"So why are we not awakened right now?
What force holds us back from awakening to the ultimate truth?
It often seems that there are huge obstacles.
But when we look into our consciousness and simply ask what is holding us back,
we don’t really find anything. We don’t find a devil with two horns holding us back…
There is nothing outside of our consciousness holding us back from being awake right now. There are no real blocks, no hindrances…
“There are no obstacles. Nothing is holding us back from awakening…
We are the only one not allowing ourselves to be free.
We are the only one who can set ourselves free.
We are the one who imprisons and we are the one who liberates.
When we accept that responsibility we have finally gained spiritual maturity…
“If we are still wondering how to awaken,
I suggest that we meditate now and then and focus on the following question:
‘What is holding me back from realizing my true nature, my Buddha Nature?’
This is a very powerful inquiry…This is one of my favorite meditations
because it always takes me to the place where I cannot blame anybody
or anything for my lack of awakening.
“When we open our hearts and let go of all our theories and speculations,
when we are not distracted even by spiritual fantasies,
when we simply and wholeheartedly and courageously inquire into what is holding us back, that is all we need to do…
We can’t find any answer because there is nobody there.
There is nothing holding us back.”
–Anam Thubten, from his wonderful book No Self, No Problem: Awakening to Our True Nature
What force holds us back from awakening to the ultimate truth?
It often seems that there are huge obstacles.
But when we look into our consciousness and simply ask what is holding us back,
we don’t really find anything. We don’t find a devil with two horns holding us back…
There is nothing outside of our consciousness holding us back from being awake right now. There are no real blocks, no hindrances…
“There are no obstacles. Nothing is holding us back from awakening…
We are the only one not allowing ourselves to be free.
We are the only one who can set ourselves free.
We are the one who imprisons and we are the one who liberates.
When we accept that responsibility we have finally gained spiritual maturity…
“If we are still wondering how to awaken,
I suggest that we meditate now and then and focus on the following question:
‘What is holding me back from realizing my true nature, my Buddha Nature?’
This is a very powerful inquiry…This is one of my favorite meditations
because it always takes me to the place where I cannot blame anybody
or anything for my lack of awakening.
“When we open our hearts and let go of all our theories and speculations,
when we are not distracted even by spiritual fantasies,
when we simply and wholeheartedly and courageously inquire into what is holding us back, that is all we need to do…
We can’t find any answer because there is nobody there.
There is nothing holding us back.”
–Anam Thubten, from his wonderful book No Self, No Problem: Awakening to Our True Nature
No comments:
Post a Comment