By three methods we may learn wisdom, first by reflection which is the noblest, second, by imitation which is the easiest, and third by experience, which is the bitterest. – Confucius
I see no divide between East and West, it is just the way we look at it. In the book, ‘Mr God, this is Anna’, Anna says, ‘The difference between man and God, is that man has many points of view, and God has many viewing points.’. East and West are saying the same thing from different viewing points. East is born from Vedic tradition, ancient Sumaria some 5000 yrs ago, and West from Egypt, also 5000 years and picked up by the Greeks. I would guess both Sumaria and Egyptian philosophy had their roots in the same pond.
I think we make things far too complicated. The basic rules of chess are very simple – there are only six fundamental pieces, or seven if you include the player. And each has fixed ways it can move. And philosophers come along and wrap us up in all the why’s and wherefores. Just learn the moves and play the game. OK, so what of Nature? How many basic crystalline forms are there in Nature? and how many ways can they be put together… it is Infinite! No two snowflakes are the same, ever! What are the basic keys to enlightenment – to full knowing? I don’t mean knowledge, that goes on forever, but ‘knowing; is different. As far as I can see, all the great philosophies, from the Pyramid Texts, Greek, Vedic, Tao, Buddhist and now modern physics, quantum physics and explanations of the holographic universe seem to agree. And to my mind at least, it is all very simple. We have many names for God, and they all end up meaning the same thing. It is how we play the game that matters – it is where live, love, learn and pass it on – so many ways to share and explain, philosophers all – so many snowflakes.
Eastern philosophy encompasses the ancient traditions of India, China, and Japan. Unlike Western philosophy’s focus on logic and debate, Eastern traditions prioritize practical wisdom, inner harmony, and the interconnectedness of all things. The ultimate goal is not just to understand the world, but to experience truth and find peace. The landscape is vast, but these three core traditions form its backbone:1. Buddhism (India)The Core Idea: Life is marked by suffering caused by attachment and desire. The cure is letting go of the ego and living in the present. Key Concept: The Four Noble Truths outline this cycle of suffering, while the Eightfold Path offers a practical guide to ethical living, meditation, and mindfulness. See The Dhammapada.
10 KEYS TO ENLIGHTENMENT
As living beings, it is our nature, both in our minds and in our bodies, to learn, grow and protect our identity: who and what we believe we are. We are bonded to the idea we are something particular and separate from the world around us. This addiction prevents us from exploring and knowing who we truly are, beyond our believed limitations.
The following statements, or Keys, are intended to release these bonds. They will help us rise above the idea that we have separate identities, and the challenge this idea presents to our ultimate happiness.
Central to the keys is the relationship between the mortal mind and the Divine. The keys help us realise that, without the Divine, the mortal has no existence. At the same time, the keys give insight into the sacred union between the Divine and the mortal mind. This exploration leads to greater peace of mind, and – ultimately – to transcendent transformation.
1. The stillness within everything.
The Divine Self, the absolute stillness within, is not subject to time and space. Motion is a mortal perception, seen only when relative to something else. It’s like images on a screen that only appear in motion when relative to another, whilst the screen remains divinely still. From the point of view of the Divine there is nothing else to be relative to. It is mortal consciousness that manifests the illusion of form, a projection which in turn generates a sense of identity, separation, duality, and action.
Images and motion in the mortal mind appear as a play, possibly interesting in its own terms but having no impact on the screen or Divine Self. There may be images of floods or fire, yet the screen is neither wetted nor burnt. Life events – exams, jobs, marriages, children, death – have a profound effect on the mortal mind, but none on the Divine Self. They are just fleeting images captured in an eternal, timeless flow.
The Divine Self embraces everything, yet remains still, like the centre of a wheel in motion. It is everywhere and in everything. The Divine Self in each mortal being is one and the same; just as the sun shining on pots of water appears as though it is many suns, yet all are just reflections of the one single sun. My soul and your soul are very old friends – Rumi. In reality they were never apart.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
There is something about me that has never changed, an eternal presence, the ‘I’ that I am. So, who or what is this ‘I’ that I have always known?
2. There is no separation between objects or events in time and space.
The world of advaita (non-duality) is referred to here as the Divine world or Self. This Divine world contains no boundaries: notions of time and space are meaningless. There is no such thing as direction: no here, no there, no anywhere.
Time is contained in an eternal moment: there is no past, no future, and no particular reality. To an enlightened being, mortal life appears as a dream: to the mortal dreamer that action might last hours, in a number of different locations, but to the enlightened observer only moments have passed, in no particular place and no particular form.
In the mortal world, objects appear to be separated in time and space. It is in the nature of mortal consciousness to manifest this sense of duality, so that we may get to know ourselves in this world we perceive and experience.
Albert Einstein wrote that the past, present, and future are just persistent illusions. His theories of relativity show that under certain conditions space, time and gravity can warp and change. Quantum physics, too, challenges our notions of reality: entangled particles have no independent existence.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
If there is no separation in time and space, what does this say about the world we inhabit? And what do our ideas of an independent existence mean?
3. Natural physics (Divine law) of the universe is the fundamental constant upon which mortal reason and predictability depend.
The rules of physics, like the rules of chess, are absolute and constant (Divine), without which this mortal universe, always changing like the game, could not function in any predictable way. We depend on both Divine constancy and mortal change for our existence and growth.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
If we could not rely on the laws by which change occurs, how then could life as we know it exist for us?
4. Space and time are holographic
Every fragment of our world, our universe, as it ‘appears’ to us is no more than a projection, a holographic image which contains the whole universe. In the same way every cause contains all its effects, and every effect contains all its causes. ‘I am not a drop in the ocean but the entire ocean in a drop’.
Everything is timelessly everywhere. As the fundamental laws of the universe are constant, they ensure that the mortal world is, to us, coherent in form, space, and time.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
Take an infinite straight line, in space or time… ‘Where is its centre when past and future, ahead and behind are always quite the same, no matter where you place the centre?’ So where is the ‘I’ that I am right now, or at any other time or place?
5. We have no independent free will but are subject to universal will.
In this mortal sphere we are addicted to the belief that we have ‘independent’ free will. As we are one with everything, ‘independent’ action is an illusion. We are subject to, and are part of, one single universal will or Divine force. By natural law all things, and their consequences, spring from it, like ripples in a stream.
“It is the qualities of Nature alone that act” ~ Bhagavad Gita
However, although the idea of independent free will is an illusion, we are always subject to the consequences of choices and actions taken.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
With no independent free will, who or what is responsible for our actions?
6. All action is consequential, not determined in a linear sense.
Even though we may think of causal reality as linear, consequences do not just arise as a result of the past, as if predetermined, but they are affected by events happening all around us, in the past, present and future. It is as if we are at the centre of a sphere of cause and effect. We react according to the qualities of our mortal nature at the precise moment of cause. Our mortal nature changes as we become conscious of the result of our actions.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
As we are inseparable from the world around us, in time and space, what then is the root cause of all our actions?
7. Universal Will – life force – flows through all in our natural, mortal world. All life and action depend on it.
The Divine force of nature, forever constant, flows through everything and all beings. When a mortal form is in its path this force is made manifest, as light is only visible when there is something in its path. It is the cause of all action in our world. It is only by a combination of this force and the qualities of our mortal nature, that we act.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
If mortal action results from an encounter with the universal life force, what does it say about the relationship between the mortal world and the Divine?
8. All mortal form, in name and substance, is one with Divine origin.
The Divine Self is the origin of everything. It is beyond name, form, and time, and is infinite in potentiality. In the mortal realm, it is the parent of all that is born, grows, decays, and returns.
Before an artist casts the first stroke, … there is an infinity of possibilities s/he may embrace. A flash of Divine inspiration springs out of Divine will … : a name and an image is born.
See the world as it really is, and all appears as just stories forming on pages blank, images on a screen. Step back and watch as they form, grow and fade in the mists of time.
The meditation – Reflect on this:
If all mortal form is one with its origin, what does it say about my own form and the nature of my relationship with the Divine?
9. Meditation, the act of being present
In meditation we learn to bring greater presence of mind, body, and action. Thought and perception change; the false dissolves, absolute reality comes into view, and our nature rises through the mists of ignorance to meet it. As we learn to know ourselves, we will discover wonders beyond our mortal presence. All we need is already within us. As was carved over the entrance to the Delphic Oracle: Know Thyself.
As we meditate, our sense of identity goes beyond all words, concepts, and ideas into pure, choiceless awareness. The awareness can be reached only by focusing our attention in the present. As we peer through the mists of ignorance, the divine comes into view. We rise above the clouds of mortal attachments into the eternal sky of the Divine.
Ultimately all is known directly: just as every drop of the ocean carries the taste of the sea, so does every moment carry the taste of eternity, the immortal now.
The meditation – The truth will set you free.
10. Do Without Doing (Wei Wu Wei)
Doing without doing is known to all of us: it is when action arises free of any sense of personal effort, or that ‘I am the doer’. The whole of life could be lived like this, effortlessly.
It requires us to be mindfully engaged in the eternal present, free of personal intent or desire. It is by being fully present, in the moment, when time appears to slow down, where the depth of joy is found.
Patient and at peace, in present-centred awareness, we find we are the stillness within. Free of personal opinion and attachment, in a world of infinite potentiality, seeing, listening and action arise naturally.
Being in flow, following nature’s way, not ours, brings effortless action. Free of conflict with life events, flowing with them, we incorporate them into our lives, free of the effort of trying. In flow there is no duality, no seer or seen, only seeing; no actor or act, only acting; no dancer or dance, only dancing; no poet or poem, only poetry in action.
From the joy within, we become passionately committed to natural action, free of attachment to any outcome, good or bad. By not ‘doing’, action happens naturally by nature’s will alone.
No duality of archer, arrow, and target, all is one. As one with all, before even the arrow is released from the bow, you know exactly where on the target it’s going to strike. You also know that it is not you who did it.
Meditation – Reflect on this
How would it be if you could live fully and joyfully, all your actions free of any strain, effort, or expectation?
***
ROY MAUNDER
https://insighttimer.com/roymaunder/abo
https://insighttimer.com/roymaunder/guided-meditations/keystone-morning-bodyscan
Roy reads deeply about Eastern philosophy. To him, ideas that informed the earliest philosophy find corroboration in the latest discoveries of science. All the philosophers on this subject are fundamentally saying the same thing.
A thumbnail guide to aspects of the universe that speak truest to him is as follows:
FICINO
Our higher nature is like ‘A Screen’. Our lower nature, our ego with its emotions and stories with which we customarily identify, is like a film showing on it. Awareness, mind consciousness: simplify these and everything makes sense.
Higher nature, as distinct from our lower or animal nature, is pure, and correlates to the higher laws of physics. The divine is our thoughts now and would be if you were not here now thinking about those things. It is all one: an AWARENESS than is of ‘above’ that of consciousness. If we get back to thinking like this, we get a small part of a sense of what it is all about. We start to see it everywhere. It indicates to us the philosophical road upon which we travel, the act itself or leading us down a road. constructing a road.
Ficino rationalises the immortality of the human soul. He ascribes a middle position to it in a five-part division of things: between God and angelic beings on the one side, and qualities and bodies on the other. Platonism is compatible with Christianity unlike Aristotelianism, which, though ambiguous on the subject of immortality
Platonic Theology on Wikipedia
DAO
This is the material of the universe before everything began. It is like a cinema screen, on which an image of your personal story is projected. There is another story on the same screen, the Dao. That screen contains all the laws of physics, the basic laws. When we reflect, we are accessing the same screen, which is our source and it is possible to reach this source. Hence Rumi said ‘My soul and your soul are old friends.’ Everything is in harmony with everything else.
Anything which we call permanent and unchanging is ’divine’, a common language we can all share. It is love and we can see it because we are on the same screen.
Dao on Encyclopedia Britannica
BIOCENTRICSM
It is about how the earth works in particular in relation to biodiversity. All creatures in a crucial sense have an equal place. We are in a field of that consciousness which is everywhere. The fundamental part of the universe is not localised not in your head. We are part of one consciousness which is shared with everything else.