this each monk was

instantly awakened, and ten fully enlightened monks

returned to their monastery to the intense delight of

their grandmotherly old Master.

 

Note: The Tenth Man is the only man: there is no

other.

 

" Absolute absence is also absolute presence. But the

absence of presence-and-absence is the inconceivable

truth. "

 

 

Lewis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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