| Holland, Amsterdam, June 3, 1997. |
|
|
| < |
Hello again. I have lots of questions, but it comes down to: is grace a reward for doing nothing? I heard you say: satsang is not for everybody. |
| > |
Yes. |
| < |
Last night my mind kept me awake. I slept, but I know what happened and my mind kind of reviewed anything that I ever heard about enlightenment and so all the steps that the Buddha has described from scratch to Arahat, things like that, and so there was an idea; now all these steps are coming. What to do? But I know there is nothing to do. |
| > |
Yeah. Are you familiar with the Diamond Sutra, the Diamond Sutra of Buddhism? |
| < |
I dont know |
| > |
Get it and read it. If you are into Buddhism, read this. Because this is what we are speaking about here. This is actually the heart and the highest teaching of Buddhism. It uses different language, but it is speaking exactly what we’re speaking here. |
| < |
I’ll do that. Thank you. |
| > |
Yes. In Tibetan buddhism they also have this tradition they call it Zog-Chen where somebody who had the direct experience of truth. With a ripe student, meaning a student who is mature, this direct experience could happen. But they saw that it was not for the masses, for very rare few. There is a beautiful story actually about a man by the name of B(?), who was determined to get enlightened.
And so much so that he walled himself up in a little cave with just a little square, where he could hand his faeces and stuff out and take food in and then close again, and stayed there for years. Determined he wanted to be enlgihtened. Finally he recognised himself, took down the wall but he was so sick, he nearly died, you see. And then he went around telling everybody: you are already free. And people would say to him: how can you tell us we are already free, when you struggled so hard to regognise this. You did so much hard work to come to realise this. And you are telling we are already free. The example he gave is that if you are on top of a mountain in Tibet and in the valley is water and we are both thirsty and I walk all the way down to the river, get water, come backkup and we drink. Its the same water. I had to walk (hi hi hi), you just drank it. What’s the difference, you see. Water is the same. Who you are, you already are. Truth is already here. We are so in the habit of believing that there is an I here. Somebody there, who is unenlightened, who has trouble, all of this. This is our conviction, you see. That’s our experience, that there is somebody here that needs to do something to get somewhere to be happy. When you hear what we speak here, this conviction in I, through your own looking you can say, your own willingness to look at your own experience, not to believe anything, this sense of I is undermined. And you recognise that you are nothing,. There is nothing here. |
| < |
Another question. The last few days, let’s say I notice that my attitude towards my mind is changing. |
| > |
Yes. |
| < |
Kind of for the first time kind of with a smile I look at what my mind is producing. |
| > |
Yes. |
| < |
But, what is it that’s enjoying my mind? I think it is also my mind, cause nothing cannot etc.What is happening? |
| > |
True maturity is when you are not even interested in the content of your mind any longer. Because, the content of your mind is constantly changing. So, like this man spoke about his experience. When you keep relating to your experience it goes up and down, nice moments, ugly moments, pleasant moments, Like this. When you are interested in who is aware of this experience, what is this experience appearing in, what are these thoughts appearing in, this is completely different, you see. Simply being. Being that what you already are. Here and now (Long silence). |
| < |
I realise something about an experience that I had when I was 18 year old: it was my first car and at a point I thought: I am going to pass this traffic light so I speeded up and the last moment I thought no, I dont make it and at that moment my brakes finished. So there I went, .. on the side of my car and so, for about 30 meters I passed this crossing, And at that moment I knew there is nothing to do. And what I realise today is that that just happened and that later I made a fantastic expereince out of it. |
| > |
Yes. |
| < |
And already for 30 years I think that was a great experience. |
| > |
Yes. |
| < |
And it was something like, eh, I connected it to what you told yesterday: it was kind of a moment of total surrender, there was nothing to do and I knew it. So I just waited until I was at the opposite side, and if I was going to hit the bridge, whatever. So lots of things are happening. Thank you very much |
| > |
You’re welcome |
|
|
