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#4310 - Friday, July 15, 2011 - Editor: Jerry Katz
The Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
Why do Anything?
I recently received the following question, variations
of which I have heard/seen many times. I have removed the
questioner’s name to preserve his identity:
Hello
Colin,
Writing from
I bought your book on-line. [visit http://nonduality.com/colindrake.htm to find out about Colin's e-books]
Fascinating.
I am hoping that you would be kind enough to answer a question
for me to clear things up.
If I identify as awareness. I don't understand how anything can
be done.....why would I want to brush my teeth through wanting to
have a career. Why would I not want to just sit around all day
doing nothing?
I think this is what stops me being present and aware. Leap of
faith? Lack of confidence?
With kind regards,
XXXX
------------------------------------
Dear XXXX, Thanks for buying the book. Good that you
found it fascinating ... indicates an open mind, just what you
need to see what is being pointed to! I will offer the short
(obvious) answer and attach some reading which will prepare you
for the long answer. Let me know when you have read it and
hopefully I will have the long answer ready to send...
In short: identifying with the deeper level of awareness overcomes unnecessary mental anxiety and suffering caused by seeing oneself as a separate object in a universe of separate objects; however this does not (and cannot) remove all physical and mental pain as these are part and parcel of having a human mind/body. So if you do not brush your teeth they will rot and cause you pain, whilst making eating an unenjoyable experience. Also if you do not find a way to provide your body with food and shelter this will cause hunger and physical discomfort which will result in the body depreciating, whilst also causing pain. As physical embodiment is a way for Awareness (Consciousness at rest) to experience, interact with and enjoy its own manifestation (Consciousness in motion, Cosmic Energy) then anything that reduces this enjoyment is counter-productive to this purpose. Also at the peripheral level of body/mind we all prefer to enjoy life and a healthy comfortable body is a great help in this, Cheers, Colin
----------------------------
I received no reply so I assume that he was happy with the above. If not I had prepared the following:
The Long Answer
As
previously posited the mind/body is an instrument through which Awareness
(Consciousness at rest) experiences, interacts with and enjoys
its own manifestation (Consciousness in motion, Cosmic Energy).
It is also itself an ephemeral manifestation of this same Cosmic
Energy (Consciousness in Motion) and is saturated with Awareness
at every level, from cells aware of and reacting to their
environment, white blood corpuscles being aware of invading
viruses, the mind being aware of thoughts/sensations etc., etc.
In fact Awareness is the keystone, or substratum, of all life,
without which it could not exist.
So the mind/body is like an interactive vehicle through
which Awareness enjoys this great theme-park (the universe), the
body being the vehicle and the mind the onboard computer. The
problem occurs when the computer takes over as the controller
rather than the instrument, as did Hal in the movie 2001.
Identifying with Awareness solves this problem and relegates the
mind to its proper place. However, until one is established in
identification with this deeper level insurrections will
regularly occur which have to be dealt with. Fortunately these
cause unnecessary mental suffering, which can then be noticed as
a symptom that we are misidentifying, and can be immediately
overcome by realizing that there is effortless awareness of the
suffering (thoughts/emotions) in question! So provided that one
is alert to this unnecessary mental suffering then the problem is
easily taken care of.
Moving on to your specific questions. Brushing one’s
teeth is a method of preserving them thus making food ingestion
easier and more efficient, in the same way that cleaning the
spark plugs of a car makes for smooth running and fuel
efficiency. Providing fuel and shelter (earning money) keeps the
vehicle running and inhibits rust, preserves the paintwork etc.
However, there is no advantage to parking in a palace or having a
fuel tanker full of petrol, provided that we can fill up when
required, so we do not need to waste our time and energy running
after more money than is necessary.
Similarly we need to keep the onboard computer clean and
virus-free so that it works efficiently and provides accurate
answers and solutions to our problems. The most insidious virus
is the ‘separate self worm’ that colours all of our
perceptions through the dark filter of self-interest,
self-importance, self-serving, self-aggrandizement or
self-loathing etc. etc. … the list is almost endless. This
‘worm’ is exposed and rooted out by the ‘Identification
with Awareness’ (anti-virus) software which needs to be run
on a regular basis to avoid re-infestation. This can occur
readily and stealthily by any thought which objectifies the
‘I’, in fact any thought of the form I am ‘anything’.
It should be noted that ‘I am Awareness’ is
not of this category, for Awareness is not a thing, but the
constant, conscious, subjective presence in which all ‘things’
arise, exist, are ‘seen’ and subside. Even thoughts
which apply adjectives to the ‘I’ are suspect for they
also tend to objectify it. This is pertinent to your question
about pursuing a career for if you become identified with this
then the ‘worm’ has reinstalled itself! So just
keep running the anti-virus software to avoid this taking place…
In fact the best answer is for this to be constantly and
effortlessly running in the background, as all the best
anti-virus software does, but this is only occurs when one is
completely established in ‘Awareness of Awareness’.
Now ‘enjoyment is the name of the game’ which
is greatly enhanced by awakening and seeing the world in its true
glory, as it actually ‘is’ rather than through the
filter of the separate mind. Once this occurs instead of ‘doing
what one enjoys’ one tends to ‘enjoy what one does’.
However, even within this paradigm there will be activities which
yield greater joy than others, so if you find yourself pursuing a
career which may provide name, fame and gain, (beware the worm)
but that you do not enjoy, it is advisable to consider other
options. Especially if these include one that would be more
enjoyable and that would provide for a simple and sustainable
lifestyle.
As the purpose of creation is for the enjoyment of the
Absolute (Consciousness), and we are all instruments (and
manifestations) of This, then it stands to reason that we should
create as much joy in our lives as possible. Moreover, when we
find a way to enable others to enjoy their lives more this is as
valuable, in fact more valuable if we can facilitate this for a
group, as creating joy for ourselves. This is the ethos of
Utilitarianism, a secular philosophy first espoused in the 18th
century, whose creed is: ‘when making a decision, that
involves other people, one should always adopt the position that
creates the greatest amount of happiness for the largest number
of people, whilst regarding one’s own happiness as being no
more important than that of anyone else’. Bearing all this
in mind, it becomes apparent why humans are naturally
compassionate and become more so as they align themselves with
the purpose of creation by awakening. So this gives the reason
for the ultimate question you have asked, which is: ‘why
would I want to do anything?’ For the pure joy of living and
to create as much joy in the world as possible!
According
to Mahayana Buddhism the first stage, on the Bodhisattva path, is
called ‘the joyful’. This stage is reached
automatically once one has realized, and identified with, the
deeper level of pure awareness. This creates great compassion and
joy: ‘Governed by compassion to liberate living beings
completely, and always abiding in joy is called the first’
(1.4cd, 5ab).[1] The Dalai Lama has stated
unequivocally that, ‘I believe the purpose of life is to be
happy’. Whilst this is to be achieved by overcoming one’s
own suffering through reaching nirvana, the emphasis is
upon developing love and compassion for one’s fellow beings.
For as he said,
From my own limited experience I have found that the
greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development
of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of
others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes... It is
the ultimate source of success in life. [2]
The gaining of
compassion ties in with the Bodhisattva ideal of
becoming enlightened so as to strive for the benefit of all
beings, rather than for escaping from samsara.
This
is great, for it compliments the idea that creation is for the
enjoyment of the Absolute, which is central to Hinduism whilst
also occurring in Judaism and, through this, in Christianity and
Islam:
Thus the universe came into being purely by the thought
and command of God who rested after His creation and was pleased
with the results: ‘and God saw all that He had made and it
was very good’ (Genesis 1 v.31). It appears that God made
the universe because it pleased Him to do so and for His
enjoyment. This concept is supported in the Talmud, the Jewish
book of law, which states that ‘every person will have to
give an accounting for all the good things created on earth that
he, or she, denied himself, or herself, from enjoying’.[3] Men and women, who are made in ‘God’s image’
(Genesis 1 v.27), are enjoined to participate and take pleasure
in God’s creation. As Rabbi Benjamin Blech says: ‘God
decorated His house so magnificently that Judaism believes He
takes it personally if you don’t share His excitement and
joy in everything He has put on this earth’.[4]
So the long answer becomes an even shorter
answer than the short answer I sent you! ‘Why would I want
to do anything?’ For the pure joy of living and to create as
much joy in the world as possible! This becomes more possible and
easier as you awaken by becoming identified with, and as.
[1] G. K. Gyatso,
[2] http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/resources/purpose_life_dalai_lama.html
[3] Rabbi Benjamin Blech, Understanding
Judaism,
[4] Ibid, p.56.
Colin Drake's e-books are available for immediate purchase and download at
http://nonduality.com/colindrake.htm