Written on September 15, 2008 by Tom Stine
A while back, my friend Jonathan Mead over at Illuminated Mind wrote an article on enlightenment in which he said:
“Your realization that everything is non-dual will not break all of the previous self-limiting and fear-based beliefs you have with yourself. Breaking those agreements will require hard work and perspiration to change.”
I’ve intended for a while to write a brief article on this comment of Jonathan’s to offer a different perspective. So, here goes:
To be honest, his statement runs counter to my experience and that of others. When the realization of no-self dawns, not merely an intellectual understand, but a true realization, beliefs disappear. As Ramana Maharshi pointed out, the belief in a separate “me,” what he called the I-thought, is the root of all other beliefs. When it drops away, all beliefs are suspended. Thoughts might still arise, but they cannot be believed again. If they arise again, then the I-thought has returned.
To be awake, one would need to be free from the identification with belief. So, in a sense, the definition of enlightened would be “free from believing any thought.” So, I would have to disagree with Jonathan’s statement. Realization does, in fact, break the entire ego system.
I think the key word here is realization. What he describes in his post is, for me, more of an intellectual understanding which isn’t a realization. That’s how it appears to me.
That said, I have to agree with much of what Jonathan says elsewhere in the post. Enlightenment is, truly, no big deal and quite ordinary in a certain sense. But it does have incredible power to transform. But on its terms and by its agenda.
Personally, I’ve found realization of no-self to be an incredible “ego-cleaner.” It is as if someone has taken a roto-rooter to my mind. Nothing is allowed to remain hidden. The Truth is an amazing solvent, a powerful dissolver of the thoughts, feelings and beliefs we call “ego.” Everything must be seen through. I have no choice in this matter (because there is no I, to be sure!). It is a process that takes on a life of its own.
I’m beginning to think that if there is a purpose to life, it is this: to see everything more and more clearly. To penetrate to the truth of everything and know it fully, deeply. And that’s it, nothing else. It gives life a new flavor and savor to realize that.
Personal Note I’ve been a bit slow of late to post articles. I plan to get back to my regular posting frequency in a few weeks. My grandmother became sick a few weeks ago and then passed away. She was 93. While I can’t say that her illness and passing has caused me to post less frequently, it has resulted in a greater degree of introspection and all around distraction. Namaste.
Written on July 15, 2008 by Tom Stine
The other day I wrote a little article commenting on Eckhart Tolle and Oprah. A reader left some comments concerning Eckhart and the general issue of enlightenment, and rather than reply in the comments, I thought I would do a short article in response.
I think it is safe to say that my reader and I may not see eye to eye on the subject of enlightenment. I won’t try to summarize his point of view, but I encourage you to read the comments on that post.
Let me being by saying that I’m not really into the term enlightenment, so I will use the word awake or awakening. Just a matter of preference. Less baggage for me associated with the term awakening.
The only “criteria” I have for awakening is seeing, truly seeing, beyond the self, the “I”, the “me” that everyone thinks they are. When that is seen through, completely through, it is as if one has awakened from a dream, a dream of self. One then knows oneself as the Unborn as the Buddha would have said. Or we can say Emptiness, Spirit, the Formless.
However, as one great Zen master pointed out, “to encounter the Absolute is not yet enlightenment.” This awakening has to penetrate the entire being. When it does, the person knows through and through the truth: there is only One. Wherever they look, they see One. And this One has the appearance of form but is in fact Formless, Empty. When they look inside themselves, they see Nothing, Emptiness, the Absolute. All is Emptiness, all is One.
This whole awakening, then, is about identity. In my experience, it has nothing to do with experiences. One can have profound experiences of bliss, and even experiences of awakening, but that in and of itself is not it. When the sense of self has gone, that is it. No Self. Over and over, that message comes at us in spiritual literature (well, at least in “the good stuff”).
As for those who have awakened, in my experience, there are plenty. Eckhart for certain. They come in all shapes and sizes. I personally know a few that don’t look anything like the popular image of “an enlightened one.” The outer form means nothing. Absolutely nothing. Life expresses itself in all manner of forms. And in awakening, too. Here are a few examples of some well known and not so well known folks:
Ramana Maharshi (pictured left), who by anyone’s definition would meet the tests of “enlightened” sat around in a loincloth and asked for nothing (except a newspaper and food). And yet he had a strange obsession with a mountain. Go figure. He “looked the part” of the great enlightened one, partly because of his particular experiences and partly because he was living in India.
Nisargadatta Maharaj (pictured right), again someone who passes almost anyone’s “tests”, smoked cigarettes like a chimney and owned a little store (where he sold cigarettes amongst other things). He was a common man, uneducated, but as awake as could be. He certainly didn’t look enlightened. He even would shout at his visitors in his passion to bring the truth to them.
Okay, one more: my favorite is a man who currently plays banjo at the Grand Ole Opry and tells silly hillbilly jokes on stage. He is billed as a “banjer funnyman” yet when he has done satsang, the beauty of the truth in him echos from his voice. He is vibrant, alive, amazing. And yes, he was on Hee Haw 20 years ago (I’m not making this up, I promise!). His name is Mike Snider, and you can find out more about him here.
All awake. All aware of the Truth.
These are some examples. I know of others. As a matter of fact, I’m going to be posting an interview I did recently with someone who has realized the truth of who he is. He is a delight to speak with, but again, he won’t look like the common conceptions of “enlightened guy.” Which to me means those conceptions are probably quite mistaken.
To be honest, it is probably best to throw away these beliefs about enlightenment, and we should probably begin with the term enlightenment. Too much baggage as I said before. In point of fact, probably the best way to express it all is to simply say, “one who has realized the truth of who she is.” Much better. Because it isn’t any more complicated or exciting than that.
Again, as I mentioned above, that realization can’t simply be “oh, yeah, I get it.” It must penetrate deep, it must be thorough, it must be through the entire being. But don’t worry. You’ll know. Believe me, when the truth dawns, you won’t have any doubts. You probably won’t be able to stop laughing for a while.
As an addendum, I would like to thank Vern over at aimforawesome.com for getting this discussion rolling. He has a terrific blog with great articles and killer images. He writes from his experience, which is rare in the world of spirituality. Again, thanks Vern.
Written on May 30, 2008 by Tom Stine
What am I? To my mind, that is the question that all spiritual seekers need to answer. Ramana Maharshi, one of the greatest sages of the twentieth century, emphasized over and over again that answering this question was, in effect, the only point to spirituality. “Find out who you are!” he would say.
So, before I write an article on this question and my experience of it, I’m curious to hear from you first. If you stop for a moment, and ask this question of yourself, what answer do you get? Do you get an answer? What is your experience when you ask this question? If Ramana is right, then finding out who you are may in fact be the most important thing you’ve ever done.
Leave your responses in the comments. Namaste.
Written on April 7, 2008 by Tom Stine
Q: This ‘I’-thought rises from me. But I do not know the Self.
A. All these are only mental concepts. You are now identifying yourself with a wrong ‘I’, which is the ‘I’-thought. This ‘I’-thought rises and sinks, whereas the true significance of ‘I’ is beyond both. There cannot be a break in your being. You who slept are also now awake. There is no unhappiness in your deep sleep whereas it exists now. What is it that has happened now so that this difference is experienced? There was no ‘I’-thought in your sleep, whereas it is present now. The true ‘I’ is not apparent and the false ‘I’ is parading itself. This false ‘I’ is the obstacle to your right knowledge. Find out from where this false ‘I’ arises. Then it will disappear. You will then be only what you are, that is, absolute being.
