Richard Rose "Lecture of Questions"

References - Buddha and Buddhist history

Authoritative on Buddha: http://www.zenguide.com/history/history_of_buddhism_links.cfm

What happens to the unconscious during awakening?

A quick web search reveals good resources, a few listed below, esp Dennis Hunter's.  (keywords Buddhism and unconscious) the ALAYA-VIJNANA (see in Lankavatara also).

Questions from I Am That by Nisargadatta

Here will go selected Qs (& As) from the electronic version.
Sample (from Ashley Mistry FB post):

mahadakash - is nature, the ocean of existences, the physical space with all that can be contacted through the senses.
chidakash - is the expanse of awareness, the mental space of time, perception & cognition.
paramakash - is the timeless & spaceless reality, mindfree, nondifferentiated, the infinite potentiality, the source & origin, the substance & the essence, both matter & consciousness, yet beyond both.

the main change was in the mind, it became motionless & silent, responding quickly but not perpetuating the response.
spontaneity became a way of life - the real became natural & the natural became real.
& above all, INFINITE AFFECTION, LOVE - dark & quiet, radiating in all directions, embracing all, making all interesting & beautiful, significant & auspicious.
Questioner: I don't have the capacity to accept what Maharaj has given me.
M: If you don't think you have the capacity, then you can go elsewhere. I am not concerned with any state which is temporary. This consciousness state is not of my choosing. The sooner it goes the better. Once it is known what is temporary and what one's original state is, no further knowledge is needed. As soon as consciousness stirred, space and time came. It has a time limit. In this space-time
everyone suffers, so why should I accept this suffering as something unique? I was always in that blissful, complete, total state; suddenly I am in this imperfect state. Those who have apperceived my knowledge will not fall a prey to the logic or spirituality expounded by others. I dare to say to any scholar who considers himself full of wisdom, that when he was being born I was watching his birth from a corner. Would you accept this?
Q: Yes. Why did consciousness arise at all?
M: Hang on to this consciousness which has come and it will explain why it arose without cause. No one else can explain to you why and how it arose.
It is the manifest consciousness which is continuously talking, I am not talking. How does the language emerge? Is it because of your efforts?
If you grasp the essence of the talks which I am giving, you will illuminate the world. Those people who run about from place to place aimlessly will gather nothing. What is that you are after? Eknath, a country sage who has written wonderful poems, said, "I am stung by a scorpion!" What is that sting? It is the consciousness. This knowingness is the scorpion which is giving me all the pain in the form of various experiences and concepts. I am telling you with the authority of a jnani, everything is unreal. This is all the play due to your consciousness, and your consciousness is due to the food essence body.
Q: I am grateful to my body which has brought me here.
M: You have come here just to commit suicide.
FROM ASHLEY - Vedas talk upto the point of Pure " I Am ", and successively negate everything learned at each step completely. Brahman , satchitananda, self knowledge are just names. Mixed with the activity , modifications of the world. Absolute is beyound all. No words can reach it.Beyound consciousness, awareness,etc.
JOEL resp - We cannot have neagating without it's opposite: asserting. We cannot know that we are not, because it is unknowable. The truth that we can put in words is that nothing is missing, nothing is here that isn't supposed to be here, and none of that is ultimate Truth.
 

Nobie's quest's for self inquiry

Categorizing inquiries about awakening - how?

This is the working outline to categorize questions about awakening. Considering all current sources, there are well over 1,000. 
Later cross-referencing the answers and coming up with originals will result in a tome.
QUESTIONS ABOUT AWAKENING:

• Life suffering - why, who, and what is it; samsara.
• Psychology and emotions - fear, anger, desire, temptation, what are they, where are they from, how we deal with them, why do they arise
• Existential - why are we here, what is our purpose, how do we find our mission, the meaning of life
• Spiritual journey - the path, no path, what is it
• Seeking - why do we seek, what is a seeker, what do we seek, desire v fear, how should we seek
• Practice - types, meditation, ritual, yoga eg jnani, bakhti, discipline, how much, how long
• Spiritual experiences - bliss, unitive, emptiness, transcendence, etc
• Identifications (special section) - mind, consciousness, awareness, unity, infinity, eternity, absolute, nirvana, ego, self, body, heart, spirit, love, who am I, form, energy, etc
• Awakening - who awakens, what awakens, enlightenment, liberation, freedom, realization, self-realization
• Pre-awakening - conditions, triggers, etc, attachment/non-attachment, effort v no effort
• During awakening - experiences, teaching, practice, doer/non-doer, by grace or effort
• Between awakenings - got it/lost it, experiences, time
• Types of awakenings - depth, quality eg unitive, empty, bliss, temp/permanent, 7 types of awakenings
• Stages of awakening - eg 10 stages of Lankavatara Sutra
• Problems with awakening - stuckness in empty or bliss, ego attached, impermanence, delays, fear
• Teachers of awakening - who should teach? who is awakened?
• Teachings about awakening - falseness of words and assertions, which are closest to truth, recognizing dualistic teaching
• The Ultimate Reality, the wordless, silence, and beyond

Was Buddha's word final?

If not, let the one with the final word come forward. Until that happens, can we agree to use Buddha's words carefully and as the gold standard

Does something come out of nothing?

No, it cannot. This seems to relate to cause and effect. It asserts that first there is "nothing", and something arises or manifests from the nothing. However, "nothing" becomes something when it is asserted - it becomes a word, a thought, and then a concept. If nothing is defined as being neither here nor there, neither present nor non-present, then it is closer to the truth but still assailable and therefore erroneous. As for "something," it can only be held to be an appearance, or a mirage.
Yes it does. We can't leave it at that, however. We must qualify it by adding that there is only the appearance of something from nothing. This discussion is immediately relative to the company that is conducting it. It is more erroneous than the preceding, which makes it easier to grasp. It can be said to be true only if appearances and impermanent images are held to be true. Therefore it can be negated easily, but we should be careful not to get caught in the trap of negating everything, or "addicted to negativism" as Buddha was quoted.

Who am I - who are we?

We discussed the profundity of "who am I" in our self inquiry group yesterday. Comes thoughts and ideas, including mine about the answer being relative to the question.

What is cause and effect?

Observing what is arising from the present moment or awareness, we see the manifestation of infinite possibilities. All manifestation appears as an "afterthought,

First question

Why does consciousness that has fully realized its true nature, remain in the body?
This is one of my favorites. Teachers don't know (few exceptions). Buddha called it the "looking back" of Tahagatas. RA called it. It is out of compassion, but it is not yet the arrival at the level of awareness beyond all looking back. It may be said to be beyond the true point of no-return. Not only the ability or freedom to not NEED to return, but the place of realization that is complete enough to be beyond even the mnovement to return out of deepest compassion. Moving toward the repeat of the grandest cycle, into creation of a new order of cosmos? Who will join in this inquiry?