The Truth Is Everywhere We Look

If we tell people that we know the truth, they usually run away. This is because they either prefer a vague idea, as understanding means ‘change’, or they have their own belief – or they think you’re crazy!

When looking for the truth, we may look here and there, at this and that, but there is a common denominator and that is in the awareness of the looking itself – in the seeing, which is conscious awareness. Seeing never changes; interpretation does! We are beings that are aware and conscious, and perceive. There is no language needed, nor any intellectualisation, and neither are we required to adopt a foreign culture. Pure consciousness is happening now.

I love Tibetan Buddhism, with its detailed analysis and logic, but there is no need to carry around this information. Information shows us the ways in which to look, but we have to look – and see. We’re not acquiring a philosophy about ourselves, thus developing a ‘spiritual’ attitude to impose on to every situation. We are just being ordinary – in an unusual way. We don’t need to learn Tibetan, Sanskrit or Pali. Years ago, we needed translations, but now we get the message. Of course, language is need to express experience, but we can express this experience in our own language – even with a limited education – when we gain compassionate confidence in seeing, and are mindful of generosity, patience and discipline.

It comes down to looking, seeing and dropping any comment about what is seen, and remaining in silent awareness, beyond language or culture. There is no need to impose text we have studied onto a situation, merely repeating without empathy. As we were saying yesterday, in the first instant of sitting down to drink tea, there is just pure perception. That’s it. It’s everywhere, at every moment. All we have to do is remember, without doing anything with that. “Short moments, many times” safeguards against trying to hold on the experience, trying to make it special.

It’s just being normal in an unusual way – in natural knowingness, rather than in knowing something!

Everything we see is a psychological inspiration, a reminder; all we are doing is seeing. Just being aware. It’s uncommon, unusual, spontaneous.

But it can’t be that simple…can it?
That’s for you to look, and see, and gain confidence.