The Student Becomes the Master By Scott Shaw

 By Scott Shaw, Ph.D.

 

There is the tradition on the Buddhist path that one is a direct reflection of their teacher—that one possesses no authenticity unless they can document the transmission of enlightenment from their teacher to themselves and from their teacher to their teacher's teacher, back to the Buddha. Though this method of transmission is commonly accepted, there is many flaws in this path to enlightenment.

 

First, and perhaps most important, is the fact that enlightenment is not something which can be given. Enlightenment is not a rank which can be earned. Enlightenment is a personal process of progressing towards the ultimate understanding of human consciousness. Though a teacher is commonly used as a tool to lay the foundations which ultimately achieve this end, a teacher cannot give you Nirvana as if it were some sort of gift or an earned distinction.

 

Student consciousness is obvious throughout the Spiritual Path. When one is initially drawn to the path, the first step is oftentimes the seeking of a Guru. Once one becomes a disciple, they often times idolize this individual to the degree that they believe them to be so all encompassingly holy that obtaining their level of consciousness is a virtual impossibility. Due to this fact, students become locked into, “Disciple Consciousness.” Though they become great at performing the techniques of worship, they do not develop the necessary mental elements to let go of this limited understanding and move onto the realm where Nirvana may actually be embraced.

 

Christians are the ideal example of, “Disciple Consciousness.” They have attached such a great singular obtainment to one figure, Jesus Christ, that how could anyone ever hope to become, “The Son of God?” What is misunderstood by many modern Christians and is revealed by Middle East, Judaic, and Biblical scholars is that the term, “Son of God,” or more precisely translated, “Child of God,” was a term which was assigned to everyone from the Jewish faith of that era who were persecuted by the Romans. As time evolved and translations of the writing of the disciples of Jesus took place, the term “Son of God” took on the singular connation of being assigned solely to Jesus Christ.

 

When an ideology becomes singularly obtained by one individual, it obviously cannot be experienced by any other person. Buddhism is no different.

 

Siddhartha Guatama, The Sakyamuni Buddha lived over two thousand years ago. Numerous legends have come to be attributed to his life and his enlightenment. With a being so distant and so immaculate, how can anyone hope to achieve the same level of consciousness?

 

Whereas Christianity has evolved to the level where it is, in fact, blasphemy to contradict the totality of holiness, which is solely held by Jesus Christ, the Buddhist should not be bound by this mentality. Yet, in many cases, they are.

 

Certainly, from a Christian perspective, it may be argued that, “Enlightenment is not God-hood.” But, it must be kept in mind that the Buddhist does not want to become the, “Son of God.” The Buddhist seeks enlightenment: oneness between the individual self, the universal self, and the cosmic whole.

 

In India, where Buddha found his enlightenment, there are an untold number of Sadhus, Yogis, and renunciates everywhere. They do the most abstract things to their body and mind in order to alter their consciousness so that enlightenment may enter. They vow to stand only on one leg for a lifetime. They walk naked through the streets, never wearing any clothing, even in the cold of the Himalayan winter. They lock themselves away in caves, refusing to interact with any other human being. This is all done as a pathway to enlightenment. Though these beings may have been initially initiated by a Guru, who gave them a mantra or a specific spiritual practice, they have let go of “Disciple Consciousness,” and have forged their won pathway to Nirvana.

 

Legend states that Buddha himself had two primary teachers. But, he found no enlightenment from them. So, he moved forward and achieved Nirvana by his own method.

 

Immaculate Connotations

Whatever immaculate connotation you assign to your teacher, it is must be understood that as long as you unduly idolize them, you will never reach Nirvana. Nirvana can only be experienced by the individual who lets go of the definitions of Better and Worse, Higher and Lower, Less and More, and relinquishes themselves to the fact by letting go you can become one with all that is: nature, the teacher, and the universe. This is Nirvana.

 

The Pali Canon of Buddhism describes twenty-eight Buddha which lived before Siddhartha Gautama. Throughout the centuries in in India, Nepal, Tibet, Thailand, Japan, and now the Western World, there have been cases of others who have also achieved the highest level of consciousness. So, it is doable! But, it is ultimately only doable by you.

 

Do you wish to be a student or do you wish to be enlightened? If you say you are not good enough, knowledgeable enough, pure enough, or holy enough—you never will be. Your teacher may know more than you, but that is information and knowledge. Information and knowledge are nice, they are even useful to present a point of view, but they are not enlightenment. Enlightenment is steeping beyond all that is believed and that is known.

 

Let go of your teacher and become enlightenment.

 

Copyright 2000—All Rights Reserved

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness

The Pathway to Enlightenment By Scott Shaw

By Scott Shaw

 

            I frequently write and speak about enlightenment.  I explain that we all ARE enlightened, we simply have to embrace this consciousness and remember this fact.  From this, I receive an untold number of questions about just what do I mean.  Many people come up to me with the statements,  “I’m not enlightened, but I want to be.”  “I have practiced meditation for many years and I still don’t feel enlightened.  Or, “I can never be as enlightened as my guru.”

            To hopefully clear a few things up for those who walk the spiritual path it must initially be detailed that first of all enlightenment is not about desire.  If you desire enlightenment you will never know enlightenment.  Secondarily, meditation is not a pathway to enlightenment—though many teachers throughout the centuries have claimed that it is.  Meditation is a “Mind Thing.”  It is a great tool to calm the mind and bring you into communion with your inner self and the god that resides in you.  But, it will not provide you with enlightenment. And finally, you can not find enlightenment by following a teacher. Though teachers may guide you to higher consciousness, ultimately, “Following” keeps you from enlightenment—as you are defining your own cosmic understanding by that of your teachers.

            Okay, you say, “Then just what is the pathway to enlightenment if you can’t want it, practice for it, or study to obtain it?”  Well first of all to comprehend the answer, the essence of enlightenment must to be understood.

            Most people, those who are unenlightened, depict enlightenment as a mystical abstract thing that can be HAD.  But, anyone who believes this incorrect ideology is entirely missing the point.  Enlightenment can not be HAD.  Because if it can be HAD, that means it is missing in you.  If it is missing in you, then it is not a natural occurrence and should not be sought after anyway.

            Enlightenment IS.  Thus, it is never something to gain.

            Many teachers also detail that you must possess a certain level of high incarnation to gain enlightenment.  Teachers who detail this fact, also state that it will take you many incarnations to even come close to embracing enlightenment.  By stating this, they immediately prove that they do not understand enlightenment and are, in fact, completely keeping their students from ever embracing the naturalness of enlightenment.

            Now certainly, it is much easier for a person to embrace the total-ness of enlightenment if they are walking the spiritual path—because those who walk the spiritual path have a rudimentary understanding of enlightenment and what to expect.  This is not to say, however, that anyone EVERYONE can not know enlightenment.  Because, if it was only available to those who walked the spiritual path, who embrace this sense of pure consciousness, then one would have to be spiritual to know.

            But, being spiritual is not the defining factor of enlightenment.  Being WHOLE is.

            This is all very ZEN, I understand.  But, let me make it more understandable.  When I first heard Ram Dass detailing that his guru Neem Karoli Baba had gone eye-to-eye with him and asked him, “Don’t you see everything is perfect,” it really touched a place in me.  Yes, all the good and even all of the bad in this life is perfect.  It all happens in accordance with its own perfection.  Now a Christian may say the good is a gift from god and the bad is a test.  But, they are really missing the point.  Good and Bad are all a point of view.  If you love Hell, then it becomes Heaven.

            What I am saying is that you cannot gage life. You cannot say that one particular expedience that you felt was very negative may not lead you onto a very NEW and positive place of growth and personal understanding.

            Life is Life and things are going to happen that we do not like.  But, if you can step back long enough to embrace a divine understanding, they you can see that this action leads to the next and the next and the next.

            If you lay a positive pathway for your life—not hurting, criticizing, or demeaning others, then from the nature of this universe, you attract positive energy.  Additional, just the opposite is true if you live in space of unhappiness, where you place yourself at constant odds against the world around you—if you embrace negativity, no matter how subtle, then negativity will find you and bad things will occur.

            What does this have to do with enlightenment you ask? It has everything to do with enlightenment.  Enlightenment is about you accepting the perfection of the moment.  If you are criticizing, judging, (be it good or bad), or measuring your amount of “Feel Good-ness” in an particular moment of life, then you are setting yourself at odds with the perfection of the universe and you are keeping yourself from enlightenment.

            Life is life.  We like what we like.  We don’t like what we don’t like. But, you cannot allow this to define you. It just is what it is.

            Accept what you like as what you like, what you don’t like as what you don’t like.  Know it, but do not allow it to control you, define you, or hold you back.

            Understanding the perfection of the universe is not saying that God, Allah, or Buddha, is waving some controlling hand and making all of the elements occur.  Understanding perfection is simple settling into the perfection and knowing that it all is as it is.  This is, also, not to say that some Supreme Being made it that way.  It just IS.

            When things just ARE, that is the root of enlightenment.

            It is often detailed when a person dies that their life flashes before their eyes.  Having been a person who has come very close to physical death a couple of times in my LIFE TIME, I can categorically state that this statement is not true.  What occurs is that when you are at the gates of leaving your physical body, you immediately embrace the perfection.  You see how this thought lead to that desire—how that desire lead to this choice—how this choice lead to that action—how this action lead to this outcome.  Ultimately, you see how all of life was perfect.  How everything falls into its own space of perfection and you lived exactly what you were suppose to live—whether you liked every moment of it or not.

            This is the source point for enlightenment.  Initially understanding, then accepting, and finally embracing THE PERFECTION.

            Embrace THE PERFECTION and know enlightenment. 

 

Copyright © 2004—All Rights Reserved

The Pathway to Enlightenment @ Scott Shaw.com

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness

Possessing Some Hidden Knowledge By Scott Shaw

By Scott Shaw

 

            I always find it interesting when there is a new figure that takes center stage in the mind’s of the searching masses and offers some new take on reality and how to live life. Many of these people offer the same knowledge that is written and spoken of all over the place, yet they somehow have moved up to the front of the class and begin spouting their truth as if it is something unique.

            The fact of the matter is, the majority of humanity is so locked into their own momentary reality (be it good or bad) that they could care less about someone who says anything. They immediately dismiss this realm of humanity as nonsense. Though the seekers of this life-place look down on that type of person—feeling superior due to the fact that they feel that they are the ONES, the True Believers, on the path of rising consciousness, the reality is, it is a much purer source of mental consciousness to disregard teachers and teaching than to seek them out. Why? Because then you are free. You are not lead down a pathway that can lead to financial or psychological disaster and/or a disillusioned mindset due to the fact that you will eventually seen through the guise of the person you were following; witnessing their flaws, understanding their lack of true knowledge, and encountering their egotism.

            The sourcepoint for anyone who steps to the pulpit is egotism. Whether they call themselves a priest, a reverend, a monk, a swami, a guru, a nun, a mystic, a psychic, a medium, a whatever… At the root of their attempting to teach is an egocentric ideology that, “I know something, I possess something that you do not and I feel I have been chose to impart that knowledge to you.” Bullshit…

… All of these people claim that they possess some hidden knowledge that you do not and step to pulpit base their reality upon what? I know but you do not. I am a teacher and you are a student. And, throughout history, there have been those who flock to these claimers of knowledge. Why is this?

            This is because of the fact that throughout society young people are trained to believe that they are lacking—that they do not hold the answers. And, if they want to find the answers they must turn to someone else who HAS them. This, in itself, is the sourcepoint for all of those people who have and come and gone, claiming to possess some hidden knowledge.

            The good news is, most of the people are a flash in the pan—most come and go with little applause, while others rise to the top of the game and then are allowed to make their living off of the money of others—charging for their supposed knowledge.

            At the end of the day, however, what is left. There are still the people who claim to be teachers. Apparently these types will always exist. And, there are still the people seeking. These too will apparently always exist.

            Here is the fact, if any of these people who claimed to hold knowledge were valid, their truth would spread to everyone. All would know. All would understand. All would no longer be seeking. But, people are still seeking. They are unfulfilled. The teachers who have claimed to be teachers are still out there trying to gather a flock, capture the money and the minds of others and, thus, feeling personally fulfilled by the fact that they have a new student believing in their particular brand of bullshit.

            But, there is one reality, the world ticks on and on. Each of our lives eventually ends. And, that is the end of that… It is all very simple.

            You can spend your time seeking. You can spend your time knowing. Or, you can spend your time embracing the perfection and seeing each life event for what it is—a transient life event. As in always the case, your life is your choice. Do you want to be free? Or, do you want to be under the spell of another?

 

Copyright © 2014 — All Rights Reserved

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness

I Believe: Compounding Factual Inaccuracies By Scott Shaw

By Scott Shaw

Life is based upon a set of beliefs. These beliefs come to us from many sources. We gain them from what we are taught, what we hear and read, what we witness, and then; once we have been provided with a certain set of parameters given to us by our culture, our desires, and our placement in life and time, we decide what we believe.

Some people decide what they believe and then simply do the conscious thing; believe it. Others decide it is they who have the calling, the desire, the ability, the power, the gift, and/or the need to broadcast their beliefs to the world. From this, they spread their ideologies out, from within in their own mind, to others. Why do they do this? The simple answer is ego. They want to be seen as a knower. If they are not seen as a knower then, at least, they believe they will be understood to be a discontent, sewing the seeds of controversy and anarchy.

There is one essential problem is the conception of, “I believe,” however. Belief is opinion, it is not fact.

In a free society every one has the right to have their opinion. But, if a person lives a life of consciousness they understand that their, “Opinion,” is just that—it is not a fact. It is simply what they believe and belief is an interpersonal process, it is not a factual accounting of reality and something that someone should expound outwards to the world for then only one thing occurs; the compounding of factual inaccuracies which have the potential to negatively affect the life of others.

It is like the conspiracy theorists, they look for and try to find logical reasoning for what they believe to be an anomaly of life, time, space, and/or occurrences. But, there is fact and then there is theory. Some people attempt to broadcast their theories to the minds of other people. This does not make their ideologies fact; it simply makes them broadcasted theories. And, each theory is simply some-thing that a particular some-one hopes to make fact based upon what they, personally, believe. It is not fact, however, it is simply belief. Yet, they hope to pull others into the web of what they believe. This is how many of the falsehood that have been disseminated through societies, throughout time, have come to take hold. Not fact, simply belief that a large number of people have come to believe.

The fact is, some people are so locked into their beliefs that even if you present them with factual evidence that what they believe is wrong they will argue with you about the validity of your presentation and will not concede that their belief about a practical subject and/or their belief system in general may be wrong.

Some people become very lost between the concept of opinion and fact. If they do not possess an analytical mind they simply assume that there is no difference. People driven by ego, desire, jealousy, or anger often fall prey to their own undefined differences between these two mental concepts. They believe, so what they believe IS.  But, is it? Is your belief ever the defining truth for the entire world? Yes, it may be the defining truth for your world but should your belief be expounded to others? Do you ever ponder this fact before you spread your belief(s) outwards?

How much of your life mind-time do you spend pondering the fact of understanding where your belief system arose?  How much of your life mind-time do you spend actually contemplating why you are saying, what you are saying, when you are disseminating your beliefs outwards, beyond yourself? When you do speak of your beliefs do you only care about the fact that you desire your beliefs to be witnessed as the truth? In fact, do you ever think at all before you speak of your belief? Finally, what is your desired end result when you propagate your belief? Why do you discuss your belief(s) at all? These are all important concepts to think about as you pass through life.

It is essential to contemplate why you believe what you believe. Think about this, have you ever believed one thing and now you believe it no more? This is the simple formula to help you define for yourself the difference between belief or fact. And, it is also essential to keep in mind, just because other people believe something (even large groups of people like a religion) this does that mean that you are forced to believe it?

Belief is only what it is; an ideology formed in your own mind. As long as it is kept in your own mind, it can hurt no one. As soon as it is released chaos is given birth to.

Belief is never fact.

Copyright 2016—All Rights Reserved

I Believe: Compounding Factual Inaccuracies @ Scott Shaw.com

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness

Peace In, Peace Out By Scott Shaw

Originally published by Llewellyn Magazine, May, 2004

By Scott Shaw

Simplicity in life is a complex paradox, with seemingly never ending disagreements, differing opinions, dissenting philosophies, emotional manipulations, and even physical confrontations. Some people seem to not only instigate this adversarial mindset but appear to actually thrive on it.

One may assume that if they walk away from the world and enter onto what is commonly known as the "Spiritual Path," they will no longer be subjected to conflicts and encounters. Unfortunately, the predominance of the world's population is not made up of individuals whose minds are focused on the spiritual elements of life. In fact, it is so common that we encounter people who are willing to do whatever it takes to gain whatever moment of gratification they desire that modern society has given them positive designations: "Motivated," "Driven," "Hungry," or "A Goal Seeker."

More than being simply an external social phenomena, many people find that they are constantly at odds with themselves—continually robbing their own inner peace. "I shouldn't be doing this," "I'm so bad," "I can never succeed," and "I'm unworthy," are just a few of the examples which ramble constantly through the minds of many individuals.

We can easily understand that certain people may have developed a negative self image due to childhood trauma, economic or emotional destitution, interaction with unsavory people, or being psychologically manipulated and guided down a negative road by an unworthy dominator. But, why don't these people immediately leave behind this disruptive inner dialogue the moment they realize it is robbing them of their tranquility?

Some people believe that if they could go someplace else, do something else, then they would know peace. But that place is not here. That action is not now. Thus, it is forever someplace else—where the grass promises to be greener. What commonly occurs, if a person relocates to a new location or takes on a new lifestyle or employment position, is that they are no more satisfied, fulfilled, or peaceful than they were before the move, which they believed would change their life.

Some individuals realize that they possess a lack of peace and wish to change this mindset, so they look to the lives of ancient spiritual masters, believing that their teachings hold the truth to contentment and enlightenment. Though this is a generally held belief, it was not always the case. For example, if we look at the historical foundation of Zen, we see that in the Seventh Century C.E. the monk Hui-neng defeated his Master, the Fifth Patriarch of Ch'an Buddhism, Hung-jen, in a spiritual poetry writing competition. As he won the contest, he believed that it proved he was more enlightened than his teacher. His teacher was not so pleased and set about on a course to destroy his onetime disciple. Because of this, Hui-neng had to flee the region. Though this action was instrumental in giving birth to the Northern and Southern schools of Ch'an Buddhism, which eventually lead to what is commonly known today as Zen, it clearly illustrates that not even the ancient masters were free from competition and conflict.

Conflict is a part of life. If you allow your peace to be taken away from you by external occurrences or internal disharmony then you will never know contentment.

Peace is an inner triumph. It is not something which someone or something can give to you. To embrace peace, in all life situations, you need to develop the skills to become like the calm in the eye of the hurricane—peaceful in a world torn by conflict.

The Foundations of the Pathway to Peace

To begin on your pathway to peace you must ask yourself, "What would bring me peace right now?" Would it be a certain amount of money? Better employment? A new place to live? To be in a relationship with a specific person? Maybe to be ten years younger? Perhaps to be more beautiful, thinner, or taller? Or, to be enlightened?

Step One

Your first step to Peace Realization is to consciously understand—anything which you do not currently possess, anything you are not right now, does not exist in this moment. As long as you choose to hold onto the desire of something you do not currently possess or something you are not, you will never be at peace. You will continue to torment yourself with the desire of attainment. This is not to say that you cannot move forward with your life. But, you must do so in a manner where you embrace the here and now. You must decide to love each moment for what it is, and then move forward in a state of peace, not a state of disharmony.

Disharmony is contagious. Disharmony is addictive. It is addictive because it provides the body and the brain with a constant source of adrenaline. It is invigorating. But, it is not healthy. Remember, peace can also be contagious and addictive. Peace, however, is not only better for the person, but better for all those who inhabit this place we call life.

Step Two

As long as you choose to believe that something outside of yourself will bring you peace, you cannot experience peace. Let go of your desire and peace will surround you. This is not to say remain stagnant. Instead it means love each step of the way. Embrace the moment and love each experience you encounter in this moment. It may not be what you desire, but it is, nonetheless, what you are living. Embrace it, whether you like it or not, and peace will find you.

Step Three

Know that the essence of peace is not outside of yourself. Understand that it is in you. Take a moment and find that place of peace. Begin right now. Close your eyes. Let your mind stop racing. Allow your inner guide to take you to that place in your body where peace emanates. For some, it is their heart center. For others, it is the third eye. Wherever it is for you, go there and embrace the totality of peace—even if just for a moment.

Do this several times a day. Come to know this place. Understand this experience. Then, whenever you find your mind torn by desires, when you are attacked by the negative energies of others, or when you find yourself lost in desire, hating your current moment—go to this place in yourself and find peace.

Copyright © 2004—All Right Reserved

Peace In, Peace Out @ Scott Shaw.com

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness

The Yin and Yang of Insecurity By Scott Shaw

By Scott Shaw

People come at life based upon one of two mindsets: confidence or insecurity. If one is confident then they approach life with a sense of dynamic awareness. If, on the other hand, they are insecure, they come at life, and the people interactive with their life, from a space of fear, judgment, and dismissal.

As is explained in the theory of Yin and Yang, in all dark there is a bit of light, just as in all light there is a bit of darkness. We can also attach this understanding to the human condition of personal psychological definition and how a person behaves based upon their psychological conditioning.

There are two distinct breeds of the insecure person. The first is the meek. They are the very passive, the reserved, and the person who fades into any sphere of personal interaction they encounter because they do not feel worthy on any level of human comparison. The person who embraces this style of insecurity is commonly the one who is the most easily taken advantage of because they are easily manipulated.

The other style of insecure person is the boisterous, the outspoken, the hateful, the judgmental, and the all knowing. Though they appear to be very self-assured, in truth, they are not. In fact, they are just the opposite and that is why they behave in such a forthright manner. Thus, Yang in the Yin.

Due to the fact that they do not possess a clear sense of self, self-awareness, and are hiding their true inner-definition from the world, they focus on life elements outside of themselves in order to make themselves appear to be more than what they actually are or to keep the focus of other people from truly focusing on them.

Many times, the insecure person will project a position of all-knowing judgment. This, however, is just a disingenuous method to get people to not look too closely at the flaws this person possesses.

The thing about a person who bases their life upon personal insecurity is that they will rarely, if ever, state that they are an insecure person. In fact, some are so unaware of their interpersonal demons that they do not even realize it. For those who are aware of the fact that they possess an insecure mentality, many will hide this fact by any means possible in order to protect themselves from attacks and reprisals.

The number one thing that a person who is defined by insecurity will project is the mind reality of, look the other way. Do not look at me. This, as stated, may be presented by hiding from the world or it may be illustrated by throwing judgments left and right so others will think about other things and not them. In either case, the person who is based upon psychological insecurity will rarely posses the refined, discerning mindset to be able to admit their problem to themselves and dig down to the root of that life expression and thereby emerge as a whole, complete, and self-actualize individual.

The answer? There is none. As insecurity is a problem that exists within and is wholly expressed by the individual, only the individual can create a change within himself or herself. Thus, you can explain to them who they are. You can suggest what they should do and what they should stop doing. But, it is only when they choose to actually take a long hard look at themselves, study and then redefine their projection of reality that they can ever move away from being defined by insecurity.

Copyright © 2018—All Rights Reserved

 

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness

Higher Consciousness: A Study in Fiction By Scott Shaw

By Scott Shaw

Since the dawning of advancing consciousness, people have put forth the idea that you can advance your consciousness, you can become more, superior, and/or enlightened. At the core of all of these teachings is separation. By seeking higher consciousness, you are becoming more than the person next to you. They are of a lower mind because all they think about is their desires, their car, their house, their family, their whatever… But you, the seeker, you are more! You are something different—someone more holy because you are on the path to higher consciousness.

         This trend, this definition, has been taught a thousand different way throughout the various religious traditions and spiritual schools across the centuries. There have been a few teachers who have stepped to the forefront of the pack and have expounded new and somewhat different teachings. And, for whatever karmic reasoning, they have been remembered throughout history. Schools and religions have been created around their name. Siddhartha Guataman, the Sakyamuni Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Sri Shankaracharya, and the list goes on. Then, there have been the teachers who reference these individuals as supreme beings. Many of these teachers devote their entire lives to, The Becoming, of what these teachers propagated and the higher consciousness they were believed to have possessed.

         But. Let’s step back for a moment. “What is higher consciousness?” What do you define it as?  What do your teachers tell you it is?

         The first step in understanding higher consciousness is defining what it is to you. Because what it is to you, may not be what it is to me.

         The next question you must ask yourself is, does pursuing higher consciousness actually make you something more, something better as has been laid down throughout time.

         No one can tell you the answer to those questions. I can say, that if we look at the masses of humanity, we can see that most people pursue nothing more than the fulfillment of their own momentary desires. They want what they want. But, I want what I want to. You want what you want to. And, the person seeking higher consciousness wants what they want; namely, higher consciousness.

         Ask yourself, “Is the pursuit of higher consciousness any different from wanting a new car, a new girlfriend, a new boyfriend, a new watch, or a new whatever?”

         Certainly, there is the belief that a person on the Spiritual Path is not so much seeking things only for themselves but are more set upon a course which is designed to aid in the betterment of all of humanity. For example, there is the, Bodhisattve Vow, where a person makes a vow to gain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings and once they have achieved enlightenment they will continue to reincarnating, (continue to come back to this place we call life), until all of humanity is fully enlightenment. That sounds selfless. But, is it?

If we take a more refined look at this concept, it brings us back to the primary point, “What is the key concept in the Bodhisattve Vow?”  It is that one person will do one thing. They have heard of it. They desire it. So, they pursuit it. Thus, it is nothing more than a desire.

Though the spiritual practitioner may make it sound like they are doing something for the good of humanity, we still come back to the central focal point of, “I.” “I will do this. I will get that. Then, I will do this for you to make all things better.” Me, me, me…

Can there be any concept of, “Me,” and, “I,” in true higher consciousness?

Some spiritual traditions teach that their techniques cause a person to loose all sense of, “I.” But, this is also one of the main selling points that has been used in the propagation of the use of hallucinogenic drugs, “You will lose yourself. You will become one with all” But, this is all mumbo-jumbo. It is simply a means and a method of convincing people that there is some strange and illusive cosmic thing out there that they cannot encounter naturally.

To the matter of fact; yes, some hallucinogenic drugs will cause you to lose your sense of self. But, then the drug wears off and you are back where you started. The only problem is, the drug has altered the chemistry of your brain forever and you are never the same. And, that, “Never the same,” is not a good thing. Or, the drug has altered your brain to the degree that you become mentally ill. In this modern time they have developed some pharmacological drugs that can help reverse this pattern. But, nonetheless, you will be left with, “Never the same.”

If we look at this ideology a bit deeper, “What do you become if you have no sense of self?”

Again, here we are taken into the rhetoric of higher consciousness. It is often stated that, “This person’s consciousness is so high that they are completely removed from self and are completely removed from this world.” Well, so is a person who is insane. Are they enlightened? Have the achieved higher consciousness? Immediately the argument will be made that they did not choose their condition but a holy man did.

Choice is a condition of life. We all choose what we choose. And, for the most part, people who want to be something, oftentimes pretend that they are just that; whether they are or not. They fake it till they make it.

“Oh no, my guru isn’t like that!” How do you know?

Most people never have the opportunity to spend enough one-on-one time with their teacher to truly see that they have human flaws. They are simply allowed to see a presented image. Moreover, if one follows a, “Supreme teachers,” who has passed away then all ability to see who they truly were is long lost, as they died a long-long time ago.

All if this is not to say that there is not true spirituality. And, this is not to say that there are not those who truly possess higher consciousness. But, how many times have you found yourself thinking, “Oh that teacher is a fraud. He or she is not truly holy.” How many people have said that about your teacher or about you?

As there is no one definition, there can be no one higher consciousness. Since there is no one higher consciousness, like all things it life, its pursuit is left to the definition and the belief system of the individual mind. What you believe may be completely disavowed by the person sitting next to you. And, in fact, a few years down the road, you too may completely believe something different than you do today.

Belief is only that; belief. It is a perception individually held by each person. It is not universal. As it is not universal, there is no one way to attainment. There is only YOU and what YOU believe.

What do you believe and why?

Copyright © 2012—All Rights Reserved

 

Higher Consciousness: A Study in Fiction @ Scott Shaw.com

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness  

The Sanga By Scott Shaw

By Scott Shaw

         In the Buddhist tradition it is taught that the Sanga or Spiritual Community is one of the primary elements that one should take into consideration as they walk upon the Spiritual Path. To put this understanding  into a more usable definition, the Sanga refers to the fact that, “You can know a person by the company that they keep.” Worldly people associate with worldly people and spiritual people associate with spiritual people.

         Throughout all spiritual traditions a person is told that they should let go of worldly friends and only associate with spiritually, like-minded people. On the surface, this sounds like a pretty good idea.

         Think about it… For the most part a spiritually inclined person is probably not going to get you into too much trouble as they probably don’t drink, do drugs, womanize (or manize), don’t party, and don’t do worldly activities that may have the tendency to lead you down the road to demise. Thus, you will probably remain fairly safe.

         But, at this juncture, the questions have to be raised, “What exactly is spiritual?” And, “Who is truly a spiritual person?” 

         This is the point where the novice on the Spiritual Path oftentimes becomes confused. For what appears to be spiritual is not always the truest representation of spirituality. And, those who appear to be holy are not necessarily that.

         Here in the west, the obvious examples of this are the priests who mess with young children. On all levels that is just wrong. There is no excuse and no justification for that type of action.

         Though these inappropriate actions have been at the forefront of the news over the past couple of decades, these actions have gone on literally forever. And, they have spanned all cultures and religious traditions.

         In fact, it is so common that a person in a position of religious authority takes advantage of a person, that is it almost universally unfathomable. But, it happens everyday.

         Add to this that these people are supposed representatives of god (or what ever figure a particular religions places as its most holy). From this, these people are provided with a license to do pretty much whatever they want and claim it as an act of god. Here lies one of the primary problems with the concept of Sanga.

At its heart, the Sanga ideology if fine. But, then add to it, the desirous mind of the human personality, and the concept and all of the good it may provide is completely lost.

         Watch the news when a priest or other religious figure is accused of inappropriate behavior and you will always see people stepping up to their defense. Then, when the accusations are proven to be true, the statements arrive, “I can’t believe it. He seemed like such a good man.” And so on…

         On the other side of the issue, as this type of behavior has become so prevalent, there are people who falsely claim that a person did something inappropriate to them, when, in fact, they did not. An individual does this simply to either take control over a person’s life or to make that person seem less to the masses. This may be based in anger, jealously, or an untold number of other emotions. But, at the end of the day it creates the same Life-Problem attributed to that of the wayward priest; namely, the actions of another destroy and forever alter the life of a person.

         Is this true spirituality?

At the heart of the Sanga is people. People by their very nature, their very design, are flawed.

The human race is based upon desire. People desire THINGS. These things may be physical; they may be spiritual. But, desire is the root cause of all things both good and bad in this place we call life.

         Some people desire objects. Some people desire love. Some people desire lust. Some people desire fulfillment. Some people desire enlightenment. But, no matter what the title, desire is desire.

         Though it is commonly understood that a Sanga is made up of specified group of people who desire the same thing. But, do they?

         Each person comes to the Sanga with their own unique set of life experiences. Each person comes to the Sanga with his or her own personality. Each person comes to the Sanga with his or her own set of desires. And though they may each be seeking a similar end-goal—though they each may desire a similar communal experience, each person is a unique and different entity. As such, they each add a particular set of variables to the overall equation.

         A Sanga is measured by the overall output of its amassed energy. Add one faulty person to a Sanga and that energy is damaged and altered forever.

         Each and every action we take not only affects ourselves and the overall evolution of our life but it also affects any of those we have interaction with.

What you do today equals the choices you will be presented with tomorrow.

Who you encounter today, leads you to the people you will interact with tomorrow.

As each person is their own unique entity, you can never judge and never assume what actions they will make from moment to moment. As such, though they may present themselves as a spiritual or as a worldly person, that image they present can never truly define who they are because that is simply a projection of how they want to be viewed by the world. It is not necessarily who they truly are.

The Sanga, in its concept, is an idealize image of a perfect community and support group. Though it sounds nice and no doubt can provide a positive learning experience, you must always keep your guard up, as you can never know what actions another person may take.

Ultimately, true spiritually is never defined by how a person appears to the world.  True spiritually is only known internally. It is only defined by the True Inner Self.

Find it in you. Not outside of you.

Copyright © 2012—All Rights Reserved

 The Sanga @ Scott Shaw.com

Scott Shaw Writings on Zen, Yoga, and Human Consciousness