Вадим Сычевский
Absolute freedom and happiness – our true essence
First Enlightenment
Awareness and concentration lead us to the first Enlightenment because they are the practice of Calmness and Contemplation. In turn, Calmness and Contemplation are the natural primordial state of our consciousness in which we realize our true nature, the Atman. In addition, in the moment of perfect awareness and/or concentration, our consciousness is in this primordial state.
Separately, it should be said that concentration is performed solely by us, i.e., the Atman, because in the entire universe, only the Atman has the prerogative of realizing, concentrating, acting, or creating anything.
«Here is the explanation of concentration.
Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Chitta) from taking various forms (Vrittis). At that time (the time of concentration), the Seer (Purusha[25]) rests in his own (unmodified) state. At other times (other than that of concentration) the Seer is identified with the modifications» (Patanjali's Yoga Sutras).
If we can hold concentration for a long time, a breakthrough occurs – our consciousness stops completely, and disappears, returning to its original state of Calmness and Contemplation. The cessation of actual consciousness is the first Enlightenment.
In Zen, the first Enlightenment is called «Kensho» – «seeing one's true nature». In original Buddhism, the first Enlightenment corresponds to the stage of Entering the true stream. The sutras say that such a person receives a fleeting vision of the goal – Nirvana. In yoga, the first Enlightenment is called «Chitta Vritti Nirodha»[26]. Of course, since our consciousness is multi-layered, we need to experience the cessation of each of the layers. Therefore, the cessation of actual consciousness is, in fact, the full beginning of spiritual practice, not its completion and sole purpose.
So why does it all begin with the first Enlightenment? Because actual consciousness keeps us in the World of Phenomena and does not allow us to enter deep meditation[27]. That is why the process of Emancipation begins with the first Enlightenment – with the cessation of the actual consciousness of the World of Phenomena – the world we are in at the moment. With actual consciousness, we perceive external and internal objects. External objects are sensations coming through the sense organs: we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our nose, taste with our tongue, and touch with receptors on our skin. Internal objects are the images, desires/no desires, ideas, and thoughts that appear in our actual consciousness. We need to somehow «unhook» our actual consciousness from these objects, which will allow us to free ourselves from the World of Phenomena and move into the Astral World.
The question arises: how to do it?
Usually a person who wants to get rid of, for example, unpleasant memories or thoughts, tries to suppress them or think about something else, more pleasant, i.e. tries to «switch» to something else. The person may also try to analyze his or her condition. However, this is the same as rinsing the nose with water and trying to wash out kidney stones. Because, in any case, this kind of thinking is based solely on duality: one seeks to get rid of that which causes dislike and, therefore, suffering. However, as long as dualistic consciousness is at work, it is impossible to stop the influence of anything – it is like trying to run away from one's own shadow. In other words, it doesn't matter whether we love or hate something – the object of our attachment or hatred will still influence us, bringing us illusory joy in case of attachment, and direct suffering in case of dislike or hatred.
In order to stop the workings of the mind that cause external and internal objects to influence us and bring suffering, it is necessary to master mindfulness and concentration. All that a person who does not master awareness and concentration can do with an unpleasant thought is to block, mask, or «cover» its influence with another, more pleasant thought, just as people cover a crack in the wall of their house with a painting.
So, it is impossible to stop the effect of any information or past experience, which generates sensations, thoughts, desires, emotions, memories, or images, without stopping the consciousness. Whether we love or hate our sensations, thoughts, desires, emotions, or memories, they are still active and affect us, bringing suffering or pleasure, which then turns into suffering. To stop the mind is what mindfulness and concentration practice are all about:
«O monks, finding a good friend or a trustworthy giver cannot be compared to perfecting your mindfulness. If you abide in mindfulness, none of the thieves-obscurations will enter your mind. That is why you must keep your mind in a state of constant awareness. If you lose your awareness, you will lose all your merit. If the power of your mindfulness is great, then although you deal with the thieves – the five sense desires – they cannot harm you. Thus, a warrior who enters battle clad in safe armor can fear nothing. This is the explanation of mindfulness» (Sutra of the Buddha's Last Instructions).
Therefore, mindfulness and concentration are the «vehicles» for realizing the first Enlightenment. Concentration is not a strain or some over-exertion or anything like that, but a very natural state of our mind. When you master this quiet attention directed to an object or process, it will seem «native» to you, a close and pleasant state that you will immediately recognize. It is a very clear, lucid state, and it is completely different from the usual «cloudy» and tense state of «wandering» consciousness, because in the moment of true concentration there is no dual work of consciousness in relation to the object or process, as mentioned above. Through mindfulness and concentration, consciousness naturally, automatically, by itself, is guided to its original, true, natural state of Calmness and Contemplation. When concentration reaches a certain level, actual consciousness stops completely.
The experience of stopping actual consciousness from working
This first experience of cessation of thinking is very important. It is one of the key points in spiritual practice.
First, it indicates that we are doing the right spiritual practice because a practice that results in no change and no realization of the experience of stopping mindfulness raises questions regarding its authenticity.
Second, we transfer this first experience of Calmness and Contemplation from everyday life (the world of actual consciousness) to the world of meditation (the world of the subconscious and superconscious). In other words, we repeat this experience in meditation, which I will discuss next.
First, I want the reader to have a clear understanding of this spiritual experience and the process leading to its experience. Here I would like to tell how it all happened to me directly or more precisely, to tell about the feeling left by this experience. I think that this will be a more accurate and complete description of the brightest and most important state of consciousness than a «patchwork quilt» of different texts describing similar experiences.
I want to emphasize – I am not and do not consider myself an Arhat or one who has attained Final Enlightenment and Emancipation. I am not sure if there are even such souls on Earth at the moment. I am a spiritual practitioner who tries to understand each stage of practice through experience and adapt the subject for rational perception and practical application. I always check what I have experienced against the sutras of Buddhism, against the texts of Yoga and Taoism, and against the texts left by the great Teachers of the past who have truly realized Enlightenment and Emancipation. Of course, I always consult teachers from different schools of Buddhism and Yoga, who most often confirm my experience.
From the very beginning of my practice, Dharma has somehow become my main (and sometimes only) object of awareness and concentration. Wherever I went, whatever I did, my mind automatically focused on the Teachings. It was an observation and an attempt to understand, to put the various laws in their proper place.
At that moment, I was doing the practice of walking. More precisely: there was me (the observer, or «Seer» as it is said in the Yoga Sutras), I had a physical body, senses, and consciousness. Then there was the Dharma, which became a huge, formidable, and impassable koan. The body performed the practice of walking. With my eyes, I could see, and with my consciousness to some extent understand where (what street) I was. However, my consciousness was completely absorbed in the dharma koan[28]. This state of absorption is illustrated in Zen texts by the allegory «If you swallow red-hot iron, you can neither spit it out nor swallow it». I guess this state could be called awareness without engagement, mindfulness, unidirectional focus, concentration, remembrance, or memory fixation – to be honest, I don't know exactly how to label it.
At some point, there was nothing left but the Dharma koan. I stopped realizing where I was. The thoughts (or the flow of the mind) froze. In yoga, this state is called Unmani, «the state of thoughtlessness». In the next moment, consciousness disappeared. Along with it, the sensations of the body and the Dharma koan itself disappeared. What was left? Unspeakable and inexpressible happiness, freedom, and perfect peace.
I would like to note that this state did not come abruptly: suddenly, yes, but not abruptly. It is sometimes said that Enlightenment is like a lightning strike. Perhaps this is just a beautiful allegory, but in my mind, a lightning strike is something abrupt, rough, and disturbing. Kensho can best be compared to the way the sun comes out from behind a cloud – quick, yet natural, calm, and not abrupt.
Probably, the phrase «cessation of consciousness» or «cessation of thinking» is frightening or at least confusing for modern people. It happens that people associate it with mental disorders rather than with the original state of consciousness. I consider it my duty to dispel these misconceptions.
First, this state is completely different from the state of, for example, intoxication, or the state of losing consciousness due to a blow on the head, or other reasons. All states of consciousness caused by any external influences – drugs, alcohol, or anything else – are rough, «cloudy», but, most importantly, they are all uncontrollable, compared to this natural, unconditioned state of Calmness and Contemplation. It is a very clear, vibrant state, but it is really completely absent of any thoughts. It is not a trance, prostration, or, simply put, a «blackout» caused by external or internal influences where you don't realize what is happening. The cessation of consciousness is not the cessation of perception per se, but the cessation of the dual thinking that gives birth to all our illusions and delusions. In other words, the process: of the movement of consciousness – identification – distinction – desire, stops the moment our consciousness returns to that original state.
The original enlightened state is not the substitution of some «negative» work of the consciousness for some «positive» work, but a complete stopping of the consciousness, an unconditioned state of Calmness and Contemplation.
It is not striving for some «correct» objects, but seeing the emptiness of all objects and the absence of movement of consciousness towards them, therefore – unity with them and freedom from them.
This is not a distinction of objects based on some special «cosmic information available only to the enlightened», but a complete stop of dual thinking, or distinction.
That is why Kensho cannot be «induced» by willpower, it is impossible to artificially «force» the consciousness to stop, except for those cases when grief practitioners resort to the use of some «substances» – I have already said about it: the induced state has nothing in common with Kensho.
Kensho is not the suppression of emotions, desires, or thoughts by willpower, which is very similar to the following example. Suppose there is a pot of boiling water. When it boils, the water boils and «tries to escape». And here someone, apparently not knowing the laws of physics, tries to «keep» the boiling water in the pot. To do this, he covers the pot with a lid. It is clear that he will not achieve anything: the steam will simply push the lid out, and the boiling water will escape anyway. It is the same with consciousness: it cannot be «slowed down» or held artificially. Even if for a moment it seemed that at the expense of something managed to stop the flow of thought, it would not be Kensho. Take the pot off the fire, and the water will cool down and calm down, returning to its original state, in which the surface will become perfectly smooth, and the water will be able to reflect any object without distortion.
Thus, we should have no misconceptions that Kensho is «not to think about anything». «Thinking» and «not thinking», as well as «wanting» and «not wanting», are one and the same thing, namely, the dual workings of our consciousness. If we try to explain the experience of Kensho from the position of this duality (which, of course, is destined to fail in advance), then Kensho, or, more broadly, Enlightenment, at any level is neither thinking nor not thinking. Why is this so?
There is a two-point consistency in the duality of thinking/not thinking.
First, there is the stream of thoughts and images that arise moment by moment in our minds. For example, we remember something or anticipate something that is about to happen. Because of the action of past experience, it seems to us that these thoughts, images, memories, and dreams are real and pleasant or unpleasant to us.
Second, when the thoughts, memories, or anticipation of the future have finally overcome and exhausted us, we try to stop thinking about what is unpleasant or boring. In this case, however, we are trying to run away from our own shadow: the faster you run, the faster it chases. In other words, the harder we try not to think, the harder and more painful for us the work of our consciousness becomes.
However, when we experience a perfect stoppage of consciousness, the object we were thinking about, such as information about an event that happened in the past or an event that is to happen in the future, remains, but because consciousness is stopped, really thinking and non-thinking about the object are both absent. Consequently, the object is not seen as «good» or «bad» and has absolutely no effect on us. As a result, we (i.e. Atman) become one with any object, and thus free from the influence of any object. The state of oneness with the object arises because our consciousness, which is the layer, or active space, between us and the perceived object, is stopped and no longer moves toward the perceived object. In other words, we do not have any work of consciousness in relation to the perceived object, and as a consequence, we begin to see the object itself, rather than our preconceived attitude toward the object.
It is not uncommon to hear that Enlightenment is some kind of «special state» and, consequently, «perception of objects». No, it is not. Enlightenment is perception without perception. What does that mean? When we are in the original state of consciousness, any objects exist and do not exist for us at the same time. So why do objects exist without existing? Because our consciousness, or false «self»[29], is stopped at that moment. Because there is no subject-object duality and no good-bad duality, this state is beyond the reach of words.
Once again, I would like to emphasize to the reader that Kensho, Calmness and Contemplation are our true original state of consciousness, which we reveal, and awaken through correct spiritual practice. This state is completely natural. This state is not something external. This state cannot be «gained», «acquired» or «gotten» as in the case of any objects of our desires. It is not knowledge acquired, for example, from books or through study. As Bodhidharma said, «If all living beings are in confusion without awakening, then they do not know that our consciousness is the Buddha. If you know that your consciousness is the Buddha, you don't need to look for the Buddha outside of your consciousness. You can't measure the Buddha with the Buddha. If you seek the Buddha by relying on the intellect, you will not know the Buddha. However, those who think that the Buddha is outside do not know that our consciousness is the Buddha».
In this state, there are no thoughts such as «I have reached the cessation of consciousness» because there is no object that is the source of any sensations that would require words and thoughts to express. Probably the best word to express the state of cessation of consciousness is «emptiness» (Shunyata – Sanskrit). However, it is not a state where «nothing is there», it is a state where «everything is there», that is, everything is still where it is, but as if it has stopped and has therefore ceased to have an effect.
It is impossible to express this original state of consciousness in words. Firstly, because it is impossible: «a sword will not cut itself». Secondly, in this state, all words, thoughts, definitions, or ideas are seen as something external, crude, unnatural, i.e. not originally inherent to us, and, most importantly, as completely meaningless. Words can only describe the sensation left by the experience, although even in this case, the words may seem incomprehensible to those people who have not had similar experiences. Any words only «hang a label», including the word «state», which I am compelled to use. As the Zen Masters[30] used to say in the olden days, «A truth spoken aloud ceases to be such, for it has already lost its primary connection to the moment of truth».
«The Tao that can be expressed in words is not the permanent Tao. A name that can be named is not permanent. He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know» are the words of Lao Tzu from the treatise «Tao De Jing».
However, to somehow point to THIS, I use the expression «the true original state». You can also say «the true original state of consciousness in which we realize ourselves», «Enlightenment», «Emptiness» or «Great Emptiness», «the original Tao» or simply «Tao». But all these words, phrases, and expressions can express nothing. In this state, there is no separation between «self» and «non-self», between true and false, between original and acquired, between empty and full. Consciousness is stopped and in the clearest possible state, so past experience and the process of new perception and discernment are also stopped. When we try to define or simply think about stopping consciousness, our consciousness comes to an even greater standstill.