Thus, enlightenment is not something that you have to strive for; it is something felt and realized naturally. This is why your enlightenment and my enlightenment, your truth and my truth are not different from one another. Because truth is unchanging, it can be communicated and transmitted to others and expressed in actions. If enlightenment cannot be communicated and truth cannot be shared among all, then such things are merely personal illusions of grandeur.
Until now, we have had the wrong idea about the role of religion. We thought that religion would help human beings receive salvation and achieve enlightenment. Under this premise, religions have exercised great influence over every aspect of our lives, with absolute authority, controlling our souls and imprisoning our awareness. Let us look at religion again. We have to look at the basic premise of religion. As Ilchi Lee writes in his book that particular religion always claims to be the best one, the only one, and the unique way to reach God and receive salvation of the soul. Applying our sense of fair play, how right can this be? That you can only go to heaven if you are a Christian? That you will only reach nirvana if you only pray to Buddha?
Religion should be understood as being just a tool with which to reach an awakening of the soul, not as something with absolute authority and ultimate value. Instead of faith practice aimed at guaranteeing that individuals will reach heaven, people should search for the kernel of truth in the teachings of the different faith traditions of the world. You don’t have to belong to a particular religion to be a spiritual person.
Remaining in a state of peace and quiet may be good for an individual, but it is useless in bringing peace to the world. What good is an enlightened person who has no positive influence on those around him? True enlightenment imparts wisdom and the strength to make good choices in the real world. If enlightenment has no bearing on the state of the real world, what good is it? As I said, it won’t buy you a piece of stale bread.
By the above definition, enlightenment is a state of mind that allows you to act for the benefit of all. In short, enlightenment can be represented by good deeds. How do you determine what good is? You already know! You already know what is good for you and your neighbors and the world. You don’t need someone else to tell you what is ultimately good for humanity and the Earth. You already have an internally calibrated scale that can distinguish what is good from what is bad. Enlightenment is, therefore, an already existing state of your mind.
Therefore, enlightenment does not require effort. If you seek enlightenment through some type of effort, then it is not true enlightenment. Effort is needed to make something that is incomplete, complete. Something that is imperfect into something perfect. However, enlightenment is already perfect and complete, thereby not needing any effort at improvement. The reason we cannot act for the benefit of all is not due to a lack of enlightenment, but because of the various prejudices, egos, and attachments that force us to cater to the needs of particular individuals or groups. When you can divest your consciousness of these influences, your consciousness by itself is complete and perfect. The real ization of this is enlightenment.
Do you seek enlightenment? Why? What is the reason and purpose for your pursuit of enlightenment?
Ilchi Lee says that I have known many people with romantic ideas about enlightenment. Many people pursue enlightenment as a means of escape, chasing after dreams of eternal peace or freedom, or trying to escape from some real world suffering or difficulties that they feel unable to deal with. However, this concept of enlightenment is so worthless that you won’t even ‘get a piece of stale bread with it! Such is not enlightenment. Enlightenment is something with a definite purpose and goal. We seek enlightenment so that we may become stronger and brighter. We seek enlightenment because we seek to benefit our immediate surroundings and the world.
If you really desire enlightenment, then throw away any false romantic ideas about it. If you are seeking to surround yourself with a nebulous cloud of ‘feel-good’ love and peace, then you harbor a huge misconception. People often think that enlightenment is an eternal state of peace and quiet. Maybe, but you must not remain there for long if you want to continue living and creating. A child may be pure and innocent, but what power does a child have to change the direction in which an adult is walking?
According to Ilchi Lee instruction lift up your right hand, palm facing up in a cupped shape. Imagine the glass bowl of your soul resting on top of your right hand. Inside this bowl lie all your attachments and emotions, your loves and hates, your precious moments and the painful ones, pride and embarrassment, your loved ones and your enemies. Many people seek to keep the good memories and throw away the bad ones. However, to have a truly free soul, you need to throw away the good as well as the bad. This is because at the moment of becoming attached to the good, the possibility of bad is created. If you love, you worry that you might get hurt. If you acquire something that pleases you, you worry that you might lose it. Both love and hatred are attachments, chains that bind the soul. This is why emptying your vessel of the soul requires wisdom and courage.
Now, slowly turn your hand over and spill out the contents. One, two, three! Turn it over and watch it all spill out. Free your soul! Watch all your attachments spill onto the ground like individual grains of sand. Empty the bowl completely. And free your soul.
Sun is light, thunder is sound, and wind is vibration. Light, sound, and vibration are the reality behind all existence. Wade upstream to the source of humanity And you shall find light.
Light is the beginning of our life.
Movement of light created sound.
And movement of sound created vibration.
Our life is light, sound and vibration.
Without time or space.
When everything begins
And where we must return.
The SUN is also a Spiritual Union of Nations, an alliance of nations that acknowledge that we are all Earth-Humans despite our differences. The governments of these nations will understand that they cannot continue to make policies that seek to benefit their own citizens at the expense of world citizens. The governments of these nations will officially acknowledge that any actions taken by one nation could affect any other nation. These governments will write into their constitutions the solemn promise that they will take into account the interests of the Earth and the whole of humanity before making policy decisions.
Prof Ilchi Lee said ultimately, the SUN is the Spiritual United Nations, a complimentary organization to the international and mainly political existing United Nations. SUN will support the UN’s original goal of the eradication of the disease of war and become active in the promotion of cultural and non-political activities designed to bring people together.
The SUN is this and more. It is the sun to brighten and warm the new spiritual civilization. SUN is not just the birth of another organization, for civilization will not change just because we register a new organization, appoint board members, and adopt new by-laws. Humans have to change in a fundamental way, or nothing will happen. Our living values must change, our attitude toward life must change, and the basic nature of our desires and ambition must change, from outer to inner, from external to internal, and from winning to perfecting. When the SUN becomes reality, it will be representative of the new value system, new character, and new way of life of the Earth-Human.
If only one percent of the Earth’s population chooses to live for the future, and chooses to undergo a personal shift, then Earth’s destiny will change. Most studies indicate that Earth’s population will reach ten billion in the near future. We need only one hundred million Earth-Humans to pioneer a shift in civilization. If we combine our strength and focus our power of enlightened vision on the SUN, we will effect a true change and kick the door to the future wide open. This is what I envision for next ten years with Peaceology, Brain Respiration and the Healing Society Movement… and with one hundred million partners in peace.
November 20, 2008 9:21 am | 