Pointers & Review

Every object is a pointer to the Absolute--even our egos.


*****


Liberation isn't the end of bondage. It is the seeing or understanding that you have always been Freedom itself--bare, utter, and complete.


*****


The Absolute can never be described or communicated to anybody. All one can do is point.


*****


You can't annihilate the ego (which is just an appearance anyway) or attain some egoless state. Those are spiritual fictions. Simply direct your attention to your ever-present presence of awareness until it is clear and undeniable. Then thoughts and feelings are naturally balanced.


*****


A religious or spiritual experience connotes that, at some time or the other, you were happy. Upon the recognition of your natural state, you discover that you are Happiness proper.


*****


You can't find peace in thoughts and concepts because peace is a total pause in theorizing and conceptualization. Peace shows its prominence (or rather, its prominence is made clear) when your mind or thinking is completely and effortlessly still.


*****


Boris and Clair Jansch's Who's Driving the Dream-bus? (Baci Films/99 mins) is a beautiful and illu-minating work. It details Boris's spiritual seeking through a rapt series of interviews with eight teachers and writers: Gangaji, Tony Parsons, Genpo Roshi, Timothy Freke, Guy Smith, Toni Packer, Amit Goswami, and Jeff Foster. Given the number of people questioned, viewers are likely to find themselves resonating with at least one of the teachers here. Most of them make astute and obviously lived-declarations and pointers (though I would take issue with a handful of the statements made). The filmmakers are attentive documen-tarians: The lighting is crisp and nuanced; the sound quality is excellent; and the scenes are invitingly sequenced and gorgeously composed. Indeed, some of the shots are so winningly framed that they qualify as cinematographic pointers in themselves. I'm particularly thinking of the quiet, opening shot of some urban quay (the Thames?) and the setting sun over an ocean and beach (this, ironically, is in the chapter titled "Enlightenment/Self-Realisation"). It's little wonder that the film was one of the Official Selections at the Science & Non-Duality Film Festival and the winner of the "Premier Award" at the Insight Film Festival. Along with the above material, there is a Director's interview in the first Disc. In Disc 2, each of the teachers talk about specific topics, which range from their backgrounds and how they came to their understanding to God, Death, and Seeking. So it is well-worth getting the 2-Disc edition, which has nearly two-hours of additional footage. The Single-Disc version sells for $27.00, plus shipping and handling. The 2-Disc edition costs $34.00, plus shipping and handling. The filmmakers' colorful Web site can be found at: http://www.whosdrivingthedreambus.com