these are called teaching sessions but there's not really any teaching but
words are limited we have to find some words to describe it
teaching would mean that I'm adding something to you knowledge information
facts or an experience but that's not what this is about
it's not about adding anything to you
there's so much they already more than enough you have more information than
the Buddha ever had
and of course the beautiful maps or signposts in existence and that maybe
some of the spiritual information that you have beautiful maps inside or
signposts in the form of ancient scriptures that point the way to the
transformation of human consciousness
and here we are not using any of the existing Maps or signposts beautiful as
they are profound as they are many of which originated in this country which
could be called the birthplace of spirituality
rather than there's anything wrong with those maps they are beautiful no
signposts but every age creates its new signposts that corresponds to the needs
of the aged the old ones can still work if used rightly or they can become a
hindrance if used wrongly
well you may notice I use the word Maps or signposts to describe ancient
teachings spiritual teachings and why what is a map is never it the map is not
the territory the signpost is not the place to which it points so all
teachings ancient or contemporary point beyond themselves and the essence of all
teachings is the possibility of the transformation of human consciousness to
a state that is free of bondage free of suffering free of conditioning
some of the teachings point the way
through that
and they are beautiful because those genuine teachings came out of that
transformed state of consciousness those few individuals in the past who became
free of their conditioning free of the false sense of self false me the egoic
identity they taught out of that state the teaching arose out of that
transformed state of consciousness and so it has beauty and power and it has
such beauty often that these ancient teachings through so much attention to
themselves because they are so beautiful and you can compare one map with another
one signpost with another that people began to study compare and collect maps
and signposts and interpret them
and from then it was just a small step to forgetting that to which they point
because one became so absorbed in the form of the teaching and not only that
after a while when you began to love that signpost so much that map so much
you hadn't a sense of identity with it and all those other people who also
loved this signpost so much
and you could begin to argue with other groups of people who loved other sign
posts forgetting that they point to the same place and then you could carry
metaphorically speaking the burden of signposts with you
yes that has happened can still happen and then it's also possible that a
signpost when there was readiness in a human being he or she just needed to
hear to look once twice and immediately realize the truth of it and it worked as
it short
who's teaching is relatively neutral culturally it's not Buddhist not
Christian not Hindu and yet it embraces the essence of all of them
it is not rigid in its form there's nothing to believe in and the essence of
this teaching which is our gathering here this week is the possibility of the
transformation of human consciousness your consciousness so to speak and since
all language his limited form is limited these words are also signposts of course
since all form is limited every word that I speak is also limited and isn't
quite it it's only one perspective on it and even if I say the transformation of
human consciousness it's not quite true no single statement that anybody makes
is can contain the truth it is a perspective on it this is good to know
once you know that so that you do not grasp one statement one perspective
identify with one perspective and saying this is the truth
the transformation of human consciousness yes this is one
perspective on it but it implies then that something in you needs to change
become transformed before this new state arises something in you needs fixing
it implies that but that's not true transformation of consciousness also
implies that you need time for this change to happen but that is not the
case
so what is the essence end of that transformation of consciousness that
doesn't need time is that possible
and here we come to the essence and the only reason why we are here is to know
that state of consciousness for ourselves not as something that needs to
be achieved in the future but as something that is already in you now now
how do you know that beyond making it into another belief because you could
adopt that belief when you hear certain teachings they tell you you're already
enlightened and that could be a very satisfying belief to add to the content
of your mind and then for a while you could convince yourself that this is
true the teacher told me that nothing needs to change
I'm already enlightened for a while that adds a little bit to the mind made
identity the mind made sense of self and you feel great you finally made it the
mind made sense of self always seeks to improve itself to add something to
complete itself to enhance its sense of self and if you can catch a belief a big
powerful belief that somebody gives you and you can then add it to the
accumulated content of your mind with which you identify as yourself then that
for a while is very satisfying you've become big in that the self has
grown to an enlightened me the enlightened one but it's only satisfying
for a while and then life will show you that that wasn't it and maybe that was
your not quite enlightened yet and then there's looking for the next thing to
identify with experience you never believe more knowledge of real then you
look for the real spiritual attainment to add to me and so the striving away
from who you already are continuous the movement towards future continuous the
grasping the continuous reaching out and grasping to complete yourself
spiritually materially you've gone beyond that perhaps and now spiritually
relationships maybe you've gone beyond that self completion for looking for
that here comes the strange teaching that says you can never find that in the
future and yet don't believe me
if it is already the case if you are already free enlightened in your essence
then what is the difference between you and the spiritual master if there is
such a thing
well one could say the master knows this to be true and you don't know it to be
true yes but how do you know it to be true but how does that manifest and this
is very very simple it's not the case that the master knows more than you some
masters may do other masters may be very simple people little education you know
thousand times more than they do on the level of knowledge but they know the one
thing that matters and you know many things
so the answer is simple and I'll tell it to you now in case you want to believe
go home early because I don't want to build up this and say I'm going to tell
you the answer on day six the master is totally at one with this moment he or
she does not oppose internally this moment he offers he or she offers no
inner resistance to this moment to the isness of now to whatever arises now it
is not resisted internally and that is the end of all that is false in you the
entire egoic structure depends on your inner resistance to the suchness of this
moment it perpetuates itself the mind made sense of self perpetuates itself
basically through its resistance it is a state of resistance a state of
insufficiency a state of continuous wanting or fearing the mental projection
that you call future wanting and needing the future and something as something
that comes towards you to add to me to complete me and fearing that something
may arise in that mental projection that we call future that might diminish me
the two movements connected with future
the enhancement of one's sense of self no matter what form that may take that
is looked for in and through future that is what this this enormous mental pull
away from the aliveness and fullness of now into future because what is being
sought the seeking is to add more the future will complete you and this is
true up to a point you need future in your spiritual
practice I'm not completely saying this is all nonsense no you need spirits
before many people spiritual practice implies a progressive movement a
progressive movement towards the liberated state but a point comes in
your progressive movement when you suddenly realize the fallacy of time as
far as the one thing is concerned that truly matters in your life which is
knowing who you are beyond form finding yourself beyond mental constructs then
suddenly you realize the fallacy of future as far as your spiritual
liberation is concerned but before you could realize that you need it your
spiritual practices you need it's time you need it suffering you need it and
spiritual practice is not necessarily spiritual practice in the conventional
sense for people spiritual practice for many people means suffering there are
many people who have no spiritual teacher except suffering and suffering
is the greatest the greatest spiritual teacher so they need it that because
this there are two statements that are synonymous
when I say you do not need ultimately you do not need
time this is not true for everybody it is only true for that human being who
can listen to that now and realize the depths and the truths of it and we are
only here to explore the depths and the truths of that statement for the whole
week which is time we explore the timeless state of consciousness here
something in you doesn't even like what I'm saying perhaps in some of you
because you are still identified with time and the movement of time as the me
that seeks completion through it and if only that mean the little egoic self in
you listens to these words it won't like that because it's very existence is
bound up with time so it is quite possible that some of you may if you
haven't been here before may feel a strong impulse to leave and there's
nothing wrong with that it simply means there is not yet the
readiness to hear the simplicity of this truth and the depth of it that says you
don't need time and there is fear even to want to go more deeply into that
statement to see what that means there is fear who fears that the time bound
sense of self fears that statement and that's fine that means you do not need
more time is not true for you it means you need more time it's it's fine but
this also is connected to suffering it is a synonymous statement with you do
not need more time it is the statement you
do not need more suffering which is the ultimate teaching of the Buddha the end
of suffering you do not need more time implies you do not need more suffering
and again this is this may be true for you or it may not be true for you it is
not a statement that is true for everybody so whatever your spiritual
practice has been whether it's been through teachings or through suffering
or combination of both the question is whether there is an inner readiness to
hear these words and - if only obscurely sends the truth of these words not
understand if you start thinking about it you won't get very far you don't need
more time is true therefore is true and not true
and this is not satisfying to the mind I will often say things that are true and
not true that pointer may be true for you or it may not be true for you the
mind doesn't like that it says it is either true or untrue and in science
this is the case well has been until recently until they discover two
molecular physics in subatomic particles and see that they behave in such a way
that those statements don't apply there anymore either
so the question then do I need time do we need time for realization the answer
would be you need time until you realize that you do not need time anymore
so we all all we are doing this week is to go deeper into this statement this to
explore where this signpost which is these words to explore where this
signpost points you don't need more time I don't need more time to be Who I am to
be myself fully completely
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