Date: 10/18/2025 10/19/2025
Location: Star Ocean Meditation Center
Teacher: Sara
Sitting Meditation
Awakening to the Truth of Existence
Awakening to the truth of existence is not the acquisition of a philosophical conclusion, but a fundamental insight into what is actually happening. When the mind no longer filters experience through concepts, beliefs, and habitual judgments, reality reveals itself directly. Maturity in practice lies not in knowing more, but in misperceiving less—not in constructing new views, but in dissolving old illusions.
1. Clarifying Misconceptions: Existence Is Not a Concept
1.Existence is not identical to thought
Language and theories can point to reality, but they cannot replace direct experience. Taking concepts as truth obscures what is present.
2.Existence does not depend on understanding
Reality does not require comprehension to exist. Awareness does not create existence—it only reveals it.
3.Existence has no fixed essence
Neither self nor world possesses an unchanging core. Mistaking flow for solidity initiates confusion.
2. Roots of Obscuration
1.Attachment to a central self
Taking a collection of experiences as a continuous entity narrows existence into a self-centered world.
2.Habitual cognitive patterns
Judgment and expectation condition perception, replacing reality with familiar projections.
3.Craving for certainty
The desire for control builds rigid explanations that distance the mind from uncertainty.
4.Avoidance of immediacy
Dwelling in memory or imagination displaces the living present.
3. Moving Toward Awakening
1.Returning to direct experience
Shift attention from concepts to sensations and awareness, allowing reality to appear as it is.
2.Decentering the self
Observe that no fixed controller exists—only phenomena arising and awareness knowing.
3.Continuously seeing impermanence and non-self
Repeatedly witnessing arising and dissolution weakens misidentification.
4.Meeting existence with not-knowing
Release predetermined answers and allow reality to reveal itself without imposition.
4. Inner Transformations Through Awakening
1.Fundamental tension dissolves
Letting go of grasping or defining existence releases deep psychological strain.
2.Experience becomes immediate and vivid
Life is no longer mediated by concepts but encountered directly.
3.Action arises without fear
Understanding fluidity allows responses rooted in clarity rather than defense.
4.Compassion flows naturally
Seeing universal misperception gives rise to effortless understanding and care.
5. Life After Awakening
1.Non-abiding in views
Truth is not fixed into positions; the mind remains open and adaptable.
2.Acting within conditions without bondage
Engaging circumstances without being constrained by them.
3.Depth revealed in the ordinary
Daily life itself expresses reality; nothing extra is required.
4.Resting in lucid presence
Neither escaping the world nor being overwhelmed by it.
Conclusion
Awakening to the truth of existence is not gaining final answers, but releasing misperception entirely. When concepts fall away and grasping dissolves, reality stands revealed—clear, free, and unmistakably present.
