From Suffering to Bliss - An Invitation
From Suffering to Bliss - An Invitation
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a state of perpetual bliss, or what may be preventing you from experiencing that state right now? Some say it's not possible without years of arduous discipline and sacrifice. For others, bliss is a condition to be enjoyed in the future, perhaps after death. And whilst that may not be so far from the truth, even physical death can't dissolve the body of words from which a person is constructed - their self image.
Therefore, as long a person's mistaken identity remains intact, their suffering will inevitably continue, in one form or another. The point being: Bliss is not something that anyone can achieve for themselves. Rather, it's the nature of who they actually are, once the veil of who they think they are has been lifted. And, believe me, I am speaking from experience.
Should I attempt to describe it, therefore; to offer a treatment for the infection? Should anyone? Surely that which is beyond words is also, by its very nature, indescribable. Moreover, what could inspire one's pilgrimage - or perhaps fall - back into the mire of language, when silence itself is the cure for the disease that it spawned?
And there is another issue. To whom would one be addressing this hypothetical description of bliss, having seen beyond the illusion of separation; having realised that words themselves not only gave birth to that illusion, but also sustain and expand upon it exponentially? It seems that any use of words, therefore, would imply one's continuing bondage to the process which they ultimately represent, rather than a liberation from it.
It's in the nature of words to propagate themselves, of course. And so even the most enlightened attempts to influence their progeny - through the use of words - can surely only compound the problem, taking people ever further from their true home.
How many words have our spiritual icons inspired, for example, and what form have those words taken? One needn't look far to see the results. I'm not referring to the religious buildings and institutions themselves, but rather to their source - ourselves. For we too are made of words. At least, we think we are, in that we have identified with words, with form, with structure. In short, with illusion. And it's this misperception that endows words with their power over us; the power that we use every day to influence 'others'. This is an important point to understand, because our true Self - the formless awareness that we are - cannot be influenced by words unless it itself has first identified with words. The resulting ego or 'puppet' is not a blessing, therefore, but the price we pay to participate in this matrix of illusion. It's also the root of all fear and suffering.
I am hardly the first to have pointed this out, of course. According to the ancient Tao Te Ching: "The way that can be spoken of is not the way." And yet this one small volume has spawned larger books, more analysis, bigger structures. Truth, it seems, has been buried under a mountain of words, which form our traditions, beliefs, rituals, doctrines, etc. And this shouldn't be at all surprising, considering that we ourselves are so tragically entangled in words. One is tempted to say that a true Buddhist is no more a Buddhist than a true Christian is a Christian. For it's only the words themselves that separate the singular truth that we are beyond the words - outside of the matrix in which words have conspired to imprison us.
Whilst true Christianity may have more in common with Buddhism than we tend to think, it could be argued that Jesus used a different approach to the problem, acknowledging that "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." In other words, a conscious person needs no instruction on how to behave, for love is the nature of consciousness. So he instead appealed directly to those who were lost in the darkness of the illusion (the sick), speaking in terms of rewards and consequences - which is, of course, the language of the ego. My point here is that he was attempting to influence the process rather than expose it. "Love your neighbour as yourself," rather than "You and your neighbour are One, behind the veil of words which appear to separate you."
Hopefully, by now, the nature of the trap is coming into view. We'd all like to end our fear and suffering. Yet 'we' (the identification with words that leads to the illusion of separation) is ultimately the cause of it. And so we fritter away our divine currency in a futile attempt to defend and satisfy the very thing that has ensnared us (our mistaken identity).
And what is that divine currency? It's awareness, consciousness. The more of which one has, of course, the more one can generate. For this is an ascending path, out of ego and out of the darkness of illusion. Conversely, if you're lacking in consciousness (having invested it in the ego), the downward momentum may eventually become irreversible. Then, "even what little you have will be taken away." Why? Because of the suffering that unconsciousness (egoic self interest; evil) causes to the true Self - our true Self - God. In other words, 'we' (infinite consciousness) are emerging from the process as what our ego would perceive as God, in full knowledge of Himself. And this is 'our' ultimate inheritance.
And so to liberation, which is the realisation of one's ultimate equivalence with God. Not as mere intellectual knowledge, of course, but as an inherent knowing - something that can only occur after the demise of the false self. Essentially, this is formed from the words which a person's consciousness has been persuaded to identify with, yet in reality have nothing whatsoever to do with them. Still, these words will determine a person's every decision in life (hence the puppet analogy) without a significant degree of consciousness.
We all like to think of ourselves as being conscious. In reality, however, most people are no more aware in life than they are in their dreams. Please consider this point. For wouldn't your actions in a dream be very different if you knew it was a dream at the time? Would you still be running away from that monster - or laughing at it? Would you be choosing from a limited set of options, or exploring the limits of your own imagination?
Sadly, most people don't dream this way. And not until they've awoken do they see the experience for what it truly was - an experience. They weren't in the driver's seat at all, even though they believed themselves to be at the time. Can anything more be said of their waking life?
Awakening, then, is like emerging from a bad dream; from darkness into light; from suffering to bliss. The false self, in which one invested so much time and energy, is left exposed as the hideous monster it truly was. Yet there is no anger, for it served its purpose well, creating a nightmare so intense that your awakening became inevitable. This is the purpose of suffering.
The question is, does anyone really need to suffer so much, as I have, or could the power of words be used against their own creations - against the matrix itself? Many have tried, of course. And yet the process continues. In the words of Albert Einstein: "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
Well, I obviously do believe that words have the power to free consciousness from their mighty grasp. Indeed, they've played a valuable role in my own liberation. Yet, as you may have discerned for yourself by now, my motivation for returning to words can only be a selfish one. Why? Because, ultimately, I am extending this invitation to myself, to my One true Self, through the fog of words in which I appear divided.
I am the awareness
Behind the person you perceive
And I perceive my Self
Behind the person you portray
What have these people
To do with us?
Let's put them down
And walk away
