But beauty, real beauty, ends where intellectual expression begins. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of a face. The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid. Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are! Except, of course, in the Church. But then in the Church they don’t think. A bishop keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he was told to say when he was a boy of eighteen, and as a natural consequence he always looks absolutely delightful.
Intelligent practice always deals with just one thing: the fear at the base of human existence, the fear that I am not. And of course I am not, but the last thing I want to know is that.
Q: Since all is pre-ordained, is our self-realization also pre-ordained? Or are we free there at least?
A: Destiny refers only to name and shape. Since you are neither body nor mind, destiny has no control over you. You are completely free. The cup is conditioned by its shape, material, use and so on. But the space within the cup is free. It happens to be in the cup only when viewed in connection with the cup. Otherwise, it is just space. As long as there is a body, you appear to be embodied. Without the body you are not disembodied — you just are.
So the most important thing to realize is this: Your life has an inner purpose and an outer purpose. Inner purpose concerns Being and is primary. Outer purpose concerns doing and is secondary…. Your inner purpose is to awaken. It is as simple as that. You share that purpose with every other person on the planet – because it is the purpose of humanity. Your inner purpose is an essential part of the purpose of the whole, the universe and its emerging intelligence.
Buddhism stands unique in the history of human thought in denying the existence of a Soul, Self or Atman. According to the teachings of the Buddha, the idea of self is an imaginary, false belief which has no corresponding reality, and it produces harmful thoughts of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, selfish desire, craving, attachment, hatred, ill-will, conceit, pride, egoism, and other defilements, impurities and problems. It is the source of all troubles in the world from personal conflicts to wars between nations. In short, to this false view can be traced all the evil in the world.
The disappearance of this fundamental question [How do I know the state of an enlightened one?], on discovering that it had no answer, was a physiological phenomenon, a sudden ‘explosion’ inside, blasting, as it were, every cell, every nerve and every gland in my body. And with that ‘explosion’, the illusion that there is continuity of thought, that there is a center, an ‘I’ linking up the thoughts, was not there anymore.
on October 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 am
Cool idea, Tom! Here’s mine:
Before enlightenment, feed cat, strip wallpaper;
After enlightenment, feed cat, strip wallpaper.
on October 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 am
Before enlightenment, do laundry, cook dinner. After enlightenment, do laundry, cook dinner.
on October 3rd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Before Enlightenment = (∞)
After Enlightenment = {∞}
Beyond Any Idea of Before or After = ∞
on October 3rd, 2008 at 10:06 pm
haha, fun idea Tom!
Before enlightenment, have fun with life.
After enlightenment, have fun with life.
Takuin’s getting all fancy with us.
on October 4th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Before enlightenment: read feeds, leave comments on worthwhile posts.
After enlightenment: read feeds, leave comments on worthwhile posts.
on October 4th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Nice one, Takuin. My reaction, too, was that I wasn’t sure about the “before” and “after” bit. How about just:
Enlightenment: drink coffee.
Works for me!
Blessings,
Andrea
on October 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Before enlightenment had gas.
After enlightenment had gas.
on October 4th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
before enlightenment, hate people … after enlightenment, hate people …
on October 4th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Before Enlightenment, seek Enlightenment.
After Enlightenment is a meaningless statement. (laughs)
After and Enlightenment are both concepts. Neither has anything to do with being.
The point I think of the original quote, and many of the comments, is that the mundane continues. The function, purpose and karma of the life are not changed by awakening. Even if we know this intellectually, seeing it is can still be a surprise.
on October 4th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Andrea – they say one can awake even on the smoke of a stinking bus. I guess coffee could qualify then. But then you said “works for me” and gave it away. (laughs)
One could perhaps say:
Before Enlightenment, I drink coffee.
After Enlightenment, coffee is drunk.
Davina – you may want to look at the diet. Ayerveda calls this excess Vata
Gregory – if that is your role. If it is reactive though, the After will change.
on October 5th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
It seems I had similar idea to Taukin
Before enlightenment (everything)
After enlightenment [everything]
It’s all in the set notation…
on October 8th, 2008 at 3:28 am
Hehe, cool, here comes mine:
Before enlightenment, sleep, eat, work, go to toilet;
After enlightenment, sleep, eat, work, go to toilet.
on October 9th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Hey everyone!!! I’m LOVIN’ the comments. Just what I wanted. Okay, a new one from me based upon recent events in my life:
Before enlightenment: see Adyashanti, fly home, drink beer.
After enlightenment: see myself, fly to Hawaii, drink sake.
I’ll let you know about the Hawaii and sake. I haven’t been in a few years. Maybe Bora Bora instead. I’ve always wanted to see Bora Bora.
on October 12th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Tom, another way of saying that is:
Before enlightenment, I see you.
After enlightenment, I see me.
on October 13th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Before Enlightenment, talk and listen. After Enlightenment listen and talk.
Tom, I will toast you with some saki from Kona next month!
on October 21st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Before enlightenment, seeking personal development.
After enlightenment, enjoying leaves fall.
on October 25th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Before enlightenment, stress, cry, suffer
After enlightenment, live, laugh, and love
on November 1st, 2008 at 7:17 pm
b4 enlightenment : God = Big daddy in the sky
after : God = me(i.e everything)
on November 10th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Before Enlightenment-Quit my job to find Enlightenment
After Enlightenment-Sh*t I still got to pay the bills!
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