The Difficulty

The most difficult thing on a journey toward realization and absolute freedom is seeing the self as it actually is. In point of fact we are so brainwashed by the external and internal forces of thought, as a rational model, that we are unable to see what we actually are. This is why awareness that is choiceless and timeless is so important. Till we realize a state that is without the defining nature of self as the one who knows, we will only conceptualize, rationalize and conclude. When we are without an interpretation and a conclusion then we may be able to find something out about ourselves that sees beyond our superficial image. When we see actually in the moment then that seeing becomes the freedom of the unknown. It is within the unknown that freedom manifest its self as the expression of "what is" actually in the moment. Then we are not judging ourselves or seeking answers, we are just seeing the total reality of the moment, which sees the truth of what we actually are. But we cannot see that truth if the mind is looking for a result through its defined limitations. This is very difficult because the mind is tricky, it is always looking for a way to inject its logic into the moment. The mind wants to escape into the darkness of its knowing. Knowing which is influenced by the formulations of minds accumulated knowledge.

This is why we do not "seek" change because whatever is sought is a projection of that image we have of ourselves as a product of the past. The repetition of what was as the illusion of what is. The illusion as what was, is a direct consequence of the fantasy of a mind that thinks in terms of experience (past) rather than experiencing (present). As we have said on many occasions, change is in the moment or not at all. The moment that is and which is experiencing the real. The future never changes anything it only avoids the moment, it is an extension of the past.

Most people do not really want change they only want justification. If you are angry or violent in the moment then you can see and stay with that anger if you are aware. It is a state of awareness that is not looking to change or justify, but simply to observe how that it formed out of the self as an extension of one's conceptual ideals. Then you may realize that any formulation that is an extension of a persons "beliefs" has and actually is the basis for all anger and violence. This is why freedom from the known is so important. So that you can see that you are the cause of it and that only you can change it. It is not found in some hocus pocus religious ceremony or your hopeless attachment to an astrological constant. To be aware in the moment is to be free of all fear and to find love which is the immutable truth.

Birth, Rebirth and Beyond

We had gathered together to celebrate several friends birthdays. It was a happy occasion because all the honored guest had been born in the same month and all were long time friends.
The old age jokes were circulating the room and everyone was in a very jovial mood. "G" approached, he wanted to discuss the Buddhist "idea" of birth and rebirth. He had listened to this writer speak several months ago on the subject. "G" asked, "L" I don't remember exactly what it was that you said at the time but it really hit me". "I just remember that you shocked a lot of would be "Buddhist" by saying that there is no such thing as reincarnation". I replied, Well it is such a silly thing, to be able to look forward to another life where you might be something that you are not today.

As has been said on many occasions there is only the moment, it is the eternal. All else is just the minds escape into illusion. A person needs to be reborn in each a every moment. That means that we leave it all behind from moment to moment. Nothing is carried forward. I know that this seems impossible to do and why would anyone want to be "empty" from moment to moment? But you have to get past logical inference, which is the application of the known, in order to understand the significance of a mind that is a rebirth. It is the birth of a mind that is not tethered to the old. Such a mind has original insight into something totally new and without any similarity to "what was". Actually we should remove the "re" from rebirth, because it implies a measure of continuity. To continue actually means to end. What we are referring to has no beginning and no end. It is the absolute moment of total realization, within which the self ceases to be an entity of separation and division. We are not being reborn we are realizing the true self, which is beyond life and death as a concept of defined division. If there is no death, how can there be reincarnation? Because we exist as the defined there is an end. But if we live as the undefined then there is no end. As the undefined we live only in the moment, because that's where the truth lies. The truth does not exist in our conceptual fantasy's, in our self created and self centered ideals.

"G" said "Whoa, L"! "that's it I remember now it has hit me again, what you said about living in the moment as the undefined". "I think I understand a little better now that I have listened to you again". "But I am having a problem seeing how that you can live and work if you are always in the moment?" Of course you have to use the known in order to function in society, but what is important is that you see and understand the limitations of a defined existence and what it does to you psychologically. As a defined entity you lose the ability to be truly creative. You become an automaton that is controlled by the logic of the known. When you live as the undefined then your true natural creativeness flows because you are not hindered by an assumed intelligence that is without originality.

So, one needs to be acutely aware of the process by which one thinks. How thought is formulated and why it is that there must always be a predictable result. Because we are defined we desire. And what we desire is a continuity of the past, because we are constantly in fear. Fear of an end to our defined existence.

Time and Violence

The ending of psychological time is the ending of all violence. We normally think of violence in terms of the external. We may be pious in one form or another, touting the evils of killing animals. We may be "for" the rights of animals or the rights of people's who are unable to defend themselves. We categorize violence in our minds and create types of violence, some acceptable and some unacceptable depending on the organization that we believe in and its agenda. But all this is very superficial. Its superficiality is evident in our own violence towards what we believe to be violence. So how can we see and understand the whole field of violence, not just the minds defined concept of violence? And what is the origin of this violence? A person must see and understand that our existence is riff with the idea that to prevent violence one must be prepared to use violence. We think from a position which is the outcome of time, whether it be political, religious, or social. And that thinking is the birthplace of all violence. If we are in the moment is there time? It takes psychological time to formulate an agenda, a belief in the past as the real and therefore the projected illusion. We act out of the past, toward a conceptually perceived evil. We do not look at the moment with a fresh mind, instead it is with a mind that has been tainted by our silly superstitions and fears. So we are controlled by our position and its corresponding opposition through the ideal of time. Time, that which creates the gap between the illusion of knowing and the reality of the moment, and gives rise to misunderstanding, fear and ultimately violence.

So how does a person live a truly non-violent existence? He realizes, that organization of any kind has as its basis for existence, the element of time, which has as its by-product a belief, agenda or position. The primary objective of such an entity is the preservation of its organization and its principles though whatever means are deemed necessary. Those means are always to the detriment of its perceived opposition. Violence to prevent violence. It feeds on itself in a never ending self-destructive manner that cannot be fully realized and understood until a person is free of its self generating duality. One must understand in the moment the nature of the self that thinks it knows and creates the illusion of right and wrong, good and bad, evil and righteous.

In the moment there is wisdom and understanding that transcends time and with that the dissipation of the conceptual ideal of violence as a means to peace and freedom. Peace and freedom spring from the unknown, in a moment of clarity that negates organizational belief and superstition.

The Center of all Conflict

Why are you waiting for someone to solve the problem? Someone to give you direction. Some new personality, savior or guru to lead you to the "promise". While you are waiting and seeking, the house is burning down! Why be so indolent and conceited? Take the initiative to look within. Look at the self that is this bundle of superstition, a platitudinous second hand person that is full of the non-sensical ideas of others. Be a Buddha, not the ideal of Buddhism. Instead of reading or listening to so called experts, find the real within. Let all the crap go so that you can realize something original, without the tainted smell of some one's egotism. When you negate all that stuff, all that you have been taught and accumulated then you are left with the solitary self. Left alone (aloneness) to realize the creator of all conflict. But you cannot comprehend the enormity of this until you have seen the real, the unadulterated and untouched reality of the moment. Then it is possible for you to transcend all duality, the separation of the me and the not me. It is the psychological integration of the many into the one. Now for the first time you may be able to accept total responsibility for your creation, the conflict that is the self that knows. And within that acceptance is freedom that is not an acquisition, but is rather a part of the psyche of oneness which has always been but not fully realized.

You cannot end conflict without realizing the subtlety of its source and center. The mind is trapped in a kind of self generating idealism which limits our ability to see the truth of the moment. We are a prisoner of our tendency to be brainwashed by those that are attempting to influence us through organization and ultimately fear. Freedom from fear begins when we realize that we are totally responsible for our own fear, for it is our creation. To end conflict one must realize its source, the self that knows and is seeking to promulgate the known. When a person is aware in the moment of the minds movement, then one can see how conflict arises out of fear and the desire for security. It is only then that their is a dissipation of conflict. It is action of the moment which occurs without intention.