Essence of Mind: An Approach to Dzogchen by Bertelsen Jes

Author:Bertelsen, Jes [Bertelsen, Jes]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781583946329
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 2013-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

A true teacher is found with the heart.

A right teacher is the next step.

Lastly, there is one final and somewhat unwieldy factor in meeting a teacher. This factor can be described in different ways, according to one’s temperament and approach. Some would say that such a meeting—and the fact that it occurs at all—is fated, whatever that means. Other, more ebullient and perhaps more poetical spirits might see it as pure luck; and a more down-to-earth nature might consider it a fortunate accident.

Personally, I have had the great fortune to meet few but foundational teachers; and also—through a fortunate chance occurrence while travelling—to rediscover and recognize my old teacher, so that the mystery of transmission could occur once again.

And the core of the mystery of consciousness is that the enlightened teacher is your own naked awareness.

The paradox is that in one sense, it is all quite simple. It actually looks as if one of the main causes of all the difficulties is precisely that: it is much too simple. It is so simple that you cannot believe it is true. For instance, I think that once in a while everyone asks him-or herself: Who am I really? And you don’t just ask, you also stop and listen for a possible answer or a possible reaction from within. In other words, for a moment there is an open, inward listening, when all the usual stuff is on hold and, so to speak, holding its breath. This kind of silent listening, based on the question of “Who am I?,” is bidirectional openness. But compelling yourself to do this day in and day out, year after year, without an answer, seems to be quite difficult. However, this is exactly the very path to enlightenment. For instance, remembering the one who feels compassion in the compassion. Not remembering oneself as a body, or a thing, or an ego, or a point in consciousness, or the heart. Not remembering oneself as anything in particular—and actually I am not anything in particular—but just being aware of oneself as an indefinite openness that is present in the feeling. What could be difficult about that? And yet we are usually totally lost in whatever is present, the feeling, the emotion, the thought.

Shouldn’t it be simple to wonder about what and where consciousness is? Just to wonder, not to come up with any solutions or answers—who is truly and honestly able to do that? Simply to wonder, into the eternity of consciousness. This is a kind of openness that is difficult to distinguish from wordless prayer. To keep on doing this day after day is exactly the path to eternal bliss.

In its essence, this open wondering is a spiritual attitude toward life. Bringing this kind of attitude into the ups and downs of daily life will, of course, require daily practice. Allowing this kind of attitude to gain existential weight in your everyday life takes practice. The heart must work to get rid of its self-centeredness. Not once and for all, because that’s impossible, but again and again, through wordless prayer in the heart.

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