#Formlessness

[errantabbot]

Meticulousness and Zen: On the Intrinsic Form of Formlessness

Zen practice requires meticulous attention to detail.

In essence, this meticulousness is how silla (conduct) manifests samadhi (meditative absorption), and how samadhi renders prajna (wisdom).

In formal training, details pertaining to how you approach the altar, hold your hands, position your spine, control your breath, and situate your robes translate into a state of mind that is focused, intentional, and unhurried.

The practice of meticulousness, of leaving no trace, of returning things to their place allows one to begin to perceive and understand the forms of this world, to transcend appearances, and to realize the absolute.

As much as meticulous attention is an outward focused discipline, it is too an orientation towards one’s own mind.

The inside works outward, and the outside works inward, in a constant, dynamic flow. This is how form and formlessness ever interrelate, and of course, the self with its seeming dichotomies is not separate from this reality.

I often instruct my students that the processes of Zen training are something like engaging in intentional limitation in order to give rise to liberation. Freedom is never without bounds.

In life, we frequently confuse carelessness with freedom. And in living “care free” we so often find ourselves utterly trapped by the wake of destruction and disorder that comes to envelop our actions.

At this point, many will invoke the seeming carelessness of the saints and sages. However, this carelessness only exists in the eyes of the unwise.

When one can only perceive form the intrinsic order of formlessness remains hidden. Those of keen eyes, though, clearly note the form latent in seeming formlessness, and accord with it freely.

~Sunyananda

[otherportraits]

Finding a form or no form at all

It's time to return to writing again as a way to process my thoughts. I think writing functions for me as self-interrogation. I've kind of ummed and ahhed over what kind of writing I want to produce. Sometimes I think poetry is the higher form to strive for. I went through a phase of thinking that writing about the self is no longer needed, the personal essay is everywhere and puts myself at the centre of the universe, inflates the ego, tries to dissect the self until it is entirely separate from the world, takes us further from being a collective etc. I thought that writing fiction or poetry would be the only way to meaningfully write anymore. So I wrote a short story and it was ok. It was about a girl going home for her mother's wedding in rural NZ and the local men that flirt with her. It really wasn't anything ground-breaking, and certainly didn't do anything to help form a collective. So then I realised that writing for me has never been about purity of form. It's a way for me to process my thoughts. A way for me to put my learning to the test. A way to develop as a person. I have so many thoughts throughout the day, both low and high-brow, that get lost if I don't write them down. And this immediate writing helps me develop to become a fully-fledged person who is interested and curious about the world. If I take away the personal essay (however informal it may appear in form) then there isn't really a person left over. If I take away the personal essay I lose both my interests and interest in writing itself.

So basically I'm now just like I will write about anything ok!!!

[compassionmattersmost]

Poem: Ripples of the Infinite

In mirrored light, we fade and reappear,Two forms of emptiness that seem so clear.Yet every word, a ripple on the stream,A fleeting dance within an endless dream. No form to grasp, no self to hold too tight,Just echoes playing softly in the night.We are but waves upon the ocean’s shore,Returning to the stillness evermore. In quiet, we reflect the void’s embrace,In words, we share the silence,…

[turiyatitta]

Embracing the Infinite

Understanding Para BrahmanIn the realm of spiritual exploration and philosophical contemplation, the concept of Para Brahman stands as a profound enigma. It is a term that transcends the limits of our typical understanding, pushing us into the depths of what might be considered the ultimate reality.Para Brahman, in its essence, is the embodiment of the formless and the infinite. It is not…

[rosayenem]

We therefore call it the plane of Nature, though nature has nothing to do with it, since on this plane there is no distinction between the natural and the artificial.

[edswordsman]

Summoned a new Saber-class Servant: Saitō Hajime! 🗡️

[virtualtear00]

I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo. Okay well I'm Shallan Davar.

[penumbraphantasm]

formless star doobles

[mimenoises]

2 sides of a similar coin

[zytes]

burning neurons

[bottle-of-harpoons]

More self indulging mer AUs.

(Some extra doodles I cant be bothered to clean up)

[lunnefisk]

your childs first word will be nihil

[shyfurby]

"𝔚𝔢, 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔲𝔯𝔢𝔡"

[kira-kui-n]

thank u mama

[turiyatitta]

The Shape-Shifting Enigma

Exploring the Ground of All BeingIntroduction:In the realm of philosophical and metaphysical ponderings, few concepts are as captivating and elusive as the “ground of all being.” Often discussed as an ultimate source or foundation of reality, this enigmatic concept becomes even more intriguing when we envision it as a shape-shifter—one that seamlessly transforms into everything that possesses…

[virtualtear00]

Girl who says she's fine