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It would be nice to believe that my words were clicking in her mind like the beads of an abacus, but I know they’re not and I’m comfortable with that. “Act, but don’t reflect on the fruit of the act,” said Krishna to Arjuna. Sign me up.
“It’s very simple,” I tell her. “Enlightenment is truth-realization. Not only is truth simple, it’s that which cannot be simpler; cannot be further reduced.”
One doesn’t select truth-realization over mystical union the way one chooses soup over salad. In fact, one doesn’t choose enlightenment at all. If anything, one is more likely to be the victim of it, like getting hit by a bus.
Treat it like you’re creating your own personal mission statement using those two elements; what you’re moving toward and what you’re moving away from. Okay?”
“It’s not a race, it’s just life. There is no finish line, no winners or
She believes, in the broadest sense, that something is wrong and that she can make it right. What that something is, what’s wrong with it, and how it can be fixed all differ from person to person, but the general pattern is always the same: The truth, though, is that nothing is really wrong. Nothing is ever wrong and nothing can be wrong. It’s not even wrong to believe that something is wrong.
“The belief that something is wrong is the fire under the ass of humanity,” is how I explain it to Sarah.
Of course, wrongness isn’t entirely imagined. A certain amount of rightness and wrongness is hardwired into the human machine. Hunger is wrong, eating is right; celibacy is wrong, seed-sowing is right; pain is wrong, pleasure is right, and so on. But those are all biological directives, enforceable only within the context of the physical organism, violations resulting in progressively worsening discomfort and possibly death.
The fear of no-self is the mother of all fears, the one upon which all others are based. No fear is so small or petty that the fear of no-self isn’t at its heart. All fear is ultimately fear of no-self.
You will never achieve spiritual enlightenment. The you that you think of as you is not you. The you that thinks of you as you is not you.
AI Summary
Spiritual Enlightenment by Jed McKenna presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.