Reiki Help Blog :: Oasis Reiki Dojo

Units of divine light, finer than electrons and other subatomic particles, are the bricks of which matter is composed. All things seen on the screen of the universe are differentiated currents of cosmic light…

— Paramahansa Yogananda

In the physical world objects are illuminated by outer light, not having a light source of their own. Objects can only be seen by the light which reflects off of them. It’s the same with colors. We see the color of a red apple because it absorbs light except for the frequency equivalent to red, which is reflected back to our eyes.

On the other hand, human beings have an inner light. Although housed in a physical form, the human soul provides a source of light from within. Without the soul we’d be hollow, rudderless. Our eyes would be dull; no evidence of light would exist in us.

Other living things can be said to be structured the same way, or at least interact with available external light such as the case with plants and photosynthesis.

“Nature emits a light, and by its radiance she can be known. But in man there is still another light apart from that which is innate in nature. It is the light through which man experiences, learns, and fathoms the supernatural.

Those who seek in the light of nature speak from the knowledge of nature; but those who seek in the light of man speak from the knowledge of super-nature.” — Paracelsus

The sun is the greatest provider of light and heat to the world, and artificial light has made it possible for life to go on even at night. Humans absorb and use different components of sunlight through the eyes and skin. The production of vitamin D is one example. Another is how light travels into the eye where retina sends nerve signals to the visual cortex in the brain. From there light also travels to the limbic system, which has a role in emotion, learning, memory, and sexuality. The hypothalamus is also stimulated by light, and is linked to both the autonomic nervous system and the pituitary gland.

Color and light have also been used in healing since ancient times:

The priests of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and China used color or colored light in many of their healing practices. Sunlight therapy was a common medical practice in historic Greek, Chinese and Roman times… — Richard Gerber, MD

Matter can exist in different states such as solid, liquid, and gas. In actuality solids, liquids and gases are different vibrations of the One Light. This primordial light is sound, light, heat emotion, thought, matter and all other things and processes that exist in the universe.

The omnipresent light of Spirit evolves all creatures and forms and forces in the universe, and sustains them by the continuous manifestation of that light. — Yogananda

Then there is the light of awareness. Spiritual light is the fundamental light of consciousness and awareness.

In the heart of every person is a spark of light, the secret of divine presence. This is the seed of our consciousness. Without this light there would be no consciousness. — Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee

The true nature of the human being is light. It’s an inborn light. Being self-reflective, it can show the way. It leads to understanding and wisdom. It ignites the mind and the heart. It’s the light that enables us to evolve. Within it is everything we need to create, improve and prosper.

The light is there in everyone. Some recognize and know it more clearly and powerfully. Those with a greater light quotient can utilize it to help others and the world. Each person has the capacity to increase their light, whether it’s by facilitation from another or direct awakening. Awakening is the dawning of light in the darkness of ignorance. This ignorance isn’t related to education, but the knowing of the true self, and the nature of reality.

We all know intuitively that light is a positive force, an on an empirical level we can see how important light is in nature and our surroundings. Light makes crops and vegetation of the earth grow. We can observe houseplants follow the light, turning their leaves toward its nourishment…

Spiritually light is central to many traditions, celebrated at festivals and other commemorations with candles, decorative lamps, or sacred fires. Light is associated with divinity in several faiths…

Despite our attempts to describe it, absolute light transcends the limitations of space, time, measurement, or concepts. It is inseparable from the enlightened mind and total openness.

— Tulku Thondup

When life is easy, let’s shine the light. When life is hard, let’s shine the light. Whether it’s meditation or laundry, the light is there. Let’s hold space for it every moment.

Holding the light is a singular act of power.

The light is on every moment, switchless, wireless. Awareness ignites this truth, so every activity is graced by it. We’re illuminated from the inside. The source of all light is subtle. Even so, it’s observable and we can wield it. We can use it for good.

In 2012 how are you going to make the light visible and where will you direct it, in what will you invest it?

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Wisdom is a cornerstone attribute of life and quality living. The previous post laid down detailed groundwork on the nature of wisdom and its many permutations. ‘Perennial wisdom’ and ‘wisdom traditions’ have been mentioned many times here. These mean a systematic worldview that has been with humanity through the ages. It’s a worldview that holds true cross-culturally and has a set of common tenets. These tenets are universal.

Buddhism is a one of the world’s wisdom traditions. To illustrate just exactly how a wisdom tradition works and why it’s so precious and significant, let’s look at one buddha and the inner workings of related teachings. The Japanese names are going to be used since this is a Reiki blog, but Sanskrit versions will also be given.

DAINICHI NYORAI  大 日 如 来
Literally, “Great Sun” (Mahavairocana or Vairochana in Sanskrit)

This is an image of Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana) in the Kongo-kai (Diamond World) who makes a Chike-in sign (entering the world of Buddha's wisdom) in front of its chest. Dainichi Nyorai is the central deity of the Kongo-kai Mandala that represents the structure of the spiritual world in esoteric Buddhism.

Variously known as the Great Buddha of Universal Illumination, Cosmic Buddha, All-Encompassing Buddha, Life Force of the Universe, Spreader of Light in All Directions, or Great Shining One, Dainichi is a ‘celestial’ buddha. Buddhism teaches that there are three bodies (kayas) or manifestations of enlightenment. Of these dharmakaya is that aspect of the Buddha which is unchanging and eternal, referring to the essence of awakened being, absolute buddha nature. It’s the basis of all existence, including human. It’s also the spiritual body or “truth body” of all buddhas. This is Dainichi Nyorai, and where the ‘cosmic’ or ‘celestial’ reference comes in.

Dainichi is said to be omnipresent and all things, like the air we breathe, with all other buddhas and deities being emanations of Dainichi.

The first virtue of Dainichi Nyorai is the universal radiance that dispels darkness, with the ability to destroy suffering and despair. The second virtue is that this radiance has neither beginning nor end, and that the light of wisdom is like the sun, which always shines regardless of whether it’s day or night. The third virtue is an ability to enlighten living beings, and that great compassion is the parent of life which continues to nourish all living beings at all times.

Dainichi Buddha corresponds to the historical Buddha’s first turning of the Wheel of the Law in Deer Park in Sarnath, India. This is where the historical Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. The Turning of the Wheel is a metaphor for the teaching of the path to enlightenment.

One of the ways that wisdom comes into play is in understanding the mind of enlightenment and its various facets. The “five buddha families,” is an ancient Buddhist system of doing just that. The buddha families are traditionally displayed as a mandala. Each buddha in the mandala embodies one of the five different aspects of enlightenment. These manifest themselves as enlightened qualities as well as neurotic states of mind. The buddha families clearly present a complete picture of both the world of enlightened mind and the world of ego.

Traditionally, at the center of the mandala is Vairochana [Dainichi Nyorai], lord of the buddha family, who is white and represents the wisdom of all-encompassing space and its opposite, the fundamental ignorance that is the source of cyclic existence (samsara). The dullness of ignorance is transmuted to a vast space that accommodates anything and everything.

In the east of the mandala is Akshobya [Ashuku Nyorai], lord of the vajra family, who is blue and represents mirror-like wisdom and its opposite, aggression. The overwhelming directness of aggression is transmuted into the quality of a mirror, clearly reflecting all phenomena. Vajra is associated with the element water, with winter, and with sharpness and textures.

In the south of the mandala is Ratnasambhava [Hōshō Nyorai], buddha of the ratna family, who is yellow and represents the wisdom of equanimity and its opposite, pride. The fulsomeness of pride is transmuted into the quality of including all phenomena as elements in the rich display. Ratna is associated with the element earth, with autumn, with fertility and depth.

In the west of the mandala is Amitabha [Amida Nyorai], buddha of the padma family, who is red and represents discriminating-awareness wisdom and its opposite, passion or grasping. The intense desire of passion is transmuted into an attention to the fine qualities of each and every detail. Padma is associated with the element fire, with spring, with façade and color.

In the north of the mandala is Amogasiddhi [Fukūjōju Nyorai], buddha of the karma family, who is green and represents all-accomplishing wisdom and its opposite, jealousy or paranoia. The arrow-like pointedness of jealousy is transmuted into efficient action. Karma is associated with the element wind, with summer, with growing and completing.

— Irini Rockwell (brackets are mine)

Correspondingly, Dainichi’s characteristic hand gesture in Japan (although not always) is the Mudra of Six Elements (seen in the picture above as Chiken-in — also called the Knowledge Fist mudra.) In this mudra (hand gesture), the index finger of the left hand is clasped by the five fingers of the right. It symbolizes the unity of the five elements (Goshiki) — earth, water, fire, air/wind, and space/void — with spiritual consciousness.

Wisdom Fist mudra or simply Wisdom mudra speaks to the truth that only by adding the sixth element — mind, perception, or spiritual consciousness — do the five elements become animate. This equates to the Diamond World (noted in the picture above, it’s a metaphysical realm inhabited by the five wisdom buddhas, also detailed above). Put another way, there’s “unity” only when the sixth element is added. Without the sixth element, ordinary eyes see only differentiated or separate forms or appearances.

In summary, Dainichi Nyorai is known as the Supreme Buddha of the Cosmos in Esoteric Buddhist thought, being the source from whom all other deities and everything in the universe emanates, as light does from the sun. The hands form the mudra of perfect knowledge, which holds the power to restrain passions that hinder enlightenment. With the left index finger surrounded and protected by the fingers of the right, this gesture expresses the all-encompassing union of the spiritual and material realms of existence, and how the spiritual gives life to and sustains the material.

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A basic meditation routine, or even better a more substantial one, is essential for successful living. No matter who you are or what your endeavor is, the way our world is currently, and the way we have to be in the world, this whole process of living is uniquely challenging, a special set of circumstances humanity hasn’t really encountered before. Wanting to focus on meditation, and not make a long list of these unique circumstances, I point you to the major global events of 2011 and some of the interpretive posts about them you can find on this blog by clicking through to this compilation.

Through the ages, meditation has always brought great benefits to the human condition. Remember that meditation has been around since well before the time of the Buddha, stretching way back into antiquity. Today, it probably holds the greatest benefits for us than it ever has.

Meditation practice predates Buddhism and all of the world religions. It has lasted through the centuries because it is direct, potent, and effective. — Sakyong Mipham

In meditation, what we’re doing is looking at our experience and at the world intelligently. — Sakyong Mipham

What is intelligence? On one level it’s what an IQ test reveals. Intelligence doesn’t end there. It moves into knowing, wisdom, intuition, and clear-heartedness. Without these forms of intelligence we’re nothing but math geeks or some kind of super efficient robots. Intelligence includes our humanity, which includes our spirituality.

For a short while the immortal ray of light that is our soul wears a perishable mortal garment…but for all eternity the soul is sustained by the Infinite Source of that light. The more we meditate, the more we feel that consciousness. And the less we meditate, the less able we are to transcend identification with the little self—so many pounds of flesh encasing a limited mind bound by sense perceptions to the troublesome environs of the world. We have to get to the Self beyond its physical and mental instrumentalities to realize we are not fragile mortal beings… — Daya Mata

The human mind, normally equated with the brain by neuroscience, is limited. As Sakyong Mipham puts it, “Meditation is based on the premise that the natural state of the mind is calm and clear.” This is the knowledge that our various wisdom traditions have imparted. There’s the daily mind, and a higher mind with greater discernment, accessing wisdom and knowing.

This level of mind is termed buddhi in Sanskrit, from the root bud which means ‘to perceive’ or ‘to become awake.’ This form of intelligence discerns the true and the real from the false and the unreal. As Matthieu Ricard says, “It is through this unconditioned aspect of consciousness that we can transform the content of mind through training.” That training is meditation. Otherwise we remain in manas, or ‘outer,’ ‘sense’ mind, which is on the surface and handles impressions.

Here are a couple of more perspectives to help understand this:

Our minds are field-like, they are not confined to our brain. — Rupert Sheldrake

The conscious mind fails to grasp that which lies beyond the spheres of time, space, and causation. — Swami Rama

Pure consciousness without content is something all those who meditate regularly and seriously have experienced… — Matthieu Ricard

That “content” is the stuff of personality, the not-so-fun stuff! We want to move from content to substance. The substance of eternals like compassion, peace, and wisdom.

We’re also dealing with a paradox. There’s the real nature of the mind, and the mind we’re stuck with every day. There’s our humanness, then there’s our divinity. Leonard Jacobson puts it well: “We are on a journey of becoming that which we already are. That is the impossible paradox of our lives.” It’s not really impossible. It feels impossible until we get informed and empowered, and put into place a set of practices, the primary of these being meditation.

Meditation transcends time, the senses, and the subject-object relationships. By transcending these three, meditation takes us beyond the intellectual or rational level of consciousness. It is like looking through a screen; on one side of consciousness is all existence—thoughts, emotions, negativity, and our life patterns; on the other side is a very fine energy level—a deep meditative state. — Tarthang Tulku

Meditation is a first-person experience. It’s not looking at the world in the third-person. It’s not trying to understand our inner workings in the third-person. The first-person realm of meditation is holistic. It doesn’t cut reality up into pieces. It doesn’t need to understand how the brain works, to improve the workings of one’s mind. In meditation what’s known as the discursive mind can be disengaged. This is the mind that rambles. It’s unable to settle, to find its own depth. It remains on the surface, distracted and can’t get to the essence of things.

Whether it’s understood in terms of mind or being, our minds and our beings have a place that is calm and abiding. Calm abiding lives within us. It’s always there. There’s no app for it. There’s nothing to install. There is, however, an uncovering.

We have to uncover this lost place through meditation, and the application of meditative insight and orientation in daily living. Calm abiding is lost underneath all our pettiness, delusions and neuroses. The rational mind and the five senses informing it in their regular mode, give us only a partial and incorrect view of reality. This view keeps us trapped and attached. We’re operating within a limited informational field in daily living. In meditation, we have access to an informational field that penetrates the heart of reality.

It’s only from this wider and deeper field that we can make choices and decisions about how to best live, and to actually live well. It’s from this same field that we can positively influence the current state of affairs on our planet, and ensure a multi-generational sustainability of living and social systems.

When we talk about the techniques of meditation, these are techniques of life. — Sakyong Mipham

Meditation is a vast subject. Here’s some related material to help you with it. You may also add your input or ask questions in comments below. Often, answers tailored to your questions about meditation are the best way to get help with meditation.

Related:

Meditation reveals…

Put on the brakes with meditation

The Life of Meditation

Why Do Humans Meditate?

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You’re bound to become a buddha if you practice.
If water drips long enough
Even rocks wear through.
It’s not true thick skulls can’t be pierced;
People just imagine their minds are hard.

— Shih-Wu (1272-1352)

Shih-Wu or Stone House was a Chinese Chan (Zen) poet and hermit. He also served as abbot of Fuyuan Temple (near Hangzhou) for eight years.

Bill Porter, who’s lived as a Buddhist monk and translated various works, including Stone House’s poetry says this about him:

… he was one of the exceptional Zen students who became a poet. Stone House had a genius for poetry that is unique. I’ve always said that he was the greatest of all the Chinese Buddhist poets. And although he was a hermit, he was a Zen teacher, too, and he taught individuals through his poetry.

This is why I love wisdom, and the world’s wisdom traditions. Ages before we had terms like ‘brain plasticity,’ ‘neruoplasticity,’ ‘cortical remapping,’ or ‘brain malleability’ there was a Zen poet who already knew, had already experienced it, and was teaching it.

While Shih-Wu was an abbot for some time, he preferred his mountain hut, where he lead a frugal existence. The windows of his hut were made of oiled paper which ripped easily. He ate a wonderful variety of food he farmed himself on terraced banks on his mountain. He built his hut by a spring and as Bill Porter who has visited the site relates: “The spring was still flowing right behind the hut, the only spring on the mountain.” He had a few possessions, some tools and kitchenware.

Today, neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life, is seen and measured with sophisticated technology such as PET scans and MRIs. These technologies cost in the tens of thousands.

I don’t want to dwell on that so much. I want to dwell on the teaching.

I’ve always been an advocate of practice-based spirituality. Not sermon-based, not book learning, not intellectual grasp of truths. Not the surface inspiration of a quote, not the spiritual catchphrase. Not talk only. Spirituality has to be a part of us. Not a garment that comes on and off. Not an appendage. But a part of our being.

Spirituality must be embodied to be true and real, and indeed give its gifts. The best and most effective way for spirituality to be embodied is by practice.

This isn’t the practice of ‘practice makes perfect,’ it isn’t the ‘best practices’ of business, nor a drill, or social observance.

As Shih-Wu indicates, it isn’t even a practice to better yourself, improve skills, get over an emotional hump, lose weight or develop a character quality. It’s of an utterly boundless order. There isn’t even a box here.

He’s talking about being a ‘buddha.’ No, not that guy! Well, alright, he’s a good model. He’s talking about you. He’s talking about being awake, which is what ‘buddha’ means.

Buddha means “awake one.” Awake to what? That can be answered in many ways. Let’s stay with the poem. Awake to nonphysicality. If rocks are some of the most solid things we know, and they can be worn down, is there any reality and permanence to matter? Whoa, now Shih-Wu is dancing at the quantum level. Wait, when did he live?! Matter isn’t fixed to a single state.

I love the humor too. He knows we’re thick-headed. He also knows that’s an illusion. Fact is, the mind is bendable. It can be bent to wisdom and compassion. It can be bent to the heart where it becomes heartmind. The mind can be informed by sources other than the brain’s processing. And it’s also not fixed to a single state or pattern.

How? Practice. Shih-Wu also knew that the mind is nonlocal. It’s not not only limited to the brain, it’s not limited to geography, time or  habit. Bill Porter again:

By staying up on his mountain, he was able to affect the course of Zen in Korea. A prominent Korean monk came and studied with him at his hermitage and then took the robe and bowl of Stone House back to his country and established the Chogye Order, Korea’s main Zen tradition.

That’s quite something from a man who wore simple robes made of mulberry paper or lotus leaves in the summer, and a sturdy hemp most other times.

As he says:

Nothing is better than being free
but getting free is not luck.

So. Practice. I’ll see you there.

Each post for the Reiki Help Blog can take anywhere from 1-5 days to write/research, proofread/edit, and post with an appropriate image and formatting. If you leave this space with any value, knowledge, joy or understanding, please consider making a donation of your choice.

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