Recently I had the pleasure of attending a retreat at the Krishnamurti Centre in Metchosin, British Columbia. The centre itself is located on a majestic estate which was a Krishnamurti school from 1977 to 1981, and is currently being used for a variety of spiritual retreats and gatherings. It was certainly refreshing to relax in such a beautiful setting, the property itself flowing down to the ocean and surrounded by the serenity and majesty of the Canadian west coast, but the content of the retreat itself was especially refreshing. In fact, while the word “enlightened” gets thrown around quite a bit these days, I can say with sincerity that I left the retreat a great deal more enlightened than when I had arrived two days earlier. I’ve struggled since I was young with issues surrounding identity and purpose. This is something most people wrestle with at different times in their lives, and to varying degrees, but it was something that I could never reconcile enough to actually feel grounded in my own being. My father introduced me to Buddhism and mysticism when I was a teenager, and I’ve been exploring different philosophies and spiritual practises since then. Beneath that exploration though- and something that was far more pervasive than the outward seeking- was a constant underlying questioning that had permeated every corner of my psyche. “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?” and “What’s the point of all this?” were questions that were really tearing me apart inside. There’s nothing wrong with these questions in and of themselves, but if our sense of self is contingent on finding reasonable answers, than such questioning can easily become a slippery path to confusion, despair and existential crisis. It was a combination of questioning and crisis that led me to pick up Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now last year. For the first time in my life I was reading something that was actually affecting a very real change in the way I related to my thoughts and the world around me, but it only took me so far at the time. While The Power of Now remains my favourite “spiritual” book to date, it ignited a process in my psyche but I would require further wisdom to help me take the next step. This year I started listening to Alan Watts lectures, which ultimately led me to the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti. I was quite surprised when my mother informed me that she had seen an advertisement for a Krishnamurti Centre right outside of Victoria, the city I’m grateful to call home. The retreat itself was based on Krishnamurti’s teachings, and it was entitled The Nature of Relationship. It was led by Dr. Harshad Parekh, who was formerly a teacher at a number of Krishnamurti Schools in India, and someone whose life has been deeply impacted by Krishnamurti’s teachings. Dr. Parekh shared an excellent selection of videos and excerpts from books, elaborating and answering questions in ways that helped to clarify the teachings, which can sometimes seem quite esoteric. Ralph Tiller, who hosted the retreat, also provided valuable insight and helped to engage the conversation in meaningful ways. The nature of relationship is truly at the core of Krishnamurti’s teachings, and so this retreat was not merely about “relationship” as many might presume. When most of us think of relationship, we tend to default to the realm of interpersonal relationships, such as those we have with our friends, family and coworkers. But the relationship Krishnamurti refers to is much more all-encompassing than that. In fact, he is referring to something that encompasses the totality of our experience. We relate to the world by attaching meaning to our experiences, and by mentally labelling objects within the field of those experiences. In other words, we relate to the world through our thoughts. While thinking certainly serves its purposes, Krishnamurti asserts that our thinking has become a terrible barrier where our relationship to reality is concerned. Our thoughts are based on our past experiences, and in relating to the present by way of our thoughts we are relating to reality as a construct of the past, reducing it into a series of “likes and dislikes”. Instead of experiencing and engaging in life in a natural and dynamic way, our relationship to our experience is based purely on the images we have formed about ourselves, each other and the world. Krishnamurti explains how this incongruent relationship is at the root of suffering, at the heart of the conflict and dysfunction that has troubled humankind since time immemorial. He explains that society is simply an extension of the individual, and that as long as individuals continue to perceive reality by way of the past, then their actions will be out of step with reality and society will continue to be a destructive affair. This deep conflict manifests at every level of society, in such sad and tragic affairs as broken marriages, suicide, and war. One of Krishnamurti’s most powerful and challenging assertions is that to correct these problems is not simply a matter of correcting negative or hateful thinking, but that the entirety of our normal process of thinking is at the root of all this suffering. And because the very basis for the way we think and relate is a product of social and cultural conditioning, the process of freeing ourselves from that conditioning is not a matter of using thought, because that simply limits the outcome to the realm of that conditioning and always essentially leads us right back to where we started. For that reason, the process of undoing this conditioning cannot directly involve any teaching, system, or tradition. The path to freedom is pathless, as Krishnamurti says, and involves embracing what he calls choiceless awareness. This is a state of consciousness that is free from judgement and condemnation, of likes and dislikes, and one that is not constantly defining experience- because every act of such definition is a distortion of the present into a construct of the past. Now this may all seem like intellectual abstraction that has very little value in terms of real world application, but I believe that it is actually a deep understanding of human psychology and the roots of personal and social conflict. I’m just becoming acquainted with Krishnamurti, and even if my knowledge were greater, I certainly couldn’t explain the intricacies or implications of his teachings in such a space. Personally though, I have already started integrating his teachings into my awareness, and I can attest that they are indeed very powerful. I’ve become aware of how I’m constantly defining elements of my experience and how that causes a great deal of inner conflict for me. Practising “just watching” (as Dr. Parekh often says) as a means of nurturing choiceless awareness, I find my awareness is increasingly stepping in when I would otherwise be caught up in thinking, and that interruption can lead me to a place of true mental stillness. It’s a huge relief from the incessant mind that has been burdening me for so long. Eckhart Tolle and Alan Watts paved the way for my understanding of Krishnamurti’s teachings, and my retreat at the Krishnamurti Centre seems to have ignited an ongoing process that continues to unfold on a daily basis. Just as I could only explain so much about Krishnamurti’s teachings, I have only explained just a bit about how these teachings are playing out in my daily life. I’m treating this as an ongoing experiment. As for my big questions about life, thanks in large part to Tolle, Watts, and Krishnamurti, I’m developing an understanding of “self”, “other” and “society” that is helping me make sense of many things. I’m seeing more clearly just who I really am (by a process of understanding who I “really am not”), and also coming to understand some of the major underlying reasons for the suffering and chaos that have been humanity’s close companions for such a terribly long time. Once we begin to shed those layers of self that are merely conceptual, it might seem like there is a great emptiness at the heart of all this, and at the core of our very being. In a sense, I think that’s correct. But I don’t believe this is a cold emptiness- quite the opposite in fact. I believe it’s something divine, and as we let go of the concepts that rule our perception, there is a real opportunity to enjoy a relationship with this underlying stillness that can enrich our lives in ways most of us can barely imagine, deepening our relationships and helping us to live our lives in ways that are truly serving both ourselves and others. This is a new path- a path to real freedom.
The Art of Looking
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauRecently we had a dialogue at this centre from 2 pm to 4pm. There were 8 of us. We read 2 or 3 pages from Freedom From The Known. It was about the art of looking and listening. How do we look at objects, nature and people around us? Is there clarity, freshness and beauty in our way of looking? Or is it a dull, old habitual way of looking with unconscious thinking? When we were young, before going to schools, we looked at everything with a fresh and curious mind. There were clarity, freshness and beauty in our way of looking. We were fascinated to look at flowers, birds, moon, people, colors and shapes. There was not much knowledge about these things within us. After we went to school, we were encouraged to remember the names of birds, flowers and other objects around us. We were enthusiastic in gathering knowledge about our environment. Learning was fun up to the end of 7th std. There were no examinations at the end of academic year to test our knowledge. When we came to senior school in Std.8, we had to learn too many subjects. Slowly learning became a burden. We had to memorize too many things in order to pass examinations. We developed fear and other psychological problems like competition, ambition, shyness and guilt about the nature of sexual feelings and insensitivity to nature. Our mind was occupied with too many thoughts and problems. Now trees, flowers, birds, colors, shapes did not look strange and beautiful. We looked at all these things with the words and knowledge we had learned. We became intellectual as we grew older. We learned how to solve mathematical problems and apply our knowledge to solve problems in science. We learned how to analyze social, political, economical problems. We became clever in expressing ourselves through words and ideas. But in this process, we paid a heavy price. We lost the ability to look at things, people and nature with the sense of wonder and freshness, the way we looked before we went to school. Is it possible to get back the way of looking at everything with freshness and beauty, without knowledge and images? Is it possible to have a silent and awake mind which can look at all things with innocence, beauty and love? It is possible but for that one must have a passion to look within, to see how thoughts arise and how they move from one thing to another. One can observe in relationship how thoughts create all kind of psychological problems. Without turning our attention within, it is not possible to be free, happy, peaceful and to feel love and beauty. Without this freedom, life can become mechanical and meaningless even if one has money, power and fame in society.
Commentaries on Living
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauThe books which have attracted and affected my life most are J. Krishnamurti’s COMMENTARIES ON LIVING. These Commentaries were published in three volumes from the notebooks of Krishnamurti. The first volume was published in 1956, the second in 1958 and the third in 1960. These Commentaries contain beautiful descriptions of nature and dialogues with people of various backgrounds about the problems of living. It seems that Krishnamurti wrote these notebooks spontaneously from his memory immediately after his walks in nature and dialogues with people. The commentaries contain the poetic and spiritual insight into the nature of our mind and all our psychological problems like fear, anger, jealousy, loneliness and also about love, meditation, beauty etc..Anne Morrow Lindbergh said about these Commentaries –“ The sheer simplicity is breathtaking. The reader is given in one paragraph, often in one sentence, enough to keep him exploring, questioning, thinking for days..” It seems that Krishnamurti could see everything (including thoughts and feelings) directly with a silent clear awareness and he had the ability to describe beautifully and clearly in words what he saw. He must have felt deeply the sorrow of human beings within himself. In all his dialogues he takes people to the source from where problems arise. One article from the Commentaries which kept me looking at myself for years is-Love In Relationship- from Volume 1. Here Krishnamurti writes –“ How easy it is to destroy the thing we love! How quickly a barrier comes between us, a word, a gesture, a smile! Health, mood and desire cast a shadow and what was bright becomes dull and burdensome. Through usage we wear ourselves out, and that which was sharp and clear becomes wearisome and confused. Through constant friction, hope and frustration, that which was beautiful and simple becomes fearful and expectant. Relationship is complex and difficult and few can come out of it unscathed. Though we would like it to be static, enduring, continuous, relationship is a movement, a process which must be deeply and fully understood and not made to conform to an inner or outer pattern. Conformity, which is the social structure, loses its weight and authority only when there is love. Love in relationship is a purifying process as it reveals the ways of the self. Without this revelation, relationship has little significance.” We can see clearly that relationships which are full of deep feelings cause conflicts in the form of jealousy, fear, loneliness, anger etc. Love is very rare in which there are peace, happiness, wisdom and clarity. What we call love is mostly attachment which leads to conflicts in relationship. Such relationship is based on deriving pleasure, security, comfort. We like to possess and control people in such relationship. There is no freedom and there is suffering which can lead to loneliness, depression, divorce and in some extreme cases murder and suicide. Krishnamurti writes-“ Our difficulty lies in what we call love, which is really of the mind. We fill our hearts with the things of the mind and so keep our hearts ever empty and expectant. It is the mind that clings, that is envious, that holds and destroys. Our life is dominated by the physical centres and the mind. We do not love and let it alone, but crave to be loved; we give in order to receive, which is the generosity of the mind and not of the heart. The mind is ever seeking certainty, security; and can love be made certain by the mind? Can the mind, whose very essence is of time, catch love, which is its own eternity?” Krishnamurti writes with great clarity and beauty about the conflict which goes on within a human being in deep emotional relationship. The conflict can end only when a person is able to watch clearly his own thoughts and feelings from a source higher than the thinking mind. From this source, one feels that one is not separate from the world. This feeling of integration is not brought about by the mind. It comes only when the mind is silent and awake.
A New Path: Reflecting after Dr. Harshad Parekh’s Retreat on the Nature of Relationship
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauRecently I had the pleasure of attending a retreat at the Krishnamurti Centre in Metchosin, British Columbia. The centre itself is located on a majestic estate which was a Krishnamurti school from 1977 to 1981, and is currently being used for a variety of spiritual retreats and gatherings. It was certainly refreshing to relax in such a beautiful setting, the property itself flowing down to the ocean and surrounded by the serenity and majesty of the Canadian west coast, but the content of the retreat itself was especially refreshing. In fact, while the word “enlightened” gets thrown around quite a bit these days, I can say with sincerity that I left the retreat a great deal more enlightened than when I had arrived two days earlier. I’ve struggled since I was young with issues surrounding identity and purpose. This is something most people wrestle with at different times in their lives, and to varying degrees, but it was something that I could never reconcile enough to actually feel grounded in my own being. My father introduced me to Buddhism and mysticism when I was a teenager, and I’ve been exploring different philosophies and spiritual practises since then. Beneath that exploration though- and something that was far more pervasive than the outward seeking- was a constant underlying questioning that had permeated every corner of my psyche. “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?” and “What’s the point of all this?” were questions that were really tearing me apart inside. There’s nothing wrong with these questions in and of themselves, but if our sense of self is contingent on finding reasonable answers, than such questioning can easily become a slippery path to confusion, despair and existential crisis. It was a combination of questioning and crisis that led me to pick up Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now last year. For the first time in my life I was reading something that was actually affecting a very real change in the way I related to my thoughts and the world around me, but it only took me so far at the time. While The Power of Now remains my favourite “spiritual” book to date, it ignited a process in my psyche but I would require further wisdom to help me take the next step. This year I started listening to Alan Watts lectures, which ultimately led me to the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti. I was quite surprised when my mother informed me that she had seen an advertisement for a Krishnamurti Centre right outside of Victoria, the city I’m grateful to call home. The retreat itself was based on Krishnamurti’s teachings, and it was entitled The Nature of Relationship. It was led by Dr. Harshad Parekh, who was formerly a teacher at a number of Krishnamurti Schools in India, and someone whose life has been deeply impacted by Krishnamurti’s teachings. Dr. Parekh shared an excellent selection of videos and excerpts from books, elaborating and answering questions in ways that helped to clarify the teachings, which can sometimes seem quite esoteric. Ralph Tiller, who hosted the retreat, also provided valuable insight and helped to engage the conversation in meaningful ways. The nature of relationship is truly at the core of Krishnamurti’s teachings, and so this retreat was not merely about “relationship” as many might presume. When most of us think of relationship, we tend to default to the realm of interpersonal relationships, such as those we have with our friends, family and coworkers. But the relationship Krishnamurti refers to is much more all-encompassing than that. In fact, he is referring to something that encompasses the totality of our experience. We relate to the world by attaching meaning to our experiences, and by mentally labelling objects within the field of those experiences. In other words, we relate to the world through our thoughts. While thinking certainly serves its purposes, Krishnamurti asserts that our thinking has become a terrible barrier where our relationship to reality is concerned. Our thoughts are based on our past experiences, and in relating to the present by way of our thoughts we are relating to reality as a construct of the past, reducing it into a series of “likes and dislikes”. Instead of experiencing and engaging in life in a natural and dynamic way, our relationship to our experience is based purely on the images we have formed about ourselves, each other and the world. Krishnamurti explains how this incongruent relationship is at the root of suffering, at the heart of the conflict and dysfunction that has troubled humankind since time immemorial. He explains that society is simply an extension of the individual, and that as long as individuals continue to perceive reality by way of the past, then their actions will be out of step with reality and society will continue to be a destructive affair. This deep conflict manifests at every level of society, in such sad and tragic affairs as broken marriages, suicide, and war. One of Krishnamurti’s most powerful and challenging assertions is that to correct these problems is not simply a matter of correcting negative or hateful thinking, but that the entirety of our normal process of thinking is at the root of all this suffering. And because the very basis for the way we think and relate is a product of social and cultural conditioning, the process of freeing ourselves from that conditioning is not a matter of using thought, because that simply limits the outcome to the realm of that conditioning and always essentially leads us right back to where we started. For that reason, the process of undoing this conditioning cannot directly involve any teaching, system, or tradition. The path to freedom is pathless, as Krishnamurti says, and involves embracing what he calls choiceless awareness. This is a state of consciousness that is free from judgement and condemnation, of likes and dislikes, and one that is not constantly defining experience- because every act of such definition is a distortion of the present into a construct of the past. Now this may all seem like intellectual abstraction that has very little value in terms of real world application, but I believe that it is actually a deep understanding of human psychology and the roots of personal and social conflict. I’m just becoming acquainted with Krishnamurti, and even if my knowledge were greater, I certainly couldn’t explain the intricacies or implications of his teachings in such a space. Personally though, I have already started integrating his teachings into my awareness, and I can attest that they are indeed very powerful. I’ve become aware of how I’m constantly defining elements of my experience and how that causes a great deal of inner conflict for me. Practising “just watching” (as Dr. Parekh often says) as a means of nurturing choiceless awareness, I find my awareness is increasingly stepping in when I would otherwise be caught up in thinking, and that interruption can lead me to a place of true mental stillness. It’s a huge relief from the incessant mind that has been burdening me for so long. Eckhart Tolle and Alan Watts paved the way for my understanding of Krishnamurti’s teachings, and my retreat at the Krishnamurti Centre seems to have ignited an ongoing process that continues to unfold on a daily basis. Just as I could only explain so much about Krishnamurti’s teachings, I have only explained just a bit about how these teachings are playing out in my daily life. I’m treating this as an ongoing experiment. As for my big questions about life, thanks in large part to Tolle, Watts, and Krishnamurti, I’m developing an understanding of “self”, “other” and “society” that is helping me make sense of many things. I’m seeing more clearly just who I really am (by a process of understanding who I “really am not”), and also coming to understand some of the major underlying reasons for the suffering and chaos that have been humanity’s close companions for such a terribly long time. Once we begin to shed those layers of self that are merely conceptual, it might seem like there is a great emptiness at the heart of all this, and at the core of our very being. In a sense, I think that’s correct. But I don’t believe this is a cold emptiness- quite the opposite in fact. I believe it’s something divine, and as we let go of the concepts that rule our perception, there is a real opportunity to enjoy a relationship with this underlying stillness that can enrich our lives in ways most of us can barely imagine, deepening our relationships and helping us to live our lives in ways that are truly serving both ourselves and others. This is a new path- a path to real freedom.
Weekend Events at the Centre
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group Meeting Saturday, May 3, 2014 Eight people met to study another chapter in Freedom From the Known. We began with reading the first half of Chapter 11 on looking and listening, then engaged in a ten minute exercise exploring how we are observing. Is there an observer and an object being observed? Is there a space between the observer or “you” and the object? What happens when it is noticed that thought is creating a separate observer and observed? The experiential exercise was followed by some discussion of what had been experienced and seen. The interesting comments by participants soon picked up another subject, the question of “free will” or doership of anything. Is there any individual who can exercise free will or have any ultimate control over his actions or the results of them? It seems this kind of discussion often activates some strong responses or reactions, but there is always value in exploring the differing viewpoints and learning from the attention to our reactions and beliefs which are revealed in the process. We never returned to finish reading the rest of the chapter so will be picking up on that in the next session. Inquiry Sunday Sunday, May 4, 2014 In the afternoon a DVD from the Beyond Myth and Tradition was shown, a half hour compilation of excerpts from Krishnamurti’s talks. The focus was on “choiceless awareness”. Other than in the purely practical realm, choice is, according to K, only needed when there is confusion. If there is clarity, then choice is not not involved. Also touched on were questions regarding awareness, attention, looking, and listening. The ten people present then, after some short silence, had a sharing of how awareness and attention has functioned in their lives. Again, the group had a keen interest in the issues raised and were very much engaged in the “dialogue”.
Another View Point of Observing Without An Observer
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauE-mail to P. F. Dziuban Sent May 4, 2014 at 8:47 am Good morning Peter… Found myself at Swanwick Centre yesterday in one of the Krishnamurti enquiry sessions. The subject was his famous saying “observe without the observer.” Now it is understood that he is referring to the apparent conditioned mind or thinker. But wouldn’t “mind” as you describe it as the ‘sense-mind’ still have to be functioning in order for any thing at all to be observed? Thanks Robert Sent May 4, 2014 at 10 am Hi Robert, I’m not sure exactly what K. meant by that…because in order for there to be observing, there HAS to be some kind of observation/observer. I guess he means the sense of a personal “me” that is observing, or one who is “doing” the observing. That’s right–in order for there to be observation, there still would be the “sense mind” because it “would be” the very “stuff” of all that is observable. This is something overlooked by a lot of nonduality…they will say there is no ego/separate self…but it still leaves the “finite mind” itself still functioning as observable finite experience. It’s not the same as pure Infinity being pure Infinity. Peter “PS – For more on this enquiry gathering see ” http://www.swanwickcentre.ca/trying-play-game-absolute-relative-field
Studying Love
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Session Saturday, April 19, 2014 Nine people gathered to study the second half of chapter 10 in Freedom From the Known. Some of the challenges posed by K in this segment are: what it means to really care about our children or other human beings, seeing not with our minds but from “the very bottom of your heart” that our sorrow is self-created or created by thought, the importance of “passion without a motive” and of an “innocent mind”, as well as other equally significant issues. In addition to exploring these issues, the group looked into the question of what, if anything, can be “done” in order to come upon the love which is not of time, not of the self. Krishnamurti’s “negative” approach was discussed, whereby that in ourselves which is not love is clearly seen and discarded, leaving what remains as the “positive”, the direct knowing of the reality of love. It was asked whether it is possible for us to know this love given that we are so strongly conditioned by society and habitual ways of thinking and feeling. This produced some interesting dialogue and questioning of assumptions concerning such a possibility, including the possibility that we are convincing ourselves of the difficulty of any real knowing by our very ways of thinking about it. There was a keen participation by all present. These meetings do seem to be attracting a group of regular and serious inquirers.
Krishnamurti Video and Dialogue Meeting
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Video and Dialogue Event Sunday, April 13, 2014. Location: Church of Truth in Victoria The video showing of a talk by J. Krishnamurti was attended by ten people. An Ojai talk from 1982 focusing on the causes of conflict was shown, followed by a group dialogue. K spoke about the importance of contacting the feeling of wholeness in ourselves, the factors of fragmentation and conflict, and the significance of love and beauty, amongst other subjects. Questions arose from participants regarding the possibility of living without fragmentation in daily life and activity, what kind of awareness is necessary for living in a non-fragmented way, and the tendency of the mind to make a “knowing” or concept out of any insight or understanding that takes place. As usual in these discussions, there was an investigation into the sense of a “self” and the implications of acting from a psychological “centre”. A further exploration started up towards the end of the session considering the question, “Is it thought that becomes aware of its own limitations or is it something beyond thought – that we might call awareness – that is aware of the limitations of thought?” The investigation was left to be continued in a future session.
On Love
/in Event Summaries /by Ralph TillerThis morning this poignant inquiry into a perennial favorite emerged from cyberspace and struck a chord: “Do you know what it means to love another? Have you ever loved anybody? Is love dependence? Is love desire? Is love pleasure? I don’t love my wife; she doesn’t love me. We are two separate individuals. We may meet sexually, otherwise we carry on in our own particular way. Do you understand, sirs? Does love exist in this country? Don’t ask, `Does it exist in Europe?’ When the speaker is in Europe, he talks about it there. But we are talking about it here as we are in this country, in this part of the world. Is there love in this country? Do you love anybody? Can love exist with fear, when each one is becoming something? Can love exist when I am becoming a saint and she is not, or she is becoming a saint and I am not, when each one is becoming? Please understand all this. It is your life. When each one is becoming something, how can there be love? Is it possible to love another without wanting a single thing from another, either emotionally, physically, in any way, not ask my wife for anything? Psychologically, she may care for my need, for I may bring money. I am not talking about that. But inwardly, love cannot exist where there is attachment. If you are attached to your guru, there is no love in your heart. This is very, very serious. Without love, there is no right action. We talk about action. We do so many kinds of social work. But when there is love in your heart, in your eyes, in your blood, in your face, you are a different human being. Whatever you do then has beauty, has grace, is a right action. All this may be excellent words you hear. But will you have this quality? It cannot be cultivated, it cannot be practised, it cannot be bought from your guru, from anywhere. But without that, you are dead human beings. So what will you do? Please do ask this question, find out for yourself why this flame does not exist, why you have become such paupers. Unless you put your house in order, your house, which is yourselves, there will be no order in the world. You may meditate for the rest of your life; but without that, your meditation has no meaning. So, please, most respectfully we are asking, what is your response?” J. Krishnamurti
The Art of Listening
/in Event Summaries /by Ralph TillerCame across this reminder today about the art of listening, with nature, the great teacher, now in full bloom at the Centre: “Bring awareness to the many subtle sounds of nature-the rustling of leaves in the wind, raindrops falling, the humming of an insect, the first birdsong at dawn. Give yourself completely to the act of listening. Beyond the sounds there is something greater: a sacredness that cannot be understood through thought.” J. Krishnamurti
The Poetry of “K”
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauA friend sent this K quote yesterday. At one time I seemed to be totally in love with his teaching or non-teaching, which I am sure he would prefer. I think I read almost all of his books and watched many hours of his recorded video talks. But I, like a lot of other so-called seekers, really didn’t understand exactly what he was saying or pointing to. And I still don’t! Now I know there are lots of so-called K experts that attempt to explain what he was saying, and I am in no way belittling anything they might say. However, I think the very fact that he couldn’t really be understood was what seemed so compelling about what he said… that, and the fact that there was finality to his words that somehow seemed irrefutably true. It’s funny, but Wikipedia and others classify his non-teaching as philosophy. And I think he might cringe at that label. For me his words were more like good poetry, or Leonard Cohen’s songs:; one didn’t really understand what’s being said but somehow loved to listen to or read it anyway. – J. Krishnamurti Commentaries on Living Series I Chapter 41 Awareness “Problems will always exist where the activities of the self are dominant. To be aware which are and which are not the activities of the self needs constant vigilance. This vigilance is not disciplined attention, but an extensive awareness which is choiceless. Disciplined attention gives strength to the self; it becomes a substitute and a dependence. Awareness, on the other hand, is not self-induced, nor is it the outcome of practice; it is understanding the whole content of the problem, the hidden as well as the superficial. The surface must be understood for the hidden to show itself; the hidden cannot be exposed if the surface mind is not quiet. This whole process is not verbal, nor is it a matter of mere experience. Verbalization indicates dullness of mind; and experience, being cumulative, makes for repetitiousness. Awareness is not a matter of determination, for purposive direction is resistance, which tends towards exclusiveness. Awareness is the silent and choiceless observation of what is; in this awareness the problem unrolls itself, and thus it is fully and completely understood. A problem is never solved on its own level; being complex, it must be understood in its total process. To try to solve a problem on only one level, physical or psychological, leads to further conflict and confusion. For the resolution of a problem, there must be this awareness, this passive alertness which reveals its total process.”