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#3126 - Friday, April 4, 2008 - Editor: Jerry Katz
Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
The Myth of Enlightenment: Seeing Through the Illusion of Separation, by Karl Renz. http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Enlightenment-Through-Illusion-Separation/dp/1878019244/ref=cm_cr-mr-img
Sometimes Shadowy and Indirect:
There's a sense that Renz is amusing himself with shadows in the
forms of questions and words. "Whatever happens in this
wakefulness [the world] is nothing more than fleeting shadows on
a screen."
He's engaged with his own cleverness. Or maybe he is mirroring
the cleverness of those who question him. An exchange addresses
this:
The book is written in question (Q) and answer (K for Karl) form.
Q: "Oh, I can't grasp you! You dodge every statement like a
snake!"
K: "But the snake says, `Why don't you try it? Come into the
gap where you can't exist. Take a bite of the apple!"
"I don't talk to any person, but to existence, the
Self," Renz claims.
"I only know that I am and that there's existence.
Everything else is speculation. Truly, I know no more than
you." It appears Renz speaks to Self and speculates
in shadows. Those situated in shadowlands and not
knowing they are, will be confused. They are
looking for life and sustenance in the Northern Lights instead of
the sun.
Other Times Instruction is More Direct:
"Just see you're that which realizes and not anything that
can be realized. ... Don't turn toward what appears in awareness,
but toward awareness itself."
He speaks about the value of self-inquiry: "When you
concentrate on this question [Who am I?] all personal history is
slowly but surely annihilated, since in this question no person
can exist anymore."
Back To The Shadows:
"Enlightenment is merely one more concept in that endless
stream of ideas about improving yourself, discovering yourself,
or obtaining happiness. ... It's unnecessary because there's
never been any need for anyone to become enlightened."
“Don’t trust dead masters. There aren’t any living ones either.” ... “If you truly had respect for your masters, you would simply let them disappear. You would recognize your master as what you are.”
An Explanation:
"I'm not here to dissolve, but to create knots. I tie so
many knots in your brain that you may suddenly realize it's
impossible to ever undo them. Then you can give up trying and
simply be still. Once you're completely still, who cares whether
there were ever worlds, rebirths, webs, knots, or
dissolutions?"
Abundant, Refreshing, and Profound Humor:
Almost each one of the short chapters includes humor, such as
this exchange:
K: Through desire and hard work, you seem to make decisions and control your own progress, and then bang! Through some kind of accident, all this falls away.
Q: And then I'm no more?
K: Yes. It's almost a pity because you had built up such an
interesting relationship with yourself.
Conclusion:
The strands of shadow, slippery snakes, and neatly bound direct
instructions intertwine to form interesting knots. The humor
helps to undo them. Or it tightens them. In any case,
I recommend landing into this nest of nonduality.
Review by Jerry Katz
Read my other reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A194MV72KEBXO9/ref=cm_cr_auth/102-5936403-4980917?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview
The Myth of Enlightenment: Seeing Through the Illusion of Separation, by Karl Renz. http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Enlightenment-Through-Illusion-Separation/dp/1878019244/ref=cm_cr-mr-img