1994-07_16 Breath Awareness Meditation As A Gateway To Living Wisdom - 5 - Q&A 3

Talk: 19940716-Larry_Rosenberg-IMSR-breath_awareness_as_a_gateway_to_living_wisdom_5-319.json Start_time: 00:29:42 Display_question: Can you describe the intelligence responsible for mindfulness? Keyword_search: extraordinary, beautiful, mystery, deeper, intellect, accomplishment, human race, human, organic, knowledge, quiet, abeyance, deep, profound, different, seeing, intuitive, direct, awareness, dissolve, fall away, problems, non-intellectual, explanation, cognizing, power, emptiness, Tibetan, empty, unlimited, vast, silent, greed, hatred, delusion, irrational, enlightenment, Great Silence, Steven Spielberg, special effects Question_content: Questioner: I have a similar question. Larry: Sure. Questioner: <inaudible> Larry: We're not trying not to think. Right. You know, we hit people when they talk that way. Do you apologize? Okay. Questioner: I notice… Larry: You notice what? Yes. Questioner: <inaudible> Larry: I would say that for me is an extraordinary and beautiful mystery. The best I can do is call it organic intelligence. There's an intelligence that is, in a sense, deeper than, let's just say it's different than intellect. We all have a capacity for, let's say, rational thought and so forth. And that's very beautiful accomplishment of the human race, let's say. And you can accumulate knowledge that way and, you know, all the academic subjects and so forth. There's another kind of knowing when that part of the brain is quiet, goes into abeyance, that it's really very, very deep and profound. And the seeing knows something. It is not intellectual knowing, it's intuitive, it's direct. Break_line: Now, what I hear is that your intellect is frustrated and it wants a good intellectual understanding about this non-intellectual way of knowing so that it then can feel reassured and okay. And, I wish I could do better, but this is the best I can do. But it's going to be a slower trip for you if you have to satisfy the intellect every step along the way. It's going to be a slow ride, bumpy ride. Because, for example, many problems in this practice fall away when you look closely at them. When awareness gets strong, you dissolve them. You don't even solve the problem. But it's not there anymore. And then people will want an intellectual explanation. But why am I not mean anymore? I mean, I don't understand what has happened. Or they have a need to write a short story about it, a poem about it, publish a journal article about it. Like desperately holding on to the world of thought and explanation and look, it's gone. You're not a mean person anymore. Move on. Okay. If you can't, all right. It's just a local train. The express train is just when, you don't need it. Break_line: But finally it is mysterious to me, too. And it's a kind of knowing that's extremely helpful. You just know. The Tibetans call it the cognizing power of emptiness. When the mind becomes empty means really and that emptiness is unlimited. It's how vast and silent the mind can become. It has cognizing power. There the image of empty space breaks down. Because empty space is not intelligent. It's just space. But if you reflect on it for a moment the cognizing power of emptiness. That means when the mind gets that silent… Look, one way in which enlightenment is talked about some of you wanted to know more about that is called the Great Silence. Now, many people will hear that great silence. Big deal. Is that what I've been sitting here for nine days. Just I want something: Steven Spielberg special effects. I don't know what lights going off and it's very quiet. I wouldn't worry about that. Break_line: When you start to taste the silent mind, you won't have any questions anymore. It's just a word. Silent. We don't have words for it. And the Buddha didn't talk much about what enlightenment was because it's beyond reason. It's not irrational, but it's beyond reason. And by definition how can you talk? You have to use words. You can often say what it isn't. It's the end of greed, hatred, and delusion or attachment to them. But that's the best I can do. But you found that you did know some things, but then you didn't know how you knew them. Yeah, sorry. There are a lot of books on Buddhism. They could probably do a better job than on and why that happened. But I'm just limited there. Yeah. End_time: 00:34:23