The present and active state of civil unrest* that has been occurring throughout the globe this year is indicative of what transpires when one wakes-up and sees things as they are—which, in this universal sense, has generated the impetus to rise up and do something about it; this translates into the now informed 99% of this saha realm rising up, challenging, and in many instances, overthrowing the status quo (in its various, archaic totalitarian and alleged democratic structures) of the 1%. Will these be truly liberating times…a long overdue resurrection from the pangs of human suffrage? Indeed, what will be revealed? A vast, evolutional leap in human consciousness and collective-liberated resolve; or will it be a decadent decline into former medieval and feudal systems, merely given a newfangled facade created by the latest technologies? We shall have to wait as this great drama continues to unfold.
In Buddhism, the noble enterprise of seeing things “as they are” is known as Yathabhutam: essentially “seeing” the nature of Reality AS IT IS (suchness, or tathata), devoid of any phenomenal outflows. The contemporary Buddhist milieu has apparently forgotten this timeless axiom and, instead, has plunged itself headstrong into the maelstrom of spiritual materialism with its decadent, anthropocentric notions of what constitutes life in the spirit. Can anyone wake-up and see the absurdity in the very notion of this oxymoron? One is truly moronic and fails to pass the muster in equating spiritual/material. Yet, this is the party-line of Buddhism today, replacing the great Buddhardharma with sensualist notions of pathetic psychological, sociological, emotional, physical, sensational, attributes that are linked under the pretence of holistic development; yet, in reality, keeping the spirit imprisoned in these categorical-material-skandhic chains that have as their insidious hallmark—everyday in your face—sensual gratification.
One of the Buddha’s greatest axioms is ehipassiko, meaning “come and see”. It means to not simply believe in something merely because someone who is supposed to be “in the know” has stated it to be so (de facto); rather, look to your own experience for confirmation. Look and discover the Absolute Reality AS IT IS through your own awakening to the Noble Realm of Self-Realization, rather than sit in the darkened theater of your own mind and wait for the arrival on the screen of a Dali Lama to enlighten you. You have within a dormant, deathless seed that awaits the moment of awakening and realizing and celebrating Its full potential as a spiritual child of the Unborn. It is through this auspicious dharma-seed that the True You will be empowered to come and see Its rightful inheritance. This is the Right View that will eradicate and exorcise the Wrong View of the spiritual materialists. Yes, Buddhism is in dire need of this Spiritual Reformation that will once again guarantee Yathabhutam—a true spiritual ascent from the malignant material descent into the darkened bowels of the ordinary body-consciousness; when the wounded chameleon mind can finally become free from the colorful karmic dance of the vijnanas—with no more coming or going, but looking directly at the Real, AS IT IS.
*The examples of contemporary images used in this post do not reflect the views, affiliation, or support of UnbornMind Zen; they serve as frames of reference to expound the Buddhadharma.