Q: But surely it is better to be occupied with the things of God than with the things of the world, is it not?
J. Krishnamurti: What we think, we are; but it is the understanding of the process of thought that is important, and not what we think about. Whether we think about God, or about drink, is not important; each has its particular effect, but in both cases, thought is occupied with its own self-projection. Ideas, ideals, goals, and so on, are all the projections or extensions of thought. To be occupied with one's own projections, at whatever level, is to worship the self. The Self with a capital "S" is still a projection of thought. Whatever thought is occupied with, that it is; and what it is, is nothing else but thought. So it is important to understand the thought process…
Q: But how can one go beyond thought?
J. Krishnamurti: That is not the point, is it? One cannot go beyond thought, for the "one," the maker of effort, is the result of thought. In uncovering the thought process, which is self-knowledge, the truth of what is puts an end to the thought process. The truth of what is is not to be found in any book, ancient or modern. What is found is the word, but not truth.
Q: Then how is one to find truth?
J. Krishnamurti: One cannot find it. The effort to find truth brings about a self-projected end; and that end is not truth. A result is not truth; result is the continuation of thought, extended or projected. Only when thought ends is there truth. There is no ending of thought through compulsion, through discipline, through any form of resistance.
—J Krishnamurti, Commentaries On Living Series 1
May we taste the freedom of simply being,
Simeon
Quote of the Week
“Stop thinking, and there is nothing you will not understand.”
— Sengcan (Third Zen Patriarch)
Suggested Reading
I Am Not I: A Journey Into the Depths of Mind and Soul by Jacob Needleman
Who is the one who seeks? In I Am Not I, philosopher Jacob Needleman unpacks the mystery of identity and thought. This is not a book of conclusions, but an invitation to fall into the question itself and discover what reveals itself behind it.
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