Giving Things Up...

[Shi Da Dao]

Giving up means abandoning material objects and physical habits. It also means giving up the inner attributes of feelings and emotions. It means giving up attachment to thoughts and feelings. It means giving up thoughts and the production of thoughts. In the end, it includes giving up the cycle of breathing and the biological processes that constitute 'existence' or 'life'. This means that the human habit of generating a 'dualism' of thought - into ideas of 'this' and 'that' - comes to a conclusion. This should happen prior to the ending of the cycle of breathing - but sometimes the 'stilling' of the mind happens at the exact same moment that the cycle of breathing 'stops'. When the mind appears to 'expand' - there is the giving up of the boundaries that prevent the expansion of awareness from being realised.



The awareness of the human mind is already present - but we must give up 'not seeing it' for this reality not to be realised. As most of the spiritual industry today is premised upon 'entertainment' - this must also be given up. Popularity is really a matter of how an individual relates to the habits of the interior of their own mind in relation to the exterior of the outer world they inhabit! This is why many people refuse to adhere to the rules of the Vinaya Discipline - as they simply do not 'want' to give up their inner and outer destructive habits - even though these habits hurt and confuse them! Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) was very clear on this point - but many outside of China dislike this inconvenient fact. This is what happens if this 'dualistic' type of thinking is not 'given up'!