well, that was an intense reading of patanjali's sutra!
right off my sleeve and in the mode of brain-storming:
1. the importance of a clear mind,
1.41. When the agitations of the mind are under control, the mind becomes like a transparent crystal and has the power of becoming whatever form is presented. knower, act of knowing, or what is known.2. the wheel of samsara, to each its own:
1.30. Disease, inertia, doubt, lack of enthusiasm, laziness, sensuality, mind-wandering, missing the point, instability- these distractions of the mind are the obstacles.3. the importance of a ritual, of practice, of purpose in our lives.
2.2. This discipline is practised for the purpose of acquiring fixity of mind on the Lord, free from all impurities and agitations, or on One's Own Reality, and for attenuating the afflictions.
4. duck/rabbit,
2.10. These patterns when subtle may be removed by developing their contraries.5. avidya is everywhere!
2.11. Their active afflictions are to be destroyed by meditation.
2.5. Ignorance is taking the non-eternal for the eternal, the impure for the pure, evil for good and non-self as self.6. in the west, knowledge = power, but what knowledge? patanjali warns:
2.6. Egoism is the identification of the power that knows with the instruments of knowing.
7. para-doxa (beyond the law)
4.12. The past and the future exist in the object itself as form and expression, there being difference in the conditions of the properties.8. dense perplexity (as garlanded creepers & glossy undergrowth) comes before the epiphany,
2.25. Liberation of the seer is the result of the dissociation of the seer and the seen, with the disappearance of ignorance.9. just before moksha, wash the dishes! the sangha is here.
4:50. When the deities invite, there should be no attachment and no smile of satisfaction, contact with the undesirable still possible.for this comment, let's try to bring forth what we've learned so far.
what's on your mind?
15 comments:
The continued practice of pranayama--breathing--creates and sustains a clear mind, which is is vital. In this state of having a "crystal mind" we are able to forge a path to moksha. Yoga, from what I understand, serves as a purifier, it filters our consciousness from any possible impurities.
The tree of meditation casts a cool shade in which all desires and cravings come to an end. Transformation isn’t permanent it is constantly self-generated. Meditation expands the shade of self-control, which promotes steadiness of the mind.
Its clear that with a centered/clear mind, we are less likely to act on negative tendencies or impulsions. A clear mind allows for greater awareness, which lead us to be able to accurately consider the consequence of action before acting. It seems that through meditation, we can detach ourselves from our external locus of control. Introspection leads to awareness of meta-mood and meta-cognition, ergo, allowing us to live a life true to value.
"If a man has not conquered desire, all the desirable things in the world will not be enough to satisfy him. A man who is not satisfied with three paces of ground will not find the whole world with all its wealth enough to satisfy him. A man who is pleased with what he gets is always happy. But the man who is swayed by the wanderings of the wayward mind will never find happiness, since he is always discontented."
"When the mind is happy, it expands and time seems too short. When the mind is unhappy, it contracts and time seems too long. When the mind is in equanimity, it transcends time." Liberation of the seer is the result of learning to live at peace within the ignorance. Smiling at Maya, because we are smiling at the role we play in it.
We must work at life for life to work. Nothing worth it comes easy. (I’m not a fan of absolutes; the words of truth are paradoxical.) One could even go as far as to say that there is more value in the effort than in the material gains that come from the effort.
Money for example is a substitution of value. Where the mind substitutes time devoted to work for a piece of paper that he can then use in an economy where that paper is also valuable. But only the person who sacrifices time and energy for the paper can substitute his experience for its value, ergo know its true value.
The cultivation of a powerful and determined will leads to positive growth and self-development. Liberation of the seer is the result of learning to live at peace within the ignorance. Smiling at Maya, because we are smiling at the role we play in it. - P.S.C
Each day the paradox of duck/rabbit manifest itself in my personal and academic life. For example: in ethics my class discussed which patient to save, a mother, a child or a wealthy old man. It became clear to me that some arguments for the older wealthy man were rooted in utilitarianism just one facet of duck/rabbit. But then I saw simply duck and realized the child must be saved, no matter how logical the arguments for the other patients was.
Leandro Mendez
The way that I see things follows that by having a clear mind we gain access to another realm of thinking, where "the magic happens". That's where we get epiphanies or attain some kind of knowledge for a split second that feels like a glitch in our current state of mind. The wheel of samsara, like a universal rule, hits us right when we have those type of moments, we tend to complain but it seems that the samsara happens this way to test our patience and help us develop a clearer mind. And the ritual/practice of this realization, with the actions to our life purpose, should eventually help us be noticed by the gods and that way be invited by them to their realm.
Leandro Mendez
The way that I see things follows that by having a clear mind we gain access to another realm of thinking, where "the magic happens". That's where we get epiphanies or attain some kind of knowledge for a split second that feels like a glitch in our current state of mind. The wheel of samsara, like a universal rule, hits us right when we have those type of moments, we tend to complain but it seems that the samsara happens this way to test our patience and help us develop a clearer mind. And the ritual/practice of this realization, with the actions to our life purpose, should eventually help us be noticed by the gods and that way be invited by them to their realm.
In reference to sutra 2.2, my thoughts went towards positive psychology’s importance on a person finding something they can immerse themselves into. It is a steadfast practice of a certain action that stills your mind. For me it is drawing and painting. Though I think it would be useful if we applied this discipline to all that we do. I was reading Easwaran’s introduction in The Bhagavad Gita, and came across this short excerpt “two forces pervade human life; the upward thrust of evolution and the downward pull of our evolutionary past…the struggles of two halves of human nature.” I was reminded of the Native American parable of the two wolves that resides in each person. One that represents selfish desires, greed, and anger and the other represents empathy, humility, and peace. You become whichever of the wolves you feed based on the choices you make each day. My thoughts also turned towards the ego. The ego wants power and influence over others. The ego wants to attach itself to everything, e.g. material things and people. There is ego even in the most subtle of ways and sometimes seemingly altruistic actions can be made with egotistical intent. Heaven’s reward fallacy explains that we expect to be rewarded with the fruits of our good action but this isn’t always the case and the good deeds become tainted with selfish desire. I guess I like being perplexed, always wrapping my mind around everything on a daily basis. It’s what makes fleeting moments of epiphany profound and impacting. I like that even when we have reached a more sattvastic way of being, the evolution of our identity continues. And say one does reach moksha. Then what? I like to think that we can tap into moksha like states of being more than once in our life and be able to fall into the cycle of samsara again and eventually grow and attain moksha again.
The first verse of the patanjali's sutra discuses the concept of having a clear mind by can be practiced through the forms of yoga; as per my understanding. Grasping the ahimsa of yoga and making it a habit to meditate one may attain Samadhi. To my knowledge reaching this state of enlightened consciousness, however there is always an inside and outside taking place. Or a duck/rabbit effect. This bringing into play the idea of the One or moksha. I cant help but wonder if the concepts of Gunas, Sattva and Tamas can contribute to moksha? If one reaches that eternal state, is it really a light realm or is it reality playing with us; Maya?
I truly enjoyed to idea of reality being much like a paradox or Maya and how the universe is not a conscious one. Contemplating on the aspects of Guans, Sattva and Tamas I understand that you may not have one with out the other. My idea of this is to find a balance between the three so when one may be more heightened you know how to process and control it.
I see the duck/rabbit illusion as a form of deliverance from being completely wrong or right when it comes to handling an argument of ethics.
Its very often that I kick myself for arguing that a certain ethic code is rock solid, its the only possible solution to every problem one could ever face, but then I realize there are other ways to solve problems...but then I'm still convinced this or that way is the best way... So deciding that both beliefs are acceptable,I am safe from having to defend an opinion from a cynical point of view, instead I'm adopting a different perspective. I may not act on it but as long as I'm acknowledging the flip side there isn't a gap in my argument.
A few months ago I was practicing meditation daily, and even bi-daily. Pranayama in the morning helped me achieve a clear head and a calm demeanor, and while enjoyable in a tranquil way, it was not easy. Actually achieving this “crystal mind” is a very delicate situation. While trying to clear my mind and focus on my breath, my mind was often bombarded by my own expectations and ideas about meditation causing my actual meditation to be interrupted. As it turns out, sitting down and thinking about nothing for fifteen minutes can be very frustrating business. All in all meditating was a beneficial habit, but like a few of you I became lazy and quit. I rationalized this by telling myself that I would pick up on meditation and spiritual development of this sort at a later point in my life, but I know that’s not a great reason. Even if you aren’t trying to achieve some greater moksha through meditation, meditation more than justifies itself through direct and tangible benefits. So far, the Patanjali Sutra has proven to be my favorite reading in the class. They’re definitely worth chewing on.
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Hmmm, in a time when there much turmoil in my life and my mind in continuously racing I find it humbling knowing that the KARMA of my reality begs me to just have a clear mind and be flexible. To let go of all my impurities and agitations and focus on nothing but my essence and on myself to take my moment and be one with it. Now as far as this class is concerned I have took these lectures and applied them to my well being as a person. Only because I achieve a sense of liberation in knowing that I am giving in to AVIDYA and that I must meditate more. I do feel though almost a sense of guilt though by just putting my worries to the side and meditating, as if i naturally i should be worried and anxious.
I find these sutras to be fascinating in that they reveal levels of thinking which are clearly beyond my current understanding. Take for example:
“When the deities invite, there should be no attachment and no smile of satisfaction, contact with the undesirable still possible.” I interpret this to mean that because at the very moment one has contact with the deities; the enlightened yogi must remain in full discipline and not revert to a more primitive mind state. Having reverted to a more primitive mind state would impede his ability to be free from all impurities and agitations.
I am intrigued by the idea that as one contemplates these sutras, ones understanding will most likely change.
Gabriela says,
The way I see it is that when you have a clear mind you are under control and there is nothing that can distract you from what you want and what you need to do in order to get it. The wheel of samsara shows that laziness,mind wandering, instability ect are all obstacles of the mind that we just need to push away and focus/practice on things like how to be productive, staying present in your mind, and being a stable individual. We all should believe in something weather it be God or higher power. Believing in something gives us hope to do better and to know that there is better out there. We are all victims of our avidya because none of us know all, we are all ignorant in one way or another. It is just something we have to except and try to feed our selves with as much know lade and experiance in order walk farther away from avidya. When you finally reach moksha you will not see it as a distinct point in your life but as something that happens and feels equivalent to the experience you get from doing something so natural as washing the dishes.
Amanda reminded me of an event that pertains to what I said earlier. There was a point in my life where I entered a deep depression, I no longer possessed the will to live. My mind, judgment and perception were greatly clouded by very...dark thoughts. In the past I used drawing to release myself from troubles like these, but it no longer helped. I then discovered music, whenever playing my instrument, my mind seemed to be alleviated from its agitations. Everything around me became null and disappeared into an abyss. After discovering this I continued playing ritually. Through this, I became somewhat able to hear my soul, it gave me a reason to live again.
"The only way to conquer suffering is surrendering the ego, not the ideal."
Why? My entire disapproval of this practice is based on this one principle. If in the course evolution our egos were formed to allow us to live, breathe and advance not just as humans but as life forms, why should toss that side? Do we subdue excessive egoism like Epicurus believed (i.e fancy cars, big house) or must we go further into the realm of sacrifice like asceticism. And by tossing egoism aside must we replace it with its antithesis, altruism? The principle of non-attachment, to me, does not necessitate the subjugation of the ego. Epicurus believe in non-attachment, but also in the pursuit of a simple pleasure, which is driven by the ego.
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