Enlightenment: Waiting To Be Recognised

The very essence of consciousness is enlightened.
It is unsullied emptiness,
and all we have to do is recognise this without any distraction … forever.

So why aren’t we all enlightened? Put simply, we like distractions, but these distractions can also create doubt, which causes confusion.

I know I doubt. There is an echo in the back of my mind that says, “You’re too ordinary to be enlightened”. Why is this? It’s because all spiritual groups and religions have one thing in common: a dressed up package of rituals that implies a belief in magic – something supernatural.

Mantras, and prayers and pujas chanted either Sanskrit or Tibetan, are merely reminders to focus without distraction. Unfortunately, we take them so seriously that they become the distraction. If the group believes that this works, no one will dare suggest otherwise. It’s the placebo effect. People are given things to do to occupy them while, in reality, ordinary life itself is our karma and teacher.

At a retreat, I once said to the lama so everyone could hear, “Do we have to prostrate every time we come into the shrine room?” He said, “No”, but students still did it, and newcomers still followed. Prostrations are meant to cut through our pride, rather than be used to adorn ourselves with pride. That is what happens when a subtle pressure to conform is created. What suits one culture, which may be lazy one particular way, may not suit another culture which is lazy in another way.

What to do?
Never leave your brains at the temple door.

Realise the essence of a teaching, and do not take another’s word for the truth. Go away and test it for yourself in all situations … forever.

Stop being a devotee and an admirer: be what you are – enlightened.
Life itself is our karma, and our teacher.