Summary

The Angelic Truth discusses the paradoxical nature of seeking truth and enlightenment, emphasizing that the act of searching with preconceived notions hinders the discovery of genuine insight, much like fairies that only reveal themselves to those not actively looking for them.

Abstract

The article "The Angelic Truth" delves into the concept of true perception and enlightenment, drawing parallels between the search for fairies and the quest for deeper spiritual understanding. It suggests that the moment one begins to look for something specific, the pursuit becomes tainted by expectations, effectively blocking the path to genuine discovery. The author recounts a personal anecdote of their daughter's failed attempts to find fairies, which succinctly illustrates the idea that the objects of our search often elude us when we seek them too earnestly. The narrative extends this concept to the practice of meditation and the pursuit of Nirvana, asserting that these states cannot be reached through intellectualization or goal-oriented meditation. Instead, one must adopt a pure form of looking, devoid of preconceptions and desires for specific outcomes. The article underscores the importance of shedding preconceived ideas and goals to experience the true nature of reality and achieve a state of bliss.

Opinions

The act of "looking-for" is seen as an obstacle to finding, as it imposes limitations on what can be discovered.
Fairies, used as a metaphor, represent the elusive nature of truth and bliss, which cannot be captured through directed search.
The article posits that intellectualizing or imagining Nirvana is insufficient; it can only be known through direct experience.
Trustworthy meditation teachers advise against meditating with a goal in mind, advocating for a practice that is free from the desire for gain.
Preconceptions and prejudices are viewed as hindrances in meditation, akin to wearing sunglasses that alter one's perception.
The author believes that the journey to enlightenment is individual and may span multiple lifetimes, requiring dedication and the relinquishment of deeply rooted preconceptions.
The article implies that the shedding of preconceptions can lead to moments where one's true bliss, like playful fairies, becomes apparent.

The Angelic Truth

How to look for fairies

A n angel whispered to me: “You find the truth by looking. Not by looking for.”

I mused on this and mused on this for days, months, years, and finally arrived: The moment you decide what you are looking for, or envision what you hope you might find, you have stopped looking. You are now looking-for.

And looking-for always gets in the way of finding.

The difference between looking and looking-for is gargantuan.

When she was little, my oldest daughter used to roam the nearby forest looking for fairies, but she could never catch sight of them, not even a glimpse.

She complained to her Granny about this who, wisely, told her that fairies knew if you were looking for them and would refuse to show. They will only show themselves — now and then, and very much at their choosing — if you are not looking for them, if you are simply looking, she said.

But how do you look for fairies if you’re not looking for fairies? my daughter wanted to know. Well, said Granny, you keep your eyes open.

So the next time she went into the forest my daughter did her best to not look for fairies but to just look, to just keep her eyes peeled, and lo and behold, she swears, she saw one, clear as day, beautiful as anything.

She told me this years later. And I believed her. Still do.

It is a common and often repeated view — though not nearly as often understood or taken to heart — that the nature of Nirvana lies well beyond the ken of man. You can only know that level of bliss (or non-bliss, or light, or whatever you might find) by experiencing it, not by postulating it or by reasoning about it. Not by imagining it. Not by looking for it.

Looking for means a made-up mind, interfereing mind, sunglasses.

And the ladder of Language, no matter how far you stretch it, reaches nowhere near that high.

Shunryu Suzuki surely echoes this sentiment when he talks about Zazen:

“Zazen practice is the practice in which we resume our pure way of life, beyond any gaining idea, beyond fame and profit. By practice we just keep our original nature as it is. There is no need to intellectualize about what our pure original nature is because it is beyond our intellectual understanding. And there is no need to appreciate it because it is beyond our appreciation. So just to sit without any idea of gain, and with the purest intention, to remain as quiet as our original nature — this is our practice.”

And this advice, in turn, is echoed by every trustworthy meditation teacher I have come across — yes, there are non-trustworthy specimens about, in it for the quick and ill-gotten buck, but they soon expose their true colors, fear not.

Meditation is a “looking”, pure and simple. Not for something, just looking. If you do look for something while sitting on your cushion you are not meditating, you are thinking, hoping, postulating, reflecting, musing and, just like the fairies, the bliss that is your true nature will refuse to show.

And how hard is it not to not look for something, to not have a goal in mind, a specific bliss, something intellectually tangible as it were — or even a past moment of bliss that you’re now hoping to rediscover, to rekindle. This has been, and every now and then continues to be, my bane.

And darn if your true bliss doesn’t pick up on this and, fairylike, stays out of sight.

Preconception has no place in meditation, just like prejudice has no place in relationships among people. A prejudice is a made-up mind, a screening filter that discards all that doesn’t meet one’s firmly clung-to, and often self-aggrandizing view.

A preconception about what you might experience in deep Samadhi will never let you experience anything like it until you drop the expectation, your meditative preconception (prejudice, as it were).

It may take years to let go of these notions. Add a few more years to shed other kinds of interference. Meditation is not a quick fix. Some say it will take lifetimes to finally arrive, and that those who do arrive have been on the path for many lifetimes.

I don’t know how long the path is. I don’t even know how long my path might be. I believe it is a very individual and personal measure, but I admit that it has taken me well over a decade of daily meditation (morning and evening) to finally shed a few of my oh, so deeply rooted and heartedly clung-to preconceptions.

And so, these days some fairies seem to enjoy themselves.

Some days they’re even dancing.

Wolfstuff

So, who am I? Really really. I could tell you that I was born in northern Sweden during a snow storm, and subsequently…

wolfstuff.com