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The Way of Being © Anil Mitra, 1986 – 2025 Contents A balance of emotion, reason, sharing, and action The place of ways from tradition First things – on waking before the sun Activities for the way of being Foundation and development of the way Other activities – also elements of realization Ideas—foundation and development of the way Becoming—immersive and instrumental The Way of Being Introduction
and background
This
work presents path templates for realization according to the way of being as
in the short way of
being.html, the long little
manual.html, and the in process outline of the way-new.html. The
templates are samples and may be seen as templates for templates, which
readers may adapt to their situations. Background
The way
of being is background. The essentials are that the universe is the
realization of the greatest kind of possibility and therefore has identity
and is limitless in extension, duration, peak and dissolution; all beings
inherit this limitlessness and merge in the peaks; and – there are efficient
and intelligent pathways to the ultimate. On pathways
Enlightened
ways
The aim
of an enlightened, healthy, or effective lifeway or pathway is effective realization of the
ultimate, beginning with its best form in this world (i.e., the world of the
seeking beings). That
is, there is dual focus on quality of life in our world and the ultimate. The
effective path recognizes that experiential human being is discrete over
‘ordinary time’ (e.g., lives) but ultimate – peak being – over long enough
times or at a level of description above time; that is, birth and death are
real but not absolute—locally but not absolutely real. In
this world the individual experience—perception, thought, feeling, will, and
action—is the focus of ends – political, economic, moral and other
(positively because it is where all significance lies and negatively by
elimination of inanimate / non-feeling objects). Groups and institutions are
important, but their importance derives from the significance of individual
experience. In the universe at large, experience itself is the focus and
generator of all ends (and, thus, ‘inanimate objects’ are included because,
when primitive experience is taken into consideration, they are not
essentially non-experiential). A
healthy pathway (physical, mental, communal, and spiritual) attends to needs
and effective action individual, society, and world, in meditative, material,
and immersive aspects of the dimensions on a path to the ultimate. A healthy
life emphasizes the needs of the individual and society in this world and on
the way to the ultimate. A
balance of emotion, reason, sharing, and action
Enlightenment seeks balance and integration
of emotion, reason (fact, inference), and action in interest (service) of self, other, community,
world, and approach to peak being. An
enlightened path (i) seeks intelligent and shared negotiation (not just following received
ways or masters) (ii) results in a replica – typically incomplete – of the
ultimate in the being – body and mind – of the individual in ‘this’ life and
rarely in the ultimate itself (iii) but is on the way to the ultimate and
while realization is given, the enlightened path is efficient in realization
of the ultimate as we cross from life to life, from form to form, amid the
myriad of cosmoses, while dwelling in nothingness in between. Pleasure
and pain
Pleasure and pain (physical pain, doubt, anxiety) are unavoidable.
The issues of pleasure and pain are addressed (i) in that pleasure for its
own sake need not be avoided, but paths emphasize pleasure in being on the
way—on the path (ii) by shared negotiation of pathways (in which leaders may
arise but are not seen as absolute in truth) (iii) with therapy – the best
therapy of the time (iv) by the able and fortunate giving aid to the less
able or fortunate (v) by attention without obsession to healthy living –
physical, mental, communal, and spiritual (vi) and above all that local
enlightenment which avoids illusions of ideal perfection but seeks a
pragmatic balance of emotion (particularly pleasure and pain), reason, and
action on shared paths—i.e., as far as reasonable, seeks process through and
not around pain. Effective
pathways
Effective
pathways address living in the immediate world on the way to the
ultimate—they address the everyday and the universal, (and, as elaborated in the document outline of the way-new.docm),
dimensions of being (i) at a high level the pure
subject and object aspects of experience (ii) in the world, the pragmatic.
Particularly included are (a) meditation, calming, analytic, and
visionary (including an attempt to visualize and ways to actualize panbeing)
(b) yogic or healthy living directed at
individual, family, work, and community – local to global and immediate in
time to ultimate. Thus,
enlightenment pertains to being in this world for the ultimate is not in need
of enlightenment; in received religion, enlightenment is often thought to be
a kind of ideal perfection; however, the real perfection emerged here sees it
as a good to best mix of an idealized notion of perfection and the work –
even struggle – of being on a path. About
religion
As far
as unjustified belief or disbelief are religious, most people who have a
position on the truth of dogmatic religion are religious. The
path of the way is open to use of religion though
not to its dogmatic insistence. We recognize two approaches in religion—one
that emphasizes a relationship with a powerful divine element which may
symbolically energize a positive life and another that emphasizes correct
thought, speech, and action on the way to realization which may be mundane or
universal. The
place of ways from tradition
The mix
of (i) the ideal and the struggle vs perfection and (ii) negotiation vs
following are two differences between the path described here and common
received ways. As the worldview of the present system is ultimate, the paths
here frame received pathways. The present system gives preference to those
received pathways that see limited being as on the way to the ultimate rather
than the ultimate as a remote reward. Still, all systems are recognized for
symbolic and community value. Path
programs
The planning focus of an individual-as-individual-as-communal-and-for-discovery-and-realization
is a flexible routine selected from options—(i)
awaken early – affirmation of being, dedication to realization, meditation on
sustaining an attitude of achievement and equilibrium with others through
distraction and pain, review priorities and how and when to die; (ii) recognition
of ground issues—safety, security, focus on the way, health issues
(medications, diet, mental and physical exercise, sleep), and discipline;
(iii) morning tasks—medications and treatments, open files to edit, walk –
stretch – vitamins – breakfast – fluids, set times and reminders; (iv)
developing and foundation for the way—ideas, experience, reflection, study,
cowriting and editing, publishing, and presenting; (v) living the way (one’s
way)—ideas, attention to self – meditative and physical, immersion in nature
and the real, attention to community – social action (political-economic, of
laws, technological, and cultural—knowledge development and transmission, tradition,
art, religion), attention to spiritual being, relations and networking,
acting roles; (vi) pressing and urgent action—being present to the real –
emptiness now, security, safety, money, place, and pushing the way; (vii)
daily and weekly tasks, lunch, review of plans and planning, preparation and
planning for travel and immersion; (viii) exercise—aerobic, stretching, light
weights; excursions and photography; (ix) evening rest and review,
preparation for the next day, relaxation, social activities, networking;
sleep early. Summary—(i)
morning routine and tasks (ii) the way – foundation and transformation, with
relationships and sharing (iii) pressing and urgent agenda – emptiness now,
security, safety, push twb (iii) tasks and lunch (iv) exercise (v) pm routine
(vi) sleep early. Overview
of the templates
There
are two complementary templates in this document—everyday and universal. Both
attend to the immediate and the ultimate, the individual and the universal. Their
foci are— 1.
The everyday
template focuses on the immediate, the individual, and the communal. 2.
The universal
template focuses on the ultimate, the communal, shared action, and peak being
or Brahman. Resources
There
are three downloadable, editable, and printable Microsoft Word 365 templates—every day - home.docm,
every day - away.docm,
universal.docm. There
are also pdf versions—every
day - home.pdf, every
day - away.pdf, universal.pdf.
The pdf versions were created and may be edited with Word 365 – some
formatting may be needed. The
templates have further information in footnotes. Everyday template
The
template is designed to be adaptable to life situations, interest, being at
home vs away, and choice of activities. It
is a template of templates – a menu (i) of possibilities for a range of
persons and situations (ii) options for activities. First
things – on waking before the sun1
Affirmation
“Every being is all being. The void, the universe, and all beings are one. Tat tvam asi— ‘Thou art that’ “. Dedication2
“We dedicate our lives to (the way of) being, To living in the immediate
and ultimate as one. To its shared discovery and realization, Under the pure and pragmatic dimensions of being. To shedding the bonds of limited self, So that the path is flow, relative to force. To realizing the ultimate in this life and beyond.” Review the day3,
life, path of realization. Set
attitude
Set
attitude for
the day+—limitlessness, dedication and affirmation,
relationships. Reset attitude if in doubt,
insecurity, distress, or pain—meditate – accept, reflect, breathe; exercise
(hatha yoga) in nature. Rise
before the sun
Greet
others. Coffee
in nature. Set
times for
optional activities. Breakfast. Short walk, stretching, light weights. Activities
for the way of being
Foundation
and development of the way
For
realization—study,
experience, reflect, critique, synthesize, write, publish, advertise. For
living—ground,
below. Ground
Material—finance, place to live, place
to retreat. Discipline—balance moving forward with
waiting for aware readiness, flexible routine, minimize diversion. Relationships—attention to others, shared
attention to all activities of mutual need and interest. Empowerment—self (attitude, meditation),
engage with the world, consultation on needs. School—school is a focus, yet energy
of youth through early retirement may make it possible to include other
activities. Work—see comments in the previous
item. Retirement—an opportunity to focus on
relationships with persons, nature, society, and the universe. Late
retirement through death—continuation of retirement activities at a level that matches
lesser capacity balanced with an awareness of the magic of being, awareness
and acceptance of death as real but not necessarily as absolute (for
those—but not only those—who regard death as absolute, an existential
attitude may be adopted). Adaptability—adapting and learning how to
adapt to changing circumstance of self and world, e.g., in relationships,
school to work to retirement to late retirement through death, and the losses
and gains involved. Note—of course existential and
learning-from attitudes to death are appropriate at all aware phases of life. Pressing
and urgent issues
Being
empty this instant – present to the world, beauty, horror, without design
judgment. Safety. Security
– income, place with access to nature and relationships. Push
the way of being. Directed
realization
The
day—physical
yoga; meditation – emptying; mindful – on awareness, living, the real,
realization. Immersion4, home—nature5,
societies with culture6 (languages), meditation as
portals to the universal. Immersion,
away—items
above – travel, journey, exploration; solo and shared. Instrumental—science, technology (AI),
politics, economics, communal spirituality as universal portals Other
activities – also elements of realization
Tasks
Daily—check and resolve needs,
cleanliness, lunch. Weekly
through monthly—shop,
clean, prepare food, appearance. Exercise
Two
hours—walking,
biking, excursions for exploration and photography. Evening
Review—the day, plan the next day
(details below) – items, times, exercise route, review the way, meditate. Network—friends, relationships, share
the way; create opportunities for publication, publicity, and funding. Last
things—relaxation,
snack, entertainment, music, and simple enjoyment. Planning – everyday
Select
activities. Set
up a daily schedule, perhaps in the form of a table. Enhance
the schedule by introducing flexibility. Given access to software with
programming capabilities, automation of the schedule may be introduced. Sleep early
Universal
template
The
template is designed to be adaptable to life situations, interest, being at
home vs away, and choice of activities for individuals and societies. Kinds
of activity have a basis in the dimensions
of being7,
8
in the
way of being. In the template, the dimension or other important
aspect is underlined. Related and secondary items are in separate
paragraphs or lines without underlining. Being
in the world9
Pure
being—yoga,
meditation, immersion, ideas to action. Community—education (general, paradigm, ways of life),
retreat to the real, renewal, development-reemphasis of paradigm. Ideas10—foundation and development
of the way
Relation—knowing as relation to the
world, reason, art; acting—effective creation of the real. Means—reason, imagination, meditation and yoga, and the real metaphysics. Becoming—immersive4 and instrumental
Nature11 as catalyst to the real. Animal
being and devolution—observation, situational empathy, defocus, reason. Society12—civilization as vehicle and
path to the real. Transformation
via psyche—by immersion in social groups as place of being and catalyst to
the real. Artifact13—civilizing the universe
(especially technology as enhancing being in the universe). Universe
as peak consciousness via spread of sapient being with agency. Universal14, incompletely known. The common way from self to Being (Atman to
Brahman), via the block universe and extended secular worlds consistent with
experience of and in the world. Being
in the universe15
Universal—realizing Peak Being (Brahman)
in the present. Said to
be rarely achieved in ‘this life’ which is a beginning that is continued
beyond death. Outcome
of previous items, being in the world, ideas, and becoming—immersive and
instrumental. The
means are in the previous dimensions, the everyday templates above, and are
further open to discovery. The open life may be chosen (or natural to the
person) at any phase of life, but may be most natural to the phases of
retirement and late retirement through death Planning – universal
1.
Review phases of
life, reflect on possible emphases for life and the phases. 2.
Assess current
phase and select activities of focus. 3.
Review and plan
daily, short, and long term aims and possible activities. 4.
Include timeframe
to execute and then review, assess, renew, and alter plans. 5.
Build these
elements into everyday planning. Endnotes
1 On waking before the sun—rising
before the world, enables looking at the world as special, sets a good tone
for the day. It is an efficient use of daylight. 2 Dedication and
affirmation—detailed versions—the headings and explanations on the right
are not said; the first line of each paragraph on the left is said boldly,
while the next lines are said in response. DEDICATION We dedicate our lives to (The Way of) Being What does ‘living in the immediate and the ultimate as
one’ mean? THE
WAY OR MEANS To its shared discovery and
realization In the metaphysics, the universe is shown to be limitless, It follows that all beings are limitless (Logic is not a limit on the real but, The universe is found to have experiential identity The effective path is not just the followed path, The means are the aware and object sides of experience— To follow a path is enjoyment itself, While there are no ultimate limits, THE
PATH To shedding bonds of limited
self Approaches to shedding the bonds are SUMMATION
OF THE PATH To realizing the ultimate in
this life and beyond— AFFIRMATION—A ritual reminder of
identity of self and Being “That pure unlimited consciousness—transcending all
principles of form… that is supreme reality. That is the ground for the
establishment of all things—and that is the essence of the universe. By That
the universe lives and breathes, and That alone am I. Thus, I embody
and am the universe in its ordinary and most transcendent form.” Abhinav
Gupta, 10th century philosopher and mystic of Kashmir. Identity of every being with the being of the universe AFFIRMATION—Groundlessness
of being Every being is, grounds, and
reflects all being— The void and therefore every being is generative of all
being(s); 3 Supplement to review—meditation on the needs of the
day. This Vipasana meditation may be unstructured. The extent of the
review depends on need. An accumulation of expectation and planning may
occasion extensive review, perhaps of a few hours to days. 4 Immersion begins with focus on first order experience,
i.e., defocus on experience of experience—and, thus, defocus on self. 5 For nature—Beyul—a
tradition of Tibetan Buddhism is travel and being in nature, sometimes to
remote places, in search of extended experience of self and the ultimate,
with openness to inspiration. Nature photography. 6 For culture—experience traditions for learning and impact
on identity. 7 Being-in-the-world—pure, community,
retreat. Ideas—reason, metaphysics, action. Becoming—nature, society, artifact, and
beyond (the incompletely known universe) as catalysts and path to the real. Being-in-the-universe—realizing
Peak Being in the present or beyond death—means: the previous items (being,
ideas, becoming) the everyday templates,
and open. 8 Most individuals and groups whose emphasis is realization, will
follow being in the world, becoming, and being in the universe. 9 Pure being here and now… being as if timeless and without
restriction to place in the present—means: everyday
(everyday template) process is bridges the immediate-ultimate. Sangha or community—a spiritual
home and sharing community (home and community are ground to truth which
gives back to normative truth in Sangha) means: building
community and civilization (c) Retreat for vision quest and
experience of Being. 10 Ideas and experience are the first and final place of
being, significance, and action; and are instrumental in realization. 11 Nature, psyche, and their interactions; immersion in nature as a
place of being and catalyst to the real. Effect on culture and understanding
of the universal. Sources. Nature
as ground for the real and renewal—with focus on nature as gateway. Beyul,
quest for the real, as in Tibetan Buddhism. Explanation
and details.
Nature is inspiration as essential place of and
portal to Being, catalyst to meditation and ideas. Life in nature exemplifies
being (a useful reflection is—on the Being of land, plants, and animals and
to know that Being is illuminative of self and attained not just by
meditation but also in immersion, for which one beginning is defocus on
experience of experience and focus on earth, sky, trail, and plant and animal
worlds). Meditation (yoga) is an intrinsic way to centered and transformative
attitude in this world and shedding limitations (bondage) of self and growing
into the universal. 12 Civilization and society as vehicle
and path to the real (culture and its dimensions; instrumental and immersive
politics and economics). Transformation of individuals via psyche—by travel
and immersion in social groups, informal and institutional or formal, as
place of being and catalyst to the real. Informal—self, family,
community, and world. Institutional aspects—(i) accessing the range of
social and cultural institutions of society (from earlier: political,
economic, technological, military, academic or research and education,
artistic and religious) (ii) building specific institutions for realization
and community. One beginning of political immersion is seeing politics
not as institutionalized, but as individual and common endeavor toward
individual and common goals, particularly with defocus on state and focus on
individual action and effective levels of individual and group action. Sources. The system
of human knowledge—is a guide to secular and transsecular elements of
local through global action. Meditation is (self) guide to shedding bonds of
self and to action. For instrumental transformation of society see political
and cultural economics. Details—immersion. The
individual does not stand outside the world as just objective
observer and commentator. The individual as experiential-relational
being is key. Engagement may begin at any point in a cycle of self and social
awareness > speaking one’s truth and action > group action and Sangha
> re-form (self, other, world). Self and world awareness are essential to
the cycle and an effective place to begin— Details—attitude. Awareness
of self and limitation—and to openly aim at the highest in this life and
beyond (and recognition of poverty of exclusively secular and exclusively
dogmatic). Cultivation of attitude in meditation-yoga-practice. Details—problems, challenges, and
opportunities of the world. A crucial problem is that of the nature of
the world. The real metaphysics is true and
illuminating. However, since there are so many views, many held passionately,
there will be natural resistance. One default that may be found acceptable is
a limited secular view. This, however, presents a paradox—because world views
are in conflict, it promotes the least of them. A
resolution is to hold to the real metaphysics but speak it where effective;
this is perhaps the minimal resolution consistent with truth. Thus, the truth
may illuminate the world of problem and opportunity.
Another problem is to identify the problems and opportunities. Some
common approaches identify only the material problems such as war, hunger and
so on). Such approaches are limited (a) in identifying only material
problems, but not the entire range of challenges and opportunities, material
and other (b) in not identifying the world political-economy as key to
resolution of the issues and therefore a problem-opportunity
in itself. Approaches
to political-economy are (i) the way politics and economics are done (ii) the
science and practice of politics and economics (iii) related philosophy, not
ideological per se, that identifies the nature or kind of thing (referent)
that politics-economics is (iv) immersion via reflection, meditation, and
action in politics-economics by the individual. Sources. For problems etc, see challenges
and opportunities in journey
in being. 13 Artifact has potential as sapient
being, reservoir of our being, and auxiliary in our search for intrinsic
and instrumental being (e.g., the spread of ideas and civilization). Details. Artifactual being as realized
being and as adjunct (science and technology of advanced civilization on the
way to the ultimate; use of computation and networking in realization—as
adjunct and as independent identity). Address of pain via modern medicine and
therapy, supplemented by what is good in the traditions, is important to
individuals and realization by civilization—either in part or in whole. Sources. See system of
human knowledge, for artifactual being. 14 The path to Being. Where secular and transsecular
paradigms visualize completeness or impossibility of completeness,
there is neither completeness nor impossibility. This action is on the way to
the ultimate. Details. Transformation aimed at the
universal deploys catalysts and ways and their conceptual and experimental
development under the real metaphysics, for the transformation of
being-civilization. The use of the catalysts and ways is in everyday process,
renewal, knowledge, and technology. Sources. See dynamics,
catalysts and catalytic states, and ways
and catalytic states. 15 “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”—T.S. Elliot. |