I agree that we are to develop mindfulness to its fullest extent, but the scriptures say that Nibbana is not developed or cultivated, because it is unchanging. Mindfulness is developed. Nibbana is not.
Nibbana just means extinquish, so you put out the fires of greed hatred and delusion and what remains is cool, calm and bliss. Nibbana is not a state or anything like that, its just terminology IMO
Mindfulness is developed. Nibbana is not.[/
In a sense Mindfulness is uncovered and so strengthened, not developed, for example when in meditation you dont practice to achieve, to become or make something, you practice to let go and so uncover through that letting go. There is no "i am mindful" or "i will be mindful" if one is truly aware, there is just mindfulness
so by letting go ones mindfulness becomes stronger. IMO the word "developed" is just a conventional word to imply the strengthening of mindfulness
Thats coming from my experience during meditation anyway
Being aware and being mindful are two different things. Mindfulness is a special type of awareness involving bare, focused attention. It leads to enlightenment and gives us glimpses into reality, but that doesn't mean that we are seeing things like a buddha merely because we are mindful
Mindfulness in the term we use is basic, awareness in terms of the arahant is still mindfulness just pure. When we are being mindful during meditation we arent seeing things as a buddha would because our minds are still tarnished with defilements.
When mindfulness is developed the defilements weaken and then eventualy disolve thus leading to deeper and more pure/refined awareness and therefor since the more aware one is the more one understands, the closer one gets to enlightenment which is pure awareness and pure knowing
All types of consciousness are impermanent and change continually, according to the Buddha. Consciousness changes from moment to moment. (I explained this to some extent above.) All are dependent arisings. This is a teaching of the Buddha: "For in many ways I have stated consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without a condition there is no origination of consciousness." (MN 38.7) "...consciousness is reckoned by the particular condition dependent upon which it arises..." (MN 38.8)
These are sense consciousness, pure awareness can be said to be pure consciousness (although these are just words trying to describe something thats hard to describe)
All types of consciousness are impermanent and change continually
Yes they do and when there is pure awareness one is aware of them changing, the awareness itself is permanent because its always aware of everything, seeing everything as it is (when defilements are gone)
The other kind of consciouness is mentioned here
Consciousness without surface,
without end,
luminous all around
"Consciousness without surface"
Without surface i take as pure awareness being without features, so good/bad, I and mine and so on
"Without end"
Without end because awareness is always aware, that is to say there is no boundry for awareness (getting hard to describe now lol)
"Luminous all around"
Luminous all around because there is no longer any defilements to tarnish or obscure it
Im not stating it to be a self in anyway, since when one is completely aware there is no I making, just awareness of how things are
One who is dependent has wavering. One who is independent has no wavering. There being no wavering, there is calm. There being calm, there is no desire. There being no desire, there is no coming or going. There being no coming or going, there is no passing away or arising. There being no passing away or arising, there is neither a here nor a there nor a between-the-two. This, just this, is the end of stress.
Pure mindfulness is unwavering since its not dependent on anything since its just awareness of how things are. When one is completely aware there is calm, no desire and no I making so no death and birth and no stress
This i take to be
There is, monks, an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated. If there were not that unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born — become — made — fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, emancipation from the born — become — made — fabricated is discerned.
It's hard to see the unaffected,
for the truth isn't easily seen.
Craving is pierced
in one who knows;
For one who sees,
there is nothing.
"Hard to see the unaffected"
Hard to see whats already there, to see something it must already be there. Unaffected since awareness isnt affected by pain, pleasure etc since its just aware of those things and not grasping at them or taking them up, just watching dhammas rise and fall. This i feel is the essence of what the Buddha means when he says to "wake up", wake up and see it.
"Craving is pierced in one who knows"
When one is truly mindful there is no craving because you see things as they are
"for one who sees, there is nothing"
This i take to mean that when one is completely aware there is no longer any sense of self
Another good quote
For one stranded in the middle of the lake,
in the flood of great danger — birth —
overwhelmed with aging & death,
I will tell you the island, Kappa.
Having nothing,
clinging to no thing:
That is the island,
there is no other.
That's Unbinding, I tell you,
the total ending of aging & death.
Those knowing this, mindful,
fully unbound
in the here & now,
don't serve as Mara's servants,
don't come under Mara's sway
I will tell you the island, Kappa
Awareness is the island, since when one is aware there is no I so no birth and death, no craving and clinging, no pain or pleasure
Having nothing,
clinging to no thing
When one is aware there is nothing except mindfulness of everything, clear knowing of everything and so no clinging to anything
That's Unbinding, I tell you,
the total ending of aging & death
So IMO pure awareness is unbinding
Those knowing this, mindful, fully unbound in the here & now
I take this to mean those knowing this are mindful and so are unbound in the here and now
Saying that arahantship is already there i feel is in line with what the Buddha meant when he said "wake up", wake up and see it
Reality is already there isnt it, you dont create it. Arahantship is the realisation of that reality thats always present
IMO the Buddhdhamma is an unfolding of reality, uncovering what is already there
Id recomend listening to Ajahn Sumedho's talk called
"realise the unborn, the uncreated"
You can find it here as well as some other really good talks
http://www.dhammatalks.org.uk/sumed.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;