Category: Uncategorized

Freedom Without Limits

August 29th, 2022

What we are in our essence is without boundary or limitation, with freedom being our own true nature that is simply veiled by our own imagination. For freedom we never have any actual boundary to overcome other than our own belief in a boundary.

To explore such ideas as these it is often very helpful for analogies to be used as they give a pointing towards the simplicity and humour of our spiritual predicaments. These analogies are also more easily recognisable as one discovers the nature of their own freedom, simply because the capacity for analogical reasoning deepens through the world being seen as ‘reflections in a mirror’, rather than an objectively existing physical reality. It is for this reason that you see great masters always spontaneously using such exquisitely beautiful analogy and metaphor, as for them the world is nothing but a reflection of their true nature. Yet we must always recognise that these are only attempts to express the truth, and the intellectual understanding of an analogy is not the same as an actual insight that is both intellectually and physically felt.

Metaphors / analogies are the seeing of the sugar, but not the tasting of it

For explaining our inherent freedom and the nature of our self imposed apparent limitations, I find it useful to use a certain analogy that I will share with you now. The analogy starts off to be similar to Plato’s cave, but the main point is very different. I will first explain the concept using an analogical story, followed by explaining it through more precise language that should be more comprehensible proceeding the digestion of the analogy.

We are to imagine a cow in a field who has been raised by other cows and farmers who have always informed him and ingrained the knowledge of their being fences that surround the field which they can never go beyond and are thus limitations on their existence and freedom. As the calf grows up he never directly sees any of these fences but due to all the other cows saying how real they are, the calf doesn’t even think to question the reality of these apparent fences that surround them, and so as time goes on he grows up to be a strong young cow who has never questioned his actual limitations. However, one day the cow accidentally wanders far into the hills where the other cows never usually go and discovers vast hills further than his eyes can see that are of such radiant beauty and mystery. Almost on the verge of tears, the cow looks just below him to see a singular fence panel and is instantly terrified. After the initial fear has worn off he is overcome with a sadness as he knows he can never explore those beautiful hills that he can see. He wanders back home with his head hanging low, dejected that he has glimpsed something that he cannot have because he is trapped in his limited field. However, this glimpse of beauty he found was too glorious to not see again and so one day he returns and sees the fence panel with slightly more attentiveness than he did previously. Each day the cow proceeded to go back and investigates the fence panel, and inevitably one days sees that there is no limitation on his freedom by the fence panel. He suddenly sees clearly that there was only ever one fence panel in the field and that he could have danced freely around it the entire time if he wasn’t so silly. He can go into the distant hills if he wishes and come back; he is simply free to roam wherever he wants. There is not even a need to move for his freedom as there in no boundary to which limits him. It becomes astoundingly confusing for the cow as to how he could have ever thought he was trapped by this one little fence panel, yet somehow he is free and knows he is free and that this freedom has always been his and was not something he has even gained but has simply discovered to be directly true to his experience as it always has been.

The cow was free all along, only the power of his own imagination ever deluded him

From the understanding of the analogy we may see the absurdity of the cows predicament, yet it becomes much more difficult to realise the same understanding for our own predicament due to the power of maya (illusion) that the human being experiences. An Illusion is something that seems real but is not, in the same way that magic tricks seem to be actual magic or how the fence panel seemed to be a limitation on freedom. So we are under the influence of maya, unaware of the true reality we experience just like the cow was unaware of his inherent freedom. I will now explain using more precise language the unfolding process behind the analogical story, which will be harder to digest, but when related to the analogy should make more sense for you.

The speaking of truth is very complex, yet the truth itself is the most simple of things

The essence of this analogy focuses on how the limitations that we perceive to be real are only due to our belief in them. When a certain thought arises such as “I’m not worthy”, “I can’t get free from my mind”, “I’m not enlightened” and even “I am enlightened”, are like the fence panels in our field that do not give any correct inference of our actual reality. All of the barriers and suffering we experience in our life are like these fence panels that at first glance seem to cause so many problems for us, but when looked at more closely are seen to only be causing suffering due to our belief that they have the ability to affect our true nature.

To relate this analogy to ourselves we would state that the unborn awareness that we are is not limited by the body or mind that is contained within it. To give another analogy, we could say it is similar to believing that the weather can damage the sky which is clearly not the case. Our true nature, or our true predicament we could say, is already free and never affected by the phenomenal flux of experience. We do not recognise this to be true because like the cow, we so firmly hold the belief of limitations that any indicator of an apparent limitation is almost instantly accepted. We accept it without any doubt or investigation, even though the reality is that of no limit and of freedom without boundary. Due to this predicament, the resultant solution is to investigate the nature of our minds and beliefs in the most total sense that we can possibly consider. It means to embody the attitude of a true skeptic, to question everything so that we discover something that cannot be disputed, something that is essentially an irrefutable knowing within ourselves. Through investigation overtime (meditation/contemplation), we gradually see that the illusion of limitation in our own self dissolves and leads to the essence of our own reality becoming increasingly revealed as infinite aware being itself.

This uncovering of infinite aware being is synonymous with the dissolution of an apparently separate self. This dissolution is at a certain point known to be the cause of peace and happiness (or that the separate self is the cause of unhappiness), rather than any happiness that we previously thought could be obtained from the world. At this point of seeing, if they found it possible to articulate their understanding (as some people simply never can or at least struggle to for some time) the human being would report something such as this:

“It became clear that the only reason I ever suffered was because of my own mind and my own imaginative belief in a limited “me”. This belief and obsession with the “me” thought and concept, was the continuous veiling of myself as unbound being itself and caused my own unhappiness. I was only unhappy due to me trying to find happiness for the person rather than happiness free of the person. I believed thought to point towards an entity that I believed to be myself, only to find that this entity that thought refers to is non-existent and is actually only another thought itself. The real self that thought points to, and that everything “points” to is nothing other than infinite aware being, which is inherently peaceful and is bliss itself with no need for any spatial or temporal experience for this fulfilment to be present.”

It is our belief in thought being limiting that makes us feel the need to transcend them

To bring this all back to something more approachable, the simple question I would propose in order to really work through all of this is “What does the cow in our analogy need to do in order to be free?” Take a moment to consider this before continuing as it is your own understanding that is important, not the intellectual recall of something you have read here or in any other book. Consider the question now.

In one sense we could say that the cow needs to do nothing at all and that he is already free. This stance would be that of the neo-Advaita, claiming that there is nothing at all to be done for freedom. However, this statement is only true from the perspective of recognising one’s true nature. Essentially it is only true once the cow has recognised that the fence panel never limited him. If this has not been recognised, it does not assist the cow in anyway to say “you are already free!” as it would only confuse and irritate him further. Nonetheless, there is a lot of spiritual non-dualists who do not recognise this and go around trying to shove everyone’s inherent freedom down their throat to no avail. In reality, the cow believes himself to not be free, so the best way to help him would be to play along with his game for a little while and sit with him both compassionately and patiently whilst he works things out. In other words, one would hold his hand along the way until he has investigated the fence panel enough to see that it does not limit him in anyway.

So until this point we would listen deeply to the personal self claiming all the limitations and suffering it experiences, as this is also a valid and real (but not absolute) mode of being and functioning in the world. Once one eventually realises the absurdity of their previous beliefs and self-entrapment they laugh and say “what an amazing joke, I didn’t even need anyone else to point this out to me, it was so obvious!”

So now, you are to simply consider that you are the cow In the field. It is not another being anymore but yourself. You must be the saviour of yourself, without relying on mine or anyones words or any God, it is left up to you to do the work. Even though there will be suffering and fear whilst we investigate ourselves and our predicament, it leads to the discovery of our own freedom that is greater than anything the mind can possibly imagine. The only thing left to do is take the risk and jump off the cliff, so that you may find out after all that you can fly.

-Aaron Pearson-
Checkmate, No Way Out

August 25th, 2022

An essay inspired by Glimpses of the Profound, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

At a certain point in the continuous cultivation of effort towards enlightenment, we experience ultimate disappointment through seeing that every effort towards freedom goes against our freedom. Even the attempt to give up your striving for freedom in hopes of higher freedom also goes against us, for there is always some notion of gain behind every attempt no matter how obvious or subtle, and they are all the same in their degree of futility.

Put on your monastic robes or take them off, you are still looking for something that will end your suffering or make you more “enlightened”.

It is completely necessary to realise this. In this recognition, or rather this particular predicament we find ourselves in, we truly see the expression of cosmic humour within our own self as the individual knows that their spiritual efforts were designed to lead to an unexpected but necessary disappointment. We see that no matter what we do, even with our highest spiritual prayers or generosities in mind, we are still trapping ourselves in samsara, and yet it is in this moment we have the glimpse of nirvana. It is through this state of utter hopelessness we find ourselves in and the humour of our own total predicament that freedom is glimpsed, through the total surrender born out of relentless self-entrapment we find the emptiness that is not limited in any direction or dimension. But this hopelessness cannot be cultivated or sought, it just happens in its own time, when things fall into place.

When the fruit is ripe it falls off the tree, it is just like this. You cannot force the fruit to fall, and if you pluck it off too early it may taste quite sour. This sourness finds itself in one who gives up the search for truth too early through intellectual knowledge of seeking, without the experience of actual physical and mental futility where all energies are burned up. This early plucking of the fruit can result in the strong attachment to spiritual ego claiming one has “gone beyond”, with the feeling of only partial fulfilment. It would be like closing the case of a murder when you have not found the culprit yet. “I am a great investigator as the case is now closed!” says the investigator, but hold on why are you wrapping things up? The job is not yet done. So maybe you have to open the case back up and poke around a bit more with the suspects and gather evidence until you know for sure that either it’s an impossible case, or you realise you was the murderer all along and that you have amnesia, a total momento moment, if you can see that joke. To even say this much is not in your favour as you will gather more intellectual understanding of futility rather than direct experience, so it is important that you sit, that you seek and contemplate up until a point when you have a glimpse, a “satori” as it is called in the zen tradition. After this point you will not need any encouragement from another being, and you will also need no convincing from outside of yourself.

Before satori: No matter how eloquent the person explains reality you could never believe it

After satori: It is understood no matter how someone explains it, as you know it yourself.

The outcome of this total hopelessness that is related to satori, can be described as a figure-ground reversal. It is like being a cloud expert who is on a mission to find every cloud, but one day after trying so hard he lies down on the grass to catch a breath and suddenly realises the sky ! Wow! It is infinitely bigger and much more significant than any cloud he could have ever imagined. He is amazed at how he never noticed the sky all the time, and yet when he realises it he inevitably reports back “It was always there, I was simply too fascinated with the clouds to notice”. The equilibrium at this point has passed a tipping point because he had looked at so many clouds that it was only a matter of time before the sky caught his attention. The reason that the teacher tells you to look towards the clouds (breath, mantras etc) is for the purpose that you accidentally glimpse through exhaustion or chance, that which is not the clouds but has contained them the entire time ! Our true nature is always uncovered as an accident as it is never where we expected it to be. It is summarised by seeing that when we are thinking in terms of clouds, the sky is not even in the same dimension of our search, it is completely off the radar until it’s sheer obviousness becomes apparent. Another analogy could be that when looking for honey, we just follow the bee back to where it comes from, so when looking for ourself , we follow thoughts back to their source. We find that the clouds arise out of the sky rather than existing independently and that our thoughts arise out of an invisible field for awareness. This discovery is always an accident and is not itself a discovery of something new or special but something completely ordinary; in the same way that each cloud is completely unique, the sky is ordinary, unchanging with no boundaries or limitations and is thus infinite.

Enlightenment is a by-product of accident-proneness

The meaning of this is that during this point of hopelessness the energies now begin to shift in the wanted direction of openness and spaciousness that one was always seeking prior to the point of total hopelessness. They was always moving in this direction regardless, but now it is known to be so and goes beyond mere speculation that was previously used as a form of hope to reinforce the egoic self. There is a magnificent playfulness to it all because you can see how it was the necessity of hopelessness and exhaustion that leads to hope and energy. But this new found hope is of a completely different quality to what we normally call hope. This hope comes from our deepest sense of unknowing, of having no knowledge of how to deal with our life anymore, with a true sense of the unknown coming to life.

Somehow you come to know that you have been in checkmate the entire game from the beginning, and yet the audience is ushering you to continue on and play a move. How can you play the next move if you are in checkmate ? It is completely absurd. Stop the timer maybe? Turn invisible? Slap your opponent? Forget about the game? Whatsoever you do you are in checkmate, it is known as an irrefutable fact. You cannot even resign as it is already over. All the corners of the room close in on you and you must disappear so that all the corners may meet. To be in checkmate means that there is no choice left, you must somehow disappear and haven’t the slightest clue how. I tell you to disappear, what are you going to do? In a brief moment of this hopelessness the mind may go silent in such an impossible situation, and you find that you really are invisible, just like the story of the monk who ran around the monastery screaming “I can’t find my head” only for the master to say “Leave him, he will be fine soon”. Why was the master not surprised by the ridiculous statement of one of the monks? Simply because the master lost his head many years ago and never found it again, and oh what joy he has known since !

This point of hopelessness and utter impossibility is synonymous with the recognition that there is no free will and that we as a person do not exist, as there in no separate entity ever making a choice, that what seems to be choice is only a choice-less thought. Obviously this sort of recognition would lead to panic and confusion, which is funnily enough a great indicator of satori.

So this moment where all hope is lost, is when one actually finds hope as I have said, as they find hope and faith through their own discovery that their whole existence is being taken care of without them having to blink an eyelid. One can feel this right now by feeling the questions (without intellectualisation) “What do I do to make my heart beat?” “What do I do to make thoughts happen?”. Like this, but in a total sense, we see that “I” am not involved in any of the happenings that are experienced and that they happen by themselves and of their own accord.

Thoughts and actions are cosmic events, just like the weather and the orbits of planets.

This is recognition has a tremendous quality of release. To use religious language, the individual sees experientially that “My will is God’s will”. Up until this point it may have felt necessary for the seeker to surrender to God and to allow ourselves to be a vessel for his will, but it is at this point one knows that it was always already the case whether we like it or not! We somehow come to understand that we needed to surrender to know that there was nothing to ever surrender. This is the paradox of spirituality, and the limitations of language when speaking about something that is not a function or product of our own thought processes and is thus not completely comprehensible by the rational mind.

So now there isn’t much more to say, other than that you are already in checkmate and whether you know it or not doesn’t matter. Time is of the essence, your life is ticking away and we must use this human birth wisely. So what will you do in this most humorous situation?

– Aaron Pearson –

Category: Uncategorized

Freedom Without Limits

Checkmate, No Way Out