Krishnamurti on Awareness

You can’t be totally aware if you are choosing. If you say “This is right and that is wrong,” the right and the wrong depend on your conditioning. What is right to you may be wrong in the Far East. You believe in a savior, in the Christ, but they don’t, and you think they will go to hell unless they believe as you do. …To be aware is to be conscious of all this, choicelessly, it is to be aware totally of all your conscious and unconscious reactions. And you can’t be aware totally if you are condemning, if you are judging, if you are justifying, or if you say, “I will keep my beliefs, my experiences, my knowledge.” Then you are only partially aware, and partial awareness is really blindness. 
Seeing or understanding is not a matter of time, it is not a matter of gradations. Either you see or you don’t see. And you can’t see if you are not deeply aware of your own reactions, of your own conditioning. Being aware of your conditioning, you must watch it choicelessly; you must see the fact and not give an opinion or judgment about the fact. In other words, you must look at the fact without thought. Then there is an awareness, a state of attention without a center, without frontiers, where the known doesn’t interfere…
(London, 4th Public Talk, June 12, 1962 Collected Works, Vol.XIII, p.188)


So, through awareness I begin to see myself as I actually am, the totality of myself. Being watchful from moment to moment of all its thoughts, feelings, its reactions, unconscious as well as conscious, the mind is constantly discovering the significance of its own activities, which is self-knowledge….
All relationship is a mirror in which the mind can discover its own operations. Relationship is between oneself and other human beings, between oneself and things or property, between oneself and ideas, and between oneself and nature. And, in that mirror of relationship, one can see oneself as one actually is, but only if one is capable of looking without judging, without evaluating, condemning, justifying. When one has a fixed point from which one observes, there is no understanding in one’s observation.
So, being fully conscious of one’s whole process of thinking, and being able to go beyond that process, is awareness. You may say it is very difficult to be so constantly aware. Of course it is very difficult—it is almost impossible. You cannot keep a mechanism working at full speed all the time; it would break up; it must slow down, have rest. Similarly, we cannot maintain total awareness all the time. How can we? To be aware from moment to moment is enough. If one is totally aware for a minute or two and then relaxes, and in that relaxation spontaneously observes the operations of one’s own mind, one will discover much more in that spontaneity than in the effort to watch continuously. You can observe yourself effortlessly, easily—when you are walking, talking, reading—at every moment. Only then will you find out that the mind is capable of freeing itself from all the things it has known and experienced, and it is in freedom alone that it can discover what is true.
(Brussels,Belgium, 4th Public Talk, June 23, 1956 Collected Works, Vol.X, pp.53-4)


Understanding comes with the awareness of what is. There can be no understanding if there is condemnation of or identification with what is. If you condemn a child or identify yourself with him, then you cease to understand him. So, being aware of a thought or a feeling as it arises, without condemning it or identifying with it, you will find that it unfolds ever more widely and deeply, and thereby discover the whole content of what is.  To understand the process of what is there must be choiceless awareness, a freedom from condemnation, justification, and identification. When you are vitally interested in fully understanding something, you give your mind and heart, withholding nothing. But unfortunately you are conditioned, educated, disciplined through religious and social environment to condemn or to identify, and not to understand. To condemn is stupid and easy, but to understand is arduous, requiring pliability and intelligence. Condemnation, as identification, is a form of self-protection. Condemnation or identification is a barrier to understanding. To understand the confusion, the misery in which one is, and so of the world, you must observe its total process. To be aware and pursue and pursue all its implications requires patience, to follow swiftly, and to be still.
There is understanding only when there is stillness, when there is silent observation, passive awareness. Then only the problem yields its full significance. The awareness of which I speak is of what is from moment to moment, of the activities of thought and its subtle deceptions, fears and hopes. Choiceless awareness wholly dissolves our conflicts and miseries.
(Madras, 11th Public Talk, December 28, 1947 Collected Works, Vol. IV, pp. 143-4)


I wonder if you have ever walked along a crowded street, or a lonely road, and just looked at things without thought? There is a state of observation without the interference of thought. Though you are aware of everything about you, and you recognize the person, the mountain, the tree, or the oncoming car, yet the mind is not functioning in the usual pattern of thought. I don’t know if this has ever happened to you. Do try it sometime when you are out driving or walking. Just look without thought; observe without the reaction which breeds thought. Though you recognize color and form, though you see the stream, the car, the goat, the bus, there is no reaction, but merely negative observation; and that very state of so-called negative observation is action. Such a mind can utilize knowledge in carrying out what it has to do, but it is free of thought in the sense that it is not functioning in terms of reaction. With such a mind—a mind that is attentive without reaction—you can go to the office, and all the rest of it.
(Saanen, 7th Public Talk, July 26, 1964 Collected Works, Vol.XIV, p. 20)

Zen is Understanding Yourself

One day a student from Chicago came to the Providence Zen Center and asked Seung Sahn Soen-Sa, “What is Zen?”

Soen-sa held his Zen stick above his head and said, “Do you understand?”

The student said, “I don’t know.”

Soen-sa said, “This don’t know mind is you. Zen is understanding yourself.”

“What do you understand about me? Teach me.”

Soen-sa said, “In a cookie factory, different cookies are baked in the shape of animals, cars, people, and airplanes. They all have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same dough, and they all taste the same.

“In the same way, all things in the universe – the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, rivers, people, and so forth – have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same substance. The universe is organized into pairs of opposites: light and darkness, man and woman, sound and silence, good and bad. But all these opposites are mutual, because they are made from the same substance. Their names and their forms are different, but their substance is the same. Names and forms are made by your thinking. If you are not thinking and have no attachment to name and form, then all substance is one. Your don’t know mind cuts off all thinking. This is your substance. The substance of this Zen stick and your own substance are the same. You are this stick; this stick is you.”

The student said, “Some philosophers say this substance is energy, or mind, or God, or matter. Which is the truth?”

Soen-sa said, “Four blind men went to the zoo and visited the elephant. One blind man touched its side and said, ‘The elephant is like a wall.’ The next blind man touched its trunk and said, ‘The elephant is like a snake.’ The next blind man touched its leg and said, ‘The elephant is like a column.’ The last blind man touched its tail and said, ‘The elephant is like a broom.’ Then the four blind men started to fight, each one believing that his opinion was the right one. Each only understood the part he had touched; none of them understood the whole.

“Substance has no name and no form. Energy, mind, God, and matter are all name and form. Substance is the Absolute. Having name and form is having opposites. So the whole world is like the blind men fighting among themselves. Not understanding yourself is not understanding the truth. That is why there is fighting among ourselves. If all the people in the world understood themselves, they would attain the Absolute. Then the world would be at peace. World peace is Zen.”

The student said, “How can practicing Zen make world peace?”

Soen-sa said, “People desire money, fame, sex, food, and rest. All this desire is thinking. Thinking is suffering. Suffering means no world peace. Not thinking is not suffering. Not suffering means world peace. World peace is the Absolute. The Absolute is I.”

The student said, “How can I understand the Absolute?”

Soen-sa said, “You must first understand yourself.”

“How can I understand myself?”

Soen-sa held up the Zen stick and said, “Do you see this?”

He then quickly hit the table with the stick and said, “Do you hear this? This stick, this sound, your mind – are they the same or different?”

The student said, “The same.”

Soen-sa said, “If you say they are the same, I will hit you thirty times. If you say they are different, I will still hit you thirty times. Why?”

The student was silent.

Soen-sa shouted, “KATZ!!!” Then he said, “Spring comes, the grass grows by itself.”

Plant the seed

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.

If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.

If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.

If you plant hard work, you will reap success.

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.

If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.

If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.

 But:

If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.

If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.

If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.

If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.

If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.

If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.

If you plant greed, you will reap loss.

If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.

If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.

If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.

Time - The Illusion

Time - The Illusion
Sometimes people experience so-called co-incidences.
Synchronicity, co-incidences, and miracles are able to happen because the "past" has not yet gone.
The present affects the "past", and plays out Now.
The "past" is still present in the form of karma.
The "future" comes into existence according to what has been chosen in the "past", or according to what is being chosen this very moment, right Now.
The "past" is still playing out.
The "future" has not yet come.
Just Be… Now

When thoughts arise, things manifest physically (karma), and the world arises.
When thoughts disappear, nothing is manifested physically, and the world disappears.
Perhaps psychic readings come into "reality" because of the "reading".
Don't worry about the "past".
Don't worry about the "future".
What's done is done, so let it go.
What's to come will come, as an automatic consequence.
Those who have complete and utmost trust and faith in God/Universe/Life worry about nothing.
Only those who have complete trust, and allow life to unfold naturally in the Now, can experience synchronicity and miracles.
Absolutely everything you need in life is already yours, but only if you stop worrying about such things.
Just Be... Now.

Only that which is relative is subject to change.
That which is Absolute can have no such limitations.
The Absolute is not subject to divisions and limitations of past, present, and future.
The ever-present Now is actually a Timeless Foreverness beyond form and physicality.
The senses cannot perceive this.
The ego/mind/intellect cannot comprehend it.
One must be It to know It.
Let go of the ego/mind/intellect. Let it fall away.
Just Be... Now.

There is nothing whatsoever to gain or realize, for The Absolute already Is.
There is only the letting go of that which stands in the way.
No time. No thoughts. No-Mind.
Just Be... Now.


Authour: Unknown

Zen Fundamentals can Change Person's Life

The study of Zen has spread quickly throughout the world. People are looking for a sense of peace, a new outlook on life. Zen accomplishes this through meditation and direct experience of the world.

Even though there is much curiosity regarding Zen, people remain skeptical. It is often seen as a fad, although its practice has lasted throughout countless centuries. People wonder what benefits Zen study truly has.

The truth is Zen fundamentals can change your life. How? Here are ten life-changing behaviors that Zen fundamentals can instill in your life.

1. Identify your values. As you study your thoughts, you will find patterns in what your mind is drawn to. These are your values, what is most important in your life. This can include your family, your religion, healthy living, kindness to others, or environmental awareness. There are no right or wrong answers, just be honest with yourself and your values will become clear.
2. Embrace your values. Once you are aware of your values, it is far easier to live according to them. When faced with a decision, you can compare it to your values, and see if it will bring you closer to living your values, or will draw you away.
3. Develop inner peace. Zen mind does not struggle. It accepts life as it truly is. A rock is a rock. It will remain that way no matter how much you worry, wish, or pressure it into changing. The things your mind worries about are the same way. Accept things for how they are, and do not waste time or energy fretting over things you dislike.
4. Energize for change. Seemingly contradictory to point #3, Zen mind can give you extra energy for change. You are not wasting energy fighting against the inevitable. As above, there is a large rock in your way. You have three options: run into the rock repeatedly, agonize about the rock being in the way, or find a way around the rock. Before Zen, most people choose one of the first two options. With Zen mind, you accept the rock for what it is: an obstacle. You accept that you cannot go through it. You do not panic, and waste time and energy worrying about the obstacle. You instead make your own path around the obstacle, either over the rock, around the rock, or under the rock.
5. Enhance knowledge of yourself. As you practice Zen, you will spend a fair amount of time in meditation, listening to your mind ramble. In time, you learn what quiets your mind, and puts you at peace. Listening to the same fears repeating themselves in your mind will soon inspire you to change what is causing those fears. You realize, for example, that your job is a large source of anxiety, and it is time for a change. Without meditation, we tend to ignore what our mind is telling us, and remain locked into our old patterns of doing things.
6. Gain confidence. As you reflect on your inner self, you become conscious of who you really are. You learn what makes you happy, what is beneficial to your life. You bypass the fears and anxieties of your mind, and do what needs to be done. You walk boldly, live passionately. The opinions of others do not matter, because you know you are doing what is right.
7. Appreciate life. You accept life as it is. Starry evenings, a stroll by the river, or a night of solitude each have their own unique characteristics to be appreciated. Mundane activities, such as household chores or doctor’s appointments, also hold their own charm. Observing the quiet details of life lends value to the less appealing aspects, and brings peace and joy in commonplace tasks.
8. Increase consideration for others. Each person on this Earth is interconnected. We are all searching for peace, contentedness, and a meaningful life. It is much harder to be angry at the person who cut you off in traffic when you realize they are on the same path, just at a different point in their journey.
9. Simplify your life. Meditation helps you differentiate between needs and wants. Needs are the basics for survival, such as air, food, water, clothing, and shelter. Wants are designer jeans, the latest electronic gadget, or a mansion. You learn that you can live without the latest, greatest thing. You begin to use your stuff as tools on your journey, and not as status symbols or emotional crutches. The same holds true for your commitments. Your to-do list can be culled down to the necessities, such as caring for your family, providing for needs, and fulfilling activities. It is far easier to say no to another commitment, when your plate is full of the things you love and require.
10. Cultivate a giving spirit. When you are living the best life you can, your heart fills with joy. You are doing what you were put on this earth to do, and doing it to the best of your ability. Your life is simple, you are living your values, and you have a clear mind. You can then give to others with a loving spirit, to help them along their path.

There are countless more ways that Zen fundamentals can benefit you. Experience the life changing advantages of a Zen mind, through simple meditation and appreciating life to the fullest. Have you found that Zen has changed your life? What benefits have you gained through Zen study? Stop by and let me know. I’d enjoy hearing what Zen has done in your life.

By Kimberlee Ferrell