The Buddhist Path – Conscious Awareness – by Judy Evicci
I was born a Buddhist. My Buddha nature guided me through the life experiences I have had, and are having now.
My studies followed the path of many others, some personally known to me.
Almost daily, I listen to the Reflections of Senior Monks, in the early Theravada Buddha Discipline. They are really enlightening to me.
My intention is to write my fundamental Buddhist concepts here. It took years for me to boil down my version of all the information, into some concepts I can review often, in order to stay safely on the path.
At the top of the structure, is Consciousness, which is our life energy. Consciousness leads to Awareness. Awareness means we observe all that exists for us, in the given moment.
All there is is the given moment; the here and now. We can be off in thought, about the future and the past, along with the bad and the good. Or, we can be living in the moment, which is Awareness.
Within Consciousness, is space and the void. Even words are suspended in Space, which is the absence of words and the space between words. I find Space is a great anchor point, during meditation.
Space allows the placement of Forms. Forms can be created in our mind, called thoughts, and Forms are also sensory impressions, of the outside world, meaning the world outside our bodies and minds.
In the branch of Buddhism that I study, the goal is to relax to obtain Conscious Awareness.
We all have Consciousness. It is not something you try hard to achieve. It is more that you relax and allow more intuition and less thought.
I have consciousness within; it leads me to reliable wisdom. Think of it being around my lung area. I can feel it. When I send some consciousness out into the world, personality is formed.
However, personality comes from the ever-changing whims of the world. It is not wisdom. It is just the senses being stimulated.
When I feel unhappy, or out of balance, due to recollections of the personality, I just know to dismiss them. I Return to my consciousness within, and I will be calmed.
Consciousness is impersonal. It is Universal; not about you and me. It is not “my consciousness.” Consciousness belongs to no one and to no thing. It is the backdrop of all things.
Personal Consciousness is the ego. But the goal in Buddhism, is to disappear into the impersonal Consciousness, from which we came.
A major issue for humans to overcome; the issue that causes the most suffering, is various forms of attachment.
Romantic Love often leads to extreme and temporary attachments, which cause the participants a great deal of pain. We have all been in love, and know the good and the bad that romantic love can lead to.
It is difficult to stay in balance, when the love horemones are raging though out bodies. It is fine to love people, with all types of love, if you can stay aware of reality, and make wise decisions while possessed by love.
It goes without saying, that too much attachment for anyone, or anything, will only end in unhappiness. Because, as we know, all the things and people that we love, will eventually be lost to us.
If you have thoughts, along these lines, or would like to discuss my writings further, please contact me. Judy Evicci
Almost daily, I listen to the Reflections of Senior Monks, in the early Theravada Buddha Discipline. They are really enlightening to me.