Sufism Notes - 1

(Having spent about a decade (1998-2011) in a traditional Sufi Order under the guidance of a Sufi Master, I often enjoy recollecting Sufi poetry and maps related to the process of Awakening (from a general Nondual Path perspective). I'll compile a few blog posts (in no particular order) from random web sites, with some commentary or editing if needed, related to useful Sufi quotes, and accurate Sufi 'maps' of awakening common to most Sufi traditions).


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A short summary:


Beliefs


Sufism's aim is to re-gain awareness of our direct connection to "God" and "higher knowledge". The intention is to go towards the Truth, by means of love and devotion. This is called the Tariqat, the Spiritual Path or way towards "God".This is gained often through communal ceremonies, and a variety of practices under the guidance of a teacher. The core of Sufism is to leave identification with ordinary life, in order to know God directly. And by reducing the apparent distance between man and God, man also gets closer to truth and direct knowledge. The soul is seen as an element that can stretch out from the carnal body, and pass through the divine spheres.


The Sufis believe that only by the light of the Spiritual Path and the mystic way can the Truth really be actualized. In order for one to truly witness the Perfection of the Absolute, one must see with one's inner being, which perceives the whole of Reality. This witnessing happens when one becomes perfect (or regains a knowledge of one's innate perfection), losing one's (partial) apparent existence in the Whole.


If the Whole is likened to the Ocean, and the part to a drop, the Sufi says that witnessing the Ocean with the eye of a drop is impossible. However, when the drop becomes one with the Ocean, it sees the Ocean with the eye of the Ocean.


Sufis believe that each person is a unique representative (and indeed a part of ) the Divine. The Sufis say, "If human beings knew their own inner secrets, never would they look elsewhere for seeking happiness, peace and inner light." Therefore, the essence of the Path is to find oneself. "Know thyself, know thy Lord!" is an imperative of the Sufi Way.


Techniques


Techniques vary, but they have three things in common: rhythm, repetition and endurance. The actual technique can be utterance of words or phrases, singing and dancing, or just inner silence. It can in some cases involve physical pain, or acting out irregular acts. There are no hard and fast rules that the student may receive.


Purification and its Stages


Some typical stages of purification are:


1. self becoming emptied


2. self becoming illuminated


3. self becoming adorned


4. self-having-passed-away (fanaa)


These stages occur in the course of the selfless remembrance of God (zekr). The techniques and use of 'remembrance' are central to the entire Sufi path of transformation.


The first stage, becoming emptied, entails letting go of negative qualities, the desires which originate from the (egoic) self. Obstacles on the path include procrastination, idleness, and a lack of effort. Basic skills in concentration and attention are developed here.


The second stage of becoming illuminated involves polishing the heart and soul of the tarnish of belief in and attachment to the self. The student sees him/herself in full. The capacity for complete vision (of one's self), along with acceptance, are developed here.


In the third stage, one's inner being becomes adorned by Divine Attributes. Ultimately, the being of the disciple becomes completely filled by the Attributes of the Truth-Reality, to the extent that there is no sign of his own limited existence. The question of self-volition, 'practices', and 'how to live' become meaningless at this stage. The unicity of life, of which the apparent individual is just another appearance, becomes clear.


This fourth stage is called "self-having passed-away" (fanaa). The apparent individual, along with personal suffering, drops away completely.


The disciple, through these stages of purification, travels the inner way, the Spiritual Path (Tariqat). But he or she can do so only under the guidance of one who has gone before, and provided the student has the capacity and inborn will to traverse the Path. Having travelled this path, the disciple becomes a perfect being (in the sense of being attuned to the Whole), and arrives at the threshold of the Truth (Haqiqat).


One could liken the journey within the Haqiqat (Truth), to training in a divine university, the "Tavern of Ruin" (kharabat). In this true centre for higher education there are no professors, one's only guide being Absolute Love ultimately, which is a given and not developed in any way by the apparent individual. Here one's only teacher is Love (not emotional or affective, but rather as pure Being and Knowing), one's books are Love, and one's being is Love.



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Conditioned consciousness.

A few notes on 'conditioned consciousness' or "I am".

"Your existence is like a light when a matchstick is struck. There is nothing before and nothing after." - Nisargadatta

Knowing oneself as the 'conditioned consciousness' or ʺI amʺ (which is our waking consciousness, and which will pass on death, or which is dormant in deep sleep) is the first step.

From there, it can be seen that the whole knowingness of anything (sights, smells, taste, touch, sound, thought) is actually just the conditioned consciousness or beingness. Just the sense of beingness or consciousness which seems to wake up in the morning.

The focus is thus removed from apparent objects to the knowingness (albeit conditioned knowingness) of the objects. This is sometimes called 'the witness'. The first step of dis-identification has taken place.

From that point of abidance and familiarity (if done repeatedly), which is all the 'individual' can ever do, understanding is complete. Capacity is complete. From there, all talk of future states, enlightenment, change, progression, becoming etc. are seen are pure thought stuff or fantasy.

Eventually, this conditioned consciousness itself collapses (or is seen for what it is), and the unconditioned consciousness is apperceived or intuited as one's actual identity.

This unconditioned consciousness (or Absolute-Nothing) is unaware of itself (or anything for that matter), and of course, cannot be conceived or perceived in any way, shape or form. Yet its existence is certain, since without it, nothing else (including conditioned consciousness or ʺI am-nessʺ) has any 'space' or capacity to exist (just as for a table to exist, there needs to be some space available first).

Things are really very simple, when taken in the appropriate order. Maya is seen through right away, when a step is taken outside of the whole show (which includes the individual). Once this habituated seeing takes place, unquestionable conviction arises. Doubt, seeking further validation from teachings, teachers, scriptures, and questioning itself, all become meaningless. 

A little bit of "spiritual autolysis".

It’s all about self negation isn’t it? It’s all about nailing down and focusing on the untrue and the false, until it’s seen in its totality, and ultimately dropped like a piece of shit. Or just let stand, like a sand castle, until the waves come up and overtake it.. food for the ocean, sand on the beach once more.

There’s nothing to grasp actually. Nothing to nail down in regards to the Truth or the Absolute, or any form of perfection. Just a seeing of the false, and a dropping of the illusion. Then the “truth”, if there is such a thing, is clearly seen for what it is. Just this, what is here, minus the illusion investment, the biggest being the ‘false self’ or the idea of a subject being here. Of course, there is no actual ‘false self’. Nothing observable in direct experience. In this instant, just thoughts, sensations, experience, happenings. Continuity and time give the impression (in memory only) of there being something that is a ‘false self’ or even a ‘me’, or an illusion. In actuality, now, there’s nothing that can even remotely be labelled as any of those things. Just this here now. That’s all. When this is seen, it’s the truth. Simple isn’t it? Where’s the need then for teachings, systems, religions or ideas?

RM was right. Use the mind to get rid of the mind. Use the thorn to get rid of the thorn. Then discard the thorn. No longer needed. Nail down the false. See it fully. See how it is energised and maintained moment by moment. Then it’s no longer being energised. No longer a living ‘thing’. Just another appearance now. No more power than the pen on this desk, or the empty tuna can in the bin. What else then, could there be? What else, except the peace of this, as it is, left to be, just this, as it is.

Awareness and objects

For most of our lives, we live totally identified and fixated on objects. But in order to know these objects there needs to be awareness or consciousness present. We have even gone so far as to dream that we are a body and mind, which are themselves objects known in consciousness.

Awakening happens merely when it is known and seen that all we really are is consciousness + objects (one whole, not two parts). We ARE objectless awareness knowing itself as just this consciousness + objects showing up here now. This, knowing itself. Nothing much can be said about just this, knowing itself. Awareness in apparent form and activity.

Gurdjieff's system simplified in a page.

Having been a student of Gurdjieff's system (or Gurdjieff-Ouspensky) at some point, I felt compelled to write this little piece in the hopes that it could save some people a few decades of work.

Gurdjieff's system (as outlayed by Ouspensky probably most concisely, and as taken up by various other Fourth Way groups somewhat mistakenly) can be summarised as follows, with the main points as:

1. Self-observation
- which as the name implies, is simply the development of attention and concentration using the body, mind, and emotions as immediately available objects for focus.
- people spend years observing (and trying to observe) their thoughts, feelings, and sensations, though the practice in essence is simply to develop some basic degree of concentration and focus which is to be used on the next point.
- this basically serves the same purpose as any "meditation" or "awareness" practice, such as vipassana, noting, mindfulness etc.
- there is an obvious me-as-subject and it-as-object focus. Nothing esoteric here.

2. Self-remembering
- this practice trips up most people, and some spend YEARS attempting to get it, or work out what the hell Gurdjieff / Ouspensky even mean by the practice. Still others interpret it (wrongly) as "self-observation", which it is not (see above).
- the practice merely flows on from having developed the objectives in (1).
- the practice, in essence, is nothing more or less than directing the mind (or focus) onto the subjective feeling of "I"- which is the "I-thought" or "me"-as-a-separate-self feeling/thought. It is simply the focused observation and awareness of oneself that we all automatically take on from childhood, and which forms a seemingly concrete (but mistaken) identity as "I".
- generally, it is done as much as possible, throughout the day, and one needs to get a very clear and definite feel for one's own identity as "I"-as-a-separate-self or doer of actions or instigator of all other thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
- going back again and again to this feeling of "me" or "I" (as a separate individual) IS the practice of Self-remembering.
- "Self" here refers to the ego, or concept of "me" as an individual and autonomous being. (Which in Gurdjieff's system is the 'man is a machine but doesn't know it' idea).
- This serves the same function as all direct path enquiries, such as self-enquiry (vichara).
- Self willed effort and "practice" ends at this point.

3. Beyond (Seeing through the false self)
- Hopefully, at some point, the seeing happens (without any self-willed effort- and hence Gurdjieff's insistence that one cannot perform true Self-remembering), that the "I" feeling/identity is a completely assumed concept or entity in itself.
- The dropping of this assumption is the beginning (and end of assumed volitional) Liberation.

By employing (1) and later (2), in all manner of situations, and especially in times of turmoil (often intentionally introduced by Gurdjieff onto his students), it was hoped that the false self identity would eventually be seen through and done with. "Man is a machine", thus becomes completely true from the "Man Number 4" perspective.

Unfortunately, from what I've observed in Gurdjieff groups, most groups get hung up on (1), especially veering off into learning 'dances', exercises, tricks etc., and never even get to (2). For those that get to (2), the need for groups often falls away. For those in which (3) occurs, the whole game is up, and appreciation arises for this unique little system.

Amen.


(PS- I've intentionally left out the huge body of Gurdjieff/Ouspensky's cosmology and related theology, as detailed somewhat in "In Search of the Miraculous", "Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson", and other books. Although this highly complex body of theory (mostly swiped from Theosophy, Sufism, Buddhism, Kashmiri Shavism, and Gurdjieff's own imagination) is interesting, it is doubtful as to any immediate practical value which could not be explained much more simply. Certainly, the foundation of any of its usefulness would have to lie again with (1) and (2) above, without which, it would be yet another interesting informational philosophy only. It is likely that the early students of Gurdjieff's system in Russia & Europe, who were enamoured with Theosophy and occultism, needed some form of intellectual meat (or carrot), in order to even get started with the more direct practices of (1) and (2), and in this, the whole philosophy side probably has some value. However, the temptation in getting completely lost in Fourth Way concepts and philosophy seems to have been one of the chief elements in the Fourth Way's own demise, and on a more darker side, the higher than average rate (in spiritual groups anyway) for personality cults to emerge from the use or misuse of that very philosophy-- hence my insistence on side-stepping this area completely).

Many paths, one understanding.

(Just another meaningless flash in the pan)

Many paths, one understanding.

When Liberation happens, and the seemingly different paths to Godhead / Absolute are seen effortlessly to be the same.


The wheat is easily sorted from the chaff.


The Master of one path becomes the master of all paths, by his/her own nonexistence, thereby residing as the All. 


From the mountain top, the entire vista is easily seen.

http://pointers-to-reality.tumblr.com/post/83255680667/many-paths-one-understanding

Does a dog have Buddha-nature? Does it matter?

A monk asked Master Chao-chou, "Has a dog the Buddha Nature or not?"
Chao-chou said, "Mu!"

Buddhism can be a veritable mine-field of intellectualism and concepts. Koans (or problems or enquiries) were an attempt at one point to directly undercut the need for discourses and rather directly point at the truth of things via directing the mind.

This particular koan stumped me for years. It has that effect if one effectively cuts off all conclusions coming from intellectualising and analysis in attempting to 'work things out'. There is nothing wrong with using the mind, however, the mind coming to a contrived conclusion and sitting self-satisfied in a concept IS the problem.

After "seeing" happened, this koan re-appeared in my consciousness one day while sitting in the park having a smoke.
Its resolution or rather pointing was then so obvious.

How can there be any difference whatsoever in the body-mind mechanism of a human (which reputedly 'has Buddha Nature'), and a dog body-mind mechanism (which reputedly did not)?

Does Buddha Nature lie within an object, without, everywhere or nowhere?

And finally, if Joshu or Chao-chou's response was merely a pointer, rather than an answer? (And that pointer was pointing to the experience of emptiness ('Mu'), and thus the experiential understanding / knowing of the former part of the koan).

Though, that's jumping the gun, and the intention of designer of the koan (like any other koan), was probably that the practitioner would hopefully catch their "self" working very hard on this problem, and in the natural, open seeing of "their self" or lack of inherent existence thereof, the impersonal experience emptiness would ensue.