cee: the pure consciousness, the self, the guru, is all there is. i was thinking that it stopped creating. (what i meant by this is that i thought by practice the self would come to know itself and stop making illusion) but nothing ever did come out of it, and nothing ever has been created.
nome:
if we dream of something "other,"
there must be some explanation for it. so the explanation usually given, including
in all the old texts and scriptures, is that god, or the supreme self, has
created it or dreamed it up. the purpose of such explanations, originally,
were to guide the seeker's mind to the self, to the source, and were not intended
to give further credence to the thing created. thus, instructions to the seeker
were, "if there has been creation, if you think that is the case, if
you think here is where creation has started, go to that source." so
there are all these explanations. usually, the consciousness is thought to
be either a lord of all, creating, sustaining, and destroying everything,
or in some versions, being a creator. then, after being a creator, god steps
aside and lets everybody else take care of it, something like that. or, consciousness
has created so much within it, and then this play goes on by some residual
energy of the consciousness, something along these lines.
all the explanations are originally intended to point one to pure consciousness,
and not make us think in terms of, "this has actually happened."
however, as is often the case, people do think in terms of, "it is really
going on." when we make the inquiry to know who we are, we set about
looking for a consciousness that is invariable. If it is variable, it is only
thought modifications. it is not consciousness, itself. consciousness is aware
of all change, yet is unchanging. the characteristic sign of reality, real
being, is that always is just as it is, without beginning, middle, or end,without
change. so we make that inquiry experientially, and we come to find our iidentity
is just the consciousness. we find that the reality is, indeed, the consciousness.
then the question arises, "if the consciousness is ever the same, if
the real self is ever the same, how has any of this ever come to be?"
the question resolves itself further into, "has it come to be? "
we need a "how" if it is really there. we do not require a reason
why or an explanation of how the snake came to be in a rope, or how the water
came to be in the mirage. the whole point is that there is no water. there
is no snake.
likewise is it with the whole creation. how it comes to be experienced is
based upon the idea that it is experienced. when we
inquire and come to know the reality, we find that it did not arise, and it
will not arise in the future. it did not happen. it is not going to happen.
so much so is this the case, that while in deep meditation, all objectified
experience may cease even at its own level. should it not cease, it is still
not created. it does not have to go away because it is not there to begin
with. do you see what I mean?
cee: yes. it's really great because it's not like there is an ego to kill, there's not something to get rid of, it was never really there.
nome:
if there is an ego, one should kill it!
cee:
yes! (laughter)
nome:
however, the best way to kill it is to find it. o.k? Before you first decide
to cook it, you first have to catch it. you have to find it. when we make
that inquiry to find it, the more we inquire, the less we see of it. first
we eliminate the tracks it leaves behind, the actions, the "i am the
body," ideas, and so forth and so on. then we eliminate its thoughts.
We want to get right down to what the ego, itself, is. if we hold on to the
ego-i, its i-ness disappears and only an "I-less-I" remains. Maharshi
has said, "if we penetrate into the heart of the
ego, only the self is there. "there being only one "i"
--that is why he said so. so, if there is an ego, hunt it down, and slay it.
of course, in the process of hunting it down, your aim is to destroy it, but
when you hunt it down you will find that there is nothing there to be destroyed.
again, that is why it is called maya. in all the old scriptures, it
is said, "it is impossible to explain, maya. it is without beginning."
most people think that means that it has been around for a long time! --but
t means that it is without beginning. It did not start! (Laughter) that is
why it is maya. it did not start. however, if you think it is there, then
it seems to have been going on for a long time, much like when you start to
dream, you feel that the dream world has been going on for a long time, even
though it is all in your mind. it is like that with the present illusion.
it seems like it has been there, but really it has never been there. we decide
to inquire to know the truth, and when we finally get a good grasp of what
this illusion is,--there is no illusion there.there is nothing to it. it is
like reaching out and grabbing that snake and finding it is just the rope.
nevertheless, you had to bring the light in to make the motion to see it for
yourself.