Theravada believes that humans are liberated beings. However, to become a liberated being, awareness is first necessary. Awareness awakens me. To awaken means to be in a state of modifying oneself, and to notice that the surroundings, including myself, change from that modified state. To know these things, the presence of mind is necessary. From this mental being we live our lives. Living life means having a past. Imagine if there was no past. Still, we will live through those times. How do we know that we are alive? Life will take its time. But in life, just spending time is not enough. Life is about remembering differences. As Bhagavan says, “What difference is there if today’s impressions are exactly the same as yesterday’s impressions?” 

Our life consists of remembering differences. The self is the past experiences of life. The self is aware of differences, although not every moment, at important and appropriate moments. It is a kind of awakening, and that awakening will be about making a difference. In other words, recalling past memories as present memories. It also pushes the potential into actual brain activity. If the ego emerges from the awareness of differences, where does it come from to say that liberation from awareness does not exist? 

First, let us just say that there is liberation. At this time, the liberated self is made up of internal and external things. But the ego is indebted to the intellect for its self-awareness. The intellect is not directed towards one's inner self, but towards the object. In this respect, ‘the intellect consists of efforts to manipulate objects.’ In our lives, the ego preserves the efforts of the intellect. That is society. Bhagavan states the following about our inner life and outer social life: But such differences (awareness) escape most of our attention. You will hardly notice it unless someone tells you about it and then you ask yourself carefully. The reason is that our external and, so to speak, social life is of more practical importance to us than our internal and personal existence. We instinctively tend to coagulate our impressions in order to express them in words. From this it follows that we confuse the emotion itself, in its constant creation, with its permanent external object and especially with the words that express that object. do. Just as the elusive persistence of our ego is fixed by projection into homogeneous space, our ever-changing impressions take on the exact outline and immobility of the external object that is their cause, wrapping around it.

Society gives us practical importance. In other words, it serves to preserve the efforts we have made. It is immobility solidified as language. The inner life of man is a process of constant change. In other words, it does not contain anything that can be fixed or projected as immutable like language. The change in the human soul is none other than emotions and direct consciousness that originate from our senses. Bhagavan says that this direct consciousness has no tendency to externalize into sociality or anything else. Immediate consciousness interpenetrates and merges with the senses and emotions. In the midst of this, awareness exists. Awareness is a kind of reflection. Reflection is the objectification of oneself. What intelligence can do is to deal with objects, and this intelligence allows one to reflect on oneself while objectifying oneself.

The road to liberation

1. 인연품(karma product)

What does the path of liberation mean?

What is Bokhaetal?

What are the two?

What is gyeum (戒陰)?

What is Gyehak?

What is Simhak (心學)?

What is Hyehak?

2. 분별계품(separate precepts)

What breaks the Bara Title Table Act?

What is the merit of precepts?

Why is coolness the meaning of precepts?

What is the difference between doing and doing?

How many precepts are there?

What is a bad world?

What are the beginning, middle, and end of a world?

What are the three things?

What is the world above the bara title?

What is flight?

What is the flight of the mouth?

What is the line?

What is “haengcheo”?

What is the place of righteousness?

What is Gyebaghaengjeo?

3. 두타품(Toutuopin)

What is called Dutta?

What is Chaje Geol-sik?

What is a trial and error?

What is the merit of being free from thought?

What is the merit of the subordinate?

What is the merit of Nojiju?

What is the merit of Theravada?

5. Good knowledge

6. 분별행품(different conduct)

7. 분별행처품(separate virginity)

8. 행문품(Gyomon product)

8. Haengmunpoom ②

8. Haengmunpoom ③

8. Haengmunpoom ④

8. Haengmunpoom ⑤

【Question】What is self?

What is emptiness?

How to clean it.

【Question】How do I clean it?

9. Five items

10. 분별혜품(different wisdom products)

11. 오방편품(Five convenience items) ①

11. Five directions ②

12. 분별제품(differentiating product) ①

12. Fractionated product ②

Understanding Seonbeop, Volume 2

conclusion.

1. Stages of liberation

1.1 Ego life and liberation

1.2 Ego and liberating action

1.3 Reflection and higher liberation

1.4 Stages of independence of existence and liberation

references

 In practicing Zen, the necessities that a Bodhisattva must prepare in advance are solitary living and abstinence, or the four categories (brahmavih). As a stage, living alone and abstinence may actually be difficult to practice. While practicing, the Bodhisattva must renounce family life and ordinary social relationships, seclude himself in an isolated place in the forest, and become ascetic. In the meantime, he was a single person at Seonparamil. Under the condition that there is no contradiction between practice and the attainment of bodhi, the lives of saints and laymen are maintained. In addition, since the life of a layperson is always a place where sensual desires, pride, and addictions run rampant, even if one gets married, it is a way to take sentient beings to refuge, and they generally choose celibacy for enlightenment.

 However, while there is mention of living alone in ‘The Great Guidance Theory’, abstinence is silent. However, it is not impossible to predict. And the inner purity and pleasure gained through abstinence are not only a means of achieving one's liberation, but also a means of promoting the interests of others. Therefore, the Bodhisattva would have taken a positive attitude toward abstinence because the pleasure arising from the daily repetition of these actions was converted into goodness and the vitality of practice was recharged through it. In addition, in terms of achieving jhāna with the help of devotion based on knowledge, which has been traditionally passed down, Ji-Gye Paramita and Devotional Paramita are prior to Seon Paramita. 
 Because it has been practiced, abstinence is predictable. Moreover, in terms of content It presupposes practice in a solitary place, and the steps of defeating the five sensual desires are placed at the forefront.  

The stages of Zen Paramita presented in ‘The Great Guidance Theory’ appear in three major contexts. The first context is three steps: ⓵5 objects of sensual desire (kandReprimanding oneself (nigarha)ṇa) step, ⓶5 types of covers (nibeṇstep of removing a, 蓋), ⓷This is the stage of practicing the five dharmas. The second context is ⓐpleasure in objects of sensuous desire (kandAfter discarding masukha (欲樂), removing the ⓑ five coverings, and then practicing the ⓒ five dharmas. The third context is Midoji (an andIt is to achieve the first jhana by relying on gmya (未到地). 

However, according to the text, the subjects of these three sentences are different. This is because the first is a person who wants to attain the Zen paramita, and the second and third are those who want to attain the first jhana. Nevertheless, looking at the relevant context, these three do not refer to different practitioners, but can be said to be practitioners of the same level. Because, “You said earlier that you can attain the first jhana by reprimanding the five objects of sensual desire, removing the five coverings, and practicing the five dharmas. What kind of situation should you practice and what path should you rely on to attain the first jhana?” Because you are asking a question. Through this, we can see that in terms of form, the stage of Zen paramita is equivalent to that of the existing first meditation. Of course, these are not completely consistent in all respects. As is well known, Zen Paramita is entirely reconstructed from a Mahayana perspective related to Prajna Paramita.