Pit stops Along the Way - 29 April 2016

Now, this so-called journey that we have all undertaken will only truly stall with the realization of the Self and the dropping of the false beliefs about ourselves. But many times along the way, it can seem to take some pit stops, either because the mind is saying 'I will never get it, so I give up' or the mind is saying 'I got it now.' So these are the pit stops. One says 'I discovered the truth, I found it.' There is no truth; something that you can still smell if it is mental using. So then that can be a pit stop. The same thing can be spoken experientially. We see that for that which is non-phenomenal, even the concept of truth or false does not apply.

Sometimes it is the spiritual concepts which are the longer pit stops, and the mind attaches to see the seemingly glorious spiritual concept. That could be a very long pit stop because it gives the illusion of permanency. This illusion of permanency will not be the end of suffering. I remember actually there was a time here many years ago that there was a sense that 'I know it all now. I just know it, I just know it.' I could speak it, and I was just correcting my then-Guru's words—just a very good replica. So then the sense was there that I know it all. And when these attachments started to cause suffering—work attachments, family attachments—they started to cause suffering, I realized that there was so much suffering which went on in spite of knowing all the concepts.

So it is suffering which pulls us out from the pit stop again, and suffering which confirms to us: 'Not this, not even this, not even this.' We see for ourselves that no amount of mental knowing is the end of suffering. In fact, the more mental knowing, it seemed like there is more suffering actually, because the world and the appearance is constantly colliding with that which we seem to know mentally. So that it is the true seeing, the true realization, the true Knowingness (capital K) which is not attached to any concepts. When this is the discovery, then we find that this Knowingness cannot be attacked. There is no right or wrong in this; it just is. And instead of attachments, it brings openness, and instead of pride or humility, it brings neutrality.

You rush to make any proclamations, no rushing to any conclusions. That which is coming from the sense of 'I' or need for validation, this rush, rush, rush to get it, is not true. Mental understanding of even spiritual concepts is only fresh conditioning. Knowing—true understanding—does not rely on any ideas. You...