Tag Archives: Yathabhutam

Right View

In the realm of Buddhism, there exists a noble pursuit, a quest to perceive the world in its unadulterated form, devoid of any distortions or illusions. This pursuit is known as Yathabhutam, a profound endeavor to truly “see” the essence of Reality as it truly is, stripped of any superficial manifestations. However, it seems that within the contemporary Buddhist landscape, this timeless wisdom has been forgotten, overshadowed by a rampant wave of spiritual materialism. This misguided approach, centered around self-indulgence and human-centered ideologies, has led many astray from the path of true enlightenment. It begs the question, can anyone awaken from this delusion and recognize the inherent absurdity of this paradoxical notion? It is truly foolish to equate the spiritual with the material, and those who do so fail to grasp the essence of Buddhism itself. Yet, this distorted perspective has become the prevailing ideology in modern Buddhism, replacing the profound teachings of the Buddhadharma with shallow and superficial notions of holistic development. In reality, this approach only serves to imprison the spirit within the chains of material desires, constantly bombarding us with the allure of sensual gratification, a constant reminder of our entrapment. read more

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Technique #4: Yathabhutam Ho

Question: The Dhyana Technique in Shoden Session # 4 has a most unusual name…Yathabhutam Ho…what does this term mean? read more

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Absence of Malice

The Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta
The Scripture on the Absence of Increase and the Absence of Decrease [in the Realm of Beings]. read more

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Saturday Vespers

Saturday
Vespers

Blessed One, come to my assistance

O’ Lord, make haste to help me

Glory be to the Blessed Buddha and to the Divine Dharma and to the Hallowed Sangha, both now and forever and ever. Swaha. read more

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Ascending the Noble Mountain of Primordial Perfection

For some time now this blog has been presenting the Way of the Unborn through different modalities: Within Yogic parameters the The Yogasūtras of Patañjali and The Bhagavad Gita portray the ascetical discipline necessary in which to put to rest the appetite for carnal things within which the Unborn can be approached freely and unobstructed. The Lankavatarian Book of the Dead, The Tathāgatagarbhatārā Tantra, and Notes from the Iron Stupa comprises a Tantric Trilogy which encompasses Atiyoga, Mahayoga, and Anuyoga all highlighting elements of Sacred Tantra, the Bardo Realms, and even Shamanistic components that altogether constitute transcending the skandhic potpourri and stimulating the direct Primordial Ascendency of the Unborn. This past Spring’s, The Secret Golden Light of the Unborn, highlighted the Golden Spiritual Elixir of the Unborn as its channeled through the chakras with the Great Turn-About in the inner depths of consciousness in order to discover that Golden-Thread, which if faithfully followed, would lead one back to their True Primordial Home. With the recent conclusion of the Unborn I Ching series we explored certain Divine-aspects of Divination, which accompanied by an earlier sister series that also highlighted aspects of divination that was nuanced with Tozen’s splendid early teachings on the Unborn, The Dragon Mind of Zen Tarot. Indeed, divination if approached from a transcendent angle accompanied with Right Gnosis reveals how the abiding primordial functions of the Unborn can be a constant companion and mentor on the spiritual journey. Another element that the Unborn I Ching series expounded upon was the further extension and exposition of the fourth constituent of the Noble Truths. As one progresses on the Noble Road to Self-realization it becomes evident that they go beyond the standardized “Eight-fold Path”—which was meant for novices in order for the early development of a sound foundation—as there are a vast array of Noble Truths (beginning with the Bodhisattva path) revealed when the adept matures in the further unfoldment of the Buddhadharma.  Along with Right Conduct would eventually come Right Discernment and even Right Analysis; for our upcoming series the emphasis is on Right Contemplation. Doctrinal series like The Awakening of Faith and The True Lion’s Roar of Queen Śrīmālā depict sound Mahayana Principles that highlight the unique position of the Unborn in terms of Tathagata-garbha formulations. Of course, our numerous series on pertinent sutras also contribute to principles that pertain to the Unborn. Tozen’s marvelous Tozen Teachings empower the adept to attune to the Way of the Unborn in his own singular fashion. read more

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The Undiscovered Country: Bardo 3, Yathabhutam

One of my favorite short stories is HG Wells’ “The Country of the Blind”, first published circa 1904. In a nutshell, an explorer discovers a hidden “mystical” valley wherein all the inhabitants lack the faculty of sight. Sensing that in the land of the blind the “one-eyed man is king”, he tries to convert them into the ways of cognitive “seeing”; they just scoff at him although later he falls in love with a lovely blind young woman, yet when he also tries to encourage her to understand what it means to be able to “see”, she tells him that he’s just using a very vivid imagination. Later, he agrees to become blinded so that he can marry her, but decides to flee the Country of the Blind (in the original 1904 version) becoming lost in a mountainous terrain and eventually succumbing to the elements. Quite a striking metaphor for assessing one’s journey through all the “Bardo” stages, as one naturally succumbs at the end of the journey to the skandhic elements. One thinks one sees and knows what the journey is all about but is actually quite “blind” to the True Reality (Paramartha) behind what animates the volatile journey in the first place. The Lanka states that Mind simply becomes lost and blinded to the apparent reality behind its own animations; like the man in Wells’ short story, the faculty of the imagination rules the roost in samsara. He trusted exclusively in his Skandhic faculty of proper cognition yet his young blind lover saw right through this fallacy. Like the aging and blind poet, John Milton, the young woman saw and realized more behind apparent reality with the supramundane eyes of spiritual and transcendent awareness and insight—an “inner” faculty of which *Milton wrote in “Paradise Lost”, “There Plant Eyes”. He was referring to seeing Reality AS IT IS—Yathabhutam. If one goes groping around in the Country of the Blind (Samsara) one will never see the light of day at the end of the tunnel. Success in navigating the turbulent waters of the Bardo and transcending avidya (blinding ignorance) depends on utilizing the proper Buddhagnosis—or the right compass that leads one to the Luminous Other Shore of the Dharmakaya. The Word is the compass. Under this Right Direction the country of the blind becomes supplanted with the Undiscovered Country of the Unborn. The Country of Yathabhutam. read more

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The Ten Stages of Mind-development

Bodhisattvahood, part 4

In Tathagata-garbha, Unborn Mind Zen, there are Ten-Stages (Bhumis) of development: read more

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Purgation

The infusion of the Dark Light can be excruciating since all former modes of the perceptional apparatus are abandoned and one is left staring into the great abyss of their own abject poverty (sunyata), compared to the translucent majesty of the Unborn. One now stares into the black hole of emptiness itself, resulting in an aridity of spirit and a feeling of total abandonment –lying hopelessly on this dry plane of darkness. One cries out in the lament of old, “My soul is deprived of peace…I have forgotten what happiness is…” read more

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