In chapter 1 zandtao gave a description of path, hopefully each seeker will recognise their own path somewhere along the line of that description. Perhaps they will recognise some but not all - the seeker’s choice. But in a description we only have theory, it is the doing of your own practice that matters. It is in the dedication to one’s own practice that cult followers get deluded by, it is not the following of the practice of another that matters it is the determination to find and do your own work.
Finding and doing your own work is not at all theoretical. Any study that is done hand-in-hand with practice has only one purpose - to improve understanding so that the practice is deeper. Reading inordinate theoretical books just provides ideas to cling to - to take up space in mind - to clutter consciousness with contents, the purpose of study is to help the seeker understand how their practice works. This purpose is important because any good practice has bhavana - development, without appropriate study it is difficult to see where this bhavana can come from - difficult but not impossible.
Without practice there is no embodiment. There might well be insights, and any insight goes deeper, but without practice that increased depth is minimal. With practice there is much deeper growth. In conditioned education we are encouraged to read and read, a good thesis has many references but does academia require understanding for its qualifications? This is a habit to break - reading for reading’s sake, there has to be study for understanding and there cannot be understanding without practice.
Stuck without Practice
As we watch the spiritual internet we see many inspiring stories of people finding their paths. These stories are definitely inspiring - be inspired by them but don’t be swayed by their effusiveness, vehemence and apparent bliss. The paths give this to you - recognise that. The path shows you the way - recognise that. But don’t imitate. Imitations might give an initial buzz but as time wears on the gloss fades. So why does this happen? Very simple, these paths are not your path - it is a choice to imitate someone else at the time (see Addon 6 Faith Vacuum and Cults ).
When we listen to the numerous spiritual achievers on the internet we can see they have achieved their path - to a greater or lesser extent. But those early on their paths present a delusion, they think it is about understanding. Their paths revolves around powerful insights that kickstart their path - what Eckhart called firstgrace. But here’s the rub, if you hold onto the insights the bliss will go. There needs to be development, without development the b;iss will go, then the insights will go, and you will feel stuck. And this stuckness will turn you to the materialism of system-for-the-rich or worse - addiction to cope with system-for-the-rich.
Before you get stuck in this way, you need to develop a practice. Whilst understandings do bring bliss at first, they are not meant to be permanent bliss-makers. Understanding is meant to develop. Given our academic upbringings we might decide to try to improve understanding through study. This might produce new insights for a while but then that stops. The study route only reaches a certain level before it gets stuck, with the consequences of materialism and escapist addiction.
Why does this happen? Because in a sense our consciousness is full so we are not ready (have space) for new insights with accompanying bliss. What our consciousness is full of is conditioning - conditioning that is full of attachments and clingings to ego and suffering. EXPLAIN - tired
So we need to develop a practice that releases these attachments, that creates the space for the insights that bring bliss. Many of these spiritual experiences with bliss do not discuss the need for practice, becoming stuck is not what new seekers want to hear about - sometimes getting stuck is not something these bliss people find out about. And if they don’t hear about it during the bliss they might not hear about it when they need it - when they are stuck.
Some of these spiritual people with understanding and bliss may not even have crossed this problem of stuckness. Why? Because what they do is their path and they do not accumulate attachments. They might also be deluding themselves or some might even be charlatans. Charlatans or cult leaders are dangerous, and seekers need to be careful. Those blissful spiritual advocates in delusions - without practice - will eventually become stuck - and disappear from the net.
As genuine seekers you need to develop a practice that creates the space for grace and insights. In this way you can transition from the bliss of firstgrace understanding to ongoing insight that arises from the space created by a good practice. Without the space we become stuck clinging to understandings that we have held for years, understandings that without development pull us away from our paths.
It is in this way zandtao wants you to understand chapter 1. For zandtao the understandings in chapter 1, all came from insight and in the early stages esp. upheaval there was bliss involved. Now there is not even the Kathleen Turner (opening scene of Romancing the Stone) bliss for finishing a “novel” because the bliss is spread and his life contains spiritual joy. These are zandtao’s understandings that hopefully inspire insight and perhaps bliss as firstgrace or deeper. But so little of what he learnt in ch1 would have arisen without practice - without the release of attachments that then created the space for the insights and graces.
What Human Practice is for?
In the intro-vision zandtao described a human infrastructure, practice is entwined within that human infrastructure. In life mind-consciousness can end the restrictions that have arisen due to conditioning and then can evolve Unity-consciousness. Through our practices we can end the restrictions that have arisen as attachments to ego, spectrum of suffering and different clingings over time.
There is little point in believing. If you just accept the two intro-visions as some form of truth irrespectively then your practice will be limited. Your practice needs to be a process in which your work is meaningful to you, internalised rather than on the surface as belief. When your practice is ending your restrictions it has to be done within an infrastructure of your own understanding - not zandtao's understanding. Believe zandtao as gospel and that belief will become an obstacle - an additional restriction.
Do you have control of all your mind? Are you able to use your mind-consciousness in an unrestricted way so that you can evolve Unity-consciousness? Or more simply are you able to control your mind so it doesn't disturb you? Does your mind spin around, come in and out of your thinking so that you cannot enjoy life the way you want to? To begin with your mind must be trained to do what you want, and to train it you have to first know what is the purpose of your training? In other words you need to know the objectives of your own training. When you are training your mind what is it you want to train your mind to do? Can you use your mind in an unrestrictive way? Can your mind focus rather than spinning round and disturbing?
When we are young our minds are conditioned to focus to some extent in school. As we grow older our minds conform through collective imitation to the way all minds work in our conformed and conditioned society. But we can be disturbed about this? We might not accept conformity, we might not accept some of the restrictions and then our minds become disturbed - not integrated into the way we want to live our lives. Our paths might find a way of triggering this.
So if we recognise that our mind is not under control and is disturbing us we have mind-consciousness there to help us control. If we choose to engage mind-consciousness to control our minds that is the beginning of practice - a minimal turning-point. Once we have turned then there is the possibility for us to learn to control our minds. Religions and other institutions have belief systems in place that include this control of minds, but accepting those systems can cause problems because they fill consciousness with contents. Ideally we examine our minds and use our mind-consciousness to control mind autonomously without having any contents. But that is difficult at the beginning because we do not know what controlling the mind actually is.
Once we have started practice we need to learn what human practice is, we need to learn how our mind-consciousness can control the mind. The usual way is for a new seeker to follow a prescribed system that includes belief - includes filling consciousness with contents. .zandtao is not discouraging that practice , because once we have started practice we need to develop it. We cannot reach the end of our own autonomous practice without learning but what zandtao is asking you to do is to select. Whatever system of practice you choose as a seeker, try to minimalise the contents of consciousness - the clinging to beliefs and ideals. Please don’t accept the institution when in the end all you want is your own individual autonomy. If you are discerning in this way your focus on practice gets better and better, and in the end as a seeker your practice becomes dedicated to your autonomy, and you become dedicated to your practice - abiding in your autonomous practice.
So your human practice is concerned with ending restrictions that have arisen from conditioning. Above zandtao has recognised that institutions have systems in place which are their versions of “ending restrictions that have arisen from conditioning”. How far a seeker chooses to accept the institutional system is their discernment but zandtao wants to describe how he sees the conditioning and the restrictions that arise. Maybe you as a seeker can gain understanding by enquiring into zandtao’s way of seeing.
We first begin with the conditioning that arises as a consequence of the system zandtao described as an intro-vision of what’s it all for. Within an individual’s development in that system an individual becomes conditioned as described in the vision of human infrastructure. Put simplistically, the system wants an individual to develop self-esteem to conform and be successful within that system without choosing to develop their own vision to see beyond the delusions the system requires. There is no cabal of individuals designing that system, it is a system of collective conditioned delusion that has developed over time. There are however cabals of successful conditioned who have recognised this delusory system and have been successful in benefitting from it financially (the measure of systemic success); they exert power and influence through their finance in order to increase their financial advantage. It is unlikely that these people are going to see through their conditioning because in systemic terms they benefit from it. But for the rest of us it is important to try to make people aware of these conditioned successful cabals because whilst they are accumulating more finance the world is being damaged - unless stopped zandtao sees this as an eventual extinction process.
Throughout history there have been various idealistic systems that have failed to end this extinction process. What these systemic approaches do is fill consciousness with contents, essentially divide people into accepting systemic approaches or not, and meanwhile there is increasing destructive accumulation. For zandtao the way forward is the way nature intended - follow your path. This not one path of prescribed collective activity, this path is individual, and develops from an individual ending restrictions that have arisen from conditioning. If an individual transcends their conditioning ends the restrictions of attachment to ego, ending their own suffering and not clinging to contents, then that individual chooses their own actions without any inappropriate systemic delusions. It is between the individual and nature what those actions are, but we can know if we all follow our paths then nature’s design will bear the fruition of peace and harmony. Ultimately that is what human practice is for.
What does conditioning look like?
Conditioning intends to develop self-esteem so that an individual becomes successful within the system and chooses not to see beyond the delusion of that system. Overall this works because the delusory system continues, but how it works within each individual is for that individual to decide. Basically if there is sufficient self-esteem and success such an individual is unlikely to question conditioning because they have accepted the conformity of the system and been successful within it. But for others not so immersed in the success of that conformed conditioning the path might trigger questions. And through such enquiry delusions can be removed. For the successful, the path can also trigger questions typical of which might be how happy (peace and harmony) are you now that you are successful?
But the development of such enquiry is individual. In the intro-vision of what’s it all for zandtao described the way he sees the delusory system is and the way he sees it is underpinned by the accumulation of the rich, but how our individual conditioning perceives that delusory system depends on upbringing and enquiry is an individual process. However the consequence of that enquiry has a collective characteristic - the vision to see through the delusory system. But to have this clear vision an individual has to end the restrictions that have arisen from their conditioning - they need the practice to end restrictions - enquiry and practice.
We have seen that the conditioning process develops a collective delusory system that is destructive, and to break this delusion down requires enquiry to see through the delusions. But how do we recognise the restrictions within us that have arisen from the conditioning? Let us try and examine this.
What is self-esteem?
What is self-esteem?
This is not a straight-forward question. Let’s start with what can be straight-forward. At a particular period in your life do you have self-esteem? That can be answered. But when you answer it, there are levels to the question. Self-esteem initially arises as part of conditioning, and is a measure of conformed success. At a stage in your upbringing the question do you have self-esteem?, and in terms of the intro-vision the answer might well be straight-forward. In upbringing the question might better be considered as does the young person have self-esteem?, and if the adults answer yes the young person will also be likely to answer yes. If the answers are not the same then the young person is the one likely to be saying no because what the young person values is not what the conforming adults value.
As the individual becomes adult, self-esteem only becomes a measure of what that individual as an adult wants - if the adult is successful in the delusory system and see that as important then self-esteem remains high. In the answers so far we have not considered self, we have mostly considered self-esteem as a measure of conformity and success to the delusory system. In such situations the self is a set of conditioned personalities, characteristics or egos that have led to conformed success.
But what happens for that individual if these personalities characteristics and egos are questioned? What happens if that individual decides that conformed success is not the only measure of self that the individual wants to measure their esteem? At this point these personalities characteristics and egos can become restrictions in two ways - restricting because they conflict with conformed success in the delusory system or restricting because the individual wants to choose a different way to live. Do all individuals resolve the potential conflicts between their self as these personalities characteristics and egos and the 2 restrictions? No, for many it is an ongoing conflict that they accept. But for others their path starts to become stronger triggering enquiry, and possible practice to follow.
When looked at in terms of varying self-esteem there is actually no self; these personalities characteristics and egos change with time and differing roles within the delusory system. Yet we are encouraged to consider that the individual is a particular self - and give that self a name - the family name. As the individual gets older and develops more in adult life he is encouraged to identify with this self - even though the self is changing and self-esteem is also changing. And this identifying with self introduces another set of conflicts to resolve. Much of these newer sets of conflicts arise from self-esteem being a measure of conformed success where an individual is expected to identify with the self that is successful within the conformed delusory system.
But none of this is actually concerned with the authenticity of the individual, it is concerned with self in the system.
How does authenticity fit in?
One answer could be that authenticity means that 100% self-esteem is for those who completely accept the delusory system and conformed success - if we ignore the delusions. But immediately we consider the word authentic we must start enquiry into delusion, but as soon as we do that we start to consider compromise. We are compromising with the delusory system in order to achieve success - and for many people the compromise is simply based on the need for money in their personal life. So we have a fragment of self (personalities, characteristics and ego) that compromises with the system to get money for personal life.
Whilst this doesn’t sound too authentic such a fragment brought about by compromise might be reasonable - not authentic but a reasonable compromise. If authentic is to be a measure then authenticity would begin to ask questions. What in your personal life is the money needed for? And most answers to this involve family, there is a level of authenticity that family adults compromise with the delusory system in order to provide for a home and bringing up children. Given the level of delusion in the system such adults often marginalise this systemic fragment from authenticity defining authenticity in their life through their families alone; adults can survive such avoidance of authenticity.
But any further questioning through authenticity is likely to bring conflict, self-esteem is being measured only by dedication to family. Is this authentic? Is there sufficient self-esteem in this level of authenticity? But whilst there is honourable duty in dedication to family, could this also be a compromise with authenticity? And these compromises - dedication to family and the systemic fragment - become especially important when we take an overview of the delusory system, and evaluate that it is destructive potentially at an extinction level. If we see this, then authenticity as family-dedication and systemic fragment itself is a delusion; it cannot be authentic to contribute to an extinction-level system.
Whilst many seekers moving towards authenticity might not have the same vision of the system as zandtao’s intro-vision, their authenticity will still lead to further enquiry. Self-esteem in terms of dedication to family and systemic fragment is not enough, and the further enquiry will lead to an authentic evaluation of what they do. Because of the level of identification with self in our society this becomes an authentic self-evaluation.
What is authentic self-evaluation?
So far there has not really been any recognition of what self is. Within the delusory system there has been self-esteem initially measured by the level of conformed success. This then develops into a compromise where there is a systemic fragment primarily to provide money for dedication to family. As part of the delusory system we are asked to identify with the self of personalities, characteristics and ego that arise from our upbringing, but if our authenticity takes us beyond the above compromise we become lost in trying to answer what is our authentic self?
To best consider this we look at the intro-vision of human infrastructure - Unity-consciousness being evolved by mind-consciousness. Here we have an authentic process of evolving Unity-consciousness; rather than needing closer description of self or others, authentic self is part of this authentic process of evolving Unity-consciousness. Awareness is an awakening to what this process is, and practice is what is required to enable this process of evolving Unity-consciousness.
Once our path has taken us to awareness of this process - a fundamental transcendence of our conditioning, then we must look at any restrictions that conditioning has thrown up to prevent this process. From the intro-vision we have:-
“Unity-consciousness provides us with graces to help us follow our paths, and these graces are described differently depending upon your practice. The purpose of our own consciousness and life’s development is to consciously evolve Unity-consciousness through our mind-consciousness. Our mind-consciousness expects to work with those graces to evolve consciousness once mind-consciousness has released conditioning.”
Are we able to accept and work with Unity-consciousness’s graces? Is our mind-consciousness liberated to accept these graces? What are the restrictions that prevent mind-consciousness from accepting and working with the graces? What are the restrictions that prevent mind-consciousness from being liberated? These are identifying with self as attachments to ego, clinging to contents rather than having a liberated consciousness, and filling the mind with suffering arising from daily life. For mind-consciousness to be liberated it needs to be free from these 3 restrictions.
Understanding attachment
We become stuck when our consciousness is full of content and we don’t try to free up space to develop new insight - and therefore attain the joy of new bliss. Let’s examine this content in terms of our upbringing. What does education do? It is a preparation for the world of work, and we are expected to repeat facts - and initiate or copy behaviours. Facts and imitation are not abilities, they are content - they take up space in consciousness. In the qualifications for the world of work through examinations we are expected to repeat or imitate. Later we will look at “better education through creativity” as part of our practice, an education that does not fill consciousness with content - creating space.
But for the moment let us try to understand attachment and how we can release these attachments - contents - from our consciousness. To do this we must first understand how these contents arise, first coming in our upbringing. When we are young through loving our parents, accepting education, or agreeing to what others (mainly elders) tell us, we build up mental factors that we consider ours - to be us. Born with mother-love and a desire for mother-love, we copy and imitate what brings us love from our mother - and our father. This leads to imitating behaviour that we have not chosen in ourselves, it is a chosen behaviour that arises because our parents want it and we desire parental love. When different people - elders or peers - encourage us to behave in a certain way, they also become imitated behaviours. And we attend school where parents and teachers reward in educational terms different imitated behaviours.
So at different times we have collected an understanding that various imitated behaviours are agreed to for various reasons. When these imitated behaviours become repeated we recognise this repetition, and make a decision that we should repeat these behaviours if conditions associated with these behaviours arise. This decision is paying attention or applying consciousness to the conditions and the resulting behaviour; at a certain point when there has been many repetitions these conditions and behaviours become recognised as part of our character - and become egos; this is attachment to ego. A deepening process of this attachment is called clinging where because it has happened over time we see these egos - conditions and behaviours - as ours; we cling to these egos. Through these repeated egos and continued clinging people identify these egos as our personality, and if this personality is successful we cling to this personality with self-esteem.
As we get older or maybe as a path-trigger we beging to question these egos. When/if we build self-esteem then this can give us the ability to be successful in the system-for-the-rich. But perhaps working successfully in that system needs to be questioned, the way the system-for-the-rich is working at present that questioning might well be guided by natural moral integrity. Do we need so mucd money? Is teh compromise worth it? Does the corporation we work for damage the planet - natural immorality?
One important path-trigger that can arise is that of the Sacred Wound - this Sacred Wound is usually applied in our upbringing. On one level of caring it is perfectly reasonable for parents to want their children to be successful and have money. But maybe that is a parental desire, and as children we might not want that choice. However in the process of conformity to the system-for-the-rich children compromise accepting what parents want; then when they are adults such decisions will be questioned especially if the path is pushing through.
Sadly there is an even worse process that can go in as part of upbringing - even as part of the Sacred Wound. It is possible that parental desire can so conflict with the child's nature that it disturbs the child. If the family environment is so forceful and conforming it might not be possible for the child to express who they are. The child is then forced to suppress who they are, and this leads to formation of shadow egos. The problem with shadow is that it is not under control. Path-triggers can be uncomfortable but the path will not cause immediate harm, it might cause disruption. Shadow however can come out without control and without the caring guidance of the path. It is important when working with ego to consider the possibility of shadow, and to ensure that all egos are integrated.
attachment as dukkha
There are also conditions and the results of conditions that give rise to negative attachments - that zandtao describes as a spectrum of suffering. In this spectrum of suffering could be included mental factors such as stress, agitation, anxiety, depression and mental illness. These mental factors initially arise from consciousness being beneficial such as warnings, if we are able to act upon these warnings the suffering would not arise. But sadly in terms of these behaviours when the conditions arise, the behaviours of the spectrum of suffering arise. What is even worse is that when these conditions arise and the behaviours are repeated, we become attached to these behaviours - becoming attached to suffering.
Let us consider some of these sufferings. At work we have demands placed on us by bosses - reasonable or otherwise, there is some level of acceptance of these demands depending on our agreement to do the work and our agreement to accept the amount of money to do the work. Ideally there would be harmony within the worker concerning the demands, her/his agreement and the money paid. When there is not harmony stress arises naturally, and the level of this stress can lead to illness. To “cure” this illness the individual seeks a better agreement concerning money and work content bringing harmony.
Stress also arises in relationship. Do we meet each other’s needs in that relationship? When needs are not met, relationships start to break down causing stress. If the lack of needs being met becomes a characteristic of the relationship, then there is a breakup thus causing stress. If this is a romantic relationship love could be involved -intensifying the suffering arising during breakup.
Anxiety can also lead to suffering. Anxiety first arises as a warning eg this partner is not appropriate. Perhaps we do not listen to the warning, accept the partner, poor behaviour happens leading to suffering, and then we become anxious concerning further suffering; the warning was not heeded.
As a pretty young woman living in a chauvinist racist society there will be justified warning concerning leaving the house. If such a woman does not have a minder, then she is at risk for racist or sexual abuse. Consciousness warns such a woman about the risks, but sadly in such a society she is unable to do anything about the risks. Anxiety builds. How far does this anxiety build? Perhaps the woman becomes wealthy enough to have a full-time minder, then the physical suffering will occur to the abuser - even though there is suffering in seeing another suffer. Without a minder such a woman finds places to go where she will not feel this anxiety, and so develops a way of life.
For men there is a level of anxiety concerning violence although such abuse is not as common as with women. In patriarchy young men become bullies physically abusing weaker men so weaker men are anxious to leave the home so there is anxiety for men.
And what about the level of abuse that can occur in the home? This anxiety has got to be worse because the individual does not have the choice about leaving the home, their only choice becomes the manipulation of conditions in the home in the hope that abuse does not occur.
We all carry around these levels of suffering to a greater or lesser extent. And we carry around the fear that these abuses will happen. We develop attachments to the suffering, and we develop attachments to the fear that the suffering will arise.
For all people in society we develop attachments that are clinging to ego or suffering and fear of suffering. These attachments are most of the contents that fill our consciousness.
attachment as clinging
One important content of consciousness arises through thought. Thoughts arise naturally, they are primarily mental actions as a response to sensual awareness. We see something and think about it - thoughts, and on occasions we can receive thoughts that do not arise from our sensual awareness. These thoughts are meant to be processed and let go. We see a red traffic light and stop the car - mostly . Once the car is stopped, the thought is let go; we see a green light and move off in the car, the green light thought is let go.
In this way thoughts are meant to be let go but there are times when we cling to these thoughts and this clinging can lead to problems. What is stubbornness? This is clinging. We behave in a certain way - perhaps because we think it is right, it has been right in the past. In the past there have been conditions that led to behaviour, and we repeat to this way of behaving. Perhaps the conditions change slightly and we choose that way of behaving because we have before - stubborn.
This process of clinging becomes more complex. We learn ideas at school, cling to those ideas in society when maybe they are not appropriate. We develop insights but cling to them beyond their sell-by-date. And then there are collections of ideas such as religions in which there is prescribed behaviour. For those who believe in a religion they cling to these ideas and behaviours forming attachments to religion.
What about sexual desire? How is that meant to work? For men is it the intention that throughout the day all they are concerned about is sexual attraction to women - lust? Undoubtedly such attraction must arise but is it intended to dominate the way it does? The system-for-the-rich uses this lust in advertising. In the patriarchal aspect of this system-for-the-rich lust is allowed to exploit women, and can lead to sexual abuse that is not controlled - women live in fear of abuse, the level of conscious fear is individual. Lust affects individual men differently, zandtao also asks the question Does lust affect women and men differently? The level of exploitation and abuse around the roles of women and men is dominant within the system-for-the-rich.
Accompanying a social meeting between a woman and a man sexual attraction might arise, but is it not meant to arise and fall away as part of broader communication and interaction? There is clinging to this desire, and for each individual there is a need to examine this desire and attempt to live with it in a balanced way - balanced by love and sila.
Clinging has a time component to it, and if taken to extreme things might be considered permanent. Yet is any such clinging permanent? It might seem permanent at the time but as conditions change is attachment to thought or desire permanent. We might cling to romantic love of our youth, but over time such relationship changes romantic love evolves based more on compatibility and developing love as you learn more about each other and the way you live together - maybe even the developing spiritual love of agape.
We do not want to cling to memories, and live as if those memories are happening now. We might also have made a plan for life such as "wanting to be a doctor". If such plans don't work out, are we failures? We live to be the best we can be, not living to enact some plan. Live each instant as it comes being in a state of enquiry as to whether what is happening is what we want. Cling neither to the past nor to a future plan, live in the now - without clinging, attaching through time.
Are habits attachment?
The process of forming a habit is the same process as forming an attachment so habits and attachments are the same. Let’s consider the habit of driving a car. We learn to drive the car, and it can be difficult. Once we have passed the test, our driving changes. We don’t always follow the best practices we were taught, and we learn new ways of driving esp if we change where we drive. But when we drive we don’t go back to when we learnt, we have developed habits that circumvent this need, and we remember these habits. In this way we are not always conscious of every step but we can drive safely. When we drive we pay attention to the road but we don’t necessarily pay attention to other driving needs such as changing gear or whatever. So driving is in part conscious and part unconscious, we are conscious when we are using our attention, and this conscious part brings about change in the way we drive. It is my understanding that these habits are neural pathways in the brain.
Most of the things we do are habits - they are not conscious, they do not require our attention. When we put on our clothes we do not focus our attention on how we dress, we simply choose what clothes we want to wear and get dressed. In our upbringing we develop many attachments as habit, once we learn what to do the habit becomes 2nd nature. And there is no need to question them.
But as part of the path we develop enquiry so that we can examine habits - attachments - and release those habits that are not beneficial.
What habits do we question?
Unless we have dental problems we don’t question how we clean our teeth. Unless there are comments about our personal hygiene we do not question how we bathe and how we dress. Something triggers the need to question habits. A blatant example - we join a monastery so we don’t wear glitter and a Saville Row suit. As a simple example our choice of habitual clothes has been triggered by the situation - the conditions of joining the monastery.
When we discussed enquiry in chapter 1 we were asking questions that the path had triggered. What does this mean concerning habits? The path usually does not raise questions about most habits. The path might question the use of herbal toothpaste, the use of electric toothbrush or flossing because these might apply to keeping teeth the best they can be kept, but that sort of habit is not high priority. The path might question whether we choose to work for the Ministry of Defence or an oil corporation, these socially-relevant questions might be triggered by the path. So what habits do we question?
Releasing attachments
zandtao will look at two main aspects of practice. To begin with let us look at releasing attachments. We have already seen that attachments arise out of repeated conditions that we attach or cling to. It is worth considering how we attach and what attaches - based on the repeated conditions.
When the conditions first arise we give attention to these conditions, and we might use mental abilities to decide what to do. When these conditions repeat we might simply respond habitually - similar conditions similar habitual response that over time becomes an habitual unconscious response. Over time this habitual response will become a part of the many habitual responses that occur in daily life.
When the path triggers enquiry we question this habitual response. Consciousness as mindfulness makes us aware of the conditions and the questioning of the response to those conditions. Awareness intercepts the habitual response, holds those conditions and using mental factors decides on a new response. But we need to be conscious that we have got used to these habitual responses. Even though we have made a new decision, the next time we might revert to the habitual response if we do not maintain awareness. If we maintain awareness after initially releasing the attachment then the enquiry triggered by the path breaks down the conditioning. Key to this process is developing awareness that can be used when the path triggers enquiry. In Buddhism this awareness is developed through meditation as mindfulness but there is no reason why such awareness has to be developed using meditation, but what is essential is the ability to be aware of the conditions that the path has triggered an enquiry about.
Habitual responses are attachments that we cling to but they can be useful or not. What we can see is that habitual responses do not fill active consciousness with content but we have lost some control with regards to our response. Is there any need to control the conditions and responses of the liver to detoxify the body? No, but there is a need for awareness to listen to the liver for when there is too much toxic intake and for awareness to respond to that listening. This ability to ensure there is a response is also an important factor in this process, and that factor can be called embodiment - embodying the response - making it happen.
Suppose the path has triggered a question, then awareness will decide on a response based on a re-evaluation of the conditions. But then there is a distraction and the whole process gets forgotten. Awareness has not been able to concentrate sufficiently to focus on the conditions and the evaluation so we need to build up the ability to concentrate and focus our attention.
Overriding Directions
What do we need when we are re-evaluating the condition with our mental factors? Wisdom, there is little point in re-evaluating the conditions that have initially led to the path’s trigger if the new decision is not wise.
To release attachment on one level is a straight-forward process, become aware of the attachment, examine the conditions and wisely let go of the attachment. In describing this release we have to look carefully at what enables the letting go - we have used abilities of consciousness - awareness, concentration, and embodiment. And in this situation we have asked that the overriding direction of the decision be wise.
But there is another overriding direction for decisions and that is agape - spiritual love. If decisions are just wise there is imbalance, equally if decisions are just loving there can also be imbalance. As part of our abilities of consciousness we need also to develop a love-wisdom balance. When we release attachments the process is simply that of letting go. But it is not enough to see practice as this release, it is also necessary that we have developed abilities of consciousness - awareness, concentration and embodiment - that can use love-wisdom balance to make the decision that releases the attachment.
And the final overriding direction to be considered is that of sila. Sila is a Buddhist word that has a specific meaning in terms of the Noble 8-fold path of the 4 Noble Truths, but it is not the specific Buddhist meaning that zandtao is looking for. Sila is often translated as moral integrity - avoiding moral codes or rules such as the 10 commandments. But the reason zandtao likes the word sila is because Buddhism is a nature religion, and the best way zandtao has of looking at this ability of consciousness is that it is a natural moral integrity. When the path arises it brings with it a natural moral integrity of sila-consciousness So the 3 overriding directions that apply to the decision-making for the release of attachments are love-wisdom and sila.
Sila - Ability of consciousness
We have discussed abilities of consciousness that are needed. Firstly we have awareness and concentration that enables us to grasp the conditions and attachment for consideration. To process the decision we have the overriding directions of love-wisdom and sila that the mental factors measure against. And we finally have embodiment where once the release has been made, that decision is embodied in daily life.
Above we described the development of egos “When these imitated behaviours become repeated we recognise this repetition, and make a decision that we should repeat these behaviours if conditions associated with these behaviours arise. This decision is paying attention or applying consciousness to the conditions and the resulting behaviour; at a certain point when there has been many repetitions these conditions and behaviours become recognised as part of our character - and become egos; this is attachment to ego.” This attachment is described as arising from imitated behaviours during upbringing. When the path triggers consideration of an attachment, then it is quite conceivable that such an attachment is brought into question through not being loving, wise or moral.
Let us consider the environment of upbringing where these imitated behaviours are developed. It is quite likely to be in the upbringing in which a family works in the system-for-the-rich. In that situation the father and mother have accepted the world of wage-slavery, and the decisions in their work environment will be made by a code of practice that would benefit the system-for-the-rich. Such a code could well be considered greedy. In the intro-vision, the system-for-the-rich was described as a vision-with-delusion. At the same time there is a need for a diminishing of other peoples. This could start with mentalities such as a dog-eat-dog world. There could be the propaganda in the world that ensures that during war the opposition are created as demons. German friends bill often associates with on a personal level were killed by his father’s generation and vestiges of demonisation existed when he was growing up. If such conditioned behaviours were measured against benchmarks of love-wisdom and sila, they would not be part of our upbringings. So when our awareness and focus grasps a problem, and analyses conditions based on love-wisdom and sila, then such attachment is not warranted and we let go. On a practical level letting go might not be so easy, hence the importance of embodiment - the importance of putting into practice in our daily lives understanding that arises through abilities of consciousness.
Looking at consciousness
We have reached a stage of understanding where if we don’t examine consciousness it will be confusing. Consciousness is huge and this is in no way an attempt to define consciousness; zandtao sees such definition as an impossibility. What we can do is consider the functioning of consciousness in order to help our practice. .zandtao is going to consider this functioning in 3 broad loosely-described areas - brain-consciousness, mind-consciousness and Unity-consciousness, and ask how these relate to practise?
So far in our description of the release of attachment we have spoken of habits - habitual attachment, contents of consciousness with releasing attachments and abilities of consciousness used to release attachment. Good habits are mostly connected with brain-consciousness. Are we aware of how we walk? At our most conscious we might choose a style of walking, but we do not consciously think of how we use our walking muscles. Perhaps in old age we become more conscious of knee involvement in walking but we basically walk as a habit; zandtao associates that habit of walking as a function of brain-consciousness. There is a normal functioning of walking that is part of brain-consciousness but if there is an event that is not-normal it moves outside of brain-consciousness to mind-consciousness for consideration. .zandtao sees habits as part of brain-consciousness, and as such he does not become aware of these habits as part of his practice - mostly.
Brain-consciousness also works with perception of events - a kind of sorting-house. As we move through daily life all kinds of events are happening around us. As zandtao now looks up from the computer he can see all around him. But when his focus is on writing he does not see around him. But the senses are still working and brain-consciousness examines that input and releases those sense-events as “not worthy of current attention”. The mind-consciousness of zandtao is currently paying attention to writing and brain-consciousness falls in line with that in its processing of sense events. One might think of this sorting as a form of habit - habitual sense-events happening around that are not worthy of attention.
TV crime-drama. We have many versions of the same event because each individual’s attention is on different things. If the police were able to access the brain-consciousness of all witnesses they would be similar and a true description, but there is no memory - no attachment; brain-consciousness sorts and releases te sense-event. Different descriptions of the sense-event are recalled because of the different attentions.
So we reach an important understanding:- mind-consciousness deals with matters worthy of attention, so when the path triggers concern about an attachment it becomes worthy of attention in mind-consciousness. We have already described the process of letting go of attachment, and as we do that we are releasing contents from consciousness - attachments in mind-consciousness. In mind-consciousness we apply the 3 freedoms of releasing from attachment to ego, from clinging and from suffering - different contents of mind-consciousness.
But in order to release attachments we have used abilities of consciousness - awareness, concentration, embodiment, sila and love-wisdom balance. These belong to the 3rd consciousness - Unity-consciousness, but can be aligned with through mind-consciousness. Our paths are attempting to bring us back to Unity-consciousness so it triggers events that lead to releasing attachment. To release attachment or restriction we need the abilities that arise from Unity-consciousness, the path is taking us towards that Unity-consciousness.
Unity-consciousness brings with it the plus side of spirituality; in Unity-consciousness we have bliss especially with firstgrace - less so later as the spiritual path becomes more of our daily awareness. There are a number of words associated with connection to this Unity-consciousness. Eckhart uses presence, many Christians use the word grace. Look for presence in your experience, it is a way of recognising Unity-consciousness.
.zandtao sees these abilities of consciousness as graces - awareness, concentration, embodiment, sila and love-wisdom balance, and he is glad to get away from the clumsy “abilities of consciousness”. As we develop Unity-consciousness we develop graces. We might hear of people “expanding consciousness spiritually”; as we develop Unity-consciousness there is a feeling of expansion. In a sense there is an expansion but zandtao prefers to describe it as an end to restriction. As part of our conditioning we have been restricted to functioning in brain-consciousness and mind-consciousness, as we transcend conditioning - as our paths trigger, we increasingly become part of Unity-consciousness developing the graces that enable us to release attachment - end restriction. Our practice is the tool we use to develop the graces and release attachments.
Let’s look more at how understanding these 3 functional delineations helps us with our practice. Firstly we have the triggers of the path that are how the path begins to fulfil its function - aligning with Unity-consciousness. But we can only control to some extent brain-consciousness and mind-consciousness. So what the triggers work on is helping the mind-consciousness align with Unity-consciousness. That is an important element of our practice - aligning with Unity-consciousness.
What the triggers do is to make the mind aware of attachments that need releasing, and using the graces we can release attachments. When we discussed the 3 freedoms we became aware of what these attachments can be so that we can free ourselves from the restrictions of attachment to ego, clinging and suffering. Where do these restrictions come from? Upbringing. In our upbringing we learn to cling to attachments that are the agreements we make with the intro-vision - agreements that we make with the system-for-the-rich.
In a sense, during upbringing our brain-consciousness encroaches into mind-consciousness. Through our conditioning we develop habits about things that the system-for-the-rich wants us to develop, things which nature has designed for us to use mind-consciousness to resolve. It is these habits, these attachments that the mind needs to work on in order to align with Unity-consciousness. Once the mind-consciousness is free of these contents, it is freer to align with Unity-consciousness.
Basically in our upbringing there is a process of conformity that involves restricting mind-consciousness with attachments, attachments that we learn in order to conform to this system-for-the-rich. At some point in adult life our paths begin with their purpose of aligning with Unity-consciousness. If there is sufficient readiness for this alignment we recognise triggers that indicate attachments that need to be released. Then begins a process of alignment through whatever practice you choose so that you can get as close as possible to connecting with Unity-consciousness.
Essentially mind-consciousness needs to examine the habits we have formed in our upbringings to see those that have been developed by conditioning and those that are intended for brain-consciousness. To distinguish between the two attachments zandtao uses attachments that the 3 freedoms need to address and habits that are part of the usual purview of brain-consciousness. Because throughout our lives we live within the conditioning of the system-for-the-rich, we need to be aware of attempts to form and reform attachments as part of that living in the system-for-the-rich. Unity-consciousness gives us the graces to help in our practice of not reforming attachments.
To put this in a simple way we need everything in its place. We need to realign with Unity-consciousness. To do this we need to free up mind-consciousness so the mind-consciousness can fulfil its purpose of alignment. As we free up the mind-consciousness then we recognise what is the purview of brain-consciousness and don’t use mind-consciousness functioning to deal with brain-consciousness functioning. We have our practice to align mind-consciousness.
Core Components
At this point we start to look at details in practice, and those details are for every seeker to describe for themselves. Later in this chapter zandtao will give the example of those details for his practice but to begin with he will examine what he calls core components of practice. These core components are written with the purpose of guidance and are not an actual practice. Are these guides within your own practice?
Importance of Practice 
. Once the car is stopped, the thought is let go; we see a green light and move off in the car, the green light thought is let go.