MasterPok's blog

Reality is real

but the real

is not the Actual.

 

The Actual

is what is there

where the real

only appears to be.

 

A reflection is real

but still is not

what is actually there

where it appears to be.

 

And so it is

with all of reality

with all that we call real.

 

Caught up in the forms

that we call reality

we lose sight of the Actuality,

and so lose sight

of what is actually there

where the reflection we call reality

only appears to be.

 

And in losing sight

of what is actually there

where the reflection we call reality

only appears to be

we lose sight of ourselves.

 

And in losing sight of ourselves

we see only the forms,

see only the realities,

which then leads us

to the mistaken conclusion

that we too are a form,

that we too are a reality.

 

And so we become lost in a reflection

that only arises

within our now hidden Self.

 

And so we think that we are real.

But we are far more than real,

for we are the Actual

within which the real arises

like a reflection

on the surface of a pond.

 

So what is this Actuality

within which reality arises

like a reflection

on the surface of a pond?

 

It is not other than the Formlessness

which apprehends as reality

the forms that arise within Itself,

and which forms it mistakes for Itself

when it has lost sight

of it formless Self,

when it has lost sight

of its formless Being.

 

But that which is lost

can be found,

and that which is hidden

can  be revealed

once it is understood that

the forms that compose reality

are less fundamental

than the formless Actuality

upon which reality rests

and by which reality is apprehended

and known as real.

 

Know yourself as a reality,

know yourself as some form,

and you lose sight

of the formless Actuality

that you always are

always have been

and always will be.

 

For when you think that

what is only a reflection

is what is actually there

then the mirror

within which the reflection arises

becomes hidden

while still in plain sight.

 

But know yourself as the Actuality

and you do not lose sight of reality,

as a reflection does not disappear

once one recognizes

the presence

of the mirror

within which it arises.

 

Know yourself as the Actuality

and you only lose sight

of the related illusions

that reality is what you are,

and that reality is what is actually there

where it appears to be.

 

Because once you know yourself

as the formless Actuality

and not as some reality

you then know your Self

to be what is actually there

wherever the reflection

that we call reality

only appears to be.

 

Reality is real

but the real

is not the Actual.

 

The Actual is what you are.

The real is only

what you appear to be.

 

The real is only a reflection

that arises within the Actual

causing the Actual to appear

as if it were only real.

 

This is the essence of maya,

the essence of the illusion

by which Beingness,

by which the Actual,

hides Itself from Itself

while remaining always

in plain sight of Itself,

obscured only by that which

the Actual Itself

apprehends as real,

but obscured only

when the Actual mistakes

what it apprehends as real

for itself.

Reality is a thin veneer

that lies over and obscures

what is actually there

where reality appears to be.

 

How thin is the veneer of reality?

As thin as a reflection on a pool of water.

 

But that reflection can only hide

what lies below

as long as you think

it is what you are.

 

For when you think

it is what you are

you remain focused upon it

and what is actually there

remains hidden

while still in plain sight.

 

What is actually there

where reality appears to be?

What is it that remains hidden

while still in plain sight?

 

Nothing that seems important

as long as the forms

that you apprehend as and call reality

seem to be

of primary importance.

 

And that is how it remains hidden

while still in plain sight.

Because as long as you identify with the forms

that you apprehend as and call reality,

as long as you think those forms

are what you are,

those forms, those realities,

which are only reflections,

only a thin veneer,

seem more real

than the underlying Actuality

upon which they rest,

seem more real

than the underlying Actuality

by which they are apprehended and known

as reality. 

 

So what is actually there

where reality appears to be?

What is it that remains hidden

while still in plain sight?

 

It cannot truly be said,

because what is actually there

where the forms

that you apprehend as and call reality

appear to be

is not Itself a form

and so is not itself a reality.

 

And yet it Is,

else no form, no reality,

could ever exist,

or be known to exist.

 

And so what is actually there

where reality appears to be

can only be pointed toward

by saying that it is That by which

the forms that you call reality

are apprehended and known as reality.

 

And it can truly be said

that That which is not itself a form, not itself a reality,

and yet is That by which all forms are known as reality,

is what you truly are

and is also what you can know yourself to be

once you recognize reality

to be but a reflection,

to be but a thin veneer,

and so turn your attention

away from the reflection

toward what lies below,

toward what was always there

but was hidden

while still in plain sight

while your attention remained focused

upon the forms, upon the reality

that you only thought you were,

upon the forms, upon the reality

that you only seemed to be.

 

What we experience as reality,

emotional, mental, and physical,

is nothing more than the forms that arise

like a sort of boundary or etching

as That which is actually there,

as That which is beyond reality,

as That which is beyond words,

as That which is beyond conception,

flows in relation to Itself

and so becomes defined in relation to Itself,

and then apprehends as reality

the forms, the etchings, the boundaries,

that have arisen within Itself

as a result of its flow,

as a result of its movement,

as a result of its being,

in relation to Itself. 

 

And so it is not that reality

is not real,

because it is.

 

It is only that reality

is not really

what we are.

 

Put another way,

it is not the realness of reality

that is in question,

it is only the realness of reality

as what we are

that we need to question.