Jan Kersschot - The Myth of Self-Enquiry: Questions and Answers about the Philosophy of Oneness

The Myth of

Self-Enquiry

Questions and Answers about the Philosophy of Oneness

Jan Kersschot

Foreword by Tony Parsons

N on-Duality Press

n on-duality press

6 Folkestone Road Salisbury SP2 8JP United Kingdom

www.non-dualitybooks.com

Copyright Jan Kersschot 2007

Copyright Non-Duality Press 2007

Fir s t printing July 2007

Cover design and layout: John Gustard and Julian Noyce

For more information visit:

www.kersschot.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information or retrieval system without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Isbn 10: 0-9553999-6-3 Isbn 13: 978-0-9553999-6-1

Contents

Foreword

The Sanskrit word Advaita points to that which cannot be spoken of and exposes the fallacy of the idea that there is something separate from something else called Oneness. The simplicity of this message is directly threatening to the apparent seeker. It is rejected by the guru mind which searches for states to lay claim to Stillness, silence, bliss or awareness arise within the hypnotic dream of separation and then drop away again like sand through the fingers.

But Being is the one and only constant that never comes and never goes away. Because it is nothing and everything it cannot be gained or lost, given or received, approached or avoided.

The seeing of these words, the hearing of sounds, sensations in the body, feelings, thoughts the very stuff of boundless aliveness, is the essence of Being indefinable, unknowable, beyond description and yet filling every part of existence.

This clear and simple message speaks of a revolutionary perception where all traditional ideas, and even contemporary teachings of becoming something better or different, collapse. Its illumination is in the energetic, vibrant aliveness that is implicit in the wonder and liberation of simply Being.

Jan Kersschot has a clear understanding of this perception and demonstrates his ideas very well in his new book, The Myth of Self-Enquiry .

All the time the seeker continues to search for the unfindable through process and path this kind of exposure can be a reminder of another possibility.

Tony Parsons

April 2007

Introduction

As a child, you are told to be a person. As a reader of this book, you are told to be a person holding this book in your hands. Maybe you also imagine that you are a seeker on a spiritual path. Your spiritual leaders probably also told you that something is wrong with you. Maybe you still believe that. That you have to follow their rules in order to reach heaven. That you have to do your best in order to become worthy. That you have to meet certain standards if you want to end your spiritual search. Maybe you still believe all that as well.

Meanwhile, perhaps you have started to ask yourself questions about all the stories you once took for real. Is it all true what youve been told? Maybe youve already discovered that something was wrong with all these stories. What if time is a mind construct? What if the person is just another thought? If both the linear time axis as well as the belief in the separate person are concepts, what is left of your spiritual goals? What if there is no spiritual path at all? What if there is no path to liberation? What if the person who feels locked up is just a construction of the mind? What if spiritual liberation is just a myth?

If you believe you are in a prison, and ask me how to escape from that prison, what can I say when its clear that the walls of that prison are made of thin air? What if all these walls were imaginary in the first place? You complain that you have a rope around your neck and that this particular rope is preventing you from becoming free. And you ask me how to remove that rope. Or you hope that I can cut that rope around your neck. What can I say when its clear that your rope is only an imaginary rope? Do you expect me to give you a technique to untie the rope around your neck if that rope is illusory? Do you expect me to show you a path to solve your spiritual problems if that path is illusory? Can I promise you a better future as the future is an illusion? Can you expect me to approach you as a person when its clear that that person is an illusion? Both you as well as the rope around your neck are illusory.

This reminds me of the story of Tashi. He is a young Buddhist monk in Ladakh, North India. The story is about the journey he made with his friend Sonam and their master Apo. In 1985, they joined the inauguration of the Shanti Stupa in Leh. The Shanti Stupa was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama that year and thats why these three monks joined the festivities. After the ceremony they stayed for a few more days and then took their horses to go back to their own monastery, Hemis Gompa, about 80 miles west of Leh. On their way home there was a big storm. They had to stop and wait until the storm was over. While they were sitting by the side of the road and waiting till the storm was over, Tashi asked his master, How come I still have all these problems with my ego wanting to do things which are not allowed according to the rules of our monastery? What can I do to suppress them? I want to become a good monk. A devoted monk. I want to be free. I meditate as much as I can. I do the ceremonies every day but things only get worse. Can you help me in my struggle against my ego? The master replied, Wait until tomorrow. Then the answer will come to you.

As the storm continued, they decided to stay over for the night. So they improvised a place to sleep in a cave and made a fire. Unfortunately, they only had two cords to tie the horses down for the night. The rope of the masters horse was gone. Probably that rope was lost during the storm. Tashi and Sonam asked their superior what to do. Apo said, These horses are tired. I dont believe my horse will run away in the middle of the night. But the two young monks were afraid they would wake up the next morning with two horses by the tree instead of three. So Tashi and Sonam still asked their master what to do. Then Apo said, Simply pretend to tie the third horse down. Pretend to take an imaginary rope from my bag and my horse will believe its his rope youre taking. Then act as if to put it around his neck. Sonam couldnt believe what he had just heard and replied, We just pretend to tie him down? Right. You pretend to put that imaginary rope around his neck and fix it to the same tree as the other two horses. Make the usual movements with your hands. Just act as if he is tied down, and my horse will stay put for the night, trust me! Although my horse is very smart, I am sure he will not move until I whistle tomorrow morning. Tashi said to Sonam, I will do it. So Tashi pretended to tie down the third horse with an illusory rope, making the same movements as usual as if there was a real rope involved.

Tashi and Sonam didnt sleep well that night. Not because of the storm, but because they were worrying about the masters horse. The next morning, Tashi and Sonam woke up very early and rushed to the tree. They saw that the three horses hadnt moved during the night. They were relieved to notice that they were still standing next to the tree. So the master was right when he said that the three horses wouldnt move until he whistled to them the next morning. So everything was all right. They untied their horses and they started to pack their things to continue their journey to Hemis Gompa. When the master whistled as usual to call the three horses, only two horses showed up. To their amazement the one horse they pretended to have tied down the night before did not move at all. The other two just walked towards them but the third one didnt respond to the whistle.