John Senior has sent us two short contributions arising from his practice. The first is "an attempt to extract the essence of the Diamond Sutra in a form which I can read back to myself before meditation. I find its reference to familiar things like gifts, teachings, happiness, particles of dust and the universe give it perhaps more richness than the profound but often abstract Heart Sutra." The second is a visualisation for use in composing the mind prior to zazen practice or Mahamudra. John Senior follows a traditional Tibetan style in this elegant composition. He originally thought of "a representation of what material scientists would call a change from a continuous to a discontinuous phase as from vinegar dispersed in oil to an oil in vinegar dispersion. The current version arose because nectar in tar has appropriate connotations and for me it works well as a tape recording played back to oneself. I hope others may find joy in its practice."
The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion
A Bodhisattva vows to lead all living beings to liberation in the full knowledge that in so doing not a single being will have been liberated, for not one self, person, living being or life span exists as an inherent object to be brought to the other shore.
He practises generosity without resort to such perceptions as giver, gift or recipient, seeing that their basis is illusory.
He sees that no objects of the mind, even the teachings of Buddha, have any independent existence.
Only because virtue and happiness exist as dependent objects of mind can we talk of virtue and happiness. The virtuous act of explaining this truth to others brings the greatest happiness.
Likewise there is no stream-enterer, no stream, no once returner, no returning, no fruit of Arhatship, no Arhat, for to think otherwise would be to be caught up in the ideas of self, person, a living being and life-span as inherent objects.
Nor is there any attainment, for to create a serene and beautiful Buddha field is not in fact to create a serene and beautiful Buddha field; that is why it can indeed be called creating a serene and beautiful Buddha field.
This, the teaching of the Diamond Sutra, the highest, transcendent understanding, is not in fact a highest transcendent understanding. And this is precisely why it is the highest transcendent understanding.
Likewise with particles of dust and universes: there are no independent particles of dust and no such universes; that is why there are particles of dust and universes all in a dance of mutual dependence; and this too is merely called a dance.
When a Bodhisattva gives rise to the unequalled mind of awakening he does not rely on forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects or objects, for that mind is not caught up in anything: there is no attaining of anything called the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind, which is therefore why this view is called the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind.
The fruit of the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind is realised through the practice of all wholesome actions in the spirit of non-self non-person, non-living being, and non-life span. Such wholesome actions are merely called such; that is why they are indeed wholesome actions.
All composed things are like a dream a phantom, a drop of dew, a flash of lightening. This is how to meditate upon them. This is how to observe phenomena.
Transformation Visualisation
Visualise a sticky black tarry mass, and throughout this tarry mass myriads of tiny drops of nectar.
Think of this sticky black tarry mass as representing your own mind. Just as the nectar is imprisoned in the tarry mass, so the unliberated mind is scattered, stuck, attached, inflexible.
As you watch, drops of nectar move towards each other and coalesce to produce larger drops: first a few, then many more.
As the drops of coalescing nectar become larger and larger you experience increasing movement and freedom.
When the drops of nectar become large enough they all touch each other and begin joining up, displacing the black tar. The black tar contracts into drops, surrounded by the mobile purifying nectar.
The black tar breaks up into smaller and smaller droplets which drift harmlessly through the fluid nectar just as, once upon a time, had done the seeds of nectar.
Now completely purified, let the untroubled pristine mind rest in clear bliss-emptiness.
