Authority Blocks One From Learning About Oneself

**Note: Truth does not always sound pleasant. If the mind is not really peaceful now, it might not be a perfect moment to listen to this podcast, one has to be aware of the emotions or reactions that can block one from listening attentively.

This talk is a meditation practice. What one needs to do is listen attentively, without getting stuck in words, examine the mind in silence, not agree or disagree, just look at the mind as it is. Doing so is already a meditation practice.

Transcript

Now,

Let's meet each other truly,

To inquire into this domain which is called mind,

The body,

The neuron system,

To understand ourselves to end the confusion about life.

So this moment,

No matter how busy you were for the whole day,

Or it's at the beginning of the day or end of the day,

It doesn't matter.

Let's empty everything so we can truly meet,

Inquire together.

This place which is called mind is full of disorder.

Such a small place has accumulated too many images from the culture,

From the tradition,

Years by years,

Centuries by centuries.

It rarely let go of them,

So the mind becomes more and more sophisticated,

Generations by generations.

Such a mind is never peaceful.

It is always turbulent,

Always in conflict,

In all kinds of contradictions.

The mind is confused.

Nowadays we have seen such a vast progress of the technology in our life,

But we are still not happy.

The mind is still chaotic.

Our life is still confusing.

Simply speaking,

We all suffer.

The way we are living now brings about tremendous suffering.

We keep seeking pleasure in the hope of finding out what is happiness,

But a life of seeking pleasure itself is a life of suffering.

There are so many different types of authorities in the media,

From science,

From research,

Telling you how to be happy.

If it really worked,

We wouldn't have sat here together to inquire into this tremendous issue.

The authority who thinks he knows wants to tell somebody who doesn't know.

Such division between the known and the unknown has already created a problem,

The conflict,

The contradiction,

Which blocks everybody from learning themselves.