Enlightenment is in the Present Moment

The hallmark of the enlightenment process is in being "here" and not "there." Indeed, the focal point of continuity is in being here at all times. The famous message of Ram Dass to "Be here now" is what results when one is adept in this practice. It is laborious in that it requires great perseverance -- we are up against lifelong patterns -- but it is a major enlightenment practice because it can break through our basic conditioning. The secret of success in continuity practice is to eliminate any sense of failure. From the moment we begin, we are successful. The only measure of success is this moment, right now. Are we here? If we are here, our practice is perfect. The fact that we have just returned from out yonder, or that we might take off again in a few seconds, is not relevant. Without this practice, we would always be spaced out. We would rarely experience being here. Thus, each moment we are able to break the pattern, we have succeeded.

- David A. Cooper, Silence, Simplicity and Solitude from Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smith

James: Humans worry, it's what we do as partakers of the unsatisfying feast of samsara. We worry about our health, our families, our friends, our jobs, our country, our world and our environment. And we even worry whether we are worrying too much!! We also worry about our spirituality. A common spiritual worry I hear in Buddhism goes something like this, "Am I progressing adequately towards Enlightenment?" We are setting ourselves up for discouragement the minute we ask ourselves questions like this.

Why? Well, first off the idea of a progression means that there is something permanent to build and add to and that is our first unskillful thought. When in reality there is nothing to build and nothing to add to, just essence, just the present moment for what it may or may not be. It is perfect despite what limited perceptions or judgments we might place upon it. By the way, we want to avoid words such as "wrong" or "bad" or "mistake" because it merely adds more stress, worry, discouragement to the situation. It focuses on the delusion of duality instead of the flow of co-arising. Instead we use words like skillful and unskillful to emphasize that we can hone our thoughts, words and deeds just like any other skill. This is another reason that we use the word "practice" in Buddhism because there is no "pass/fail" dogma. We practice much like one would practice golfing or archery or any other skill.

In my opinion, it is not about building anything but being, just being here as Mr. Cooper mentions above, which brings us to the adequacy question. We are adequate just as we are, now whether we accept that or not is a different dilemma but our basic essence is perfect, beautiful and more then adequate. This brings us to going "towards" "Enlightenment." Enlightenment or awakening occurs in the present moment, not out there somewhere. There is no top of the mountain where a guru resides to grant us our Enlightenment diploma.

Everything that Buddhism teaches about awakening to Enlightenment resides right here, right now in the present moment. It isn't anywhere "out there." It reminds me of the old adage, why go to the store to buy milk when you have a cow at home?

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO: Rabbi and author, David A. Cooper

Blog Over-Haul Update

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I've decided to basically stick with the template the way it is right now.

I switched the font back to trebuchet and enlarged the font a bit so it's easier to read. As well as switching the title from bold and whitened up the description of the blog.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

We need to understand the concept of practice and what makes it spiritual. Practice is an activity that is regularly performed and is an open-ended process, never reaching a point of perfection. We can develop skills or even mastery with practice, but there always remains a quality of something new to learn. If approached with a dull mind, even the most exotic practice becomes a rote expression. A person could spend a lifetime in practice this way and accomplish no more than a perfunctory exterior form without any spiritual substance. Unfortunately, many people find themselves following a traditional practice for the wrong reasons. They make all the right moves, but there is no heart in it. We should approach the most mundane practice with a bright, open beginner's mind and regularly discover new insights, whether brushing our teeth, washing the dishes, or making the bed.

--David A. Cooper, Silence, Simplicity and Solitude

James: I think this is why practicing mindfulness is so important. I see meditation as the key and mindfulness as the door to Buddha nature or awakened being. I like to use the word awakened instead of enlightenment because enlightenment has become so charged and over-used. It has come to mean that there is some kind of "Ah HA!!" moment in one's practice that marks the end of one's journey. The reality is that every moment is an "Ah HA!!"

This can only be achieved in combining meditation, chanting, memorizing sutras with living in mindfulness.

~Peace to all beings~