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 August 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Nice quote Tom
It is powerful to realise that we are already there, already enlightened or realised, we just don’t know it yet. There is no where to go and seek and realise, we are the realisation
on August 11th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Yes, that’s the key many people miss. Realization is inclusive, not exclusive. We loose only illusion but gain everything. Everything remains, including fear. But we are no longer hostage to fear, driven by fear. It simply is.
on August 11th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
One further remark. I’ve not read her book yet but have read some of her experience. It sounds to me like she had a prolonged experience of what Adyashanti calls the BBQ. Perhaps blended with the minds battle for control. For some reason, she sought traditional help for her experiences, not recognizing what she had been trained to. It’s not uncommon to have some resistance to what has happened. It’s also not uncommon to have a struggle over it, some clearing before and after. She seems like an extreme example. I would like to read her story though. Everyone’s process is unique and can illustrate an aspect more clearly.
on August 12th, 2008 at 4:17 am
Great quote, Tom.
I really like the way she says, “…it’s the naturally occurring human state.”
It absolutely is the functioning of the organism from moment to moment.
on August 12th, 2008 at 7:14 am
@Steve Thanks. It is very powerful. It eliminates a certain “burden” from the process, doesn’t it?
@Takuin It is 100% natural. That’s why so many people dismiss it.
@Davidya The really cool part of her story is that after 10 years of seeking help via therapists and traditional means, she finally went to see Jean Klein. Basically, she had experienced an awakening in which she lost all sense of personal identity. Her “me” was gone. So, she spoke to Jean Klein about what had happened, and he told her one simple thing: “Get out of your mind.” He knew the answer was there, it was something she could figure out. So, she did. And everything was fine. She didn’t need a “me” after all.