Enlightenment

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Author Richard F Holmes

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as “enlightenment.” In our ignorance, we use the word when we are engaged in discussions around the subject, but it is only for the sake of using suitable vocabulary to fit the conversation. Enlightenment is nothing more than the realisation that we are already enlightened, we always were and we always will be. When we are slaves to the ego, we are either completely unconscious, or we have the knowledge that we are consciousness/spirit currently occupying a body, but at the same time we believe that we are on a “spiritual journey” in order to become what we call “enlightened.” You cannot become what you already are.

The genuinely enlightened souls who walk among us would never, ever make the statement, “I am enlightened” because to speak of enlightenment only affirms the existence of the state of being unenlightened, in other words it is an example of dualism expressed by one who is immersed in the illusion of duality (ego). In consciousness, there is only consciousness and nothing else; this is ultimate reality, there are no “states” and there is nothing to achieve. We can say that enlightenment is the knowing, experientially, of the nature of consciousness (which is our true nature).

The Know-All

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Author Richard F Holmes

A rather brash young man decided that he had attained enlightenment and no longer needed the guidance of his guru. He upped and left the temple and went around the region boasting of his spiritual achievements to anyone who would listen. He heard that there was a hermitage in a nearby town and decided he would make the journey and thrill the resident seekers and their master with his wisdom.

Photo by Raychan on Unsplash

En route, he took a pathway through a forest, and as he ambled on his way, he saw in the distance an old sanyassin leaning against a tree; there appeared to be clouds of smoke issuing up from around him. As the young man got closer he saw that the old man was smoking a long-stemmed pipe. He also decided that the old man would be an ideal candidate to hear the story of his spiritual greatness.

“Good day Sir”, said the young man, “I am an enlightened soul and it is your good fortune that I happened upon you. You may throw away your scriptures and spiritual texts, there is no pathway, no individual soul, no karma, no God, there is only the nothingness of consciousness; in fact, nothing exists.”

WHACK! As quick as a flash the old man rapped the young “master” around the head with his pipe. As the young man glared at him in anger, the old sanyassin said, “if nothing exists, where did that anger come from”, and he turned and went on his way..

The subject matter of this parable is something that I have written about before. But, I like this story so much that I wanted to share it here. Of course, technically what the young man said was correct, however, he fully deserved his rap on the head for his audacious display of ego. Truly enlightened souls never make the statement, “I am enlightened”, because in consciousness, “nothing” is indeed all that exists. But, to go around actually speaking of “nothing” in a dualistic world implies also the existence of “something.” Consciousness, in its limitless state of eternal bliss, has no idea that it is referred to as consciousness, because literally, “nothing” exists. So, in summary, to speak of being enlightened in a dualistic world only highlights that the ego is still present. An enlightened soul would never say, “I am enlightened” because the enlightened soul is only aware of the state of enlightenment, there is no duality to imply that there is also the state of “un” or “non” enlightenment.

Without Blinking An Eye

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Author Richard F Holmes

A long, long time ago in Japan, it was quite normal for marauding armies to ransack villages, with the villagers having to flee or be killed. In one such village an old Zen master sat peacefully in his very humble abode as chaos reigned outside. All of a sudden, a fearsome soldier kicked the master’s door open and stood menacingly in the doorway; the master was unmoved. The soldier sneered and said, “what are you still doing here, are you not afraid? All of the villagers are either dead or have fled, yet you remain here.” The master replied, “what have I to fear, and besides, where would I go?” The soldier became angry, and drawing his sword raged, “don’t you know that I am a man who can run you through without blinking an eye?” The old master looked at him and said, “don’t YOU know that I am a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?”

With a body or without a body; it is all the same to one who has realised. Live or die; the master knows there is no death and therefore remains unmoved. There is also the paradox here between the polar opposites of “doing” and “being”. The soldier wants to “do” (kill) the master, but that in itself is a fruitless task, as the most he can achieve is to be the cause of the master’s body evolving (effect) into a different form. You cannot kill anything in reality as all is consciousness and is in a constant state of flux. What would happen to the body? If buried it would eventually decompose and merge with the earth. If cremated, the cremation process would cause the flesh to evolve into heat energy and be absorbed back into the total energy mass.

The master remained in a state of pure knowing, enlightenment, awakening, bliss or whatever description you wish to use; all are just terms for “Being”. The master remains blissful regardless of which action the soldier chooses to take. He says, “besides, where would I go?” Indeed, where would the master go? There is only here and now; it is all we have.

He Who Knows

Posted on March 26, 2019 by Author Richard F Holmes

The title of my forthcoming book has changed already! It is now called “The Road to Nowhere – embracing the totality”, and here for your pleasure (I hope) is another extract to be…

A group of disciples were in the temple one morning awaiting the arrival of their master, Lao Tzu. As they waited, they pondered the meaning of one of the great master’s teachings:

He who knows

Does not speak

He who speaks

Does not know

When their master appeared, they asked him to elaborate on the meaning. Lao Tzu responded by asking them if they had ever experienced the fragrance of a rose. Every single hand went up. He then asked the question, “who among you is able to explain it to us?” No hands went up.

And this lovely little parable aptly demonstrates, that for some things, there is simply no explanation. Just how would anybody describe the fragrance of a rose to any degree of accuracy? There are simply no words in the dictionary to describe such beauty. The same can be said of enlightenment, which for me is the meaning contained within this teaching. I do not for one minute claim to be a fully realised soul. However, I am going through a tangible awakening process that has been happening to me in stages for some years now. There are copious amounts of words that I could use in order to describe my experience; emergence, awakening, eureka moments to name but a few, but none of them would come anywhere near an apt description.

I have heard people use the expression, “I am awake”. But ultimately, this is only the ego speaking. To make the statement “I am awake”, or “I am enlightened”, implies the existence of opposite states of being asleep or unenlightened. This is duality. In consciousness there is no duality; there is only One, therefore, a truly awakened individual would not offer any explanation of being awake or otherwise. They would simply abide in the one true state of consciousness.

Ramana Maharshi also has a take on this, which I find quite beautiful. He said that “truth has no words” and that “silence is the eternal flow of language, obstructed by words”.

Absolutely Old Boy!

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Author Richard F Holmes

All talk of Heaven and Earth is only relevant when one falsely believes the unreal to be real. From the perspective of the ego there is a huge gap between Heaven and Earth; a gap that cannot be explained in words, such is its gulf. It is also a myth that there are stages to attaining the dizzy heights of Heaven (enlightenment). The truth is that when the ego is present we create our own Heaven here on Earth (or Hell). In the same way that comparing a low number, for example 2, with a high number, say 20 billion, pales into insignificance from the perspective of the Absolute, where all numbers are irrelevant, the same can be said for comparisons between Heaven and Earth. In Absolute Reality, there are no stages to work through, no places to go to or compare; there is only the truth of Being, no separateness, no subject/object relationships; only One. Nothing else exists.

The Mysterious Mystery

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Author Richard F Holmes

Hello! My name is Richard!

Life is a magical mystery; we cannot know the unknowable; we cannot comprehend that which is beyond comprehension. Religion offers an imaginary God (as a separate being) and a list of do’s and don’ts (moral code) for the masses to follow blindly. However, practitioners of religions more often than not end up using their moral code as a yardstick for passing judgement on others. The Divine cannot be known, it can only be experienced and no amount of scriptures and commandments will ever change that. Enlightenment, is coming to the understanding that everything we are looking for is contained within us; that we ourselves are Divine; that we ourselves are contained within every leaf of nature…