VII. The Living Midnight
It is said that Great beings are born at the midnight hour. In ancient China there was talk of the “Living Midnight” that promoted the dark principle which instantly could dispel the false light of any day or night, symbolizing that it is in the minds perfect silence that your spirit is ready to meet its own true self– Tozen
- In gradually perfecting the technique of turning-around-the-light, one’s ordinary-life responsibilities need not be neglected. When occupational concerns arise, address them; when daily obstacles present themselves, discern the proper course of action.
- Managing all one’s affairs with proper mindfulness does not conflict with one’s engaging in the spiritual technique; indeed, the Light is not distracted by sensate phenomena but proceeds to shed IT’s infinite Right Direction under all circumstances.
- If you can turn-about and Recollect the unbounded resourcefulness that is always offered in the Unborn, then the technique of turning-around-the-light can be utilized whenever called-upon; yea, this is the essence of the practice as one is always adorned with Unborn Light.
- The best time to perfect the technique is early morning when one is less-distracted by all the daily “noise”. Sitting quietly in the marvelous Recollective Ambiance one is empowered to fine-tune one’s inner-resources that will counterbalance all forthcoming outer activities; in this reflective fashion one orientates oneself in the Light and thus can always incur Right Reliance uninterruptedly whenever dealing with the human situation. Practicing in this fashion for two or three months will alert the Shining Ones who will then come and sanctify such spiritual-resourcefulness.
- The ancients referred to sustaining this inner-resourcefulness as the Living-Midnight.
- Firstly, the Living Midnight is a darkness to the senses yet enlightens the ways of the spirit with a Translucent Light. It is generated by the Dark Principle THAT disengages the false light of the senses; this Principle is a Living One and cannot be grasped by conceptualizations since IT is Unborn and primordially unconditioned.
- Secondly, the Living Midnight is when the discriminatory-consciousness is voided and profound silence prevails. This silence expunges the false-self and reveals the primal-energy of the Unborn and Primordial Spirit THAT precedes all phenomena and is housed in deathlessness.
- Lastly, the Living Midnight is also the true-midnight through which one translucently perceives the Real and Un-Created, thus expanding one’s mind with even greater powers of awareness (bodhipower). Now only profound stillness prevails.
Managing all one’s affairs with proper mindfulness does not conflict with one’s engaging in the spiritual technique: being mindful in attending to daily tasks in no way short-circuits efforts to engage in turning-around-the-light. It simultaneously enhances what needs to be performed in conjunction with the ways of spirit.
Practicing in this fashion for two or three months will alert the Shining Ones who will then come and sanctify such spiritual-resourcefulness: persistent effort in heightening one’s spiritual faculties will not pass unnoticed as profound spiritual agencies will come and provide further gnosis and guidance.
Firstly, the Living Midnight is a darkness to the senses yet enlightens the ways of the spirit with a Translucent Light: Profound similarities here with the teachings of John of the Cross; the ways of the spirit are like a dark-night for the exclusively sense-oriented, but a brilliant Translucent Light wherein spiritual mysteries are revealed for those enlightened with Buddha-gnosis. The garish light of day, with its overly active sensate perturbations, is rendered neutral by the spiritual “dark night of the senses”, wherein sensate phenomena is lulled to sleep and the luminous dark principle of the Unborn is revealed for those with the awakened eyes of the Spirit.
Secondly, the Living Midnight is when the discriminatory-consciousness is voided and profound silence prevails: this “silence” of the Living Midnight is quite unlike anything experienced before. The Body-Consciousness is so quelled that the Clear-Light of the Unborn will reveal spiritual-truths yet unfathomed in a Living Atmosphere of Pure-unspoiled Virgin-Stillness. John of the Cross would liken this to the “dark night of the spirit”, a thorough aridity that exclusively erases even any prior forms of apparent spiritual comforts as one is left Alone in the Living Midnight completely void of any external or internal support systems.
the Living Midnight is also the true-midnight through which one translucently perceives the Real and Un-Created: Wilhelm translates “living midnight” as ”the time when the child comes to life.” Yea, Great “Bodhi-beings” are born at the Midnight Hour, for it is the Garbha-child who can authentically perceive the Dharmadhātu—the Living-Realm of the Real and Absolute.