| eputkonen@gmail.com 2006-03-23, 6:33 pm |
| When liberation or enlightenment is mentioned, you will usually hear
terms like stillness, silence, spaciousness, etc. They are something
you would feel. Spaciousness. An enlightened being is aware of
spaciousness; something not normally even noticed although always
present. Some teachers say it is because we focus on and identify too
much with what is "not-Self" and therefore can't notice the
"Self" that is always present.
In an analogous experiment, get a glass filled to the brim with water.
Where is the space? Can you sense it? When you empty the glass it is
easy to see the space, but it was only the matter and our concepts
about matter that impeded our ability to sense the space. Each atom is
mostly empty space. Each molecule also has empty space. Matter is
mostly empty space - something you might remember being told in
school. One could recognize the space in an empty glass and a full
glass, for there is little "real" matter that separates the two.
We are the same. The Self is always present - as some call it,
spaciousness. The problem is that we are focused on what is not Self
- the little bit of matter and form. We identify with our bodies,
our minds, our possessions, our troubles, etc, etc. What lies
underneath all this is spaciousness. The enlightened feel this
spaciousness and realize the Self that is always present. Be aware of
space. Boxes, cups, bowls, pipes, etc. are only useful because of
their "empty space". The space around you and within you - from
our normal prospective and the space at the atomic level. You can feel
the spaciousness in your hand - it is mostly space after-all. This
space is the same space found outside your physical form as well.
It is like the light of a projector when you are watching a movie.
With all its varied forms, it is all still really the same light
underneath it all. You could identify yourself as one of the
characters on the screen and think anything that is not this character
is not you and separate from you, but in reality all is one and the
same light.
Copyright 2006 - Eric Putkonen
excerpt from book in progress
|