People (both religious and fanatics) who have never even glimpsed the realm of the sacred ... use it with great conviction, as if they knew what they are talking about.

[Guest guest]

" The Greatest Obstacle to Enlightenment

 

Enlightenment - what is that?

 

A beggar had been sitting by the side of a road for over thirty

years. One day a stranger walked by. " Spare some change? " mumbled the

beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap. " I have

nothing to give you, " said the stranger. Then he asked: " What's that

you are sitting on? " " Nothing, " replied the beggar. " Just an old box.

I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember. " " Ever

looked inside? " asked the stranger. " No, " said the beggar. " What's

the point? There's nothing in there. " " Have a look inside, " insisted

the stranger. The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With

astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled

with gold.

 

I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you

to look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere

even closer: inside yourself.

 

" But I am not a beggar, " I can hear you say.

 

Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy

of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it, are

beggars, even if they have great material wealth. They are looking

outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation,

security, or love, while they have a treasure within that not only

includes all those things but is infinitely greater than anything the

world can offer.

 

The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some super-human

accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is

simply your natural state of felt oneness with Being. It is a state

of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible,

something that, almost paradoxically, is essentially you and yet is

much greater than you. It is finding your true nature beyond name and

form. The inability to feel this connectedness gives rise to the

illusion of separation, from yourself and from the world around you.

You then perceive yourself, consciously or unconsciously, as an

isolated fragment. Fear arises, and conflict within and without

becomes the norm.

 

I love the Buddha's simple definition of enlightenment as " the end of

suffering. " There is nothing superhuman in that, is there? Of course,

as a definition, it is incomplete. It only tells you what

enlightenment is not: no suffering. But what's left when there is no

more suffering? The Buddha is silent on that, and his silence implies

that you'll have to find out for yourself. He uses a negative

definition so that the mind cannot make it into something to believe

in or into a superhuman accomplishment, a goal that is impossible for

you to attain. Despite this precaution, the majority of Buddhists

still believe that enlightenment is for the Buddha, not for them, at

least not in this lifetime.

 

 

You used the word Being. Can you explain what you mean by that?

 

Being is the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms

of life that are subject to birth and death. However, Being is not

only beyond but also deep within every form as its innermost

invisible and indestructible essence. This means that it is

accessible to you now as your own deepest self, your true nature. But

don't seek to grasp it with your mind. Don't try to understand it.

You can know it only when the mind is still. When you are present,

when your attention is fully and intensely in the Now, Being can be

felt, but it can never be understood mentally. To regain awareness of

Being and to abide in that state of " feeling-realization " is

enlightenment.

 

 

When you say Being, are you talking about God? If you are, then why

don't you say it?

 

The word God has become empty of meaning through thousands of years

of misuse. I use it sometimes, but I do so sparingly. By misuse, I

mean that people who have never even glimpsed the realm of the

sacred, the infinite vastness behind that word, use it with great

conviction, as if they knew what they are talking about. Or they

argue against it, as if they knew what it is that they are denying.

This misuse gives rise to absurd beliefs, assertions, and egoic

delusions, such as " My or our God is the only true God, and your God

is false, " or Nietzsche's famous statement " God is dead. "

 

The word God has become a closed concept. The moment the word is

uttered, a mental image is created, no longer, perhaps, of an old man

with a white beard, but still a mental representation of someone or

something outside you, and, yes, almost inevitably a male someone or

something.

 

Neither God nor Being nor any other word can define or explain the

ineffable reality behind the word, so the only important question is

whether the word is a help or a hindrance in enabling you to

experience That toward which it points. Does it point beyond itself

to that transcendental reality, or does it lend itself too easily to

becoming no more than an idea in your head that you believe in, a

mental idol?

 

The word Being explains nothing, but nor does God. Being, however,

has the advantage that it is an open concept. It does not reduce the

infinite invisible to a finite entity. It is impossible to form a

mental image of it. Nobody can claim exclusive possession of Being.

It is your very essence, and it is immediately accessible to you as

the feeling of your own presence, the realization I am that is prior

to I am this or I am that. So it is only a small step from the word

Being to the experience of Being. "

 

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Publisher: New World Library; 1 edition (September 27, 1999)

ISBN-10: 1577311523

ISBN-13: 978-1577311522