We respect the intelligent.
We glorify the beautiful.
We honor the wealthy.
We thank the kind.
But what about their opposites? Without them, would there be anyone to cherish in this world?
How would we know who was “worthy” without the “unworthy” to define them?

If you are intelligent, be in awe of the dumb today.
If you are beautiful, pay homage to the ugly right now.
If you are wealthy, thank your lucky stars for the poor.
If you are generous and kind, appreciate the wicked.

And if you are wise, do nothing.
Just enjoy the show – don’t try to be one or not be the other.

If you really start to think about it, we spend the vast majority of our lives focused on the prize of our work. Often we refuse to work unless we believe it’s going to payoff for us in some way. Not just financially but emotionally. When we don’t see the results we’re looking for, we often give up the work, even if it’s something we enjoy doing and begin to chase other fruits.

So what’s the problem? We can see how effective this manner of living is. If beings didn’t have an interest in working toward survival, what would be the motivation to work at all? The entire process is actually an extremely intelligent system on this planet. In order for things to get done, for the cycle of life to be maintained, plants and animals, motivated by survival all do their part is this vast orchestra. This is the way it’s been for millenniums, so who am I or anyone else to question this way of living?

The main problem with being constantly consumed with survival is that not only is it a very unpleasant way to live bit it also causes an immense amount of stress, most especially fir humans. While animals are able to plan ahead by storing food for winter, they do so without psychological fear of the future – in their case, it’s extremely instinctual to work in this manner. For a squirrel gathering nuts, there is not a story about what will happen if they don’t, there is simply the impulse to collect food and thus they do. For humans, language and stories in the head rule our experience and we often find ourselves frantically contemplating the possibility of everything going wrong. “What if I lose my job? The economy takes another nose dive? War takes place and destroys everything I own?” These are realities for many people across the nation and world and so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that they could happen to any one of us – it’s understandable. However, how much energy do we spend worrying about such predicaments, especially when they are not happening now to us at this moment? There’s planning for the future which can be productive and then there’s worrying about the future which can be highly unproductive. This sort of worry and stress affects our actions. The more we fear and worry, the more our actions are motivated by this fearful energy of concern.

When we take action due to fear or anxiety, we cannot help but become highly attached to the fruits of our actions. Every thing we do, because it’s based out of fear, is then closely monitored to see if we obtain the results we desire. The desires are many in this game: money, attention and approval, status, importance, honor, and power – just to name a few.

What if there were a way to work and act however, that were less attached to getting what we want? Even so unattached that the the reward of the work itself wasn’t just another desire we sought to fulfill?

The Bhagavad Gita states:

“There is no work that affects Me; nor do I aspire for the fruits of action. One who understands this truth about Me also does not become entangled in the fruitive reactions of work.”

Here, ‘Me’ is the indescribable part of you that can see, feel, hear, or touch. As we begin to let go of more of our attachments a interactions with the outside and can sit in a state of silence, we may begin to see that the ‘Me’ within is has no real desire for anything. This is our true nature underneath the masks of our personality. Nonetheless this ‘me’ continues to be the source of all action, not only in ourselves but in the entire universe. Why does it bother acting it has not desires to be fulfilled? No one fan really know. What’s important is to notice this action start to take place inside of you- this desireless, simple action simply takes place whether you mean it to or not.

The message here is all about watching and letting go, more, and more, and more. Watch and question the motivation of your actions – be they survival or adoration – and be willing to let go of them until all that is left is movement without any justification necessary.

This is grace.

If you listen or read many spiritual teachings or traditions these days and a few things are often discussed:

1. Try to quiet your mind and not believe your thoughts
2. Once you achieve a quiet mind and stop believing your thoughts, you will be free and be able to see who you really are underneath those thoughts vs. who you thought you were

Of course, people all over then try to sit down and meditate and find it extremely difficult to get past the first instruction. Why? Simply because they believe that their thoughts are too important to ignore and not believe.

You have thousands of thoughts that pass through your consciousness each day. Most of them relate to “me” or “I” and the things that “me” or “I” are concerned about, need to do, or regret having done. Even if at first a thought seems to have nothing to do with you personally – perhaps it’s a thought about an issue in world politics – sooner or later, you’ll find the thoughts circling round and round like scavenger birds over freshly dead meat until at last the thoughts start becoming personal again. A thought that started in your head as “Isn’t what’s happening in the news right now so interesting” soon becomes, “I wonder how that could affect me?” The process is very subtle, but very consistent – most thoughts in your head eventually relate to the “me” identity inside your head.

There’s one other interesting thing to note about the thoughts that swim around in your head. Most thoughts throughout your day that relate to “me” or “I” tend to lean on the fearful side versus the peaceful side of things. Let’s be honest, how much of your day is spent thinking about things that bring you nothing but calmness versus spent thinking about things that are of concern to you in one way or another? Of concern to “me” and “I?” Even the simple thought, “I need to remember to pay the cell phone bill tomorrow” is a thought with subtle urgency underneath it. You know, though you may not consciously think it at the time, that if you don’t pay your cell phone bill, your mobile carrier is going to charge you a late fee and you don’t want that – in fact, there’s a hint of fear in such a consequence.

Let’s go down that ladder step by step:

• If I don’t pay my cell phone bill I will get a late fee
• If I get a late fee I will have less money
• If I begin to make this a habit and incur many late fees, I will start going down the road of a bad financial state
• If my finances are in bad shape, it will begin to affect my credit
• If my credit is in trouble, I won’t be able to buy or rent the things I need such as a car to get to work
• If I don’t have a car to get to work, I will be fired
• If I’m fired, I’ll have no money to pay the rent/mortgage and I’ll be kicked out by the bank/landlord
• If I’m kicked out I will have to go live on the street without food or shelter
• [until finally] . . . without food or shelter, I will die

The purpose here to show how a small unassuming thought that seems to be quite harmless can actually point to complete an utter dread – a deep sense of stress. Most of all, it shows how a small insignificant appearing thought, can actually be enormously significant to your subconscious.

Notice too how all of those thoughts included the word “I.” So when a thought crosses your mind like, “I need to pay the phone bill,” you can’t help but take this simple and quick thought very seriously – the message this thought is telling you is that this thought is an extremely important thought to think about and should not be discarded or discounted.

Thus we can start to see how thoughts justify themselves as being too important to ignore by utilizing the emotion of fear. Genetically we have it still built into us to pay attention to fear – this is mostly for survival and avoidance of certain dangers such as predators. We are built to listen and respond to fear because in many cases, fear is a helpful tool to let us know that our survival might be in danger. Of course, as we have become a more civilized species and interdependent upon each other for survival and getting our physical needs met is much easier than it used to be, situations where our lives are really in physical danger are less and less frequent. Nonetheless, the mechanism still remains and fearful thoughts are rampant in the consciousness.

What’s the point of all this? So what if thoughts, fears, are constantly justifying their existence? Of course, I could say that the point is that when you realize this, you stop taking these fears so seriously and live a more pleasant life. Yet that’s not my point. It’s not just about living a life with less fear; it’s about sensing “something” on an even deeper level. Fearful thoughts keep your consciousness so busy and occupied that you have no time for anything else besides constant worry and concern – a total waste of energy, a waste of your precious attention. By distracting your attention with fear 24 hour hours a day, 7 days a week, you cannot be aware of your true nature, your true essence underneath. Most importantly, fearful thoughts always point you toward re-enforcing the concept of “me” or “I.” If there is no “I,” if the self does not exist, then what is there to fear really? The ego, which is nothing more than a movement towards and away from things it desires is an illusion that rests upon the notion that I exist and that I am important. Fear is the most effective tool for keeping the belief in self alive and thus all fears keep the attention within focused on me: “what’s going to happen to me??”

Underneath all thoughts, fears and desires of the future lies nothing/something/everything, and it has nothing to do with I or me. In ancient Judaism it was understood that this essence underneath the world of form could never be spoken, which eventually turned into “should never be spoken” (a tradition that extended into Christianity) and yet because words are needed to describe it, YHWY or Yahweh, was the name attributed to it. YHWY or God cannot be spoken, not because it is dangerous to or will anger God, but because words cannot describe God. This essence underneath your thoughts is your true nature, and while it cannot be described or spoken of by the mind, it is always felt. It is always there, it is the essence of everything, the space that gives rise to everything that you can sense and everything that you cannot. It is the source.

“If you don’t realize the source,
you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.” Tao Te Ching

Beware of fear. Watch how the mind uses fear to hook your attention as much as possible and how it continues to prove to you that whatever the object of fear is, it is imperative that you give your utmost attention to it. If you agree and allow the mind to mesmerize your attention with one fearful thing after the next, you will never “realize where you come from” but will stay trapped in an endless cycle of suffering. When all is said and done, realizing where you come from is infinitely more important that all the fears of the world put together. It’s the only thing that really matters.

This group is perfect for beginners and experts alike. If you’re new to meditation, please do not be intimidated, we will help get you started. For those that live in the Silver Lake and surrounding neighborhoods and are interested in starting a consistent practice, this is the group for you. We are open to all traditions of meditation and are very informal. If you wish to sit on the ground, please bring a cushion or bench.

The living room space of my apartment is rather small and humble but should be pleasant enough for a group of our size. There’s a bench out in front for those who wish to soak up the morning sun during their sitting.

On warmer days, we may decide to go the park less than a block from my place. After the sitting, we may have a short dharma discussion or watch a short video from various teachers of spirituality.

Want more details? Join our meetup group and RSVP for an upcoming Sunday. This group is completely free and is not affiliated with any side agendas, specific traditions, or nonsense. So if you’re simply looking for an open place to join in silent presence with others, this is your group!

Click Here to Join the Meetup Group

Click here to send a message to Kevin.

So how does spirituality play in? It’s all about seeking perfection. If you think about it, computers are designed for perfection (though they often fall very short of the goal). It’s well known that computers don’t make mistakes, the people who design them do – in short, computers are nearly perfect. Think about how hard we strive for perfection in our daily lives. We strive to look perfect, to dress perfect, to have the perfect abode, the perfect transportation, the perfect job, the perfect friends, lovers, parents, siblings, children, our finances in perfect order. Computers and technology are the new tools to help us arrive at this perfect life, perfect future – they promise us more efficiency, less errors, and promise us more time. We put our faith into them believing they will eventually get us to this perfect world without errors. In truth, though, the more things change, the more things stay the same. In truth, errors are integral to perfection.

The Universe is the great equalizer – all things must be balanced – yin and yang. As our technology develops and we think ourselves just on the brink of perfection, we find catastrophic errors which throw us humbly back into balance. The recent stock market bubble was caused by perfectly executed financial software which was based on imperfectly written code which failed to take into account vital factors and lead Wall Street to take greater risks than should have been taken. The software did the job it was written to do perfectly, but the humans using it abused it. Imperfection?

What is perfection? What does that mean? Is perfection equal to things going right while imperfection is equal to things going wrong? Then who decides what is right and what is wrong – and according to whose point of view?

In Tron, Jeff Bridges’ character, believes a perfect utopia can be created in the digital world – which of all the environments to do it, sounds the most promising considering computers can’t make mistakes. Instead, he creates hell – a common theme both in literature and in history. His character soon is hit by an important realization that many of us miss in the real world: in fact, perfection is already in our midst, we just aren’t paying attention to reality.

Our world is actual perfect right now, as it is. How can this be so? Because the Universe is and always must be in constant balance. As you begin to look at what you think is imperfection, and are willing to question your pre-existing points of view, you may begin to realize too that perfection is all around you. Most importantly, you may find that everything you thought was imperfect about you, is actually nothing less than perfect.

Lao Tzu writes in the Tao:
If you want to become whole,
let yourself be partial.
If you want to become straight,
let yourself be crooked.
(22)

Only when you open to imperfection, can you witness true perfection. Only when you open to the crooked, can you embody the straight. Only when accept yourself to be incomplete, can you realize yourself as complete. Continue to judge yourself for not being ‘perfect’ and you will keep working towards a hopeless dream that can never come true. Continue to love yourself, your ‘imperfections,’ and you will see nothing less than perfection.

*

The Way is perfect like vast space
where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
that we do not see the true nature of things.
Live neither in the entanglements of outer things,
nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things
and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity
your very effort fills you with activity.
As long as you remain in one extreme or the other
you will never know Oneness.
Those who do not live in the single Way
fail in both activity and passivity,
assertion and denial.
To deny the reality of things
is to miss their reality;
to assert the emptiness of things
is to miss their reality.
The more you talk and think about it,
the further astray you wander from the truth.
Stop talking and thinking,
and there is nothing you will not be able to know.
To return to the root is to find the meaning,
but to pursue appearances is to miss the source.
At the moment of inner enlightenment
there is a going beyond appearance and emptiness.
The changes that appear to occur in the empty world
we call real only because of our ignorance.
Do not search for the truth;
only cease to cherish opinions.

*

Do not remain in the dualistic state;
avoid such pursuits carefully.
If there is even a trace
of this and that, of right and wrong,
the Mind-essence will be lost in confusion.
Although all dualities come from the One,
do not be attached even to this One.
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
nothing in the world can offend,
and when a thing can no longer offend,
it ceases to exist in the old way.

When no discriminating thoughts arise,
the old mind ceases to exist.
When thought objects vanish,
the thinking-subject vanishes.
Things are objects because of the subject;
the mind is such because of things.
Understand the relativity of these two
and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness.
In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable
and each contains in itself the whole world.
If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine
you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.

*

To live in the Great Way
is neither easy nor difficult,
but those with limited views
are fearful and irresolute;
the faster they hurry, the slower they go,
and clinging cannot be limited;
even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment
is to go astray.
Just let things be in their own way,
and there will be neither coming nor going.

*

Obey the nature of things [your own nature],
and you will walk freely and undisturbed.
When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden,
for everything is murky and unclear,
and the burdensome practice of judging
brings annoyance and weariness.
What benefits can be derived
from distinctions and separations?
If you wish to move in the One Way,
do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.
Indeed, to accept them fully
is identical with true Enlightenment.
The wise man strives to no goals
but the foolish man fetters himself.
There is one Dharma, not many;
distinctions arise
from the clinging needs of the ignorant.
To seek Mind with the mind
is the greatest of all mistakes.

*

Rest and unrest derive from illusion;
with enlightenment there is no liking and disliking.
All dualities come from ignorant inference.
They are like dreams or flowers in the air:
foolish to try to grasp them.
Gain and loss, right and wrong:
such thoughts must finally be abolished at once.

*

If the eye never sleeps,
all dreams will naturally cease.
If the mind makes no discriminations,
the ten thousand things
are as they are, of single essence.
To understand the mystery of this One-essence
is to be released from all entanglements.
When all things are seen equally
the timeless Self-essence is reached.
No comparisons or analogies are possible
in this causeless, relationless state.

Consider movement stationary
and the stationary in motion:
both movement and rest disappear.
When such dualities cease to exist
Oneness itself cannot exist.
To this ultimate finality
no law or description applies.

*

For the unified mind in accord with the Way
all self-centered striving ceases.
Doubts and irresolutions vanish
and life in true faith is possible.
With a single stroke we are freed from bondage;
nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing.
All is empty, clear, self-illuminating,
with no exertion of the mind’s power.
Here thought, feeling, knowledge, and imagination
are of no value.
In this world of Suchness
there is neither self nor other-than-self.

*

To come directly into harmony with this reality
just simply say when doubt arises, ‘Not two.’
In this ‘not two’ nothing is separate,
nothing is excluded.
No matter when or where,
enlightenment means entering this truth.
And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space;
in it a single thought is ten thousand years.

*

Emptiness here, Emptiness there,
but the infinite universe stands
always before your eyes.
Infinitely large and infinitely small:
no difference, for definitions have vanished.
and no boundaries are seen.
So too with Being and non-Being.
Don’t waste time in doubts and arguments
that have nothing to do with this.

*

One thing, all things:
move among and intermingle,
without distinction.
To live in this realization
is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.
To live in this faith is the road to non-duality,
because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

*

Words!
The Way is beyond language,
for in it there is
no yesterday
no tomorrow
no today.

~Hsin Hsin Ming
Inscribed on the Believing Mind

Now what do you do when you want the room not to be dark? You don’t do anything directly with darkness — or do you? You cannot push it out. There is no possible way to make any arrangement so that the darkness disappears. You have to do something with the light. Now that changes the whole situation; and that’s what I call one of the essentials, fundamentals. You don’t even touch the darkness; you don’t think about it. There is no point; it does not exist, it is simply an absence.

So just bring in light and you will not find darkness at all, because it was the absence of light, simply the absence of light — not something material, with its own being, not something that exists. But simply because light was not there, you got a false feeling of the existence of darkness.

You can go on fighting with this darkness your whole life and you will not succeed, but just a small candle is enough to dispel it. You have to work for the light because it is positive, existential; it exists on it own. And once light comes, anything that was its absence automatically disappears.

Loneliness is similar to darkness.

You don’t know your aloneness. You have not experienced your aloneness and its beauty, its tremendous power, its strength. Loneliness and aloneness in the dictionaries are synonymous, but existence does not follow your dictionaries. And nobody has yet tried to make an existential dictionary which will not be contradictory to existence.

Loneliness is absence.

Because you don’t know your aloneness, there is fear. You feel lonely so you want to cling to something, to somebody, to some relationship, just to keep the illusion that you are not lonely. But you know you are — hence the pain. On the one hand you are clinging to something which is not for real, which is just a temporary arrangement — a relationship, a friendship.

And while you are in the relationship you can create a little illusion to forget your loneliness. But this is the problem: although you can forget for a moment your loneliness, just the next moment you suddenly become aware that the relationship or the friendship is nothing permanent. Yesterday you did not know this man or this woman, you were strangers. Today you are friends — who knows about tomorrow? Tomorrow you may be strangers again — hence the pain.

The illusion gives a certain solace, but it cannot create the reality so that all fear disappears. It represses the fear, so on the surface you feel good — at least you try to feel good. You pretend to feel good to yourself: how wonderful is the relationship, how wonderful is the man or the woman. But behind the illusion — and the illusion is so thin that you can see behind it — there is pain in the heart, because the heart knows perfectly well that tomorrow things may not be the same…and they are not the same.

Your whole life’s experience supports that things go on changing. Nothing remains stable; you cannot cling to anything in a changing world. You wanted to make your friendship something permanent but your wanting is against the law of change, and that law is not going to make exceptions. It simply goes on doing its own thing. It will change — everything.

Perhaps in the long run you will understand one day that it was good that it did not listen to you, that existence did not bother about you and just went on doing whatever it wanted to do…not according to your desire.

It may take a little time for you to understand. You want this friend to be your friend forever, but tomorrow he turns into an enemy. Or simply — ”You get lost!” and he is no longer with you. Somebody else fills the gap who is a far superior being. Then suddenly you realize it was good that the other one got lost; otherwise you would have been stuck with him. But still the lesson never goes so deep that you stop asking for permanence.

You will start asking for permanence with this man, with this woman: now this should not change. You have not really learned the lesson that change is simply the very fabric of life. You have to understand it and go with it. Don’t create illusions; they are not going to help. And everybody is creating illusions of different kinds.

I used to know one man who said, “I trust only money. I trust nobody else.”

I said, “You are making a very significant statement.”

He said, “Everybody changes. You cannot rely on anybody. And as you get older, only your money is yours. Nobody cares — not even your son, not even your wife. If you have money they all care, they all respect you, because you have money. If you don’t have money you become a beggar.”

His saying that the only thing in the world to trust is money comes out of a long experience of life, of getting cheated again and again by the people he trusted — and he thought they loved him but they were all around him for the money.

“But,” I told him, “at the moment of death money is not going to be with you. You can have an illusion that at least money is with you, but as your breathing stops, money is no longer with you. You have earned something but it will be left on this side; you cannot carry it beyond death. You will fall into a deep loneliness which you have been hiding behind the facade of money.”

There are people who are after power, but the reason is the same: when they are in power so many people are with them, millions of people are under their domination. They are not alone. They are great political and religious leaders. But power changes. One day you have it, another day it is gone, and suddenly the whole illusion disappears. You are lonely as nobody else is, because others are accustomed to being lonely. You are not accustomed…your loneliness hurts you more.

Society has tried to make arrangements so you can forget loneliness. Arranged marriages are just an effort so that you know your wife is with you. All religions resist divorce for the simple reason that if divorce is allowed then the basic purpose marriage was invented for is destroyed. The basic purpose was to give you a companion, a lifelong companion.

But even though a wife will be with you or a husband will be with you for your whole life, that does not mean that love remains the same. In fact, rather than giving you a companion, they give you a burden to carry. You were lonely, already in trouble, and now you have to carry another person who is lonely. And in this life there is no hope, because once love disappears you both are lonely, and both have to tolerate each other. Now it is not a question of being enchanted by each other; at the most you can patiently tolerate each other. Your loneliness has not been changed by the social strategy of marriage.

Religions have tried to make you a member of an organized body of religion so you are always in a crowd. You know that there are six hundred million Catholics; you are not alone, six hundred million Catholics are with you. Jesus Christ is your savior. God is with you. Alone you may have been wrong — doubt may have arisen — but six hundred million people cannot be wrong. A little support…but even that is gone because there are millions who are not Catholics. There are the people who crucified Jesus. There are people who don’t believe in God — and their number is not less than Catholics, it is more than Catholics. And there are other religions with different concepts.

It is difficult for an intelligent person not to doubt. You may have millions of people following a certain belief system, but still you cannot be certain that they are with you, that you are not lonely.

God was a device, but all devices have failed. It was a device…when nothing is there, at least God is with you. He is always everywhere with you. In the dark night of the soul, he is with you — don’t be worried.

It was good for a childish humanity to be deceived by this concept, but you cannot be deceived by this concept. This God who is always everywhere — you don’t see him, you can’t talk to him, you can’t touch him. You don’t have any evidence for his existence — except your desire that he should be there. But your desire is not a proof of anything.

God is only a desire of the childish mind.

Man has come of age, and God has become meaningless. The hypothesis has lost its grip.

What I am trying to say is that every effort that has been directed towards avoiding loneliness has failed, and will fail, because it is against the fundamentals of life. What is needed is not something in which you can forget your loneliness. What is needed is that you become aware of your aloneness, which is a reality. And it is so beautiful to experience it, to feel it, because it is your freedom from the crowd, from the other. It is your freedom from the fear of being lonely.

Just the word “lonely” immediately reminds you that it is like a wound: something is needed to fill it. There is a gap and it hurts: something needs to be filled in. The very word “aloneness” does not have the same sense of a wound, of a gap which has to be filled. Aloneness simply means completeness. You are whole; there is no need of anybody else to complete you.

So try to find your innermost center, where you are always alone, have always been alone. In life, in death — wherever you are you will be alone. But it is so full — it is not empty, it is so full and so complete and so overflowing with all the juices of life, with all the beauties and benedictions of existence, that once you have tasted aloneness the pain in the heart will disappear. Instead, a new rhythm of tremendous sweetness, peace, joy, bliss, will be there.

It does not mean that a man who is centered in his aloneness, complete in himself, cannot make friends — in fact only he can make friends, because now it is no longer a need, it is just sharing. He has so much; he can share.

Friendship can be of two types. One is a friendship in which you are a beggar — you need something from the other to help your loneliness — and the other is also a beggar; he wants the same from you. And naturally two beggars cannot help each other. Soon they will see that their begging from a beggar has doubled or multiplied the need. Instead of one beggar, now there are two. And if, unfortunately, they have children, then there are a whole company of beggars who are asking — and nobody has anything to give.

So everybody is frustrated and angry, and everybody feels he is being cheated, deceived. And in fact nobody is cheating and nobody is deceiving, because what have you got?

The other kind of friendship, the other kind of love, has a totally different quality. It is not of need, it is out of having so much that you want to share. A new kind of joy has come into your being — that of sharing, which you were not ever aware of before. You have always been begging.

When you share, there is no question of clinging. You flow with existence, you flow with life’s change, because it doesn’t matter with whom you share. It can be the same person tomorrow — the same person for your whole life — or it can be different persons. It is not a contract, it is not a marriage; it is simply out of your fullness that you want to give. So whosoever happens to be near you, you give it. And giving is such a joy.

Begging is such a misery. Even if you get something through begging, you will remain miserable. It hurts. It hurts your pride, it hurts your integrity. But sharing makes you more centered, more integrated, more proud, but not more egoistic — more proud that existence has been compassionate to you. It is not ego; it is a totally different phenomenon…a recognition that existence has allowed you something for which millions of people are trying, but at the wrong door. You happen to be at the right door.

You are proud of your blissfulness and all that existence has given to you. Fear disappears, darkness disappears, the pain disappears, the desire for the other disappears.

You can love a person, and if the person loves somebody else there will not be any jealousy, because you loved out of so much joy. It was not a clinging. You were not holding the other person in prison. You were not worried that the other person may slip out of your hands, that somebody else may start having a love affair….

When you are sharing your joy, you don’t create a prison for anybody. You simply give. You don’t even expect gratitude or thankfulness because you are not giving to get anything, not even gratitude. You are giving because you are so full you have to give.

So if anybody is thankful, you are thankful to the person who has accepted your love, who has accepted your gift. He has unburdened you, he allowed you to shower on him. And the more you share, the more you give, the more you have. So it does not make you a miser, it does not create a new fear that “I may lose it.” In fact the more you lose it, the more fresh waters are flowing in from springs you have not been aware of before.

So I will not tell you to do anything about your loneliness.

Look for your aloneness.

Forget loneliness, forget darkness, forget pain. These are just the absence of aloneness. The experience of aloneness will dispel them instantly. And the method is the same: just watch your mind, be aware. Become more and more conscious, so finally you are only conscious of yourself. That is the point where you become aware of aloneness.

You will be surprised that different religions have given different names to the ultimate state of realization. The three religions born outside of India don’t have any name for it because they never went far in the search for oneself. They remained childish, immature, clinging to a God, clinging to prayer, clinging to a savior. You can see what I mean: they are always dependent — somebody else is to save them. They are not mature. Judaism, Christianity, Islam — they are not mature at all and perhaps that is the reason they have influenced the greatest majority in the world, because most of the people in the world are immature. They have a certain affinity.

But the three religions in India have three names for this ultimate state. And I remembered this because of the word aloneness. Jainism has chosen kaivalya, aloneness, as the ultimate state of being. Just as Buddhism chose nirvana, no-selfness, and Hinduism chose moksha, freedom, Jainism chose absolute aloneness. All three words are beautiful. They are three different aspects of the same reality. You can call it liberation, freedom; you can call it aloneness; you can call it selflessness, nothingness — just different indicators towards that ultimate experience for which no name is sufficient.

But always look to see if anything that you are facing as a problem is a negative thing or a positive thing. If it is a negative thing then don’t fight with it; don’t bother about it at all. Just look for the positive of it, and you will be at the right door.

Most of the people in the world miss because they start fighting directly with the negative door.

There is no door; there is only darkness, there is only absence. And the more they fight, the more they find failure, the more they become dejected, pessimistic…and ultimately they start finding that life has no meaning, that it is simply torture. But their mistake is they entered from the wrong door.

So before you face a problem, just look at the problem: is it an absence of something? And all your problems are the absence of something. And once you have found what they are the absence of, then go after the positive. And the moment you find the positive, the light — the darkness is finished.”

Happiness cannot be found

through great effort and willpower,

but is already present, in open relaxation and letting go.

^^^^^^^^^^

Don’t strain yourself,

there is nothing to do or undo.

Whatever momentarily arises in the body-mind

has no real importance at all,

has little reality whatsoever.

Why identify with, and become attached to it,

passing judgment upon it and ourselves?

^^^^^^^^^

Far better to simply

let the entire game happen on its own,

springing up and falling back like waves–

without changing or manipulating anything–

and notice how every thing vanishes and

reappears, magically, again and again,

time without end.

^^^^^^^^^^

Only our searching for happiness

prevents us from seeing it.

It’s like a vivid rainbow which you pursue without ever catching,

or a dog chasing its own tail.

^^^^^^^^^^

Although peace and happiness do not exist

as an actual thing or place,

it is always available

and accompanies you every instant.

^^^^^^^^^

Don’t believe in the reality

of good and bad experiences;

they are like today’s ephemeral weather,

like rainbows in the sky.

^^^^^^^^^^

Wanting to grasp the ungraspable,

you exhaust yourself in vain.

As soon as you open and relax this tight fist of grasping,

infinite space is there–open, inviting and comfortable.

^^^^^^^^^^

Make use of this spaciousness, this freedom and natural ease.

Don’t search any further.

Don’t go into the tangled jungle

looking for the great awakened elephant,

who is already resting quietly at home

in front of your own hearth.

^^^^^^^^^

Nothing to do or undo,

nothing to force,

nothing to want,

and nothing missing–