Enlightenment Now

By J. Todd Ring

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“Alan Watts – Trust the Universe”, on YouTube. Here is a brilliant talk. A bit one-sided, but the point is clear. Thou art that! Realize your true nature, as it already is! But, paradoxically, that does take effort! Then, one day, non-dual awareness dawns in the mind – and becomes, not just a glimpse, a taste, but continuous. Then only, are you fully enlightened. Until then, even in the most direct path, effort is required! Otherwise, you’re just drifting through life, like a cow or a sheep, no matter how frantically you strive or rush about, with no enlightenment, still asleep, realizing nothing and awakening not at all – like a dog chasing his tail, or laying mindlessly on a hillside. The paradox is, it takes effort to realize your true nature, even though in the end, you realize you are waking up to what you’ve always been – empty, pure, birthless, deathless, commensurate with the cosmos itself, unborn and undying: ever changing form, but never changing essence. That is enlightenment, and the path to enlightenment. Seek without seeking. Make the effort. And know thyself.

JTR,
June 17, 2024

My teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, one of my four main Buddhist teachers, explains in the briefest way possible, the very root of the problem – and the path to awakening and enlightenment: