Transmission

(The term “Buddha” below is used in the sense of referring to a fully awakened being. Throughout history, there existed many Buddhas. The term here does not refer to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni.)


The Disciple: “Please tell me about the nature of reality.”

The Buddha: (Long pause) “What about the Tantric Initiations that you have experienced?”

The Disciple: “The ego is the greatest hijacker of all. Therefore, these events are irrelevant from that angle. Please tell me about the nature of reality.” (Burst out crying, releasing tears of centuries of pain that are now surfacing by expressing this single-most important question. His face is becoming drenched in tears as if it were raining)

The Buddha is not answering the question as expected. Rather, he now gets up and stands before the disciple and points his hand toward the heart of the disciple without actually touching it. The disciple notices that suddenly there are other beings doing the same. He sees them pointing their hands toward his heart, just as the Buddha is doing.

The next thing that he becomes aware of is a sensation as if his body was cut in the middle, as if it were a coconut swiftly cut in half. In that instant, there was a tremendous explosion in the center of his heart. There was an expansion that brought an intense feeling of relief, as if there was an orgasm exploding in his heart. Then there ensued a great presence of calmness and clarity.

In this manner the Buddha answered the question, only after the disciple passed the test of not identifying with any spiritual experiences in the past.

The Emergence of the Divine Woman

Above a very good review of Raylene's book in the magazine "Psychologies." This is the equivalent to "Psychology Today" here in the U.S.A. The magazine has over 2 million readers in France.

The Great Work

A wise man once said, “The Great Work is best not started. But once started, it is best completed.”

This is a strange statement. What does it mean?

The Great Work. He uses this term to describe the Great Work that has to be done in order for the individual to awaken. And in order to awaken, the individual has to move away from the matrix of all ordinary men, the matrix of the sleeping souls. Right away, things become complicated and immediately, by virtue of activating the intention to find Awakening, the individual enters a profound isolation, since the vast majority of people in his environment do not share this intention.

Then, complexities continue. Now he has to find the right tools to work with in order to move closer to Awakening. And, he has to find the right people to associate with in order to find support for attaining this goal, since without proper support, it is almost impossible to realize the intention of Awakening.

Then, if those conditions have been met successfully, the individual has to cultivate daily practice and the proper attitudes, again to support the goal of Awakening. He has to hold steady for a very long time, and holding steady is not in the nature of the mind.

It is for that purpose the wise man says, “Don’t bother, stay asleep. The task is too difficult. Enjoy your illusions. But if you decide to enter the journey, then have the strength and determination to finish it.”

My observation with many seekers is that there is insufficient determination to complete the task at hand and see a practice to its flowering and mastery. The disease of spiritual tourism is rampant, especially in the New Age.

The good news, however, is that an individual whose practice has deepened over time and experiences of Samadhi are taking place, becomes a beacon of light on the planet. She will be naturally capable of assisting others in the process of Awakening.

And, as I have mentioned before, her light will easily balance and neutralize the darkness and negativity of many. How wonderful!

In California

We are back in Mount Shasta until the end of February. Then on to Tokyo and Osaka, then to France for the rest of the year.

Being in California again really feels like a culture shock in many ways. We have begun integrating into French ways, and one of those French ways – among many others - is …. the French food. It is very hard to replace, I would say.

At the same time I feel this time will be put to good use by spending it with a lot of meditation, in retreat mode, so to speak. After 9 weeks of working with people and building our base in France, we need a breather. Mount Shasta is perfect for the purpose of retreat and going in. People who come here who have in mind to deepen their spiritual practice have come to the right spot. At the same time, as a way of giving expression to the flowering of one’s inner work, Mount Shasta is, in most cases, the wrong place. After all, it is a place of 3,000 + souls. What is there to express and for whom? Even Christ and Buddha would be jobless here.

Often people come here from across the country and the first thing they say, they are going to open a spiritual center. Mostly, this does not work, because of the numbers mentioned above.

Anyway, here we are in the USA. For a brief time.

My work

My work is to allow the revelation of The Silence and to co-operate with the actions and the words arising from The Silence.

When The Silence arises, it is ever-surprising and ever-new. The Presence of the Silence renews, refreshes and restores hope without pointing toward anything hoped for.

When the Presence of Silence arises, it activates such a profound experience of relief and fulfillment that it affects the body all the way to the very last atom of its existence.

Therefore, genuine awakening is also a very physical phenomenon. The blood, the bones, the organs --- all are awakened and transformed. Existence now sings its song through the portal of the body and the body begins to affect other bodies.

Letter to a friend from Cannes

Yesterday morning I had an experience that gave rise to a particular set of reflections.

I stood in a room in a large mansion here in Cannes. Looking through the window, I saw the harbor, filled with many beautiful yachts. The sky was blue and the whole scene was perfect for a postcard of the French Riviera.

But as I was looking down on the session table before me, there a woman, releasing the tears of a deep soul suffering.

In that instant between those two images I had again a glimpse of the tremendous illusion of glamour, how it filters into our lives, how it lures us, yet how ultimately meaningless and impotent it is in the face of human suffering.

Wealth and success will not provide us with a shield from life’s capacity to awaken a soul to that which is of essential value. And that which is of universal, essential value is wisdom, kindness and compassion.

The goal of life is to awaken to these dimensions and if a soul is slow to awaken to these quintessential aspects, then life will send suffering to trigger the soul’s evolution into this direction.

Glamour is both hugely powerful and impotent. It is powerful when success and wealth are observed from the outside, from a point of not having it.

But once success and wealth are achieved, the recognition of one’s remaining vulnerability dawns with full impact.

Success and wealth have been achieved, yet one remains unfulfilled.

At that point one may choose to anesthetize oneself through drugs or alcohol or begin the spiritual quest.

Michael J. Fox said that he used to think he lived in God’s pocket. When Parkinson’s struck him at the peak of his career, he turned into a major force to push for finding the remedy for a disease that has affected many people.

Why wait until such traumatic experiences reach us?

Why not transform one’s wealth and success into a power that contributes to the process of bringing alleviation of suffering?

There are those people such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet who have reached such amazing peaks of success that they concluded it should be used in the service of compassion.

If every human being would dedicate only a small part of her/his success to the process of the alleviation of suffering on this planet, we would be a giant step closer to heaven on earth.

For this to happen, a soul must awaken and the unconscious, self-absorbed state of mind must cease. Therefore, I wish to invite you. Please, please awaken. Look around. There is work to be done. Join the process and help in bringing alleviation of suffering … to this planet.