Thankfully, as the ego diminishes, so does the need to judge!
Disapproving and judging others or ourself is something most people do without realizing
it is limiting, destructive and hurtful. When we criticize and judge we show our ignorance.
We have been conditioned to view things as right and wrong, so we make judgments and
feel righteous about the judgments we make. By judgment, I am not speaking of
discernment or personal preferences, but rather the position against something being
wrong or bad. This is a socially accepted mode of behavior, but keeps us asleep in the
Dream of duality instead of experiencing the Awakened Whole we seek.
The ego needs to disapprove and criticize in order to maintain it’s false identity and sense
of power. The ego does not see Perfection; only Perfection sees Perfection. The ego sees
separation and holds the individual responsible for the way things are. When we have
deeper understanding, judgments and criticisms begin falling away for we see there is no
individual doing anything right, wrong or personal to be judged. There is only
Consciousness doing the doing, so we see a perfection to the way things happen.
Even though kindness and loving behavior is always preferred, from my perception, there
is no rule of behavior to be followed…there is only Consciousness expressing itself. It is
we ignorant, humans that make up what we think the rules of behavior ought to be; this
also includes how we think our teachers and sages should act. I am always a little
surprised by others thinking if a teacher charges money for a teaching they must not be a
true teacher or if someone states himself or herself to be enlightened then they are not
enlightened. Other surprising judgments are if a sage is not ‘blissed-out’, saintly acting all
the time or gifted with special powers, than they cannot be enlightened. These are limited
rules and notions that we come up with while trying to figure out what enlightenment is.
There is no cosmic rule of behavior for sages, teachers or anyone else. All of us are
puppets or characters in the Divine Story. Behavior is unique and individual and already
written in the script we all follow. This is not just an excuse for so-called bad behavior; it is
a perception of Reality that is seen when the Dream falls away and all that is left is
Consciousness.
While asleep in the Dream our perception of Reality or Consciousness is filtered or veiled
by the individual ego and soul. Via Grace, once fully awakened, the Dream no longer exists,
because perception of Reality is no longer perceived through individuation. The perception
of being an individual is gone. Perception is happening at the stripped-down level of
Conscious Awareness. And because, there is no longer an individual identity there is no
longer a personal Story line happening; only an impersonal story line. In other words, all
the filters from the ego and soul are gone. Perception happens, but there is no longer a
perceiver there to judge; only Consciousness Aware of itself!
There is much confusion about what enlightenment is. It seems many teachers do not
realize that complete individuation is forever gone in order to be truly enlightened. This
means there is no one there to be enlightened… no one is home! Unless your own
individuation has become or is very close to being diminished, it is almost impossible to
tell if another is enlightened or not. For this reason, I recommend not being concerned
about a teacher’s enlightenment. A teacher does not need to be enlightened to be a true
and great guru or teacher. As long as the teacher’s perception of Consciousness is
beyond the perceiving level of the student, the teacher will have something valuable to offer.
The value for having a Guru or teacher is the divine resonance between teacher and
student, as Consciousness will use the teacher to teach us in a very direct and personal
way. Consciousness is behind the magic of the connection, not the power or
enlightenment of the teacher. The teacher is always only a vehicle for Consciousness, just
as we all are and if there is no inner connection, the teacher or sage may not seem
particularly special or brilliant to us.
Even thou bright and light, most enlightened beings are very ordinary people because the
ego - personality is primarily gone and unless there is a soul connection with them, they
tend to go unnoticed. Sages are usually simple beings; living simple modest lives and they
need to make a living like everyone else. They need an income, and usually have little
drive to participate in the world. From my perception, there are only a handful of beings that
are enlightened at this highest dimensional level. These beings are relatively unknown
and if teaching, they usually only have a small number of students or disciples. You will
not find these beings teaching in large auditoriums to large numbers of people because
they do not have the drive for such things and the number of people seeking knowledge at
this level is not there. Most seekers are not yet ready to completely let go of the soul and
ego identity... and it is not yet time.
His Holiness, The Dalai Lama has never been one of my teachers and I have not read any
of his books. Even though his perception of Reality is different from mine, I admire he
teaches kindness and compassion to others. In this tough and cruel world filled with ego,
kindness and acceptance and less judgment is something we could all use more of in our
lives. There is nothing wrong or right about developing good human qualities. These
qualities have nothing to do with Self Realization. It is simply another way to move though
this life. As the ego falls away, many good qualities naturally develop, but until there, there
is nothing wrong with practicing more kindness and compassion to our self and others.
Each of us is the same thing... it is OK for us to give and receive love to and from each
other. It is not only OK, but as the Dalai Lama says, we need it to survive. The Circle has
one side!
~Sheilan 2008
Disapproving and judging others or ourself is something most people do without realizing
it is limiting, destructive and hurtful. When we criticize and judge we show our ignorance.
We have been conditioned to view things as right and wrong, so we make judgments and
feel righteous about the judgments we make. By judgment, I am not speaking of
discernment or personal preferences, but rather the position against something being
wrong or bad. This is a socially accepted mode of behavior, but keeps us asleep in the
Dream of duality instead of experiencing the Awakened Whole we seek.
The ego needs to disapprove and criticize in order to maintain it’s false identity and sense
of power. The ego does not see Perfection; only Perfection sees Perfection. The ego sees
separation and holds the individual responsible for the way things are. When we have
deeper understanding, judgments and criticisms begin falling away for we see there is no
individual doing anything right, wrong or personal to be judged. There is only
Consciousness doing the doing, so we see a perfection to the way things happen.
Even though kindness and loving behavior is always preferred, from my perception, there
is no rule of behavior to be followed…there is only Consciousness expressing itself. It is
we ignorant, humans that make up what we think the rules of behavior ought to be; this
also includes how we think our teachers and sages should act. I am always a little
surprised by others thinking if a teacher charges money for a teaching they must not be a
true teacher or if someone states himself or herself to be enlightened then they are not
enlightened. Other surprising judgments are if a sage is not ‘blissed-out’, saintly acting all
the time or gifted with special powers, than they cannot be enlightened. These are limited
rules and notions that we come up with while trying to figure out what enlightenment is.
There is no cosmic rule of behavior for sages, teachers or anyone else. All of us are
puppets or characters in the Divine Story. Behavior is unique and individual and already
written in the script we all follow. This is not just an excuse for so-called bad behavior; it is
a perception of Reality that is seen when the Dream falls away and all that is left is
Consciousness.
While asleep in the Dream our perception of Reality or Consciousness is filtered or veiled
by the individual ego and soul. Via Grace, once fully awakened, the Dream no longer exists,
because perception of Reality is no longer perceived through individuation. The perception
of being an individual is gone. Perception is happening at the stripped-down level of
Conscious Awareness. And because, there is no longer an individual identity there is no
longer a personal Story line happening; only an impersonal story line. In other words, all
the filters from the ego and soul are gone. Perception happens, but there is no longer a
perceiver there to judge; only Consciousness Aware of itself!
There is much confusion about what enlightenment is. It seems many teachers do not
realize that complete individuation is forever gone in order to be truly enlightened. This
means there is no one there to be enlightened… no one is home! Unless your own
individuation has become or is very close to being diminished, it is almost impossible to
tell if another is enlightened or not. For this reason, I recommend not being concerned
about a teacher’s enlightenment. A teacher does not need to be enlightened to be a true
and great guru or teacher. As long as the teacher’s perception of Consciousness is
beyond the perceiving level of the student, the teacher will have something valuable to offer.
The value for having a Guru or teacher is the divine resonance between teacher and
student, as Consciousness will use the teacher to teach us in a very direct and personal
way. Consciousness is behind the magic of the connection, not the power or
enlightenment of the teacher. The teacher is always only a vehicle for Consciousness, just
as we all are and if there is no inner connection, the teacher or sage may not seem
particularly special or brilliant to us.
Even thou bright and light, most enlightened beings are very ordinary people because the
ego - personality is primarily gone and unless there is a soul connection with them, they
tend to go unnoticed. Sages are usually simple beings; living simple modest lives and they
need to make a living like everyone else. They need an income, and usually have little
drive to participate in the world. From my perception, there are only a handful of beings that
are enlightened at this highest dimensional level. These beings are relatively unknown
and if teaching, they usually only have a small number of students or disciples. You will
not find these beings teaching in large auditoriums to large numbers of people because
they do not have the drive for such things and the number of people seeking knowledge at
this level is not there. Most seekers are not yet ready to completely let go of the soul and
ego identity... and it is not yet time.
His Holiness, The Dalai Lama has never been one of my teachers and I have not read any
of his books. Even though his perception of Reality is different from mine, I admire he
teaches kindness and compassion to others. In this tough and cruel world filled with ego,
kindness and acceptance and less judgment is something we could all use more of in our
lives. There is nothing wrong or right about developing good human qualities. These
qualities have nothing to do with Self Realization. It is simply another way to move though
this life. As the ego falls away, many good qualities naturally develop, but until there, there
is nothing wrong with practicing more kindness and compassion to our self and others.
Each of us is the same thing... it is OK for us to give and receive love to and from each
other. It is not only OK, but as the Dalai Lama says, we need it to survive. The Circle has
one side!
~Sheilan 2008
| “The key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities. I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness. It is the practice of compassion." ~Dalai Lama |
| ...Treating whoever you meet like an old friend is the practice of compassion. |
Copyright © 2004-2008 SHEILAN / Infinite Living
Ego, Judgment and Teachers
| His Holiness, The Dalai Lama does not claim enlightenment and perhaps is not the best teacher for Self Realization... But he has a valuable message about kindness and compassion. |