Self-inquiry, September 1, 2024
Self-inquiry
Sunday, September 1, 2024
With David Bruneau
At KECC Metchosin
Five participants in total were present for this Sunday afternoon meeting at the Swanwick Road location of the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. David was invited to facilitate the meeting in the absence of Hilary Rodrigues, who will be facilitating for most of the month of September. It was a lovely, sunny day which enabled us to sit on the lawn in front of the Main House. The sun was quite hot, which encouraged us to move to a more shady location on the grass and made things more comfortable for the second half of the gathering.
David started the meeting with a guided meditation inviting participants to be fully present and attentive to their thoughts and feelings. He then read the September 1 passage from The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti, the book we have been using as a reference to the teachings of Krishnamurti. Later in the session David asked if someone would like to read the September 2 entry. The main topics covered by K in those two selections were the difference between insight or “seeing” and knowledge and opinion, the false and the true, and the need for a silent mind in order to perceive the real. The meditation and the readings stimulated group discussion and questioning about how we can know what is true and what is not. How can we see, what does it mean, what is full attention, and the silence that K speaks of were all topics of exploration.
One participant spoke of her experience with Buddhist approaches to self-inquiry and the similarity of Krishnamurti’s approach in some important ways. She felt there was very little contradiction between the Buddhist understanding she had studied and practised and what she had so far heard of K’s approach to self-inquiry and “meditation.”
Group members agreed that many characteristics seemed to be in accord.
Towards the end of the meeting one group member shared some personal issues he had about shame and his challenges with it over the years. This introduced a discussion of “being with” feelings that seemed significant. When the meeting time was over, we moved to the Gatehouse where fruit and snacks were served and further friendly conversation took place. Participants gradually drifted away. It was considered that the small size of the group added to the intimacy and depth of sharing that took place and was thereby a beneficial aspect of the meeting.
DB
