Archive for category: Event Summaries

The Intelligence of the Heart

August 28 – 30, 2020

With Prof. Hilary Rodrigues, online

This was at least the ninth annual retreat with Prof. Hilary Rodrigues sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. This retreat was, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, held online. Hilary is a professor of Eastern religious traditions at the University of Lethbridge and a former teacher and administrator at the Krishnamurti school that once existed at the site of the KECC. He has published books and articles on aspects of Krishnamurti’s thought, including the book Krishnamurti’s Insight, and has given presentations on K’s teachings in New York, New Delhi, Victoria, and Ojai, California.

The Friday evening session was attended by 13 people in all, which continued with some slight variation through the weekend meetings held from 4 to 5:30 pm each of the three days. Hilary made it clear from the beginning that he was not just going to give lectures and answer questions, but was going to encourage an active sharing and inquiry involving all participants. He invited one of the participants, who had asked at the end of the previous retreat for more focus on “the heart”, to open with some comments about what the heart means to her. This then led to further offerings by other group members related to the question “What is the heart?” along with a quote by Krishnamurti emphasizing the importance of the heart in the act of observing and listening with our whole being. The weekend proceeded with guidance from Hilary and contributions by others as we explored such topics as sensitivity, looking and listening vs. thinking and analysis, learning and knowledge, the nature of intelligence, the question of “getting it” and “not getting it”, and many aspects of the inquiry into the awakening of love and wisdom. At the close of each session Hillary responded skillfully to requests to share some final thoughts about what had transpired and what might be said in conclusion. As part of Hilary’s summing up, he pointed to the fact that Krishnamurti does not ask us to come to conclusions but, rather, to stay with open questions and explore them with moment-to-moment attention.

As always, it was a pleasure to be with Hilary, even if only virtually, and we hope to continue the tradition in the future (while at the same time being in the now)

.

The Urgency of Change Dialogue Meeting

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Zoom online

Eight of us were present for this online meeting, intending to explore the topic of relationship. We began with a guided meditation exploring what might be arising in the form of self-images and images of others in the group. Does thought filter our experience of relationship through images and ideas from the past, thus veiling the immediacy of the contact and/or the possibility of real communion? It was a question that was further explored in the dialogue that followed. The focus of our sharing was the chapter in The Urgency of Change by J. Krishnamurti entitled “Relationship”, in which K and his inquiry partner ask whether it is possible to break through the barriers that create isolation and separate us from each other and the experience of harmony and unity. We examined a number of aspects of the issue, with group members offering their perspectives and reflections.

During the half-time break in the session, I (David) was feeling a little at a loss for direction and, looking at a passage in the book, was inspired by a few of K’s words in the text. “Don’t explain anything: just feel your way into it”….. I opened to the sense of confusion and uncertainty I was experiencing and immediately felt a shift in my consciousness, a sense of peace and happy enjoyment of simply being present in the moment. It was a living demonstration of what K was pointing to with his suggestion – or at least a version of it. It also seemed like a significant reminder for all dialogues. It sometimes seems easy to get pulled into overly mental discussions of concepts and problems created by thought, and it might be helpful at such times to bring in our feeling capacity. Dialogue provides ongoing opportunities for learning.

The next chapter to be explored is the one entitled “Conflict”.

Meditative Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta

August 1, 2020

KECC online

This Zoom online meeting with Mukesh Gupta from Varanasi, India, was attended by a total of twenty people from diverse locations. The second in a series of eight presentations, this session was focused on the topic “Why Is There No Peace and Love in Our Relationships?” This, Mukesh pointed out, is a central question in most people’s lives. It is a question to be held in our consciousness until an authentic response arises from a deep inquiry into our own behaviour, beliefs, and conditioning around the subject of love.

After a slide presentation of a short history of the universe and human evolution, Mukesh entered into a discussion of various significant questions and facts within the field of relationship. He drew, as usual, on his deep understanding of the teachings of J. Krishnamurti.

– Life is a movement in relationship

– What we are the world is

– Relationship is a mirror in which we can learn about ourselves. If we are serious about learning, then relationship is a ground for self-transformation

– Why do our relationships become stagnant? What is the cause of suffering in relationships?

– Relationships are usually based on images, self-interest, and the search for pleasure

– Images and memories are unstable and attachment to them cannot offer real security

– The sense of self and other is created and sustained by thought and is essentially an illusion

– Why do we hurt others and get hurt? Why is fear so dominant in our lives?

– Seeing clearly is the end of suffering. Self-inquiry is necessary.

– Core aspects of self-inquiry are attention, listening, looking, and love. They are not separate and must be an expression of one’s whole being

Mukesh covered further aspects of the art of asking real questions and staying with them in silent watchfulness. This can dissolve the causes of suffering and create space for the flowering

of love and peace, which have no cause. He then opened the floor to questions from the audience and probed deeply into the issues raised. His final summary was to the effect that total perception is the end of suffering and the opening to love. We look forward to his next presentation on August 15 on the topic of fear and insecurity.

Self Study Meeting

July 19, 2020

Online Zoom

This event was an experiment in the sense of offering an opportunity to explore further into the subjects presented on the previous day by Mukesh Gupta from India. Interested people could attend one or both events. Nine of us were present online for the Sunday session. Focusing, as Mukesh had, on the topic of “Self-knowledge”, participants were invited to read in advance some relevant selections from The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti and to bring any questions, comments, or insights to the meeting for sharing in the group dialogue. They could also bring questions and insights from the previous day’s session with Mukesh.

It turned out to be a fruitful experiment, with many deep questions and valuable insights arising during the group sharing. It seemed like an appropriate balance between Mukesh’s style of presentation and David’s guidance through the Self Study meeting, which included a short guided meditation and an interactive sharing between participants. The experience was apparently enjoyable and of value.

The Urgency of Change Dialogue Meeting

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Zoom online

Nine participants were present for this Sunday afternoon meeting. Our focus for this session was the third chapter of the J. Krishnamurti book The Urgency of Change, which group members had explored on their own before coming to the meeting. We began with five minutes of quiet sitting with the question “What is the root of fear?” Krishnamurti has said that the cause of fear is thought, but what is it exactly about thought that is responsible for the experience of fear? Can the process of thought be seen at a level that can create a shift in our relationship to fear?

We then entered a group sharing of what had been discovered during the meditation or in our ongoing self-inquiry. The sharing was lively and extended out to touching upon the main topics discussed in the chapter on fear, such as dependency, being with “emptiness”, the search for security, and the results of comparing ourselves with others or with an ideal version of ourselves. Can we look at these issues in our lives without escaping from them into abstractions and quick answers or solutions? The discussion provoked some exploration of Krishnamurti’s suggestions for looking and listening without naming our experience and without creating a division between the observer and the observed. The inquiry seemed to be valuable.

After the meeting a few of us explored our impressions of the event. It was suggested that it might be helpful to slow down the speed of the communication at times, perhaps by simply putting attention on such things as our feet on the ground or our breathing. Other simple “grounding” techniques might be of use. Perhaps some pointers on the nature of dialogue might be pertinent, for example the practice of “suspending” or holding up our thoughts and feelings in the circle with space to look at them and question any assumptions or agendas in expressing our ideas. That can be explored more fully at our next meeting.

Reading over the chapter on fear again might be valuable. The next reading will be “How to Live in this World”. I will send out more details about our planned meetings soon.

DB.