Considerations: you do not know what anything is.

An enlightened lover

 

Cannot be bothered

 

With subjectivity, fear or concern.

 

How boring!

 

Such a one is only busy

 

With the affair of his or her loving,

 

Which extends into every area of life.

 

It is all a delicious exploration.

 

It is profound, ordinary,

 

But full of magic.

 

Who knows what will happen next?

 

That is not the lover's concern.

 

Suddenly it strikes you that you are

 

Present as the body totally,

 

Not just as the flesh

 

But as everything arising.

 

You are space. You are light.

 

Enter the garden with your lover,

 

Sit intimately and breathe

 

Your mutual presence together.

 

Who starts where,

 

And who stops anywhere?

 

The world is full of

 

Endless possibilities for us all.

 

This is the kingdom,

 

This is that very garden.

 

How could it be someplace else?

 

We are here!

 

It never began,

 

And it never

 

Can come to an end.

 

It is endless,

 

Mindless,

 

Deliciously paradoxical,

 

Unreasonably happy.

 

The self reference

 

Is a convention of reference

 

For getting things done every day.

 

But the self never appears

 

In our experience.

 

It is a symbol, a bit of language.

 

It is not a description

 

Of how it is.

 

It is an advertisement.

 

The "i" never appears in the event

 

As it does in sentences.

 

The "i" appearing,

 

Or the "me,"

 

The self reference,

 

Appears constantly in speech

 

But it never appears

 

In experience.

 

Don't you think

 

That is remarkable.

 

It never does!

 

The ego

 

Does not exist.

 

It is a model

 

Of interpretation.

 

It is a way of

 

Making sense out of nonsense.

 

So if you remain

 

True to your experience,

 

You must begin to operate

 

In quite a different way.

 

This begins to become

 

Fully apparent to you,

 

Certain to you,

 

It is fundamental

 

To every moment of

 

Your consciousness.

 

You must be transformed,

 

Don't you think? Yes!

 

Do you think it is time for you!

 

No one

 

Has ever had a thought.

 

Something arose.

 

You know what i mean?

 

There are only things arising.

 

No knowledge.

 

As soon as you

 

Get used to it,

 

If you do not forget it

 

And if you oblige yourself

 

To live with such understanding,

 

Things begin to go on

 

Quite differently

 

For "you."

 

Do not thing back,

 

Get into it

 

Right now!

 

Do you know

 

What consciousness is?

 

Is knowledge what it is?

 

And do you ever experience

 

That which you are?

 

That which

 

Observes consciousness

 

And all other things,

 

Do you ever now that itself?

 

You do not know it,

 

You are not a thing apart

 

That could know it.

 

You are it, altogether.

 

No matter what arises,

 

As experience, thought, emotion,

 

Circumstances, action, self sense,

 

World, relationship, whatever,

 

We do not know what it is.

 

Our fundamental position

 

In the midst of arising things

 

Is utter ignorance

 

Or non-knowledge

 

Of the existence of anything.

 

We can and do very naturally

 

Gain all kinds of information

 

About things, people, events,

 

But we never know what they are.

 

This is always and eternally true.

 

We are already eternally happy

 

In our ignorance.

 

No matter what forms of

 

Knowledge we may acquire,

 

Even the highest so-called

 

"spiritual" realizations,

 

We never know what it is.

 

There is no such knowledge!

 

There is absolute ignorance of it.

 

Absolute ignorance of it.

 

Absolute ignorance

 

Of what you are

 

Or what anything is.

 

That is nirvana.

 

And yet you see

 

At the same time

 

All this can occur,

 

All these so-called phenomena

 

Do not interfere

 

With this ignorance.

 

You are never in danger

 

Of knowing anything!

 

Nirvana is eternal,

 

And yet everything arises.

 

There is no one

 

Making it arise,

 

No one watching it arise.

 

Nothing is known,

 

And yet everything

 

Is going on,

 

And can be done

 

Exactly as it has always

 

Been before.

 

And yet when this

 

Is fully the realization

 

In consciousness,

 

This will make

 

A great deal

 

Of difference.

 

It is not knowledge at all.

 

It is profoundest ignorance.

 

Adaptation to this ignorance

 

Is the highest wisdom.

 

Wisdom is adaptation.

 

Total ignorance.

 

You can see how this is so?

 

Yes?

 

So all of this and nirvana

 

Are exactly the same.

 

No knowledge, no knower,

 

Only arising.

 

Nothing ever to be known

 

About that.

 

There is no cause of it.

 

It does not even exist.

 

Not stupid,

 

But complete ignorance.

 

Completely unqualified,

 

Without qualification,

 

And also not qualified to know!

 

Absolutely unqualified

 

By any knowledge whatsoever,

 

By any specific definition

 

Or modification

 

Of consciousness.

 

The illusion of knowledge,

 

The illusion of knower,

 

Of some knowledge to be attained,

 

Is suffering.

 

When the illusion of knowledge is gone,

 

Suffering is completely gone,

 

All knowledge is completely vanished.

 

There is no mind, no form, no thing,

 

And yet there is everything.

 

This paradox is as close

 

As you can come

 

To pointing to the divine, so-called.

 

The paradox of this moment,

 

Unqualified and yet qualified

 

At the same time,

 

Well, this is enlightenment.

 

This is total, unqualified

 

And absolute enlightenment.

 

You are now enlightened!

 

All of this is obvious,

 

Isn't it?

 

The whole secret

 

Of spiritual practice

 

Is the freeing of attention,

 

To the point where

 

That single gesture of attention,

 

In which there is no knowledge,

 

In which everything becomes obvious,

 

May be made.

 

Most of your attention

 

Is being played on

 

By ordinary concerns

 

And points of view,

 

Beliefs, fears, and so forth.

 

Your attention must be

 

Freed up from that,

 

Fully, absolutely,

 

So that this simple gesture

 

Can be made.

 

Do you know

 

What anything is?

 

Is knowledge what you're up to?

 

Do you know anything?

 

This ignorance

 

Is your eternal,

 

Natural and divine state.

 

That is the truth.

 

That is the divine form,

 

That ignorance, perfectly enjoyed.

 

The illusion of knowledge

 

Is suffering.

 

That is it.

 

That is all there is to it.

 

At every moment

 

There is some new form of knowledge,

 

Some new certainty

 

That this is your experience.

 

You see what i mean?

 

You think you are knowing something.

 

But you are not knowing anything.

 

You do not know what it is.

 

In any case you do not know what it is.

 

Ignorance is your natural state.

 

All this knowledge

 

Is very complicated and disturbing,

 

It involves you in an adventure

 

That qualifies you and threatens you even.

 

But you are not in a body,

 

You are in a state of ignorance.

 

Grasp this with your whole being

 

Entirely.

 

Make this your body, this ignorance,

 

And all wisdom will appear

 

As nothing! As nonsense!

 

Nirvana is ignorance.

 

Realization is release from knowledge,

 

The illusion of knowledge.

 

And all knowledge is an illusion,

 

Because it does not actually

 

Amount to knowledge.

 

There is no reduction of the mystery

 

Or the paradox.

 

All things arise and nothing is known.

 

That is nirvana.

 

Rest in your ignorance,

 

Any you are completely happy,

 

Completely unthreatened.

 

You are completely free of what arises.

 

It never implicates you for a moment.

 

You know nothing about it.

 

Knowledge is not your connection to it.

 

There is no connection.

 

There is no "you" to find.

 

There is ignorance, only,

 

Absolute ignorance.

 

Well, that is enlightenment.

 

That is it!

 

Now you must live it in every moment

 

And you will see how mad you are.

 

At any moment feel and see

 

If you know anything.

 

And then return to your natural state.

 

Ignorance is it, you see.

 

That is it.

 

Have i said it?

 

There is only this ignorance, eternally.

 

You relax into fully feeling this ignorance.

 

Absolutely blissful.

 

It is perfectly obvious, isn't it?

 

There is nothing to be realized

 

Beyond it.

 

It is the one thing that is truth.

 

It is very truth.

 

It is the absolute experience.

 

It is the only knowledge, this ignorance.

 

It is never touched, never touched.

 

I am that ignorance. You see?

 

And so are you, aren't you?

 

That same ignorance.

 

You imagine that knowing

 

Is what you're up to.

 

You imagine that enlightenment

 

Is some knowledge.

 

But that is not what it is.

 

It is this ignorance.

 

You are without motion,

 

Without place, without fear,

 

Without extension,

 

Without quality,

 

Without liberation,

 

Without bondage,

 

Entirely without knowledge.

 

And everything is simply obvious.

 

It is perfectly obvious.

 

Fall back into your natural condition

 

Of complete ignorance,

 

No knowledge,

 

Everything becomes obvious

 

And there is no illusion

 

And so suffering.

 

You will not acquire any knowledge

 

Through any meaning whatsoever.

 

Whatever it means,

 

You still do not know what it is.

 

You are released from knowing that.

 

Abiding in that ignorance

 

Is release eternal.

 

If you consider this argument constantly

 

Then you will always be enlightened.

 

It is always there.

 

Always has been there.

 

This has always been your condition.

 

And at the same time

 

That there are all these things arising,

 

Apparently,

 

There is nothing. So-called.

 

Even if you fail to understand that,

 

It is still the same ignorance.

 

Look at one another

 

Realizing that you are not looking

 

At anything that is knowing.

 

There is no knower there.

 

You have not the slightest idea

 

What you are, what another is.

 

Look at it directly.

 

You are completely ignorant of it.

 

All of you

 

Will be completely enlightened

 

Eternally.

 

How can you forget ignorance again?

 

This ignorance is your only experience,

 

Truly.

 

It has nothing to do with anything.

 

Do you see?

 

There is only ignorance.

 

Only ignorance.

 

There is no knowledge. None!

 

Complete ignorance

 

Of anything whatsoever

 

Is your nature.

 

Not ignorance within,

 

Or ignorance anywhere.

 

It is only ignorance.

 

That is it. Only!

 

No single gesture that arose

 

Could possibly make it

 

Anything more than ignorance.

 

Everything arises

 

And you know nothing about it,

 

Not even the slightest

 

Hint of what it is.

 

No way to describe it,

 

It is completely awesome

 

And absurd yet workable.

 

It is all of that.

 

It is a paradox.

 

And you know nothing.

 

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

 

Nothing! Nothing!

 

No knowledge whatsoever,

 

Complete ignorance. Nothing!

 

And yet nothing disappears.

 

It is completely coincident

 

With absolutely any moment whatsoever.

 

Nothing that arises

 

Has the least effect upon it

 

And it causes nothing.

 

Everything is it.

 

Everything is this same ignorance.

 

Everything that arises is it,

 

It is that ignorance.

 

You say it is a modification

 

And yet it is still the same ignorance.

 

It makes no difference whatsoever.

 

There is no knowledge arising

 

At any moment, only arising itself.

 

No knowledge whatsoever.

 

Even so-called knowledge is only arising,

 

And you know nothing about it,

 

You haven't the slightest idea what it is.

 

Independent of what you are thinking it means,

 

You haven't any idea of what it is.

 

So you exist in this complete ignorance,

 

You are this complete ignorance,

 

Everything is this ignorance,

 

There is only this complete,

 

Absolute ignorance

 

That makes no difference whatsoever.

 

What it is is not the kind of thing

 

That makes a difference

 

And yet it obviously makes

 

All the difference,

 

You know what i mean?

 

Play it then!

 

Nothing is realized.

 

You do not know what anything is

 

After that experience

 

Any more than before it.

 

Nothing changes or qualifies this ignorance.

 

Look at all of this and you realize

 

That there is nothing knowable about it.

 

All this is not a something

 

About which knowledge can appear.

 

There is no knowledge. Never.

 

You never could grasp this ignorance.

 

You see you never could.

 

Only this ignorance, then, and that is it.

 

And this paradox is completely obvious,

 

Isn't it?

 

There is no knowledge,

 

Only complete ignorance.

 

And that is the truth of it.

 

You know nothing.

 

There is no knowledge.

 

Profoundly realized,

 

You are absolutely released

 

In this ignorance.

 

This is perfection.

 

You see how the recognitio

 

Of this ignorance

 

Is itself meditation.

 

This is the only true meditation.

 

This must become ordinary, constant.

 

This is samadhi, enlightenment.

 

The whole matter of enlightenment,

 

Of perfect realization,

 

Is instant.

 

It does not require

 

Years and years of training.

 

It is a direct confrontation,

 

In which the individual must have

 

The available attention.

 

But it is most simple, most direct.

 

It is exactly as we have considered it,

 

And nothing more.

 

After all is said and done,

 

You do not know what anything is.

 

You are completely ignorant

 

And nothing has ever been knowledge.

 

So, consider that and do what you will.

 

I am completely satisfied

 

That that argument

 

Is entirely sufficient

 

To enlighten all beings

 

Who can consider it.

 

You do not know what anything is.

 

Even the knowledge you seem to have.

 

There is no such thing as knowledge.

 

It is just the illusion

 

At the end of seeking.

 

Realization is that

 

All that is fruitless,

 

And that there no knowledge

 

That can even be attained.

 

But that very ignorance

 

Is precisely your condition

 

And the condition of everything.

 

And it will make no difference

 

Whatsoever.

 

You will still know nothing about it.

 

You know nothing more about the

 

Absolute, divine vision

 

Than you know abut this glass of water.

 

And vice-versa!

 

You are completely ignorant of what it is.

 

It may mean a lot,

 

But you do not know what it is.

 

You do not know what these meanings are.

 

You do not know what they are.

 

You see? You are completely ignorant.

 

This is absolutely true.

 

And that is the truth.

 

And there really isn't anything

 

Else to realize.

 

And one day it will be suddenly obvious.

 

Your experience is complete ignorance.

 

You do not know what anything is,

 

You do not know what a word is,

 

You do not know what anything is.

 

It does not make any difference

 

What happens, you still do not know

 

Anything about it.

 

It is the noticing of this with the

 

Full force of one's being, so-called,

 

That is enlightenment.

 

Enlightenment is so brief, so simple,

 

It is only a matter of knowing this,

 

So-called knowing of this.

 

Realizing ignorance brings the whole

 

Thing to an end even while it continues.

 

It does not become single,

 

It becomes a paradox,

 

A condition of which

 

There is no knowledge whatsoever.

 

Do you know what i am talking about?

 

Good! I suspected as much,

 

Because in saying all of this

 

I have not known anything whatsoever.

 

So how could you know anything more

 

As a result of listening to me?

 

You do not.

 

You are as ignorant now as then.

 

You have understood nothing.

 

Even if you had understood something,

 

It would make no difference

 

Because you do not know what it is.

 

Not just thinking about it

 

But realizing this ignorance

 

Is what i am talking about.

 

Spiritual discipline

 

Is essentially consideration

 

Of the argument

 

Until there is enough free attention

 

That it becomes completely obvious.

 

And the argument appears in many forms,

 

This is just one of the versions of it.

 

Do you know what anything is?

 

Do you know? No. Not at all.

 

In fact, there isn't anything

 

That is anything like a thing

 

About which knowledge

 

Could be possible,

 

Knowledge of what it is.

 

Existence of something

 

Is not anything that has to do

 

With knowledge.

 

There is no such knowledge

 

And never could be.

 

When you realize

 

That this ignorance

 

Is the same as your consciousness,

 

And are completely realized

 

In this ignorance,

 

Then all this begins to become

 

Obvious in a remarkable way.

 

Even when you seem to know

 

What something is,

 

You are still completely ignorant

 

Of the knowing and the thing.

 

Knowledge has nothing whatever

 

To do with it.

 

You are not something

 

That has knowledge or requires it.

 

So what is wrong?

 

Make no assumptions

 

About knowledge whatsoever.

 

Know that you exist

 

As a complete mystery.

 

And that is precisely what you are, in fact.

 

It is a complete paradox

 

Because everything arises in any case,

 

Not for ignorant reasons, you see,

 

Except perfectly ignorant ones.

 

Arising has no cause whatsoever.

 

True, it does arise in ignorance.

 

Perfect ignorance!

 

So you can bypass all the argument,

 

All the consideration,

 

If you realize that you are

 

Simply ignorant of it,

 

It could not be otherwise

 

Because it is not a something

 

About which knowledge is possible.

 

Asking, "who am i?"

 

Is not a matter of

 

Finding out who i am.

 

It is a matter of realizing

 

You are completely ignorant of it.

 

The "i" is not something

 

About which there can be knowledge

 

As to what it is.

 

Who am i?

 

What it is cannot be known.

 

And yet that ignorance

 

Is also consciousness.

 

Your very condition

 

Under all conditions

 

Is this ignorance.

 

It is not stupidity.

 

And it is not unconscious.

 

It is not anything

 

That you know about.