Is Natural Awareness Enough?

There are many spiritual teachers out there today who say that all one needs to do is practice being present -- and that any practice requiring effort is a distraction to an authentic path. In my experience, this sort of approach does not work at all.

In many of the world’s great traditions, the peak of the path is a simple open-heart, awareness practice. These practices are actually non-practices because one just simply abides in the natural condition of reality, without messing with or contriving anything.

Practicing like this sounds easy. It sounds like nothing could be simpler: just resting in the way things are. But if you try it for yourself, you’lll find it is incredibly difficult -- there's simply no traction. As much as you attempt to abide in this state, you just keep forgetting about it. This is because the massive collection of mental and physical habits that we have accumulated keep pulling us out of presence. Those habits have become our default state. And since our pristine nature is not a fabricated condition, it cannot be efforted into existence.

The way to become capable of resting in the natural condition is to actually do the practices that purify us of habits and reactive emotions, so that we can relax more and more. This is why resting is the peak of the path and not the beginning.

In addition, there is something about the openness of the present moment that really freaks us out. The groundlessness of that experience can be very unnerving, and if we are not prepared, it can cause psychological problems. 

Tibetan Buddhism in its wisdom emphasizes the cultivation of great faith, even and especially in advanced practices. Faith, in this context, is not belief or blind faith. Faith is the capacity to trust our experience and nature deeply. This trust helps us relax and allows us to open. The more we trust, the more we naturally relax. We simply, naturally stop grasping at everything in an attempt to fill up space.

In this sense, the path is a graduated affair one must work step by step. The traditions have set it up this way for good reason: the great masters all through history found the same problems that we will find. It’s wise and prudent to follow their advice and practice the path as it is presented and not try to create shortcuts.

If you are interested in learning more, shoot me an email.

All the Best

Damien Abel