The following is a teaching excerpt from a large unedited manuscript, well over 1000 pages long, called ‘Aham Sphurana’.You can download the entire text here.
Aham Sphurana [‘I Shining’ or ‘I vibration’ or ‘I Am shining’ or ‘Shining of the I AM’] claims to contain a collection of previously unpublished talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi as apparently recorded by a visitor to Sri Ramana Ashrama, Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer, in 1936.
The authenticity of the teachings as being genuinely from Sri Ramana Maharshi cannot be confirmed, a fact acknowledged in the manuscript preamble itself, but I share these teachings here in case they are of interest to you.
11th July 1936
Sri Ramana Maharshi: When a man is told he is neither the body nor the mind, he is initially puzzled, because all along his life his experience of self has been confined to these two only. When he hears the words of the Jnana-guru for the first time, he learns to his shock that these two [Tom: ie. body and mind] are suddenly to be regarded as unreal, insignificant and immaterial, and Consciousness of Being alone is to be treated as Real and material.
To one whose understanding of the world is sustained by conceptual knowledge and whose life is ruled by subject-object relationships, this can be too much of a shock to bear. He either laughs off the Ajata-advaita doctrine as sheer nonsense developed by mischievous minds that have nothing better to do, or takes it seriously and is shocked by the implications – everything he has ever known and cherished in his life is now suddenly revealed to be meaningless, fungible, evanescent and mutable, and thus unreal and unworthy of consideration, whereas what he had never before paid attention to is revealed as the only permanent, abiding Reality.
To one who has up till that point in time been regarding himself as a subject, finite across time and space, occupying an objective world, this revelation comes as a great emotional and mental upheaval, because he is attached to the things of the world.
One whose past sadhanas [Tom: spiritual practices] have weakened all attachment takes naturally to the idea that the world is a dream – either way it is not going to matter to him because he is not interested in it. The idea that the world does not exist as a collection of independent objects, but rather depends upon perception for its apparent existence, shocks some people. The evidence of the 5 sensory organs is merely random ‘information’. It does not denote that any such object is actually ‘out there’; there is no ‘out there’.
The inlet of consciousness is only one; therefore, all perceived depends upon the perceiver only; this consciousness, turned outside, is the world and its perceiver; turned inside it finds that it is the Self. Jagrat-prama [Tom: Knowledge of the waking state; Jagrat means the waking state, prama means knowledge] is the prama of jagrat-pramata [Tom: knower of the world; pramata means knower] [Tom: This entire sentence means that the [knowledge] of the waking state is knowledge for the knower of the waking state, ie. It is the ego that knows the waking state]. Apart from the perceiver there is no such thing as the perceived. The pramata[Tom:knower] believes he knows so many things about the world; he is merely accessing the contents of his own mind. All thoughts and perceptions are intra-mental modifications. The light of the Self falls on the aham-vritti and its children, the other vrittis, and a jiva [Tom: the (apparent) individual person] is born. It is for the aspirant to destroy all the other vrittis. The Self takes care of the nude ahamvritti – that is, destroys it. Then it will remain without reflection.
Questioner: This is pure solipsism – Berkeley’s Esse est percipi aut percipere [Tom: ‘to be is to be perceived or to perceive’ as expressed by George Berkeley].
Sri Ramana Maharshi: The solipsist says the mind is real, that everything, including the world and thoughts, that proceed from it is a phantom or shadow. He does not question the reality of the mind itself. I am asking you to go even further. I say that the mind itself is a shadow or phantom proceeding from the Self.
You will discover this as a matter of direct experience – if only you will probe into the source of the mind.
You ask why some do not Realize. You wonder whether prarabdha [Tom: fate or destiny] might be the reason. No. Prarabdha has no power to pull back into the world a jiva that is adamantly determined to disappear in its source forever. Then what is the reason, you ask. This is the reason – clinging fast to objective knowledge [Tom: this is the reason why some do not realise the Self].
There are learned pandits who have written rich commentaries volume after volume – upon various Advaitic texts which directly propound the Ajata-advaita doctrine- Ashtavakra Gita, Ribhu Gita, Panchadasi, Kaivalya Navaneetam, Ozhivil Odukkam, etc, etc. Go to their houses when a loved one has died, and ask how they feel. You may be met with a hostile stare. If you sit down then and there and explain all this, you may count yourself lucky if permitted thereafter to leave with your life. Where does the problem lie? All the learning has been in vain, because it has stopped at the level of the intellect.
It is unable to crush the Ego, because there was no practice. The only effort made was to read more books, go on writing commentaries, and go on receiving accolades for being ‘an Expert in the field of Advaita’, thus making the ego grow bigger and bigger. Never was effort made to still the ceaseless waves of thought. Even some effort in that direction might have brought a reciprocal flow of Grace from the Self. But no. Read, write, receive shawls at book-launch festivals, imagine oneself to be acting in a highly intelligent manner in saying the words, “No, no, it is all God’s work… I am an instrument in his hands, that is all…” there, receive applause, and inflate the ego further and further.
The Sun and the Earth may one day decide to interchange their positions out of boredom, but such people, who are infatuated with the poisonous wine of love for book-learning, cannot obtain True Knowledge. Objective knowledge and book-learning are the most deadly enemies on the path to Self-Realistion, because they are expertly disguised as sweet friends, and the disguise runs deep indeed.
First know who you are. This requires no sastras (scripture) or scholarship. This is simple experience. The state of being is now and here all along. You have lost hold of yourself and are asking others for guidance. The purpose of philosophy is to turn the mind inward. “If you know yourself, no evil can come to you. Because you asked me I have told you this” (see Kaivalya Navaneeta). The ego comes up only by holding you (the Self). Hold yourself and the ego will vanish. Until then the sage will be happy saying, ‘There is’, and the ignorant will be asking, ‘Where?’
Regulation of life, such as getting up at a fixed hour, bathing, doing mantra-japa, etc., all this is for people who do not feel drawn to Self-enquiry, or are not capable of it. But for those who can practise this method all rules and disciplines are unnecessary.
Undoubtedly it is said in some books, that one should go on cultivating one good quality after another and thus prepare for moksha; but for those who follow the jnana or vichara marga, their sadhana is itself quite enough for acquiring all daivic (divine) qualities; they need not do anything else.
What is Gayatri? It really means ‘Let me concentrate on That which illumines all’.
Tom: Here in this post I have selected some key teachings from Zen Master Huang Po that outline his view of the ‘Path’ to Liberation. In addition to this, I have also selected some specific teachings in order to compare and contrast Huang Po’s teachings to that of Advaita Vedanta and of Sri Ramana Maharshi (see here for some essential teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi).Whilst I make no claim that these teachings are all exactly the same, in this particular post I have emphasised commonalities rather than differences.
As usual my comments will be in italicised red. To gain the most from this post please explore the related posts that are hyperlinked throughout, such as the one above on the Essential Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. So you can read Huang Po’s zen teachings in their full context, I have provided the complete translation of Huang Po’s teachings as a PDF file below from which the various quotes below are taken:
The first teaching I cite is in fact the entire first teaching given in the above book, The Zen Teaching of Huang Po, teaching 1 from the Chun Chou record. Here is Huang Po:
‘The Master [Huang Po] said to me: All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind, beside which nothing exists. This Mind, which IS without beginning, is unborn (Unborn not in the sense of eternity, for this allows contrast with its opposite; but unborn in the sense that it belongs to no categories admitting of alteration or antithesis) and indestructible.
‘It is not green nor yellow, and has neither form nor appearance. It does not belong to the categories of things which exist or do not exist nor can it be thought of in terms of new or old. It is neither long nor short, big nor small, for it transcends all limits, measures, names, traces, and comparisons. It IS that which you see before you – begin to reason about it and you at once fall into error. It is like the boundless void which cannot be fathomed or measured.
‘The One Mind alone is the Buddha, and there is no distinction between the Buddha and sentient things, but that sentient beings are attached to forms and so seek externally for Buddhahood. By their very seeking they lose it, for that is using the Buddha to seek for the Buddha and using mind to grasp Mind. Even though they do their utmost for a full aeon, they will not be able to attain to it.
‘They do not know that, if they put a stop to conceptual thought and forget their anxiety, the Buddha will appear before them, for this Mind is the Buddha and the Buddha is all living beings. It is not the less for being manifested in ordinary beings, nor is it greater for being manifested in the Buddhas.’
~ the first teaching from The Chun Chou record of Zen Master Huang Po, translated by John Blofeld, as found in the book ‘The Zen Teaching of Huang Po’
Tom’s Comments
Tom comments:
(1) The nature of Mind. All is Mind. Mind is That which is unborn, devoid of objectivity and objective characteristics and is unending/indestructible. It has no form or appearance according to Huang Po, indicating its pure Subjectivity, form and appearance pertaining only to objects. It also cannot be understood. Mind here is equivalent to Sri Ramana Maharshi’s concept of the Self. The implication of this is that it is something you already ‘have’ and/or already ‘are’. Huang Po writes:
‘This Mind, which IS without beginning, is unbornand indestructible. It is not green nor yellow, and has neither form nor appearance‘
Compare this with Shankara writing in Vivekachudamani, a major text in the Advaita Vedanta tradition:
‘254. That which is beyond caste and creed, family and lineage; devoid of name and form, merit and demerit; transcending space, time and sense-object – that Brahman art thou.‘
In teaching number 8 from this same text, the Chun Chou record, Huang Po states the following, confirming the lack of objects in Buddha-Mind:
‘Our original Buddha-Nature is, in highest truth, devoid of any atom of objectivity. It is void, omnipresent, silent, pure; it is glorious and mysterious peaceful joy – and that is all’
In teaching number 6 Huang Po states that Mind has nothing to do with conceptual thought (ie. the intellect) and it has nothing to do with forms:
‘This Mind is no mind of conceptual thought and it is completely detached from form‘
We see this in echoed in Shankara’s Vivekachudamani here, where he describes the Absolute as being distinct from the Universe/Maya (Maya means the illusion of the world, also known as duality):
‘261. That which is free from duality; which is infinite and indestructible; distinct from the universe and Maya, supreme, eternal; which is undying Bliss; taintless – that Brahman art thou‘
And from teaching number 2 Huang Po says:
‘The Mind IS the Buddha, nor are there any other Buddhas or any other mind. It is bright and spotless as the void, having no form or appearance whatever.’
From teaching 18 Huang Po says:
‘the real Mind as formless and neither coming nor going; his nature as something neither commencing at his birth nor perishing at his death, but as whole and motionless in its very depths’
And from teaching 22 of Wan Ling record Huang Po says (capitalisation present in the original translation):
‘NO BODIES AND NO MINDS – that is the Way of the Buddhas!‘
(2) Mind vs sentient beings (Self vs jiva): All is Mind, BUT Huang Po points out a very important distinction: when Mind seeks externally in forms, ie. when the mind goes out towards objects/objective phenomena, that characterises ‘sentient beings’, meaning jivas or apparent individual people. So we can see that the term ‘sentient being’ roughly translates as ‘jiva’ (apparent individual people). Huang Po writes ‘sentient beings are attached to forms and so seek externally for Buddhahood‘, the implication being that Buddhahood cannot be attained in this way through seeking externally.
This is similar to Sri Ramana Maharshi stating In Day by Day with Bhagavan:
‘The mind turned inwards is the Self; turned outwards, it becomes the ego and all the world’
Similarly the great Advaita text Yoga Vasishta states:
‘Consciousness which is undivided imagines to itself desirable objects and runs after them. It is then known as the mind.’
and
‘After knowing that by which you know this (world) turn the mind inward and then you will see clearly (i.e. realize) the effulgence of the Self.’
and
‘O Rama, the mind has, by its own activity, bound itself; when it is calm it is free.’
Similarly Huang Po states in teaching 5:
‘You students of the Way who do not awake to this in your own minds, and who are attached to appearances or who seek for something objective outside your own minds, have all turned your backs on the Way’
Again, Huang Po admonishes seeking Buddhahood/liberation externally via objective phenomena.
(3) Ego cannot know Mind or Self: John Blofeld capitalises the ‘M’ in Mind in some places and leaves it uncapitalised when it is referring to ego-mind: Huang Po says ‘By their very seeking they lose it, for that is using the Buddha to seek for the Buddha and using mind to grasp Mind’, meaning Mind cannot be known by mind, or Self cannot be known by ego/mind/jiva (a person).
In the Wan Ling record, Huang Po states in teaching 18:
‘It cannot be reached with the body nor sought with the mind. All sentient beings ARE ALREADY of one form with Bodhi [Tom: Bodhi means Knowledge or liberation/enlightenment]‘
Similarly, Shankara in Vivekachudamani states the Absolute (Brahman) cannot be known with the Mind or intellect (Buddhi):
‘256. That which is untouched by the sixfold wave; meditated upon by the Yogi’s heart, but not grasped by the sense-organs; which the Buddhi [intellect] cannot know; and which is unimpeachable – that Brahman art thou’
(4) The remedy is to end all thoughts(by knowing your true nature): What is the remedy? Huang Po says ‘Put a stop to conceptual thoughts and forget ones anxieties’. How to do this is not explained in this teaching. However, if all is one already, why the need to do this at all? Why not just allow things to be as they are? Why the need to stop thoughts? The reason is that only then does Buddha reveal himself as Mind (or Self). Otherwise, if thoughts are not stopped, the illusion of being a ‘sentient being’ (ie. the illusion of being a jiva, ie. an apparent individual person with an apparent individual and separate consciousness) continues unabated and unchallenged. This ignorance must be removed. When divested of its objectivity and seeming multiplicity, only then does Mind or Buddha or Self or God reveal itself as Self, only then does illusion cease and suffering end and unity and absolute love fully shine.
Amritabindu Upanishad, verse 5 states:
‘The mind should be prevented from functioning, until it dissolves itself in the heart. This is Jnana [Tom: knowledge (of our true nature)], this is Dhyana [Tom: meditation (on our true nature)], the rest is all mere concoction of untruth.’
In teaching 23 of the Wan Ling record, Huang Po answers a question:
Q: If I follow this Way, and refrain from intellectual processes and conceptual thinking, shall I be certain of attaining the goal? A: Such non-intellection IS following the Way!
We see this unambiguous teaching of needing to stop ALL thoughts given repeatedly by Huang Po. See here from teaching 23 of the Wan Ling record in which Huang Po explains further the method of liberation, explaining how thoughts create karma and the entire world/universe (or 3 worlds of samsara, see below):
Were you now to practice keeping your minds motionless at all times, whether walking, standing, sitting or lying; concentrating entirely upon the goal of no thought-creation, no duality, no reliance on others and no attachments; just allowing all things to take their course the whole day long, as though you were too ill to bother; unknown to the world; innocent of any urge to be known or unknown to others; with your minds like blocks of stone that mend no holes – then all the Dharmas [Tom: teachings] would penetrate your understanding through and through. In a little while you would find yourselves firmly unattached. Thus, for the first time in your lives, you would discover your reactions to phenomena decreasing and, ultimately, you would pass beyond the Triple World; and people would say that a Buddha had appeared in the world. Pure and passionless knowledge [Enlightenment] implies putting an end to the ceaseless flow of thoughts and images, for in that way you stop creating the karma that leads to rebirth – whether as gods or men or as sufferers in hell [Tom: this refers to ending the ‘triple world’ of suffering of (1) gods in heaven, (2) men on earth and (3) sufferers in hell].
Once every sort of mental process has ceased, not a particle of karma is formed. Then, even in this life, your minds and bodies become those of a being completely liberated. Supposing that this does not result in freeing you immediately from further rebirths, at the very least you will be assured of rebirth in accordance with your own wishes. The sutra declares: ‘Bodhisattvas are re-embodied into whatsoever forms they desire.’ But were they suddenly to lose the power of keeping their minds free from conceptual thought, attachment to form would drag them back into the phenomenal world, and each of those forms would create for them a demon’s karma!
Contrast this with Sri Ramana Maharshi himself writing in his poem Atma Vidya (Self-Knowledge), verse 5, in which he recommends stilling the mind completely in order to end karma and rebirth, ie to end samsara and suffering:
5. For loosening karma’s bonds and ending births, This path is easier than all other paths. Abide in stillness, without any stir Of tongue, mind, body. And behold The effulgence of the Self within; The experience of Eternity; absence Of all fear; the ocean vast of Bliss.
And Sri Ramana also writes in ‘Who Am I?’ in his answer to question 23 that the purpose of teaching is only to silence thoughts but discovering the Self, which is analogous to Huang Po saying end any and all conceptual thoughts and discover your true nature as Mind:
‘All the texts say that in order to gain liberation one should render the mind quiescent; therefore their conclusive teaching is that the mind should be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need for endless reading. In order to quieten the mind one has only to inquire within oneself what one’s Self is; how could this search be done in books?’
And here are some more teachings from Sri Ramana on the role of stilling thoughts:
True wealth is but the gracious silence of steady, unswerving Siva-awareness. This bright, rare treasure can be gained only by those who earnestly strive for extinction of all thoughts. Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 1066
When all thoughts cease, including thought of God, this thought-free state, this Pure Awareness Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 1207
Be still. Apart from this the mind has no task to do or thought to think Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 773
If you remain still, without paying attention to this, without paying attention to that, and without paying attention to anything at all, you will, simply through your powerful attention to being, become the reality, the vast eye, the unbounded space of consciousness. Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 647
Because that state is taught by silence, and also because it is attained by remaining in silence, it is called silence. The sage is in silence always, even when he speaks. Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad, verse 539
Further teachings on this by Huang Po from the Wan Ling record:
All phenomena cease in liberation/nirvana
In teaching 24 of the WanLing record Huang Po states all the 3 worlds of hell, earth and heaven will end in liberation:
‘For you also the Three Worlds [Tom: Trailoka – (1) hell – the world of desire, kamaloka, (2) earth – the world of form, rupaloka, and (3) heaven – the formless realm of heavenly beings, arupaloka; sometimes referred to as the 3 worlds of desire, form and formlessness] will vanish if you can reach the state beyond thought. On the other hand, if you still cling to the notion that something, even if it be as small as the hundredth part of a grain, might exist objectively, then even a perfect mastery of the entire Mahayana Canon will fail to give you victory over the Three Worlds. Only when every one of those tiny fragments [of the world or universe] is seen to be nothing can the Mahayana achieve this victory for you.’
Compare with Sri Ramana Maharshi as he writes in ‘Who Am I?’ in his response to Question 7:
‘When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.’
Know your true nature
Later we will see Huang Po state all we have to do is awake to Mind, or as I sometimes say, awake to what we Really Are. This is similar to Sri Ramana Maharshi emphasising knowing Self rather than ending all thoughts. This is from teaching 2 of the Chun Chou record of Huang Po:
‘Only awake to the One Mind, and there is nothing whatsoever [more] to be attained.’
Here in teaching 26 of the Wan Ling record, Huang Po explains more on how to realise your true nature:
Q: How, then, does a man accomplish this comprehension of his own Mind? A: That which asked the question IS your own Mind [Tom: ie. you are the Mind/Self] but if you were to remain quiescent and to refrain from the smallest mental activity, its substance would be seen as a void [Tom: ie. devoid of objects] – you would find it formless, occupying no point in space and falling neither into the category of existence nor into that of non-existence. Because it is imperceptible Bodhidharma said: ‘Mind, which is our real nature[Tom; Here Huang Po confirms Mind is in fact the same as our real or true nature], is the unbegotten and indestructible womb [Tom: womb, ie. The Source, or the source of all phenomena or creation is Mind]; in response to circumstances, it transforms itself into phenomena[Tom: ie. Mind creates all phenomena]….Every one of the sentient beings [Tom: ie. Jivas] bound to the wheel of alternating life and death is re-created from the karma of his own desires! [Tom: ie. the illusion of samsara, the cycle of repeated birth, death and suffering experienced by the illusionary jiva/ego/person is created by our own desires, which is turn is born from ignorance of our true nature!]… We can see from this that every sort of dharma[Tom: note the use of a Sanskrit term here by Huang Po – dharma here means any phenomenal arising or ‘thing’, or Dharma can also mean teaching, meaning that every teaching or thing is just a creation of the mind] is but a creation of Mind. And all kinds of beings – humans, devas, sufferers in hell, asuras and all comprised within the six forms of life – each one of them is Mind-created[Tom: here it is clear that Huang Po is stating all phenomena are mind-created]. If only you would learn how to achieve a state of non-intellection [Tom: ie. no thoughts], immediately the chain of causation would snap…Chih Kung says: ‘Our bodies are the creations of our own minds.’ [Tom: ie. the above teachings tell us the body mind and world are all projections of Mind only] But how can one expect to gain such knowledge from books? If only you could comprehend the nature of your own Mind and put an end to discriminatory thought, there would naturally be no room for even a grain of error to arise. [Tom: the emphasis is on genuine Self-knowledge through cessation of mental activity and not book-knowledge]‘
Your True Nature
Still from teaching 26 of the Wan Ling record, Huang Po says:
‘Your true nature is something never lost to you even in moments of delusion, nor is it gained at the moment of Enlightenment [Tom: ie. Analogous to the Self in Vedanta]. It is the Nature of the Bhutatathata [Tom: Bhutatathata, this means the Unitary Substratum of Being or Isness/Thusness as opposed to the multiplicity of objective phenomena]. In it is neither delusion nor right understanding [Tom: both of which are of the ego-mind or thought]. It fills the Void everywhere and is intrinsically of the substance of the One Mind. How, then, can your mind-created objects exist outside the Void? The Void is fundamentally without spatial dimensions, passions, activities, delusions or right understanding. You must clearly understand that in it there are no things, no men and no Buddhas; for this Void contains not the smallest hairs-breadth of anything that can be viewed spatially; it depends on nothing and is attached to nothing. It is all-pervading, spotless beauty; it is the self-existent and uncreated Absolute. Then how can it even be a matter for discussion that the REAL Buddha has no mouth and preaches no Dharma, or that REAL hearing requires no ears, for who could hear it? [Tom: for there is no body, mind, world, thoughts or things in the real Buddha, so Buddha has no mouth and no ears, ie. in reality there is no mouth, ears, bodies, etc.]Ah, it is a jewel beyond all price!’
Conclusion
Here is a brief summary of some of the key points of Huang Po’s teachings taken from the above quotes:
Your true nature is Mind.
Mind is your true nature so it can never be lost (or ‘found’). This is the only Buddha there is, your True Nature. This is already what you ARE.
Mind is unborn and cannot be destroyed. It has no form and no objective qualities. It is unchanging and still/silent.
All we need to do is awaken to our own Mind
Mind is Liberation. It cannot be found outside yourself.
Mind is devoid of thought and completely detached from forms.
Mind cannot be understood or known by thought, and it is beyond the duality of knowing or not-knowing, ‘…that REAL hearing requires no ears…’
Mind creates or projects the body, thoughts and world and in this then roams among these objective phenomena that it itself has created, experiencing pleasure and pain and repeated births and deaths (samsara) according to desire/karma. The implication is that this is due to ignorance or lack of knowing our true nature.
‘You must clearly understand’ that in the true Buddha/ in true liberation there is no body, no mind, no world, no people, no things, no forms and nothing that has any spatial dimension whatsoever.
Implied in the above 2 points is that thoughts/Mind projects the multiplicity of the universe, including the various bodies and minds and things, and these thought-phenomena are impurities born of delusion/ignorance. ie. it is implied that through ignorance of one’s true nature that samsara is projected.
Even the idea of a teacher, a teaching or a seeker who could listen to the teaching is illusion – ‘the REAL Buddha has no mouth and preaches no Dharma…’.
The true Buddha or Mind is not a ‘nihilistic ‘nothing’, it is (and I quote) ‘spotless beauty’ or ‘a jewel beyond all price’ or ‘a glorious mysterious peaceful joy’.
Mind or True Buddha Nature cannot be known by thought, by a person/ego/sentient being, through the body, or by practices relating to the objective sphere. Seeking outside of yourself and attachment to objects is to abandon the path.
You can discover your true nature and thus end this illusion/delusion of samsara. This is by intuiting Mind/True Nature and ending all thoughts.
Mind divested of all thoughts and spontaneous recognition of Mind is the way to liberation.
All of these points are consistent with the path to realisation as outlined by Sri Ramana Maharshi and Upanishads in my view. There are many other teachings present in the Zen Teaching of Huang Po and I have just selected some that align with the teaching of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Perhaps some of the other teachings do not fully align, or perhaps they are distortions due to the one recording the teachings or due to the translation/translator. Or perhaps not. Regardless, I hope this post has been of interest and is perhaps even inspiring for you.
The method of how to still the mind and stop all conceptual thought/realise the One Mind (ie. the practice of Self-Enquiry) is not explained more fully by Huang Po, but in my view the method of self-enquiry is implied – ie. knowing Mind directly through Mind (and not through body, sense organs, mentation or thought), ending all karma/ phenomena/ thoughts, how going out towards objects/arising phenomena blocks the way and describing Mind as One, as formless and as essentially without time, space, dimension, and ultimately and essentially distinct from form/objects – all these together imply direct intuition of Self via Self-Enquiry as opposed to going out towards objective phenomena (when Huang Po denies practices, he is denying practice that involve objective phenomena, in my interpretation at least).
I will leave you the quote from teaching 22 of the Wan Ling record, perhaps the most radical of the teachings I found, in which Huang Po says, with the capitalisation being present in the original translation:
‘NO BODIES AND NO MINDS – that is the Way of the Buddhas!‘
I have also written an article contrasting traditional Buddhism with Vedanta. In this post you will also see references to other posts exploring themes in both these great traditions. Let me know what you think in the comments, best wishes:
Sravana means hearing the teachings. Manana means contemplating upon the teachings. Nididhyasana means meditating upon the Self or placing one’s attention onto the Self in order to discover its true nature. Together these three traditionally sum up the method or process of self-realisation according to Vedanta teachings.
However…
1) There are some that say that Sravana alone leads to self-realisation, and that Manana and Nididhyasana are ancilary practices to just remove the blocks and purify/ripen the mind and ready it for Sravana, and that Sravana is the liberating factor.
2) There are some that say Sravana is just an initial teaching to allow Nididhyasana to finally occur and it is Nididhyasana that is the primary sadhana (spiritual practice) that allows liberation to arise.
This is further confounded as there are scriptural verses in support of both of the above visions of the teachings.
eg.
‘Thus only is It realised-when these means, viz. hearing, reflection and meditation, have been gone through. When these three are combined, then only true realisation of the unity of Brahman is accomplished, not otherwise – by hearing alone.’
~ Shankara’s commentary on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.5
and seemingly contradicting this is the following:
‘for highly qualified aspirants, [self-] knowledge can arise even from mere listening to the teachings.’
~ Shankara’s commentary of Brahma Sutra 4.1.2
Swami Satchitanandendra Saraswati’s (SSS’s) view on this
Swami Satchitanandendra Saraswati (SSS) in his many books on the teachings of Vedanta and on Shankara’s commentaries makes the following observation, namely that either Sravana, Manana or Nididhyasana can be the direct causes of liberation (ie. direct cause of removing ignorance), depending on the level of maturity of the (apparent) mind of the seeker. For those interested, Sri Ramana Maharshi says the same here, and also goes further to explain how this can be the case and also how both of the above scriptural passages do not actually contradict each other.
6. Sravana (study of sacred revelation), Manana (reflective thinking) and Nididhyasana (concentrated contemplation), are all means for realizing Atman. Highly developed souls, however, who can immediately grasp the true meaning of the Vedic teaching, do not stand in need of any additional effort.
Not taking this principle into account is responsible for the divergence of opinion among commentators of Sankara Bhashya [Tom: Shankara’s commentaries] about the relation of Sravana and Nididhyasana. Of these, some aver that Sravana is the principal means and the other two are only ancillary to it; while others insist that nididhyasana is the one means to direct realization and without it mere Sravana would be of no avail.
7. Sravana and the other means [Tom: ie. manana and nididhyasana] are enjoined only in so far as they turn the seeker inwards and direct him to stay his mind on Atman, but the resultant knowledge is no object of any injunction.[Tom: ie. Sravana, manana and nididhyasana all have their intended effect of self-realisation by turning the seeker’s attention towards the Self, but that the Self that is subsequently realised as truth cannot itself be caused or created by any spitirual practice or effort or action, ie. the Self is uncaused and uncreated]
Those who cannot distinguish between the’ effort required for Sravana, etc, and the resultant knowledge in each case, have made it a matter for controversy whether or not ‘srotavyah’ [Tom: lit ‘that which is (to be) heard’, ie. scripture] and similar texts constitute true injunctions. Some of them maintain that these are all injunctions while others insist that they are seemingly injunctions in form but are really statements of fact. Some even think that they are merely eulogistic statements. [Tom: ie. because Shankara says actions or karma cannot lead to liberation or Jnana, there is argument about the ontological status of whether or not the 3 sadhanas of sravana, manana and nididyasana are karmas or not. In truth we should know that the Self is not a product of any action, but that the sadhana is an action that occurs in the phenomenal world of maya, and so if we discern properly between these 2 there is no real conflict.]
8. Manana refers to the type of reasoning suggested by the Sruti itself conducive to experience. Hence the term ‘experience’ here should be understood to mean the supersensuous intuition [Tom: ie. Self knowledge] which results from our enquiry which takes in one sweep the whole field possible of whatever is knowable.
From this the reader has to understand that use might be made of ordinary reasoning also in so far as it is conformable to the reasoning suggested by the Sruti. Advaitins do try to disclose the hollowness of other systems according to the course of reasoning accepted by themselves. But Advaita itself cannot be established by means of pure logical ratiocination.People who are not aware of this fact, often try to apply speculation or inferences based upon partial experiences to Vedanta also. Others condemn all reasoning and affirm that reasoning is of no use in matters taught by the Sruti. So they interpret Sruti according to their own predilection and place their own convictions before seekers as the final Vedantic truth.
9. Nididhyasana is that kind of spiritual discipline by means of which one concentrates one’s mind on the subtle principle, Atman. At the end of this discipline, one becomes conscious of the fact that the mind itself is a superimposition on Atman. Then the mind becomes no mind, that is to say, it is realized essentially as Atman himself.
Questioner: Tom, if you can, please can you summarise the basic essential teaching in a paragraph?
Tom: It cannot be fully put into words, but it is something like this: You are actually and already the One Infinite Divine Spirit whose nature is Eternal Happiness and Bliss.
You are not the body-mind at all, and thinking that you are is the prime illusion, or ignorance, that brings all suffering.
In order to discover this Truth (that is already the case, ie. it is a fact), one must turn away from all objective phenomena, including thoughts, feelings, etc, and intuitively go towards the I AM and discover this for oneself. Cultivating a spirit of love, happiness, affection and devotion can be a great help in this endeavor.
The reason we must turn away from all objects is that in attending to various objective phenomena the notion ‘I am the body-mind’ is perpetuated. This is very important to understand and realise. Only when we turn away from objects, either intentionally or spontaneously/by grace, is there a possibility of Self-Realisation. Otherwise we remain trapped in the (false) beliefs ‘I am a body-mind or person’ and ‘the world is real’.
Once we realise the Self, there is no need to integrate this understanding into daily life or anything like that, as Self-realisation is not an understanding for the mind, and in Self-realisation, all duality ceases: there is no entity left to integrate, no understanding or knowledge to integrate, and nothing left to integrate with. There is only the Infinite Blissful Self.
Teachings, such as those that talk about being adverse to the world, and all genuine spiritual teachings in fact, are just there to encourage and facilitate this discovery, and the form the teaching takes depends on the context in which they are given, including where the apparent seeker is at.
It is not about being some block of wood (a body-mind) that is detached and cut off, but about discovering something, the only thing, that is true and real – your True Nature, your Self.
This discovery is truly the most wonderful ‘thing’. (It is not a thing)
This discovery is not for or by the body-mind (or ego) at all, but is ‘by the Self’ so to speak…here words fall short, but poetically we say the Self itself discovers or realises the Self.
Hope that makes sense
Thank you
(much longer than a paragraph, I know!)
Questioner: can you support the above teaching you have given using authoritative quotes from Sri Ramana Maharshi or the Scriptures?
Tom: yes, sure, if you carefully read this article here, you will see all these above points mentioned and backed up by quotes from Sri Ramana Maharshi. The only point not backed up by quotes in that article is about not needing to integrate the teachings after realisation/liberation, for more on that see here. For quotes from the Vedanta scriptures see here.
There are many teachings and paths (as well as ‘non-paths’) that can be part of our journey to liberation. Whist we each all have our own unique spiritual journey, there are two broad categories of mistakes to avoid if you are genuinely looking for liberation.
Moreover, understanding just these two basic errors or distortions of spiritual teachings also allows us to understand multiple other distortions of the teachings that can occur, and this can save us much time on our spiritual journey, as is explained below.
I will also explain at the end of this article which of these 2 distortions is the most important for you as a seeker.
If you are NOT interested in liberation, then understanding these distortions become less important, and you can simply enjoy whichever teaching or path you want to.
But if you ARE interested in liberation, also known as Self-Realisation, Nirvana or becoming One with God (ie. yoga), then here are the two key ways in which liberating teachings are distorted or modified to make them non-liberating.
Why do these distortions of spiritual/liberating teachings occur?
Before we get to the 2 main distortions, why do these occur in the first place? Why would a liberating teaching be distorted into a non-liberating teaching?
Essentially truly liberating teachings, which are actually within us non-verbally always, when put into words, may sound irrational or unnecessary for the mind. Or the ego-mind may not be able to accept what the truly liberating teaching is saying, or the mind ego-may think that it knows what the liberating teaching is actually trying to say – and so the teaching is distorted accordingly.
Because the ego-mind cannot really know what the teachings are pointing to, when it hears the teaching, it naturally is prone to misinterpreting the teaching and misrepresenting the teaching. Even if it has the best of intentions, the ego-mind will often wrongly understand the nature of the True Teachings.
There are so many ways the teachings can therefore be distorted by the ego-mind, but they tend to fall into one of these two camps, that I will outline below.
A warning
When the ego-mind first hears a true teaching, meaning a truly liberating teaching, the first thing it tends to do is spew out dozens of thoughts, ideas and beliefs, that oppose that teaching, giving reasons why the teaching given is not true. This is because the ego-mind does not want to end in most cases, and often prefers to remain comfortable in what it thinks it knows. The ego is attached to its life and its things and typically doesn’t want to let these things go.
Therefore when reading the below, please bear this in mind. To give yourself the best chance of receiving these teachings, try to suspend your own judgements that may arise and instead read the teachings with an open and inquiring mind.
If you find the teachings below difficult to palate, it is probably your ego and its attachments kicking up a fuss and objecting!
You are, perhaps, attached to your life and your things – that is ego of course. You need to be radically honest with yourself here to see if this is true for you…
False teachings are not necessarily ‘bad’, they are just non-liberating
Many teachings can be helpful to us on our journey, and teachings that we now may consider to be false, may have served as a useful ‘stepping stone’ to where we are now. So false or distorted teachings may be useful to us at times, and are often part of our (apparent) journey. ‘False teachings’ or ‘distorted teachings’ here just means teachings that do not ultimately by themselves lead to liberation.
Guru Vachaka Kovai (Garland of Guru’s Sayings)
Throughout this post I quote extensively from the text Guru Vachaka Kovai (which you can download from this link) a collection of teachings from Sri Ramana Maharshi. It is widely accepted that the text Guru Vachaka Kovai presents the most precise, systematic and authoritative exposition of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s verbal teachings; Here is what Ramana Ashram states about the Guru Vachaka Kovai in the foreword of their publication of it:
‘[Guru Vachaka Kovai] provides the most precise, systematic and authoritative exposition of Sri Bhagavan’s teaching, explaining step by step the theory, the practice and the experience of jnana, the Truth supreme which is Being as Life Eternal, Pure Awareness, Perfect Bliss. Thus, the most comprehensive collection of the Maharshi’s sayings is Guru Vachaka Kovai.’
The 2 main ways the teaching is distorted
1. Not turning within
The first and most common distortion of spiritual teachings that prevents them being truly liberating teachings is that they do not advocate turning inwards to discover the Truth or Essence of what you truly are. They do not advocate turning within. They do not advocate turning away from gross objects (eg. tables, cars, stars, planets) and subtle objects (eg. thoughts, feelings, states of consciousness, experiences) and discovering the nature of the Subject or I Am.
Here are some quotes for you demonstrating this important part of the path. Unless stated otherwise, the quotes are Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings from the text Guru Vachaka Kovai:
291. If one wants to be saved, one is given the following true and essential advice: just as the tortoise draws all its five limbs within its shell, so one should draw the five senses within and turn one’s mind Selfward. This alone is happiness.
One who is able to fully withdraw the senses from their objects, just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell, is established in Divine Knowledge (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, verse 58)
293. Know that these countless things are pictures in a dream and none is real apart from the beholder. Shun this phantom world of names and forms and dwell in the pure, blissful being of Awareness.
By expelling (from the mind) without any remainder all objects which are superimposed on one’s Atma, one becomes himself Parabrahman the full, the secondless and the actionless (Adhyatma Upanishad 1.21)
293. Having known for certain that everything which is seen, without the least exception, is merely a dream,and that it [the seen] does not exist without the seer, turn only towards Self – Sat-Chit-Ananda – without attending to the world of names and forms, which is only a mental conception.
391. Those who do not dive into the Heart and there confront the Self in the five sheaths hid are only students answering out of books clever questions raised by books, and not true seekers of the Self.
186. O miserable and extroverted people, failing to see the seer, you see only the seen!To dissolve duality by turning inwards instead of outwards is alone Blissful.
After knowing that by which you know this world, turn the mind inward, and then you will realise the effulgence of the Self. (Yoga Vasishta)
Strenuously withdrawing all thoughts from sense objects, one should remain fixed in steady, non-objective [ie. subjective] enquiry. This, in brief, is the means of knowing one’s own real nature; this effort alone bring about the sublime inner vision. (Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramana Gita)
So long as all objects are not renounced, the Self is not won. What remains after the renunciation of the entire objective manifold is said to be the Self. Therefore, in order to realize the Self, renounce everything. Having cast off all (objects), assimilate yourself to that which remains. (Annapurna Upanishad 1.45-1.46)
The Lord created the senses out-going: therefore, one sees outside and not the Self within. Some intelligent man, with his senses turned away (from their objects), desirous of immortality, sees the Self within. (Katha Upanishad 2.1.1)
In his commentary on this above verse (Katha Upanishad 2.1.1), Shankara writes:
‘…the perceiver sees the external objects which are not-Self/not the Atman, such as sound, etc., and not the Self within. Though this is the nature of the world, some (rare) discerning man, like turning back/ reversing the current of a river, sees the Self within…The group of sense organs, beginning with the ear, should be turned away from all sense-objects. Such a one, who is purified thus, sees the indwelling self. For it is not possible for the same person to be engaged in the thought of sense-objects and to have the vision of the Self as well.‘
647. If you refrain from looking at this or that or any other object then by that overpowering look into absolute Being you become yourself the boundless space of pure awareness which alone is Real Being.
420. The knowledge that ignores the Self, the Knower, and holds as true the field perceived, is but illusive folly…
Dwelling on external objects will only increase evil propensities, so wisely recognising this fact, one should abandon external objects and and constantly attend to one’s true nature within, the Atman [the Self]. (Shankara, Vivekachudamani)
One whose intellect has been withdrawn from all objects, gross and subtle, when this takes place, this is known as ‘inactivity of the sense organs’. Though this ‘inactivity of the sense organs’ one sees that glory of the Self. ‘Sees’ means he directly realises the Self as ‘I am the Self’ as thereby becomes free from suffering’ (Shankara in his commentary on Katha Upanishad verse 1.2.20)
– But how far within do we need to turn?
Sri Ramana Maharshi tells us in Guru Vachaka Kovai:
877. Only when the world-illusion goes does the blissful light of Self arrive. Life lived in this bright, blissful light is our true, natural life. Other ways of life are full of trouble and fear.
193. When the mind [i.e., the ego’s attention] which wanders outside, knowing only other objects [2nd and 3rd persons] – begins to attend to its own nature, all other objects will disappear, and then, by experiencing it’s own true nature [i.e. Self], the pseudo-‘I’ will also die.
Sri Ramana Maharshi also gives definitive teachings in the text he wrote called ‘Who am I?‘:
Q. When will the realization of the Self be gained? A. When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.
Q. Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there? A. There will not be.
Just as the knowledge of the rope, which is the base, will not be obtained unless the knowledge of the snake, the superimposition, goes, so the realization of Self (swarupadarsanam), which is the base, will not be obtained unless the perception of the world (jagat-drishti) which is a superimposition, ceases.
Therefore, when the world appears, Self will not appear; and when Self appears (shines), the world will not appear.
And
If, on the contrary, you withdraw your mind completely from the world and turn it within and abide thus, that is, if you keep awake always to the Self, which is the substratum of all experience, you will find the world, of which alone you are now aware, just as unreal as the world in which you lived in your dream. (Sri Ramana Maharshi, Maharshi’s Gospel)
The Upanishads and other traditional scriptures give us the same teaching:
The mind severed from all connection with sensual objects, and prevented from functioning out, awakes into the light of the heart, and finds the highest condition. The mind should be prevented from functioning, until it dissolves itself in the heart. This is Jnana, this is Dhyana, the rest is all mere concoction of untruth. (Amritabindu Upanishad)
As long as the objective universe is perceived one does not realise the Self. (Yoga Vasishta)
When the five organs of perception become still, together with the mind, and the intellect ceases to be active: that is called the Supreme State [Brahma-Vidya or Self Knowledge] (Katha Upanishad 2.3.10)
Shankara’s commentary on this above verse (Katha Upanishad, verse 2.3.10) states the following:
‘At the time when the five senses…, together with the mind…, which is now no longer functioning and thinking, are at rest in the Self alone, after turning away from objects, and with the intellect…no longer engaging with its functioning, that they call the highest state [Brahma-Vidya or Self-Knowledge].’
The Self (Atman) is beyond all expression by words beyond all acts of mind; It is absolutely peaceful, it is eternal effulgence free from activity and fear and it is attainable by Samadhi (Gaudapada, Mandukya Upanishad Karika 3.37)
Shankara’s commentary from the above verse from Gaudapada 3.37 states:
…The Self (Atman) is denoted by the word Samadhi as it can be realised only by the knowledge arising out of the deepest concentration (on its essence), Samadhi. Or the Self (Atman) is denoted by Samadhi because it is the object of concentration, the Jiva concentrates his mind on the Self (Atman)…
In the next verse Gaudapada writes in verse 3.38 of his Mandukya Karika:
There can be no acceptance or rejection where all mentation stops. Then knowledge is established in the Self and is unborn, and it becomes homogenous
Shankara’s commentary on this verse 3.38 is as follows:
…therefore there is no rejection or acceptance in It, where thought does not exist. That is to say, how can there be rejection or acceptance where no mentation is possible in the absence of the mind? As soon as there comes the realisation of the Truth that is the Self, then, in the absence of any object, knowledge (Jnanam) is established in the Self, like the heat of fire in fire. It is then birthless (ajati) and becomes homogenous.
-Objections to turning within and further reading:
I have written many post that deal with the common objections to this teaching. See these posts and the introductory articles on the homepage of tomdas.com which talk more about this aspect of the path:
2. Turning back outwards (eg. to reintegrate with the body-mind/world)
If the first pitfall on the journey wasn’t controversial enough, this second pitfall is often very difficult for seekers of liberation to understand. After all, it only seems right that after liberation we should once again embrace world and integrate our realisation, fully embodying and expressing our new-found wisdom. ‘Before enlightenment chop wood carry water, after enlightenment chop wood carry water‘, and all that. (Note that this teaching about ‘chopping wood…’ was never present in the original chan/zen teaching but is a later distortion we only see many centuries later).
But this is all stuff of the ego-mind, well kind-of.
When we turn within to discover ourself, we must keep on sinking inwards, back back back, deeper and deeper, until we discover what we truly are. When that is done, THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE END OF THE JOURNEY.
But don’t you have to then integrate this understanding into daily life? No. If you have to integrate your understanding with daily life then that just means you have not yet discovered the Self, what you truly are.
Only whilst we are seeking, that is, only whilst we remain (apparently) in ignorance do we need to integrate and incorporate spiritual truths with our daily life. With liberation, there is no more daily life, there is no choice or duality, there is no more suffering or learning, although it may seem that way to ‘others’ – but in liberation there are no ‘others’!.
Integrating the teachings into daily life is only for the ego (separate self/jiva/person)
Only the ego/mind/person/jiva needs to or even can turn back out towards the world
When you have discovered the Self, then ‘you have achieved all there is to achieve’ (please forgive the goal-orientated language). Nothing else is thereafter required (nor is anything else possible!).
See these 3 quotes here, all teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi taken from the text Guru Vachaka Kovai:
630. Having felt the sun’s fierce heat the wise one tarries in the shade, and those who know the triple fire raging in the world will never leave the Heart and turn again towards the world
949. Those who with ego dead have gained Being, transcending bliss, have nothing further to attain, no effort to be made, no deed to do, for life’s fulfilment they have reached.
950. When one abides in one’s true state as effortless Eternal Goodness one has no further work to do. All deeds accomplished, such a one enjoys the perfect peace of bliss.
1238. Siva, who is Pure Awareness transcending thought, is only known to seers heroic who with minds extinct abide thought-free within the heart, and not to those whose minds are still engaged in thought.
Also Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings are recorded in Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad:
411. Whoever obtains awareness of the real Self, for him this worldly life comes to an end. The others continue to wander here as before, remaining without awareness of the real Self.
554. These men do not know the truth of the transcendental state beyond time, in which the world has not come into being. Non-duality has neither beginning nor end. Duality, with space and time, is unreal, always.
569. In that state doubts do not arise since the sage is ever firm in his awareness of the true Self. There he remains without affirmations and vacillations, immersed in the depths of peace, the mind having become extinct.
585. By the dawn of right awareness of the real Self, the ego, the root cause of the appearance of forms, has been lost. Therefore for the sage, all forms are unreal, and hence this talk of forms is foolishness.
Question: How long should self-inquiry be practised? Sri Ramana Maharshi: As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry “Who am I?” is required.
Now I haven’t spent too much time here in this post explaining why this is the case, and answering all the questions that can arise from this. These above verses in this section are taken from this post which explains some of the reasoning behind these teachings further. The post also provides more quotes from Shankara and other teachers of this path as well as further explaining the need to turn within in more detail. Even more detail is given in the posts below.
Also see this post which explains how a Jnani can function given the above:
Other ways of formulating the 2nd mistake/distortion
This second distortion of the teaching, which I have formulated above as turning back out towards the body-mind-world once the self has been ‘realised’, can present in various different ways.
– ‘Liberation is only the beginning’
One example is the (false) teaching that ‘liberation is only the beginning’ or ‘self-realisation is only the beginning’. Again, if self-realisation is ‘only the beginning’, then that simply means that the self has not truly been realised. Self-realisation is the end, the final destination, the terminus of the spiritual journey. No sense of individuality or multiplicity or duality remains with liberation, as Sri Ramana taught:
‘Since multiplicity is experienced only in the state of ignorance, it is declared to be unreal’ (Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad, verse 89)
and
“The mukta [liberated sage] like the rest of us perceives the world in all its vast variety and yet he sees non-difference in it”, so people say. This is not true.” (Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 931)
(ie. the idea that the liberated sage still perceives differences ‘like the rest of us’ but perceives an underlying unity despite various objects being seen is here being refuted.)
– ‘Constant unfolding’
‘Another way this false teaching can be expressed is to say ‘there is a constant unfolding of life after liberation’, or words to this effect. Constant unfolding means attention is on the changing objects, which are actually illusion, duality, also know as Maya (illusion; the literal meaning of ‘maya’ is ‘that which does not exist’).
Now even someone who is truly realised can say something like ‘life just unfolds by itself in liberation’, in order to explain liberation to someone who is not ready for the ultimate truth, but from an ultimate point of view (which is the only true point of view), this is also fiction.
In liberation, no illusion remains, no objects, no unfolding, no multiplicity, no duality. Let us read Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings as found in Guru Vachaka Kovai:
1089. Life you desire. But how to live you know not. Thinking that this sinking deep in this void, vain, illusive waking-dream is “life”, you proudly claim you “live”. Pierce this illusion, go, grasp the Truth, eternal life.
1095. Such a life of Grace alone Is life lived in full, real Being. This worldly life of false phenomena full of fear is sinking deeper in illusion, not authentic living.
1096. Those whose five senses turn no longer towards the world which once seemed real, those who have learned to live without their minds being moved by the illusive universe of forms, they need perform no penance.
131. Those who enjoy the ego’s life of false phenomena perish and die. The state of grace, supreme Awareness, the life lived in Self-Being, this alone is bliss worth seeking.
238. Knowing well that bliss serene is found in being the Self alone, and not in this illusory life, seek and attain the final heaven of grace, the state of Mouna [Silence], Pure Awareness.
360. Natural, unbroken, ever present, all maya gone, as strength of heart shines the pure I of muktas [liberated ones] seen in acts without the slightest trace of doership.
– Isn’t this rather bleak and life-denying?
At some point you may say this sounds rather bleak, rather life-denying. Of course, this is not the case at all. This is a wonderfully positive teaching when correctly understood, the most positive thing possible, in fact.It is everything you are truly looking for.
Most seekers of liberation, especially at the start of their journeys, want liberation but also want to enjoy life, just without the bad bits, and have the good bits only. Their concept of liberation may be something like ‘in liberation/realisation, everything just flows beautifully, like white silk sheets gently and peacefully floating on the wind’.
The issue is that in life (ie. in maya, the dream of being a body-mind living in a world), these white silk sheets always eventually touch the muddy ground. In Maya we always identify with a body-mind, and travel in a polar world, bouncing between the opposites of pleasure and pain, creation and destruction, life and death, suffering as we do so.
Eventually we come to realise there is no happiness whatsoever in the worldly objects, all happiness only coming from our very own Self, and that to find true everlasting happiness we must turn within and discover what we truly are:
Not in one single thing on earth can happiness be found. How could the muddled mind delude itself and think that happiness can be derived from objects in this world? (Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 78)
Only when the world’s allurement is lost will true Liberation be possible. Hence, to try to foist reality upon this world is to be just like an infatuated lover who tries to foist chastity upon a prostitute.(Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 74)
Coming back to the original question in this section, doesn’t this sound very bleak and life-denying? Well from the point of view of the ego or mind it does sound bleak and life-denying, but actually it is what we are truly looking for. Here Sri Ramana confirms that we are to give up the entirely of Maya and all it’s pleasures, but what we gain in return is far greater. It is in fact a wonderful bargain, trading suffering-ridden illusion for the eternally blissful and fulfilling reality:
What does one gain, you well may ask, by giving up the wealth immense of worldly pleasure and seeking only mere Awareness? The benefit of true Awareness is the unbroken prevalence of peace within the heart, the bliss of one’s own natural being. (Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 77)
Only mad folk perplexed because they deem the false world to be real find joy in this illusion. The truly wise find joy in nothing but Awareness which is Being. (Sri Ramana Maharshi, Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 75)
– ‘Suffering does not fully end’ or ‘all suffering does not end’
Here we have another false teaching, namely that suffering (or ego) in some form continues in liberation. The Buddha taught that in nirvana, liberation, suffering ends once and for all. The Buddha said being born is suffering, illness is suffering, growing old is suffering and death is suffering, the implication being that all of these end in liberation. Liberation is truly something unfathomable (for the mind)!
Isn’t that what all the teachings say – that liberation is unfathomable, ineffable? But yet how we sometimes struggle when we cannot in our minds understand the nature of liberation! The following are Sri Ramana’s teachings from Guru Vachaka Kovai:
953. Our real Being, the Sun that never can see the darkness of illusion, knows no trace of pain or suffering.
954. Blissful, auspicious is the Self, our real Being. One who knows this sees in life no trace of suffering or pain
956. The goal, the Truth, is Self-Awareness. Reaching it is annihilation of the painful illusion of birth.
1067. As the pearl-fisher single-thoughted, weighted with a stone, dives deep into the sea and grasps the pearl most precious, and rejoices, dive into the Heart with stern vairagya [dispassion for sense objects], gain the Self-treasure, and so end all suffering and sorrow.
– The ego continues in some form after liberation
As I hinted above, saying that suffering continues in some form after liberation is the same as saying that the ego continues in some form after liberation. This too, of course, is a false teaching. In liberation, the ego ends once and for all, the ego defined as being the sense ‘I am the body’ or ‘I am a limited body-mind entity’:
225. Unfailing immortality accrues only to those who have destroyed the ego
133. He, who by questing inward for the Knower, has destroyed the ego and transcended so-called knowledge, abides as the Self. He alone is a true knower, not one who has not seen the Self and therefore has an ego still.
161. When ego ends, then one becomes a devotee true; when ego ends, one becomes a knower too; when ego ends, one becomes Being supreme. When ego ends, grace fills all space.
174. In meditation deep, while yet a trace of ego lingers, fear and trembling may sometimes occur. But when the ego dies at last in Pure Awareness, quaking stops. Stillness alone prevails.
– Adding to the teaching, taking away from the teaching
The last way I will mention here that the teachings can be distorted is either by adding to the teaching or taking things away from the teaching.
Adding to the teaching includes false teachings like: ‘yes, Self- enquiry is the way, but self-enquiry is very difficult and only for the few. Here are some things you have to do before self-enquiry [and then go into detail about preparatory exercises]’
Here the principle teaching of self-enquiry is acknowledged, but extra teachings are added prior to the teaching.
Another example of adding to the teaching is this: ‘Yes, we must turn within and discover the self, but then we must thereafter turn towards the world in order to reintegrate the teaching into daily life’. As we have already discussed (this is the 2nd of the main two mistakes discussed above), this is a distortion of the teaching, but here the principle teaching of turning within has been acknowledged, but the addition of a 2nd step to be performed after has been inserted, and this equally distorts the teaching.
An example of taking away things from the teaching is by stating: ‘yes, turning within is a very good way, but we don’t have to do that. Here is an even better way that doesn’t involve turning within at all…’.
Gere the primary teaching of turning within has been acknowledged, initially at least, but then it is later ‘superseded’ and so taken away in the subsequent (false) teaching that has been given. Of course the initial acknowledgement of the principle teaching may not be there, this being just an example of how teachings can be distorted.
Further characteristics of false or non-liberating teachings, and further questions/objections answered:
I have compiled a list of videos which you can watch on this topic here:
Also see this link and the links cited therein to better understand the above teachings – the links in the following post go to some way in explaining many common objections and questions you may have:
IMPORTANT: Of these 2 mistakes, which is more important to note?
The first mistake is the key one, and therefore the teaching emphasised by all true spiritual teachings is to turn within. Sometimes this is expressed as the need to meditate deeply or enter deeply into Silence or Stillness. If this is done properly and until the end, then the second mistake of coming back to the body-mind-world will naturally not occur. So even if you do not agree about my 2nd pitfall above, as long as you turn within and truly discover your self, you will be fine.
This is also why great sages like Sri Ramana Maharshi, whilst they taught correctly about both points above, they emphasised turning within, for they knew that once we have done that properly, all will be well. As Sri Ramana stated in his text ‘Who Am I?’:
Question: How long should self-inquiry be practised? Sri Ramana Maharshi: As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry “Who am I?” is required.
I hope you find this information useful and helpful
Tom: Here in Shankara’s introduction to his commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad and his commentary on Sri Gaudapada’s Karika (ie. Sri Gaudapadas commentary on the same Mandukya Upanishad), Shankara explains some fundamental teachings of vedanta which may (or may not) suprise you!
Throughout, Shankara’s writings are in black whilst my comments are in italicised red.
Shankara gives these same teachings throughout his commentaries, eg. in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad but also in many other places too. However these teachings are often missed, glossed over or re-interpreted by many current so-called traditional teachers of Vedanta.
The following translation is my own, and I have simplified the language to aid understanding. Below I have also provided the PDF of a more literal translation of this commentary by Shankara on the Mandukya Upanishad from Swami Gambhirananda of Advaita Ashrama (this is the translation that I recommend as it is the most literal of the available translations in English, and so has the smallest amount of distortion and re-interpretation according to the prior beliefs and prejudices of the translator) which you can also read, which states the same as my translation but perhaps using more complex and at times archaic language.
Shankara’s Introduction to his commentary on Mandukya Upanishad
Translated by Tom Das
Invocatory Mantra
Om! O gods, may we hear auspicious words with the ears; while engaged in sacrifices, may we see auspicious things with the eyes; while praising the gods with steady limbs, may we enjoy a life that is beneficial to the gods.
May Indra of ancient fame be auspicious to us; may the supremely rich and all-knowing Pisa, god of the earth, be propitious to us; may Garuda, the destroyer of evil, be well disposed towards us; may Brihashpati ensure our welfare.
Om! Shanti! Shanti! Shanti! (Om! May there be peace! May there be peace! May there be peace!)
Tom: Some say that the Mandukya Upanishad, which is the smallest of the Upanishads consisting only of 12 verses, has no mention of God within it. They clearly have not read the invocatory verses above! Devotion and worship has always been a part of the nondual tradition of Vedanta. Below Shankara will provide 2 more invocatory verses that he has written:
Invocation by Shankara
I bow to that Brahman, which after having enjoyed the gross objects [in the waking state], by pervading all the worldly objects through a diffusion of Its rays of unchanging consciousness that embraces all that moves or does not move; Which after having ‘drunk’ [during the dream state] all the variety of objects, produced by desire and lighted up by the intellect, And sleeps [in the deep sleep state] while enjoying bliss and making us enjoy through Maya; and which is [in liberation] counted as the Fourth from the point of view of Maya, and is supreme, immortal, and birthless.
Tom: Shankara in his first invocatory verses states that liberation, or Turiya, is called the Fourth state, but that this is only from the point of view of Maya (or ignorance), which admits of the 3 states.In true liberation, the 3 states, which are superimpositions on the Self, do not exist in any way shape or form, so Turiya is actually the Singular Reality and not the Forth state at all. This is explained in more detail later in the text by both Shankara and Gaudapada, and Shankara also explains this in more detail here in the text he wrote called Upadesa Sahasri.
The structure of Shankara’s invocatory verses also mimics the structure of the actual Mandukya Upanishad, which first explains the nature of the 3 states of waking, dream and deep dreamless sleep, before lastly explaining the nature of liberation (see verse 7 of the Mandukya Upanishad here), also known as the Self or Turiya, Turiya literally meaning ‘the fourth’ in Sanskrit. Let us continue with Shankara’s second invocatory verse:
May that Fourth one protect us which, after having [in the waking state] identified Itself with the universe, enjoys the gross objects created by the merits (and demerits) of past deeds; After having [in the dream state] experienced through its own light the subtle objects of enjoyment that are called up by its own intellect; Which [in deep sleep] withdraws promptly all these into Itself; and which lastly [in liberation] becomes free from all attributes, by discarding every distinction and difference [ie. by discarding all phenomenal appearances/objects].
Tom: the implication is that in liberation, there are no appearances of any objects, for these have been cast out, and that the appearance of any objects is tantamount to duality. This is further explained below. Let us read Shankara’s introduction to both the Mandukya Upanishad and to Gaudapada’s Karika:
Introduction to the text by Shankara
The word [or letter] Om is everything [idam sarvam, literally meaning ‘all this’ or ‘all things’]. This will all be explained in the rest of this following text.
The four chapters of Sri Gaudapada’s commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, that sum up the quintessence of Vedanta, starts with the phrase ‘The word Om is everything…’. Because Gaudapada starts with this phrase, the stated aim and purpose of this text, which we would usually state at the start of any text on Vedanta, should be obvious and need not be stated here. Clearly the aim and purpose of the text is the unfolding of Vedanta.
However, as I am giving a commentary here, I should briefly state the purpose of the text. The text, as it explains the spiritual disciplines that lead to a desired goal, will naturally have an aim and subject matter.
What is the aim of the text? Let me explain: just as a healthy person afflicted by disease will seek a cure for the disease in order to regain the natural state of health, the natural state of being the Self, when afflicted by suffering, will be returned to its ‘natural state of health’ through the cessation of the phenomenal universe of duality.
The aim therefore is the realisation of non-duality. Since the phenomenal world of duality is a creation of ignorance, it can be eradicated through knowledge.
Hence this text aims to reveal the knowledge of Brahman.
Tom: Shankara here is stating that the entire phenomenal world is a creation of ignorance, and that it needs to be eradicated for liberation to occur.This eradication of the phenomenal world can be attained through knowledge of Brahman, which is the same as liberation. The exact nature of knowledge of Brahman is explained later in this commentary here and how to attain this knowledge is explained by Gaudapada here and here.
Compare to Sri Ramana Maharshi when he says in the text Guru Vachaka Kovai in the following verses:
23. The Realised, who do not know anything as being other than Self, which is absolute Consciousness, will not say that the world, which has no existence in the view of the Supreme Brahman, is real.
28. O aspirants who hide yourselves away fearing this world, nothing such as a world exists! Fearing this false world which appears to exist, is like fearing the false snake which appears in a rope.
35. Since this world of dyads [knower-known] and triads [perceiver-perceiving-perceived] appears only in the mind, like the illusory ring of fire formed [in darkness] by whirling the single point of a glowing rope-end, it is false, and it does not exist in the clear sight of Self.
[Tom: The illusory ring of fire is a metaphor that Gaudapada himself uses throughout Chapter 4 of Gaudapada’s Karika].
87. Self appearing as the world is just like a rope seeing itself as a snake; just as the snake is, on scrutiny, found to be ever non-existent, so is the world found to be ever non-existent, even as an appearance.
Also compare also to Sri Ramana Maharshi when he writes in the beginning few paragraphs of his work entitled ‘Who Am I?’:
Q. When will the realization of the Self be gained? A. When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.
Q. Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there? A. There will not be.
Shankara will now justify his assertions by quoting from the highest scriptural authority in Vedanta, the Upanishads, let us see:
This fact is established by such Vedic texts as:
‘Because when there is duality, as it were, then one-smells something, one sees something…’ and so on (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad II. iv. 14);
‘When there is something else, as it were, then one can see something, on can know something’ (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV. iii. 31);
‘But when to the knower of Brahman everything has become the Self, then what should one see and through what? What should one know and through what?” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad II. iv. 14).
Tom: we can see that Shankara is providing 3 quotes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad to back up this assertion, namely that appearances in the world, or perceiving things (apparently) through the senses, is the same as duality, and that all perceptions of the sense organs and all knowledge in the mind ceases with liberation. Now Shankara will summarise the contents of the 4 chapters of Gaudapa’s Karika (commentary) on the Mandukya Upanishad:
That being so, the first chapter explains the meaning of Om based on the traditional teachings [of Vedanta] and helps us to attain the reality that is the Self.
The second chapter aims to rationally prove the unreality of that phenomenal world of duality, on the cessation of which non-duality is attained, just as the reality of the rope is known on the elimination of the illusion of a snake imagined on it.
Tom: Shankara is again stating that non-duality or liberation is attained upon the cessation of the phenomenal world, which is duality, and Shankara gives the example of the rope and snake to justify his claim. We will only see the rope when the wrong-seeing or illusion of the snake (which causes fear and suffering) goes.Compare with Sri Ramana Maharshi when he writes in ‘Who Am I?’:
‘Just as the knowledge of the rope, which is the base, will not be obtained unless the knowledge of the snake, the superimposition, goes, so the realization of Self, which is the base, will not be obtained unless the perception of the world, which is a superimposition, ceases.’
Shankara continues to summarise the contents of the last 2 chapters of Gaudapa’s Karika, and thus ends Shankara’s introduction to the Mandukya Upanishad. If you wish, you can compare my translation of Shankara’s introduction to this wonderful text to the more scholarly translation below by Swami Gambhirananda:
The third chapter aims to rationally establish the truth of non-duality, and to prevent it too from being negated by a similar process of argument.
The fourth chapter seeks to logically refute all the non-Vedic points of view, which are counterproductive to attaining of the truth of non-duality, and which remain concerned with this unreal duality.
Tom: we can see that in the last sentence of his introduction, Shankara is stating that the false teachings, ie. the teachings that do not lead to liberation, keep on coming back to the unreal duality, ie. false teachings keep on wanting to come back to the world of names and form, also known as maya. There is no Maya in the Self, and in truth there never was. This is the doctrine of ajata vada (no creation or no birth) that is famously explained in Gaudapada’s commentary on this Mandukya Upanishad.
The two main ways that the truly liberating teaching is distorted is firstly by stating that we do not need to turn within in order to realise the self, and secondly by stating that once the self has been realised we must turn back towards the world and integrate our newly-found non-dual understanding/ knowledge/ realisation with the world of phenomenal appearances.
As far as I’m aware Shankara never actually taught ‘The world is an illusion, only Brahman is real, the world is Brahman.’ – this appears to be a misquote.
The actual teaching is ‘Brahma satyam, jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah’
..which means:
‘Brahman is Truth/Reality, the world is illusion, the Jiva (individual Self or ‘I’ or ‘I Am’) [when enquired into] is nothing but Brahman’
147. Creation is not other than seeing; seeing and creating are one and the same process. Annihilation is only the cessation of seeing and nothing else, for the world comes to an end by the right awareness of oneself.
330. There is no creation apart from seeing; seeing and creation are one and the same. And because that seeing is due to ignorance, to cease seeing is the truth of the dissolution (of the world).
~Sri Ramana Maharshi, verses taken from Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad
To understand these verses more deeply see these posts here and here
Tom Das 