All posts by Big Picture Zen

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About Big Picture Zen

Center for Self-inquiry and Awakening is a space for inner exploration and self-realization.

RIP Time

Nature of Time, ,

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The responsibility of proving that time exists lies with those who say that time exists. The existence of clocks & watches does not prove that time exists just as existence of rulers do not prove the existence of inches or the existence of thermometers does not prove the existence of temperature.

Time is a concept that helps to standardize the measurement of change. How is it done? One change is kept as base & everything else is compared to that. For e.g. The movement of the shadow on a sundial or the movement of a pendulum or the oscillation of a quartz crystal is used to measure time.

Man has created the notion of time & applied it to everything.- the age of the universe, age of dinosaur fossils, history…

Time causes psychological stress. So you must understand this illusion of time

SOME THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

Right now, what time is it? In India, it is 5:30pm , in London it is 12 noon, in Japan midnight & USA morning. But on earth, what time is it?

Try this one

Visualize yourself at night going up like a balloon into the sky. Keep going up, go beyond the earth’s atmosphere. Keep going. You will see the sun at some point. Does it mean it is day now? Day & night is only a happening on earth. we count the alternate days & call it the calendar. Then we extend that infinitely in two directions & call it past & future.

The universe is a dark place. Just because we are near a star, we see light. In fact our existence is because of the sun.

Watch closely. When does “this” moment end & the “next” moment begin? You won’t find a boundary. If Taj Mahal was in the past, why do we see it today in the present?

Here is another one.

Monday, Tuesday,… January, February,… 1,2,3… are all concepts. If you do not have a calendar for several days & you wake up one day, how do you know what date, what year it is?

Past, Present & Future are only constructs of language & thought for the purpose of communication and mutual convenience. Nothing is moving from past to present or present to future. Things are only changing & we interpret them in terms of time. Whatever was, is and will be has always been, will be right NOW.

Sequence & Order is only a mental illusion. Imagine that I show you an apple & then an orange. What came first? You say – the apple. But fact is both apple & orange existed simultaneously. The order or sequence was created by mind.

LAYING TIME TO REST IN PEACE

Movement of thought is Time. No movement, no time. When you realize there is no time, you change totally.

Don’t TRY to live in the present moment. You have always been in the present moment. You ARE the present moment.

Understanding Fear and Insecurity

Happiness, On Knowing Oneself, Spirituality,

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We all strive for security in life – we want good education in the hope of securing a high paying job, we invest money in property and funds so that we can secure our future, we save money for our children’s education and marriage, we buy insurance for safeguarding our family against accident and death.

Insecurity is caused by fear. Deep down there is an unconscious fear, a certain insecurity which drives us to do these things. But we never question it or investigate it.

Insecurity must be understood at two levels. One is the inherent insecurity of life. Everything is impermanent; nature is in a constant state of flux. Seasons change, we grow old, we fall ill, we die. There is nothing we can do to prevent this.

Since we are born, we must grow old and die one day. The uncertainty is when and how we die, not whether we die. Even if there are tremendous advances in medical science, nothing can prevent death. So this is the basic level of insecurity in life which will never go away – whatever your job, position, bank balance, and health is.

The second level of insecurity arises from people trying to find more security in life for themselves and their families. This is the insecurity most of us are caught in. We all want to be settled in a job earning a monthly income and saving for the future. We also keep trying to find more ways to earn additional income such as changing jobs, investing in shares and real estate and so on.

We think of our future, then our children’s future and then our grand children’s future. All this thinking creates more insecurity and we strive harder to acquire more property and money – all with an underlying sense of panic, thinking what will happen in the future.

Even if we are not driven by family concerns we are simply driven by competition – by looking at what others are doing around us and wanting to do better than them. The more people we see running after property and wealth, the more insecure we become and strive harder, increasing the insecurity. This is a vicious cycle.

Whereas the first level of insecurity is natural and cannot be eliminated, the other is created by us, is totally unnecessary and is the root of all evil actions, cheating and corruption in the world.

​In order to full grasp the first level of insecurity, one must see through the illusory insecurity and stop acting in a manner which increases that insecurity.

When one is free of the man made insecurity by not chasing after symbols of security such as property and wealth, one can then tackle the original insecurity of life i.e. death.

Finally, when even this level of insecurity is penetrated to its roots by discovering what you truly are, you can be free of all fear.

The Razor’s Edge (1984)

Movies

Director – John Byrum

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The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to salvation is hard. – Katha Upanishad

​This is the epigraph of Somerset Maugham’s 1944 novel The Razor’s Edge. The film is an adaptation of this story.

A World War I fighter pilot Larry is disillusioned with his war experiences. He decides that he wants to search for the meaning of life. His fiancée refuses to stay with him and instead marries a rich man. Larry then moves through Europe staying in Paris for sometime, working in a coal mine for some time and eventually reaching India. His adventures bring him to Ladakh where he finally achieves enlightenment.

​Throughout the film, Larry’s non-conformist behavior and thoughts are contrasted with the conformist views of Elliot Templeton, his fiancee’s uncle. Larry is going against the stream of the society and dares to live his life with the ultimate happiness of enlightened activity while Elliot always talks about happiness derived from conforming to society’s demands.

It is X Only Because it is Not X

Language, Nature of Reality, Zen

X is a name. It can be a name of a person or thing or event or process. We all use names to identify things and people. But in the process we forget that they are simply names, not the things themselves.

There are different shades of identification. Some identification is stronger than others. One’s own name is the strongest identification. My name is Y but I start believing that I AM Y. Similarly I believe that my friend is A, my wife is B and my dog is D.

Other strong identification is with time. We actually believe that today is 9th of AUgust 2015, Sunday. The fact is that a date is only a convenient means to have order in our activities and planning.

The fact is that the name is not the person or the name is not the thing. We might say Hurricane Katrina, but that is just a name. The hurricane did not have a name. It was nameless all the time. Therefore, the truth is that it was not Hurricane Katrina. In other words, it was Hurricane Katrina only because it was NOT Hurricane Katrina.

This statement must be understood carefully. X is X only because it is NOT X. A name can be given to something which is nameless. If it already had a name, why give it one?

The Hurricane does not say that its name is Katrina. Similarly the dog does not say that its name is D. In the same spirit, even if I say that I am Y, you should not believe me because I am fundamentally nameless. So are you. That is why your name is P or S or K.

So look around you. In actual fact, nothing has a name. Everything is nameless from the beginning – all the chairs, tables, walls, people, are chairs, tables, walls and people only because they are NOT chairs, tables, walls, and people.

It is more true to say that it is not a chair than it is to say that it is a chair. Both statements are true but one is really true and the other is only conventionally true.

So if you can look at things and people as nameless which is not recognizing anything by its name – whether it is a tree, a bird, a flower, the sun and so on, you will attain the original mind, untainted and pure. After all, isn’t this what you want?

Does it Matter?

There are two outlooks that one can get attached to. One outlook says “It matters” & the other says “It does not matter”. But let’s look more closely.

When “it does not matter”… the ‘it’ can stand for “It matters”
Therefore, “It matters” does not matter.
Similarly, “It does not matter” matters.

Rephrasing the same
It does not matter even if it matters & it matters even if it does not matter.

So does it matter?

The Holy Mountain (1973)

Movies

Director – Alejandro Jodorowsky

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This is an allegorical film which depicts the process of spiritual search. It is based on Rene Daumal’s unfinished book ‘Mount Analogue’ and St. John of the Cross’s ‘The Ascent of Mt. Carmel’. The Holy Mountain is a difficult film since it is full of Christian symbolism which makes it incomprehensible in one viewing. Moreover, the film is not meant for sensitive eyes since it depicts male and female nudity, graphic scenes of animal slaughter and crude violence.

The spiritual path has always eluded description by either words or images. Therefore, symbols have been used by teachers or guides to direct the seeker on the right path. For instance Alchemy – the process of converting base metals to gold stands for the possibility of the transformation of man. The search for the ultimate is likened to a climb to the summit of a mountain overcoming various inner obstacles.

​The film uses these metaphors throughout. In brief, the storyline is of a thief who meets an Alchemist who along with seven other characters go in search of the masters residing on the holy mountain.

Ground Yourself in Impermanence

Spirituality,

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Change is the basic fact of nature. Everything around us and within us is changing every moment. Take a second to stop, see and listen. You can hear sounds changing, you can see things moving, you can feel the air on your skin, you can sense the breath going in and coming out. You can feel the sensations in your body and know the thoughts in your mind. Changing.. changing.. changing..

​Impermanence is the only permanent thing. Even the things which are seemingly solid like walls, wood, iron and stones are also changing at the microscopic level. It would be foolish to say that they do not change at all and are permanent.

When you strive for permanence in an impermanent world, it makes for a lot of sorrow, frustration, dissatisfaction and discontent. Real happiness can only be found when you ground yourself in impermanence all the time. Stay with impermanence, flow with it, and allow impermanence to flow through you.

It is a paradoxical notion that when nothing is permanent, how can there be a ground? And yet, the only refuge is the ground of impermanence.

One only needs to observe to penetrate this paradox. It is only when you are not aware that the nature of things is to change that you try to hold on to them – you want the good situation to continue, you want the good relationship to continue, you want the pleasant experience to extend and so on.

When you are continuously conscious of change, you have no experience. You ARE the very impermanence. In this state, there is no separation of experience from one who experiences. You have reached home.

Do Not Look Forward to Anything

Happiness, Nature of Time,

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It is so natural to think and imagine that tomorrow will be better than today. Aren’t we all planning for something or thinking of something that is going to happen sometime in the future? Maybe we are looking forward to a vacation. Maybe we are looking forward to getting married or having children. Maybe we are looking forward to a promotion in our job. On a daily scale, we look forward to the party at night or the meeting in the afternoon or even the cricket match on television.

Looking forward to a pleasant event causes anticipation of joy and excitement. Similarly, looking forward to an unpleasant event causes anxiety or fear. Have you even watched the process of looking forward to? Doesn’t it involve a lot of imagination born out of memory of past experiences or what information you have heard and gathered?

For instance, if you are looking forward to a vacation to a place you have never been to, do you not imagine what you will do or what you expect to find there based on the stories and experiences related by others who have been to that place before? Do you not imagine how happy you are going to be there or what experiences you are going to have there?

But what happens in reality? You might not have the exact same experiences when you visit that place? Many things might not be as you imagined they would be. That leads to frustration and anger. You blame those people who recommended that place to you. Even if you find most things as you imagined, you are unable to enjoy completely because the mind is filled with ideas about the place and is constantly comparing your actual experience with your imaginations.

To take another example, you might be looking forward to your exam results. You remember what other people commented on your results the last time and you start imagining what people’s reactions will be if you get poor results or better results than last time. All this imagination causes anxiety to build up.

Is it possible not to look forward to anything? Some people might say that it will make for a dull life where there is no hope and no future. But look at it in another way. What happens when you are not lost in the thoughts of what is going to happen tomorrow? Are you not fully in the present?

​The present moment is all there is. Imagination prevents your direct contact with the present moment. That is the reason why you do not experience anything even during the experience because the mind is busy in imaginations, comparisons, anger and frustrations.

Things are changing so rapidly that to experience the present moment requires your complete attention and energy but when energy is sapped in imagination about what is going to happen, one misses the moment and its beauty.

Therefore, do not look forward to anything – near or far, pleasant or unpleasant. When you are able to do this and remain in the moment, you will discover something totally unexpected. And it is the totally unexpected which has the quality of genuine happiness.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003)

Movies

Director – Ki-duk Kim

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This is a beautiful Korean film (2003) that captures your imagination with its heavenly scenery. The whole story is shot in a hut floating in a serene lake surrounded by tall mountains.

An old Buddhist monk lives in the hut with a mischievous young boy – one who ties stones to frogs, snakes and fish with a thread and enjoys their predicament. The master teaches him a lesson one day by tying a big stone to his back. (Spring)

When the boy grows up, he gets attracted to a young girl who had come to stay with them to heal herself. When the master discovers their liaison, he asks the girl to return. However, the boy misses her so much that he runs away in search of her.(Summer)

Many years later, he returns to the hut a dangerous criminal. The police soon catch up with him and take him away. (Fall)

The master dies. Winter sets in. The lake is frozen completely. The prisoner has completed his sentence and returns to the hut, a changed man. He puts the hut back in order and trains himself. One day, a woman abandons her baby at the hut.

When the baby grows up into a young boy, he is shown to torment snakes, frogs and fish by putting stones in their mouth. (Spring)

In most films, there is an ending – a resolution of the tensions that are built up during the story telling. However, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring is a true buddhist movie as it does not have an ending because the ending is simply another beginning.

Like the seasons, our life moves through stages and almost everyone experiences the same emotions, childhood antics, sexual attraction, agony of separation, anger, and repentance of actions. Life is a powerful stream through which we flow and experience different things just like changing of the seasons.

There is another Korean film which I find to be very similar in theme – Why did Bodhidharma come to the east?

I Love Huckabees (2004)

Movies

Director – David O. Russell

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Also known as I Heart Huckabees, this is as lovely and humorous a movie as it can get. Have you ever pondered over questions such as who you are, what is your purpose and what is the meaning of life? Even if you have, you would not have probed deeper because of urgent matters taking your attention. But what if you could hire detectives to do this job for you! The idea itself is so ridiculous that makes one laugh. But that exactly is the story of this movie.

A husband and wife play the detectives who are available on hire to find out the meaning of your life. These detectives are not saffron clad sages but suit-wearing professionals who work for a fee. The detectives have a brand of existential philosophy which they use to investigate matters. As they help their client, they run against one of their former students who has now adopted the opposite brand of philosophy Nihilism to help her clients.

​It is a great treat to watch the characters as they try to figure out the confusion, discontent and angst in their lives with the help of these philosophies. The movie is a laugh riot if you are even a little bit interested in philosophy.