meditation

Zen Teachings: The Four Kinds of Spiritual People

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

buddha silver

“There are four kinds of people who study.
The highest are those with practice, with understanding, and with realization.
Next are those with understanding, and with realization but without practice.
Next are those with practice and understanding but without realization.
Lowest are those with practice, but without understanding or realization.”

Zen Dawn, J. C. Cleary

Practice, understanding and realisation are all important, but we can deduce from the quote above that of these realisation is the most important. Next in importance is understanding, and least important is practice.

How can this be? How can understanding be more important than practice? Isn’t it often said that an drop of practice is worth an ocean of theory?
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No ego

~ Tom Das ~ 3 Comments

meditation-857916_1280

If you say “spiritual enlightenment does not exist”,
You have denied yourself, and anyone who believes you, a route to end suffering:
“Suffering can end”, thus the wise ones have proclaimed.

If you say “you can be enlightened”, “your suffering can end”
Then by saying ‘you’, you are perpetuating the false concept of self.

Suffering can end, but your suffering cannot end.
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Fleetwood Mac: Women, they will come and they will go

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

fleetwood mac rumours

‘Women,they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean
you’ll know….you’ll know’
from Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

‘Women,they will come and they will go…’
Women will come and go,
Material goods will come and go,
Experiences will come and go,
Power and prestige will come and go,
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Absorption in the Treasury of Light by Zen master Ejo

~ Tom Das ~ 1 Comment

Ejo

So I’ve been reading ‘Absorption in the Treasury of Light’ by Ejo (1198-1290) and to put it simply, it has blown my mind. The way Ejo expresses both the so-called ‘path’ and ‘state’ of realisation is astounding. I love how he speaks from his direct experience but also draws from scripture. His interspersed scriptural excepts sometimes seem to contradict each other, but the way he juxtaposes them, and in the context of his writing…well the combination results in a potent pointer to the Ultimate. Continue reading →

What is non-duality anyway?

~ Tom Das ~ 16 Comments

lotus flower

This website is sub-titled ‘Spirituality and Non-Duality’. But what exactly is non-duality (advaita in Sanskrit)? Even in spiritual circles only a few people will ever come across the notion of non-duality and fewer still seem to be interested. From my point of view that’s a real shame as as far as I can see, non-duality is where spirituality gets real and freedom can become reality. Continue reading →

Sudden vs gradual enlightenment

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

pine cone

First there was the gradual path, the progressive path: I could, through practice, become enlightened.

Then there was the instant path, the sudden path: I could, through a flash of insight, become enlightened.

Now, I am happily lost. Continue reading →

Annamalai Swami: How to calm the mind

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

annamalai swami final talks

The following is an excerpt from the book ‘Annamalai Swami Final Talks’ (bold added by me):

Annamalai Swami: ….Your mind is an insubstantial shadow that will follow you around wherever you go. Attempts to eliminate or control it cannot succeed while there is still a belief that the mind is real, and that it is something that can be controlled by physical or mental activity.

Question: But this shadow mind must still be eliminated by some means.
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Annamalai Swami: How to stabilise in the Self

~ Tom Das ~ Leave a comment

annamalai swami final talks

The following is an excerpt from the book ‘Annamalai Swami Final Talks’ (bold added by me):

Question: One can have a temporary experience of the Self, the underlying reality, but then it goes away. Can you offer any guidance on how to stabilise in that state?
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