Blogs Blogs

Back

Causal vs Acausal Clarity

There has been much debate on the DhO about topics related to clarity and how this relates to such topics as Rigpa and awakening and the like.

I thought I might add in the distinction between what I will call causal and acausal clarity to help make some sense of it.

Causal clarity is clarity dependent on causes, obviously, and generally refers to specifically high degrees of mindfulness, concentration, investigation, acceptance, etc. such that, at times, dependent on causes, things are very clear in the way we typically think of when we think of the word clarity.

Acausal clarity is that  sort of clarity that is not dependent on whether or not things are clear, bright, well perceived, etc. It is the clarity that accepts the level of clarity of sensations however they present, clear or otherwise. Thus, rather than everything being clear, in this case, everything is simply as it is, with some aspects clear and others not so. 

In this way, acausal clarity is about however reality manifests, and causal clarity is about what happens with strong mind training and attention. The distinction is important, as many people associate causal clarity with awakening and such concepts as Rigpa, where as acausal clarity is actually, at its oxymoronic best, unconditioned reality, pure, straight up, and all encompassing, and thus relates to awakening in a very profound way. Thus, I would argue that causal clarity is the foundation to arive at acausal clarity, which is to say reality as it is.

Comments
Trackback URL: