Knowledge and Religion

Where did the universe come from?

When reading a book on Modern Physics and Vedanta, I came upon this beautiful hymn from the Rig Veda. Did you ever wonder where this creation came from? From a state that existed before there was even one division between the seer and the objects seen; and now we have this multifarious universe. 

Without opposites, there is no way for us to conceive of the state that was before the universe came into being; or maybe there is a way for us to know what was before there was a was, and before the first second in universal time ticked by? How can we possibly conceive of such a state? Even now returning to our true identity as objectless Awareness, we become that which is free of the rising and falling of the universe. Now I will let these verses point to that which does not easily fit into words:

Nasadiya Sukta (Not the Non-existent)

1. At first was neither Being nor Nonbeing.
There was not air nor yet sky beyond.
What was its wrapping? Where? In whose protection?
Was Water there, unfathomable and deep?

2. There was no death then, nor yet deathlessness;
of night or day there was not any sign.
The One breathed without breath, by its own impulse.
Other than that was nothing else at all.

3. Darkness was there, all wrapped around by darkness,
and all was Water indiscriminate. Then
that which was hidden by the Void, that One, emerging,
stirring, through power of Ardor, came to be.

4. In the beginning Love arose,
which was the primal germ cell of the mind.
The Seers, searching in their hearts with wisdom,
discovered the connection of Being in Nonbeing.

5. A crosswise line cut Being from Nonbeing.
What was described above it, what below?
Bearers of seed there were and mighty forces,
thrust from below and forward move above.

6. Who really knows? Who shall declare it here?
Whence was it born? Whence issued this creation?
Even the Gods came after its emergence.
Then who can tell from whence it came to be?

7. None knows when creation has arisen;
Whether He made it or did not make it,
He who surveys it in the highest heaven,
Only He knows, or maybe even He knows not.

Now we can return to that state which was before the world was. It is known and unknown both at the same time. Standing here we can enjoy that which cannot be put into words.

For more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. Also feel free to ask questions. Questioning is the key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation, it falls away.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Spending Time away From this Computer

This week we went on a retreat into the hills of Northern California. There was no cell phone connection, and no internet. We were cut off from the modern world. In some ways it was like being dead. Although we were doing fine, except for the beauty around us we were out of contact with the world. This leads to several questions: first of all, “When I crave all of the distractions that come with my cell phone, the millions of websites and the thousands of TV shows and videos at my disposal, what do I hope to find?” Or more to the point, “What am I running away from?”

If you have read these blogs before, you know and may have discovered afresh for yourself that the sparkling sense of existence that seems to come from the world actually comes from you. Also the happiness that seems to come from objects actually comes from the place where you experience happiness, your own self-nature. For more information on this go to: Inspire Me Today. 

You are the seer of limitation not the one caught in it _____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

So what happens when you find yourself away from the things in the world that keep you distracted? Are you at ease without your usual distractions? Or are you tempted to run back into town to watch that TV show, get your email, and make a phone call? But before you run anywhere ask why? Are you afraid of the thoughts coming up in your mind like “What happens when I die?” Or do you feel that the world is a scary or threatening place? Do you feel bored when you are not busy? The great thing about this type of questioning is that once you discover the thing that bothers you, you are on the verge of releasing it. That’s because assumptions survive by lack of questioning. When you recognize the thing that is really bothering you, by your wisdom, you are able to stop identifying with it. That’s when you return to your natural state of freedom as the seer of limitation.

I am sure that you know that you are the seer of limitation, not the one caught in it. Since your nature is freedom, limitation feels constricting like a shoe that doesn’t fit. That’s why when you identify with limitation you find yourself attempting to escape from it by running after all of the distractions you can find. But even the thousand TV shows at your disposal are not enough. If on the other hand you can inquire into and see the assumptions that cause your suffering, you can stop the frantic running and return to your home, your natural state.

At the time of death the world disappears, not you!
So if you enjoy meditation, I would recommend spending some time away from the world of modern electronics. Are you really missing something that’s important? Instead of picking up that cell phone to make a call, or clicking on one more link, just sit and enjoy bliss at its source. You will find that you can enjoy the wisdom and bliss that does not depend on the things in the world. This wisdom springs from your identity.

And you will know that even when you pass away nothing really changes. It is more like the phone line that connects you with the world gets cut. Although the world disappears your sense of existence remains the same. What you are you always were and always will be. When you wake up you find that the character in the dream was really nothing at all.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Expanding Your Mind

Did you ever have a mind expanding experience where life seemed to come in close and get amplified in ways that you could barely describe; an experience punctuated by waves of bliss? Are you curious about what actually happened to your mind? How did it actually expand? You might be surprised to know that your mind did not really expand. Rather what you thought was an experience, was really a glimpse into your natural state. But because it seemed to have a beginning and an end, you thought that that it was an experience.

Your next question might be how can I get back there again and that’s where the trouble starts. Your question implies that you are somehow separate from the state that you were in. Your assumption was that you were a person having a great experience. And based on that assumption, you look for ways to get back again. You might ask, “Was it the way I was sitting or that my eyes were open or closed; was it the tree that I was sitting under or the position of the sun as it set over the hills?” “Maybe,” you might think, “it was my breathing or the thoughts or lack of thoughts in my mind. Was it perhaps the drug that I took?”

Once you determine what you think the causes of the experience were, you try to setup and repeat those conditions, with the hope of returning to that wonderful state. And if you fail in your efforts you bring in self judgment: “I must be deficient.”

The five keys to the kingdom
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

Today I am going to give you the four keys to the kingdom so you never have to come down and suffer again. So are you ready? First, you are what you seek! So if you want to expand your mind fully, and get back to your highest states, find out who you really are.

Second, you are not an object. Assuming that you are an object, life seems divided and you feel limited. When you look into it deeply, you will find that all the factors mentioned above as possible causes for your experience are just objects that you see and not the real conditions. Whether it is factors in your environment, body, or mind, these are only the conditions of objects. You are the space-like ever-free Awareness that sees them. You are not the one caught by their limitations. The cause of your experience was your identity, not some object that you saw.

Moreover you do not sense yourself like you sense an object by sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell. You are not a thought either. You know yourself because you are yourself. This is the essence of direct experience. As soon as you attempt to capture yourself in the same way that you sense an object, you bump into limitation and feel as if your experience is disappearing. 

The third key is that it is your view of the objects that you sense that keep you stuck in limitation.  For instance if you feel that the world is a dark or scary place, you will not be able to enjoy the oneness that underlies it and makes it up.

The forth key is that when you see a limitation as limitation and not you, you are freed from that limitation. The only thing you have to do is see these limitations for what they really are. That will take the apparent power out of them and you will naturally return to what you really are.

The most subtle object is the thought I. Once you see that this thought is just a thought and not the real you, you will have eliminated the anchor that drags you back into limitation. That’s when there will be nothing left to come back to.

Use these keys to return to your real experience
So in your meditations and in your life try to use these keys to free yourself from the suffering and limitation that you feel. When you seem to come down from your high experiences, take some time and determine what you are coming back to. Is it a physical body or a state of mind? Perhaps it’s a view of the world. When you finally see that limitation is just that – limitation, and not a real definition for you, you will be in for a surprise. Without even trying, you and your most expanded experiences will be one.

For more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. Also feel free to ask questions. Questions are the bonus key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation it falls away.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

A fresh view for a New Year

Now at the New Year it’s time to take a fresh view of life. Some people think that its spirituality that makes life boring. After all who would want to sit all day and play the harp? But upon further examination I think you will find that it’s the constraints that we impose on top of life that give it that same old – same old feeling.

So what happens when you throw off those constraints like worn out clothing? It defies your thought process to come up with an answer, doesn’t it? When life becomes unpredictable in this way it becomes fascinating.  The only thing you can know for sure is that life partakes of a deep harmoney and will turn out just right.

Of course there is no guarantee that you will become rich or famous or successful in any way. After all if you could predict the results of looking at life afresh, then it wouldn’t be fresh. I can only guarantee that life is different than you think. That’s because the changes that you experience will come from a different and surprising angle.

Your experience is different than you think
You will experience the harmony that actually takes care of everything in the universe, even you. And this harmony does not come from objects. Rather it comes from a deep connection that you notice when you allow yourself to be present. In this presence you get to see the magnificent beauty that underlies the universe. From here you get to see the harmony that really takes care of us. This is where words fall short and you have to go by your direct experience.

As an example, here is an experiment that you can try to go you beyond the limitations of the thoughts in your mind, and to show you clearly how your experience is different from what you think: Where do you experience the world anyway? At first blush you might think that I am over here and the world is over there. But let’s sneak a peek into what you actually experience and see if it matches your thoughts. After all if the world was really over there then you wouldn’t see it.

This is where your wisdom comes alive
That means is order to experience the world it has to be over here. So where is it? See if you can experience the place that these words point. When you see an object, like a camera, your eye takes a picture of it. The picture is transmitted through the optic nerve, to your brain, and from your brain to your mind and you see your mind. See if you can find the place where you really experience the world. I think you will be amazed to see that the world is really in here and not out there. Incidentally, you can also try this experiment with your sense of hearing, and your other senses too.

So in your meditation practice and in your life try this experiment. You will then understand what I mean when I say that your wisdom can come alive. These words are not the product of a dead religion. They are the product of living experiential truth. When you find the place that these words point to, boredom will quickly leave, and your life will become interesting and exciting.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

How to die so that you can be born anew

To bring out the old year I thought I would write a blog on death and dying. That’s because the end of the year is the perfect opportunity to let go of the things that you accomplished, as well as everything that happened to you, both the good and the bad. By letting go of the things that happened on the surface, you afford yourself the opportunity to be reborn in the depth of your being, to wake up and find your real home. That makes for a really happy New Year.

I think you will be amazed by the feeling of letting go. It is so freeing. At first it may seem natural to identify with your accomplishments and the things that you do. For instance you may think I am a teacher, a doctor, or a policeman. To your family you may think, I am a father, a son and an uncle; a daughter, mother and aunt. You may also think: I am successful or I am a failure, I am rich or I am poor, I had a good year or I had a bad one. The sum of these definitions seems to comprise your identity. But they are really just definitions based on what you do and your relationship to your family and others.

The definitions that you think up are not the real you _____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________
Did you know that the definitions that you think up are not really what you are? Now here’s another thing that might surprise you: all of these definitions embellish one little word, I. That I is also just a thought and not a definition for you either.

So now you might be really confused; you may think: Then who am I anyway. When everything is gone I am nothing. Here is where a meditation practice is necessary. That’s because your identity is deeper than words and thoughts can capture. But you can still know your identity because it is the one thing that you actually experience. Although words can point to the thing that you are, they never quite get it right. That’s because words are meant to describe objects, not your very essence.

You light up the world
Despite this limitation, here are a few pointers that will help you to meditate on your identity: You are the light that lights up the world; it is by your light that you know that the world exists. Your identity is pure Consciousness, which is a clear light.

Since the sun is light you don’t need a candle to find the sun. In the same way, because you are Consciousness you don’t need a separate consciousness or mind to know yourself. You know yourself because you are yourself.

You can die before you die and then you will live
When a terminally ill patient is about to pass away, he or she naturally starts to detach from the family and the world. That is when the patient finds peace. The patient discovers that although the world is about to disappear, existence remains the same. That’s when the patient finds that things are actually upside-down. You do not depend on the world to exist; rather the world depends on you.

The good news is that without becoming terminally ill you can find the meaning of these words. If you die before you die you will not taste death. This is the promise of Jesus and Sages that existed from before there was time. When you discover that your identity stretches beyond birth and death, your life will become very meaningful. In fact you will have discovered the secret meaning of life on this earth and you will be able to live and die in peace. So our message is to wish you a very happy New Year. We hope that you will let go and die in this way, so that even now while here on earth you can be born into the peace and happiness that is always there.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

 

 

 

On Occupy Wall Street

Somebody asked me about the Occupy Wall Street movement. I thought this question was a little unusual because I never broach into the political realms. But there are some spiritual aspects to this movement. I think that if the people in this movement are willing to consider these aspects, they will bring more focus to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Specifically there are three spiritual questions that can bring this focus to this movement:

First, what is value of a human being?

Second, what is the purpose of life?

And third, where can a human being find happiness?

By answering these questions I think that the participants in this movement will gain a better understanding of what they are rebelling against, and what they hope to achieve. So today let’s discuss the real value of being human:

Is the value of a human being the same as a corporation?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

At first the value of a corporation seems quite obvious. Its value comes from its balance sheet. The more profit a company makes the more value it has. There are two ways that a company can increase its profits: by increasing its sales and investments, and by decreasing its expenses.

Notice that there is no place here for human values and needs. Also there is no room for compassion. For instance if it helps the corporation’s balance sheet to lay people off before Christmas, then your Christmas present will be a layoff notice. Also, a company will give to charity if the company feels it will help its reputation so that it can sell more products.  But the aim of the company is to cut down on a person’s buying resistance, not to help people.

Can our value be measured by our wealth?

Experience that which was before words came into Being

Now we come to the conclusion of Verses on the Faith Mind by the 3rd Zen Patriarch, Sengstau. 

One thing, all things: move among and intermingle, without distinction.

To live in this realization is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.

To live in this faith is the road to non-duality, because the non-dual is one with trusting mind.

Words!

The Way is beyond language, for in it there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

Living in the trusting mind is living in a presence that is beyond what words can describe. Some people call this oneness, where you are one with everything. But as soon as you posit an everything you end oneness, because everything is many and oneness is one. So by your direct experience you have to know that like water is the substance of the waves in the ocean, the trusting mind is the substance of everything that you perceive.

One thing, all things: move among and intermingle, without distinction.

To live in this realization is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.

When you live with your identity firmly planted in the Trusting Mind you are living as the water that supports all of the waves. As they rise, dance for a moment and crash back into the ocean, the identity of the waves are nothing but water. Even their motion cannot affect their fundamental identity. That’s because waves are nothing but water.

In the same way, this universe is nothing but the one harmonious trusting mind. Focusing on the waves you might perceive non-perfection in the large waves and perfection in the small ones. But when you become the water, you become the perfection in all of the waves. When you stand as the Trusting Mind you get to perceive the original meaning of oneness.

To live in this faith is the road to non-duality, because the non-dual is one with trusting mind.

Sometimes we call this oneness nonduality, one without a second. Nonduality is not some interesting philosophical view. It is the direct perception of the fundamental reality behind the whole universe. It is a description of the thing that you really are, untainted by the limitations of the things that you see. Indeed if you can discover the secret meaning of nonduality, you will find that which was never born and will never die. You will wake up to your original and true nature. You will have found the real purpose of life.

Words!

The Way is beyond language, for in it there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today.

Sengstau ends this beautiful poem by reminding us that language cannot really describe the state that he talks about, the Trusting Mind. Words can only describe things that are in motion, affected by the passage of time. Motion goes through space, but the space is not affected. Like space, you are the stillness that sees motion; you are not the one caught by the passage of time.   

So return to the thing that you were before you were even born and remain there as the undying spirit that supports the whole universe. That is the mind that Sengstau is pointing to. Let go of all these words; they can only describe limitation and not the reality that you are. Enjoy the presence that reveals the fundamental and exquisite harmony that supports the whole universe.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

The secret of your own being

Let us continue with Verses on the Faith Mind by the 3rd Zen Patriarch, Sengstau.

Infinitely large and infinitely small; no difference, for definitions have
vanished and no boundaries are seen.

So too with Being and Non-Being.

Don't waste time with doubts and arguments that have nothing to do with this.  

These three verses go together. They talk about how people get distracted with words, arguing about this and arguing about that. In fact they get so caught up in their arguments that they never find the secret of life. This secret is the knowledge of where reality comes from; it is the secret of your own being.

Does reality come from the world or does it come from you?
If, for instance, reality came from the objects that appear here in the world, then there would be no secret at all. After all you can ask anyone walking down the street if the people walking on the sidewalk, or the cup of coffee on the table are real. Of course they will say yes. You don't have to read thick books or even this blog, or to meditate on your self-nature to discover that reality comes from the things that you see; almost everyone believes that anyway. These people would argue that they see the color of the cup and feel its warmth in their hand, and that is the sign of reality.

On the other hand if we can show that your sense of reality comes from a place that is much closer than the cup, a place that is so close that you look right past it, then this blog is worth reading. And our being, sometimes called the sense of reality, can rightly be called a secret.

Your meditation will become the highlight of your day
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

So here’s the secret that I am talking about: the sense of reality that the world seems to have actually comes from you and not from the world. In your meditations you can verify this by noticing what you actually experience, as opposed to what you are supposed to experience. You will gasp in amazement when you discover the difference; and most important you will find that which supports the whole universe.

That’s why in these blogs I suggest little experiments that will light up your meditation practice. Once you get a feel for this type of experimentation, you will gain a whole new appreciation for the power of meditation. Instead of drudgery, your meditations will become the highlight of your day.

What doesn’t depend on coming and going?
So here is an example: We all know what we are supposed to experience, right? That we’re over here and the world is over there. Moreover, when we close our eyes we assume that the world remains, but we don’t see it. Now that we know what we are supposed to experience let’s verify this and see if it’s what we actually experience. Just sit comfortably and close your eyes. What are you experiencing right now? Are you experiencing a world that you just can’t see, or are you experiencing something that is much more basic than the world; a thing that doesn’t depend on the comings and goings of the world.

Don’t worry if your experience doesn’t fit into words and thoughts. Although you can’t quite capture it, you can know it. That is the beauty of being. Before you bring in a separate experiencer, you can notice what you actually experience. This is what we call direct experience; it is the thing that makes your experience seem so rich.

You are yourself already
You may have heard of the quote, Those who know cannot say. You might think that this is a strange quote coming from a person who writes thousands of words on your self-nature. Yet for all of these words, the only thing I can do is point you to the thing that you experience directly. After all you are yourself, aren’t you? Find your being by your direct experience and you can forget all of these words, and just remain as you really are.

There are many more experiments that will enhance your meditations. For instance you can discover the nature of your body and mind, and find out where the world is anyway. But just get to the bottom of the one experiment described above: is the world there when you do not perceive it? You will then be well on your way to discovering that which supports the whole universe. It is the thing that you really are. And it makes no difference whether you call it being or non-being.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Where is enlightenment?

Now to continue with stanzas from Verses on The Faith Mind, by The 3rd Chinese Zen Patriarch, Sengstau:

Emptiness here, Emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes.

Infinitely large and infinitely small; no difference, for definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen.

The reason that it is hard to understand enlightenment is because it defies all definitions. Call it large and it’s the smallest thing imaginable. Call it fullness and it is empty of any concept. With this as an introduction you may wonder why I insist that enlightenment is easy to understand.

Your actual experience is simpler than a thought
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

If you go by the thoughts in your mind, enlightenment will seem incredibly complicated. But if you go by your direct experience, enlightenment becomes immediate and very simple. It is the feeling of coming home. What makes it seem so difficult is that we overlook the thing that is closest to us and attempt to define enlightenment by things that are at a distance.

Emptiness here, Emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes.

As an example in the first verse some people consider enlightenment to be a state of emptiness. This, depending on the person, could mean no thoughts, no objects, or both. If this is your definition of enlightenment, then the appearance of an infinite universe seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it? If enlightenment means cutting this infinite and amazing universe out of your experience then you are defining enlightenment as only part of your experience. When you only consider part of your experience you are positing two states; an enlightened state without the world and an ignorant or defiled state with it.

When the world appears does enlightenment disappear?
When there are two states your enlightenment will seem to come and go, and that’s not enlightenment at all. So the purpose of this verse is to direct you away from your concepts of enlightenment, and to the thing that you actually experience. Standing as you really are, you will see things the way they really are, and that’s what enlightenment is really about. In other words you will find the thing that supports any state that you experience.

Infinitely large and infinitely small; no difference, for definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen.

Once again enlightenment is not a state of mind. That means that thoughts do not support enlightenment and thoughts do not take it away. Some people conceive of enlightenment as larger than the largest or smaller than the smallest. But if you define enlightenment in these terms, how will you ever get to the thing that you experience even now.

As long as you are aiming for a definition created in your mind, you will feel bound by that definition. When you let go of all definitions you will find that which was never bound. This is the freedom that you really are.

If you feel confused by these verses, just find the place where these words point. That is your real home. Standing here, read these verses again. In amazement you might think, “How could I ever have overlooked this?”

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

You are already qualified for Enlightenment

Do you remember that we were commenting on Verses on The Faith Mind, by The 3rd Chinese Zen Patriarch, Sengstau? Then we got distracted by lots of great questions. Now that we cleared up your questions we can get back to this great poem with these two verses:

No matter when or where, enlightenment means entering this truth.

And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space; in it a single thought is ten thousand years.

Enlightenment is entering into the truth of things. You find this truth by looking into the nature of your mind. Of course the when and where of enlightenment is irrelevant. If you attempt to find the truth of things in the objects that you see, you will miss the profound nature of the universe. That’s because when you examine the waking state, you are only looking at part of your experience. After all when you dream, the waking world disappears completely, and a whole new world appears. In deep sleep all of the worlds disappear. When you look deeply, you will find that these worlds play on the fabric of your mind, sometimes called Consciousness. Waking up is discovering what was going on the whole time and you just over looked it.

Although we can’t conceive this truth with the limitations of our thinking process, reminders that life is about returning to your own being, are set out before us.  For instance, the universe is so large that we cannot imagine where its boundaries could possibly lie. And as the power of our instruments increase, we find whole universes in the smallest particles. When we look at these tiny universes, we even wonder if some particles are slipping into dimensions that we can’t even conceive of. I think you can see that when you examine the universe in all of its glorious dimensions, the when and where become irrelevant.

And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space; in it a single thought is ten thousand years.

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With this verse it is worth mentioning that sometimes teachers conceive of enlightenment as happening in steps or stages. Usually these teachers put themselves at the highest level and you are at least four or five levels behind them.

On the other hand some people feel that they were enlightened and now they lost it. You should know that both of these are descriptions of a state of mind, not a state of being. Here in enlightenment we are all equal, as single one. There is no growing or decaying, higher or lower, motion or stillness. Those who tell you otherwise are still caught by the boundaries of their mind and stuck in conceptual frameworks.

The reality of things comes from you
In enlightenment you find that you are the stillness that time and space pass through; you are not the one caught in their grasp. When you start to dream, the time and space that you enter appears to always have been there.  To the dream characters, it seems as if the dream was always there. That’s why in your dream you can have parents, grandparents and great grandparents; hundreds of years can elapse. Then even if it seemed as if ten thousand years went by, when you wake up the whole dream disappears as if it never came into being. You look at your clock and see that only ten minutes passed by. The thing that made your dream seem so real was your mind, not the things that seemed to be there.  

Although the dream came into existence and then went away, nothing happened to your mind. Before the dream your mind was there, when the dream seemed to arise your mind was just the same. And when the dream disappears, back to the place where it comes from, your mind is still there. If you can get a sense how the mind is the reality behind the dream, you will be in a perfect position to notice what you are experiencing even now in the waking state.

Objects change, Reality doesn’t
In order to discover what happens in the waking state you have to go by what you actually experience, not by what you are supposed to experience. After all to the character in your dream, the dream world is the waking state and there is not another waking state. Then when you are in deep dreamless sleep all the worlds go away; but it doesn’t feel as if reality is missing. In other words objects go away, reality doesn’t. It is you who provides the sense of reality that the word seems to have. And when your mind changes states, it is not the world that remains, it is you that remains.  

Now wrap your mind around this if you can: you actually experience the world in your mind, not out there. The senses seem to perceive information which is transmitted through your nerves to your brain, from your brain to your mind, and you see your mind. So like in the dream, you do not perceive a world, you perceive your own mind. If you can get a sense of this, you will have discovered one of the greatest secrets in the universe and you will be well on your way to waking up.

The meaning hidden under the surface of these verses
When you begin to experience the place that this explanation points to, you will discover the meaning hidden under the surface of these verses. Enlightenment is what you are even now. Since it is here now, you can wake up at any time and place; no pre-qualifications are necessary.

Furthermore there is no coming and going in enlightenment. That’s because enlightenment is not a state of mind. It is your state of being. Once you find your true home, you remain as the stillness that motion passes through. It no longer matters if your thoughts are pure or impure, if everyone beholds you as the king of the universe, or if you are left homeless and in the streets. Even death is irrelevant. After all, you are the changeless reality that lights up the universe.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman