Rudolph Bauer, Ph.D. Author, Jasmine Chehrazi, Editor
1. Experiencing being and non-being brings one into completeness. To be able to experience non-being and experience being-- this is the secret of experiential immortal-ness or the deathless state. In this intermediate area of experience, you can be in the realm of duality and non-duality. Being no thing, and yet being something, all in oneness; experiencing non-emptiness and experiencing pervasive emptiness, all in oneness; experiencing being and experiencing non-being, in oneness. Being-ness and non-being permeate each other, infuse each other, arise from each other so that there is no each other-- only oneness… only openness. Openness and manifestations of openness are in oneness. Appearance and spaciousness are in oneness. Things are both being and nonbeing-ness, appearance and openness, potential and manifestation. All are in oneness. Dharmakaya and nirmanakaya are in oneness… completely in oneness. From nothingness (no thing-ness) manifests something (thing-ness). The something is infused within nothingness and by nothingness, and nothingness is suffused within appearance. Appearance infuses nothingness. The same paradox lays within the apparitional dimension of sambogakaya. The multidimensional-ness of awareness is in oneness. Primordial openness or knowingness is not something but does manifest as something-- manifests as the being-ness of things and beings; manifests as them. The seen and unseen are in oneness. The hidden and revealed are in oneness.
2. We experience non-being and experience being both in the same instance. We can embrace something and nothingness simultaneously. We can embrace being-ness of being in ourselves and in other beings. Being-ness is not something and is not nothing. Being-ness is spaciousness and luminosity. Being-ness can be hidden and can be unconcealed. Being-ness is never an object nor goal. Being-ness is oneness as void-ness or openness as knowingness. This kind of knowledge is not known on the outside but through the inside-- inside as subjectivity, since being-ness is subjectivity as knowingness, openness… primordial subjectivity… not the subjectivity of a mind. Rather, subjectivity as as field. Subjectivity is the oneness of being-ness and nonbeing-ness; void and openness. Furthermore, keeping within radiance and non-radiance, appearance within radiance, and non-radiance of appearance, apparition-ness within radiance and non-radiance… keeping within the field and no field, felt phenomena, keeping within spaciousness and density, keeping within purity and non-purity, openness and foreclosed-ness… a human being is no thing and yet not nothing. A human being is both a thing and nothing… human awareness is no thing yet becomes mind and body and circumstance.
3 This is a way or manner to understand the Mayamakaya, the Buddhist declarations that something is unreal and real, or existing and non-existing. This dilemma of what is reality is most often expressed in reified knowledge or objectifying and non-process language. This language is most often concrete, operational, and lacks systemic view, lacks process languaging. Mayamakaya lacks the language of transitional space… intermediate area of experience and potential space, and systemic and symbolic processing. This lack creates confusion and endless redundant thinking in its attempts to bring forth non-dual understanding of human beings and primordial reality. To say this in another way Mayamkaya lacks the dynamic and multidimensional language of potentiality and actuality, of the virtuality and actuality.This languaging of ancient western greek philosophy elaborated by Arisototle opens up a language of the mutldimenisioness of reality, potential becoming actual.this languaging also connects dzogchen with western contemporary phenomenology.
4. Awareness itself is nothingness or openness as the being-ness of being, knowing-ness, gnosis as being-ness, the being-ness of being manifested as a being, manifested as and within the human being. The being-ness is no thing and is potentiality as the plenum, total fullness.
5. For some Buddhist there is existence of a human on the relative level and nonexistence on the ultimate level. And for some there is the understanding that the ultimate level is manifested on a relative level as a human being. And so for some there is both being-ness and nonbeing-ness manifested as a being. The being-ness of being is both being and non-being.
6. Conventional existence and ultimate nonexistence coincide in the same thing, coincide in the same being, coincide in the human being. Some, if not many, of the mayamkaya adherents think they are mutually exclusive and cannot simultaneously occur in the same basis. They think that the ultimate existence and relative existence are non inclusive, but exclusive. They are challenged by the oneness in its manifestations and unmanifested-ness. Many buddist and avaita practioners deal with duality and nonduality by simply excluding duality as illusion.this is a concrete operational level of thinking and solution.
7. For phenomenological understanding, there is no opposition between the existence of a thing on the conventional level of reality and the nonexistence of the thing on the ultimate level. There is no opposition of the human being existing on the conventional level of reality as well as on the ultimate level. This is completely understood when you understand the multidimensionality of reality. A unidimensional view cannot hold this reality. Unidimensional knowledge forecloses the languaging of the complexity of being. For some mayamkaya adherents, whatever does not exist ultimately could not exist conventionally, and whatever exists conventionally would not be nonexistence ultimately.
8. Phenomena are established on the conventional level of reality, and they cannot be found on the ultimate level, from their view of reasoning. For some mayamkaya adherents, a thing or even human being does not exist on the conventional level of reality, yet no one can deny that the unfailing appearance on the conventional level of reality as dependently arising humans and things. The conventional plane of reality cannot be denied, and unhappily such denial is its own form of delusion. There is no logic whatsoever that can prove their nonexistence in and as conventional reality and neither disprove their existence in ultimate reality. There is the strength of the phenomena that is manifesting itself directly… and immediately, experientially that cannot be denied. These attributions can only be an intellectual denial of actuality and a fashioning of beliefs that adhere to what they think of as source namely Lord Buddha. This kind of fundamentalism undoes the praxis of awareness.
9. What appears is empty and what is empty appears. This is the non-contradictory coincidence of appearance and emptiness.
10. The notion that phenomena are not empty in themselves, but are empty of something that is extraneous to them, is no different from the ordinary understanding of emptiness. On the ultimate level the thing cannot be found… the human being cannot be found and this un-findablity is what is meant by nonexistence, or lack of existence of true existence as ultimate reality. If the pot’s true existence in ultimate reality cannot be proven, then this is indicative that the pot has no ultimate reality.
11. Absolute reasoning does not find a thing on the ultimate level and neither on the conventional level nor empirical level. Logic does not prove existence nor nonexistence. Conventional phenomena may be empty by nature. Though empty they appear empirically, so their appearance and emptiness are indivisibly united.
12. Phenomena are a product of dependent arising or interdependent phenomena. In this way they are considered empty by some. Phenomena arise as effects from causes and conditions. No phenomena are denied as existing by being empty. The phenomena are empty in the very moment of their appearance. In their appearing, phenomena are empty, and in their emptiness phenomena appear. Here emptiness the multi-determination exists of infinite causes. Emptyness is another way of languaging potentiality and actuality.actuallity and potentiality are in oneness, complete oneness.
13. Phenomena arise in dependence upon conditions.Potential becomes actuality in light of circumstances, possibility becomes singularity as a result of circumstances. People are trapped in their mind and their thoughts about the existence or non existence of phenomena. There is a preoccupation with the truth as judgment… “it is” or “it is not”... the adequatio.
14. Emptiness and dependently arising phenomena are one and the same thing. The ultimate existence is refuted-- not the thing itself, not the conventional reality of knowing of the thing, the mind knowing the object.both subject and object are in potential and become actual in light of circumstances.
15. As long as there is no cessation, there is no arising. If disintegration is done away with, then generation is not possible.Coming and going, appearing and disappearing is an ontological and cosmological necessity.
16. Phenomena are established by direct perception alone. Direct perception is the source of knowledge. The emptiness of emptiness is only known directly and experientially… direct perception… the samadhi of such-ness. The realm of potenitiality is know through direct perception and the realm of potentiality is the source of direct perception…knowningness prior to manifestation.
17. Mind only asserts that there is no external creator and no external world; then this is the human mind’s only approach and everything arises from mind. This is not the same as Nyingma traditions that everything arises out of primordial awareness or ground both ignorance and gnosis, and this is a natural arising and not a function of the human mind… nor a function of lack of virtue or evilness.
18. For the philosopher Chardriki phenomena are pure just as they stand. The validity of the conventional reality gains a form of existence as pure.
19. From the phenomenological view as I know it, the Madhyamaka deconstruction does not concern existence proper. Things do not exist ultimately, as Nargarjuna deconstructive reasoning attempts to demonstrate, but things and humans do exist conventionally and in coventional reality and therefore can be said to exist. Reasoning does not need to prove this. This is direct experience. Madhayamaka constructions or reasoning do not affect the existence of phenomena, including emptiness that can be understood to the cannons of rationality presupposed by a moderate realist interpretation of Buddhist epistemology. Essenceless-ness can then be integrated within a global account in which reality can be described coherently, without any conflict between the two truths nor conventional reality, which is not a delusion but is actually experientially real and good to be in. This account strengthens the validity of the conventional realm, which gains existence. There is conventional reality and ultimate reality. We would say there is nirmanakaya and dharmakaya.
20. Both ultimate reality and conventional reality are actuality. From the phenomenological view, the conventional actuality is ultimately based on the primordial awareness as actual potentiality. And yet something which exists at conventional actuality may exist in and of itself in the potentiality of dharmakaya. We say ultimate actuality exists and conventional actuality is a manifestation of primordial actuality of potentiality. something may exist in conventional actuality and is the manifestation of ultimate actuality of potentiality. Nirmanakaya is the manifestation of dharmakaya. A thing or human being may dissolve from being in conventional actuality, or a particular conventional circumstance of actuality and may dissolve and no longer exist as it as dissolved into the actuality of potentiality. There is a non essential difference between true existence of ultimate existence, which is dharmakaya, and the true existence of conventional existence, which is nirmanakaya. Sambhogakaya is apparitional reality and does manifest. It is based on the ultimate reality of dharmakaya. Sambogakya is the manifestation of dharmakaya and is manifesting in its own timeless time.there is no essential difference between the three kayas.
21. The ultimate actuality of potentiality exists pervasively, and no where and every where. The ultimate actuality of potentiality exists beyond time and space and in time and space. Beyond time and space there is no appearance, and within time and space as appearance as experience . Appearance is the ultimate reality manifesting in time and space in singularity and as singularity. Apparitional reality is the ultimate reality in archetypical time and space. Both appearances and apparitional reality are timeless, manifesting in their own time.
2 Phenomenologically, the knowing of ultimate existence is a function of experience -- not logic nor reasoning.Knowing as gnosis- direct perception. The ultimate existence is knowingness, and this knowingness as pure awareness can be known directly by awareness itself. This knowingness, the awareness, manifests as conventional knowingness both as mind and as self-arising awareness. This awareness manifests as apparitional experience, which has its own time. This multidimensional view of reality or existence is necessary because the very nature of the ground and its manifestation is multidimensional.
23. For some, it is true that conventional reality is based upon dependent arising, but this dependent arising is itself the manifestation of ultimate reality. Of course many forget this... the ultimate reality is without base, and the ultimate reality is the base of conventional reality and conventional apparitional reality. Some think that conventional reality is only a function of the psychological mind, and this is simply not true. The mind and conventional reality are a function and manifestation of ultimate reality. Ultimate reality is beyond concepts and assertions. Ultimate reality manifests within and as conventional reality. Conventional reality is not simply a thought nor an affect of the mind. The mind itself is located in conventional reality and is itself an expression or manifestation of ultimate reality.
24. Emptiness has two meanings: 1) the experience or reality of emptiness of phenomena as a function of dependent arising causation is one, and is often used by Buddhists; and 2) most importantly, the emptiness of the dharmakaya, or the ground and the consequent manifestation of emptiness as reality.
25. Ultimate reality and conventional reality, whether as conventional appearance or apparitional reality, is in oneness or union with these different manifestations. There is only oneness. The negation of real external existence or extrinsic existence leaves phenomena untouched and results in placing the two truths side by side, like a black thread and white thread woven together. This is not union of oneness. They remain distinct and not unified.this mode of difference makes the difference essential rather non essential difference.ultimately there is no essential difference between everything and everyone and every dimension…this is the mystery of univocacity.
26. Emptiness entails appearance, and appearance entails emptiness. Apparitional-ness entails emptiness and emptiness entails apparitional-ness.
27. Some think that form is emptiness and emptiness as form is only a function of dependent arising; that since everything is a function of dependent arising then every thing is empty in itself. This is a causal approach to emptiness, which is limiting and easily leads to nihilism, which is ma rigpa.This way of thinking is concrete operational and ma rigpa.This way of thinking does give a path to direct realization.
28. The truth of form is emptiness and emptiness is form is not ultimately a function of dependent arising, but rather that ultimate existence manifests itself as temporal conventional existence. Ultimate reality manifests as conventional reality. Ultimate gnosis manifests as embodied gnosis. The ultimate light manifests as luminosity of the flesh. Dharmkaya manifests as sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.
29. It is this lack of understanding of emptiness that is the true limitation of much mayamaka as well as sutra writing. Religion is always in defense of itself and within this is distortions because of its institutionalized omnipotence.
30. The attempt to have the break down of phenomena in order to show that phenomea does not exist takes a physical explanation or mechanistic explanation and applies it to psychical reality. A human being is both psychical and physical; a human being is the being-ness of being as a being who is both physical and consciousness. Consciousness cannot be found objectively since consciousness is awareness itself, which is spaciousness, luminous, pure, and oneness as compassion.Everything actual is not necessarily visible. This in developmental thinking is about 5 years old when abstract understanding an thought as not yet developed.
31. Even Freud knew this. Newtonian physics does not explain consciousness. Explanation should not be equated with gnosis or knowingness. Heidegger comments about this lack in his discussions with Menard Boss.
32. Explanation as knowledge… mind replacing awareness field… Freud’s metapsychology is the application of neo-Kantian philosophy (only know phenomena and no noema) to the human being… do not know being. For consciousness or human phenomena, he also postulates an unbroken chain of explanation, that is, the continuity of causal connections, (as do Buddhists). Since there is no such thing as within consciousness, he has to invent the unconscious in which there must be an unbroken chain of causality or causal connections. The postulate is the complete explanation of psychical life, whereby explanation (erklaren) and understanding (verstehen) are identified as one. This postulate is not derived from psychical phenomena themselves, but is a postulate of natural science.
33. Idealism imposed on the already existing world that one is already in, including idealistic mind, in his logical investigations Husserl speaks about meaning bestowing accounts. According to Husserl, the constitution of an object of consciousness occurs in such a way that the hyletic data, pure sensation, are given as primary and then receive a meaning as noemata (intentional obejcts of consciousness). In other words, a meaning noema is ascribed to the sensory situation or stimulus in a psychical or noetic act. Nevertheless, the whole assertion is a pure construct of the mind.
34. Human beings generally do not put importance on things experienced directly, but on ideation suppositions and assumptions.
35. The basic character of being is presence. To be in the open is different then from being open from my being open. Being open means being open… da sein. The da of da sein is determined here as the open. This openness has the characteristic of space. Spatiality belongs to the clearing. It belongs to the open in which we are sojourn as existing human beings. Space and time belong together. Spatiality and temporality both belong to the clearing. To stand in the clearing and experience beings and things is consciousness. What is the relationship in the clearing of being and consciousness? Consciousness means to have something manifest as something. Consciousness or awareness is the clearing in which something manifest, appears and shows itself.
36. Husserl contributed intentionality to consciousness. Intentionality means each consciousness is consciousness of something. It is directed towards something. One does not have representation but one does represent. To represent means to make present. Representation is what I present back to me, for me. To represent back to me becomes expressively thematic. It is the relationship to my self, who is then determined as the one who represents. Vorstellen der. Then every consciousness is self consciousness. There is no consciousness without self consciousness-- of course this is not true as primordial awareness and being aware of awareness does not require a reflective self consciousness.
37. Consciousness always presupposes da sein, and not conversely. Knowledge and consciousness are always moving in the openness of the da. Without the da they would not be possible at all. The da is primordial awareness, or pre-reflective awareness; with it, spaciousness openness and illumination. The relationship between ontic interpretation and ontology always is a correlative relationship, in so far as existentialia are discovered from ontic experience. The unifying pole in psychotherapy science is the human being.
38. Standing open is always attuned. Gestimmt. It is always standing open to a specific environment or specific situation. Clearing is not existential… the standing open of da sein stands out in the clearing. All existence is a bodily component but not only a bodily component. It is body in itself but expands beyond the body, both vertically and horizontally.
39. Nature is defined objectively so that it could be controlled and becomes a thing, such as a human becomes a thing. How nature is represented deceives humans.
40. As Heisenberg declares, it is impossible to know the present in its determination. There is the principle of indeterminacy.
43. When you fully realize the dzogchen view and dzogchen practice, everything is the endless display, the endless manifestation of the kayas, the manifestation of light, and primordial wisdom… gnosis. These are the stainless and spontaneous manifestations of primordial actuality: cho nyi itself. Like the rays of the sun, they are utterly pure, for all appearances are pure and the manifestation of light.
44. May the self-arising, effortless, indestructible light of presence be the very center for this practitioner’s heart-- an inner luminosity that is the youthful vase body. May such practitioners become Buddhas for whom there is no bias, for whom all is of one taste, so that infinite benefit will arise.
45. In the spacious open realm, in the sky-like purity of basic space itself, are an infinite host of apparitional peaceful and wrathful deities. With boundless compassion for all beings, these archetypical energies of light take up inconceivable activities in response to whatever beings need… limitless benefit for all who encounter them.