Sometimes I see a tree in autumn with one remaining leaf. I understand this tree completely.
It is Takuin.
Download the FREE E-book
Follow Takuin on
The End, The Beginning
Posted in All Posts, Quick Thoughts, The Beautiful Earth, To The Student 37 Comments
Emptiness, Beside Itself
A conversation with another, is a conversation with oneself.
How to describe something,
That cannot be described…
Maybe there is a way to point to it?
That is the only thing,
- The Pointing -
But afterward,
It is out of our hands.
We cannot really influence the listener,
To be free with the words.
Most will make something out of it,
Another thing to have or build up to.
All we can do is talk,
Or write,
Or whatever.
It’s the hardest thing,
To NOT have something to have,
Or build up to.
I wonder if it’s,
A necessary process?
When seen from the eyes the doer,
The one using force to create,
Existing to build up and have more,
Perhaps, yes.
But we can’t say for sure.
People going through a process always say,
“We all have to go through the process.”
We should be suspicious.
Some have said,
People who hit enlightenment ‘out of the blue,’
Like Ramana Maharshi,
Did the tedious work in a previous life.
That we can never know.
There are many explanations,
And none of them quench our thirst.
Perhaps they are not past lives,
Living in a past time,
Doing things,
In a different body,
As we’ve been told.
Perhaps it is some bizarre remnant of memory,
Passed down through the genetic codes of our ancestors.
We can’t really say either way.
I have talked to many about past lives,
They absolutely believe in them.
But if this concern over past lives is important,
Why do we remain so dull and violent?
It may turn out,
The talk of past lives,
Is absolutely right.
But so what?
Will it really make a change,
For human beings?
Most likely,
Things will go on,
As they always have.
That we can never know.
It is a mental exercise.
People who are miserable,
And do terrible things,
Don’t really have a choice.
They lack the power,
To do anything else.
Perhaps they do not realize,
There is something other than,
Their way of life?
It is such a closed way of living.
The sphere of their ‘personal’ consciousness is such,
There may never be a way out for them.
We could say ‘closed mind,’
But it is not quite that.
For whatever reason,
For them,
The capability is not there.
We can’t say it will NEVER change,
Because there is no way to know.
I had anger and rage,
And fear and all that,
And i knew it was wrong,
But i kept doing hurtful things.
The power to change,
Just wasn’t there.
The ‘person,’
Can change over time.
One can go from terrible,
To loving.
The self can make changes,
In its outward ‘appearance.’
These things can take time.
But what if there was never a person there?
People can change,
From this to that.
If we analyze it,
After the fact,
We can see a progression.
One can live a wonderful life,
Making conscious changes,
To their personality,
To the self,
Or whatever.
But some beings,
For whatever reason,
Skip beyond all of that,
To a kind of no man’s land,
Where the very idea,
Of a separate person,
Is just so odd,
So unbelievable.
There is just no way to see it,
As a possibility within oneself.
And in that nothingness,
There is no time or progression,
As we mentioned residing,
Within the self.
No self-development,
No becoming,
No someday I’ll be,
None of that.
Then others come along,
- other selves -
And decide they want to have,
Capture and own,
That nothingness,
And they try to progress up to it.
In the end I suppose,
If one is there,
They will have no way of knowing,
If anything they did to achieve,
Was at all helpful.
The whole teaching of no-self,
is frustrating to be honest.
What about those,
Who’ve never heard of all this?
They’re not making any effort.
We are told,
We have to do this or that,
To be free.
But what of the person,
With no access,
To that ‘knowledge’?
Are they doomed,
To live terrible lives?
Never.
They just live,
According to what,
They are born with.
That is all any of us can do.
Of all the teachings you’ve studied,
Did it solve problems for you?
Or did you have to look,
Seeking it out,
For yourself?
We all begin,
With the same material.
We are all born,
With the same stuff.
It might seem we lack,
Compared to others,
But this is only a shadow,
Of the outer world,
The physical,
The phenomenal.
Freedom is here,
Available to anyone,
At any time,
And it does not depend,
On anything outside of us.
There might be a time,
When one is not aware,
They are not aware.
Maybe it is helpful to hear,
“Have a look over there for a bit.”
But i am not convinced,
It is necessary.
If there is some inner turmoil,
We usually run outwardly,
For a solution.
But the solution is here,
Not there.
It is the turmoil that best teaches us…
But how do we know,
The turmoil is a teacher,
If no one has told us?
We rely too heavily,
On the ‘people who know.’
We cannot take a step on our own,
For fear of doing something wrong.
Certainly,
It has to start somewhere,
But if one lives a completely selfish life,
It may be impossible,
To see it clearly.
It might take an event,
Life changing,
Destroying everything one holds dear.
Unable to cope,
One might kill themselves,
Or hide, running in-to a bottle.
Or they can take a stand,
Resolving to see it through,
To the very end.
It is not easy.
Turmoil,
Greed,
Envy,
Jealousy,
Or whatever it might be.
We run.
We run to the person that can help,
Or attack outwardly the object,
We hold responsible,
For our pain.
Or we simply run away.
But why do we never say,
“For the love of God,
I am going to see this thing,
For what it is,
And find out at last,
if it has any power over me.”
This teaching is within all of us.
It calls to us constantly,
Like the Sirens on the rocks.
But we have plugged our ears with beeswax.
The Ghost
There is a ghost that whispers in your mind. It says:
“You’ve had a real taste of liberation, the ultimate emptiness. So now, what is the point of life? What is the point of doing anything anymore?”
This ghost will never do you a good turn. It can only lie, telling you what it thinks is on the other side, based on an erroneous interpretation of a moment long gone.
It tells you what you want to hear.
Leave this ghost behind and press on. The light is almost visible at the end of the tunnel.
Notions of I AM
This post is Takuin’s response to a conversation going on at the blog of Mike Sayers. His is a blog of many things, but the focus lately is on the search, the silliness of the search, and frustration at not getting anywhere with any of it. He has an active community of supportive people over there, and it is definitely worth the time to have a look at his site, if this is the sort of thing that interests you.
The first, short part of this post is the initial interaction from the comments section on Mike’s article, I Am Bigger Than the Universe… What? To see all of the contributions, be sure to check out the comments on that post.
Mike:
The problem I’m wrestling with is the notion that what I really am is this nothingness in which everything is.
Takuin:
The difficulty may lie with the notion. The notion is external; a thing you hold out to ponder and wrestle with. But is this activity helpful in any way?
This activity points to a difference, or a separation; the thing to have, and the person wanting it (or wrestling with it).
Less, Mike. Less.
Mike:
“…is this activity helpful in any way?”
Hell no! Not helpful whatsoever! The thing is that it’s all a notion. Every damned thing I think about is a notion, and nothing about notions are helpful.
So, OK… less. Do nothing? You must know how nearly impossible that is, right? Nothing? The “truth” is there, supposedly right in front of my face, and I want to understand it, but I’m to do nothing about it. It just makes no sense to me, even though I keep hearing, “nothing to do, no one to do it”.
OK, OK… You know, I have to go through it like this, right? Can’t argue with reality. I have to be completely stupid and unreasonable about it because I am.
Less, Mike. Less. I’ll feel that for a while and see what happens.
Takuin:
Probably, none of this is helpful, you know. I always tell everyone to see it for themselves. Find out for themselves. That is the real reason I do not give ‘advice,’ or tell people to do this or that. People make these things into notions, or things to do, like a shopping list.
So please, listen to others, but never follow anyone. I can understand people wanting to give you advice, and that is all well and good, but really, what can we do with it? The only thing, really, you can be aware of is how you function from moment to moment. In listening, things may arise, but it is not for us – or even you – to make something out of it.
The truth may be there, in front of your face. I am not saying it is, or it isn’t. But having Takuin, or someone else, tell you it is there, is not really helpful for you. You already know this.
It is like that finger pointing at the moon nonsense…forget the moon; there is no finger!
I don’t know if this will be helpful for you, but I will tell you a personal story…(this might be on the blog somewhere, but I do not remember.)
In 2001, I was living in Quincy, Massachusetts, and running a vitamin/health store in Harvard Square. One day, on my way home from work (on the train), I was reading a book by J. Krishnamurti called The Awakening of Intelligence. I had not read that kind of stuff before, and had no real introduction into non-duality or enlightenment at all.
Somewhere, around the middle of the book, Krishnamurti said something about finding out for oneself; If one relies on any kind of authority – even the words of Krishnamurti – then all is lost. So, I closed the book, and thought about his for the rest of the train ride.
When I reached Quincy station, I took the book and threw it in the trash. For whatever reason, I felt that Krishnamurti was right. But if I carried his words – find out for oneself – and held them out as something to attain or something to hold as sacred, then I would still be lost.
It was at that moment I knew, if there was indeed anything to find, it would be like a field of fresh snow, with no footprints other than my own. I never read another spiritual book again.
Within Takuin, curiosity was triggered to such a high degree, there was no turning back. I could no longer accept what anyone told me to be true, but I could not resist it in such a way as to say, “I will reject everyone because they are wrong.”
Forget about everyone; I could no longer trust myself.
This all took place sometime in 2001. I can’t remember exactly when. But the liberation, or the accident as I call it sometimes, happened on December 1st, 2006. But this is not to say you must do what Takuin has done. That would be a terrible dis-service to you.
This alone-ness is not for everyone (if that is the right way to say it). And it is not even necessary. In the end, you’ll never know how you move from place to place, so let’s not make it into something to have.
Takuin comes from a ‘place’ of no teaching, or no learning. But others might have come to a similar end through intense study and teachings. Davidya, a frequent contributor to this site, is a good example. But it really doesn’t matter what either of us have or have not done. The only thing that matters is what arises within you.
So tell us, Mike…what do you see?
Thank you very much for this exploration, Mike. It is something all of us can go through with you.
And please feel free to reply to anyone commenting below. The comments are threaded, so just use the reply button to target your victim.
The Raven
Today is the 160th anniversary of the death of Edgar Allan Poe.
I was a fan of Poe in my younger days, but lost track of him around twenty years ago. I recently went back to re-read some of my old favorites and discovered some new things about Poe that surprised me. Namely, that Poe was not the drug addict we had always been led to believe.
From Wikipedia:
The day Edgar Allan Poe was buried, a long obituary appeared in the New York Tribune signed “Ludwig”. It was soon published throughout the country. The piece began, “Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it.”[71] “Ludwig” was soon identified as Rufus Wilmot Griswold, an editor, critic and anthologist who had borne a grudge against Poe since 1842. Griswold somehow became Poe’s literary executor and attempted to destroy his enemy’s reputation after his death.[72]
Rufus Griswold wrote a biographical article of Poe called “Memoir of the Author”, which he included in an 1850 volume of the collected works. Griswold depicted Poe as a depraved, drunk, drug-addled madman and included Poe’s letters as evidence.[72] Many of his claims were either outright lies or distorted half-truths. For example, it is now known that Poe was not a drug addict.[73] Griswold’s book was denounced by those who knew Poe well,[74] but it became a popularly accepted one. This occurred in part because it was the only full biography available and was widely reprinted and in part because readers thrilled at the thought of reading works by an “evil” man.[75] Letters that Griswold presented as proof of this depiction of Poe were later revealed as forgeries.[76]
Perhaps, for a sixteen year-old, the idea of a drug addicted writer dying under mysterious circumstances had some romantic power. But now, twenty years later, one can see in Poe, a human being quite similar to all of us. His tortures were really no different from ours. And it is now clear that his words arose from his daily life, and not from some kind of chemical ‘assistance.’
Now, when I return to Poe, I am sure to find something different than before.
Poe’s Most Famous Work
The Raven is easily one of the most famous poems ever written. It tells of a talking raven’s mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man’s slow descent into madness. It is a wonderful expression of rhythm, rhyme, and lamentation.
When I was a teenager, I could recite the poem verbatim, but have now long since forgotten. (And in fact, I wanted to recite the poem on video for this post, but could not re-memorize the damn thing in time!)
It has been said that The Raven can evoke the sadness of the loss of Lenore in every human being that reads it. And while that can never truly be known, if Takuin’s experience can be used as a guide, that statement is certainly not false.
The Raven
What follows is the full text of the final authorized printing, from the Richmond Semi-Weekly Examiner, 1849. (You can also find a video performance of The Raven at the end of this post.)
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore —
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“‘Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door —
Only this and nothing more.”Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; — vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow — sorrow for the lost Lenore —
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore —
Nameless here for evermore.And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me — filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
“‘Tis some visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door —
Some late visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door; —
This it is and nothing more.”Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you” — here I opened wide the door; ——
Darkness there and nothing more.Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!” —
Merely this and nothing more.Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore —
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—
‘Tis the wind and nothing more!”Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door —
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door —
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore —
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning — little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door —
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as “Nevermore.”But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered — not a feather then he fluttered —
Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before —
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said “Nevermore.”Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore —
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of ‘Never — nevermore’.”But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore —
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee — by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite — respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil! — prophet still, if bird or devil! —
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted —
On this home by Horror haunted — tell me truly, I implore —
Is there — is there balm in Gilead? — tell me — tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil! — prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us — by that God we both adore —
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore —
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting —
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! — quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted — nevermore!
***************
Or, if you would like to read along, or just see a recital of this poem, watch this performance of The Raven by American Actor, John Astin.
Wow…he really looks like Poe.
Posted in All Posts, Odds and Ends 6 Comments
Relationship – Two Years Later
On this day two years ago, I wrote the post, Relationship – Part One (There is also a Part Two). At that time, judging by reader response, it was my most popular post. But not due to comments. I received over thirty emails on this two-part series, which at the time, was a reader response milestone. Up to that point, I had only received an email here and there, usually on the esoteric side of non-dual nonsense.
Thinking of it now, most of the correspondence I receive today are questions on this topic of relating, in one way or another, even if not pointing toward a direct physical relationship with another human being. Relating goes deeper than mere social relationships.
Probably, most of you have not read this two-part post, especially the newer subscribers. Have a look, and feel free to leave any comments here or there. But if you do comment on the material, we’ll have to take it from the beginning, as we should in all things. Let’s not rely on old words to see ourselves now.
If posed with the same question today, the words would probably reveal themselves in a more concise manner. I was rather wordy back in 2007. Take a breath, man! Take a breath!
Posted in All Posts, Odds and Ends, Quick Thoughts, To The Student 6 Comments
The Day After
I recently found, quite by accident, a few words I wrote on December 2nd, 2006, one day after the event of liberation, if that is the right way to say it. I have no memory of writing any of this. It is fairly disjointed, and it seems to have been written all at once, around 9:45 AM.
You may, or may not, find it interesting…
December 2nd, 2006 9:45 AM
I continue to carry this complete emptiness wherever I go. It is an odd sensation. But the mind is not devoid of sound; the music is still there.
I have this feeling I am not really here. Or perhaps it is infinite space, penetrating everything. No longer is there a distinction between anything.
If I focus on an object or person, I can penetrate to the very essence of the thing. There are no longer any secrets, and any idea of a mystery of life has disappeared along with the person holding the idea.
There is an extreme warmness in the chest area; an amazing warmth in the heart. As I walk along the streets, I can reach out with some invisible hand and touch everything. Penetrate everything. I can see another person and feel their entire emotional history; the fear, the pain, and doubt, but also the love, joy, and the happiness.
This living is all cosmos.
At every moment I feel quite on the verge of exploding. It is tremendous.
I feel a tremendously important answer rushing toward me, but I have no way of knowing the question. Maybe that is the way this is supposed to be. Everything rushes to greet me, but there is no one here to meet it.
The wind blows today, as it does everyday, but the being it touches is different from yesterday.
You are the wind. Go and breathe life into this world.
There is no life here as it is known in the mind. This transcends all of that. It is beyond any idea of life and death, and is free to…
***************
…and that is how it ends.
I have no idea what happened after this. I seem to have lost – or misplaced – a significant amount of time.
Most likely, this was written in a seating area at Shaw’s supermarket in Boston, Massachusetts, close to the intersection of Commonwealth and Brighton Avenues. I do recall spending time there, reading and writing, and so on.
Re-reading this…I can understand what is being said. But it is odd, because I cannot believe any of it. Dis-interested – maybe that is the right word. It has no real meaning as I sit here typing in Tokyo, Japan. But still, it may be interesting for others to read.
Does the Wind Blow?
The wind blows, and Takuin might ask, Can you observe the wind as it is? Or what about the physical reactions of your body to the wind; how it may react to the heat or the cold of it? Do you feel it? Does this arise naturally within you?
This is not an exercise. It is not a test for you to somehow lose yourself during the observation of the wind. There is nothing for you to gain here.
It is all so simple, but do you have to be in-charge of even this? Can you feel the wind without your desire to feel it?
Your mind is taken with what you would like to have instead of what is. But this is your doom, isn’t it? If you hope to observe the wind in order to free yourself, you will only observe your thoughts of freely observing the wind. It is your translation of a thing that needs absolutely no interpretation.
You observe when you think it is a good thing to observe. And it is a good thing to you because of the goodness you hope to receive from it. Stillness, goodness, oneness, liberation; are these merely the result of greedy actions or deliberate activity?
Why can’t you just be still and observe? Not observe because ‘Observation will set you free,’ or some other glorious thing you hope to coerce out of your attempt to freely observe. Can you just be still, even for one minute?
It may be a fact that never once in your life have you felt the wind touch your skin. At least, not without your interference.
The wind blows, but is it really there at all?
Solidifying the Questioner
This is from a current discussion with James taking place on the post, Quick Thoughts – Levels of Enlightenment. That post is rather old and I thought the readers would miss out on the discussion which has been interesting so far, so here it is. (Also, there were no comments on that post until James came along, so thanks James!)
We’ll keep it going in this post and hopefully get more people involved in the process. So take a moment to read the original post – which is very short – then come back and join the discussion. I’ve added the comments from that post below, in their entirety.
James:
Therefore theoretically your saying if one has 100% brain capacity / capability then he or she, It for that matter has supreme existence that is fully awakened / enlightened beyond its conception (pre or unexistent) ie. and animal does not know otherwise thereofore is complete and enlightened in its own state of understanding, If so you beleive such riddles of the mind, such tangents of a poetic philosopher, you lack the real insight to carry over the neccesary guidelines that create a “awakened being”. Such is, a 100% mental capacity has never been recorded in (known science) therefore your “liberal way of thinking” is and I know, theoretical. For one to transcend their own mind to point of disconnection with time space, is in itself enlightenment, is in itself emptyness of idealistic or realistic approaches you here are trying to explain. Such is the idea of transcending ones self, You transcend time and space. And YES transcending time and space is done in TIME AND SPACE, YES is done in levels. Thank you. (one who goes from 2.5-5% Global brain Capability, to a wopping 100%) would 1, die, hemmorage ext.. or 2 go completly insane on attempting to reach that higher level of Capability. Ie. you get the lunatics and people in asylums who are connected higher then “sane people” who cannot reach the epitimy of their self control, and self awakenment, with the capacity their conciousness has reached. Ie, levels of different parts of ones mind, and ones time space.
Takuin:
Thanks, James.
Takuin doesn’t know anything about 100% brain capacity, supreme existence, pre or un-existent this or that, nor does it have any belief about what one should or should not be. It is all far more simple than any of that.
Do guidelines lead to an awakening? Or does anything, for that matter? Not what should or should not lead one there, because that is nonsense.
Such is, a 100% mental capacity has never been recorded in (known science) therefore your “liberal way of thinking” is and I know, theoretical.
Again, I am not sure what is this 100% capacity you speak of. This is your belief, not Takuin’s. Perhaps it is this: I have said or written something, and you have translated that to mean ‘100% Capacity,’ but your own idea of awakening has nothing to do with brain capacity, so you view my words as a liberal way of thinking (and I am not even sure what that means).
Such is the idea of transcending ones self, You transcend time and space. And YES transcending time and space is done in TIME AND SPACE, YES is done in levels. Thank you.
I won’t argue with you. If this is your belief, this is your belief. If you think it takes time, if you think there are levels, then that is that. I won’t try to deny you anything you believe to be true.
(one who goes from 2.5-5% Global brain Capability, to a wopping 100%) would 1, die, hemmorage ext.. or 2 go completly insane on attempting to reach that higher level of Capability.
Again, I do not know what you are referring to with these percentages of brain capacity. It is all very simple, so let’s not make it complicated.
The only level is wherever you happen to be. Anything else is your thought about what came before, or whatever you hope will come next. The only thing we can really ever be aware of is how we are functioning from moment to moment. Everything else is our story about this or that.
James:
Certainly, you have a way of putting things into perspective. This is the point i make that our awakenings happen in the point of perspective. Where we understand ourselves to be. Though where we are at any given moment may or may not be a matter of our own pure indulgence. I mean 100% brain capacity in the fact that most humans will only use a certain amount of their brain function. When enlightenment in a Liberal way of thinking, means using and being certain of using 100% of your known capability in the ways or (guidelines) that are made out to help and heal and aid in other peoples paths to their own enlightenment. In this we are all contentiously connected and continuously in a state of “situational momentary understanding” of one another and of ourselves. In this there is much indifference, much tribulation in all things that we are. We see and feel the levels of others, their feelings, their thoughts, their momentary purpose, in this we attempt to free them from such a grasp. Though as you would like to beleive, if we are in this constant state of “now” that, space and time forfeits to us, than are we not in a constant state of our own upheaval, both in the whole, and in ourselves.
Takuin:
James,
Thanks for your replies.
This is the point i make that our awakenings happen in the point of perspective. Where we understand ourselves to be.
This may be true. But we must be careful of the perspective. Is it the perspective of the person hoping to be free? Or the person that may think, “Yes, I am finally getting somewhere!” In this perspective we are seeing the separation of the person without, hoping to someday be within.
I am not saying these perspectives are wrong, or anything like that. If this is what arises, if this is what is there, then this is where we start. But the possibility of ‘perspectives’ being a trick of the person hoping to be free must also be explored. It could be nothing more than one hoping to free oneself of the self through activity of the self.
This is similar to what you mentioned above when you wrote:
And YES transcending time and space is done in TIME AND SPACE, YES is done in levels. Thank you.
One hopes to transcend the object by using that same object as a means of escape. One cannot go beyond time and space using time and space. Transcendence implies life beyond the touch of the object, whatever that object might be.
But please do not take my word for it! It is not that we say, “Well, Takuin is right! Looks like it is time to do a different thing.” That would be awful. We must question the subtleties as well as what seems to be obvious.
It is not that the activity is bad – the activity meaning the search, or the self hoping to go higher, and so on. It is just superficial. The object of the search is not important; it is the search itself one must see.
We don’t try to understand the search for enlightenment, the search for happiness, the search for love, the search for whiter teeth, or whatever it might be; we look at the process that allows the search to happen in the first place.
So for example, in the quest for love, we look at the quest-er questing for love, and not at what we believe love to be. But this seems to be difficult for many to do.
This search is viewed from the perspective of the person looking for it. And that perspective includes the beliefs, the prejudices, and whatever else the self brings to the table. But what one carries with them is insignificant to this end.
Though where we are at any given moment may or may not be a matter of our own pure indulgence.
It may very well be. And if that is what is there, that is where we begin. We can only investigate what we have, and not what we hope to have or what we believe we should have.
Someone once asked me, “Well what if what we have is the hope to be something else?” If that is what you have, that is where you begin. But you’ll never see through it if the person ’seeing’ it is the person still hoping to have something else.
I mean 100% brain capacity in the fact that most humans will only use a certain amount of their brain function. When enlightenment in a Liberal way of thinking, means using and being certain of using 100% of your known capability in the ways or (guidelines) that are made out to help and heal and aid in other peoples paths to their own enlightenment.
How much of our brain is ‘used’ is not important for this. One cannot be certain of how much of our brains are used at any given time. Others will try to figure this out, and they will most likely tell us, but in what way is it significant?
Our brains operate the way they operate at any given time. It may seem insufficient at times or more than efficient at other times, but only through comparison to some other time or to some other brain. This just gets in the way.
It is not the brain that gets in the way of one’s freedom. It very well may be the path one has chosen for themselves.
Though as you would like to beleive, if we are in this constant state of “now” that, space and time forfeits to us, than are we not in a constant state of our own upheaval, both in the whole, and in ourselves.
You have pointed out something important; the difficulty of the searcher. They hope for a constant state, or something that will bring greater and greater pleasure over time. But this implies ‘enlightenment’ is something unchanging, something solid that can be held onto in place of pain. A conclusion, or a finished product, if I can use that phrase.
Perhaps this is what makes it enticing for so many; if it is solid and you can plan for it, then you can force your way into it.
But let’s not complicate the matter; the reality of the thing is more simple than all of that.
Thanks again, James, for your participation and interesting commentary so far. Please feel free to add more below in the comments. All others are welcome, as well.
Memorie
They still think of you sometimes…
No matter the distance – in space or time – they’ll remember those unique moments they alone hold close to their hearts.
It may have been a word, a moment, a song, a glance, or the touch of your hand to theirs. And it may have passed so quickly, not even a whisper remains.
You may have forgotten all of it, through life’s stretching. But there is always someone that will never forget. Do your best to love them completely.
Love, even if you’ve forgotten all of them…