[MD] Eckhart Tolle

[Ant McWatt]

Gav stated August 4nd 2006:

>a mystical reality is a magical reality is a spiritual
>reality is an infinite reality is an indeterminate
>reality is an open reality is an aesthetic reality. to
>the mystic, intelligence spirituality and aesthetic
>awareness are one and the same.
>
>yes another name for a mystical source/centre is god
>and there is a lot of baggage with the name....so? the
>bible is full of good stuff for those who read with an
>MOQ eye, as eckhart tolle has shown beautifully.

Ant McWatt comments:

I think the text of Eckhart Tolle that Gav is referring to is "The Power of 
Now".  See:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/1577314808/ref=pd_sim_b_1/002-3726094-4333637?ie=UTF8

The central message of "The Power of Now" is discussed in the extract of 
Eckhart Tolle's interview with Andrew Cohen below:

AC: In your book "The Power of Now" you state that "The ultimate purpose of 
the world lies not within the world but in transcendence of the world." 
Could you please explain what you mean?

ET: Transcending the world does not mean to withdraw from the world, to no 
longer take action, or to stop interacting with people. Transcendence of the 
world is to act and to interact without any self-seeking. In other words, it 
means to act without seeking to enhance one's sense of self through one's 
actions or one's interactions with people. Ultimately, it means not needing 
the future anymore for one's fulfillment or for one's sense of self or 
being. There is no seeking through doing, seeking an enhanced, more 
fulfilled, or greater sense of self in the world. When that seeking isn't 
there anymore, then you can be in the world but not be of the world. You are 
no longer seeking for anything to identify with out there.

AC: Do you mean that one has given up an egotistical, materialistic 
relationship to the world?

ET: Yes, it means no longer seeking to gain a sense of self, a deeper or 
enhanced sense of self. Because in the normal state of consciousness, what 
people are looking for through their activity is to be more completely 
themselves. The bank robber is looking for that in some way. The person who 
is striving for enlightenment is also looking for it because he or she is 
seeking to attain a state of perfection, a state of completion, a state of 
fullness at some point in the future. There is a seeking to gain something 
through one's activities. They are seeking happiness, but ultimately they 
are seeking themselves or you could say God; it comes down to the same 
thing. They are seeking themselves, and they are seeking where it can never 
be found, in the normal, unenlightened state of consciousness, because the 
unenlightened state of consciousness is always in the seeking mode. That 
means they are of the world-in the world and of the world.

AC: You mean that they are looking forward in time?

ET: Yes, the world and time are intrinsically connected. When all 
self-seeking in time ceases, then you can be in the world without being of 
the world...

And to suddenly hear that "You don't need that anymore-for some, that can be 
the moment of transformation. So the beauty of the spiritual teaching is 
that it saves lifetimes of-

AC: Unnecessary suffering.

ET: Yes, so it's good that people are lost in the world. I enjoy traveling 
to New York and Los Angeles, where it seems that people are totally 
involved. I was looking out of the window in New York. We were next to the 
Empire State Building, doing a group. And everybody was rushing around, 
almost running. Everybody seemed to be in a state of intense nervous 
tension, anxiety. It's suffering, really, but it's not recognized as 
suffering. And I thought, where are they all running to? And of course, they 
are all running to the future. They are needing to get somewhere, which is 
not here. It is a point in time: not now-then. They are running to a then. 
They are suffering, but they don't evenknow it. But to me, even watching 
that was joyful. I didn't feel, "Oh, they should know better." They are on 
their spiritual path. At the moment, that is their spiritual path, and it 
works beautifully.

Reprinted from What Is Enlightenment?,
issue 18 - Fall/Winter 2000 Copyright ©2000 Moksha Press

http://home.wanadoo.nl/prembuddha/tolle.html


Gav continued August 4nd 2006:

>jesus is very zen, and his teachings ONLY make sense from a
>mystic viewpoint.

Eckhart Tolle explains why below:

Yes, first things first. What comes first is realization and liberation, and 
then let action flow out of that-and that will be pure, untainted,and 
there's no karma attached to it whatsoever. Otherwise, no matter how high 
our ideals are, we will still strengthen the ego through our good actions. 
Unfortunately, you cannot fulfill the commandments unless you are 
egoless-and there are very few who are-as all the people who have tried to 
practice the teachings of Christ have found out. "Love your neighbor as 
yourself" is one of the main teachings of Jesus, and you cannot fulfill that 
commandment, no matter how hard you try, if you don't know who you are at 
the deepest level. Love your neighbor as yourself means your neighbor is 
yourself, and that recognition of oneness is love.

Reprinted from What Is Enlightenment?,
issue 18 - Fall/Winter 2000 Copyright ©2000 Moksha Press


http://home.wanadoo.nl/prembuddha/tolle.html



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