With all my sincere respect to you as a proficient Teacher of evolutionary Enlightenment, may I ask you if a true Teacher would use any forms of comparison to value either himself or his or her students ?

Is Truth a thing to be possessed ? Can It be possessed and fructified and sold in the marketplace in terms of more truth and less truth ?

It is true that in a developmental context, you tend to think on terms of higher and lower . I may admit the developmental context of the comic unfolding , but could it be that the higher is a INCLUSIVE process and therefore could in anyway separates itself from the lower . Hence, it can never compares in ANYWAY WHATSOEVER.

Thriving on comparison can only strenghten the egositic self either in terms of inferiority or superiority .Where is Affectionate enlightenement for the flowering of relationships in this culture based of gross and subtle comparison ?

Creative dialogue isn’t only logical conclusions, it is trans-logically creative, also. Golden threads of potential appear in multiplicity every time we speak. Some are just more available to the “creative” that takes one beyond the logical mind’s strictures.

I said “some people think Trungpa was just crazy,” I didn’t say I thought he was crazy…I have appreciated him very much…

And for the record, I was very clear in my statement; “nurturing is conditioning: conditioning must be transcended: transcendence is possible because we are so much more than our conditioning.”

Take your time, read with transpersonal eyes so your vision is not clouded by the personal and the strictly “logical.”

Dialogic is the creative in union with the logical, a Balance of the He and She as the WE…serve the WE beyond your own defensiveness with “humility and courage.”

The “True Teacher” who bites you in the ass is the Self evidenced in the tooth marks…

Love and Light to You

How does one become enlightened? Does one need to work with a teacher to become enlightened?

I have been on 2 weekend retreats with you, and they were amazing, and i feel as though i’ve read and listened to enough books and videos/audios to be enlightened by now. The way most people describe awakening is like it so easy. But for some reason i haven’t been able to get it and it is really frustrating. I am pretty desparate to become enlightened, and you say that is required to become enlightened. A few days back I thought that i had had an awakening when i noticed the story that was going on in my mind. It kept replaying the same story over and over again, like “i am never going to get out of this” “i am the only one who has ever gone through” etc. And what i saw was that i am no different than anyone else, everyone has some story going on their heads that makes them feel special. And when i saw this i kinda stopped telling my self the story over and over again. Sometimes i am tempted to go back and resume that story, i don’t know why, because absolutely nothing good can come out of it. Because the story is always seeking for it’s end sometime in the future, not realising that it is being created now and it can end now. After realising this i thought that now maybe i am enlightened. I also had the experience that you describe you have, of feeling “I don’t know” and feeling a confidence because of that. But i am not haveing that experience right now. Do you think i had some kind of partial awakening, or am i just imagining all this. Sometimes i feel like maybe i am not really interested in spiritual evolution, im just doing for some reason that i am not aware of. But I really feel deep down that i want to be enlightened more than anything. And i feel like I am willing to die for it, kind of like nothing is going to stop me from getting it.

So shall we ask again, “Where” does the True Teacher reside? From whence does It emanate?

The reason I led you down the particular path in my comments above is for the precise reason you stated in Trungpa’s quote; I am very interested in SUBTLE DISCERNMENT, and that includes contributing to the breaking down of myths that have been perpetuated through popular spiritual culture.

Your initial comment, while indeed coming full circle in its meaning, included two very persistent myths, namely, “children” or “childhood” and “nature” as “teachers.” I addressed this in my independent comment of Mar 29, and decided to directly address your initial comment in an effort to help you understand why these two particular myths are partial, fleshing out, as it were, the commentary. So perhaps this is why you feel I’ve gone “far afield.” You eroded, at least by my discernment, the greater meaning of your comment because it contained these myths, so it was directly to these I focused my attention.

Subtle Discernment as an *actuality* means that no stone is left unturned when it comes to the qualitative values inherent in experience,: the deeper one goes, the more subtle the experience becomes, until all experience resolves itself in Emptiness.

If we are to contribute to the transformation of culture, we must be fearlessly willing to accept all the ways we continue to perpetuate myths that keep consciousness in stasis. “Subtle reductionism” is what keeps perpetuating the two myths you mention. “Scientific materialism” is one of the “biggies” that many very rational and wise Teachers are trying to move culture beyond, most notably, Ken Wilber with Integral Theory. I’m sure you’re aware of him and his work. If not, please, enlighten yourself to an all-inclusive view. Andrew Cohen, also, through his teaching, has a “transcend and include” imperative, accepting that myths exist as part of the Spectrum of Consciousness, but need to be seen through in order to create culture anew.

This is what I’m asking you to do; See through the myths you were perpetuating in your comment.

Don’t be afraid to walk down unknown paths, John. The God and Goddess, Wisdom and Compassion, are always ahead of you, just beyond your sight. And Compassion is a force of Transcendence. Don’t believe you can actually know it until you become IT.

Compassion, oh yes, She will love and nurture you, cradle you in Her arms, right before She walks over and throws you off the edge into the Abyss, smiling as She watches you disappear into the darkness…

Ahimsa

I a not writing a book, but I now believe that would be necessary to explain to you the obvious and simple truth in your terms. Look, I fully realize that this wonderful website is, if not predicated upon the idea of a “true teacher,” is perceived as such. Most of the comments seem to be ‘preaching to the choir.” That’s fine, as far as that goes. Still, differing views, expressed with absolute sincerity should be encouraged to engender rethinking, restating, and expanding thoughts and opinions. There are certainly vested reasons why the idea of a “true teacher” must, of necessity be maintained in the minds of many personalities. Such ideas do not operate in a vacuum. Further, history teaches us that the idea of a ‘true teacher” if fraught with serious consequences. Sadly, there are many individuals willing to destroy themselves, and innocent men, women, and children following the dictates of so-called “true teachers.” That is precisely why this concept must be fully explored, and seen for what it is; and idea that potentially steals from the willing participant the ability to perceive directly, and derive insight that can potentially transcend the dictates of any so-called “true teacher.”

I am going to conclude my present participation with reference to a book and quote that comes to mind while reading your comments. The late Tibetan scholar, Chogyam Trungpa, wrote in his book,”Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism,” “Walking the spiritual path properly is a very subtle process; it is not something to jump into naively. There are numerous sidetracks which lead to a distorted, ego-centered versions of spirituality; we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are developing spirituality when instead we are strengthening our egocentricity through spiritual techniques. This fundamental distortion may be referred to as spiritual materialism.” I suspect most people on a genuine spiritual path must grapple with this potential. Certainly individuals of this path should be aware of this possible sidetrack. Thank you for allowing me to participate in this discussion.