01/31/2023
With today’s quote on Enlightenment, we honor the 15th-Century Indian mystic, poet and saint, Kabir Das. Kabir has been spiritually significant to Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims alike.
“Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. My shoulder is against yours. You will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables.When you really look for me, you will see me instantly —you will find me in the tiniest house of time. Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God? He is the breath inside the breath.”
When you really look for God, you will find him in the tiniest house – the house of your spiritual heart which is in the breath inside your breath, far beyond the physical heart.
Today’s Video: Kabir ~ In Silence (With Each Out Breath) ~ A Meditation
01/30/2023
We start off this week’s quotes on Enlightenment with a most unusual subject and video conversation on Ottoman Archery with a superb and no doubt enlightened Turkish archer, Ahmet Karat, now living in Australia.
You may want to play the video at .75x as Karat speaks rather quickly, and I wouldn’t want you to miss any of his inspiring philosophy with quotes like…
“Archery is the art of the empty mind”
“Talent pulls the bow, destiny releases the arrow”
“Pride creeps in like an ant.”
– Ahmet Karat
Today’s Video: “Ahmed Karat, on Ottoman Archery”
01/28/2023
We complete the week with one more quote on Enlightenment from one of the foremost philosophers from Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, Immanuel Kant.
“Enlightenment is man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man’s inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Sapere aude! ‘Have courage to use your own reason!’- that is the motto of enlightenment.” – Immanuel Kant
As simple as that. You have the ability to reason, so use it. Don’t let others, especially today with social media and email generators like Constant Contact, lead you around by making you chase after the self-improvement carrot. In the Age of Enlightenment, the world “enlightenment” did not mean what it does today. Instead, it simply meant to use your power of reasoning. In the spiritual traditions of India, this ability is called “jnana.” It is not enlightenment in itself, but a process or path to enlightenment.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and enjoy your practice.
Today’s Video: “Beginner’s Guide to Kant’s Moral Philosophy
01/27/2023
Today we remain with a Western philosophical slant on Enlightenment from the Age of Enlightenment in Europe . Today’s quote is from another one of the famous German philosophers from that era, Immanuel Kant.
“The main point of enlightenment is man’s release from his self-caused immaturity, primarily in matters of religion.” – Immanuel Kant
What Kant is telling us here is that often there is a vast difference between reason and religion. His quote assumes that the duty of the scriptures, pastors, bishops and the like is to tell their followers what to think. Whereas, the truly mature mind can think for itself unlike those immature minds that blindly follow religious teachings unable to reason whether those teachings are actually valid or not. We see this in our own society today as religion and politics join together in a fatal embrace of following the word of scripture to the letter without deviation.
Today’s Video: “Begginger’s Guide to Kant’s Metaphysics & Epistemology”
01/26/2023
For today’s perspective on Enlightenment, we have a combined Eastern/Western take with a quote from Francis Lucille, a disciple of Jean Klein and a Western spiritual teacher of Nondual Advaita, which arose from the spiritual traditions of India.
“It [realization of Oneness] means being constantly open to the possibility that we are like two flowers looking at each other from two different branches of the same tree, so that if we were to go deep enough inside to the trunk, we would realize that we are one. Just being open to this possibility will have a profound effect on your relationships and on your experience of the world.”
Like the trunk of a tree, the One Consciousness branches out, flowing through all of its manesfestations, like the sap of a tree, with the gift of Life and Awareness.
Today’s Video: Francis Lucille, “Love is the Clearest Demonstration of Oneness”
01/25/2023
Today is the last quote on Enlightenment from Ecclesiastes Chapter 3. This one is from Verses 14-15.
“14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. ”
This quote is important because it contains all we really know about God or Brahman or Dao or the Truth or whatever you like to call the Creator. It is Eternal, Everlasting; it is now and always was and always will be, without beginning or end. Nothing can be added to it nor taken away. In other words, It is infinite. It is Timeless, “That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been.” And finally, the key secret:” God seeks what has been driven away.” What is that? You…and Me…Us! We are what has been driven away – by worldly phenomena and our desire for them, which has turned us away, through our own ignorance, from our Creator. And the wonderful fact is that it is God, Brahman, the Dao, the Creator that seeks us.
And the magnet that draws God to us is our Awareness. We need to be Aware of our ignorance, Aware of our clutter of desires for worldly objects, Aware that we need to be open and welcome whatever God’s Grace brings, good or not so good, into our lives.
Today’s Video: A different view of Ecclesiastes.
01/24/2023
Today’s quote on Enlightenment is from the next section of Ecclesiastes 3:11-12.This is a follow up to the ‘Everything is good time’ or ‘Go with the Flow’ verses from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. I mentioned there was a secret hidden within Here it is..
“11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live…”
So, “He has made everything beautiful in its time” is summary of verses 1 through 8. Then, in Verse 11, the source of the “I AM,” which is what you are (Self-Realization) is in the heart. But it’s not the physical heart. It’s the spiritual heart or “Shen” in Daoism. But you cannot find it because it is noumenal not phenominal. Neither is it some form of energy as many Daoist Alchemists believe as well as both Eastern and Western energy practitioners. So, stop looking for it. Instead, Verse 12 tells us to simply be joyful and do good as long as you live basically out of gratitude for the opportunity to know life and experience the greatness of the Majesty of God (the Dao, Brahman, Life, Eternity). Then in good time, grace will find you.
Today’s Video: more on Ecclesiastes
01/23/2023
First of all, to all my Asian friends, Gongxi Facai, Xinnian Hao! I hope you enjoyed your Lunar New Year’s weekend. Of course my heart and deepest sympathy goes out to the victims and families of the senseles shooting in Monterey Park, California. And to all those politicians who believe the Constitution of the United States begins and ends with the Second Amendment, wake the hell up! There is a Preamble, Seven Articles, and 26 other Amendments beside the Second. You need to defend and support the entire Constitution, not just the Second Amendment.
To start this week off with quotes on Enlightenment, we turn back to the Ancient Middle East and the Old Testament’s Book of Ecclesiastes, purportedly written by King Solomon in his old age, and some modern support from the Byrd’s to honor their founder, the late David Crosby.
“1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to reap
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.”
– Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Why is this a quote about obtaining Enlightenment? You have to look no further than Laozi and Chuangzi and other Daoist sages, who point out that one must follow the Dao or flow with the Dao, which is exactly what King Solomon is telling us in these verses – Go with the Flow, my friends. Realize that everything has its time. Be grateful for whatever Life brings you. Though you may not see the reason for it, be open and accept it as something you need for your Cultivation at this very moment. The purpose will become clear as your practice of Self-Cultivation deepens.
The next two sections of Ecclesiastes 3 hold two more secrets for obtaining Enlightenment. We will present them Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here is our Video on Ecclesiastes from the late David Crosby and his group, the Byrds. Follow the Music; Follow the Dao…
01/21/2023
Today is Lunar New Year’s Eve. So, to all my Asian friends, Xīn nián kuài lè (“Happy New Year.”).
And my wish for you in this coming Year of the Rabbit: Fú shòu shuāng quán (“May you enjoy both longevity and blessing.”)
Enjoy this special weekend with family and friends. See you next week.
New Year Video: Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession from Disney California Adventure, 2023
New Year Music: “Melody of China”
01/20/2023
Today’s quote again turns to the West. It is by Marshall Vian Summers, not a guru or mystic, but a Messenger.
“Your purpose is to discover your Knowledge (the immortal aspect of yourself, your Spirit or Higher Self), follow knowledge and let Knowledge shape and redirect your life. Your Calling is what Knowledge asks you specifically to do once you are ready to move in a specific direction. It is here that your relationships must become connected to your calling, and not just to your purpose.” – Marshall Vian Summers
A messenger is one who is given a message to carry, for a purpose, from those who sent him or her. Messengers have a much more significant role to play than teachers and enlightened masters. They are sent to alter the course of human history.
Today’s Video is from the Messenger, Marshall Vian Summers: “Take the Journey of the Power of Spirit | A Prophet of God Speaks”
01/19/2023
Today we turn Eastward once again and the great saint of 20th Century India, Ramana Maharshi, for one of his many quotes on finding Enlightenment or Realization.
“The srutis and the sages say that the objects are only mental creations. They have no substantive being. Investigate the matter and ascertain the truth of this statement. The result will be the conclusion that the objective world is in the subjective consciousness. The Self is thus the only Reality that permeates and also envelops the world. Since there is no duality, no thoughts will arise to disturb your peace. This is Realization of the Self.” – Ramana Maharshi
Today’s Video: “Talks With Ramana Maharshi” Talk #146
01/18/2023
We continue with the Western view of Enlightenment. This quote is from the 13th century Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart.
“God is not attained by a process of addition to anything in the soul, but by a process of subtraction.” – Meister Eckhart
Although rather short, the quote is right to the point. Compare it with its companion quote from the East and Laozi: “The scholar gains every day; the man of Tao loses every day.” – Tao Te Ching
Today’s Video: Meister Eckhart – Selected Verses and Teachings for Meditation
01/17/2023
Today’s quote on Enlightenment is from the famous Greek and Armenian philosopher and mystic, George Gurdjieff. Here’s his basic philosophy on obtaining enlightenment in a nutshell.
“LIBERATION LEADS TO LIBERATION. These are the first words of truth — not truth in quotation marks but truth in the real meaning of the word; truth which is not merely theoretical, not simply a word, but truth that can be realized in practice. The meaning behind these words may be explained as follows: By liberation is meant the liberation which is the aim of all schools, all religions, at all times. This liberation can indeed be very great. All men desire it and strive after it. But it cannot be attained without the first liberation, a lesser liberation. The great liberation is liberation from influences outside us. The lesser liberation is liberation from influences within us.” – George Gurdjieff
While Gurdjieff calls it the lesser liberation, it is by no means the easiest. To reach that stage, that condition of being free from our internal influences – our acquired mind – is the most difficult challenge of all. So, no use just hanging around, reading blogs and such, get to work on your practice – now! No time like the present. Afterall, the present is the only time there is.
Today’s Video: “Gurdjieff’s Mission
01/16/2023
I hope everyone everywhere had a wonderful weekend. And to those in America, Happy Martin Luther King Day. Let us celebrate the brotherhood of all humanity which the Dr. King was all about. In keep with that thought, today’s quote on Enlightenment is from Francis Lucille, an Advaita teacher and close disciple of Jean Klein.
“It [realization of Oneness] means being constantly open to the possibility that we are like two flowers looking at each other from two different branches of the same tree, so that if we were to go deep enough inside to the trunk, we would realize that we are one. Just being open to this possibility will have a profound effect on your relationships and on your experience of the world.” – Francis Lucille
The great thing about Francis Lucille’s teachings, I feel, are his analogies. They are direct and to the point and always draw us toward the True Reality that is hearing or reading his words, in this case, the trunk of the tree.
Here’s today’s video with Francis in a Dialogue with his followers “How Do I stop Believing I Am Separate?”
01/14/2023
We close out the week with a quote from Lao-Tzu on Enlightenment.
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.” – Laozi, “The Tao Te Ching”
Thus, darkness within darkness is the darkening of desires until one becomes desireless. This is the darkness that is the gate to all mystery. In other words, Enlightenment. Have a great weekend, everyone. And enjoy your practice.
This weekend’s video: “Taoism – The Philosophy of Flow”
01/13/2022
Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! Today’s quote on Enlightenment is from Rumi’s, guru and mentor, the Sufi Sage, Shams Tabrizi.
“The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead, time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment.”
– Shams Tabrizi
We have heard it many times and many ways, if one wants to be illumined, be in the present moment – the here and now. One could say the path to Enlightenment is a “broken record.” But Shams Tabrizi makes two very important points. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line. Time moves in endless spirals, through and within us. The other important point, Eternity is timelessness not infinite time. Thus, there is no past and no future, only the present moment.
Today’s video: “A Phenomenal Meeting,” a story of Shams and Rumi.
01/12/2023
Today’s quote is from Rumi, the great Sufi poet and mystic, with his slant on one aspect of enlightenment.
“You are a volume in the divine book, a mirror to the power that created the universe. Whatever you want, ask it of yourself. Whatever you’re looking for can only be found inside of you.” – Rumi
In other words Rumi is telling us that whatever you are looking for, you are looking with. That is precisely why he states that whatever you’re looking for can only be found inside of you. So, therefore, open the book that you are and begin reading.
Today’s Video contains more of Rumi’s teachings.
01/11/2023
Today I would like to add to have a further explanation from Jean Klein on his concept of enlightenment. In yesterday’s quote, he stated that when you find yourself in the absence of objects, there comes a moment when objects appear in you. He went on to suggest that presence is then constant, based in the timeless.
So, is there a moment when in living in the seeing, in the hearing, in consciousness without objects, suddenly objects appear in our being, in consciousness?
“Yes, it is a switch over. But first you abide in beauty, you are attracted by beauty because you are beauty and beauty looks for beauty. So live in it, dwell in it, take it to yourself and then there comes a moment when you are it. It is a total expansion…
“It is very difficult for people to be presence without any object at all. They always need some subtle object, a vibration, a body sensation, a light, a feeling of transcendence or expansion. But when the senses are accepted totally, welcomed, they open and there’s a deep relaxation. In this deep relaxation they are integrated into our being. If, on the other hand, they are refused, as happens with introversion, their grasping reflex remains because the sense organs automatically look for existence. So there is no deep expansion and no integration.”
– Jean Klein, “Bringing the Perceived Back to Perceiving”
Would you say, then, that the practical essence of enlightenment is integration? How say you?
In case you missed yesterday’s video with more teachings from Jean Klein, here it is once more…
01/10/2023
Today a look at Enlightenment from the Advaita point of view by Jean Klein.
“The moment when the seen brings you back to the seeing is a timeless moment when you live in your glory. At first the reflex will be there to go again to the object, but after the moment of glory you now have a feeling, an echo, that the object is in you. After several of these moments, you will feel clearly that there is no separation, that time is in the timeless.
“Find yourself in the absence of objects and there comes a moment when objects appear in you. You will feel activity is in you but you are not in it. The activity is constantly purified; it is sacred at every moment. This is enlightenment: where presence is constant, based in the timeless, presence in all activity.” – Jean Klein, “THe Book of Listening”
This one may be a little difficult to understand. Ask yourself, can you have perception without any objects? Can you be present in the absence of objects? Are you truly limited to the objects you perceive? Ponder this.
Today’s video: more teachings from Jean Klein…
01/09/2023
This week we begin to take a look at “Enlightenment” through the wisdom of the greatest Sages through the ages. We start off with the 13th century Sufi philosopher, Ibn Arabi.
“It is He who is revealed in every face, sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye, worshipped in every object of worship, and pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a single one of His creatures can fail to find Him in its primordial and original nature.” – al-Futûhât al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Revelations) of Ibn Arabi.
It was Ibn Arabi to wrote the famous quote: “Wheresoever you turn, there is the face of God.” The above quote is an extension of that Truth in that He is in each one of us and is our very primordial and original nature.
Today’s Video: “Alone with the Alone” – More of Ibn Arabi’s teachings
01/07/2023
Yesterday, Zhungzi told us what Happiness isn’t. Today he tells us what Happiness is.
“To be constant is to be useful. To be useful is to realize one’s true nature. Realization of one’s true nature is happiness. When one reaches happiness, one is close to perfection.” – Zhuangzi
In other words, when one realizes one’s true nature, there is no sense of lack. Without a sense of lack, one is eternally happy. Thus, one realizes that Happiness is one’s true nature.
Have a great weekend, everyone. And here’s our Zhuangzi video with more of the Sage’s views on Happiness.
01/06/2023
No discussion of what happiness is or – in this case, what it isn’t – would be complete without a quote or two from Zhuanzi.
“When I look at what the world does and where people nowadays believe they can find happiness, I am not sure that that is true happiness. The happiness of these ordinary people seems to consist in slavishly imitating the majority, as if this were their only choice. And yet they all believe they are happy. I cannot decide whether that is happiness or not. Is there such a thing as happiness?” – Zhuangzi
Tomorrow Zhuangzi will tell us what he believes happiness truly is. And now for our Video…
01/05/2023
Today a quote on happiness from Rumi’s mentor and guru, Shams Tabrizi.
“Happy is the one whose eyes sleep,
but whose heart does not sleep!
Woe on the one whose eyes do not sleep,
but whose heart does sleep!”
– Shams Tabrizi, from My Path to God
Video: My Path to God- Shams Tabrizi (See also, Forty Rules of Love)
01/04/2023
Rumi, the Sufi poet and mystic, has many quotes on Joy and Happiness. Here are just a few.
“When you feel a peaceful joy, that’s when you are near the truth.” – Rumi
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” – Rumi
“The soul is here for its own joy.” -Rumi
– And my personal favorite –
“Get yourself out of the way, and let joy have more space.” – Rumi
Video: “Lose Yourself” – Rumi
01/03/2023
Today we have another ‘Bliss’ quote. This one from a close disciple of John Klein’s, Francis Lucille, who trained as a mathematician and is also a Nondual Advaita teacher. He lives in Temecula, CA.
“When we are happy, we don’t know that we are happy, because happiness requires childlike innocence. When a child is happy, he doesn’t know that he is happy. He doesn’t formulate it, he simply enjoys it.”
– Francis Lucille
Video: Francis Lucille, “The Mission of Life is to Discover Happiness”
01/02/2023
Happy New Year to all! It’s a new year and a new slant on our daily quotes and videos. They are no longer related solely to Daoism and Daoist philosophy but to all Nondual practices, philosophies and teachers.
Since this is a happy time of year, we are going to start off with a blissful quote from Jean Klein, the French author and nondualist philosopher and teacher of Advaita Vedanta, who originally trained as both a musicologist and a physician and worked in the French underground during World War II.
“In silent surrender there is bliss and prayer without request or demand. There is no doer, experiencer, lover or beloved. There is only a divine current. You see that the very act of welcoming is itself the solution to the problem and the action which follows your comprehension is very straightforward. When you become familiar with the act of surrender, truth will solicit you unsought.”
Video: Interview with Jean Klein – Discovering the Current of Love
