The Heart of Awareness (Byrom)

The Boundless Ocean

I am the boundless ocean.

This way and that,

The wind, blowing where it will,

Drives the ship of the world.

But I am not shaken.

I am the unbounded deep

In whom the waves of all worlds

Naturally rise and fall.

But I do not rise or fall.

I am the infinite deep

In whom all the worlds

Appear to rise.

Beyond all form,

Forever still.

Even so am I.

I am not in the world.

The world is not in me.

I am pure.

I am unbounded.

Free from attachment,

Free from desire,

Still.

Even so am I.

O how wonderful!

I am awareness itself,

No less.

The world is a magic show!

But in me,

There is nothing to embrace,

And nothing to turn away.

The Mind

The mind desires this,

And grieves for that.

It embraces one thing,

And spurns another.

Now it feels anger,

Now happiness.

In this way you are bound.

But when the mind desires nothing

And grieves for nothing,

When it is without joy or anger

And, grasping nothing,

Turns nothing away …

Then you are free.

When the mind is attracted

To anything it senses,

You are bound.

When there is no attraction,

You are free.

Where there is no I,

You are free.

Where there is I,

You are bound.

Consider this.

It is easy.

Embrace nothing,

Turn nothing away.

Dispassion

Seeing to this,

Neglecting that,

Setting one thing against another …

Who is free of such cares?

When will they ever end?

Consider.

Without passion,

With dispassion,

Let go.

My Child,

Rare is he, and blessed,

Who observes the ways of men,

And gives up the desire

For pleasure and knowledge,

For life itself.

Nothing lasts.

Nothing is real.

It is all suffering,

Threefold affliction!

It is all beneath contempt.

Know this.

Give it up.

Be still.

When will men ever stop

Setting one thing against another?

Let go of all contraries.

Whatever comes, be happy,

And so fulfill yourself.

Masters, saints, seekers:

They all say different things.

Whoever knows this,

With dispassion becomes quiet.

The true master considers well.

With dispassion,

He sees all things are the same.

He comes to understand

The nature of things,

The essence of awareness.

He will not be born again.

In the shifting elements,

See only their pure form.

Rest in your own nature.

Set yourself free.

The world is just a set of false impressions.

Give them up.

Give up the illusion.

Give up the world.

And live freely.

Desire

Striving and craving

For pleasure or prosperity,

These are your enemies,

Springing up to destroy you

From the presumptions of virtue.

Let them all go.

Hold on to nothing.

Every good fortune,

Wives, friends, houses, lands,

All these gifts and riches …

They are a dream,

A juggling act,

A traveling show!

A few days, and they are gone.

Consider.

Wherever there is desire,

There is the world.

With resolute dispassion,

Free yourself from desire,

And find happiness.

Desire binds you,

Nothing else.

Destroy it, and you are free.

Turn from the world.

Fulfill yourself,

And find lasting happiness.

You are one.

You are pure awareness.

The world is not real.

It is cold and lifeless.

Nor is ignorance real.

So what can you wish to know?

Life after life, you indulged

In different forms,

Different pleasures,

Sons and kingdoms and wives.

Only to lose them all …

Enough of the pursuit of pleasure,

Enough of wealth and righteous deeds!

In the dark forest of the world,

What peace of mind can they bring you?

How you have toiled,

Life after life,

Pressing into painful labor

Your body and your mind and your words.

It is time to stop.

Now!

Stillness

All things arise,

Suffer change,

And pass away.

This is their nature.

When you know this,

Nothing perturbs you,

Nothing hurts you.

You become still.

It is easy.

God made all things.

There is only God.

When you know this,

Desire melts away.

Clinging to nothing,

You become still.

Sooner or later,

Fortune or misfortune

May befall you.

When you know this,

You desire nothing,

You grieve for nothing.

Subduing the senses,

You are happy.

Whatever you do

Brings joy or sorrow,

Life or death.

When you know this,

You may act freely,

Without attachment.

For what is there to accomplish?

All sorrow comes from fear.

From nothing else.

When you know this,

You become free of it,

And desire melts away.

You become happy,

And still.

“I am not the body,

Nor is the body mine.

I am awareness itself.”

When you know this,

You have no thought

For what you have done,

Or left undone.

You become one,

Perfect and indivisible.

“I am in all things,

From Brahma to a blade of grass.”

When you know this,

You have no thought

For success or failure,

Or the mind’s inconstancy.

You are pure.

You are still.

The world with all its wonders

Is nothing.

When you know this,

Desire melts away.

For you are awareness itself.

When you know in your heart

That there is nothing,

You are still.

Fulfillment

First I gave up action,

Then idle words,

And lastly, thought itself.

Now I am here.

Ridding my mind of distraction,

Single-pointed,

I shut out sound and all the senses,

And I am here.

Meditation is needed

Only when the mind is distracted

By false imagining.

Knowing this,

I am here.

Without joy or sorrow,

Grasping nothing, spurning nothing,

O Master, I am here.

What do I care

If I observe or neglect

The four stages of life?

Meditation,

Controlling the mind,

These are mere distractions!

Now I am here.

Doing, or not doing,

Both come from not knowing.

Knowing this fully,

I am here.

Thinking

Of what is beyond thinking

Is still thinking.

I gave up thinking,

And I am here.

Whoever fulfills this

Fulfills his own nature,

And is indeed fulfilled.

Happiness

Even if you have nothing,

It is hard to find that contentment

Which comes from renunciation.

I accept nothing.

I reject nothing.

And I am happy.

The body trembles,

The tongue falters,

The mind is weary.

Forsaking them all,

I pursue my purpose happily.

Knowing I do nothing,

I do whatever comes my way,

And I am happy.

Bound to his body,

The seeker insists on striving,

Or on sitting still.

But I no longer suppose

The body is mine,

Or is not mine.

And I am happy.

Sleeping, sitting, walking,

Nothing good or bad befalls me.

I sleep, I sit, I walk,

And I am happy.

Struggling or at rest,

Nothing is won or lost.

I have forsaken the joy of winning,

And the sorrow of losing.

And I am happy.

For pleasures come and go.

How often I have watched their inconstancy!

But I have forsaken good and bad,

And now I am happy.