Only One Enlightenment, July 26 – 28, 2019

Only One Enlightenment
Weekend Retreat with Michael Mendizza
July 26 – 28, 2019 at KECC

Michael Mendizza is a filmmaker and author now living in Ojai, California, who has been very interested in education and child rearing. He has also been a long-time student of the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and has produced a variety of films about him and his understandings of the human mind. He has recently written a book exploring the similarities and differences between the core teachings of the Buddha and those of Krishnamurti. The book, entitled Always Awakening, features discussions between Michael and Samdong Rinpoche, a close associate of the Dalai Lama.
Michael was invited to present a weekend retreat at the Krishnamurti Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. Sixteen people plus facilitators were in attendance as Michael opened on Friday evening with a brief introduction to his background and his intentions for the weekend. He then invited all participants to share what had attracted them to Krishnamurti and what it is they are looking for in joining an exploration such as this. Many spoke of the relevance of K’s teachings to their own life experience, including fears and conflicts. Michael gave feedback and comments as appropriate. The evening ended with a video of K. speaking at Ojai in 1970 and investigating two different ways of perceiving – with and without an “observer”. We watched the video again the next morning and entered a rich discussion of what K was pointing to.
The rest of the weekend was spent in a deepening exploration of the ways in which psychological thought distorts our perception of reality and pretends to have solutions to problems that it itself has created. Videos of K with David Bohm and of interviews with people who knew Krishnamurti were included as we looked at issues such as image-making in relationship, division and conflict, the illusion of a separate self, and the possibility (and difficulty) of transforming our consciousness and finding freedom from conditioning or “the known”. Woven in with our inquiry into fundamental issues in self-discovery was material about the life of Krishnamurti and the qualities of his consciousness, which may be relevant in the attempt to understand his message. How was it that a
silent mind was K’s default mode, whereas for us a noisy mind is our ordinary state? Michael explained that, from his point of view, a shift in state of mind is central to what K is pointing us to. Michael explained some of the basic practices of Tibetan Buddhism and how they might relate to what K spoke of his whole life.
Many more questions were touched on over the weekend. The website alwaysawakening.com is a source of further information for further probing into the material of Michael’s book and the many interesting insights offered along the way. We very much appreciated Michael’s offerings and hope to see more of him in the future.