The end of suffering

Eckhart Tolle is a spirtual person, who teaches the basics of what you might call Zen or Buddhism. He sometimes quotes Jesus but rarely uses the word 'God', he's not a subscriber to a particular religion, but stresses the similarities between all spiritual movements. I've just finished reading his work The Power Of Now and think it is worthwhile to write about it.

Up to now, the spiritual world has not been of interest to me. Why? I chose to find answers and relief in intellectual questions. These things are still quite valuable to me as they give me a broader intellectual perspective and a richer view on the external world. But there rarely is true peace or joy coming from a mathematical equation, and that's not the point of mathematics anyway. Also, I read Eckhart Tolle's book in light of my logical mind and not so much the suffering ego, he writes about and which, according to Tolle, is doing the damage in this world.

However, I have to say that his words ring true and that they are logical. And I see the potential of these insights to make the world a better place. But what is more important, they can show a path to the end of suffering for the individual. If he or she is ready for it, meaning, he or she has had enough pain and has suffered enough. Severe suffering is a great stepping stone into spirituality, according to Tolle.

The first thing he writes about is the disintegration of the true you from the voice in your head, the mind. The mind is not you. How can it be you? It is the ego's voice which is like an echo of other people's voices. Tolle calls it ego. You are the silent consciousness behind the loud voices in your head. To become free, you must let them pass you by as if they were talking about someone else, which is true, because they have nothing to do with you personally. You ego's attachment to the voice is the source of compulsive and repetitive thoughts. Identify with it and contiue to suffer, depersonalize it and reach a point of joy and inner peace.

The second insight is about time: the past, the present and the future. Only one of them is real. The Now. Nothing has ever ocurred or been accomplished in the past or the future, as they are the mind's illusions. The Now is the most precious time because it is the only time. If you make the voice in your head stop or depersonalize it to such a point it will be just like static on the radio, your attention will shift into the Now. Look around the room and you will see the room for the first time. Everything has fresh natural color. As you touch your desk, you will feel its nature. But don't think and don't judge. Just be.

(Of course, there is 'clock time', which is the time shown by the clock. Otherwise we could not make an appointment.)

The other important part is the body's reactions to pain and suffering, which is a manifestation of what Tolle named the "pain body. Perhaps I can talk about that too. but not now since it is late.