ESSAY- Fast Food Enlightenment?
"Before Zen, I washed the floors. After Zen, I am still washing the same floors."
Zen Saying
We can read about the dangers of living on a diet of fast food, but should the spiritual seeker we wary of what might be called "fast food enlightenment?" The attraction of their message is easy to understand- everyone is already enlightened so there is nothing you have to do, but like a quick burger- does the end result match the convenience? This essay I have written is one that is not giving answers about all this stuff- or at least that is not its purpose- but instead to get people to begin asking better questions about what is being sold out on the marketplace in books, satsangs, retreats, workshops. To open up your question process as to what realization actually is, what gets one there, and who may be qualified to help in some way.
In any big city nowadays it is easy to find courses, workshops, mediation nights and satsangs all promising something special and wonderful for you. And that is the catch, to sell something- you have to make it seem really attractive to the buyer, but is realization what they claim it be? It seems the only requirement needed to put one of these "shows" is to have a realization on Sunday, declare yourself enlightened on Monday, and start charging for it on Tuesday. And basically if you are a good speaker and can mix in the standard jargon: there is no doer, everyone is already enlightened, stop seeking, and ask "who wants to know that answer," will make you a hit, and a good income. Enlightenment has become a profession, a career choice as lucrative as law or medicine or banking- with a heck of a lot less diplomas required. And since most seekers are not really looking for answers anyway- just a place to come every so often feel good and happy and connected, everyone wins. Right? But for someone peering in on this particular website, how much does this help? And while these words are correct, how to know if the depth of what those words mean are really behind the person providing them?
It is not that these people are bad in anyway or intentionally misleading (a few are of course), most have had some sort of experience for sure, and a few may have even realized Absolute Reality- the question should be, how can that help you and your own personal search for answers? Reaching Absolute is one thing. Teaching it is a whole different game. The ancient texts warn specifically against a false sense of liberation that can come (I refer to this as enlightenment, a feeling of oneness or unity or love) that can trap- so they don't continue to finish the process. Thus they have a great magical experience they feel must be "it" without even realizing, "it" wasn't. In a sense they are tying up the boat to the dock, thinking they reached the far off land, when actually they have only found a real cool island along the way. And moreover they have no interest to check out the island to be sure it is the far off port. They stop, mostly because the island is so nice and pleasant- and since they really weren't seeking answers anyway but a way out of suffering, or bliss or importance- they think they have it.
Realization itself is beyond form, beyond mind, beyond beliefs or concepts. It is what is, as simple and paradoxical as that. To bring it back to form so that can be useable- after first checking it was not a sneaky drop off point, requires some 10-20 years of integration and stabilization- especially if one is to try and communicate this to another. Again I am reminded that Ramana spent 20 years meditating in a cave and reading ancient texts, AFTER he had the realization. Same with Richard Rose. They were not sitting back being lazy, doing nothing, or making big bucks on some enlightenment circuit. They could have if they wanted to, but they realized inherently that if they wanted to take the absolute to forms who right now can't see it, required hard work to prepare to do that. You can see how a message of I realized my true nature and now I am lazy and just sit around smiling all the time would be a definite draw to an overstressed western population. But to one who really wants to know, not just trust someone else, you have to dig deep to see if that is true or not. And if one wants to teach, Baby Horus has to go back to school.
There is a process entailed in realization. Caterpillar-cocoon- butterfly. The butterfly can not skip the cocoon stage because it is not that much fun and just jump to the happy part. The caterpillar can not be zapped into it, or have it transferred by another butterfly. It has to do it. That is not to say that the process will be the same for anyone going through it, it will be unique to that individual. There is no one method for enlightenment/realization. There is no Buddha method, or Ramana method, or Indian method. One needs to look for how one's personal method revealed the underlying process that those personal practices unlocked- as a tool to gage whether the process is happening to you, and if so, what part you might be in so that you can obtain possible tools to try out at that point. If you find yourself in the midst of some process- should you go to help from the one who says there is no process and nothing you can do, or the one that acknowledges a process and can relate to what you are experiencing. I know, you would think that would be an easy answer for most, but from looking around, it seems the reverse is true. People want to avoid the process and go for the hope part where they can avoid doing anything, or have to show any honesty and courage about themselves. Perhaps it is why these new segment of teachers tell so little of their personal history now, because they will be shown to have been great seekers in the past, which won't jive with their message of no seeking needed. Because working hard is not a good message if you want to be in the enlightenment business. Of course the opposite is also true. Many gurus out there prescribe a standard set plan, very rigorous, that must be followed by all of their disciples for like 30-40 years. Guess what? None of those disciples are waking up either. So shouldn't you be asking what the hell is going on around here?
And communicating all this gets tricky when a problem arises that in the "biz" is known as level mixing. Answering a question that is based from the standpoint of a seeker and a word, with a simple answer there is no world and no seeker. Answering everything from the viewpoint of Absolute Reality. This message is an important message, and there is a point when that answer is needed in one's process, the exact roadsign marker of no doer, no choice, no karma, no definer, no seeker and nowhere to get- opens the floodgates to what has been missing. Prior to this point it is not that helpful- and is a block if it is the only message. If one combines an answer to a question with the absolute on one side, and then the balance of "But right now you seem to be here and having this problem," at least to me, is a complete answer that offers assistance to all levels at once. The ancients stressed this multi layer form of question answering.
One must first as well be clear as to what the absolute is, and this is the first test to see whether one made it all the way, or got stopped on the island with funky native girls in the grass skirts. Absolute is not love or compassion or unity between all things. This is some wished for heaven. Absolute to be absolute, must contain all. Love and hate, good and bad, compassion and non compassion. It is all and at the same time nothing. Separation does not exist in the Absolute.
"Nothing matters, and everything matters."
Zen saying
One needs to look through the illusion of matter and form, to release the idea of a separate other- whether it be person or object or idea. And that must come from experiencing it, not reading it in a book. Thus I feel the need to have tools along the way to test the solidity of reality, solidity of self. Spending time meditating, or counting breaths or asking "who am I " are tools as well, but done alone without some real pressure applied to the things believed to be real- little will probably happen, which is why you can meet sincere people who have been practicing for years- but you see have not moved one step forward from when you first met them. They never put anything to the test, just did things to give them more peace or happiness- and hope everything will be figured out later.
To be back in reality as form, when the realization of there is no reality, can be a difficult adjustment. Many take this to just be a detached detachment to everything and everyone around them, a sort of numb depression feeling it's not real so why should I care? But to be at that place means the world of appearance loses its magic, its layers of wonder. You don't have to give up the magic of the dream, just because you know the falseness of it. One should grasp in time that if this is just a movie, then all forms in it have a part to play, a role. A tree must be a tree, a rock must be a rock, a table must be a table. As a human we have role in the movie as well. To know the part in the movie is not the real us is the detachment to the role, but does not mean we forsake all roles to simply sit in a chair and pretend not to be a part of it anymore. It is to turn back into the movie, get to know our role, and play our part to perfection. Carlos Castaneda would refer to this by the term Controlled Folly. I heard it described somewhere that the goal is not to get to and then hang out on the top rung of the ladder, telling everyone there is no ladder- but to be free of the ladder entirely, then feel free to be any rung at any time.
Let me examine a few of the "tricks" so as to see why they would be appealing, but whey they won't work, so perhaps you can look deeply into the validity of these "fast food" techniques.
The everything is good and perfect trick. Yes from absolute reality, where there is no duality- no love or hate- everything that is up to this point, must be perfect, or you may say, how the absolute wants it to be- which is misleading in itself for it makes it seem like the absolute is choosing things. However, it is no use telling someone "its all good, nothing wrong happens here," to someone just coming out of childhood sexual abuse, or brother is missing or their wife just died. That message might confuse them even more, even if from Absolute it is true, one needs to offer help to stage of the process where they are- and slip in the reminder as the timing is right. Trying to pretend there is no process, does not eliminate the fact there is.
Another is no seeker and nothing to do. I think I have covered that one already- while true at the last moment, there is a process that takes one to that revealing moment. To just say there is nothing to do to someone gives the wrong impression that somehow there is an action taken of not seeking, and someone just gives up- often at the very point when they may be on the verge of breakthrough. You may say the only real seeking is to seek the seeker, to seek the one who seeks. But that can only happen when one has exhausted seeking something externally with they finally turn inward. Then after looking hard and finding nothing there, can the- you can't find anything because there is no seeker, finally work. You might say in fact the seeking falls away on its own when it is time, but to only say stop giving effort is an aspect of level mixing as mentioned.
Another neat trick is to say you don't need anything, you have all the answers yourself. Which of course is true, you don't need anyone or anything else to find answers. But then the next sentence from the teacher after "I can't help you, there is no need to read books or have a teacher," is to buy their books, cds, attend their weekend workshops. Either books and teachers have a value or they don't. and if they have no value, why are the writing them and selling them? Neat trick to make them look holy- and get you to buy their product even more.
A good trick used in open discussions is to respond to any question with, "who is asking that question, or who is having that problem?" now this particular response is of great value, at the right time. Not every time. Otherwise it creates a case of superiority and takes the one asking the question into a state of confusion. It is used as a trick to show the one as the front is beyond questions, so don't ask questions. Meanwhile the rest of the people in the room smile smugly as if they "get it, not like the dummy asking questions," which only serves to stifle honest questions and debate from people to get a chance to examine where they are at right this moment.
That leads to the next trick. Many promote the impression that they reside in some blessed out state, where they have no thoughts and live like Cinderella happily ever after. This smiling all the time trick makes things like a tv show, where there must be something wrong with the views at home "in the audience" who are not as perfect and happy as the Cleaver Family. Then again most people coming to satsangs and workshops are not coming for real examination anyway but to have find some happy place for a while, a momentary drug high- and they mistake this smiling person for happy and love, when in fact all they have done is go "numb and dumb" as I have heard it described. Other teachers just sit and stare silently at everyone, as if they are exposing some great revelation that silence is the answer. They of course have mistaken silence with quiet. Silence is the nothingness of what is, thus one could be quiet or yelling or jumping or screaming and what is behind the action is always silence. Actually just staring at someone is a tool to not ever have to answer any serious questions and put their lack of understanding up for public ridicule.
The other trick is talk of awakening, and experiences of enlightenment, usually more blissful than the last one. Yet if realization has actually happened for someone, they will be very clear that their can be no awakening, because what you really are has never gone to sleep. A dream object went to sleep and a dream object can wake up- and both are experiences, but what you are exists without any experience present at all. An experience needs an experience, and something to experience, which then by definition is dual- and absolute reality is non-dual. Thus there can be no experiences in non-dual reality. This would destroy the guru's need to instill the belief that experiences or powers are indicators of realization, and that only he or she can provide or transmit these experiences to you. as soon as you realize that realization is not an experience, any experienced promised by anyone is just something else in the dream, and can not be what you are. It's an important trick to see through. If they also relate though that awakenings are useful for the freedom of the thing in the dream, and here is how to examine that- you may be on to the real deal.
Perhaps the biggest trick perpetrated is that God or absolute is love. I mentioned this earlier, but it deserves repeating. This leads to the trick that if "I" do more loving things, God will love me more, thus give me some better future or afterlife. Thus love for people is not a selfless action, but is actually a way of trying to buy their way into heaven. The teachers here- which are most out there- are obviously moored on the love island- and have fallen under the same trap as Arjuna was in on the battlefield in the Bhagavad Gita. He was in a state of oneness or unity and would not start a battle that would obviously kill and destroy all of his friends and family. Everyone thinks he dropped to the ground because of his great love that he would not cause any destruction. This is not true. He dropped to the ground when he saw it was not all that he hated was illusion, it was also all he loved. Love of things was a big a lie as the things themselves. Everything he relied on as foundation, symbolically was thrust out. What to do? There was nothing to do but drop to the ground in utter confusion. The Gita is all about Krishna revealing the truth of reality- no army, no family to get hurt, no arjuna. So upon his understanding, he did not get up and be a love junkie. He finally stood up when he agreed to start the war.
It is showing that absolute is beyond even love- not a message that brings in the followers and the money to buy the super rich lifestyle. Not that I am advocating to be a hateful jackass (in the world stuff here, you have a parasite to overcome) but it means if you are going to talk about the absolute, then the absolute contains it all: soup kitchen worker and puppy killer, Mother Teresa and Hitler- whether you want it to be that way or not. And upon finding that out for the first time, you will do just what Arjuna did- drop in utter confusion. Tricky to talk about, it is more something that can only be experienced. Anyone who misses describing that part, never got there- again stuck on the island with the pina coloda. Nothing against islands of course, unless they are saying they are talking about the entire journey. And getting your boat wrecked on the rocks, attacked by sea monsters, left adrift without a rudder- is as much of the process as the islands, pina colodas and native girls.
Seeing the truth of what is, is not fun or peaceful or loving. It is in fact bizarre, creepy and somewhat scary. Seeing nothing exists is not a party for the ego. Anyone who made it will tell you about their years of body illness, or agony, or pain, or burning heat or what have you. thus really spiritual practice is a way to upgrade the body so to speak to handle glimpses of the absolute. Any experience of non reality is an amazing shock to the form-mind thing called you. after realization happens come more change and challenge as the form tries to live out its old habits and patterns and hopes, but now what is prior won't let and for a while a great battle ensues that can be agonizing for form. Why do I say this? Not to scare anyone away from it, but to honestly mention what the process is actually like- so that if it is happening to you, right now or tomorrow or next month- that you don't run from it- you can have someone there with you say- ya it isn't fun, but it's a part of it. Yes the pounding headaches, illness, willingness to jump off a bridge, paranoia of the world- is there- and acknowledge it. Just saying it is part of the process is a big help when it happens for someone, and seems to make it last much less time. Fight it because you are told it is supposed to be love and light and happy happy- makes the difficulty last longer and longer. Truth comes after a great battle to see there was nothing to battle, and then the great content part comes after a long adjustment period, that must be honestly mentioned.
Lastly comes the message that people are making a lot of money off the fact they are important for being enlightened. Many live a life of splendor with luxury, first class travel, wonderful food- all at the expense of those who come to them. May I remind you that in the ancient world, there were no fees or suggested donations for those awake. Being awake was not a career choice- it was the amazing realization of Absolute Reality, and the dream of a separate computer simulation everyone is in, that they now saw clearly. It was as if part of the "gift" to know the truth of everything meant that they could share it, but not profit from it. In fact, once they knew how the dream actually worked, they had no needs from others in the dream anymore- the dream itself would provide for them. Almost like the absolute saying we will give you the realization and look after form in the dream, any you are welcome to communicate all this- unless you try to make the little I in the dream important from it. So many enlightened folks, or big charging healers tend all of sudden to get very sick, or to die or simply vanish. The bigger the organization the more you must ask, if they know the absolute, what do they need an organization for? Where is all this money they charge going? Jesus and Buddha, assuming they were people who existed, did fine without charging a dime for what they knew- so why are these people here, and why so much? It's a valid question to ask, to really ask.
So in closing, what was the point of all this rambling on and on? Good question, I'm not all that sure actually. Perhaps trying my best to communicate what has been revealed is my reason for still being here, and not having been sucked to the bottom of the canyon for good. If ya gotta do something in the movie simulation, these seems as good as anything else- and form seems to enjoy the challenge of it. And trust me communicating this stuff is one huge challenge. I will be the first to admit that, and the first to admit I often botch the job of communicating up badly.
I have no idea what anyone might need. How could I? But yet this thing called me has walked into a lot of places, many layers of the dream, and at least seen what is really behind the curtain of it all. So I do this to offer suggestions and stories from my life that may perhaps ring true as others relate to what I am saying or writing. Everyone is unique and each will have to walk their own way to the point where they see there was no path and no one walking it. To lay down rules, any rules, can only make someone into an imitator of someone- not someone carving their own story of experience to absolute reality. I guess I wanted to leave people with a set of new questions to ask, of things to mull over about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and who they are going to for answers. that maybe no mater how weird and confusing whatever may be happening right now, someone else- perhaps many others- have gone through it as well- and maybe it can have some value after all.
I leave you with a final metaphor that I wrote recently
"Integration pf realization is an important part of the process, and I not that much fun but required. It is sort of like crossing the finish line after a long road race, then staying bent over getting your wind back; while the enlightened guru stopped the race half way to set up shop and sign autographs."
HM