been passed down throughout the ages?
If while reading this book you find that it passes these three tests, I would encourage you to open your mind. Perhaps here, in this little book, you can discover the secret teachings, passed down from antiquity, that when discovered have made many people exceedingly joyful.
Preface to the Second Edition
This book is written in two parts. Step by step, the first part starts with what you experience right now, and from there points you to the source of wisdom and bliss in the last place you would expect. To help understand the process of waking up, please read this part in the order that it’s written.
After you open your eyes to this blissful freedom, in the second part, we allow many different masters from different cultures and religions to tell you what they see, so that you can experience their teachings in a new light. The book is divided into small chapters so that each day, before you meditate, you can read one of them.
In Making Your Wisdom Come Alive I often talk about “this meditation.” Unlike many meditation practices where physical posture, breath, and mental posture are important, here meditation simply means getting to the core of your own self-nature.
You will see that it is so close to you that it is easy to overlook. In fact, if you think that you already know who you are, you will be in for a pleasant surprise. That’s because you are much greater than you think.
To get a sense of “this meditation,” if you ask the gas station attendant how to get to San Francisco, and he replies that you already are in San Francisco, then what can you do to get to San Francisco? It is only by recognizing what you already experience that you can arrive in San Francisco. This book points to the place where you stand even now. It also shows you how to step beyond the limitations that you see, so that you can discover what you really are.
If you want more information on starting a regular meditation practice, at the end of the first section, I included a chapter on how we meditate. This is not so you will imitate our form. It is to give you ideas so that you can find or create a form that is inspiring to you.
I then included a chapter on moving meditation. That’s because here you can meditate no matter what posture you find yourself in: sitting, standing, walking, or lying down; eyes open or closed.
The best way to read this book is to question and explore the meaning of these words, and then to leave them behind, so that you can abide in the place that the words point. See the chapter, “Thinking from Within” for more information on this.
Based on the questions that people have asked over the years, in this edition I included more information. This includes escaping the cycle of repression and indulgence, in the chapter, “The Forces that Enliven the Body.” I also included more information on how to experience what you know, and on how to meditate.
In the section, “Quotes From the Masters” I included more poetry and more dialogs.
If you have questions that are not answered in this book, feel free to write me at [email protected]. Then we can explore and find answers together.
Occasionally reread this book. If you are like me, you will find that as your meditation deepens, the same words will have a completely different meaning. As I practiced, I often had the feeling, “How did I overlook that!”
Whoever finds the
explanation of these words
will not taste death.
Jesus
The Gospel According to Thomas
Translated by A. Guillaumont, H.-Ch. Puech, G. Quispel,
W. Till, and Yassah ‘Abd Al Masih.
© E. J. Brill
If you are curious about the following questions, read on.
Can I really find lasting happiness and peace?
Can meditation help me with my problems?
How far can I possibly go in my meditation?
What will be the results of my practice?
Invocations
OM, That is full;
this is full.
The full comes out of the full.
Taking the full from the full
the full itself remains.
OM, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti (peace).
Invocation to Isa Upanishad
The Principal Upanishads
Translated by S. Radhakrishnan
© S. Radhakrishnan
The fullness in the universe is the same fullness that resides right in your heart.
May the light that lights the universe be our light.
May the love that is at its very core be our love.
May we see clearly, the very core of our existence.
May all beings live together in peace.
OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti (peace).
This is an invocation that I wrote in the traditional style of the Indian Vedas. The last verse essentially asks that the conditions in the world and in your home support your practice. By the end of this book you will know that you find peace by becoming the light that you really are.
Part One:
Finding what you are
Where is happiness?
The first section of this book starts with a dialogue on the nature of happiness, and the surprising place where you actually find it. Then it moves on, and step by step uncovers the nature of the Being in human being.
By the end of this section you will have a new appreciation for what the philosophers and sages meant, when they said, “Know thyself.” Yes, that Self is you!
Question
I remember one thing that I used to do, a very long time ago. At night I tried to analyze my day, and extract all the things I went through that pleased me more, and I kept a note, and I tried to repeat those things in the next days, in order to have more pleasant days.
The idea is if we accomplish some hard tasks in a more pleasant way, we will have a better day. So we must understand what is the best way to get a task done... and do that in the future...
Thanks
