Too simple

As long as there is someone to do it, there is something to be done.
When there is no one to do it, something gets done.

Sanctuary

'As soon as you become an empty room, you are a sanctuary.'

Francis Lucille

Effortless

'It is truth that frees, not your effort to be free.'

J Krishnamurti

Rudra knows nothing

Rudra knows nothing of liberation or enlightenment. If anything he stands in their light.
He never did or ever can 'achieve' such a so-called state. The best he can do , as long as there is no purpose to it, is to pack his bags.

Look no hands!

There is no comfort to be found for the individual, as the individual gets in the light of expansiveness. There is nothing you can ever get about liberation because it entails the death of you. It is subtraction rather than addition.

There are no degress of emptiness.

The nature of mind is to acquire, to have and to hold. How dear it is to us to accumulate or 'own' understanding. The egocentric nature finds identity in its armory of knowledge.

No one can do it for you.

The last words of Gautama Buddha, as fresh now as when they were uttered 2,555 years ago:

"Behold, O monks, this is my last advice to you. All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation."

Trading Places

Would I trade my adherence to my story, the story of my life so far with its preferences, opinions and experiences, for Serenity (for want of a better word)? That seems to Rudra to be the burning question. Equally, can I drop my belief in other's stories too. By adherence and belief I mean the deadly serious identification we have with our histories. In extremes we actually kill each other over these identifications.

You might say 'what is left?' There is no answer to that question as it cannot be answered on the level of thought. Scrabbling for words one can come up with transparency, hollowness and the attendant freedom these bring but words stop there.

All is not lost, surprisingly, because the stories remain. My history is as it was; my preferences and tendencies remain too, not mention the emotions.

A subtle shift away from the seriousness of 'me' leads to clarity and immense compassion. To see this in action is a wonder indeed.

Feather the nest?

"....to be secure is to be insensitive. The desire to be secure creates fear.." Jiddhu Krishnamurti

The oasis within has no colour shape or fixture , it is so small that it fits into all space, includes all scenarios. Transparent and hollow it is very wonderful. Like quicksilver it cannot be grasped

The poor concocted self

That familiar creature, ever wriggling, wastes(?) so much time looking for strategies to achieve the 'shining peace' that lies beneath its nose. It fights and blames itself (and herein lies the mistaken identity), ever convinced that the next moment will bring something this one lacks. In fact dis-ease so well defines the state. Those old rascals (Ramana Maharshi and Zen master Bankei) undermine this turbulence well in a few well-aimed words:

"Be as you are".
"Abide in the Unborn".

If elephants could fly

It struck Rudra from an early age that if Buddha, Jesus and the myriad of 'enlightened beings' were able to achieve that understanding why not him and all his friends down the gym. The extraordinary notion that there are these exceptional beings , who forever live on pedestals*, is a powerful barrier to ever 'finding ' Liberation. In fact it becomes an excuse. On this subject one need only refer to Farid Ud-Din Attar's 12th century classic book of excuses 'The Conference of the Birds'.

You; right here right now.

Of course, to be more accurate, 'not you'.

* We call them the Pedestal Boys

King for a day

Self improvement; what a notion. The Self needs no improvement.

Self discovery; what a notion. It was never lost.

Donkeys?

Me, us, them: the poison of mankind.

The One (one stone)

"...for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."

Albert Einstein

Ever Present

What put it together will take it apart.

In a state of flush

"Everything will change of it's own accord. Nothing is constant, everything is in a state of flux"

Judith Glover. (In a zen garden)

There is a secret in the universe.
There are no problems!

Sampava

Oh Jean

"The idea of being the doer of your actions is the one and only pitfall preventing you from really living". Jean Klein

Hot Air

Jean Klein once said: " the mind is a cage, but there is no prisoner inside"

Identitkit

Know who you are not.

Q.E.D

"When you've lost all fear for existence, love automatically takes over". Robert Adams

A Challenge

"Your challenge is to be the sanity in a mad world". Eckhart Tolle

Nothing past your nose

Do nothing past your nose. Your body is going to do whatever it has to do, but you are not your body. Robert Adams

Beyond Simple

"The mind doesn't like anything too simple". Ramesh Balsekar

Belief divides.

I am a Buddhist, a yellow hat Tibetan Buddhist actually. Interesting, I am a Zen Buddhist so we will have to agree to differ so take that, that and that (the sound of one hand clapping). Now do you see the Truth? I am a Christian, a Protestant actually, and we believe in the same risen Christ as you Catholics but we don't go in for Marian worship and all that idolatary. We consider The Bible to be the word of God. But we are ecumenical. I am a Muslim, Allah is Great and Mohammed is His one true prophet. That's interesting, I am an aetheist and I think your ideas are an aberration and a disgrace to common sense and sanity. Ans so on.....

The most dangerous idea in the above absurdities is the idea 'I am a ....' The identification with body, personality, occupation, belief, religion, country and ethnic group, apart from being an ultimately false one, leads to the most extraordinary amount of mental and physical conflict.

When you take your last breath which of these identifications will be of any use? Could you close your eyes and take your last breath now and see what you need in that moment? More to the point who is it who is doing the breathing? Who is it who crashes the breakers against the rocks and claps the thunder. Who circulates 'your' blood'. Who waters 'your' eyes?

Holy Communion

When awake, that is when not living in thought, every breath is Holy Communion.

When living in thought every breath is Holy Communion but not experienced as such.

The idea the I can connect to a Higher Power through some conscious effort or practice suggests that the two are seperate. Yet that sense of seperation is what causes the desire to be other than what I am*. If there is any practice it might be more in the line of seeing what is false; subtraction rather than addition.

When free of any yearning to be 'other' any practice might happen all the same; it can equally well be attendance at Mass, Mosque or brothel. What is appropriate will happen.

* 'What I am is' the portal to the understanding of unity. Am I really Laura Fuga, Agostini Bianchetti, L.Zafalon or Roberto Zafalon?

The Great Game

The great game is watching from moment to moment as people, places, thoughts, emotions and physical sensations pass through. Taking heed of all and letting all pass without signing the delivery chit and adding to the load of identity. Sometimes these entities are adhesive and stay awhile sometimes they pass like greased lightning but always allowing the feeling of aliveness to quietly glow. The current ploy is to allow all, including the stickiness and so-called negative qualities. The portal is open.

So little to do and yet the discoursive mind is so fond of searching. As Sailor Bob often says "It can't be solved by the mind". Or as Einstein pointed out 'a problem can't be solved on the same level it was created on '.

The Wandering Mind

Rudra asked his friend Alex "where does your mind go when it wanders?". Quick as a flash Alex-san replied "to places where it shouldn't."

A hint of a tint

There's a hint of blue in the grey sky today. Rudra says 'there's a hint of the unmanifest in the tint of the manifest'.

The Great Diogenes

"Why is it, Diogenes, that pupils leave you to go to other teachers, but rarely do they leave them to come to you?"

"Because," replied Diogenes, "one can make eunuchs out of men, but no one can make a man out of eunuchs".

A passenger above his station

The ever discoursive mind wants to take the pilot's seat, or more subtly the chief steward. He is even happy to be the air traffic controller. Whatever his role he wants to be involved, not least a commentator. Let's face it he is definately on the trip but what a blessed relief it is to allow him to be a humble passenger. What a relief it is to see that he has nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the flight.

Self Discovery My Foot

Rudra has burnt all his self discovery books and prefers to sit down to a feed of crisps and ginger ale. He finds nourishment in the most unlikely places. Long ago, almost his first step in fact, he threw out all belief, philosophy and ideas of spirit. A wicked leer spreads across his face when Masters and Gurus are mentioned. I wouldn't want to be one of those old frauds when he is around.

The Undivided

"What a wonderful day

No-one in the village doing anything"

Shiki

(Masaoka Shiki (正岡子規, Masaoka Shiki?)

Eckhart Tolle

Rudra is clapping with glee at this exposition by Eckhart Tolle.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPg9DnMP2D4&feature=related

Candy on the non-duality cake

Rudra's friend brings you some candy on the cake from Eckhart Tolle in this short video snippet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAulJ38CjfU&feature=related

The delicious freedom of the (fully) driverless car

Rudra's favourite airport, and remember he considers airports to be the Western equivalents of Zen temples, is Stanstead. There you are delivered to your plane in a driverless train.


See Dave's comments below. He refers to one such train at a Malaysian Airport:

"The train, is fully driverless and automated. One example, when the train reaches platform, the exit doors will open first for passengers to disembark and only in a short while, the entrance door at the other side will be open (so called Spanish solution)."

Having just returned from the South of Spain I see how apt this description is. There appeared to be many driverless cars in that region.

4 stages of self.

Rudra postulates the four stages of self:

1. Owner occupier

2. Tenant

3. Squatter

4. Ghost

From a Scottish correspondent

'Rudra comes from a long line of Catholic Priests'.

What will you be today?

"Be an irrepressible fountain of happiness."

Robert Adams

Robert Adams

More wisdom from Robert Adams:

There are no problems. There is nothing wrong. Everything is unfolding as it should. Everything happens in its own time. Space and time are illusions. They really do not exist. They're stationary. Causation doesn't exist either. No thing has a cause, therefore no thing has an effect. Cause and effects are again products of your own mind. When the mind is quiet, karma ceases. Samscaras are non-existent. There never was a cause for anything. But if you feel that in a previous life you did something wrong and now you are paying the price, or if you think that you did something wrong in this life and you’re paying the price, then you'll pay the price, because that's what you think.

And Again:

What are you doing with your life? How do you spend your days? The appearance is that your body is getting older and older, and if you're still judging by appearances you try to look younger and younger by putting creams on your face, by exercising day and night, by buying the finest clothes. It's like beating a dead horse. The so called body is not meant to last. As soon as you were born you began to die. Therefore find out. Who is born? Who dies? Who has experiences? Who is going through this entire mess? Who needs it? Who wants it? Wake up!

Cosmic Joke How are you?

The beginning of wisdom is understanding that there is no wisdom. There is no body to have wisdom. The more you try to analyze things, the more you use your brain to function on this plane of existence, the more you put into Maya, into nothing, into illusion, the more that effort is inevitably doomed to failure. All your dreams and aspirations come to nothing. There is nothing you have to become or be.

Think of all the people looking for liberation, for enlightenment. Who wants to be liberated? The ego. There is no ego. (Laughter) There is no one to be liberated. Yet you continue to believe you exist.

From 'the Cosmic Joke' satsang of the late Robert Adams

More from Robert:

Now, let's talk about you. Think of the problems you believe you have. Think of the nonsense that you go on with everyday. Think how furious you become, how you always want to stick up for your rights, as if you had any. The problem is you think. If you would only stop thinking. You say, "How can I function if I stop thinking?" Very well, thank you! As a matter of fact you would function much better than you do now, for you will always be taken care of. The universe loves you. It will always supply you with your needs. Forget about other people, what they do, what they don't do. Do not listen to malicious gossip. Be yourself. Understand who you really are. You are the absolute reality, unconditioned consciousness. Work from that standpoint. Do not work from your problems. Do not get lost in meaningless gossip. Understand your true reality. Be yourself.

And again:

Where are you? You are consciousness. This is your true nature. Learn to love everything. Learn to see only the good. Realize there's a reason for everything. If a person displeases you, simply look the other way and forget it. Learn to stop your mind from thinking. And you do this by immediately catching yourself when you react to a condition, and inquiring within yourself, "Who is becoming angry? Who feels out of sorts? I do? I." Realize you're dealing with the personal I, and all the anger, all the frustration, all the karma, all the samscaras are all attached to that personal I. Consequently, when you get rid of the personal I, everything else will go with it. So don't try to solve your problems. Do not try to become a better person. Do not try to run away from your life. Simply see who it is who is running, who it is who needs to be a better person? Who has all these problems? I, I, always I. Hold onto that I with all of your might, but do not concentrate on the I. You concentrate on the source which is consciousness, God.

No Mistakes.

'The idea of a mistake is beside the point, for once anything happens, it authentically is.'

John Cage

Church Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster

Rudra has just been inducted into membership of the FSM Church.

Learn more about his conversion at:

http://www.venganza.org/

Spread the Word
Pastafarians believe above all else that it is our duty to enlighten others to our beliefs. This section is dedicated to those that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to spread the word.

Nobody home.

LaoTse said, "Everyone else has an aim and purpose in life, but I alone am confused and wander aimlessly like a child with no home".

"I do not know bad people, I only know myself. I see no saints nor sinners, only living beings."

Nisargadatta Maharaj.

The impudent / prudent question.

Just who do you think you are?

Breakthrough at Dzogchen Beara

The Truth has dawned up at our local Buddhist Centre and accordingly was posted on their front door.

How could Loving Kindness be 'practised' when it must arise of and by itself?

More to the point 'who' practises it. This illusory 'who' is seen to be the obstacle.

I hunt him here I hunt him there.

"The so called self-realization is the discovery for yourself and by yourself that there is no self to discover". U.G. Krishnamurti

Two without a Third

The ever attentive Rudra has been assessing recent input whilst attending to social engagements. He was there to watch the Irish President Mary Mac Aleese open The Spiritual Care Centre at Tibetan Retreat Centre in Garranes Co Cork. He awoke laughing at the idea of a Spiritual Care centre. "How to care for a thing that doesn't exist?" says he. Despite this oddity a warm day was enjoyed by all, cultists and non-believers alike. You can't beat the uncontaminated human prescence despite the contamination of rigid thought or religion (variously described by two Indian sages as 'heaps of verbiage' and ' the frozen thoughts of man').

Rudra has been dabling in the fields of Advaita, ('one without a second' ), and notes two characteristics:

1. A shining transparency and lightness of being.

2. The inevitable humourlessness of many proponents. Where O where has he seen this before?

He now launches a new approach: 'Two without a third' or as pronounced in Dublin 'Two without a turd'.

Bibliography to follow.

Action before thought.

An Israeli wildlife guide has overpowered an ageing leopard that jumped into his bed during the night.

Mr Du Mosch had no time to think before grabbing the wild creature.
Clad only in his night clothes, Arthur Du Mosch lunged at the big cat and grabbed its neck, pinning it down for 20 minutes until help arrived.
"This kind of thing doesn't happen every day," the 49-year-old said. "I wasn't thinking, I just acted."

Letters from India

Our very own Rudranee is in Delhi this moment taking some seasonal enemas and observing the vast throngs of humanity. She sends this pithy insight:

"Rudrinee was walking in the park this morning and got some pure consciousness stuck on the bottom of her shoe " Holy Cow!" she muttered....Oh well shit happens... "

From another Indian commentator:

"If we are really earnest and open with quest, insights and opening ups can happen even at the feet of a donkey."