Swanwick Star Issue No. 10 (2017)
The Bird on the Verandah
Part IV (August 2001)
CS – There is an interesting passage in the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” that refers to “people who have recognized ‘the clear light’, but have not developed that recognition with practice”.
I take this to mean an intellectual recognition of something, perhaps a “state” or “experience” outside the boundaries of thought.
AA – What do you think “practice” means?
CS – I do not think it means a particular daily regimen or routine.
AA – Then, dropping dependency on the intellect.
CS – …on the intellectual process which is necessary but not sufficient –
to “explode” the limits of thought.
AA – “Suddenly, deluded thoughts arise!” – (Ashvaghosa, The Awakening of Faith)
Where do these come from?
CS – I think we share a common consciousness not only with other humans, but with all living creatures. Modern physics eliminates the boundaries between EVERYTHING as do the ancient philosophies.
I have been thinking of something very exciting –
I would like to extend your metaphor of the walk at Swanwick to the different levels of consciousness:
* “I” as my feelings:
“I am here now, but, my God, where will I be tomorrow?” (accompanied by a feeling of desperation – then, one is caught in an “eddy”!)
* The Observer as the Judge of one’s thoughts who tries to struggle out of the eddy:
“How stupid to be caught in this trap! I know better”.
* Awareness of all these states;
each thought as it arises;
the state of no-separation.
AA – The state of no-separation: yes,
but, inclusive of distinction.
CS – Awareness of all these levels of consciousness, simultaneously:
there is always light at the beach, even though the woods are dark.
AA – This point needs to be clarified – it can be a source of great confusion.
* * * * * * * * * * *
CS – I think getting caught up in the eddy and
trying to struggle out of it is what we call “time”.
In the “timeless” dimension, the eddies are still there, but somehow Awareness allows one to “skirt around” them without falling in.
AA – One misses them.
CS – I know you don’t like the word “time”.
Let’s define it.
AA – Time as “change” and “suffering”, that is to say one’s passage through the world:
coming in, reaching one’s peak, the decline, death, the movement through death –
CS – So, Time as a linear model of existence that always includes a sense of the past or future.
AA – Yes, it cannot account for “presence” (I do not mean Nullfication or the negation of everything or some kind of emptiness – ideas that seem to be gaining increasing popularity).
CS – Those are just linear models of the present! I associate Time with a linear perception of life in which there is no “explosion”.
AA – But Time is not that alone – don’t forget, Time as Change – that definition leaves no room for “timeliness”.
CS – Yes, we must avoid the “vilification” of Time.
That brings us to the problem with words –
sometimes they may cause more harm than good!
AA – I love this quotation from Maharaj:
“Realized persons are very quiet”.
CS – Sometimes, I think we are like two lovers that cannot be kept apart
because they want to share their reality.
AA – The phrase “shared celebration” comes to mind.
[These are personal impressions of dialogues with Professor Allan W. Anderson printed with his permission given on May 23, 2010; in no way does CS purport that these are verbatim discussions, but only excerpts recalled after conversations in which she has tried to “pluck out” their essence from her notes taken during these talks. It shall be serialized in its entirety as a tribute to his life and work in the coming issues of The Swanwick Star. This is the fourth serial installment from a compilation called “The Bird in the Verandah”]