The Arising of suffering and the Ending of suffering

Ajahn Sundara is Buddhist nun, she  went to live at Amaravati Monastery where she participated in the establishment of the Nuns’ Community and training. In the mid-nineties she spent over two years in Thailand practicing in Forest Monasteries. For the last 15 years she has taught and led meditation retreats in Europe and North America.

The points i learned after reading- her article on Dhamma talk given during
a Thanksgiving retreat in California, USA (2002) and  developed  a understanding of my own mind and which could practice some of the teachings which she mentioned in these talks. 

What  could  I understand from this article  which is again  to my(understanding) conditioning of mind  is :

 1) I could identify the suffering and begin to look it very closely.

2) The root cause of suffering and i could able to see the suffering in reality when it is happening- which make me wonder that i never saw it while the suffering itself.

3) Who  is understanding actually , who is the know er i could able to identify it. Who is it that is thinking inside this mind? Who is it that is suffering in there? Who is it that conjures up this strange train of thought?’is really wonderful to know in myself.

4) The natural pattern of the deluded mind is to think that suffering happens outside of oneself – that there is something or someone out there to blame: ‘The reason why I am upset is...’..These lines hit me like a bullet that's 100% truth we are always caught up  in this blaming so easily to others isn't it?

5) We have to look at painful things..I have repeatedly applied this point and practiced it looking into the eyes of the pain and challenge it was so true like she said that it will die its own natural death, i have seen myself the pain gone when me looking straight into the eyes of the pain and challenge it,it was  dis-comfortable to fight the hurdle  which resulted that the challenge has not changed but the way of looking the hurdle has certainly changed which make to see things in a different way now ..a way where am not attached to the pain. so learned not to have pain from pain, realised that we are more bothered with a feeling of pain that i am having pain, more than the real pain.

I  have just reproduced the thoughts and talks said by Ajahn sundara, my sincere salutation to her experience and service rendering to the society to make learn people like me, though we are connected yet we been connected now.

I have not imposed my interpretation over her talk to understand what she said according to your condition of mind and your perceptions you will understand it, am sure her potent thoughts will leave you spellbound joy and compassion, if you are a practitioner it would easy to understand where you got struck up , and make you ease instantly.

Ajahn Sundara

 Thanksgiving retreat in California, USA (2002)

This is the third night of our retreat. What is the result so far? Have you made peace with yourself? When we first look closely at the human mind, we may experience suffering from our approach to the practice itself. We may struggle to make peace with ourselves. We may experience tiredness or confusion. We may suffer – without understanding the roots of suffering, without knowing how to let it go, how to let it die its own natural death. Why is this so? It is because the mind looks for safety, and often, its first recourse is to try to distract itself – to forget. Its second is to rationalise poor conduct. We do this out of habit without awareness or understanding. 

 In this Dhamma practice, we can’t really lie to ourselves. It doesn’t work. We have to look at painful things. Usually, we don’t want to see our habits or our delusions; consequently, it’s hard to be  Ajahn Sundara¯at peace with them. But, when the mind is shaken out of habit by the harsh reality of grief and crisis, we can wake up! Though we would not ask for a major crisis in our lives, that could be precisely what compels us to turn away from our tendency to follow desire, selfishness, or blind habit – to turn away from the world and towards the Dhamma. We want to identify with what we imagine we are: the thoughts coursing through our minds, the feelings that arise in our hearts, the sensations of our bodies. We want to be ‘good’, ‘pleasant’, ‘worthy of respect’. So the first step in this practice is to challenge that sense of who we think we are.

How do we do that? By questioning, by investigating: ‘Who is it that is thinking inside this mind? Who is it that is suffering in there? Who is it that conjures up this strange train of thought?’ The natural pattern of the deluded mind is to think that suffering happens outside of oneself – that there is something or someone out there to blame: ‘The reason why I am upset is...’ Each of us can fill in the blank with our own story; someone or something outside of ourselves has hurt us, irritated us, upset us. We come closer to the truth by recognising that we’re upset, because our minds are generating  random or obsessive thoughts that can feel very disturbing. We do not feel in control or in a state of equilibrium. So we attempt to find order in our mind by changing or adapting to our conditions. That’s part of being a social creature: we try to ‘fit in’. That’s what happens in monastic communities sometimes, some lay people come, and after a time may think La Grande Illusion . ‘The monks and nuns look happy and peaceful, and they are beautiful without their hair; I want to be like that, so I will shave my head too!’ We had to make a rule that women are not allowed to shave their heads until ordained.

The Buddha said not to waste energy looking critically at other people, wanting them to change. Instead, we need to focus our energy observing our own behaviour, our own mind, and our own self. His teaching points to a way of approaching and understanding the self which is not caught, not deluded, not agitated by what goes on in the mind. It is not grasping and, at the same time, it’s also not pushing away. It’s the Middle Way, which is another way of saying the enlightened way. Perhaps we want to think of nothing, to have no thoughts, just endless bliss and perfect peace. But this is also delusion, only a more subtle form. Ajahn Chah said that being stuck in peace is a lot worse than being stuck in suffering. When we’re stuck in suffering, at least we know that we want change; at least we know we want to be free from of it. One of the obstacles on the path of the holy life, the brahmacariya life, is the desire to have a blissful mind; it’s not that difficult to achieve with the strong cultivation of concentration. In fact, bliss is inherent to the mind itself; it’s not that far away from us. But if we allow ourselves to attach to bliss, then we may forget the Four Noble Truths and the path to liberation. We end up stuck in tranquility, without wisdom. I don’t mean to say practice should not take us to a place of peace and bliss. If it does, that’s great. But it should be  Ajahn Sundara¯ recognized for what it is. Even the happiness of a peaceful mental state, the Buddha said, is suffering – we habitually cling to it, and we suffer. Instead, we can use it as a foundation on which to investigate the nature of our mind and the characteristics of phenomena – but we must be careful that we do not then become unmotivated to contemplate the truth of our existence.

So it’s important to know how to practice correctly, to understand both the means and the goal of our practice. The goal, as the Buddha said, is Nibba¯na, the ending of all our misery. The Buddha knew profoundly the needs of human beings. He encouraged us to observe what is closest to us – our mind, with its thoughts, its feelings, its perceptions – and to realize that they’re not what they appear to be, or worth

taking refuge in.

The Buddha taught that clinging to desire will always be unsatisfactory. If the body is sick, attaching to the desire of not wanting the body to be sick only creates more suffering. That thought is a form of denial of the experience of sickness. Similarly, if your mind is not concentrated or feels confused, then refusing to be with that lack of concentration or confusion is abusive, in the sense that it does not allow you to see

things as they are – to penetrate the truth as it is, free from all judgments and all clinging. Even grasping after the desire to make oneself ‘good’, or to try to make others ‘good’, can give rise to abusive thinking.

From a mindfulness viewpoint we can see that which is suffering. And we can see that mindfulness has nothing to  do with any particular train of thought. This is important to realize because you’ll never liberate yourself unless you allow the mind to be as it is. For example, if your conditioning is to be irritated, impatient, heartless, lacking in compassion – how are you going to liberate yourself if you cannot recognize these aspects of yourself, or if every time you look at these things you crush them, push them down, suppress them?

This is where the Buddha asks us to begin the practice. We start by observing our thoughts, feelings, moods, and perceptions – all the activities in the mind. If a feeling of jealousy comes up, we notice that it arises and passes away. Selfishness, meanness, hatred and other painful mental states also may arise, and likewise will pass away. Happiness, feelings of love and joy also arise and pass away. As we accept the momentary

reality of those states, we’re able to let them go. Then we begin to recognise and understand our experiences as they are, instead of wishing them to be otherwise. To observe ourselves takes courage and fearlessness. How many of us can just listen, simply listen, to the manifestation of pain as it arises and until it ends? Our habitual way is often quite extreme and simplistic: I like/I grab, I don’t like/I kill.

The level of response can be quite aggressive. Or, it may be more refined – maybe you don’t kill, but there’s still aversion; maybe you’re not averse, but there’s still irritation. From feeling peaceful, relaxed and calm, you suddenly feel irritated. How do we respond when this happens? Do we remember

the goal of practice?

The goal is to release the mind from suffering. The means  is awareness, our capacity to observe ourselves and the activities of the mind, without any agenda. However, if you come  from a deluded perspective, you will notice that there is an agenda, however subtle – as soon as something unpleasant is felt, the mind sends immediately the message of aversion, ‘This should not be here – get out!’ The same applies to that which is pleasant, that which we like: ‘This should be here – always!’ We need to understand that those reactions are arising in the mind most of the time.

Another aspect of the practice which can be quite confusing is that the more determined you are to do something good, the more challenged you may become. Let’s say that you determine to do something wholesome and you will notice that, not long after that, Ma¯ra (the Buddhist personification

of evil) will come along and test you. One year, when I was a novice, I resolved to refrain from eating any chocolate for a certain period during the three month ‘rains retreat’. We didn’t have much, maybe a few squares from time to time, so it was not a massive renunciation – but I decided to give it up anyway. From the day I took this decision, about a week before the rains retreat began, what arose in my mind was:

‘Will I be safe? Won’t I murder somebody? Will I become violent and start beating people up?’ It was Ma¯ra telling me that if I give up that piece of chocolate, my world would collapse – an illustration of the power of the forces we have to deal with!

Our good fortune is knowing that the more we practice and gain insight into this experience of suffering, the more we become confident in observing our experiences as they really are – seeing them as impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha) and ‘not self ’ (anatta).

Our identification with suffering is very strong – we get sucked into it, and it’s really hard to pull ourselves out. We might think that as we practise the mind should really come together and be more peaceful, but that’s not always the case. As we deepen our practice, we become aware of deeper layers of the mind’s conditioning and conceit, and can sometimes be more forcefully challenged. Ajahn Chah used to say, the most important questions to ask every day are, ‘Why was I born?’ and, ‘Why am I here?’ So what are we here for? What is the goal, the purpose of this practice? Should we make a list of what we don’t want to be ( jealous, angry, selfish, confused), and a list of what we do want to be (good, patient, kind, virtuous, wise)? Where does that leave us? How much chance is there to actually let things go? With mindfulness, instead of taking a position for or against any states of mind, we notice their coming and going. As we see their arising and passing away, they start to lose their intensity, their substantially, and we’ll see them as energy – ‘empty’. Do you understand? If we use this approach for everything that we encounter in our practice, then nothing will be a problem. It’s a matter of being patient and allowing the symptoms and the cause of our suffering to be seen as impermanent. Nothing arises in the heart without causes. If we stay patiently with the symptoms, we may get in touch with the causes at a deeper level. Sometimes, for example, if we stay with anger long enough, we’ll see the fear that lies behind the anger. But if we’re obsessed with getting rid of anger as quickly as possible, we won’t see that it is prompted and generated by some kind of fear.   

The Buddha said there are only two things that manifest in the mind: the arising of suffering and the ending of suffering. A pretty miserable programme if you don’t see it from the right perspective of non-grasping. Where’s the joy and happiness in that? Well, there is joy and happiness, but it’s not the joy and happiness that comes from a deluded view. True joy and happiness come from the freedom of knowing  that whatever arises in the heart is not worth clinging to. Whatever you cling to will make you fearful that you’ll lose it; you cling to the desire not to lose something you like and then, you cling to the desire to get it back. And there it is: dukkha!

During my early years of training, I remember having an insight that made me skip down the lane at Chithurst – even though skipping was not allowed. I remember being very happy – knowing that there is no happiness and that I would never be ‘happy’ again! I felt so joyful, prancing up and down with this insight. What I had understood so very clearly at that moment was that I would never be fooled by happiness. La Grande Illusion .

When happiness came, I would feel it totally, when it went, I would not suffer. Many years later, I heard that one of the great meditation masters in Thailand had a sign at the entrance of his monastery that said: ‘What joy it is to know there is no happiness in the world.’ Of course, I got fooled again many times. But once you have the insight you can never be completely fooled again. Insights are the point of transformation when the heart knows, really knows, for itself – beyond teachings, beyond teachers, beyond anyone. When, through wisdom, you have true insight, you don’t need to rely on any external authority.

When the Buddha says that we must understand dukkha, he means that when we do really understand it we will never be fooled by suffering again. Only when the Buddha really understood dukkha, its causes, its ending and the path leading to the release of suffering was he able to proclaim that he was

free from dukkha.

The reason I say all this is to encourage you to continue seeing everything that is taking place on this retreat as a gateway to insight. The key factor in your practice is to find a strong refuge in awareness, however you are able to do it – whether you use your body to cultivate awareness, your breath, a word like ‘peace’ or ‘buddho’, or the movement of your feet in walking meditation. The simpler you keep it, the more clearly you will see the mind. This is what enables the wisdom of the mind to cut through its own delusions.

Upasika¯ Kee, a respected female meditation master in Thailand, said that there is nothing more fun than getting a handle on the kilesas, the defilement's in the mind. When they arise, ‘kill them off...that’s  Vipassana’, she says. She did not mean that we should really kill anything, but that we should develop a sharp mindfulness to free the mind from all its delusion. Mindfulness acts like a knife cutting through the misery we carry around. Enjoy your journey during this retreat. When you get up in the morning, whether you feel utterly wretched or you feel like you are going to transcend it all in one day, whatever you feel, that is a gateway to enlightenment. In the early morning, you go to the sink, brush your teeth feeling cold and miserable: ‘Oh no! Sitting and walking all day! Let’s go back to sleep!’ You start getting dressed – it’s so cold and miserable: ‘I think I’m going to declare myself sick today. I’ll put a note on my door: DON’T DISTURB!’ Notice that this is the mind going through its Ma¯ra stages. It is becoming ‘ma¯raic’! You have to remember that Ma¯ra is always around the corner – he tempted the Buddha for 45 years. Who is Ma¯ra? One of the great Sufi poets said that if you want to know the devil just look at yourself. It’s so true, isn’t it? We get often fooled because the devil is not necessarily so terrible looking, it can also be quite a sweet manifestation. When we look at ourselves we’re not that bad, are we? The devil can look quite nice a lot of the time. I like the way one of our senior teachers once described delusion. He pointed out that there is nothing more comfortable than delusion. If you want to know delusion, look at your comfort zones. There is something very cosy about being deluded.

A well known teacher said once that people can spend a whole day thinking stupid thoughts without a flicker of doubt, but ask them to be mindful of one inhalation and they go berserk. Isn’t it strange? We can indulge in selfish, destructive things all day long in small and big ways without any qualms.

Often, it’s not until we awaken that we notice the damage of unskilfulness and its destructive results. Remember: the practice is to develop the means to free ourselves from unskilfulness, and the goal is liberation from all suffering. The Buddha keeps reminding us to be observant, and to be mindful in all areas of our life, of all our actions and thoughts – all of them, the good and bad. He doesn’t ask us to judge what we experience, or reject those that are painful. He doesn’t ask us to do that. Wisdom itself knows this –

without pushing anything away or holding on to anything. This is the Middle Way, the path of non-grasping, non clinging.

It is the end of ‘la grand e illusion’.

WHAT IS FEAR....?

 

 

 'Fear'

By J.Krishnamurti

WHAT IS FEAR? Fear can exist only in relation to something, not in isolation. How can I be afraid of death, how can I be afraid of something I do not know? I can be afraid only of what I know. When I say I am afraid of death, am I really afraid of the unknown, which is death, or am I afraid of losing what I have known? My fear is not of death but of losing my association with things belonging to me. My fear is always in relation to the known, not to the unknown.

My inquiry now is how to be free from the fear of the known, which is the fear of losing my family, my reputation, my character, my bank account, my appetites and so on. You may say that fear arises from conscience; but your conscience is formed by your conditioning, so conscience is still the result of the known. What do I know? Knowledge is having ideas, having opinions about things, having a sense of continuity as in relation to the known, and no more. Ideas are memories, the result of experience, which is response to challenge. I am afraid of the known, which means I am afraid of losing people, things or ideas, I am afraid of discovering what I am, afraid of being at a loss, afraid of the pain which might come into being when I have lost or have not gained or have no more pleasure.

There is fear of pain. Physical pain is a nervous response, but psychological pain arises when I hold on to things that give me satisfaction, for then I am afraid of anyone or anything that may take them away from me. The psychological accumulations prevent psychological pain as long as they are undisturbed; that is I am a bundle of accumulations, experiences, which prevent any serious form of disturbance - and I do not want to be disturbed. Therefore I am afraid of anyone who disturbs them. Thus my fear is of the known, I am afraid of the accumulations, physical or psychological, that I have gathered as a means of warding off pain or preventing sorrow. But sorrow is in the very process of accumulating to ward off psychological pain. Knowledge also helps to prevent pain. As medical knowledge helps to prevent physical pain, so beliefs help to prevent psychological pain, and that is why I am afraid of losing my beliefs, though I have no perfect knowledge or concrete proof of the reality of such beliefs. I may reject some of the traditional beliefs that have been foisted on me because my own experience gives me strength, confidence, understanding; but such beliefs and the knowledge which I have acquired are basically the same - a means of warding off pain.

Fear exists so long as there is accumulation of the known, which creates the fear of losing. Therefore fear of the unknown is really fear of losing the accumulated known. Accumulation invariably means fear, which in turn means pain; and the moment I say "I must not lose" there is fear. Though my intention in accumulating is to ward off pain, pain is inherent in the process of accumulation. The very things which I have create fear, which is pain.

The seed of defense brings offence. I want physical security; thus I create a sovereign government, which necessitates armed forces, which means war, which destroys security. Wherever there is a desire for self-protection, there is fear. When I see the fallacy of demanding security I do not accumulate any more. If you say that you see it but you cannot help accumulating, it is because you do not really see that, inherently, in accumulation there is pain.

Fear exists in the process of accumulation and belief in something is part of the accumulative process. My son dies, and I believe in reincarnation to prevent me psychologically from having more pain; but, in the very process of believing, there is doubt. Outwardly I accumulate things, and bring war; inwardly I accumulate beliefs, and bring pain. So long as I want to be secure, to have bank accounts, pleasures and so on, so long as I want to become something, physiologically or psychologically, there must be pain. The very things I am doing to ward off pain bring me fear, pain.

Fear comes into being when I desire to be in a particular pattern. To live without fear means to live without a particular pattern. When I demand a particular way of living that in itself is a source of fear. My difficulty is my desire to live in a certain frame. Can I not break the frame? I can do so only when I see the truth: that the frame is causing fear and that this fear is strengthening the frame. If I say I must break the frame because I want to be free of fear, then I am merely following another pattern which will cause further fear. Any action on my part based on the desire to break the frame will only create another pattern, and therefore fear. How am I to break the frame without causing fear, that is without any conscious or unconscious action on my part with regard to it? This means that I must not act, I must make no movement to break the frame. What happens to me when I am simply looking at the frame without doing anything about it? I see that the mind itself is the frame, the pattern; it lives in the habitual pattern which it has created for itself. Therefore, the mind itself is fear. Whatever the mind does goes towards strengthening an old pattern or furthering a new one. This means that whatever the mind does to get rid of fear causes fear.

Fear finds various escapes. The common variety is identification, is it not? - identification with the country, with the society, with an idea. Haven't you noticed how you respond when you see a procession, a military procession or a religious procession, or when the country is in danger of being invaded? You then identify yourself with the country, with a being, with an ideology. There are other times when you identify yourself with your child, with your wife, with a particular form of action, or inaction. Identification is a process of self-forgetfulness. So long as I am conscious of the `me' I know there is pain, there is struggle, there is constant fear. But if I can identify myself with something greater, with something worth while, with beauty, with life, with truth, with belief, with knowledge, at least temporarily, there is an escape from the `me', is there not? If I talk about "my country" I forget myself temporarily, do I not? If I can say something about God, I forget myself? If I can identify myself with my family, with a group, with a particular party, with a certain ideology, then there is a temporary escape.

Identification therefore is a form of escape from the self, even as virtue is a form of escape from the self. The man who pursues virtue is escaping from the self and he has a narrow mind. That is not a virtuous mind, for virtue is something which cannot be pursued. The more you try to become virtuous, the more strength you give to the self, to the `me'. Fear, which is common to most of us in different forms, must always find a substitute and must therefore increase our struggle. The more you are identified with a substitute, the greater the strength to hold on to that for which you are prepared to struggle, to die, because fear is at the back.

Do we now know what fear is? Is it not the non-acceptance of what is? We must understand the word `acceptance'. I am not using that word as meaning the effort made to accept. There is no question of accepting when I perceive what is. When I do not see clearly what is, then I bring in the process of acceptance. Therefore fear is the non-acceptance of what is. How can I, who am a bundle of all these reactions, responses, memories, hopes, depressions, frustrations, who am the result of the movement of consciousness blocked, go beyond? Can the mind, without this blocking and hindrance, be conscious? We know, when there is no hindrance, what extraordinary joy there is. Don't you know when the body is perfectly healthy there is a certain joy, well-being; and don't you know when the mind is completely free, without any block, when the centre of recognition as the`me' is not there, you experience a certain joy? Haven't you experienced this state when the self is absent? Surely we all have.

There is understanding and freedom from the self only when I can look at it completely and integrally as a whole; and I can do that only when I understand the whole process of all activity born of desire which is the very expression of thought - for thought is not different from desire - without justifying it, without condemning it, without suppressing it; if I can understand that, then I shall know if there is the possibility of going beyond the restrictions of the self.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

The Awakening of emotional sensitivity -5

We are concerned not only with the cultivation of the mind and the awakening of emotional sensitivity, but also with a well-rounded development a the physique, and to this we must give considerable thought. For if the body is not healthy, vital, it will inevitably distort thought and make for insensitivity. This is so obvious that we need not go into it in detail. It is necessary that the body be in excellent health, that it be given the right kind of food and have sufficient sleep. If the senses are not alert, the body will impede the total development of the human being. To have grace of movement and well-balanced control of the muscles, there must be various forms of exercise, dancing and games. A body that is not kept clean, that is sloppy and does not hold itself in good posture, is not conducive to sensitivity of mind and emotions. The body is not the instrument of the mind, but body, emotions and mind make up the total human being, and unless they live together harmoniously, conflict is inevitable.

Conflict makes for insensitivity. The mind may dominate the body and suppress the senses, but it thereby makes the body insensitive; and an insensitive body becomes a hindrance to the full flight of the mind. The mortification of the body is definitely not conducive to the seeking out of the deeper layers of consciousness; for this is possible only when the mind, the emotions and the body are not in contradiction with each other, but are integrated and in unison, effortlessly, without being driven by any concept, belief or ideal.

In the cultivation of the mind, our emphasis should not be on concentration, but on attention. Concentration is a process of forcing the mind to narrow down to a point, whereas attention is without frontiers. In that process the mind is always limited by a frontier or boundary, but when our concern is to understand the totality of the mind, mere concentration becomes a hindrance. Attention is limitless, without the frontiers of knowledge. Knowledge comes through concentration, and any extension of knowledge is still within its own frontiers. In the state of attention the mind can and does use knowledge, which of necessity is the result of concentration; but the part is never the whole, and adding together the many parts does not make for the perception of the whole. Knowledge which is the additive process of concentration, does not bring about the understanding of the immeasurable. The total is never within the brackets of a concentrated mind.

So attention is of primary importance, but it does not come through the effort of concentration. Attention is a state in which the mind is ever learning without a centre around which knowledge gathers as accumulated experience. A mind that is concentrated upon itself uses knowledge as a means of its own expansion; and such activity becomes self-contradictory and antisocial.

Learning in the true sense of the word is possible only in that state of attention, in which there is no outer or inner compulsion. Right thinking can come about only when the mind is not enslaved by tradition and memory. It is attention that allows silence to come upon the mind, which is the opening of the door to creation. That is why attention is of the highest importance.

Knowledge is necessary at the functional level as a means of cultivating the mind, and not as an end in itself. We are concerned, not with the development of just one capacity, such as that of a mathematician, or a scientist, or a musician, but with the total development of the student as a human being.

How is the state of attention to be brought about? It cannot be cultivated through persuasion, comparison, reward or punishment, all of which are forms of coercion. The elimination of fear is the beginning of attention. Fear must exist as long as there is an urge to be or to become, which is the pursuit of success, with all its frustrations and tortuous contradictions. You can't teach concentration, but attention cannot be taught just as you cannot possibly teach freedom from fear; but we can begin to discover the causes that produce fear, and in understanding these causes there is the elimination of fear. So attention arises spontaneously when around the student there is an atmosphere of well-being, when he has the feeling of being secure, of being at ease, and is aware of the disinterested action that comes with love. Love does not compare, and so the envy and torture of `becoming' cease.

The general discontent which all of us experience, whether young or old, soon finds a way to satisfaction, and thus our minds are put to sleep. Discontent is awakened from time to time through suffering, but the mind again seeks a gratifying solution. In this wheel of dissatisfaction and gratification the mind is caught, and the constant awakening through pain is part of our discontent. Discontent is the way of inquiry, but there can be no inquiry if the mind is tethered to tradition, to ideals. Inquiry is the flame of attention.

By discontent I mean that state in which the mind understands what is, the actual, and constantly inquires to discover further. Discontent is a movement to go beyond the limitations of what is; and if you find ways and means of smoothing or overcoming discontent, then you will accept the limitations of self-centred activity and of the society in which you find yourself.

Discontent is the flame which burns away the dross of satisfaction, but most of us seek to dissipate it in various ways. Our discontent then becomes the pursuit of `the more', the desire for a bigger house, a better car, and so on, all of which is within the field of envy; and it is envy that sustains such discontent. But I am talking of a discontent in which there is no envy, no greed for `the more', a discontent that is not sustained by any desire for satisfaction, This discontent is an unpolluted state which exists in each one of us, if it is not deadened through wrong education, through gratifying solutions, through ambition, or through the pursuit of an ideal. When we understand the nature of real discontent, we shall see that attention is part of this burning flame which consumes the pettiness and leaves the mind free of the limitations of self-enclosing pursuits and gratifications.

So attention comes into being only when there is inquiry not based on self-advancement or gratification. This attention must be cultivated in the child, right from the beginning. You will find that when there is love - which expresses itself through humility, courtesy, patience, gentleness - you are already free of the barriers which insensitivity builds; and so you are helping to bring about in the child this state of attention from a very tender age.

Attention is not something to be~ learnt, but you can help to awaken it in the student by not creating around him that sense of compulsion which produces a self-contradictory existence. Then his attention can be focussed at any moment on any given subject, and it will not be the narrow concentration brought about through the compulsive urge of acquisition or achievement.

A generation educated in this manner will be free of acquisitiveness and fear, the psychological inheritance of their parents and of the society in which they are born; and because they are so educated, they will not depend on the inheritance of property. This matter of inheritance destroys real independence and limits intelligence; for it breeds a false sense of security, giving a self-assurance which has no basis and creating a darkness of the mind in which nothing new can flourish. But a generation educated in this totally different manner which we have been considering will create a new society; for they will have the capacity born of that intelligence which is not hedged about by fear.

Since education is the responsibility of the parents as well as of the teachers, we must learn the art of working together, and this is possible only when each one of us perceives what is true. It is perception of the truth that brings us together, and not opinion, belief or theory. There is a vast difference between the conceptual and the factual. The conceptual may bring us together temporarily, but there will again be separation, if our working together is only a matter of conviction. If the truth is seen by each one of us, there may be disagreement in detail but there will be no urge to separate. It is the foolish who break away over some detail. When the truth is seen by all, the detail can never become an issue over which there is dissension.

Most of us are used to working together along the lines of established authority. We come together to work out a concept, or to advance an ideal, and this requires conviction, persuasion, propaganda, and so on. Such working together for a concept, for an ideal, is totally different from the co-operation which comes from seeing the truth and the necessity of putting that truth into action. Working under the stimulus of authority - whether it be the authority of an ideal, or the authority of a person who represents that ideal - is not real cooperation. A central authority who knows a great deal, or who has a strong personality and is obsessed with certain ideas, may force or subtly persuade others to work with him for what he calls the ideal; but surely this is not the working together of alert and vital individuals. Whereas, when each one of us understands for himself the truth of any issue, then our common understanding of that truth leads to action, and such action is cooperation. He who cooperates because he sees the truth as the truth, the false as the false, and the truth in the false, will also know when not to co-operate - which is equally important.

If each one of us realizes the necessity of a fundamental revolution in education and perceives the truth of what we have been considering, then we shall work together without any form of persuasion. persuasion exists only when someone takes a stand from which he is unwilling to move. When he is merely convinced of an idea or entrenched in an opinion, he brings about opposition, and then he or the other has to be persuaded, influenced or induced to think differently. Such a situation will never arise when each one of us sees the truth of the matter for himself. But if we do not see the truth and act on the basis of merely verbal conviction or intellectual reasoning, then there is bound to be contention, agreement or disagreement, with all the associated distortion and useless effort.

It is essential that we work together, and it is as if we were building a house. If some of us are building and others are tearing down, the house will obviously never be built. So we must individually be very clear that we really see and understand the necessity of bring about the kind of education that will produce a new generation capable of dealing with the issues of life as a whole, and not as isolated parts unrelated to the whole.

To be able to work together in this really co-operative way, we must meet often and be alert not to get submerged in detail. Those of us who are seriously dedicated to the bringing about of the right kind of education have the responsibility not only of carrying out in action all that we have understood, but also of helping others to come to this understanding. Teaching is the noblest profession - if it can be called a profession at all. It is an art that requires, not just intellectual attainments, but infinite patience and love. To be truly educated is to understand our relationship to all things - to money, to property, to people, to nature - in the vast field of our existence.

Beauty is part of this understanding, but beauty is not merely a matter of proportion, form, taste and behaviour. Beauty is that state in which the mind has abandoned the centre of self in the passion of simplicity. Simplicity has no end; and there can be simplicity only when there is an austerity which is not the outcome of calculated discipline and self-denial. This austerity is self-abandonment, which love alone can bring about. When we have no love we create a civilization in which beauty of form is sought without the inner vitality and austerity of simple self-abandonment. There is no self-abandonment if there is an immolation of oneself in good works, in ideals, in beliefs. These activities appear to be free of the self, but in reality the self is still working under the cover of different labels. Only the innocent mind can inquire into the unknown. But the calculated innocence which may wear a loincloth or the robe of a monk is not that passion of self-abandonment from which come courtesy, gentleness, humility, patience - the expressions of love.

Most of us know beauty only through that which has been created or put together - the beauty of a human form, or of a temple. We say a tree, or a house, or the widely-running river is beautiful. And through comparison we know what ugliness is - at least we think we do. But is beauty comparable? Is beauty that which has been made evident, manifest? We consider beautiful a particular picture, poem, or face, because we already know what beauty is from what we have been taught, or from what we are familiar with and about which we have formed an opinion. But does not beauty cease with comparison. Is beauty merely a familiarity with the known, or is it a state of being in which there may or may not be the created form?

We are always pursuing beauty and avoiding the ugly, and this seeking of enrichment through the one and avoidance of the other must inevitably breed insensitivity. Surely, to understand or to feel what beauty is, there must be sensitivity to both the so-called beautiful and the so-called ugly. A feeling is not beautiful or ugly, it is just a feeling. But we look at it through our religious and social conditioning and give it a label; we say it is a good feeling or a bad feeling, and so we distort or destroy it. When feeling is not given a label it remains intense, and it is this passionate intensity that is essential to the understanding of that which is neither ugliness nor manifested beauty. What has the greatest importance is sustained feeling, that passion which is not the mere lust of self-gratification; for it is this passion that creates beauty and, not being comparable, it has no opposite.

In seeking to bring about a total development of the human being, we must obviously take into full consideration the unconscious mind as well as the conscious. Merely to educate the conscious mind without understanding the unconscious, brings self-contradiction into human lives, with all its frustrations and miseries. The hidden mind is far more vital than the superficial. Most educators are concerned only with giving information or knowledge to the superficial mind, preparing it to acquire a job and adjust itself to society. So the hidden mind is never touched. All that so-called education does, is to superimpose a layer of knowledge and technique, and a certain capacity to adjust to environment.

The hidden mind is far more potent than the superficial mind, however well educated and capable of adjustment; and it is not something very mysterious. The hidden or unconscious mind is the repository of racial memories. Religion, superstition, symbol, peculiar traditions of a particular race, the influence of literature both sacred and profane, of aspirations, frustrations, mannerisms, and varieties of food - all these are rooted in the unconscious. The open and secret desires with their motivations, hopes and fears, their sorrows and pleasures, and the beliefs which are sustained through the urge for security translating itself in various ways - these things also are contained in the hidden mind, which not only has this extraordinary capacity to hold the residual past, but also the capacity to influence the future. Intimations of all this are given to the superficial mind through dreams and in various other ways when it is not wholly occupied with everyday events.

The hidden mind is nothing sacred and nothing to be frightened of, nor does it demand a specialist to expose it to the superficial mind. But because of the hidden mind's enormous potency, the superficial mind cannot deal with it as it would wish. The superficial mind is to a great extent impotent in relation to its own hidden part. However much it may try to dominate, shape, control the hidden, because of its immediate social demands and pursuits, the superficial can only scratch the surface of the hidden; and so there is a cleavage or contradiction between the two. We try to bridge this chasm through discipline, through various practices sanctions and so on; but it cannot so be bridged.

The conscious mind is occupied with the immediate, the limited present, whereas the unconscious is under the weight of centuries, and cannot be stemmed or turned aside by an immediate necessity. The unconscious has the quality of deep time, and the conscious mind, with its recent culture, cannot deal with it according to its passing urgencies. To eradicate self-contradiction, the superficial mind must understand this fact and be quiescent - which does not mean giving scope to the innumerable urges of the hidden. When there is no resistance between the open and the hidden, then the hidden, because it has the patience of time, will not violate the immediate.

The hidden, unexplored and un-understood mind, with its superficial part which has been `educated', comes into contact with the challenges and demands of the immediate present. The superficial may respond to the challenge adequately; but because there is a contradiction between the superficial and the hidden, any experience of the superficial only increases the conflict between itself and the hidden. This brings about still further experience, again widening the chasm between the present and the past. The superficial mind, experiencing the outer without understanding the inner, the hidden, only produces deeper and wider conflict.

Experience does not liberate or enrich the mind, as we generally think it does. As long as experience strengthens the experiencer, there must be conflict. In having experiences, a conditioned mind only strengthens its conditioning, and so perpetuates contradiction and misery. Only for the mind that is capable of understanding the total ways of itself, can experiencing be a liberating factor.

Once there is perception and understanding of the power and capacities of the many layers of the hidden, then the details can be looked into wisely and intelligently. What is important is the understanding of the hidden, and not the mere education of the superficial mind to acquire knowledge, however necessary. This understanding of the hidden frees the total mind from conflict, and only then is there intelligence.

We must awaken the full capacity of the superficial mind that lives in everyday activity, and also understand the hidden. In understanding the hidden there is a total living in which self-contradiction, with its alternating sorrow and happiness, ceases. It is essential to be acquainted with the hidden mind and aware of its workings; but it is equally important not to be occupied with it or give it undue significance. It is only when the mind understands the superficial and the hidden that it can go beyond its own limitations and discover that bliss which is not of time.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

We must cultivate emotional capacity - 4

contd frm previous..talks from Mr J.krishna Murthy.

As we are concerned with the total development of the human being, we must understand his emotional urges, which are very much stronger than intellectual reasoning; we must cultivate emotional capacity and not help to suppress it. When we understand and are therefore capable of dealing with emotional as well as intellectual issues, there will be no sense of fear in approaching them.

For the total development of the human being, solitude as a means of cultivating sensitivity becomes a necessity. One has to know what it is to be alone, what it is to meditate, what it is to die; and the implications of solitude, of meditation, of death, can be known only by seeking them out. These implications cannot be taught, they must be learnt. One can indicate, but learning by what is indicated is not the experiencing of solitude or meditation. To experience what is solitude and what is meditation, one must be in a state of inquiry; only a mind that is in a state of inquiry is capable of learning. But when inquiry is suppressed by previous knowledge, or by the authority and experience of another, then learning becomes mere imitation, and imitation causes a human being to repeat what is learnt without experiencing it.

Teaching is not the mere imparting of information but the cultivation of an inquiring mind. Such a mind will penetrate into the question of what is religion, and not merely accept the established religions with their temples and rituals. The search for God, or truth, or whatever one may like to name it - and not the mere acceptance of belief and dogma - is true religion.

Just as the student cleans his teeth every day, bathes every day, learns new things every day, so also there must be the action of sitting quietly with others or by himself. This solitude cannot be brought about by instruction, or urged by the external authority of tradition, or induced by the influence of those who want to sit quietly but are incapable of being alone. Solitude helps the mind to see itself clearly as in a mirror, and to free itself from the vain endeavour of ambition with all its complexities, fears and frustrations, which are the outcome of self-centred activity. Solitude gives to the mind a stability, a constancy which is not to be measured in terms of time. Such clarity of mind is character. The lack of character is the state of self-contradiction. To be sensitive is to love. The word `love' is not love. And love is not to be divided as the love of God and the love of man, nor is it to be measured as the love of the one and of the many. Love gives itself abundantly as a flower gives its perfume; but we are always measuring love in our relationship and thereby destroying it.

Love is not a commodity of the reformer or the social worker; it is not a political instrument with which to create action. When; the politician and the reformer speak of love, they are using the word and do not touch the reality of it; for love cannot be employed as a means to an end, whether in the immediate or in the far-off future. Love is of the whole earth and not of a particular field or forest. The love of reality is not encompassed by any religion; and when organized religions use it, it ceases to be. Societies, organized religions and authoritarian governments, sedulous in their various activities, unknowingly destroy the love that becomes passion in action.

In the total development of the human being through right education, the quality of love must be nourished and sustained form the very beginning. Love is not sentimentality, nor is it devotion. It is as strong as death. Love cannot be bought through knowledge; and a mind that is pursuing knowledge without love is a mind that deals in ruthlessness and aims merely at efficiency.

So the educator must be concerned from the very beginning with this quality of love, which is humility, gentleness, consideration, patience and courtesy. Modesty and courtesy are innate in the man of right education; he is considerate to all, including the animals and plants, and this is reflected in his behavior and manner of talking.

The emphasis on this quality of love frees the mind from its absorption in its ambition, greed and acquisitiveness. Does not love have about it a refinement which expresses itself as respect and good taste? Does it not also bring about the purification of the mind, which otherwise has a tendency to strengthen itself in pride? Refinement in behavior is not a self-imposed adjustment or the result of an outward demand; it comes spontaneously with this quality of love. When there is the understanding of love, then sex and all the complications and subtleties of human relationship can be approached with sanity and not with excitement and apprehension.

The educator to whom the total development of the human being is of primary importance, must understand the implications of the sexual urge which plays such an important part in our life, and be able from the very beginning to meet the children's natural curiosity without arousing a morbid interest. Merely to impart biological information at the adolescent age may lead to experimental lust if the quality of love is not felt. Love cleanses the mind of evil. Without love and understanding on the part of the educator, merely to separate the boys from the girls, whether by barbed wire or by edicts, only strengthens their curiosity and stimulates that passion which is bound to degenerate into mere satisfaction. So it is important that boys and girls be educated together rightly.

This quality of love must express itself also in doing things with one's hands, such as gardening, carpentry, painting, handicrafts; and through the senses, as seeing the trees, the mountains, the richness of the earth, the poverty that men have created among st themselves; and in healing music, the song of the birds, the murmur of running waters.

contd....

Intelligence is the capacity to deal with life as a whole - 3

contd..from previous..Talks from Mr J.Krishna Murthy..

Intelligence is the capacity to deal with life as a whole; and giving grades or marks to the student does not assure intelligence. On the contrary it degrades human dignity. This comparative evaluation cripples the mind - which does not mean that the teacher must not observe the progress of every student and keep a record of it. Parents, naturally anxious to know the progress of their children, will want a report; but , unfortunately, they do not understand what the educator is trying to do, the report will become an instrument of coercion to produce the results they desire, and so undo the work of the educator.

Parents should understand the kind of education the school intends to give. Generally they are satisfied to see their children preparing to get a degree of some kind which will assure them of a livelihood. Very few are concerned with more than this. Of course, they wish to see their children happy, but beyond this vague desire very few give any thought to their total development. As most parents desire above all else that their children should have a successful career, they frighten or affectionately bully them into acquiring knowledge, and so the book becomes very important; and with it there is the mere cultivation of memory, the mere repetition without the quality of real thought behind it.

Perhaps the greatest difficulty the educator has to face is the indifference of parent to a wider and deeper education. Most parents are concerned only with the cultivation of some superficial knowledge which will secure their children respectable positions in a corrupt society. So the educator not only has to educate the children in the right way, but also to see to it that the parents do not undo whatever good may have been done at the school. Really the school and the home should be joint centres of right education, and should in no way be opposed to each other, with the parents desiring one thing and the educator doing something entirely different. It is very important that the parents be fully acquainted with what the educator is doing, and be vitally interested in the total development of their children. It is as much the responsibility of the parents to see that this kind of education is carried out, as it is of the teachers, whose burden is already sufficiently heavy. A total development of the child can be brought about only when there is the right relationship between the teacher, the student and the parents. As the educator cannot yield to the passing fancies or obstinate demands of the parents, it is necessary for them to understand the educator and co-operate with him, and not bring about conflict and confusion in their children.

The child's natural curiosity, the urge to learn exists from the very beginning, and surely this should be intelligently encouraged continually, so that it remains vital and without distortion, and will gradually lead him to the study of a variety of subjects. If this eagerness to learn is encouraged in the child at all times, then his study of mathematics, geography, history, science, or any other subject, will not be a problem to the child or to the educator. Learning is facilitated when there is an atmosphere of happy affection and thoughtful care.

Emotional openness and sensitivity can be cultivated only when the student feels secure in his relationship with his teachers. The feeling of being secure in relationship is a primary need of children. There is a vast difference between the feeling of being secure and the feeling of dependency. Consciously or unconsciously, most educators cultivate the feeling of dependency, and thereby subtly encourage fear - which the parents also do in their own affectionate or aggressive manner. Dependency in the child is brought about by authoritarian or dogmatic assertions on the part of parents and teachers as to what the child must be and do. With dependency there is always the shadow of fear, and this fear compels the child to obey, to conform, to accept without thought the edicts and sanctions of his elders. In this atmosphere of dependency, sensitivity is crushed; but when the child knows and feels that he is secure, his emotional flowering not thwarted by fear.

This sense of security in the child is not the opposite of insecurity. It is the feeling of being at ease, whether in his own home or at school, the feeling that he can be what he is, without being compelled in any way; that he can climb a tree and not be scolded if he falls. He can have this sense of security only when the parents and the educators are deeply concerned with the total welfare of the child.

It is important in a school that the child should feel at ease, completely secure from the very first day. This first impression is of the highest importance. But if the educator artificially tries by various means to gain the child's confidence and allows him to do what he likes, then the educator is cultivating dependency; he is not giving the child the feeling of being secure, the feeling that he is in a place where there are people who are deeply concerned with his total welfare.

The very first impact of this new relationship based on confidence, which the child may never have had before, will help to wards a natural communication, without the young regarding the elders as a threat to be feared. A child who feels secure has his own natural ways of expressing the respect which is essential for learning. This respect is denuded of all authority and fear. When he has a feeling of security, the child's conduct or behaviour is not something imposed by an elder, but becomes part of the process of learning. Because he feels secure in his relationship with the teacher, the child will naturally be considerate; and it is only in this atmosphere of security that emotional openness and sensitivity can flower. Being at ease, feeling secure, the child will do what he likes; but in doing what he likes, he will find out what is the right thing to do, and his conduct then will not be due to resistance, or obstinacy, or suppressed feelings, or the mere expression of a momentary urge.

Sensitivity means being sensitive to everything around one - to the plants, the animals, the trees, the skies, the waters of the river, the bird on the wing; and also to the moods of the people around one, and to the stranger who passes by. This sensitivity brings about the quality of uncalculated, unselfish response, which is the morality and conduct. Being sensitive, the child in his conduct will be open and not secretive; therefore a mere suggestion on the part of the teacher will be accepted easily, without resistance or friction....

contd...

The Development of a good Mind -2

Contd frm previous...Talks of Mr J.Krishna murthy..

It is necessary to encourage the development of a good mind - a mind which is capable of dealing with the many issues of life as a whole, and which does not try to escape from them and so become self-contradictory, frustrated, bitter or cynical. And it is essential for the mind to be aware of its own conditioning, its own motives and pursuits.

Since the development of a good mind is one of our chief concerns, how one teaches becomes very important. There must be a cultivation of the totality of the mind, and not merely the giving of information. In the process of imparting knowledge, the educator has to invite discussion and encourage the students to inquire and to think independently.

Authority, as `the one who knows,' has no place in learning. The educator and the student are both learning through their special relationship with each other; but this does not mean that the educator disregards the orderliness of thought. Orderliness of thought is not brought about by discipline in the form of assertive statements of knowledge; but it comes into being naturally when the educator understands that in cultivating intelligence there must be a sense of freedom. This does not mean freedom to do whatever one likes, or to think in the spirit of mere contradiction. It is the freedom in which the student is being helped to be aware of his own urges and motives, which are revealed to him through his daily thought and action.

A disciplined mind is never a free mind, noT can a mind that has suppressed desire ever be free. It is only through understanding the whole process of desire that the mind can be free. Discipline always limits the mind to a movement within the framework of a particular system of thought or belief, does it not? And such a mind is never free to be intelligent. Discipline brings about submission to authority. It gives the capacity to function within the pattern of a society which demands functional ability, but it does not awaken the intelligence which has its own capacity. The mind that has cultivated nothing but capacity through memory is like the modem electronic computer which, though it functions with astonishing ability and accuracy, is still only a machine. Authority can persuade the mind to think in a particular direction. But being guided to think along certain lines, or in terms of a foregone conclusion is not to think at all; it is merely to function like a human machine, which breeds thoughtless discontent, bringing with it frustration and other miseries.

We are concerned with the total development of each human being, helping him to realize his own highest and fullest capacity - not some fictitious capacity which the educator has in view as a concept or an ideal. Any spirit of comparison prevents this full flowering of the individual, whether he is to be a scientist or a gardener. The fullest capacity of the gardener is the same as the fullest capacity of the scientist when there is no comparison; but when comparison comes in, then there is the disparagement and the envious reactions which create conflict between man and man. Like sorrow, love is not comparative; it cannot be compared with the greater or the lesser. Sorrow is sorrow, as love is love, whether it be in the rich or in the poor.

The fullest development of every individual creates a society of equals. The present social struggle to bring about equality on the economic or some spiritual level has no meaning at all. Social-reforms aimed at establishing equality, breed other forms of antisocial activity; but with right education, there is no need to seek equality through social and other reforms, because envy with its comparison of capacities ceases.

We must differentiate here between function and status. Status, with all its emotional and hierarchical prestige, arises only through the comparison of functions as the high and the low. When each individual is flowering to his fullest capacity, there L.s then no comparison of functions; there is only the expression of capacity as a teacher, or a prime minister, or a gardener, and so status loses its sting of envy.

Functional or technical capacity is now recognized through having a degree after one's name; but if we are truly concerned with the total development of the human being, our approach is entirely different. An individual who has the capacity may take a degree and add letters after his name, or he may not, as he pleases. But he will know for himself his own deep capabilities, which will not be framed by a degree, and their expression. will not bring about that self-centred confidence which mere technical capacity usually breeds. Such confidence is comparative and therefore antisocial. Comparison may exist for utilitarian purpose; but it is not for the educator to compare the capacities of his students and give greater or lesser evaluation.

Since we are concerned with the total development of the individual, the student may not be allowed in the beginning to choose his own subjects, because his choice is likely to be based on passing moods and prejudices, or on finding the easiest thing to do; or he may choose according to the immediate demands of a particular need. But if he is helped to discover by himself and cultivate his innate capacities, then he will naturally choose, not the easiest subjects, but those through which he can express his capacities to the fullest and highest extent. If the student is helped from the very beginning to look at life as a whole, with all its psychological, intellectual and emotional problems, he will not be frightened by it.

contd.......

The revolution has to begin, not with theory-1

Life Ahead

Life Ahead Introduction

by Jiddu krishna murthy

It seems to me that a totally different kind of morality and conduct, and an action that springs from the understanding of the whole process of living, have become an urgent necessity, in our world of mounting crises and problems. We try to deal with these issues through political and organizational methods, through economic readjustment and various reforms; but none of these things will ever resolve the complex difficulties of human existence, though they may offer temporary relief. All reforms, however extensive and seemingly lasting, are in themselves merely productive of further confusion and further need of reformation. Without understanding the whole complex being of man, mere reformation will bring about only the confusing demand for further reforms. There is no end to reform; and there is no fundamental solution along these lines.Political, economic or social revolutions are not the answer either, for they have produced appalling tyrannies, or the mere transfer of power and authority into the hands of a different group. Such revolutions are not at any time the way out of our confusion and conflict.

But there is a revolution which is entirely different and which must take place if we are to emerge from the endless series of anxieties, conflicts and frustrations in which we are caught. The revolution has to begin, not with theory and ideation, which eventually prove worthless, but with a radical transformation in the mind itself. Such a transformation can be brought about only through right education and the total development of the human being. It is a revolution that must take place in the whole of the mind and not merely in thought. Thought, after all, is only a result and not the source. There must be radical transformation in the source and not mere modification of the result. At present we are tinkering with results, with symptoms. We are not bringing about a vital change, uprooting the old ways of thought, freeing the mind from traditions and habits. It is with this vital change we are concerned and only right education can bring it into being.

To inquire and to learn is the function of the mind. By learning I do not mean the mere cultivation of memory or the accumulation of knowledge, but the capacity to think clearly and sanely without illusion, to start from facts and not from beliefs and ideals. There is no learning if thought originates from conclusions. Merely to acquire information or knowledge, is not to learn. Learning implies the love of understanding and the love of doing a thing for itself. Learning is possible only when there is no coercion of any kind. And coercion takes many forms, does it not? There is coercion through influence, through attachment or threat, through persuasive encouragement or subtle forms of reward.

Most people think that learning is encouraged through comparison, whereas the contrary is the fact. Comparison brings about frustration and merely encourages envy, which is called competition. Like other forms of persuasion, comparison prevents learning and breeds fear. Ambition also breeds fear. Ambition, whether personal or identified with the collective, is always antisocial. So-called noble ambition in relationship is fundamentally destructive.

contd.....

God's work must be done in God's way

This is a beautiful story with a beautiful moral. Be it knowledge or food or any good thing, 
Sharing is joy "always". Its an absolute delight when we share a feast with people rather than enjoying ourselves, so is with knowledge.


Three soldiers , hungry and weary of battle, came upon a small village. The villagers,
suffering a meager harvest and the many years of war, quickly hid what little they had to eat and met the three at the village square, wringing their hands and bemoaning the lack of anything to eat.
The soldiers spoke quietly among themselves and the first soldier then turned to the village elders.
"Your tired fields have left you nothing to share, so we will share what little we have: the secret of how to make soup from stones."
Naturally the villagers were intrigued and soon a fire was put to the town's greatest kettle as the soldiers dropped in three smooth stones." Now this will be a fine soup", said the second soldier;"but a pinch of salt and some parsley would make it wonderful!" Up jumped a villager, crying "what luck!" I just have remembered where some's been left!" And off she ran, returning with an apron full of parsley and turnip. As the kettle boiled on, the memory of village improved: soon barley, carrots, beef and cream had found their way in to the great pot and a cask of wine was rolled in to the square as all sat down to feast. They ate danced and sang well in to the night, refreshed by the feast and their new found friends. In their morning the three soldiers awoke to find the entire village standing before them. At their feet lay a satchel of the village's best breads and cheese. "You have given us the greatest of the gifts: the secret of how to make soup from stones", said an elder, "we shall never forget". The third soldier turned to the crowd and said:
"There is no secret, but this is certain: it is only by sharing that we may make a feast".
And off the soldiers wandered, down the road.

WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING ? - 2

continued from last....

I will try to put it again, differently. There is conflict, of which each one of you is conscious, between yourself and the environment, the conditions. Now, you say to yourself: "If I can conquer environment, overcome it, dominate it, I shall find out, I shall understand; so there is this continual battle going on between yourself and environment.

Now what is the "yourself"? It is but the result, the product of environment. So what are you doing? You are fighting one false thing with another false thing, and environment will be false so long as you do not understand it. Therefore the environment is producing that consciousness which you call the "I", which is continually trying to become immortal. And to make it immortal there must be many ways, there must be means, and therefore you have religions, systems, philosophies, all the nuisances and barriers that you have created. Hence there must be conflict between the result of environment and environment itself; and, as I said, there can be conflict only between the false and the false; never between truth and the false. Whereas, in your minds there is this firmly established idea that in this struggle between the result of environment, which is the "I", and the environment itself, lies power, wisdom, the path to eternity, to reality, truth, happiness.

Our vital concern should be with this environment, not with the conflict, not how to overcome it, not how to run away from it. By questioning the environment and trying to understand its significance, we shall find out its true worth. Isn't that so? Most of us are enmeshed, caught up in the process of trying to overcome, to run away from circumstances. environment; we are not trying to find out what it means, what is its cause, its significance, its value. When you see the significance of environment, it means drastic action, a tremendous upheaval in your life, a complete, revolutionary change of ideas, in which there is no authority, no imitation. But very few are willing to see the significance of environment, because it means change, a radical change, a revolutionary change, and very few people want that. So most people, vast numbers of people, are concerned with the evasion of environment; they cover it up, or try to find new substitutions by getting rid of Jesus Christ and setting up a new saviour; by seeking new teachers in place of the old, but they do not ever inquire whether they need a guide at all. This alone would help, this alone would give the true significance of that particular demand.

So where there is a search for substitution, there must be authority, the following of leadership, and hence the individual becomes but a cog in the social and religious machinery of life. If you look closely you will see that your search is nothing but a search for comfort and security and escape; not a search for understanding, not a search for truth, but rather a search for an evasion and therefore a search for the conquering of all obstacles; after all, all conquering is but substitution, and in substitution there is no understanding.

There are escapes through religions, with their edicts, moral standards, fears, authorities; and escapes through self-expression - what you call self-expression, what the vast majority of people call self-expression, is but the reaction against environment, is but the effort to express oneself through reaction against that environment - self-expression through art, through science, through various forms of action. Here I am not including the true, spontaneous expressions of beauty, of art, of science; they in themselves are complete. I am talking of the man who is seeking these things as a means of self-expression. A real artist does not talk about his self-expression, he is expressing that which he intensely feels; but there are so many spurious artists, like the spurious spiritual people, who are all the time seeking self-expression as a means of getting something, some satisfaction which they cannot find in the environment in which they live.

Through this search for security and permanency, we have established religions with all their inanities, divisions, exploitations, as means of escape; and these means of escape become so vital, so important, because, to tackle environment, that is, the conditions about us, demands tremendous action, voluntary, dynamic action, and very few are willing to take that action. On the contrary, you are willing to be forced to an action by environment, by circumstances; that is, if a man becomes highly moral and virtuous through depression, you say what a nice man he is, how he has changed. For that change you depend upon environment; and so long as there is the dependence on environment for righteous action, there must be means of escape, substitutions, call it religion or what you will. Whereas, for the true artist who is also truly spiritual there is spontaneous expression, which in itself is sufficient, complete, whole.

So what are you doing? What is happening to each one of you? What are you trying to do in your lives? You are seeking; and what are you seeking? There is a conflict between yourself and the constant movement of environment. You are seeking a means to overcome that environment, so as to perpetuate your own self which is but the result of that environment; or, because you have been thwarted so often by environment, which prevents you from self-expressing, as you call it, you seek a new means of self-expression through service to humanity, through economic adjustments, and all the rest of it.

Each one has to find out for what he is searching; if he is not searching, then there is satisfaction and decay. If there is conflict, there is the desire to overcome that conflict, to escape from that conflict, to dominate it. And as I have said, conflict can exist only between two false things, between that supposed reality which you call the "I", which to me is nothing else but the result of environment, and the environment itself. And hence if your mind is merely concerned with the overcoming of that struggle, then you are perpetuating falseness, and hence there is more conflict, more sorrow. But if you understand the significance of environment, that is, wealth, poverty, exploitation, oppression, nationalities, religions, and all the inanities of social life in modern existence, not trying to overcome them but seeing their significance, then there must be individual action, and complete revolution of ideas and thought. Then there is no longer a struggle, but rather light dispelling darkness. There is no conflict between light and darkness. There is no conflict between truth and that which is false. There is only conflict where there are opposites.

J.Krishnamurti

Ojai, California
1st Public Talk 16th June, 1934