tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8467466552105314472.post1229910062475757455..comments2023-04-24T08:22:01.715-07:00Comments on Amritayana Buddhism: The 12 NidanasWillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15340539277090876795noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8467466552105314472.post-39217960784570041412010-12-31T09:44:57.219-08:002010-12-31T09:44:57.219-08:00While the alcoholic samskara is an obvious and ext...While the alcoholic samskara is an obvious and extreme example, milder samskaras are getting activated all the time, on a moment to moment basis. Noticing in real time how samskaras activate and the 12 stages of this process that are always going on allows one to see where the "samskaras of sorrow" can stop. They can stop at three points, the key one being "remaining at the sensation (stimulus)" and containing our reaction, letting it fade away. We can also contemplate the entire pattern of sorrow, noticing how there is a delusion that the short term pleasure reward will not have its inevitable painful outcomes, and then let the pattern drop by not adding our willful assent to the pattern (this is where the law of karma comes in to the equation). We can also learn, through meditation, to uproot the samskara directly, through application of divine grace in the form of purifying fire (tariki). This releases the entire pattern so deeply and thoroughly that it cannot be activated ever again. The result of this uprooting is that we have greater compassion on anyone who has ever had this same samskaric weakness. The one sure sign that one has uprooted a vast array of samskaras is that one has a forgiving attitude toward everyone and their sins. This is because of how the "grace fire" burns away the samskara. It illuminates its details as it dissolves the samskara, showing sometimes the pattern as it played out in other lifetimes and requiring forgiveness of everyone, including oneself and others, for having lived this pattern. The phrase in the prayer of Jesus, "forgive us our trepasses and we forgive those who trepass against us" seems to key into the heart of the very same process. It seems that when enough samskaras are cleared that the human body does have "light episodes" where it will suddenly surge and shine a radiant light through itself. Obscuring samskaras, those marked by sorrow, block the radiant true nature of our being from shining into and through our mind, heart, and body.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15340539277090876795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8467466552105314472.post-40099305465567333192010-12-31T09:44:35.883-08:002010-12-31T09:44:35.883-08:00The activation of samskaras happens constantly in ...The activation of samskaras happens constantly in human life, even on a moment to moment basis. They are usually activated in a "chain reaction" sequence and can trigger each other in a kind of "ripple effect" moving over consciousness. For instance, the mythical alcoholic mentioned above, he sees the sign of the pub, feels the craving for alcohol get activated, the activation of the craving, activates thoughts of how good it will feel to get rip roaring drunk, but then these thoughts will activate a samskara about his relationship, memories of how she begged and pleaded with him to stop drinking, and memories of arguments and ultimatums that if he does not stop that she would leave. These, in turn, may activate memories of the loss of another relationship, the loss of friends, and maybe even getting fired from a job because of being too drunk to come to work on time.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15340539277090876795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8467466552105314472.post-87526227055759977922010-12-31T09:43:53.875-08:002010-12-31T09:43:53.875-08:00I wanted to add this piece to the discussion on wh...I wanted to add this piece to the discussion on what Buddhism is, because the 12 Nidanas, or Interdependent Causes of Sorrow, is at the heart of Buddhist psychology (along with the teaching of the different kinds and levels of consciousness). There are some formulations which define "essential Buddhism", like the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Triple Refuge. The first precept of the Eightfold Path is "right understanding" and this usually means understanding the 12 Nidanas, though sometimes "right understanding" is taught in a more general way of life being transitory and ever changing, and if you cling to anything for security and peace, like money, a career, or a relationship, then you will suffer when it changes, is threatened, or is lost. The implication is to let go and relax into the unfoldment of life. I found that I already composed a write up about the 12 Nidanas that appears on my own blog at this URL:<br /><br />http://amritayana.blogspot.com/2010/02/12-nidanas.html<br /><br />There is also an excellent Wikipedia entry on the subject and even touches on some of the subtleties of this teaching, usually elaborated in the Abhidharma commentaries:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Nid%C4%81nas<br /><br />The main experience that needs to be seen, understood, and verified in human experience is the "activation of a samskara". A samskara is an embedded impression that when stimulated by sensory experience causes an internal reaction of addictive craving, judgmental negativity, or obscuring delusion. For instance, an alcoholic is walking down a road noticing a beautiful sunrise. He or she is for the most part relatively peaceful, but then he or she walks past a pub. Noticing the sign of the pub is a sensory experience and this activates the craving for alcohol. The alcoholic then follows the craving and ends up following a karmaic line of experiences leading to puking over a tiolet the next morning with a headache and inflamed cellular tissues all over body which accelerate the process of aging and dying. The repeated pattern causes the person's romantic partner to eventually decide to leave the relationship. The defense of the pattern by unconscious ignorance and judgmental negativity reinforces and protects the samskara (replanting the seed of karma) so it can be activated again in the future, even in another lifetime.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15340539277090876795noreply@blogger.com