Dharma - The Way Things Are

Brahmarandra connects us to the Astral World—the realm of sound, vibration, imagery, and multicolored light. Our channels are clogged with the data of our past experiences. As the Wind moves through these channels, this data eventually passes through the Brahmarandra, manifesting as colorful light and images. It is precisely these images and lights that are commonly referred to as meditative experience. In other words, we are seeing information surface in the Brahmarandra as the Wind forces its way through the impurities. Conversely, when we see absolutely nothing during meditation, it means that the Wind is not rising and simply never reaches those impurities. Thus, the appearance of light and imagery in meditation is a positive sign—yet it is essential that we correctly understand its significance, for it is this understanding that will allow us to make genuine progress in our practice. V. Sychevskiy, Dharma — The Way Things Are, Vol. 3: All Methods of Spiritual Practice.

Let me briefly summarize the theses on why the body, sensations, consciousness, and data are not the True "Self" (Atman). Anything impermanent — anything that arises, changes, and eventually falls apart — cannot be the Atman. Anything that causes suffering cannot be our true essence either, because the True "Self: would never inflict pain on itself. The Atman is perfect, unconditioned freedom, joy, and bliss. So, if something is impermanent and therefore brings suffering, it simply cannot be the Atman. Anything we cannot control is not truly us. If the body were the True "Self", we could keep it from ever getting sick, aging, or dying. If consciousness were who we are, we would have complete mastery over it — we would never be plagued by destructive thoughts or overwhelming emotions that cause us pain. Anything that can be divided or given away is also not the Atman. We cut our hair and nails all the time — does that mean we're regularly chopping off pieces of ourselves? Obviously not. Similarly, if our experiences were our very essence, we couldn't share them with others. But we do receive and pass on experiences all the time, which means they are external to us — things we can gain or lose. Finally, anything we can observe cannot be the True "Self". There is always a gap between the observer — us — and the object being observed, whether that's the body or a particular experience. That distance shows that the observed object is not who we truly are. V. Sychevskiy. Dharma — The Way Things Are. Volume III. All Ways of Spiritual Practice (Chapter 3. Meditation).

If you seek to find the Buddha, you must realize your own true nature. Although you are the Buddha, if you have not realized your true nature, you may think about the Buddha, recite sutras, fast, and observe vows—but it will all be in vain. If you recite mantras, you will create good karma. If you recite sutras, you will become wise. If you keep the precepts, you will be reborn as a celestial being. If you make offerings, you will attain blessings in the future. But you will not be able to find the Buddha by doing all of this. If you have not realized your own nature, you need to find a teacher to discover the cause of life and death. But if he himself does not see his own nature, then such a person is not a teacher. Even if he can recite the twelve sections of the Canon, he will not be able to escape the Wheel of Birth and Death. He suffers in the three realms without hope of Liberation. Bodhidharma. Sermon on the Blood Vessel (excerpt).

"Consciousness rules the world,” said the Buddha. Well‑controlled consciousness is the most beneficial friend, but when uncontrolled and wandering, it inevitably becomes the worst enemy. A well‑controlled, tamed mind brings peace and happiness. The method of taming and controlling the mind is called Samatha Bhāvanā. The mind naturally seeks an object on which to focus. Strength or weakness, health or sickness, joy or sorrow – these states depend on the mind’s objects and on the way the mind fixes itself upon them. The Buddha gave thirty‑eight objects for the development of mental tranquility, and two more were added in the commentaries, so in total there are forty objects of concentration. It is impossible to concentrate on all forty objects at once; therefore one should select a single object that best suits one’s character… Venerable Ananda Maitreya (from a lecture given at the Washington Monastery, October 27, 1990)

Dear Dharma friends! ☸️ Great news — Vadim Sychevskiy’s book “DHARMA – The Way Things Are. Volume I. The Universe” is now available to read in English. Whether you are walking the early steps of the path or have sat for years with the presence, this book speaks directly to the heart of practice. Let’s rejoice in this offering. May the author’s effort be a cause for liberation of many beings. And may these words reach everyone who is ready to listen — truly listen — once more. Links to the book: Amazon Google books Kobo Publisher's website

Imagine an office in which five computers are installed. Information is stored on the hard drives of these five computers. The computers are connected into a single network and are constantly transmitting information to one another. What will happen if the hard drives of one or several of these computers are overloaded, heavily fragmented, and clogged with unnecessary data? These computers will operate very slowly. This is why an entire lifetime may pass between the performance of an action and the manifestation of its result, and a person may still fail to see the connection between his actions and their consequences. And the more slowly karma returns, the more difficult it is to become aware of it. Because of a lack of understanding of the results of bodily actions, spoken words, and the work of the soul — that is, because of ignorance — we are unable to understand the manifestation of the Law of Karma. Because of this, in turn, we do not understand the meaning of arising phenomena and occurring events, and we form mistaken ideas that phenomena happen by themselves, that «this is simply how everything is supposed to be». Thus, the faster karma returns, the better it is for us. Dharma - The Way Things Are. Volume 1 (Chapter 1. The Five Accumulations (The Five Skandhas)).

The fundamental principles of authentic spiritual practice, based on an understanding of the Law of Karma, may be stated as follows: 1) Do not accumulate bad (negative) karma by observing the precepts. 2) Accumulate good karma and merit through the practices of goodness, giving, and selfless service. 3) Do not waste the merit you have accumulated; preserve it by observing the precepts and practicing patience. 4) Purify, or empty out, past bad karma through the practice of patience. 5) The practices listed in points 1–4 must be grounded in the study of the Dharma and therefore in an understanding of the Law of Karma. In fact, without a deep study of the Dharma, full spiritual practice is impossible. Dharma - The Way Things Are. Volume 1 (Chapter 1: The Five Accumulations (The Five Skandhas))

29. Neither the Flag nor the Wind Two monks were arguing about a flag. One said, “The flag is moving.” The other said, “The wind is moving.” The Sixth Patriarch happened to be passing by. He said, “Neither the flag nor the wind is moving — it is the mind that moves.” Mumon’s Commentary: The Sixth Patriarch said that it is not the flag that moves, not the wind that moves, but the mind that moves. What did he mean? If you grasp this intuitively, you will see the two monks trying to buy gold while bargaining for iron. The Patriarch could not bear those two dullards, and so he made that concession. Verse: The wind moves, the flag moves, the mind moves — here there is only one understanding. But the moment you open your mouth, everything turns into error. From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan).

This mind is the source of all virtues. And this same mind is the master of all powers. The eternal bliss of Nirvana arises from a calm mind. Rebirths in the Three Realms also arise from the mind. The mind is the gateway to any world, and the mind is the ford to the other shore. Those who know where the door is do not worry about reaching it. Those who know where the ford is do not grieve over how to cross the river. Bodhidharma. The Sermon on the Breakthrough (excerpt)

Excerpt from the lecture “What is successful meditation?” An important point: nothing is fixed. That is, even if you have experienced a cessation of superficial consciousness, it does not mean that you will always be in this state. Or if you have experienced the Joy of Kundalini rising, you will always be in a state of Joy. Or you have experienced light in meditation — you sit down the next time and think, “Well, now there will be light again,” — but it may not be there. And Joy may go away, and consciousness may come into motion. Why? Our consciousness has a multi-layered structure, remember this very, very important definition. That is, in some layer of consciousness, you are good at meditation, you experience peace and Right View, Calmness and Contemplation, but in some layer this is disturbed, in some layer it is dark and scary. That is, it is necessary to understand that there will be many such stages along the way and that nothing will be fixed — everything will change. So what should be done? It is necessary to perceive these stages as an indicator, an indicator of the current state, to seek answers in the Teaching, to understand and analyze your state, and in no case to get carried away. As the ancient martial arts masters said: “Do not rejoice if you win, do not be sad if you lose.”

A thought is a manifestation of data accumulated by us and activated by our consciousness, which comes into motion when we lose sight of ourselves. Since we cannot immediately stop this process of movement of consciousness, distinction, and the emergence of desires and images, when we begin spiritual practice, we first change the data underlying this process. Replacing the data allows us to begin to control our consciousness. For example, we dream that we are flying in the sky and experiencing bliss (this, by the way, is the state of the devas), or we dream that a maniac with a bloody knife is chasing us through dark corridors, which is characteristic of visions of Hell. Both flying in the sky and the maniac are manifestations of our consciousness, or more precisely, the data, or karma, that we have accumulated. Which is easier and more pleasant to control — flying in the sky or the maniac? Dharma - The Way Things Are. Volume 3 (Chapter 2. The Practice of the Law (Dharma)).

Law of Interdependent Origination

There is only one path to fall, and only one path to rise. And it is expressed in the Law of Interdependent Origination, which was given by Buddha Shakyamuni.

Of course, in reality, both “suffering” and “joy” are the result of our consciousness dividing everything into two poles. Initially, the information we have accumulated, the objects and phenomena we perceive are empty and transparent, and only later, as a result of the dualistic work of consciousness, are they colored with the colors of good and evil, joy and suffering. In other words, we simply see and distinguish everything we perceive based on the data (karma) we have accumulated in the past. But as long as our dualistic consciousness is at work, we cannot see this real state of affairs, and therefore our negative karma will bring us suffering, and our virtues and merits will bring us joy. Dharma - The Way Things Are. Volume 3 (Chapter 1. The Practice of Goodness and the Practice of Merit).

It is said that the mind creates both samsara and nirvana. And that the mind rules the world, consciousness rules the world. Well, in reality, consciousness works, and the manifestation of consciousness is the mind we are looking for. That is, distinction, will, and perception - this is the work of consciousness, this is the mind. But in this situation, if we don't understand the meaning, we get the following picture: there is this big, evil mind that creates something on its own, and we are just like “spectators in a movie theater” — we watch whatever is shown to us. This is a misconception. What motivates consciousness to move? After all, consciousness and its manifestation, the mind, are Emptiness, right? That is, consciousness is initially empty; it cannot make decisions on its own, give any commands, or create anything of its own free will, right? What motivates consciousness to move is us, that is, Atman. In other words, when things are very bad, when bad data comes up, and when we suffer, we need to think like this: “I wanted all this because of my ignorance.” Quote from the lecture: The Process of Meditation

103. Such is Samsara. There is no truly happy life anywhere in it. Whether you become a god, a human being, or an inhabitant of hell, A hungry ghost or an animal — Remember that any birth is merely a vessel for evil. 104. If fire suddenly engulfs your head or clothes, you drop everything to extinguish it. In the same way, strive for the cessation of rebirth. There is no higher or more important goal. 105. Through righteousness (Sila), wisdom (Panna), and meditation (Jhana) One should attain Nirvana — the Unblemished state of Serenity and Peace, Ageless, immortal, inexhaustible, Beyond the limits of earth, water, fire, air, sun, and moon. 106. Awareness, investigation of the dharmas, diligence in practice, Satisfaction with practice, tranquility, concentration, and Equanimity — These are the seven factors of Awakening. This is the collection of virtues leading to Nirvana. Nagarjuna Letter to a Friend (Sūhṛllekhaḥ). (excerpt).

Download Essay English translation: https://aegitas.ru/books/1160217/ French translation: https://aegitas.ru/books/1167549/ Russian translation: https://aegitas.ru/books/898798/ German translation: https://aegitas.ru/books/1352118/

Dear Dharma Friends, We have almost finished translating the first volume of the book, Dharma - The Way Things Are (quotes from which are published on this channel), and are beginning the final review of terms and corrections. In the meantime, you can still study the abridged version of the book, presented in the Essay, which has recently become available in German as well.

Three layers of energy channels. Layer 3: the subtlest (central) nadis So, the outer channels connect us to the World of Phenomena, the inner, or subtle, channels give us the experience of the Astral World, and finally, the central, or subtlest, nadis transport us from the Astral to the Causal World. Why do I use the phrase «transport us from the Astral to the Causal World» instead of saying that the subtlest nadis connect us to the Causal World? The fact is that there is no substance in the Causal World — neither gross nor subtle. The three layers of nadis consist of subtle substance and form our astral body. However, even subtle substance can be coarser, more subtle, or subtlest—that is why there are three layers of nadis: outer, subtle, and subtlest. But they all belong to the Astral World. Thus, when we enter the Causal World in Samadhi, we are freed from the nadis and Prana, since there is no substance in the Causal World. So, when our inner Wind moves from the thin nadis to the subtlest ones, we, accordingly, move from the Astral World to the Causal World, ultimately freeing ourselves from the nadis and Prana. Here a question may arise: if the subtlest nadis are only activated at high stages of practice, does that mean they do not affect us and we do not need to worry about purifying them? The answer is «no». Let us imagine a practitioner. He observes the commandments, practices Repentance, Patience, and Indifference to empty bad karma, accumulates virtues and merits, and fixes his memory on the Teaching. At the same time, he performs technical practices to purify the external and internal channels (I will explain the techniques for purifying the three layers of nadis below). As a result, his prana and nadis are purified: he is in excellent health, in great physical shape, and is progressing along the path of energetic Liberation. However, at some point, he suddenly manifests rather low-level qualities, such as sexual or material desires. This seems strange: if the Svadhishthana and Manipura chakras are open and Kundalini rises freely through the Sushumna, where do sexual or material desires come from? In short, these are blockages in the subtlest nadis, formed by essential data. The problem is that blockages in the subtlest nadis are not felt by the gross senses (like blockages in the external nadis) or the subtle senses (like blockages in the internal nadis). However, blockages in the subtlest nadis will inevitably manifest at a certain level of meditation in the form of worldly desires. This corresponds exactly to what I have repeatedly talked about before, namely, the interconnection of the three worlds, the three levels of consciousness, and the Five Skandhas. Causal data and the superconscious, which together constitute Vijnana (Skandha № 5, or Discrimination), form desires (Skandha № 4 — Will, or Driving Forces) in the world of our subconscious — in the Astral World. Desires manifest themselves in the form of images (Skandha № 3, or Perceptions) which, like Will, exist in the Astral World. Finally, images, projected onto the World of Manifestations and our superficial consciousness, manifest themselves in the form of specific worldly desires and events. Having experienced these events, we form new experiences, which become images and desires in the Astral World, and then — pure data in the Causal World. Thus, thanks to technical practice, we need to purify all three levels of nadis. Of course, there is a certain sequence and a number of important nuances here, which I am going to talk about... Dharma - The Way Things Are. Volume 3 (Chapter 3. Meditation. VI Technical Practice. Basics).

Three layers of energy channels. Layer 2: subtle channels. The inner layer of the nadi includes, for example, the eight Marvelous Meridians mentioned in Taoist teachings, or the fourteen channels mentioned in the Shiva Samhita, the main ones being Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna... The Extraordinary Meridians play an important role. The fact is that they are reservoirs for the Ordinary Meridians. The Ordinary Meridians are also called «rivers», and the Extraordinary Meridians are called «lakes». When any Simple Meridian lacks energy, it turns to the Wonderful Meridians for help, which, in turn, when lacking Qi, turn to the Dantian, usually the lower one. The Du-mai posterior median channel controls all Yang Simple Meridians. The front middle channel, Ren-mai, controls all yin Simple Meridians. Here we see the importance of the Small Heavenly Circle practice. In the Small Heavenly Circle technique, we raise energy along the Back Middle Channel and lower it along the Front Middle Channel, cleansing and filling them with energy. When the energy in these channels begins to circulate freely and correctly, the 12 Simple Meridians are also cleansed and filled with energy, which in turn means health for the physical body... After cleansing the Front and Back channels, Pingala and Ida begin to be cleansed, followed by the Sushumna channel. After that, the energy of anger from the Pingala channel and the energy of ignorance from the Ida channel are transferred to Sushumna, combining with the energy of attachment of the Sushumna channel itself. The Five Vayus are added to this combined energy of the three channels, and the awakening of Kundalini occurs. That is why the Sushumna channel, or Zhong-mai, is called the channel of Passion, and Kundalini is the combined energy of all our worldly desires and passions. After the awakening of Kundalini, the axis of the entire nadi system becomes Sushumna and the seven chakras. The astral experience experienced in meditation, for example, images of our worldly desires, are impurities in the subtle channels. As I said earlier, in the process of meditation, our energy, and with it our consciousness, or Soul Drop, rises and encounters blockages in the inner nadis. At this moment, we see images or experience sensations corresponding to these impurities. The impurities of the nadis are data accumulated by us in the past, forming our desires/dislikes. Thus, the six types of worldly desires corresponding to the six worlds and chakras mentioned earlier are manifestations of the impurities of our internal channels. Here a question may arise: «If we cleanse the nadis through mental and technical practice, why do blockages still remain in them?» The fact is that until we attain Liberation, we retain a false identification with previously accumulated data, and therefore the blockages in the nadis remain. Of course, as we continue our practice, the blockages become significantly less, but even after the awakening of Kundalini and passing through the subsequent Stages of Liberation, some of the blockages still remain. If all the blockages in the nadis were destroyed at the moment of Kundalini awakening, it would be equal to the Overflowing of Leaks, or Liberation. However, this is not the case, so blockages in the subtle nadis will manifest in our meditation. We must reduce their number by engaging in technical practice and changing the data of our Five Skandhas through Correct Memory Fixation. We also need to attain a state close to Calmness and Contemplation or realize the first Enlightenment so that our consciousness does not come into motion when blockages in the nadis manifest as images of worldly desires and does not get caught up in them during meditation. Dharma - The Way Things Are. Volume 3 (Chapter 3. Meditation. VI Technical Practice. Basics).