What is the fundamental base of the Identity desires?
We know that there are four basic dominant temperaments made up of stored group networks of memory traces which may be divided into Visceral – Emotional – Mental –Future Fixation.
But what do they seek? What they seek is Survival, but not the natural survival generated by the Feminine principle and expressed by the Masculine Principle, but various mentally derived targets which satisfy Cognition.
They are Existence – Confirmation that “I “exist
Permanence – Confirmation of Identity Continuance (Survival)
Order – That all is in its correct place (the way is Easily Navigated)
Peace – There is no disturbance or threat
Significance – That there is a reason for this existence
While the four Identity complexes generate anxiety, which generates the Identity drives, based upon cognitive evaluated evidence of prior events, the unlimited symptoms cover the basic disturbances of the “life stream” information which suggests strongly that:
Existence is continually under attack
That things are Impermanent
That there is Chaos and not Order
That Conflict appear unavoidable and continual
That Significance is not clear
The four Identity complexes then weight these problems on the base of Samsaric Experiences and the greatest anxiety forms around one or more of these five.
Behavior then is directed at resolving these mental stresses and consequential body tensions and Dissonance supports the Identity solutions.
Any correct solution based upon the Mindfulness of Identity, if the result is to be more than refraining from behavioral activity which is symptomatic of stress and generates external solutions, must penetrate the five root causes of the disturbance.
THE MEDITATIVE REFLECTION ON THE IDENTITY BASE
In almost every case, the Confirmation that "I" exist is present as the strongest demand, but this is always accompanied by one or more of the other four, so what we wish to determine is the strength of each combination and the components.
We declared that there were four inherited dominances with Identity that are subliminal and not visible to consciousness except when external behavior is examined with free critical enquiry.
However there are variations in which the Identity dominance may be shared as
Visceral Emotional – Visceral mental - Emotional Mental. We exclude here as exceptional the Future Fixation combinations.
The five Chan paramitas oppose this and the identities cannot accept the solutions which negate completely the problem.
We can say then that there are six identity combinations possible. If the Identity inherited is clear then there must be an critical introspection by reflection meditation with that Identity in combination with each of the five bases. As an example we might make as the Reflection device for a visceral emotionally dominant person reflections upon either:
The visceral-emotional component that responds as if its existence is threatened.
This component that responds as if its permanence is threatened.
This component that responds as if there is insufficient order for control.
This component that responds as if there is too much unavoidable conflict to be faced.
This component that responds as if it needs a greater significance to support it.
What must be refined in the Reflection by placing the last conceptualization of this idea is the "word construction" of the posed penetration. This means contacting by introspection on one hand the Identity (in this case the visceral-emotional as a cognitive experience melded with the threat).
The corresponding melded experience is then weighed in each of the five cases.
Those with a weighting that causes most severe experiences will then define where the greatest emphasis must be placed, in terms of time and energy in the development by Contemplation of the following.
Vacuity – when there a great desire and clinging to existence.
Impermanence, that there is a great clinging and desire to not have things permanently, or a fear of dying or severe mental or physical incapacity.
Clear Coprehension – If there is a great clinging and craving to Order.
Unity – If there is a great fear and uncomfortableness with any Conflict no matter how small.
The Life Force – If one has a strong need for a reason for existence. "There must be something greater than my 'I'."
GENERATING THE FIVE EXPERIENCES
In order to help in the generation of the ULTIMATE EXPERIENCES here we will try to assist in the understanding of each phenomenon.
VACUITY
Masters and many texts and a host of chatterers are fond of declaring with manufactured wise and haughty demeanor that "Nothing Exists" and they call that Vacuity.
When defining Vacuity then it must be made clear that it is NOT that NOTHING EXISTS, but that what appears to our senses and is converted into discriminations, perceptions, cognition and consciousness does not exist as it appears to be, because those appearances are buit upon illusory characteristics.
Our senses are rather like part of a mirror. The unknown external phenomena are not the same as the reflection. Nor are they the same as the mirror itself.
Our senses are further removed from that reflection as that reflection is transformed once more to be used by the system.
What we believe that we are recieving from the external world depends upon the qualities of the mirror and the manner of transformation. When we say that something is with vacuity it means that really it is devoid of the characteristics which are ilusions.
UNITY
UNITY is the experience of dwelling within VACUITY, generating the replacement by the experience of KNOWING that the nature of that mass of VACUITY is ONE.
Be sure that conceptually you understand that this ONE is not made up of parts, but that rather PARTS may be extracted from the ONE. Declared in another way, be sure that you understand that the ONE is not made up of individual PARTS.
In order to extract that ULTIMATE CONCEPTUALIZATION one must imagine oneself thrust within that state, dwelling there while imagining the SINGULAR experience that that would generate.
IMPERMANENCE
Dwelling within the UNITY of all phenomena one must allow the VACUITY to be observed as continually in a state of change that is constant and rapid. This IMPERMANENCE is then experienced in and of itself.
The peril in this TASK development is in defining the experience conceptually with the mind before actually allowing the true experience of the IMPERMANENCE to be established.
If cognitively, for example, you previously think that the experience will be one of "horror" or anything else, then that must not be carried into the formation of the experience.
CLEAR COMPREHENSION
Here one must thrust oneself into this ever-changing nebulous vacuity that is one and dwelling there, imagine that suddenly from that mass a form without name appears.
Ignore the form itself and concentrate on the experience that something has been thrust out from the mass that is undifferentiated.
Remember that the relevant experience must arise from the thrusting out from the mass, not the innate experience that something has been thrust out or the nature of what may be thrust out.
In order to perhaps explain that moment of Clear Comprehension imagine that you are walking in the countryside dropped a gold coin from your pocket. You detect the loss and begin your search. After a few moment you see it lying in the grass.
What is the first thing that you do?
You stop looking. Even before you recognize it cognitively as the lost coin, your system will stop looking. That "stopping" occurs in an instant. Consciously you are not aware that you have stopped looking in that moment, but you have.
The order has been: lost... search... stop looking... found.
We can compare the Clear Comprehension with the "stop looking" which has no identification as an act until after the coin has been recognized.
Similarly the "thrusting out" takes place before something is recognized as having been thrust out. Experience that thrusting out from "Unity" or if you wish thrusting into "Particularity".
How would you experience that mind moment?
THE LIFE FORCE
We all know that we are alive. That is because the AWARENESS of EXTERNAL STIMULI impinges upon the barrier of receptors that form or contact with what we term the outside world. But in this contemplation we are not concerned with that event which occurs in the right hemisphere, but with the experience of being alive, which can be experienced during ATTENTION.
To be more precise it is the experience of the PREPARATION TO MOVE which follows the ALERT stage in order to detect what has elicited the ALERT. The combination of movements which make up this orientation actually generates the COGNITIVE EXPERIENCE of BEING ALIVE.
There are two ways that are suggested for generating a clarity in the reception of the experience of the Life Force:
1. The first, and perhaps the easiest for many, rests upon the contemplation of any particular living organism... a flower, a tree, an ant, a spider, a bird, anything that has life.
You must sit contemplating the Life Force of that chosen target. Attempt to feel the pulsing flow of energy that allows the development of its form, its processes, its growth and development. Try to experience that force.
Now expand that force outwards until it includes every single living thing allowing that expansion to grow and grow and feel yourself included within and as you are included let you particular Identity flow away allowing the experience of the UNIVERSAL LIFE FORCE.
2. This is perhaps the most elegant of the forms of experiencing the Life Force, but it is more difficult, although much more effective as the experience of the TASK.
Dwelling within the experience of Unity the mass which is Vacuity and constantly with the changing as IMPERMANENCE, you imagine the detection of the Life Force which is within that mass.
Now allowing yourself to dwell within that Force that is Life you become as one with that UNIVERSAL LIFE FORCE.
That union of your apparent self with the UNIVERSAL LIFE FORCE will generate the experience that you can link to the word LIFE in the TASK.