Enlightenment....

From Here To Here, Turning Toward Enlightenment." by Gary Crowley
http://www.garycrowley.com
Chpater 1
Understanding What Is
Enlightenment is devastatingly simple. Although questions
regarding enlightenment often become complicated, the answer
always remains simple: enlightenment is the direct result
of freedom from the illusion of a separate self. A profound
understanding of this ultimate simplicity provides all that is
required for an awakening to enlightenment.
Enlightenment is what we are. There is nothing to
gain, only its recognition. Enlightenment's simplicity has been
expressed in many ways:
I am, but there is no 'me.' Wei Wu Wei
You are the perceiving, not the perceiver. Ch'an
You are looking for what is looking. St. Francis of Assisi
That which is seeking, is the sought. Buddhic Scripture
The above quotations all express enlightenment's
simplicity. The possible examples are endless; I just happen to
like those that do it in seven words. As you will soon discover,
understanding the essence of these statements is all that is
required for the spiritual seeker because you are always already
enlightened.
Your illusionary self is never the same once it is seen
through. After decades of spiritual seeking, I read one footnote by
Wei Wu Wei that changed everything:
Free, we are not the number One, the first of all our objects,
but Zero – their universal and Absolute Subject.
This footnote caused a shift in orientation that cannot be shifted
back. It was devastatingly simple and understanding was the only
requirement.
Understanding is recognition, clear seeing. It is not the
same as knowledge. In daily life, the words "understanding" and
"knowledge" are often used interchangeably, but throughout this
book "understanding" refers to a direct recognition of what is.
We all can think of times when we had knowledge of something
in our head, but it was not integrated, and therefore, was only a
theoretical notion. As a child you may have been given knowledge
that fire was hot, but until you ran your hand over a flame, no
true understanding could exist. Now, whenever you see a fire, an
understanding occurs, a direct recognition that fire is hot, without
any need for abstract concepts about what is.
Without understanding, enlightenment's simplicity is
missed. With understanding, enlightenment's simplicity cannot
be ignored. The poet Rumi expressed this sentiment as:
I lived on the lip,
of insanity, wanting to know reasons,
knocking on a door. It opens.
I've been knocking from the inside!
Awakening to enlightenment is a journey from here to
here, not from here to there. There is nowhere to go and nothing
to be attained. Enlightenment is simply an awakening to what has
always been the case. There is only the seeing through of our own
ignorance. The journey becomes a circle because it finishes where
it started, but at the finish, one experiences the same world from an
entirely different perspective. As a result, your case of mistaken
identity effortlessly dissolves.
The release of an illusionary separate self occurs
effortlessly through understanding what was never really there.
The false self, though not ultimately real, is thereby devastated. In
its wake remains only what we are, which is enlightenment.
What if awakening to enlightenment requires only
understanding? What if this understanding causes the release of
an illusionary self, something you never even were? Would you
be willing to let go of something you never were if it allowed an
awakening to enlightenment?
The masterpiece of enlightenment is already here. There is
only the awakening to it. Innumerable masters have affirmed it is
so. Upon awakening, one sage purportedly exclaimed, "Is that all
it is?" He then laughed and went about his daily business.
Seeking enlightenment is like searching for a pair of
glasses that are perched on top of your head. All efforts to find the
glasses are seen as ridiculous once one understands the situation.
How humorous it is to discover what was there all along!
What if the only complicated thing about enlightenment
was noticing what had been there all along? How could one not be
amused after all the searching? Perhaps, laughter will result when
you realize that enlightenment has been "perched upon your head"
all this time, patiently waiting to be discovered.
Look at the graphic of the black cube below. Can you see
the black cube securely tucked into the corner?
Now look at this same graphic, but see it as a large white
cube with the front corner cut out. What was once a small black
cube tucked into a corner is now a large white cube with the front
corner missing. Notice too, that at any point in time you can see
the image only one way. The image offers an either-or proposition
in any given moment and cannot be both at the same time.
Awakening to enlightenment is like realizing you are not
the little black cube tucked in the corner, but are instead the large
white cube. Everything is completely different, yet everything
is exactly as it was before. The difference is orientation.
Understanding allows a different way of seeing what already is.
The required understanding is ultimately very simple, but
unraveling your case of mistaken identity still requires precision.
Human beings have an uncanny knack for self-deception when
it comes to discovering their own essence. Ironically, spiritual
seekers seem naturally conditioned to look in the direction
opposite from where their awakening lies.
Like a child chasing the end of a rainbow, most spiritual
seekers are forever almost there because they chase an illusion that
will always remain just out of reach. With understanding, chasing
the illusion ends as you realize that what you have been looking
for is already right here, right now. This is why only a clear and
unambiguous understanding of your illusion will steer you through
self-deception and into an awakening to enlightenment.
Enlightenment may well be in an entirely different
orientation from where you've been searching. All your efforts
until now may have been like pulling on a door that needs only to
be pushed for it to open. Once again, such situations are usually
met with a chuckle when understanding finally occurs. Please
remember this as you read the chapters that follow.
Enlightenment is readily available for those with the ability
to face what is. This book attempts to clearly and concisely assist
in this endeavor by wholly uprooting the cause of your suffering.
Be forewarned: once the roots of suffering have been exposed,
they are forever changed.
Suffering results from maintaining the most prized of all
possessions, an illusionary self. The illusionary self is the ransom
that must be paid by the spiritual seeker. When the arrow of
understanding hits its mark, your illusionary self is its casualty. If
this does not sound like an appealing proposition, then this book is
not for you. However, if this description sounds intriguing, then
let us begin the journey from "here to here."