“The man who has attained consciousness of the present is solitary.”
The basic assumptions necessary for a paradigm shift are radically different than what most of us believe them to be in the story we tell ourselves today. We would do well to seek the wisdom of some very insightful people.
Buddha taught that when a man knows the solitude of silence, and finds the joy of quietness, he is free. “Inside you are as quiet as a pond that lies in the center of a deep forest, a pond that, protected by the trees around it, has been undisturbed by even the slightest breeze for a thousand years. Feel the stillness, the infinitely deep stillness, within you.”[i]
Thích Nhất Hạnh reveals that “when we stop speaking and thinking and enjoy deeply our in and out breath, we are enjoying being in our true home and we can touch deeply the wonders of life.”[ii]
Krishnamurti explained that we have innumerable complexities but we must grow to simplicity. In other words, we must become simple in our inward life and in our outward needs.
“The first American mingled with his pride a singular humility. Spiritual arrogance was foreign to his nature and teaching. He never claimed that the power of articulate speech was proof of superiority over the dumb creation; on the other hand, it is to him a perilous gift. He believes profoundly in silence—the sign of perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit.”[iii]
Insight # 101 comes to us from C. G. Jung (1875-1961). He was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung’s work was influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy and religion.
“The modern man … is rarely met with, for he must be conscious to a superlative degree. The man who has attained consciousness of the present is solitary. Every step forward means tearing oneself loose from the maternal womb of unconsciousness [P-B] in which the mass of men dwell.”[iv]
__________
Additional Reading:
- Silence, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 2
- Simplicity, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 2
- Solitude, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 2
__________
#101 Silence, Simplicity, Solitude
[i] McLeod, Ken. “Two Truths.” Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Tricycle Foundation, Fall 2012.
[ii] Hạnh, Thích Nhất. “For 30 Years the Best Buddhism in America: Meditation.” Shambhala Sun. Jan. 2010, p. 67.
[iii] McLuhan, T. C. Touch the Earth. Promontory Press, 1971.
[iv] Jung, C. G. The Portable Jung. New York: Penguin Books, 1971, pp. 457-459.
