MAHAMUDRA
EMPTINESS AND THE VOID
In Mahamudra and indeed in other paths of Buddha Dharma the phrase "Nothing exists" is bandied about without the slightest idea of the true import of that idea.
The consequence is that many ask “What then is the point of living?”. If nothing is worth while in life, why go on? If there is this "Nothing" ahead, what use is that? Always in the stained consciousness there appears to be this mental quest for something…
What is the meaning of life? There is none. Those who are centered on their future with all sorts of expectations are in for a big surprise, ahead are more expectations if they are lucky or suffering if they are not... Who expects? It is Identity, of course.
There may be an expectation that one cannot achieve Mahamudra, or that it is too slow, or that it is too difficult, or too abstract… all are expectations. It is the natural system that decides if one can achieve a Mahamudra state.
The natural function of life is to simply “be” and Hamlet’s well known phrase, “to be or not to be, that is the question”, is pertinent here.
But there is a difference between “be” and “to be” and between “be” and “not to be”.
That is because simply being is without Identity and is a state of neither “to be nor to not be”. It is not in between, as many like to believe. It is a state in which there is awareness of apparent being but with the clear comprehension that that is an illusion. That state of neither being nor not-being is the state and higher path of Mahamudra.
Often this idea brings a sense of depression and the mental idea then that nothing is worth anything and that nothing is worth doing. There is a sense of helplessness with the mental realization that that is or may be true. You see that sort of thinking is Identity-related. Once one realizes mentally that there is indeed NOTHING that is worth anything and that NOTHING is worth doing, that is the first step; but if one stops there then one is in a “no man’s land”. One must go even deeper and realize the beauty of there being no worth and no meaning to anything. There is then no death and no living and no birth. In fact, one can say that unless one sees as a first step the beauty of “death”, one cannot truly “live” with balanced and harmonious illusion. Likewise, as well as there being no separate existence for any phenomenon and no meaning to life, there is no permanence, no order and no state of peace. All are manmade ideas.
Actually, if one is to be aware of the illusions of this life, it is better to understand that the more useful illusion is to understand that there is no existence, no meaning, chaos, impermanence and continual conflict, in which man simply seeks the contrary to maintain his sense of being.
The natural Life Force (which is of course just an idea) drives man with three natural impulses. Do you remember what we said in an earlier lesson?
“This Life Force is what drives human survival. But this human survival is more subtle than one can imagine, for it extends beyond the normal life span. We are not speaking of ideas of reincarnation, but the homeostatic drive to perpetuate all human life, present and future. Thus this Life Force not only impulses a return to a balanced and harmonious life, but drives the impulses for reproduction and the ideas that there must be a sane and natural perpetuation of the species and protection of the newborn.
Thus there is:
The drive to permit the survival of the Life Force of each apparent individual
The drive to reproduce and perpetuate the human species (as all animals and plants do without the necessity of an advanced brain)
The drive to protect the future of the species (available only in the human consciousness)
Unfortunately it is clear that the human creature is failing on each count.
Of these three, it is important to note that Mahamudra is inherently imbued with the third. Translated in terms of human comportment, we can say that built into all Mahamudra practice (and of course Chan) is the natural force to act for the benefit of all creatures.
Do you see what that means? It means that one cannot really enter the path of Mahamudra with the Identity intact. That is precisely what we have been saying here. Perhaps now you can see why. It is not just an expedient means of method. Identity is a natural barrier which must be first overcome.
Does the story of Tilopa and Naropa now make more sense?
We can then advance a little in our understanding and say that the rediscovery of the “Life Force” is what Mahamudra is all about. What is most fantastic about that Life Force is the fact that it operates with the human mind ONLY as a tool. When Identity becomes a dictator that is not at all benevolent, then the Identity force reigns and the Life Force is reduced to Survival depending on what the Identities believe is correct. Namely, MY LIFE first and foremost, MY SEX clearly a priority, MY FUTURE with respect to MY relations with others and the world, inasmuch as it serves the resolution of MY confusion, MY greed and MY aversion.
When Mahamudra is realized, the Life Force operates without conscious interference and clearly the path can only be trodden by the gradual loosening of the bonds of “Identity Fruits”: good friends, good times, good relations, good and financially well-rewarded work, and as much happiness as I can get with as little suffering as possible.
No doubt you will remember the source of the "inalienable right to the pursuit of Happiness!" No comment is necessary.
You can perhaps see then that the idea that nothing exists is not nihilistic. It is not pessimistic. It is really the elimination of the nihilistic idea and the existential idea, with an optimism which says, “Long live the Life Force for the benefit of all sentient creatures.”
Do you see the desirability of that? If you do then have patience, one must begin slowly whittling away at the wooden stave of Mara that is embedded in our consciousness. To do that, the first step is to understand what is required, and one can only do that with the conscious intellect which exists at the moment. When the stave gets down to the size of a matchstick then the path of Mahamudra is at hand.
If you don’t start cutting away the ignorance with Manjushri’s blade with calmness, determination, perseverance and introspection, then you must continue searching for the unattainable.
Keep in mind the following phrase. “What is easy we do today, what is difficult we can accomplish by tomorrow, what is impossible takes a little longer.”