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Mental Consciousness

In the dependent nature, there is no way to escape the presence of subject and object. To put it bluntly, subject and object are just two sides of the same coin. The subject and object can be reversed depending on the angle of observation. By the way, who observes and interprets? To answer this question, it is necessary to look at the observer's mind, which is not physical, and it combines with the five physical faculties: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body.

In general, the beholder's mind is the key to being able to describe, define, recognise, or evaluate the other side of an object or matter, thus generating conditional phenomena. As a consequence, phenomena do not have their own quality but rather depend on several variables, such as a consciousness that conceptualises them. In other words, our mind is the primary designer of discrimination in all of creation. Brian G. Dyson (former CEO of Coca-Cola) once said that “Value has a value only if its value is valued”.

At this moment, someone might wonder why the mind is so powerful and what its structure is. In Buddhism, the mind is the originator of the state known as samsāra. The definition of samsāra is a continuous stream, specifically the cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth. To put it more succinctly, there is a range of fluctuating activities that ultimately lead to conventional phenomena, as depicted below:

Equanimity (E0) leads to stability. Stability leads to aggregation. Aggregation leads to agitation. Agitation leads to information. Information leads to knowledge. Knowledge leads to representation. Representation leads to memory. Memory leads to compulsion. Compulsion leads to ignorance. Ignorance leads to blindness. Blindness leads to disorientation. Disorientation leads to confusion. Confusion leads to irrationality. Irrationality leads to impulse. Impulse leads to sparkling. Sparkling leads to inkling. Inkling leads to volition. Volition leads to awareness. Awareness leads to consciousness. Consciousness leads to manas. Manas leads to mind and body. Mind and body lead to sensation. Sensation leads to six sense bases. Six sense bases lead to conductivity. Conductivity leads to contact. Contact leads to stimulation. Stimulation leads to feeling. Feeling leads to experience. Experience leads to craving. Craving leads to grasping. Grasping leads to clinging. Clinging leads to unsettling. Unsettling leads to becoming. Becoming leads to creation. Creation leads to birth. Birth leads to energising. Energising leads to mobility. Mobility leads to hauling. Hauling leads to aging. Aging leads to draining. Draining leads to death. Death leads to fragility. Fragility leads to segregation. Segregation leads to diffusion. Diffusion leads to discomposure. Discomposure leads to adjustment. Adjustment leads to alignment. Alignment leads to Equanimity (E1).

The explanation above indicates that awareness is the origin of mental consciousness. It is a ground state that sustains consciousness. The nature of awareness is effulgence and it is in an unconscious condition before the objects appear. When awareness interacts with objects, consciousness arises. Consciousness, in turn, is the appearance of objects in the mind, naturally looking outwards and flitting around all the time.

The mind, on the other hand, is a consciousness pattern that comes from awareness and is referred to as individual consciousness. To put it another way, the origin of individuality is the same as the origin of the mind, which is a more objective process that involves clear discrimination. In this context, the mind differentiates and comprehends the characteristics of objects, which is utilised to comprehend things as it comprehends the manipulation of consciousness.

There is a visual representation depicting the relationships between awareness, consciousness, and mind: -

For the general understanding, the mind is a cosmic wave of energy that reaches throughout time and space. Because of the presence of memory elements, it is the most powerful vibration that other similar frequencies continuously resonate with. The memory elements are responsible for two basic functions, which are information deposits and retrievals. These are the tasks that involve preserving and recalling the facts. For instance, the appearance of ice, water, and steam can vary depending on the orientation of the H2O properties. It would not be possible to create variations of ice, water, and steam without a subtle recollection of their respective shapes.

Furthermore, memory elements play a significant role in sustaining the kamma seeds and fruits. The process of becoming within all beings or things would not be possible without memory, resulting in the absence of the law of kamma. Subsequently, everything would appear under the most profound facts, which means without labels, limits, names, activities, forms, descriptions, and so on. In the end, without memory and mind, the fluctuations of dependent activities would be impossible to iterate because everything or event is interdependent and co-appearing ad infinitum.

2024-03-20

A Naga & Dragon Pearl (2024-03-20 @ 11:49)

2024-03-21 @ 08:58

Sleep Paralysis
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Occasionally, someone will share an incident or experience of sleep paralysis, i.e. feeling conscious but unable to move. Some people may feel movement in their bed as well. It happens when someone goes through different stages of wakefulness and sleep. The Chinese community refers to this experience as “鬼压床”, and it is nothing short of petrifying.

Most individuals react by chanting mantras when they experience sleep paralysis. In most cases, it is not effective, unfortunately. So, what went wrong with our prayer? Let's analyse it. To the general understanding, our mind is a cosmic wave of energy that stretches across time and space. In its natural state, the mind is a pattern of consciousness that includes both dominant and subtle aspects.

When we sleep, the mental consciousness that is dominant would descend into a sleepy state. The reason is that it seems to be connected to the physical body and there is a biological clock that regulates how long it takes to stay awake and rest. In terms of subtle mental consciousness, it can work independently and will continue to do so without any pressure while the body is in rest mode. These are the mental consciousnesses typical of the average person.

Nevertheless, there is another type of consciousness called the higher (innate) mind, which is mainly inherited by experienced meditators. In Buddhism, meditation is about shifting the mental consciousness from chaotic to regulated frequencies. To achieve harmony, chanting mantras is merely a means to an end, which is to trigger regulated brain wave frequencies. The higher mind, in essence, is both luminous and imposing; it can move through time, space, and planes of existence.

In the end, the most effective way to defend yourself is to use your higher mind. It is understood to function independently and unpretentiously even when our body is sleeping. Invoking the higher (innate) mind during sleep paralysis is possible for experienced practitioners to suppress or reverse spells and impact the process of transformation. When the mind remains still and one-focused, it radiates, commands, and is even sharper than a sword.

If someone wants to accomplish a myriad of wonders in dire situations, they need to diligently inculcate samatha meditation to reinforce their higher (innate) mind, which is known as the guardian angel. Your internal resolution is the superior force, so don't give up on empowering your mindset even when you're in rest mode. It's crucial to stay calm and not fear evil that can cause harm, misfortune, trouble, danger, destruction, or injury of any kind. The rejuvenating mantra is “I’m going to take control – be my own master at last”.