The space between understanding and realization is vast, and as we oft have heard understanding cannot help you. When we have only ideas without experiential insight it is possible to cling as prisoner to many things- most any attractive notion will do, without regards to the applied efficacy of such a notion. A mind full of ideas, of understanding alone, is prone to an airy sort of practice, which moves easily, seemingly freely even, yet having no solid grounding is thus never settled. To settle the great work of life and death, of coming and going, realization is necessary. Sometimes a practitioner appears with much realization and little understanding, in which case they may go about their lives with no hinderance and yet, until the realization is digested they cannot help save other beings from suffering and thus try as they might this persons practicing is in like manner and direction to that of an arhat or pratyeka (incapable of informing others). The Bodhisattva direction, however, is informed by both profound realization and profound understanding which too is informed, and birthed by that realization. Understanding is the medium to which realization may take form to be pointed out, directly perceived and thus cultivated. Understanding without realization is blind; realization without understanding is sterile. Therefore, those understanding without realization must cultivate it, those realized without understanding should cultivate it. To settle the great work means to be grounded in the Buddha-practice of continual cultivation, for even as understanding and realization may appear, as conditioned phenomenon stewarded by conditioned beings, and thus subject to appearing and disappearing, they may fade. Wakefulness is sharpened in definition by blinking, therefore the practice and cultivation of Buddhasasana is to be there while getting there, where we are, all the while resting in the midst of free motion, neither free from nor bound to, but one with karma. ~sunyananda
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:28:08 +0000
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