Guest guest Posted April 1, 2003 Report Share Posted April 1, 2003 on 4/1/03 10:49 AM, devianandi at devi wrote: > Nisargadatta , shawn <shawn@w...> wrote: >> on 4/1/03 6:50 AM, devianandi at devi@p... wrote: >> >>> Shawn: Describe to me what you think an enlightened being *is*. >>> >>> devi: it appears that an enlightened being is a body/mind complex >>> that has one more added feature, the *knowledge* of its Real >>> Being...and the ability to live from that...an enlightened being > can >>> say that it has nothing of its own or it can say that every is > it's >>> own... >> >> **************** >> >> You appear to be guessing....... > > devi: well, does it sound right to you or not...what's does your > thnking mind come up with for a descrition of an enlightened > being...? I'm sorry devi, I have to tell you a story instead: It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone - " to relax, " I told myself - but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, " What is it exactly we are doing here? " Things weren't going so great at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's. I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, " Skippy, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job. " This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss. " Honey, " I confessed, " I've been thinking... " " I know you've been thinking, " she said, " and I want a divorce! " " But Honey, surely it's not that serious. " " It is serious, " she said, lower lip aquiver. " You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money! " " That's a faulty syllogism, " I said impatiently, and she began to cry. I'd had enough. " I'm going to the library, " I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche, with NPR on the radio. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors... they didn't open. The library was closed. To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. " Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life? " it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker's Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non- educational video; last week it was " Porky's. " Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. )))))))Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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