Knee of Listening (1973 edition)
Foreword by Alan Watts:
"Although I do not know Franklin Jones [now Adi Da] personally, what he
says, and says very well, is something that I have been trying to
express for thirty-five years, but which most people seem quite
reluctant to understands if it were too good to be true. The point,
with which Krishnamurti and the ancient Chinese Zen masters also
agree, is that there is no progressive method by which the liberated
and awakened state (moksha) can be attained. This state of being and
consciousness has innumerable names, mystical experience,
enlightenment, self-realization, cosmic consciousness, union with God,
not to mention Sanskrit, Chinese, and Arabic equivalents but none of
them are satisfactory because it is altogether beyond words. Striving
after this state blocks the understanding that it is already present,
as does also a kind of purposive not-striving.
There are, for example, those who try to live completely in the
present, the Eternal Now, by attempting to be fully concentrated on
what is at this moment as in the Theravada Buddhist satipatthana
discipline or Gurdjieff's "self remembering." I am not quarreling with
this. Franklin Jones also tried many methods. But all along it should
have been obvious that all consciousness, all experience, is of
nothing else than the eternal present. Memories of the past and
anticipation's of the future exist only now, and thus to try to live
completely in the present is to strive for what is already the case.
This should be clear to anyone. The same principle applies to striving
for nirvana or union with God by means of so-called spiritual
exercises. There is no actual necessity for a road or obstacle course
to that which IS.
But there are two main reasons for the persistent attachment to
spiritual methods. The first is that, being ignorant of what we have
and are now, we look for it in the future, and therefore can be
beguiled by all those gurus who pick our pockets and sell us our own
wallets. They promise marvelous states of consciousness, ecstasies,
psychic powers, and transportation to other levels of being. So what?
If you were managing the entire universe which in one sense you are it
would be absolutely necessary for it to appear that a lot of things
were out of control. Does the ventriloquist want to dine every night
with only his dummy?
The second is the beguilement of spiritual pride, which is also the
same thing as a sense of guilt. "I am not worthy to attain this
exalted state unless I have suffered, unless the teacher has beaten
me, unless I have sat in a cold, dark cave for three years, or
practiced zazen with my legs aching for hours." Anyone silly enough to
think this way deserves all the pains he must endure. Nothing is more
ostentatious than deliberate humility, nor more egocentric than
projects to get rid of egotism. These are strong words, but not
uttered in a spirit of condemnation, for those who undertake such
projects may, by so doing, realize very clearly that they are futile.
But then they may return as gurus thinking that this is the only way
to realize the futility of spiritual ambition, and then "lay their
trip" upon others without asking themselves, "Is this trip really
necessary?"
As I read Franklin Jones especially the Epilogue, which is worth the
price of the book he has simply realized that he himself as he is,
like a star, like a dolphin, like an iris, is a perfect and authentic
manifestation of the eternal energy of the universe, and thus is no
longer disposed to be in conflict with himself. Dangerous wisdom and
yet fire, electricity, and technical knowledge are also dangerous. But
if you genuinely know this, it is nothing to be proud of nor humble
about. It is just what is so, and there is absolutely no necessity to
parade it by defying social conventions, on the one hand, or by coming
on as one who is extremely holy, on the other. The hapless Rasputin
was, perhaps, an example of the first case, and Meher Baba of the
second though he had a jolly face and a lively twinkle in the eye.
It should be understood that none of this is to say that one should
not practice yoga or any other type of meditation. I myself use some
of these disciplines, not to attain anything in terms of spiritual
rank, but simply to enjoy them, as if I were playing a musical
instrument or preparing a Chinese dinner.
Now to say what Franklin Jones is trying to say is like drawing an
asymptotic curve a curve which is always getting nearer and nearer to
a straight line, but only touches it at infinity. Perhaps it could be
said that his curve is approaching it a little faster than some
others, knowing, however, that there is no hurry. Beyond words, in the
silencing of thought, we are already there."
Rancho Saucelito, California.
April, 1973
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