Perennial Buddhism

 

Perennial Buddhism: Maitriyana Spirituality

Master Maitreya Buddha

The Maitriyana has arrived in the world with the Supreme Purpose (Dharma) of transcending all dualistic thinking, by promoting an Engaged Spirituality which overcomes both the metaphysical Religious Discourse and the materialistic Academic Discourse. Through a contemplative practice and a metaphilosophical vision, the Buddhist Existentialism promotes ethical precepts based on the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña) of the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva). The spiritual essence of Maitriyana, which is Perennial Buddhism, appears entirely expressed in the unified practice of Meditation-Wisdom-Ethics (Dhyana-Prajna-Sila) which is proper of the Analytical-Existential-Libertarian Discourse (Buddha-Dharma-Sangha). It is in this context that the spiritual master transmits his Evolution and Awakening (Bodhi) to the apprentice.

The Buddhist Existentialism is a special transmission which transcends the academic teaching, since while it uses sacred texts it also directly points at the mind-heart (jikishi-ninshin) of the apprentice through a contemplative practice and an ethical conduct which are the self-realisation of the original Buddhic-nature (kensho-Jobutsu). This Way towards the Ultimate Truth (paramartha) of the Empty Dynamic Ground is the Primordial Wisdom that Awakened Beings (Buddhas) such as Gautama, Jesus, Bodhidharma, Hui Neng and Garab Dorje taught. This is what the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) esoterically transmits to the person.

In the Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism, the Cure (Nirvana) indicates a higher and amplified state of consciousness (HASC) that unifies and reconciles the mind by means of the existential meditation about the Source of Being. Through the practice of the direct contemplation of the original nature of the human being is where the peak knowledge (satori) is promoted, which is the full understanding of the intrinsic spiritual nature. This progress of consciousness, which is really an evolution of humanity, it may also be described as the event of the true potentiality of the apprentice, although this is usually something unconscious to the mundane individual who is not in the Way (bonpu-no-joshiki).

Although Buddhist Existentialism is one of the nine internal ways of the Maitriyana, its Purpose (Dharma) is nothing less than conveying the ultimate mystical conclusion of the existential meditation: the Perennial Buddhism within the everyday life (mujodo-no-taigen). Therefore, the Buddhist Existentialism differs from pathways as Bompu Zen, Gedo Zen, Shojo Zen and Daijo Zen to position itself as a Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo Zen or Dzogchen) within which the apprentice, the spiritual master and the Cosmos form an Awakened Totality. This Perennial Buddhism or Maitriyana is the contemplative practice of the great Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) of history, for which the existential meditation becomes a lifestyle, thus overcoming the distinction between Way (Marga) and Purpose (Dharma). Although the Buddhist Existentialism starts from the sitting contemplation (zazen), it is also practiced the paradoxical dialectic (koan), in order to stabilise the self-realisation within the daily life. This is the psychic structure of Sublimation (Nirodh) that characterises the subject whose activity spontaneously emerges from the field of compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña).

The Maitriyana is presented as a practical and theoretical context which conveys the culmination of Contemplation (Zen), whose esoteric Truth is the Originating and Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo Zen or Dzogchen) of the Perennial Buddhism. This tradition of Primordial Spirituality is not obtained by means of religion or metaphysical philosophy, but through the evolutionary event of the Buddhic nature, which is simultaneously considered as the base and the pinnacle of the apprentice. The existential meditation leads directly to the Awakening (Bodhi) in the here and now; therefore it is clear that this path has been pursued by different traditions as the Madhyamika, the Advaita Vedanta and the Daoist Yoga, among others.

Through the contemplative practice the subject acquires a profound insight on the structure of the Real, by developing a responsible mode of being in the world. The compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) certainly is a practice that comes from the vision of Spirituality which integrates and reconciles the apprentice and the Cosmos, displacing the activity of the Ego in pursuit of the intense Desire of transpersonal self-realisation. The result of the existential meditation is a humble consciousness and an open mind-heart before the teachings of the existence by learning to break free from the chains of the past and the future with the aim of being fully in the experience of the eternal present. That is why an Engagement is necessary from the individual in order to pursue a life based on the psychic structure of the Cure (Nirvana), being crucial the presence of values as a strong spiritual faith (daishinkon) in the tradition of the Awakened Beings (Buddhas), a great doubt (daigidan) to dualism and a great determination (daifunshi) in order to reconcile the unconscious psychic tension between faith and doubt. This balance or synthesis is one of the great achievements of the contemplative method of the paradoxical dialectic (koan).

In the Buddhist Existentialism, it is developed a peak knowledge (Satori) coming from the direct experience of the Buddhic nature of all living beings. Coming from this, it is found the libertarian socialist motivation of the spiritual master in his project of building a better world, by showing how the whole humanity can achieve the Awakening (Bodhi) at every moment of the daily life. Thus, the existential meditation reconciles the human being with the here and now. When the apprentice returns to the supreme present of the True Self, which is the openness and liberty of Nothingness, then he integrates and stabilises Spirituality in the everyday life (mujodo-no-taigen).

The Maitriyana develops the powerful Mindfulness (Shamatha) through the concentration that generates the sitting contemplation (zazen) and the fluidity of the paradoxical dialectic (koan). However, if the mental level of Mindfulness (Shamatha) is not expanded by the peak experience (kensho), the spiritual development of the subject does not reach its splendour. Precisely the existential meditation that emerges in the relation between the apprentice and the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) leads naturally to the Cure (Nirvana) which is a higher and amplified state of consciousness (HASC). Only from this unity between the Cosmos and the person is that the latter can incorporate the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) in every moment of life, by turning the peak experience (kensho) into a plateau experience (mujodo-no-taigen), which is the updating of the Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo Zen) of the Buddhist Existentialism within the daily conduct. At this stage of the trans-human development, Ego and dualism are transcended, since the apprentice finally abandons his ordinary state of consciousness (OSC) and becomes a spiritual master. When the Awakening (Bodhi) is fully evident in all the activities of the apprentice, the human being evolves becoming a Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva). The contemplative practice of Perennial Buddhism is then both the means and the end of the Way of Contemporary Spirituality. It is the Purpose (Dharma) of every Saviour and Awakened Being (Buddha-Christ) to transmit this redemptive evolution of humanity.

Concordantly, the Maitriyana tends to consider the Cure (Nirvana) not as the final goal but rather as the Primordial Way (Saijojo or Dzogchen); therefore it becomes a daily practice or lifestyle. The existential meditation -either sitting or dialectic, is just the Way to attain the Awakening (Bodhi) of Being; but when this is achieved, then a new horizon appears, which is the Salvation of all beings, so that the Cure (Nirvana) of the person is used as a practice to carry out this supreme achievement of flourishing the Buddhic mind in the whole world.

Just like Hui Neng and Garab Dorje, Buddhist Existentialism asserts that since the beginning all beings have a Buddhic nature. The teachings of the spiritual master that emerge within the great primordial tradition of Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism is a Supreme vision that explains the Empty Dynamic Ground of the reality, which is both the Source and the Fruit of the Path (Marga) of the contemplative practice. In this way, the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) is not only an evolved human being but also the very embodiment of the inherent source of the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna). This self-realisation or final self-transcendence is the essential cause of the existential well-being and of the superior happiness (paramananda or mahasukkha). In the Buddhist Existentialism, the true satisfaction comes from the Awakening (Bodhi), whose peak knowledge (satori) allows the apprentice to be fully imbued with the teaching of the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) which occurs suddenly (Tongo or cig-car-ba) but within the framework of a gradual (zengo or rim-gys-pa) analytical-existential training. Although Maitriyana is a progressive practice of Sublimation (Nirodh) of the unconscious forces of attachment and aversion, certainly it is not a linear and causal Path, since the event of the Cure (Nirvana) is not subjected to a precise space or time. When the subject passes through the Phantom (Maya or Vikshepa) he can uncover the supreme Source (gzhi) of the Being which is the Empty Dynamic Ground (Sunyata) or absence of an inherent identity (nihsavabhavata). Small sudden moments of peak experience continuously occur on this gradual Way, but when the apprentice becomes an Awakened Being (Buddha) is that he has reached to a plateau experience. The spiritual progress of the higher and amplified state of consciousness (HASC) is really an evolution that profoundly transforms the experience of the everyday life, which begins to be perceived as perfect by means of the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna). The existential meditation seeks to reconcile the subject with his traumatic essential Emptiness (Sunyata), allowing him to be fully in the ineffable experience of the here and now, after gradually and analytically have vanished the concept of Ego.

The spiritual master reminds to the apprentice that the self-realisation of the Ultimate Truth is produced by the traversing and liberation from the mundane truths. The absolute Truth then is the origin and destiny of the subject who practices contemplation. That is why the Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) of the Perennial Buddhism uses an innate compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña) which is non-conceptual and non-dual, being the luminous nature of the Buddhic mind. This intuitive peak knowledge (satori) cannot be properly addressed by the academic and intellectual Discourse, reason why the Buddhist Existentialism is a metaphilosophical practice that uses the existential meditation as a direct realisation (pratyaksa) and a sudden realisation (tongo) of the Empty Dynamic Ground. From the base (gzhi) of the sitting contemplation (zazen) and the paradoxical dialectic (koan), the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) transfers to the apprentice a guide that allows him being one with the primordial wisdom of the True Being or Buddhic Nature (tathagatagarbha). Thus, the existential meditation is essentially empty, naturally luminous and manifestly compassionate.

For the perennial Buddhist Path of Maitriyana, a Buddhic nature is potentially present in every living being, so that, actually, the apprenticeship is not an achievement of something external, but rather the emergence of what is most intrinsic: the presence (rigpa) of the luminous and primordial Buddhic mind that is always in the here and now. Since every subject is potentially an Awakened Being (Buddha), Buddhist Existentialism is positioned as an agnostic Pathway, by liberating the apprentice from the exoteric dualism which is present in religiosity. The direct transmission of the spiritual master is nothing but the teaching or the act of his presence in itself, which is a vision that overcomes any dualism. In accordance with the teachings of Garab Dorje and Hui Neng, the Maitriyana even transcends the distinction between a gradual or sudden Awakening (Bodhi), because actually all contemplative practice is gradual (zengo) and prepares the foundational basis for the occurrence of a sudden realisation (tongo) of the peak knowledge (satori) of Truth. In this sense, the lifestyle of the plateau experience of Cure (Nirvana) is the Middle Way which synthesizes the perspectives of the slow ascent and the brief peak, by opening the mind to the Empty Dynamic Ground in order to create a new type of human being.

The Way of Buddhist Existentialism is based on a gradual process of renunciation, purification, transformation and presence. This radical practice promotes a higher and amplified state of consciousness (HASC), generating an overturning of the mind from the dominion of Ego towards the Liberty of Self which is already present in every living being. But the Buddhic mind can only emerge from a subject who has emptied himself from all imaginary Ego, in order to reconcile himself with his Real Body (Dharmakaya). The existential meditation encourages the pristine cognition (dharmadhatujnana or chos-ying) of the vast expanse of the ultimate reality, by understanding that the whole immense phenomenal field originates and terminates in Emptiness (Sunyata). Thus, the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) considers that all emerging, transitional and relative form is nothing but the transitory manifestation of the Absolute Truth.

Although the spiritual nature or Buddhic mind is present in the human being from the very beginning by being in a latent form, it cannot be understood by the conceptual way of the academic Discourse. Beyond any cognitive or behavioural prescription, the fact of becoming aware of the presence of the Buddhic nature is the supreme antidote facing with the unconscious affliction (klesha-avidya) of attachment and aversion. The analytical existential vision of Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism is that this original spiritual mind is present at all times in a latency mode that expects recognition and updating as an ethics and compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) in the world. However, this obviously involves a process of going through the veils of the Phantom (Maya).

The contemplative practice that is transmitted from the spiritual master to the apprentice is merely a state of presence of the Buddhic mind that is the Empty Dynamic Ground of the True Self. Buddhist Existentialism conceives the Self as a Nothingness, simultaneously claiming that it is a luminous, pure and full of possibilities clarity. Therefore, when a subject refuses to be transformed, he is also repressing his genuine and primordial self-sameness, hindering the process of Awakening (Bodhi) which is the transcendental Purpose (Dharma) of humanity. The existential meditation is then revealed as an awareness towards the Empty Dynamic Ground of the Being inside the pure experience (kadag) and spontaneous (Lhundrup) of the here and now. This is the Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) of Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism.

In accordance with Buddhist Existentialism, this event is the fruit of the cured mind (nirvanacitta) by means of the synthesis of the relative and absolute Truth. The epistemology of this process is the dialectical and paradoxical union between the relative appearance of the Veil (Samsara) and the absolute Truth of Cure (Nirvana). In the same way, the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) teaches that there is no ontological division between the Base and the Fruit of the Spiritual Path, since both are the experience of the intrinsic Awakening (Bodhi) which is the Buddhic mind. The core of the Real, which is the Empty Dynamic Ground is known through the pristine cognition.

The Maitriyana is a radical teaching that posits that the totality of beings –    along with the Cosmos, conform an Inter-existence. In fact, this Inter-existence is the spontaneous presence of the Buddhic Nature which the human being must learn to recognize during the contemplative practice. The spiritual master then reveals that the Cure (Nirvana) is not a phenomenon caused by a sudden or gradual process, but it is rather the same natural human condition. The existential meditation then is a return to the Source, by uncovering a mental state of Awakening (Bodhi) that is always already achieved. In fact, according to the vision of the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva), the apprentice should not polish the dust from the mirror of his consciousness but he simply should be himself, inasmuch as his True Being is the process of the Cure (Nirvana) itself.

In accordance with the direct vision of Buddhist Existentialism, no ritualistic praxis can purify the mind, but simply improve the periphery of the Ego via the momentary control of negative emotions. In this regard, the spiritual master transmits that the Awakening (Bodhi) is not really the result or product of a specific set of practices, but rather the essential anthropological condition of the human being: his Purpose (Dharma). This primordial and pure dimension of the mind is the Liberty of the Self, so that its appearance promotes constructive thoughts and behaviours that are capable of fading away the unconsciousness (avidya) of the ordinary person. The awakened mind (bodhicitta) is not a fruit caused by a sudden or a gradual path of purification, but it is the natural and non-dual condition of the here and now. Through the contemplative practice the apprentice can realise of that which has always been present within the mind-heart of all beings in a potential form, so that the process of conversion and spiritual evolution is revealed as the unconcealment of the Truth and not as the incorporation of something new or unknown to the everyday mind.

The vision of Perennial Buddhism is that the mind has a dimension of Absolute Truth, so that the existential meditation is a mode of being-in-the-world and not something different from it. However, this teaching can be regarded as secret or esoteric, because even the best students of Spirituality they often still trapped in the dualism between a gradual way and a sudden way. Instead, the Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) of Maitriyana spontaneously transmits this great wisdom for all the humanity in an explicit form, reflecting the original light that expresses the authentic presence of every Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) in his union with the Cosmos. From here is where the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) of the spiritual master comes from, since all the knowledge of past and future Awakened Beings (Buddhas) converges in the experience of the here and now. The Empty Dynamic Ground is then the timeless and non-local Implicate Order both from the inner world and the outer world, which they appear as inseparably united in the supreme instant of the present.

In the radical Metaphilosophy of Buddhist Existentialism the Universe is a great intelligent and living Totality, so that human being should not be purified but rather he should be understand that all his old conceptions of reality are illusory, because every living being is One with the whole field of the Cosmos. This organic experience is the true antidote for mental illness representing the Ego, soothing the consciousness by having vanished the defensive mechanisms. Thus, the Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism promotes a doing Nothing (wu-wei) as a way of being-in-the-world. From the paradoxical dialectical perspective of the Supreme Vehicle of the Buddhist Existentialism, the subject and the object do not exist independently, since both are separated only in the plane of the conceptual, while the Real is transconceptual and transpersonal. This inter-existence is Vacuity, the base (gzhi) of the Being which is the Empty Dynamic Ground in which all the multiple possibilities of the existence are contained. Thus, the Nothingness is the Liberty of the apprentice.

The Maitriyana is a meta-gradualist Way that does not depend on the conventional law of causality, since it does not provide a relative cause for the spiritual Truth of Cure (Nirvana) which is the unconcealment of the Real and not the acquisition of a different state than that of the True Self. The Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) then teaches that the Awakening (Bodhi) is not a distant goal, but the primordial, original and pure face of human being, which is spontaneously present within the mind-heart of all beings in a latent form. The Awakened Being (Buddha) is then the one who has opened the door of the here and now, following the Path at any time and place, since he is the Path. This esoteric teaching is the supreme wisdom that Gautama and Jesus discovered when they stood before the presence of Nothingness. Since the emotional and cognitive aspect of mind is fundamentally an illusion, Buddhist Existentialism claims that there is nothing to improve, purify or search. There is no need for any antidote against the illusions. Experientially, understanding this fact is to experience that every being is already realised, because its nature is spiritual or Buddhic. This is the paradoxical dialectic vision of the radical Path of Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism. But although a gradual Pathway could be considered as a distraction from the transcendental present, it may actually be used as a useful method (upaya) to perform the Absolute Truth (paramartha) through the relative truth (samvriti). This type of unity uses a paradoxical dialectic logic (koan) that transcends both the objective and subjective, which have no independent existence. The Buddhist Existentialism is a post-metaphysical movement that goes beyond any dualistic distinction or conceptual presumption which only works within the materialistic society, but that lacks any correlation with the ultimate nature of the Real. Therefore, the Cure (Nirvana) cannot be self-realised by means of the concepts and beliefs but through the mystical experience of the eternal present, which is the ineffable experience of the here and now.

The Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism emphasizes the self-realisation of Vacuity (Sunyata, Wu or Mu) which is the Buddhic nature of the human being. For the Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) of Buddhist Existentialism, the Empty Dynamic Ground of Being is a space with a radiant, luminous and clear presence, by permeating every living being and physical form of the Universe. The spiritual master helps to remember that the Nothingness is the fundamental structure of mind, which is essentially empty, free and compassionate in its daily expression. This radical openness of the consciousness is the intrinsic Awakening (Bodhi) before the traumatic experience of the Real, whose features are imperfection, impermanence and insubstantiality. Although, before the phenomenological vision of the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) there is only an Empty Self (rangtong) and an empty phenomenon (shentong), this does not imply that the Vacuity (Sunyata) is the ultimate substance of the reality and that exists in an independent way. This process is experienced by the apprentice who develops a meta-cognition during the contemplative practice, since his perception becomes direct and intuitive while avoiding giving an entity or an inherent existence to the process of the Vacuity. That is why the existential meditation is trans-ontological and it never intellectualises the process of life, but it addresses the reality starting from a peak knowledge (satori) or a higher and amplified state of consciousness (HASC) which is the Buddhic mind and that transcends all the opposite poles. The Perennial Buddhism is precisely the maximum embodiment of the dialectical overcoming of the dualism between form and Emptiness, impurity and purity, manifest and latent, relative and absolute. Before the eyes of the spiritual master there is only Oneness in the field of the Real, so it is evident that the Analytical-Existential-Libertarian Discourse (Buddha-Dharma-Sangha) possesses a type of logic which is different from the dualistic, by going beyond the limits of the conceptual elaborations through the contemplative meta-cognition.

The Maitriyana is a Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) that unifies and transcends both the gradualist vision (zengo) and the sudden pathway (tongo), while the Cure (Nirvana) and the Awakening (Bodhi) go beyond the renunciation and transformation process. This radical and revolutionary teaching is in accordance with the primordial vision of Hui Neng, considering the gradual and sudden pathways as necessary aspects of a same unitary and ecumenical Path (rime) which is Buddhist Existentialism. Therefore, the Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism resolves the false dichotomy between the gradual analytical liberation and the sudden existential Enlightment, posing a spiritual tradition that allows the sudden Cure (Nirvana) in the context of a progressive practice. When the subject achieves a sudden Awakening (Bodhi) through a gradual praxis, he actually is achieving what has been called as a plateau experience, which is a continuity or stabilisation of constant moments of peak experiences. But paradoxically, as it is demonstrated by the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva), the evolution of consciousness is merely a dialectical return to the Empty Dynamic Ground of Being.

The Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) of Buddhist Existentialism is a secret teaching that transcends all dualistic and conceptual distinctions which are present in most of the traditions and schools of thought. The Maitriyana, just like Mystical Christianity, is the embodiment of the primordial archetype of the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna), so that it is part of a tradition of Perennial Spirituality permeating the totality of Cosmos. The ecumenical and reconciling teaching of Buddhist Existentialism is conducted by the guidance of the spiritual master, so that it has no dualistic and dogmatic limitations which are present in the religious or academic Discourse, strengthening the illusory structures of the Ego. Given that the essence of the spiritual teachings is usually associated with a mind-heart to heart-mind transmission, the self-realisation of the integrative teachings of Maitriyana requires the direct or transcendental relationship with an Awakened Being (Buddha) such as Gautama, Laozi, Confucius, Jesus, Nagarjuna, Asanga, Bodhidharma, Hui Neng or Xu Yun. In this way, the vision of the Perennial Buddhism is present in different forms, and at different places and times, as it is a supreme and primordial knowledge underlying each spiritual tradition which has emerged or will be born in the Universe. This is because each Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) does not disappear without a trace or a spiritual imprint on the mind of the Cosmos, thus affecting both the future and the past. The spiritual master is then an avatar that embodies this timeless, non-local and non-dual Implicate Order, conveying the primordial presence in order that everyone can access the Salvation. This is the Pathway of the Awakened and Saviour Being (Buddha-Christ), whose compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) reveals in the here and now that human being is One with everything around him, by choosing his life in each moment of present.

In accordance with Namkhai Norbu, Buddhist Existentialism teaches not to forget that there are thousands of Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas), since there are also many ways and teachings so that an apprentice is capable of self-realise. However, the tradition of Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism is a Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) because it contains all the spiritual visions within itself. This obviously does not stop that the spiritual master use the mystical silence (mouna) when there is nothing to say about the relative truth. By means of this attitude of Detachment, the Buddhist Existentialism can understand the ultimate vision of every spiritual tradition, speaking the Only Truth (paramartha satya) in different languages conforming the Analytical Existential Libertarian Discourse (Buddha Dharma Sangha) as a profound lifestyle.

In this regard, the existential meditation is a practice that prevents the person from the mistakes of the egoic separation, from the attachment to words and from the idealisation of the figure of Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva). The teachings of the spiritual master always point to the self-transcendence of the apprentice and they never have sectarian tendencies. The dialectical and paradoxical teaching of Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism is a compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) reconciling the subject with the luminous experience of present, which is the divine nature and the Empty Dynamic Ground that spontaneously incarnates in the body, heart and mind of the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva). The metapsychological perspective of the spiritual master, the metaphilosophical vision of the teaching and the metapolitical presence of the group of comrades functions as a mirror that directly and non-conceptually reflects the true face of the apprentice. This presupposes a training that transcends the dualistic thinking, so that it is also beyond the distinction between gradual and sudden. The practice of Buddhist Existentialism is the union of sitting contemplation (zazen), Mindfulness and the paradoxical dialectic (koan), going through the conceptual veils in order to unhide the profound Self in the experience of the here and now. This teaching of the primordial tradition of the Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism is the great Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) leading to the well-being (mahasukkha) inherent to the experience of Truth.

According to Buddhist Existentialism, the origin of the whole phenomenal field is the Empty Dynamic Ground that is beyond all illusory separation between subject and object. The supreme source (samantabhadra) –or Unborn, is the intrinsic purity of consciousness which is the Vacuity (Sunyata), clearly reflecting all that exists, as it is not a substantial entity that can be dualistically observed through the ordinary understanding. The nature of all living beings is essentially spiritual (Buddhic), although certainly the True Self is concealed and repressed for being a Nothingness of pure possibilities. This is because Liberty is something traumatic to the ordinary state of consciousness (OSC), which refuses to assimilate the necessary moments of non-form and non-thinking.

From the reconciling perspective of Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism, it can be said that this spiritual movement has a timeless lineage which is in contact with Awakened Beings (Buddhas) as Gautama, Laozi, Jesus and Nagarjuna, so that it is beyond the limitations and distortions of religious or academic Discourse, vanishing all dualism and egoism through the experience of the existential meditation. In this way, Buddhist Existentialism affirms that the esoteric teaching of the Spirituality of Maitriyana is the living expression of the archetype of Self, so it goes beyond in time than Buddhism itself, since it is a Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo or Dzogchen) preceding Siddhartha Gautama. Thus, the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) teaches that Spirituality has existed since the very beginning of humanity, since it is his latent very nature. This demonstrates that the existential similarities between Buddhism and Christianity cannot only be due to a contact or influence between the two movements, but rather these parallels are the empirical demonstration of the Buddhic nature of the human being which is present in every time and place of history. When the apprentice becomes detached from the causal and linear thinking, he can perceive the Perennial Basis underlying all traditions of spiritual wisdom, which are influenced and interpenetrated each other but never in a causal historical sequence. The Buddhist Existentialism is precisely the encounter of various traditions of primordial wisdom emerging from a mind that has reached the Cure (Nirvana) through the contemplative practice about the knowledge of the primary Vacuity, which is the radical openness of the Being.

In this sense, the Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism must be regarded as the most important spiritual treasure of the history of humanity. In accordance with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, the spiritual master affirms that the supreme teaching of Spirituality is transmitted in a transcendental lineage of mind-heart to heart-mind which is the pure and clear presence of the Empty Self or Buddhic nature. However, the essence of the higher and amplified state of consciousness (HASC) of an Awakened Being (Buddha) transcends both the past and the future, because it is beyond the conceptual limitations by being an intrinsically pure presence. The original condition of the mind is the nature of what is unborn that exists in the ultimate reality of all the phenomenal, transcending the illusions of dualistic thinking, by not being oppressed by the subject-object separation. This paradoxical dialectic unity is the basis of the primordial purity which transmits the Buddhist Existentialism, impregnating all living beings with a primordial Truth that overcomes the distinction between the relative and the absolute. The Maitriyana or Perennial Buddhism uses this transpersonal collective energy in order to help humanity to attain the Awakening (Bodhi) by means of the comprehension of the essence underlying the infinite space-time. This is the clear and luminous teaching that the Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) transmit while they guide the world towards the evolution and Salvation. In fact, this primordial compassionate wisdom (prajna-karuna) is the true and supreme identity of the human being.