Teacher who advertised themselves

[Spotless]

It is pretty clear that the author of the article referenced by Bindi is fairly clueless regarding Awakening and its actual elements. Regardless of what he teaches and lectures on - or he lost his head when writing the article.

It is written with a bit of the Fox News insinuations that are popular and pinheaded. The entire article lacks any mention or understanding of what has taken place and serves only to ignite a zero argument in the view that it has done otherwise.

His article is entirely conceptual, pithless and provocative and born from the diapers of populism.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Spotless

[Stosh]

I think he was very generous in what he had to say about Tolle's contribution to spirituality in that piece, his attitude to 'Western' spirituality in general is pretty clear though in his associated piece at https://www.christophertitmussblog.org/ekhart-tolle-money-and-kindergarten-spirituality-a-response-to-emails where he states:

 

"Please remember that contemporary Western spiritual enlightenment mostly focuses on being in the now, a non-judging mindfulness, an end to the seeker, and a sense of oneness . You might think such teachings were deep and profound. Far, far from it. This is beginner’s stuff.

What much of the West offers in the way of enlightenment belongs to the kindergarten of spirituality."

 

I agree it's incredibly easy to not be perfect, it's the 1000's of people who claim to be perfectly realised that bother me.

I don't know what deep means , to be honest.. tiny insignificant things can weigh very heavily , and ponderous stuff perhaps not weigh anything.

I think its fine for us kids to go to kindergarten and spend some disposable income to make it happen. 

I hope I didn't look like I was vilifying Christopher , because I'm not, He may believe strongly in the altruistic aspects importance in teaching 'spiritual material' and his workshop things appear to be in line with his thoughts on this.

Which is great , ,, that someone looking for a teacher can find people who mean what they say. 

Living in America , I don't have a problem with folks working on a fee for service basis, If I did , I couldn't even buy a book , (or get on a plane to go to a retreat given by Chris !)

[Bindi]

It is pretty clear that the author of the article referenced by Bindi is fairly clueless regarding Awakening and its actual elements. Regardless of what he teaches and lectures on - or he lost his head when writing the article.

It is written with a bit of the Fox News insinuations that are popular and pinheaded. The entire article lacks any mention or understanding of what has taken place and serves only to ignite a zero argument in the view that it has done otherwise.

His article is entirely conceptual, pithless and provocative and born from the diapers of populism.

 

 

Tolle lets... [all criticism of his teachings] wash past. As British writer Oliver Burkeman observed in a profile of Tolle for The Guardian, "Once you've told the world that you abide in a realm of infinite equanimity, you can't very well start getting all snippy when people don't take you at your word."

 

I would have thought equanimity and not getting snippy might apply to all the awakened.

[rene]

I would have thought equanimity and not getting snippy might apply to all the awakened.

One would think, yep.

[Spotless]

Tolle lets... [all criticism of his teachings] wash past. As British writer Oliver Burkeman observed in a profile of Tolle for The Guardian, "Once you've told the world that you abide in a realm of infinite equanimity, you can't very well start getting all snippy when people don't take you at your word."

 

I would have thought equanimity and not getting snippy might apply to all the awakened.

The conceptual of both the inner and outer appearance of Awakening and expectation from the conceptual regarding it has nothing to do with the experience of it.

Heads are not buried in the sand, seeing and speaking to the relative is not a lost art - and tossing about the tables of money changers and baboons is not out of bounds.

 

Some use sweet tea and others use cold water - saints tend to prefer the former and sages the latter.

 

I remember being in college my first year and being put in a dorm on the 9th floor with all seniors and grad students instead of the freshman floor - they served me my head on a platter for a year - it was one of the best experiences of my life.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Spotless

[Spotless]

A seeker once traveled the world in order to find the teacher that could give him the answers to life and enlightenment.

 

At last he was directed to a great enlightened master high in the mountain tops.

 

It took great pains to finally arrive at the cave of the master.

 

The master received him and the seeker asked "please tell me the secret to life".

 

The master replied "life is like a waterfall".

 

The seeker explained "I have come a great distance and at great pain and expense to arrive here - can you give me a bit more than "life is like a waterfall?"

 

The master replied "life is not like a waterfall".

 

------

 

Now the master might have said:

 

"Your head is so far up your ass that anything I say will only echo within your intestinal confines. Take your daggers of judgement and positions in inertia and go - meditate upon this for ten years and come back. At the moment you are a chicken shit child looking for toys and proud as a King sitting on a slaves head." And then aptly the master let out a large fart and started laughing and joking with his cat about the strange smell of the mirage sitting dazed before them.

 

-----

In both cases the masters answer was the same - which do you think might have been more helpful?

It could be either.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Spotless

[Bindi]

They might seem Arrogant, Proud, Greedy or Abusive, but what of it, for they are the Awakened. 

[Jeff]

A seeker once traveled the world in order to find the teacher that could give him the answers to life and enlightenment.

 

At last he was directed to a great enlightened master high in the mountain tops.

 

It took great pains to finally arrive at the cave of the master.

 

The master received him and the seeker asked "please tell me the secret to life".

 

The master replied "life is like a waterfall".

 

The seeker explained "I have come a great distance and at great pain and expense to arrive here - can you give me a bit more than "life is like a waterfall?"

 

The master replied "life is not like a waterfall".

 

------

 

Now the master might have said:

 

"Your head is so far up your ass that anything I say will only echo within your intestinal confines. Take your daggers of judgement and positions in inertia and go - meditate upon this for ten years and come back. At the moment you are a chicken shit child looking for toys and proud as a King sitting on a slaves head." And then aptly the master let out a large fart and started laughing and joking with his cat about the strange smell of the mirage sitting dazed before them.

 

-----

In both cases the masters answer was the same - which do you think might have been more helpful?

It could be either.

 

 

I would suggest that you consider editing this post.  Telling another member (even in a made up story) that they have their head up their ass is a little beyond the limit.

 

Even for an enlightened guru type...

Edited March 17, 2017 by Jeff

[thelerner]

Reminds me of 'purist hypsters' who think once a band reaches a certain level of fame, they're automatically sell outs and no longer worth listening too.  

 

Sometimes you gotta separate the music from the performer,

or get to know the artists better, so you stop making pre-judgements.

[Bindi]

Reminds me of 'purist hypsters' who think once a band reaches a certain level of fame, they're automatically sell outs and no longer worth listening too.  

 

Sometimes you gotta separate the music from the performer,

or get to know the artists better, so you stop making pre-judgements.

 

 

I was given his books years ago before Oprah made him rich and famous, and I didn’t agree with his immediate awakening through staying in the present method then, and I don’t agree with it now, whether he’s popular or not.

 

Tolle experienced chronic depression accompanied by suicidal thoughts, and it was an acute attack of this condition that led to his sudden awakening. He believes that crisis and suffering are the key ingredient and vital in awakening, in this way he seems blinkered as he presents his problem and solution as the absolute requirement for everyone. Only through crisis and suffering can you awaken. Am I required to believe that this is the only path?

 

It’s only when we reach a state of crisis, the suffering that it produces creates the impetus behind the shift in consciousness. This is the point that we have reached now, and we’ve been moving towards this for the past 100 years. This is why so many people are now ready to undergo that shift.

 

So this is a very important moment in human history, where there is a possibility of almost a quantum leap in human consciousness.

 

Yes, there was a moment when the unhappiness in me became almost unbearable. I was depressed and anxious most of the time. This is what we’ve just been talking about now, the deep crisis that precedes a change in consciousness. I experienced that in my own life. I briefly describe it in the introduction to The Power of Now. I couldn’t live with myself any longer, and so I considered suicide. I had considered suicide quite a few times in my life. At that point, suddenly something happened within me. I didn’t understand what it was, because it happened spontaneously. It was only later I realized that what happened inside me was the arising of presence.

This happened to me as a result of suffering, so there is a redeeming feature to suffering, because suffering can bring about that shift, and until a certain point in an individual’s evolution is reached, suffering is inevitable and fulfills a necessary function, without which the shift would not take place. Humanity as a whole has already suffered enormously. Most of history is a history of dreadful suffering, much of it self-inflicted through violence and continuous conflict.

 

Because humanity has already gone through acute suffering, there are many people alive now who are actually at a point of readiness. They don’t need to suffer that much more, because now we benefit from the past collective human suffering.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/a-conversation-with-eckhart-tolle_b_5174112.html

[rene]

I would suggest that you consider editing this post. Telling another member (even in a made up story) that they have their head up their ass is a little beyond the limit.

 

Even for an enlightened guru type...

He didn't...and...you missed the point...but that's okay.

[rene]

-----

In both cases the masters answer was the same - which do you think might have been more helpful?

It could be either.

Either, yes...or neither. Most folks find what they seek - and usually it's limited by what they already think. Perpetual imo applied. (-:

 

.

Edited March 18, 2017 by rene

[Spotless]

I would suggest that you consider editing this post.  Telling another member (even in a made up story) that they have their head up their ass is a little beyond the limit.

 

Even for an enlightened guru type...

I didn't - you missed the point - but that's OK

[3bob]

Btw, there is the idea in Luke 11:33 to consider  "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a lampstand, so those who enter can see the light."

 

...and not only a lamp light but also white hot fire, lightning and accompanying thunder!  

[Jeff]

Btw, there is the idea in Luke 11:33 to consider  "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a lampstand, so those who enter can see the light."

 

...and not only a lamp light but also white hot fire, lightning and accompanying thunder!

 

Interesting quote from the gospels, but I don't see how it quite fits the discussion.

[thelerner]

 

Tolle experienced chronic depression accompanied by suicidal thoughts, and it was an acute attack of this condition that led to his sudden awakening. He believes that crisis and suffering are the key ingredient and vital in awakening, in this way he seems blinkered as he presents his problem and solution as the absolute requirement for everyone. Only through crisis and suffering can you awaken. Am I required to believe that this is the only path?

Definitely not.  He'll connect with some people, not others.  Will those he 'connects with' get enlightenment.   Probably not, but they'll get a sense of calm from his writings.  Thus he might be the light beer of Buddhism .   

 

We probably need more then a book and a pithy saying to break out of our conditioning.  Hell, I don't know what we need.

 

On the third hand, there was a member here who said they reached enlightenment after suffering depression from there mother's death.  The event shook there operating paradigm.  

[Spotless]

Many Awakened teachers site Echart Tolle's books as breakthrough books for them as well as other venues.

 

Many Awakened teachers are now citing many Western teachers as prominent in their Awakening - some at Satsang, some on retreats, some watching a video and others simply at a lecture / discussion / interview.

[rene]

Grreat minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." ~ Eleanor Rosevelt

 

Cheers!

[Spotless]

Btw, there is the idea in Luke 11:33 to consider  "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a lampstand, so those who enter can see the light."

 

...and not only a lamp light but also white hot fire, lightning and accompanying thunder!

 

Exactly

[cold]

In the parts I hail from we keep the white lightning under wraps in the barn...

Regular modest use is rumored to keep one hale!