Two old clear texts revealing the nature of the Enlightened Condition

First, an old classic Advaita Vedanta Sanskrit text called the Ashtavakra Gita shares a conversation between a student and a Realized teacher.  I’ve had a printed out copy of this for a long time.  This work was a favorite of Ramana Maharshi’s as well as other contemporary Realized teachers.

See this freely available translation of the Ashtavakra Gita (by John Richards) here:

http://www.realization.org/page/doc0/doc0004.htm

Now, shifting to the Buddhist (and Dzogchen) tradition, I recently came across a sampling of 12th  century writings in an article by a Tibetan teacher, Dilgo Khyentse (1910-1991), that was part of an anthology called The Best Buddhist Writings (2004; published by Shambhala Sun and edited by Melvin McLeod).  Dilgo Khyentse provided in-depth commentary on 19 of 100 verses from The Hundred Verses of Advice by an Indian teacher (Kamashila) who shared his advice (shortly before his death) to the people of the Tibetan village of Tingri.  Dilgo Khyentse’s article in the anthology is called: Like a Mirror, Like a Rainbow, Like the Heart of the Sun.

He provided commentary for these 19 verses (#51 – 69):

~ In a state of emptiness, whirl the spear of pure awareness;  People of Tingri, the view is free of being caught by anything at all.

~ In a state without thoughts, without distraction abandon the watcher; People of Tingri, the meditation is free of any torpor or excitement.

~ In a state of natural spontaneity, train in being free of any holding back; People of Tingri, in the action there is nothing to abandon or adopt.

~ The four bodies, indivisible, are complete in your mind; People of Tingri, the fruit is beyond all hope and doubt.

~ The root of both samsara [illusion] and nirvana [reality] is to be found within your mind; People of Tingri, the mind is free of any true reality.

~ Desire and hate appear, but like birds in flight should leave no trace behind; People of Tingri, in meditation be free of clinging to experiences.

~ The unborn absolute body is like the very heart of the sun; People of Tingri, there is no waxing or waning of its radiant clarity.

~ Thoughts come and go like a thief in an empty house; People of Tingri, in fact there is nothing to be gained or lost.

~ Sensations leave no imprints, like drawings made on water; People of Tingri, don’t perpetuate deluded appearances.

~ Thoughts of attachment and aversion are like rainbows in the sky; People of Tingri, there is nothing in them to be grasped or apprehended.

~ Mind’s movements dissolve by themselves, like clouds in the sky; People of Tingri, in the mind there are no reference points.

~ Without fixation, thoughts are freed by themselves — like the wind; People of Tingri, which never clings to any object.

~ Pure awareness is without fixation, like a rainbow in the sky; People of Tingri, experiences arise quite unimpededly.

~ Realization of the absolute nature is like the dream of a mute; People of Tingri, there are no words to express it.

~ Realization is like a youthful maiden’s pleasure; People of Tingri, joy and bliss just cannot be described.

~ Clarity and emptiness united are like the moon reflected in water; People of Tingri, there is nothing to be attached to and nothing to impede.

~ Appearances and emptiness inseperable are like the empty sky; People of Tingri, the mind is without center or periphery.

~ The mind with no thought and no distraction is like the mirror of a beauty; People of Tingri, it is free of any theoretical tenets.

~ Awareness and emptiness inseperable are like reflections in a mirror; People of Tingri, nothing is born there and nothing ceases.

Ramana Maharshi video with narration on his teaching and last days

There is a small amount of discussion related to his teaching, and manner of teaching (which was largely via his silent presence, but included conversations with those visiting him).

This video shows the May 30, 1949 Life Magazine profile of him.  It was that year that he was diagnosed with a serious cancer in his left arm.

He died on April 14, 1950.  Fully conscious as hundreds passed by him with he greeting them with his radiant gaze. 

Video from YouTube.

Sitting alongside Ramana Maharshi, “at” the Heart

Ramana Maharshi reportedly awakened spontaneously one day, when he was a teen, as he surrendered without any reservation to a suddenly rising sense of absolute terror.  In so surrendering, he found that he had come to Realize the very Ground of Being, or the Heart of all beings and circumstances.  We all are That.

Over the years, people naturally responded to him and his company and in that way an ashram or community developed.

The youtube video above contains valuable film clips.  Ramana Maharshi died in 1950 from a painful cancer.  The video includes (and concludes) with a photo of him taken just moments before he died.

Ramana is widely regarded as a rare Realizer.