The question this evening is from T in Taiwan. “Q’uo, please tell us something about the seeking and the enlightenment of Gautama Siddhartha, aka, the Buddha. What does this story tell us about spiritual enlightenment?
(Carla channeling)
We are those known to you as the principle of Q’uo. We greet you in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator, in whose service we attend this circle of seeking this evening. We wish to thank each of you for calling us to your group and for taking the time out of your lives to seek the truth in this manner. You help us greatly as we have offered our service to do just that, speak with those who ask on the questions they designate.
As always, before we begin we would ask each [of you] to use your discernment in listening to what we have to say, taking those things which are helpful from our thoughts and leaving the rest behind. We appreciate your doing this as it will ease our minds to know that we do not need to be concerned about infringing on your free will. Thank you for this consideration.
The query this evening has to do with the one known as Siddhartha, or the Buddha, and what he has to teach about spiritual enlightenment. We find in order to approach this in a way which may be more helpful, we would take some time to speak about the two strains of religious thought that are encapsulated in the teachings of the one known as Jesus the Christ and the one known as the Buddha.
Both entities, Jesus and Siddhartha, offer tremendous resources to those who are seeking the truth. They have different areas of appeal but that which they hold in common is powerful. To them both the seeking of the Creator, service to the Creator, time spent in the company of the Creator are all in all. To both, there is no priority greater than spiritual seeking. Both of them lived lives that indicated this preference, this concern, and this devotion.
There are two different styles of seeking when gazing at these two powerful and poignant beings. To one, knowing that his kingdom was not of this world, he nevertheless entered into the world with all of his heart and soul and nothing in his heart but love for all he saw. As he entered in, so his physical body was destroyed by that which he took upon himself: the suffering of the world. All suffering was taken into the self and accepted. That it destroyed his physical body was not that which was important to the one known as Jesus the Christ, but rather that he do his father’s bidding. “Not my will, but thine,” were his words.
The Buddha saw the same world and knew that he was not of it or part of it. Consequently, his path did not move into the open heart and take all of the suffering of the world into the self. Rather, he allowed the things of the world to fall away as they seemed to want to fall away in his view. Over the period of a lifetime he was able to investigate each path in the world and conclude that that was not his path. The principle of “neti-neti, not this and not that” [1] comes into play here. Thusly, as the Buddha allowed all to fall away except the seeking for the one Creator, the entity no longer was concerned with the suffering of the world except to pray that all suffering might cease. There was not the attempt to take on the suffering of the world; rather, the attempt was to allow the suffering of the one known as the Buddha to fall away and as suffering fell away from the Buddha, so it would fall away from the world.
The teachings of the one known as Jesus appeal to those who enjoy the feeling of an open heart, a heart open to love. The teachings of the one known as Siddhartha appeal to those who seek wisdom. Yet, the compassionate follower of Christ and the compassionate follower of Buddha meet in the middle where love and wisdom are balanced. Consequently, either path is sound and useful. And we might suggest to those who are Buddhist or Hindu and have followed the path of the Buddha for their lifetime that they investigate what it is to follow the teachings of the one known as Jesus. It is equally useful for those who have followed the teachings of Jesus over the period of their lifetime to investigate and enter into the teachings of the one known as Siddhartha.
Remember that it is not to the extreme that awareness comes, but to the one who has been able to balance the energies of love and the energies of wisdom. The lifetime of the one known as Siddhartha was one in which the wealthy man became poor, the active man became quiet, the leader of armies retired from the lists and developed the habits of sitting in meditation and ferrying people across a river. Humble and modest, the Buddha was not led by intellect but by his hunger and his thirst for the presence of the infinite One.
There is no better exemplar of the truth than one entity who has achieved spiritual maturity. Such a person is capable of leading others to their own discoveries by association. We could say it was done by inspiration yet that would indicate that thought was taken to inspire and this is not so of the one known as Siddhartha. Yet his very presence became eloquent and has lighted and inspired those who follow his teachings for many, many centuries.
It is almost impossible to use words to create in others awareness, sensitivity to spirit, or inspiration. It is not impossible but it is very difficult to use words to move people’s hearts and minds in a way that is lasting. The one known as Jesus worked upon this point by telling stories. The one known as the Buddha acknowledged this point with his silence. And in that silence stands the spiritually mature Buddha, that one who, just as you, had been full of desires, interested in wealth, influence and power. There was not distaste but simply a preference for not dealing with these.
Why, my friends, would one not wish to take up the reins of government, military, economic leadership and so forth? The one known as Siddhartha saw no attraction, no reason to stay within that prison of concepts, ideology and the clash of wills that represents the government, the military, and the halls of power. This simple turning away, this freeing of the self from the prison of things, stands as a beacon, letting others know that it is possible to free the self of the burden of the love of things. It is a powerful lesson indeed.
It is not that the one known as Buddha scorned money but that the one known as Siddhartha was not imprisoned by attaching himself to a desire for it. Where there was no desire, there was no longer a use for that catalyst and with his whole heart and mind, the one known as Gautama gently and firmly said “not this” to each thing he encountered in the world.
It is a very helpful concept to separate the things of the world from attachment to things of the world. The Buddha did not have to preach the evils of the things of the world. He simply did not desire them. To an entity swamped in desires, some of them conflicting, this freedom is precious and the way of the Buddha very, very helpful.
It is sometimes very difficult to separate entities such as Jesus the Christ, or Siddhartha the Buddha, from the institutions and cultural expectations that have grown up about these entities after their deaths. They have no control over what happens. They are no longer of this density. And those of this density, intent upon influence and power, have systematically attempted to alter the mystical teachings of these two leaders to approximate something that can make money and be sustainable. Therefore, if you wish to follow either entity, it is well to look for the source of teachings, to look for that which has been offered by these great teachers, rather than listening to the rhetoric of those who supposedly follow these teachers.
To follow either of these two men is very difficult because of the confusion that has arisen over centuries of distortion. Yet it is entirely possible to win through to a relatively undistorted grasp of that which is offered by the one known as the Buddha. An entity needing to look more closely at the Buddha just as an entity needing to look more closely at the one known as Jesus, the Christ, needs to do a continuing and daily amount of inner work to support the attempt and we recommend whatever form of entering the silence would be helpful to you in order to support the realizations that you are attempting to seat within your consciousness.
Both the Christ and the Buddha vibrate at a certain energy. It is a similar energy. The heart of following either entity is to avail yourself of this vibration. As you avail yourself of this vibration, you become that which you are seeking to learn. And as you gradually are able to allow this understanding, shall we say, to penetrate into the very depths and roots of your mind and consciousness, you will be able to avoid the distortion that is rampant.
Read more here:
www.llresearch.org
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Labels: awake, awareness, Buddha, christ, gautama, gautama siddharta, heart, intellect, jesus, jesus christ, mind, siddhartha
