EI Teaching 7: The Gateway of Stillness

A quarter of a century ago and more the word ‘enlightenment’ was mysterious and rarely used. It was not a common word in contemporary Western jargon in the way that it is today. At that time many people who heard the word thought it referred to a period of European history. And those few who understood it to be a state of spiritual awareness held the notion that it was rarely achieved except by a few fortunate and very persistent seekers of truth, who mostly lived a life of seclusion a very long time ago.

A traditional understanding is that it took Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, a life time of effort and a final run of several years culminating in 49 days of intense and uninterrupted meditative concentration to achieve what was essentially the unattainable: enlightenment. And though the state of consciousness that Jesus Christ attained is not generally spoken of as enlightenment in Christian or Catholic terminology, Jesus’ awakening or ascension was achieved via a path of terrible suffering and the ultimate sacrifice of his mortal life.

So the path to enlightenment has not historically been described as an easy path to attain.

A quarter of a century ago most seekers of truth and spiritual awareness thought that the state of enlightened consciousness was unattainable and out of reach. That was a commonly held belief. After all, there is only one Jesus Christ who lived over 2000 years ago….and how could one dare compare their state of awareness to that of Christ. And the Buddha, who walked the earth over 2500 years ago and whom millions of devotees hold so reverential and dear … how could one ever hope to achieve such a state of awareness, known as Buddha-hood.

Today, in 2011, there’s been a few changes. The word enlightenment is more commonly used than ever. It is not an unfamiliar term in the contemporary jargon of modern spirituality. A quarter of a century ago it was rare to find it in the title of a book. Today it is not uncommon to find it written on the spine of dozens of books sitting on the shelves of public libraries or on book store display tables. Enlightenment; Touching Enlightenment; Spiritual Enlightenment; How to Attain Enlightenment; Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment; Everyday Enlightenment; Enlightenment Process; The Backdoor to Enlightenment; Instant Enlightenment; The Book of Enlightenment; The Stairway to Enlightenment. The list of books with the word enlightenment as part of the title or books about enlightenment is enormous. The internet book company, Amazon, lists nearly 3,000 products tagged with the word enlightenment. Google the word ‘enlightenment’ on the internet and you’ll find there are 26 million entries. Courses, workshops, retreats and spiritual paths dedicated to enlightened living and taught by gurus, monks and yogis from the Orient, as well as home-grown Western teachers are continually sprouting in western cities.

Movies, tv dramas, and television talk shows highlight and reflect the growing public interest in spiritual awakening and enlightenment. Opera Winfrey, the queen of daytime talk shows in America introduces Eckhart Tolle and his enlightenment teachings to the world. The Spiritual Circle Cinema sends spiritually inspirational movies to your home each month. The movie capitol of the world, Hollywood, produces films that point you toward awakening with The Matrix, What Dreams May Come, The Celestine Prophecy and more.

Today there certainly is a greater interest and understanding of enlightenment than ever before. If the number of times the word enlightenment appears in contemporary society is any indication then the state of enlightenment is very much more easily attained today than it has been for the last several thousand years. And maybe there is a case that can be made for this.

But I wonder if that is really the case. There is certainly more public awareness of the word. Butt does knowing the word lead to the state of consciousness that the word refers to. One could say it is a step in that direction. And does knowing what the word means and having a clear understanding of its meaning mean one has achieved that state of consciousness? No. Does understanding the life of Jesus Christ and the meaning of His ascension mean that one has, themselves, in fact, ascended or risen to the highest spiritual heaven. Of course not.

It just means one has a clear understanding; a good definition.

Let’s not be fooled. There are many ways that the word enlightenment is used in the literature. With Google’s 26 million entries for the word enlightenment, there will be many ways that the word is used or defined. And not all the ways are referring to that traditional state of consciousness that Buddha was referring to when he spoke about ‘bodhi,’ the Sanskrit word for enlightenment or knowing.

The path of enlightenment is fraught with many difficulties. It always has been. Confusion and preconceived ideas being just a couple of them. It was a difficult path to pursue 2500 years ago when Buddha was alive and it still is today. Hearing the word enlightenment uttered in a talk or reading the word enlightenment in a book or seeing it on the internet is a first step. It is like a seeing a road sign that reads, “San Francisco:1800 Kilometers.” The sign let’s you know you are on the right path. But you would not mistake the road sign for the city of San Francisco. In the same way, even a correct definition of the word is not the thing itself. A clear understanding of what the word means is a very good first step.

But it may be foolish to believe everything you read or hear or see without discrimination. I was taught to test the validity of my spiritual experiences by comparing them to two other sources…. my teacher’s experiences and to the experiences written about in the scriptures of the world. That’s good advice.

When my brand new GPS car navigation system told me to make some turns that I was uncertain about I could have double checked them against the map I had in the car. But I didn’t. The GPS sent me on a ‘long and winding road’ through some back country mountain roads. There was beautiful scenery and I enjoyed the drive, but its not what the GPS was told to find and to where I wanted to go. A crisis was brewing …. I was extremely low on petrol with no service station nearby. In a similar way, there are many spiritual experiences on the path to awakening. Some of those experiences are potent, powerful, mystical and ecstatic. But are they enlightenment? Maybe and maybe not. It is easy to lose one’s way traveling on those high mountain plateaus where thin air can make you feel silly and giddy and the beauty of mountain peaks capped in snow that seemingly go on and on forever and forever intoxicate the senses. The high snow capped mountain ranges are after all the terrain and abode of Shiva, the yogic god and lord of transformation.

Many who begin the pursuit of Truth or God or Enlightenment abandon their journey along the way. But whose to say whether it is abandonment or simply a well deserved rest. It is of course, a very high mountain that one must climb to reach the final high peak called enlightenment On such a long journey, distractions, whatever their nature, can grab the attention and lead one astray.

The Buddha who walked the path of enlightenment over two millennium ago experienced and knew that the path to enlightenment was fraught with painful and pleasurable difficulties. That’s why he said that it was rare to be born a human being, rarer still to to have heard the truth about enlightenment and rarer still is to pursue it.

There are blessings and realizations that are yet to be revealed to those of you who walk the high mountain road and tread the path of awakening. “If you are reading these words,” your traveling companion, Huang Po, whispers in your ear, “Recognize, that full understanding comes only through an inexpressible mystery. It is not until your thoughts cease, not until you abandon seeking for something, not until your mind is as motionless as the mountain that you will be on the right road to the Gateway of Stillness that I call enlightenment. Recognize that your awakened mind comes in a flash and is the Buddha itself.”