Затеялся читать online книжку по Ваджраяне

[dmm]

Есть такой замечательный человек по имени David Chapman, который пишет всякие философские интернетные книжки, и вот он недавно сделал "tweetstorm" на тему о рисках медитатации: twitter.com/Meaningness/status/1357113012356714497

vividness.live/meditation-risks

Надо сказать, что в реальности, в которой я обитал, не было никаких рисков, связанных с медитацией, пока Пелевин не выпустил осенью 2018-го "Тайные виды на гору Фудзи", в которой риски медитации - центральная тема. Тут-то сразу пошли статьи в разных местах про риски и побочные эффекты, связанные с медитацией, и я, вдруг, оказался в реальности, где уже лет 10, а то и больше, люди пишут разные тексты про эти самые риски и изучают эту тематику. Вот что Пелевин животворящий делает с реальностью (и это не в первый раз).

Система медитации, которой я занимаюсь примерно с лета 2012-го года (хотя в последнее время менее систематически), по книжке "The Presence Process" by Michael Brown, она, как раз, не переходит ту границу, за которой начинаются риски, но, при этом, крайне эффективна (Дэвид Чапмен, как раз, пишет про то, где "граница безопасности", и, замечательным образом, книжка "The Presence Process" как раз живёт в точности на этой границе). И она вполне в западном мейнстриме по определению Чапмена.

Но, в общем, ясно, что надо бы найти новую систему, в дополнение к той, которой я занимаюсь, и вот, эта книжка Чапмена, как раз, выглядит как то, что нужно: vividness.live/

А та сложная книжка, про которую я писал некоторое время назад, к ней, как раз, применима критика Чапмена (я посмотрел-посмотрел на неё, и решил, в итоге, "на фиг, на фиг"; и Чапмен как раз хорошо вербализует, почему я так решил, а "Тайные виды на гору Фудзи" это прямо-таки живописно и в ярких красках объясняет): dmm.dreamwidth.org/21712.html

UPDATE: It's a very good book, but it's not a "self-facilitated practice book" (I don't think the author even believes in self-facilitated tantric practices).

What is good about "The Presence Process" book is that one can use it for a rather far-reaching self-facilitated practice. (It's not even "officially Buddhist", it's a very secular and rather effective practice.)

But this book, while quite remarkable, can't be used to build a self-guided practice (as far as I can tell at the moment).

UPDATE 2: Actually, I think, some subset ("Yidams" and "Pure Land") should not be too difficult to transform into a self-facilitated practice (the author does not like the idea of self-facilitated practices, but so what; a lot of us don't like the idea of dependence on a "spiritual teacher" even more): dmm.dreamwidth.org/37665.html?thread=97057#cmt97057

Comments

[dmm]

https://vividness.live/the-power-of-an-attitude

' What I find most valuable in Buddhist tantra is an attitude. It’s the attitude I’ll call “spacious passion.” '

' “Attitude” is an interesting word. Attitudes cross the internal/external, subjective/objective boundary. An “attitude” may include an emotional or mental state; but it can also refer to a bodily posture. It may be defined as a tendency toward a particular action or response.

This is key to Tantrayana. Some Buddhisms treat both their path and goal as primarily mental, internal, or subjective. For Buddhist tantra, external action is more important. But accurate action requires blurring the subjective/objective boundary.

Usually, one has an attitude toward something or someone. Again, this is key for tantra. While some Buddhisms emphasize objectless emptiness, tantra is about this world and its inhabitants. While the Buddhas of the other leading brands sit around in the sky being holy, tantric Buddhas act. They act on the basis of their “attitude toward.”

The path of tantra consists simply of maintaining the attitude. '

' The tantric attitude is valuable regardless of how you come to adopt it. On the other hand, the tantric practices and doctrines have no intrinsic value. They exist only to promote the attitude.

If you have some other way of maintaining the attitude, you could—in theory—fully accomplish tantra without using or knowing anything about the traditional teachings. Ultimately, any and every activity is tantric practice, when accompanied by the attitude. '

Anuyoga

' Anuyoga is a distinctive, uncommon form of tantra, found only in the Nyingma branch of Tibetan Buddhism. It is different enough from “mainstream” tantra that it is considered a separate yana. Its texts, practices, and doctrines barely overlap with other tantric yanas, although it is similar enough to count as tantra rather than something else entirely.

Anuyoga skips most of the complex ritual of “mainstream” tantra. Instead, its approach is: Just Do It®. You go directly into being a Buddha, with only minimal technical support.

Anuyoga flourished mainly during the “Tibetan Dark Age” around the year 959. This period was considered “dark” by later propagandists, because the Tibetan state and the established church lost control over tantra. From my point of view, it was probably something of a Golden Age. (I’ve written about that elsewhere.)

After theocracy was re-established, anuyoga became almost entirely theoretical, forgotten, fictitious, or extinct. (Jacob Dalton wrote a fascinating PhD thesis about this, if you want to learn more. I may summarize that in an upcoming post.)

Anuyoga developed as a style of practice suitable for dynamic social conditions. It is ideal for independent, part-time practitioners who have real lives. On the other hand, the style of tantra taught in Tibet in the past few hundred years was designed to support state power and institutional stability. It is suited mainly for monks, i.e. indentured religious factory workers.

Social conditions for Buddhism in the contemporary West are more similar to the “Dark Age” than to the theocratic feudalism of recent Tibet. I think the anuyoga approach is more attractive and useful for most contemporary Westerners than the other tantric yanas. Unfortunately, those other yanas (particularly mahayoga and anuttara tantra) have mostly been all that is available. '

' Anuyoga forms a “bridge” between mainstream tantra and Dzogchen. '

[dmm]

https://vividness.live/there-are-no-spiritual-problems

' Many religions start with the idea that there is some hideous problem with all of existence.

The problem might not be obvious. The job of the religion is to convince you that:

* you’ve got this problem (and so does everyone)
* it is really, really bad—much worse than it appears
* it affects everything in the whole universe, so there’s no escaping it
* it’s so vast and awful and incomprehensible that there’s no practical way of solving it
* so you’d better buy our brand of magic instead.

For example:

* After you die, demons will torture you forever, because someone ate a magic apple.
* All of existence is pervaded by impermanence, suffering, and non-self.
* Life is inherently meaningless, so it is impossible to act.

(These are, of course, the cosmic defects proposed by Christianity, Buddhism, and existentialism.)

According to tantra, there are no such problems.

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are called “the Three Marks of Existence” in mainstream Buddhism, which makes a big fuss about them. Tantra refuses to regard them as existential problems, or as any other sort of big deal. '

' According to tantra, the Three Marks of Existence are actually the “Three Doors of Liberation”: impermanence provides delightful entertainment; suffering gives the energy to act; non-self is simply how you are. '

' Spaciousness implies that you allow everything in the world to be as it is. You don’t think “this is wrong, it should be some other way.” You accept all outcomes—including disasters—as just how things are.

Passion is the desire to actively connect with everything. You are interested in everything, eager to learn, and eager to intervene. Passion is the desire to create and enjoy. Passion drives projects, and also just tinkering with reality to see what happens. '

' Samsara is actually nirvana '

[dmm]

https://vividness.live/your-self-is-not-a-spiritual-obstacle

' There is nothing fundamentally wrong with you.

You are just fine—just as you are. That is tantra’s main claim about the self.

“Ego” is not evil. It is not a spiritual problem.
No upgrade required

You do not need to:

* fix your self
* improve your self
* get rid of your self
* see through the illusion of your self
* transcend your self
* transform your self
* analyze or understand your self

Tantra is about living here and now. Whatever self you do or don’t have—you are how you are, now. '

' No other, better self

You cannot, and do not need to:

* find your True Self
* get in touch with your higher self [much less your guardian angel]
* awaken the Buddha Within
* unify your little self with the cosmic All-Self

These are just fantasies. They are imaginary ideals that spiritual people try to live up to. All they will ever do is make you feel inadequate and miserable. '

' There are no wrong emotions

Desire, anger, and ignorance—the Buddhist kleshas—are just fine. There is absolutely nothing wrong with them. They can be unpleasant to experience—but they can also be fun. [...]

This does not mean that there are no wrong actions. It means that experiencing the kleshas does not force you to act wrongly. Tantra has a toolkit of methods that help break the habitual links between particular emotions and actions. '

' Your feelings are not significant

Sometimes, even when feelings are painful and unhelpful, we cling to them as defining our selves.

Everyone has the same set of emotions, though. The details about which ones you feel, in which situations, are spiritually meaningless. You cannot find The Answer To Life, The Universe, And Everything there.

Your personal patterns do not validate your existence. Do not weave them into a story about how special and different you are.

Tantra has tools that help break the habitual links between situations and emotions. That gives emotional freedom. The fact that so-and-so happened does not mean you have to feel such-and-such. '

' For tantra, the energy that drives bad habits is the same as a specific form of wisdom. For example, irritation and mental clarity are produced by the same energy. (I do think very clearly about software.) The methods of tantra allow you to flip each klesha into the corresponding wisdom. '