Do all Paths Lead to the Same Goal? - Aziz Answers

[Guest guest]

Student:

Recently I have this doubt whether it is really true that every Path leads

to the same goal? Practising Vipassana and Buddhist philosophy for long

time, I have realised, that their vision actually doesn't point clearly to

Awakening. Discovering Nisargadatta Maharaj, and next your teaching,

something has radically changed. The search started to relate to Me, in a

real sense.

 

Aziz:

You see, Buddhism is an old technology of awakening. We often assume that

if someone attains Enlightenment, there arises a natural ability to express

the whole truth. But in reality, it takes many generations for a teaching

to evolve and reach maturity. When Mahayana developed, there were attempts

to identify this teaching with the Buddha himself. But why do such thing?

People tend to look for an authority, but no one has the courage to just

let the spirit speak freely. Tibetan Buddhism and Zen are not the teachings

of Buddha Shakyamuni! They are simply a further development of the original

teaching.

The original approach of Theravada is to discover What Is Real through the

negation of what is not. The danger is that pointing to what is real has

not been so clear in the past and so everyone has kept on missing it. For

example, the concept of no-self can easily prevent one from discovering I

Am as it is on some level denied. For that reason, some seekers feel quite

relieved by the teaching of Advaita. It is simply more positive; it may be

less sophisticated but at least it points to the Self.

The original Buddhism is too attached to a negative interpretation of

reality. Even if you understand that all is suffering, empty and

impermanent…so what? What does it actually change? Nothing! Your mind has

one more crystallised opinion about reality. Awakening has truly nothing to

do with those concepts. An awakened being does not need to create any views

about reality, for he or she lives beyond the mind in the space of

innocence and openness – to the Mystery.

Yes, this search relates to you. It is not about conditioning you or making

out of you an arhat, but about giving you back your Soul.

 

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