Inflation It may seem, in times of inflation, that all prices are going up, but the price of living remains the same -- death. It may seem like a high price to those who don't understand it, but it only has to be paid once, and never in advance. Ben and the Fanatic In his teachings, Ben stressed that Zen was his path because it allowed him to become himself. All other routes that allegedly lead to cosmic consciousness seemed to put him in conflict with his own nature. He advised all seekers to examine carefully what each system asked of the potential initiate, keeping in mind three rules: 1. What you are required to believe is what the system cannot prove. 2. Anything you are asked to keep secret is of more value to the teacher than to the student. 3. Any practice that is forbidden offers something that the system cannot successfully replace with an alternative. One listener asked, "Don't you believe that giving up the pleasures of the senses will produce a different consciousness?" "My personal experience," Ben replied, "was that it produced the consciousness of fanaticism." Art and the Artist Every human being is an artist; the work of art in question is the individual's life. Most artist have a problem knowing when they have completed a work, but if you realize that your life is your art form, you don't have that problem. Death tells you when you are through. It's nature's way of saying, "That's it. You've completed your work. Take it easy now." Dr. Zen Omar was associated with a very unusual black man whom he referred to as Dr. Zen. Anyone who tuned in on Dr. Zen thought he was either crazy or very detached. Omar believed that Dr. Zen was quite literally a Christian Zen practitioner. When Omar learned that Dr. Zen advertised himself as a Biblical analyst, he asked him how many times he had read the Bible. "Oh," he answered, "I've never read the Bible. I don't need to read it. If you understand just one verse in the Bible, you understand it all." An onlooker asked, "which verse is that?" Dr. Zen replied, "Jesus wept." Otis and the Older Student An older student came to Otis and said, "I have been to see a great number of teachers and I have given up a great number of pleasures, I have fasted, been celibate and stayed awake nights seeking enlightenment. I have given up everything I was asked to give up and I have suffered, but I have not been enlightened. What should I do?" Otis replied, "Give up suffering." Joanne's Enlightenment When her daughter was born, Joanne pledged to herself that she would not lie to her child. The discipline involved in answering the queries of an alert, intelligent youth was more than Joanne had anticipated. Nor had she realized that to fulfill the pledge she would have to stop lying to herself. By adhering to the truth, she went through many intellectual, physical and emotional changes that led her along the path of enlightenment. The Names of Ho Chi Zen Addressing a group of students, Ho Chi Zen said, "Heretic! Charlatan! Rascal! Trickster! I have been called all of those names and they are true. All true. I am here tonight to trick you. I'm going to trick you into becoming your own best friend." The Right to Die A potential suicide was talking to Ho Chi Zen, asking if he had the right to commit suicide if he wanted to. Ho replied, "Anyone has the right to do anything. Every one else has the right to resist it." The student said, "Do you see suicide as a moral act?" Ho's answer was. "Where there is no victim, every act is morally right, I personally think suicide is a symptom of taking oneself too seriously." Change Life is a continuing process of change. Resistance to change and personal growth is one of the most difficult ways to attempt to live because it requires the denial of the process. One of the hazards of refusing to accept change in yourself is getting locked into the habit of trying to change others so you can have the illusion of remaining the same. That way of living will take all your energy and yield no personal returns. Why waste your energy on changing others? You can use it to flow with the changes that are happening to you and enjoy the unfolding of your own life. Who's in charge here? You are the creator of the reality you experience. Every event that occurs around you takes on meaning when you put your attention on it. During your lifetime you have been exposed to a lot of conditioning, but you have selected what seemed valid to you and made it part of your programming. If reality is getting you down, examine the programming that is in the biocomputer you call your mind. That programming can be changed at any time because you are your own programmer. The Circle of Truth Once understanding has been reached -- the understanding that ignorance will not guarantee the illusion of security -- the search for truth can begin. But truth is not a constant. Like all other aspects of the greater reality, it is cyclic. A concept emerges from the great void as heresy, grows into truth, and decays into superstition and returns to the void George's Teaching In Zen there is little emphasis on God or on Buddha because the focus is on becoming one with your experience. Anything that keeps distance between a person and his or her awareness of individual responsibility is a barrier to enlightenment. Even prayer can be a cop out. Or as George said, "Don't bother God. He's got his own problems -- everything he makes dies." Sex and Nirvana The orgasm can be considered a model of enlightenment because, for it's duration, the experiencer and the experience are one. The possibility of attaining nirvana through sex may be denied by some teachers who maintain that reality simply IS and therefore is not something to be attained. In the ecstasy of complete sexual union, roles, images and abstractions are dissolved in the oneness of the experience. Trouble-free action Things were going so well for Giovanni that he had difficulty believing the reality he was experiencing. He seemed to have dropped all his hang-up habit patterns and was acting in a way that he didn't quite understand. To avoid the "This-is-too-good-to-be-true" paranoia, he asked Omar what he could tell him about the purpose of his new way of relating to the world. Omar said, "Don't worry about it, When you can't see through your own actions, you are operating at your highest level." What if everybody did it? An unshackling of the spirit caused Joanne to exercise her sexual freedom and explore her sexual identity. When an acquaintance said, "You can't do that. What if everybody did it?" Joanne replied, "It's all right with me if everyone does it." Sex and Morality An immoralist once fogged the issue of his own behaviour by focusing attention on the sex life of others. This distraction worked so well that some people are just now realizing that morality is how you treat other beings, not your sexual behaviour. Ben on human sexuality A student once asked Ben how to resist the animal in herself. Ben said, "That which is resisted persists. What are you resisting?" "Well, you know, the animal passions." "You mean sex?" "Yes" "That's so ironic. Most animals, except dolphins and humans, have a limited season of heat, of open sexuality. The constant readiness for sexual fulfillment is an unusual characteristic found only in species with large brains and high intelligence. Whatever it is, it is not animal passion. Your intelligence is so you can handle, enjoy and appreciate your uniqueness, not deny it." Jenny's liberation in action Among Jenny's lovers was a married man who was unaware of how chauvinistic he was. In order to avoid ridiculous complications, Jenny explained that she took responsibility for her own sex life and made love with whom she pleased when she pleased. Unable to grasp the implication of her freedom, her lover asked, "But what if I wanted a monogamous relationship?" Jenny replied, "I'd advise you to seek one with your wife -- isn't that what she`s looking for?" Ben's Romanticism Having been reared in a household full of logic and popular music, Ben was a romantic rationalist. His embrace of Zen didn't change his views, but widened them. When asked by Jane what his framework was for dealing with sex, he said, "I look at each sexual relationship as the possible beginning of a deep and beautiful friendship. If it turns out to be less than that, I accept the limitation although I don't prefer it." Jane liked that approach, but said that so many of her friends seemed obsessed with monogamy. Ben replied, "Oh, I think monogamy is great as long as it's spontaneous." Reality In a discussion Bert said that reality can be described in many ways, but the description that an individual accepts is the one that conforms to that individual's preconceptions. Omar expanded on this by defining objective reality as the fantasy that has received the majority vote and subjective reality as a personal fantasy. Mal concluded the discussion by saying, "Reality is the original Rorschach." Imagination Imagination, like logic, is a valuable but limited tool. No matter how much imagination you have, life is always much simpler than you could ever imagine Illusion and Reality Expounding on his knowledge of gurus and their systems, Ralph said, "Any system that prepares you for enlightenment by a description or a non-description gives you the tools to build the illusion of enlightenment. If this is done with skill, it is perhaps impossible to tell the difference between the illusion and the reality." Lucas replied, "Perhaps there is no difference." The Inmates When you first realize that you are surrounded by crazy people, it may seem frightening. In a civilization of outpatients, insanity can be viewed as the only defense. The planet Earth is your asylum; take the opportunity to explore and enjoy your own craziness. No Credit, No Blame Accept your positive experiences without taking credit and you have humility. Accept your negative experiences without blame and you have serenity. Double Learning Everything that you learn about the world tells you how your brain works also, enabling you to perceive yourself in that which you consider "not you." A thorough understanding of this procedure will enable you to change the world by changing yourself. Dual Fallacies The subjective fallacy is: "If it works for me it will work for everyone." The objective fallacy is: "If it works for me I can get anyone to believe that it worked for me." Zen sense Everything is true in some sense, false in some sense and meaningless in another sense. A working knowledge of this concept is a useful tool for staying relaxed. For example, if someone says something about you that is untrue you should not get upset regardless of whether you consider the statement positive or negative. It is true in the sense that it is what one person believes to be true about you; it is that individual's truth. It is false in the sense that it does not represent your truth. It is meaningless in the sense that it does not change who and what you are; your identity is independent of other's opinions. Wisdom within You contain myriad worlds and vast knowledge. Each of your cells has the ability to recreate itself and the ability to change. Although many of the processes that take place within you do not seem to be under your conscious control, that does not negate the fact that they are part of you. Your ordinary consciousness is a small part of your being, merely a current majority opinion resulting from your experience. If you invest your identity in your opinions, you are limiting your capacity and your reality Ho Chi Zen Confides Again Asked what was the purpose of Zen, Ho said, "By the study of Zen one can learn to help people - or, that failing, at least to get them off your back." Freedom and the Law All of the laws that identify victim-less crimes are the result of someone's anxiety. These laws don't limit your freedom, but necessitate caution when you exercise it. The great challenge in contemporary culture is being free without becoming the victim of other's anxiety. Identity Risk Among the masks and roles of your everyday reality there is a genuine human being living a life. Speak out. Ask for what you want -- there are only two risks attached. The first is that asking will let both you and another know who and where you are. That is necessary for learning your real identity. The second risk in asking for what you want is that you might get it. Solving the mystery If life seems to be a mystery, the solution is in your mind. It may not always be easy to find the solution but it is there, perhaps hidden or disguised in symbols or myths. The truth of the Atlas myth is that each of us is holding up the world with our shoulders. For it is in your head that the world you perceive is created. Knowing that may be the first step in recognizing that the world is not a burden, but a part of you. Open Secrets All secrets are open secrets. Nothing is hidden. Nothing is revealed. People can only be told what they already know. Although they know, they may not be conscious of their knowledge. From Zen without Zen Masters by Camden Benares
Seeing double A father said to his double-seeing son, "Son, you see two instead of one." "How can that be?" the boy replied. "If I were, there would seem to be four moons up there in place of two." The Blind Men and the Elephant Beyond Ghor there was a city. All its inhabitants were blind. A king with his entourage arrived nearby; he brought his army and camped in the desert. He had a mighty elephant, which he used in attack and to increase the people's awe. The populace became anxious to learn about the elephant, and some sight-less from among this blind community ran like fools to find it. Since they did not even know the form or shape of the elephant, they groped sightlessly, gathering information by touching some part of it. Each thought that he knew something, because he could feel a part. When they returned to their fellow citizens, eager groups clustered around them, anxious, misguidedly, to learn the truth from those who were themselves astray. They asked about the form, the shape, of the elephant, and they listened to all that they were told. The man whose hand had reached an ear said: "I have the real facts about it. It is a large, rough thing, wide and broad, like a rug." One who had felt the trunk said: "I have the real facts about it. It is like a straight and hollow pipe, awful and destructive." One who had its feet and legs said: "It is mighty and firm, like a pillar." Each had felt one part out of many. Each had perceived it wrongly. No mind knew all: knowledge is not the companion of the blind. All imagined something, something incorrect. The created is not informed about divinity. There is no Way in this science by means of the ordinary intellect. Moment in Time "What is fate?" Nasrudin was asked by a scholar. "An endless succession of intertwined events, each influencing the other." "That is hardly a satisfactory answer. I believe in cause and effect." "Very well," said the Mulla, "look at that." He pointed to a procession passing in the street. "That man is being taken to be hanged. Is it because someone gave him a silver piece and enabled him to buy a knife with which he committed murder, or because someone saw him do it; or because nobody stopped him?" Is there any number higher than 100? A man having looted a city, tried to sell one of the spoils, an exquisite rug. "Who will give me 100 gold pieces for this rug?" he cried throughout the town. After the sale was completed, a comrade approached the seller, and asked, "Why did you not ask more for that precious rug?" "Is there any number higher than 100?" asked the seller. Fishes and Water Fishes, asking what water was, went to a wise fish. He told them that it was all around them, yet they still thought that they were thirsty. from The Psychology of Consciousness by Robert Ornstein
Once there was a rose bush, and on this rose bush grew the most beautiful rose in the world. This rose bush was located in a lush, green valley between two mountains and was the subject of many tales. One day, a Zen master was passing through the area, and, having heard of the rose, went to see it. The Zen master, coming upon the rose, looked at it to see its beauty, sniffed its delicate fragrance and sat down next to the bush and meditated upon the rose. During the meditation the Zen master became one with the rose, and after having felt that he understood its essence, he quietly continued along his journey. A few months later, a scientist, also in search of understanding, came upon the rose. The first thing the scientist did was pluck a few petals, clip a few leaves, and cut off a piece of stem. Once these samples were secured in their own little plastic container, the scientist dug a soil sample and chopped off a piece of root. Finally, the scientist, unsatisfied with what he had taken in samples, dug up the remainder of the bush and carried it off. from Get the results you want by Kim Kostere and Linda Malatesta
The diagram known as the Wheel of life, which was designed by the Buddha, is primarily a visual aid to help us gain a clear understanding of the workings of our mind, and how we can attain liberation from cyclic existence (samsara), the round of uncontrolled death and rebirth. It represents all the environments of samsara and all the beings who inhabit them, and reveals the nature of samsara and the paths that take us and keep us bound there.
In the centre of the wheel are three animals representing the three root delusions of ignorance (pig), desirous attachment (pigeon), and hatred (snake) that disturb the mind and cause unhappiness and suffering both for ourselves and others. Permanent freedom from all such delusions is the goal of all who follow the Buddhist path. The pigeon and the snake coming out of the mouth of the pig indicate that desirous attachment and hatred arise from ignorance.
The largest portion of the wheel is divided into six sections, each one illustrating the conditions of life found in the various realms of cyclic existence. The six realms are actual places in which we may be reborn, and not merely metaphors for different states of mind we experience in this life. These realms are not the creation of a celestial judge or god. They are brought into existence through the ripening of potentialities previously created by our own wholesome or unwholesome actions, and since all our actions of body, speech and mind are initiated by mental intention, ultimately the six realms are created by our minds. Because the entire wheel is a mirror of unenlightened consciousness, these various states can also be understood as experiences we may have as inhabitants of the human realm, such as extremes of sensory pleasure and suffering.
At the very bottom is the hellish realm of intense suffering characterized by unrelenting extremes of heat and cold, as well as other indescribable torments which continue unremittingly for what seems like an eternity. Rebirth into such a realm is caused primarily by anger and hatred, and the very harmful actions, such as physical and mental cruelty, that we engage in while motivated by such powerful delusions.
To the left is the realm of the hungry spirits, or pretas. The primary cause to be born here is greed and negative actions motivated by miserliness. As a result hungry spirits suffer from insatiable and agonizing hunger and thirst and are constantly engaged in a fruitless search for food and drink which when found, only brings them further suffering.
To the right of the hell realm is the animal realm. The main cause of rebirth in this realm is slavishly following sensory desires and it is characterized by limited intelligence, confusion and servitude. In addition animals must endure being chased and eaten by humans and other animals, and being exposed to heat and cold as well as hunger and thirst.
The upper half of this section shows the three higher or 'fortunate' realms, so-called because compared to lower realms they contain less obvious suffering. Yet even in these higher realms there is great disappointment and dissatisfaction to be experienced. On the top and to the left are the inter-related god, or deva, and demi-god, or asura, realms. Because of their previous positive actions, demi-gods enjoy extremely pleasurable surroundings, the company of attractive companions and intense sensory delights. However because these beings are so consumed with jealousy for the superior gods, they prevent themselves from enjoying what they have and instead engage themselves in almost continual warfare with those above them. As for the devas, while some are engaged in defending themselves from the demi-gods, others live a life of uninterrupted sensory indulgence or meditative absorption which they confuse with true liberation. However, because the have not uprooted the fundamental delusion of ignorance from their minds, they are not liberated at all and eventually must face death and rebirth in a lower realm.
Finally, to the right of the god realms is the human realm. Life here is filled with the suffering of birth, sickness, old age and death as well as other afflictions such as uncertainty and frustration. Yet from the point of view of opportunity for spiritual growth the human realm is considered the most fortunate realm of all. Only humans have the relative freedom to develop compassion, wisdom and other positive spiritual attitudes necessary to uproot the causes of suffering from their minds and attain complete liberation from cyclic existence. To be born as a human is considered to be especially fortunate.
Death is not the final extinction of the mind, but rather marks the transition between one life and another. Just as we move up and down within one lifetime, experiencing alternating pleasure and pain, so too do we move up and down from one life to the next depending upon the positive and and negative actions we have performed. The 'dream-like' intermediate state between death and rebirth. or bardo, is illustrated in the half black and white circle located between the hub of the delusions and the six realms. In this painting six bardo beings are shown in the forms they will take after they 'wake up' in their next rebirth realms. On the left are depicted future human, demi-god and god beings going upwards towards the higher realms, while on the right future animal, hungry spirit and hell beings are shown descending towards the lower realms.
The actual mechanism by which beings, propelled by their ignorance, create the causes for endless rebirths is illustrated in the twelve sections of the outer ring of the wheel of life. Starting from the top right these twelve 'links' in the chain of 'dependent arising' and their symbolic images are: (1) ignorance, an old blind man; (2) compositional actions, a potter making pots, some good some bad; (3) consciousness, a monkey climbing restlessly up and down a tree, indicating how our consciousness moves restlessly up and down the tree of samsara; (4) name and form, a man rowing a boat, indicating that just as we need a boat to travel across the ocean, so we need the boat-like aggregates of body and mind to take rebirth in ocean-like samsara; (5) the six sources, an empty house with five windows, indicating that at the time of conception the six sense powers are like rooms in an empty house waiting to be occupied by the six consciousnesses (the five windows represent the five physical sense powers but the mental sense power is also implied); (6) contact, a man and a woman embracing; (7) feeling, a man shot in the eye with an arrow; (8) craving, a man drinking alcohol; (9) grasping, a monkey grabbing fruit; (10) existence, a pregnant woman about to give birth; (11) birth, a baby being born; and (12) aging and death, a man carrying a corpse.
The wheel of life being held in the teeth and claws of Yama, the lord of Death, reminds us of impermanence and shows that there is not a single being in cyclic existence who is outside the control of death. To break this chain of perpetual suffering, death and rebirth, symbolized by the wheel of life we need to eliminate the fundamental delusion of ignorance. The figure of the Buddha in the right hand corner, standing outside the wheel of life, shows that buddhas are outside samsara. By pointing to the moon, which symbolizes the attainment of nirvana, the 'cool' peaceful state of mind free from all delusion and suffering, the Buddha shows the way to attain liberation from the misery of cyclic existence.
At the bottom of the diagram is the stanza written by the Buddha to accompany this diagram:
Make effort to destroy it. Enter into Buddha-dharma. Eliminate the Lord of Death As an elephant destroys a grass hut.
The first line encourages us to make an effort to abandon samsara and the second line tells us how to do it. The third and fourth lines teach that by practising the three higher training of moral discipline, concentration and wisdom we can eliminate the sufferings of birth, aging and death completely, just as an elephant demolishes a grass hut. As a contemporary Tibetan Buddhist master has said, 'Samsara is not an external prison; it is a prison made by our own mind. It will never end by itself, but by diligent practising the true spiritual path and thereby eliminating our delusions we can bring our samsara to an end'.
People engage in many types of nonsensical thinking. Following are 13 of
the worst offenders, collected from the writing of various cognitive-behavioral
experts:
1. MENTAL FILTERING: Focusing on specific detail at the expense of
other important aspects of a situation.
2. MIND READING (fortune telling): Presuming to know what others think,
feel, or plan to do.
3. ALL-OR-NOTHING THINKING: Seeing everything in "black-or-white" terms.
4. OVERGENERALISING: using words like ALWAYS and NEVER; applying the
characteristics of one member to its entire group.
5. MINIMIZING (downplaying the positive): De-emphasizing one's positive
characteristics and accomplishments.
6. MAGNIFYING (up-playing the negative; catastophizing): Overstating the
negative aspects of the situation.
7. JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS: Drawing conclusions about people and events
without the necessary evidence.
8. ACCUSING: Blaming others without the necessary evidence.
9. EMOTIONAL REASONING: Assuming one's emotional state reflects the way
things really are.
10. PERSONALIZING: Blaming oneself for some negative event.
11. I-CAN'T-TAKE-IT-ANOTHER-MINUTE-ITIS (low frustration tolerance):
Easily becoming frustrated when wants aren't met.
12. DAMNATION (negativizing): Being excessively critical of self, others
and the world.
13. PERFECTIONISM: Requiring that everyone and everything in the universe
be flawless and without blemish.
These and other types of distorted thinking generally lead to various
beliefs and assumptions that people use to drive themselves crazy. I fondly
refer to these nonsensical beliefs as CRAZY-MAKERS (CMs). CMS seem logical and
well-founded, but are in fact unthruths (partial or complete) based on opinions
and misconceptions rather than the way things truly are. Following are 11 of the
most common CMs or Irrational Beliefs, according to Dr. Albert Ellis in his
book, Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy (1962; pp. 61-88)
1. The idea that it is a dire necessity for an adult human being to be
loved or approved by virtually every significant other person in
his community.
2. The idea that one should be thoroughly competent, adequate, and
achieving in all possible respects if one is to consider oneself
worthwhile.
3. The idea that certain people are bad, wicked, or villainous and that
they should be severely blamed and punished for their villainy.
4. The idea that it is awful and catastrophic when things are not the
way one would very much like them to be.
5. The idea that human unhappiness is externally caused and that people
have little or no ability to control their sorrow and disturbances.
6. The idea that if something is or may be dangerous or fearsome one
should be terribly concerned about it and should keep dwelling on the
possibility of it occurring.
7. The idea that it is easier to avoid than to face certain life
difficulties and self-responsibilities.
8. The idea that one should be dependent on others and needs someone
stronger than oneself on whom to rely.
9. The idea that one's past history is an all-important determiner of
one's present behavior and that because something once strongly
affected one's life, it should indefinitely have a similar effect.
10. The idea that one should become quite upset over other people's
problems and disturbances.
11. The idea that there is invariably a right, precise, and perfect
solution to human problems and that it is catastrophic if this
perfect solution is not found.
More recently, Dr. Ellis (Ellis, 1988, p.60) condensed all of this
information into a "MUSTurbatory ideology," proposing that all irrational
beliefs arise from three basic, absolute MUSTS:
MUST #1: I MUST perform well and/or win the approval of important people, or
else I am an inadequate person! (Demands about self.)
MUST #2: You MUST treat me fairly and considerately and not unduly frustrate me,
or else you are a rotten individual! (Demands about others.)
MUST #3: My life conditions must give me the things I want and have to have in
order to keep me from harm, or else life is unbearable and I can't be happy at
all! (Demands about the world.)
As an assertive but fallible individual, you have the following rights and
responsibilities:
You have the right to think, feel, say and do whatever you choose,
(within the limits of the law, of course) regardless of what
others think, feel, say, and do.
You have the responsibility to live with the consequences of your choices
and actions.
You have the right to set your own limits.
You have the responsibility to respect the limits others set for`
themselves.
You have the right to say NO to others' requests and demands.
You have the responsibility to allow others to say NO to you.
You have the right to form and voice your own opinions.
You have the responsibility to respect others' opinions, even if they
differ from your own.
You have the right to find your own answers and solutions to problems.
You have the responsibility to permit others to find their own answers
and solutions
You have the right to fulfill your own needs, and not feel guilty about
it
You have the responsibility to let others fulfill their own needs.
You have the right to not know everything.
You have the responsibility to respect others when they don't know
everything
You have the right to make mistakes and learn from them.
You have the responsibility to allow others to make mistakes and learn
from them.
And last but not least, you have the right to be imperfect when it
comes to the above rights and responsibilities
from Don't let them psych you out! by George Zgourides
Beliefs Unlimited Exercise
This exercise is useful when one attempts to move beyond one's current
belief structures. Record the the following in a soothing and authoritative
manner five times into a tape recorder.
(start of belief unlimited tape)
In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or
becomes true within certain limits, to be found experientially and
experimentally. These limits are beliefs to be transcended.
Hidden from one's self is a covert set of beliefs that control one's
thinking, one's actions, and one's feeling.
The covert set of hidden beliefs is the limiting set of beliefs to be
transcended.
To transcend one's limiting set, one establishes an open ended set of
beliefs about the unknown.
The unknown exists in one's goals for changing one's self, in the means
for changing, in the use of others for the change, in one's capacity to change,
in one's orientation towards change, in one's elimination of hindrances to
change, in one's assimilation of the aids to change, in one's use of the impulse
to change, in one's need for changing, in the possibilities of change, in the
form of change itself, and in the substance of change and of changing.
The unknown exists in one's goals for changing one's self, in the means
for changing, in the use of others for the change, in one's capacity to change,
in one's orientation towards change, in one's elimination of hindrances to
change, in one's assimilation of the aids to change, in one's use of the impulse
to change, in one's need for changing, in the possibilities of change, in the
form of change itself, and in the substance of change and of changing.
There are unknowns in my goals towards changing.There are unknowns in
my means of changing. There are unknowns in my relations with others in
changing. There are unknowns in my capacity for changing. There are unknowns in
my orientation towards changing. There are unknowns in my assimilation of
changes. There are unknowns in my needs for changing. There are unknowns in my
possibilities of me changing. There are unknowns in the forms into which
changing will put me. There are unknowns in the substance of the changes that I
will undergo, in my substance after changes.
My disbelief in all these unknowns is a limiting belief, preventing my
transcending my limits. My disbelief in all these unknowns is a belief, a
limiting belief, preventing my transcending my limits.
By allowing, there are no limits; no limits to thinking, no limits to
feeling, no limits to movement. By allowing, there are no limits. There are no
limits to thinking, no limits to feeling, no limits to movement.
That which is not allowed is forbidden. That which is allowed exists.
In allowing no limits, there are no limits. That which is forbidden is not
allowed. That which is not allowed forbidden. That which exists is allowed.
That which is allowed, exists. In allowing no limits, there are no limits. That
which is not allowed is forbidden. That which is forbidden is not allowed. That
which is allowed, exists. That which exists is allowed. To allow no limits,
there are no limits. No limits allowed, no limits exist.
In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is
true or becomes true. In the province of the mind there are no limits. In the
province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes
true. There are no limits.
(end of Belief Unlimited tape)
(from The centre of the cyclone an autobiography of inner space
by John C. Lilly,M.D.)
When listening to the tape, lie in a comfortable position on the floor with the
lights very dim and just allow the words and meaning enter you without any
resistance. DO IT SOON, DO IT REGULARLY.
--------------------------------------------------------
--- Practise random kindness and senseless acts of beauty
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Loving Exercise
For one day treat everyone you encounter as if he or she were an
enlightened being, doing whatever is necessary to raise your consciousness to a
higher level. Suspect everyone of the best of intentions. Anytime that you get
up-tight, use the energy that would be used in that up-tightness to create.
Create a new you who doesn't get up-tight or a new situation wherein no one gets
up-tight. If you love everyone as much as you can no matter where they are or
what they appear to be doing, you will be able to love that part of you that is
so much like them.
Hanging Loose Exercise
Imagine that you are suspended by a single thread attached to your head
as if it were an extension of your spine. Stand and shift your weight without
lifting your foot until you have a good feeling of your line of gravity. Since
the imaginary thread is attached to the head and not the face, you can let all
the facial muscles respond to gravity - keep them that way unless you are
using your mouth for talking, eating, drinking, etc. Your shoulders should hang
loose except when you are carrying something. All the time that your hands and
arms are not in use they should be limp enough to swing and dangle. Keep just
enough rigidity in your legs and feet to give you support. Continued use of this
exercise will help you to hang loose in your daily life.
Relaxation Exercise
Getting up-tight is always accompanied by muscle tension, a sensation
that prevents rest and sleep. The way out of that tense feeling is to get into
it, understand it and let go of it. Curl your fingers into a tight fist and
sense what your muscles are doing. As soon as you identify the sensation, let
your fingers uncurl and let your hand go limp. The feeling of relaxation that
comes as you let go is under your control.
Practice with the large muscles in the limbs and torso before following
the same procedure with the smaller muscles around the face and throat. The
longer you maintain a relaxed state in the muscles you have let go, the more the
remaining muscles will tend to relax.
Develop your own sequence for relaxing your muscles. Use your developed
technique to relax yourself whenever you get up-tight. This symptomatic
treatment won't prevent your getting upset, but it will help you spend less
time being up-tight about having gotten upset.
Honesty Exercise
Practice being honest with yourself, honest about what you feel, think
and sense. Do not trap yourself into the habit of convincing yourself that you
are as others see you or want to see you. Throughout your life you have been
exposed to conditioning that has attempted to make you deny your feelings,
thoughts and sensation. Relax and feel what you feel because it is real.
Remember that nothing is unthinkable. Recognize your senses as a way of relating
to your experience instead of selecting what is accepted or denied. When the
practice of honesty becomes familiar, extend it to other people without using a
blunt instrument. Continue this exercise until you find yourself being honest
within the entire scope of your existence.
Pain-Easing Meditation
Buddha recognized as one of his noble truths that suffering exists.
Some suffering is the result of mental attitudes and can be alleviated by
working on those concepts, expectations and desires - all of which can be
changed. Other pain os a purely physical sensation and that is the pain that
can be eased by this meditation.
Some of your responses to physical sensation is conditioned, learned
behaviour based on past experience, present conditions mad mental constructs.
For example, a squeeze of your hand by someone who cares for you will usually
be interpreted as a pleasurable sensation while the same amount of pressure as
an expression of anger may register as pain. An awareness of this classification
procedure will help you deal more directly with physical sensations you
experience as pain.
When you have a feeling that you have classified as pain and you have
tried to ignore it unsuccessfully, turn your attention to it. All meditation is
the controlling of attention. Focus on the pain completely and examine the
sensation. Breathe deeply as you concentrate in slow measured breaths and
experience the stimulus. Experience the pain as something you have chosen to
identify thoroughly. If it is not so great as to cause you to lose
consciousness, this meditation will help you accept the sensation as a reality
until you can change the reality that produces it.
Freedom Exercise
Each day you decide if you are going to be the same person that you
were yesterday. Only you know whether the habit patterns, lifestyle and
activities of that person you were yesterday are right for today. You can
continue them, or you can make changes. The choice is yours - exercise it today.
Breathing Meditation
The major requirement for breathing meditation is a straight, erect
spine. It doesn't matter whether you sit in a chair, or on the floor or on a
cushion. Once you are seated, close your eyes. Wiggle your body until it seems
centred. Then move in smaller and smaller circles until you feel centred with
your spine straight in a line that goes to the centre of the earth. Now move
your chin back - not up or down - until your ears are in line with your
shoulders.
With your body in position and your eyes still closed, focus your
attention on your breathing. Notice the air flowing through the nose, down the
throat and into the lungs. Feel the chest expand and the muscles below the rib
cage rise. Notice the instant of stillness as the inhale reaches equilibrium
before becoming exhale. Feel the air flowing out of the lungs, through the
throat and out of the nose. Feel the chest contract and the muscle below the
rib cage fall. Notice the instant of stillness as the exhale reaches equilibrium
before becoming inhale. The total poise at the top and the bottom of the
breathing cycle is you.
In order to keep your mind on breathing, let all thoughts that come to
your mind float away like the outgoing breath. Count each breath silently as you
inhale and then exhale without counting. Visualize the number if that aids in
keeping your attention on the breath. Each time you reach the count of ten,
start counting over. If your attention has wandered, bring it back to your
breathing. If you have lost your count, start counting over.
This meditation can teach you to focus attention and to develop
calmness. It can be done anytime during the day for a period of twenty to thirty
minutes. Once a day is the usual way. After several weeks of breathing
meditation, the results should be sufficient to tell you whether or not you
should continue breathing meditation.
Pleasure Exercise
Every day do at least one thing that is intended solely for your
personal pleasure. To get the most possible pleasure from the activity, make
certain that it doesn't decrease the pleasure of others. Take responsibility
for adding to the amount of pleasure in the world by pleasing yourself. Keep
working at this exercise until you can fill an entire day with pleasure.
Walking Meditation
Whenever you are walking, concentrate on the body movements that you are
making. Experience the physical flow as balance changes. Confine your attention
to the feeling of walking and to the sensory input necessary to continue
walking.
As you become one with your walking, the relationship between your steps
and your breathing will become a familiar rhythm. The lengthening and shortening
of muscles can be experienced as movements in the cosmic dance while your
awareness moves through everything like a recurring theme.
See each walk as a process instead of a space between destinations. If
your attention wanders, bring it back to the physical actions - the movements,
the change in balance, the point at which inhale becomes exhale.
Becoming one with the experience of walking makes every step more
satisfying. If you walk a thousand miles, each step should be as the first.
Daily Exercise
Live this day fully. Keep your attention on what you are doing and what
it means to you. Live entirely in the day you are experiencing and become one
with the experience. If you find yourself lost in the future or the past, return
to this day. Live this day only.
Living Exercise
Imagine that your life is going to be taken over and lived by a person
who will be your best friend. In taking over, the friend will also take over
your characteristics and beliefs in order to really live your life. As soon as
you have imagined that, start putting your life in order for your friend. Get
the garbage out, both physical and mental. Really shape up life in the way that
only you can. After all, you wouldn't want to put your best friend on a bum
trip, would you?
from Zen without Zen Masters, by Camden Benares
--
"The core of Krishnamurti's teaching is contained in the statement he made in
1929 when he said: 'Truth is a pathless land'. Man cannot come to it through
any organization, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not
through any philosophic knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it
through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the contents
of his own mind, through observation and not through intellectual analysis or
introspective dissection. Man has built in himself images as a fence of
security - religious, political, personal. These manifest as symbols, ideas,
beliefs. The burden of these images dominates man's thinking, his relationships
and his daily life. These images are the causes of our problems for they divide
man from man. His perception of life is shaped by the concepts already
established in his mind. The content of his consciousness is his entire
existence. This content is common to all humanity. The individuality is the
name, the form and superficial culture he acquires from tradition and
environment. The uniqueness of man does not lie in the superficial but in
complete freedom from the content of his consciousness, which is common to all
mankind. So he is not an individual.
Freedom is not a reaction; freedom is not a choice. It is man's pretense that
because he has choice he is free. Freedom is pure observation without
direction, without fear of punishment and reward. Freedom is without motive;
freedom is not at the end of the evolution of man but lies in the first step of
his existence. In observation one begins to discover the lack of freedom.
Freedom is found in the choice-less awareness of our daily existence and
activity. Thought is time. Thought is born of experience and knowledge which
are inseparable from time and the past. Time is the psychological enemy of man.
Our action is based on knowledge and therefore time, so man is always a slave
to the past. Thought is ever-limited and so we live in constant conflict and
struggle. There is no psychological evolution.
When man becomes aware of the movement of his own thoughts he will see the
division between the thinker and thought, the observer and the observed, the
experiencer and the experience. He will discover that this division is an
illusion. Then only is there pure observation which is insight without any
shadow of the past or of time. This timeless insight brings about a deep
radical mutation in the mind.
Total negation is the essence of the positive. When there is negation of all
those things that thought has brought about psychologically, only then is there
love, which is compassion and intelligence."
�1993 The Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd,
Brockwood Park, Bramdean, Hampshire, England.
On "Contradiction"
Chapter VIII - Contradiction
We see contradiction in us and about us; because we are in contradiction, there
is lack of peace in us and therefore outside us. There is in us a constant
state of denial and assertion - what we want to be and what we are. The state
of contradiction creates conflict and this conflict does not bring about peace
- which is a simple, obvious fact. This inward contradiction should not be
translated into some kind of philosophical dualism, because that is a very easy
escape. That is by saying that contradiction is a state of dualism we think we
have solved it - which is obviously a mere convention, a contributory escape
from actuality.
Now what do we mean by conflict, by contradiction? Why is there a contradiction
in me? - this constant struggle to be something apart from what I am. I am
this, and I want to be that. This contradiction in us is a fact, not a
metaphysical dualism. Metaphysics has no significance in understanding what is.
We may discuss, say, dualism, what it is, if it exists, and so on; but of what
value is it if we don't know that there is contradiction in us, opposing
desires, opposing interests, opposing pursuits? I want to be good and I am not
able to be. This contradiction, this opposition in us, must be understood
because it creates conflict; and in conflict, in struggle, we cannot create
individually. Let us be clear on the state we are in. There is contradiction,
so there must be struggle; and struggle is destruction, waste. In that state we
can produce nothing but antagonism, strife, more bitterness and sorrow. If we
can understand this fully and hence be free of contradiction, then there can be
inward peace, which will bring understanding of each other.
The problem is this. Seeing that conflict is destructive, wasteful, why is it
that in each of us there is contradiction? To understand that, we must go a
little further. Why is there the sense of opposing desires? I do not know if we
are aware of it in ourselves - this contradiction, this sense of wanting and
not wanting, remembering something and trying to forget it in order to find
something new. Just watch it. It is very simple and very normal. It is not
something extraordinary. The fact is, there is contradiction. Then why does
this contradiction arise?
What do we mean by contradiction? Does it not imply an impermanent state which
is being opposed by another impermanent state? I think I have a permanent
desire, I posit in myself a permanent desire and another desire arises which
contradicts it; this contradiction brings about conflict, which is waste. That
is to say there is a constant denial of one desire by another desire, one
pursuit overcoming another pursuit. Now, is there such a thing as a permanent
desire? Surely, all desire is impermanent - not metaphysically, but actually. I
want a job. That is I look to a certain job as a means of happiness; and when I
get it, I am dissatisfied. I want to become the manager, then the owner, and so
on and on, not only in this world, but in the so- called spiritual world - the
teacher becoming the principal, the priest becoming the bishop, the pupil
becoming the master.
This constant becoming, arriving at one state after another, brings about
contradiction, does it not? Therefore, why not look at life not as one
permanent desire but as a series of fleeting desires always in opposition to
each other? Hence the mind need not be in a state of contradiction. If I regard
life not as a permanent desire but as a series of temporary desires which are
constantly changing, then there is no contradiction.
Contradiction arises only when the mind has a fixed point of desire; that is
when the mind does not regard all desire as moving, transient, but seizes upon
one desire and makes that into a permanency - only then, when other desires
arise, is there contradiction. But all desires are in constant movement, there
is no fixation of desire. There is no fixed point in desire; but the mind
establishes a fixed point because it treats everything as a means to arrive, to
gain; and there must be contradiction, conflict, as long as one is arriving.
You want to arrive, you want to succeed, you want to find an ultimate God or
truth which will be your permanent satisfaction. Therefore you are not seeking
truth, you are not seeking God. You are seeking lasting gratification, and that
gratification you clothe with an idea, a respectable-sounding word such as God,
truth; but actually we are all seeking gratification, and we place that
gratification, that satisfaction, at the highest point, calling it God, and the
lowest point is drink. So long as the mind is seeking gratification, there is
not much difference between God and drink. Socially, drink may be bad; but the
inward desire for gratification, for gain, is even more harmful, is it not? If
you really want to find truth, you must be extremely honest, not merely at the
verbal level but altogether; you must be extraordinarily clear, and you cannot
be clear if you are unwilling to face facts.
Now what brings about contradiction in each one of us? Surely it is the desire
to become something, is it not? We all want to become something: to become
successful in the world and, inwardly, to achieve a result. So long as we think
in terms of time, in terms of achievement, in terms of position, there must be
contradiction. After all, the mind is the product of time. Thought is based on
yesterday, on the past; and so long as thought is functioning within the field
of time, thinking in terms of the future, of becoming, gaining, achieving,
there must be contradiction, because then we are incapable of facing exactly
what is. Only in realizing, in understanding, in being choicelessly aware of
what is, is there a possibility of freedom from that disintegrating factor
which is contradiction.
Therefore it is essential, is it not?, to understand the whole process of our
thinking, for it is there that we find contradiction. Thought itself has become
a contradiction because we have not understood the total process of ourselves;
and that understanding is possible only when we are fully aware of our thought,
not as an observer operating upon his thought, but integrally and without
choice - which is extremely arduous. Then only is there the dissolution of that
contradiction which is so detrimental, so painful.
So long as we are trying to achieve a psychological result, so long as we want
inward security, there must be a contradiction in our life. I do not think that
most of us are aware of this contradiction; or, if we are, we do not see its
real significance. On the contrary, contradiction gives us an impetus to live;
the very element of friction makes us feel that we are alive. The effort, the
struggle of contradiction, gives us a sense of vitality. That is why we love
wars, that is why we enjoy the battle of frustrations. So long as there is the
desire to achieve a result, which is the desire to be psychologically secure,
there must be a contradiction; and where there is contradiction, there cannot
be a quiet mind. Quietness of mind is essential to understand the whole
significance of life. Thought can never be tranquil; thought, which is the
product of time, can never find that which is timeless, can never know that
which is beyond time. The very nature of our thinking is a contradiction,
because we are always thinking in terms of the past or of the future; therefore
we are never fully cognizant, fully aware of the present.
To be fully aware of the present is an extraordinarily difficult task because
the mind is incapable of facing a fact directly without deception. Thought is
the product of the past and therefore it can only think in terms of the past or
of the future; it cannot be completely aware of a fact in the present. So long
as thought, which is the product of the past, tries to eliminate contradiction
and all the problems that it creates, it is merely pursuing a result, trying to
achieve an end, and such thinking only creates more contradiction and hence
conflict, misery and confusion in us and, therefore, about us.
To be free of contradiction, one must be aware of the present without choice.
How can there be choice when you are confronted with a fact? Surely the
understanding of the fact is made impossible so long as thought is trying to
operate upon the fact in terms of becoming, changing, altering. Therefore
self-knowledge is the beginning of understanding; without self-knowledge,
contradiction and conflict will continue. To know the whole process, the
totality of oneself, does not require any expert, any authority. The pursuit of
authority only breeds fear. No expert, no specialist, can show us how to
understand the process of the self. One has to study it for oneself. You and I
can help each other by talking about it, but none can unfold it for us, no
specialist, no teacher, can explore it for us. We can be aware of it only in
our relationship - in our relationship to things, to property, to people and to
ideas. In relationship we shall discover that contradiction arises when action
is approximating itself to an idea. The idea is merely the crystallization of
thought as a symbol, and the effort to live up to the symbol brings about a
contradiction.
Thus, so long as there is a pattern of thought, contradiction will continue; to
put an end to the pattern, and so to contradiction, there must be
self-knowledge. This understanding of the self is not a process reserved for
the few. The self is to be understood in our everyday speech, in the way we
think and feel, in the way we look at another. If we can be aware of every
thought, of every feeling, from moment to moment, then we shall see that in
relationship the ways of the self are understood. Then only is there a
possibility of that tranquillity of mind in which alone the ultimate reality
can come into being.
from "The First And Last Freedom" by J. Krishnamurti, 1954, pp. 71-75
Love is the law, love under will.