COGNITIVE GENEROSITY: THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS TRUE COMPASSION

COGNITIVE GENEROSITY

You must begin with Cognitive Generosity. After a while you will begin to capture the idea that Generosity is not the same as Benevolence.

The Daodejing declares:

"In residing, perfection is the earth; in mind, perfection is the profound; in giving, perfection is generosity; in words, perfection is truth; in government, perfection is to heal; in affairs, perfection is capability; in activity, perfection is timeliness."

The perfect expression of the Feminine Principle of the Life Force is undeniably "Earth" itself and since Earth's benevolence is clearly the nature of that Earth in great diversity then it can be considered profound. 

Now we find that it is important to understand that that giving extended to that diversity that is cognitive, namely the human creature, must also be generous. But the question is if, as it is said, "in words perfection is the truth," how can generosity in the case of the stained human mind be directed well?

We must learn how Generosity, in and of itself, is to be used and in this case opens the way to EQUANIMITY. Merely practicing generosity with a cognitive mind is like trying to fight a forest fire with a garden hose and a bucket. Generosity as a base only works if it is applied as a contemplation which is daily in operation.

Dao is a Reflective and Contemplative practical philosophy and the way to practice this perfection in giving is not provided within Dao. There must, of course, be a motivation to give.

                                               What is MUNDANE MOTIVATION?

It is a force that impulses someone to do "something." That is correct, but if we examine that "something," we find that it is a fruit of the action. We can say then that motivation generates an impulse to get some recompense.

Who is it that is recompensed? Identity, of course.

The great problem is that the motivation must be not only initiated but maintained and requires both determination and persistence and in the end all one accomplishes is a reinforcement of the product which declares, for example, "Do not smoke." But it does not change the basic anxiety which provoked smoking in the first place.

Now ask yourself why you have not asked the obvious question.

How does Avaivartika Motivation work, for we cannot admit Identity into the process and expect to get away unscathed?

                            CORRECT MOTIVATION IS NATURAL WITHOUT A TARGET

Avaivartika Motivation has no OBJECTIVE. What happens is that when a trait is cultivated a door is opened to another natural advance. There then in most cases need be no cognitive motivation for the entry into another stage of development.

Assuming that there is a clear subliminal appreciation of Awakening without Identity Motivation, perhaps through internalizing the Shantideva text, then there is automatically generated the impulse to EXAMINE the PRESENT IMPEDIMENTS in your life. In doing this INTROSPECTION must be guarded against the interference of any Identity evaluation.

Now all the above events entailed cognitive intelligence, but well guarded against Identity presence.

                                                  DEVELOPING OTHER-DIRECTEDNESS

This other-directedness forms the basic meditational advance in the development of the Sublime States which is investigated here in terms of its important place in the Circularity or cyclic nature of the Dharma Path.

Then what one does is begin with a careful COGNITIVE GENEROSITY which involves one's apparent self in the process more than real objects.

Now that COGNITIVE GENEROSITY is stained, but by continued guarding of INTROSPECTION that GENEROSITY takes on a new aspect. It becomes less and less mental and objective-oriented. NATURAL GENEROSITY then arises and eventually reinforces itself.

You can perhaps see that this GENEROSITY is to be both mental and generated as active behavior. It is, of course, BENEVOLENT AFFECT, but not the BENEVOLENCE of ACTION.

At that point it is no different than that recommended as one of the sublime states by Buddha. But when it is internalized and does not require a mental generation then something else begins to happen.

                                       THE NATURAL INTENTION TO CULTIVATE VIRTUE

This NATURAL GENEROSITY begins to strengthen the what we term in Chan Dharma the ZEAL component and there arises without a CONSCIOUS INTELLECT a NATURAL IMPULSE which is an INTENTION TO CULTIVATE VIRTUE. It is not to be forced in any way. The INTENTION just seems to manifest itself.

You can perhaps deduce what the consequence will be. 

That is correct; a greater impulse activating further development of ZEAL Contemplations.

You will then notice a certain arising of the germs of NATURAL EQUANIMITY that is not forced.

That Equanimity reveals itself in the arousal of a NATURAL PATIENCE. 

There is a choice which can be made here. The first it to continue only with this Path of Patience, which in and of itself is a Noble undertaking in which the human creature is liberated in this life and requires nothing more.

However, one can continue with this Path of Patience and at the same time develop the Path that leads to the full Non-conceptual Experiences of the Four Subime States.