From: jeffjc@cs.mcgill.ca (Jeffrey CHANCE)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: Effort vs clinging on the spiritual path
Date: 16 Nov 1992 22:10:47 -0800
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Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: sandman.caltech.edu

In article <45826@ogicse.ogi.edu> mw%ki.fht-mannheim.de (Marc Wachowitz) writes:

>: There was a man who wrote a book some years ago called (I think)
>: _The lazy man's way to enlightenment_".
>Thaddeus Golas, "The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment" - it's a nice little
>book. It seems to be a common misunderstanding that there is either effort or
>stagnation (or even regression). That is not so.

>Below is a quote from the book; before jumping up against it you may assure
>yourself that you have inspected it (and what it means) carefully.

>I am a lazy man. Laziness keeps me from believing that enlightenment demands
>effort, discipline, strict diet, non-smoking, and other evidences of virtue.
>There is a paradise in and around you right now, and to be there you don't even
>have to make a move. There is nothing you need to do first in order to be
>enlightened. All potential experiences are within you already. You can open up
>to them at any time.

Not to resume our old Goal vs. No Goal thread, but ...
Im assuming that you believe in the above quote. As such, why don't
you enter an extremely high state of consciousness (eg. Nirbikalpa
samadhi) and post back your experience. 

I appreciate the attitude of the above quote. Sure, we should not
always have this sense of straining in our life. I agree fully.
But let's be realistic. What does one do when distractions pull a
man away from his usual regular spiritual practice (eg. one's
daily meditation)? Wait, I know your answer. Don't fight it,
just go with the flow, its something you need to let yourself do 
(the thing that is distracting you). Well, what if this leads  
to a gradual falling away from one's spiritual practice? What
if some charming, attractive and charismatic person draws you 
into a relationship and subsequent marriage and then the agitation
of keeping the marriage happy completely pulls away the attention
and energy you could have invested in practicing self-awareness?

I think things also very much depend on the speed with which
one is trying to approach enlightenment. Average, slow steady
speed, no problem, the hostile forces aren't going to bother
you. At faster speeds (ie. a greater conscious commitment to
one's spiritual life) the hosile forces start to notice you.
They say, "Hey, what are you doing, trying to leave me?! You
need me!" Then they will try and slow you down any way possible.
Some of their tricks: self-doubt, fear, temptation, enhancement 
of ego, entertainment/diversions, complacency, etc. 

Now I am sort of going to contradict myself. All I wanted to
point out here i that if one wants to be completely committed
to making substantial spiritual progress in one's incarnation,
effort is going to be required. Now the question arises, is it
desireable for every person to live their lives like this? My
own feeling is, no. I feel that God wants to experience Himself/
Itself in infinite ways, including experiences such as your life
where spiritual inclinations are present but the attitude is, 
not to exert, not to think of some far-off goal. I would say
each individual life is a unique and important experience of
the Supreme. Maybe in your case, you will progress further
in this incarnation simply because, even though you don't
have an attitude of spiritual effort like Roger and myself,
you may follow your soul's will more consciously and
unconditionly. Maybe not. Just a thought, but I don't
really know! Damn ignorance...

Jeff
--------------------------------------------------------------
|    Jeff Chance                       | That to which you   |
|    Dept. of Chemistry                | give your attention |
|    McGill University, Montreal       | becomes stronger in |
|    MAIL: jeffjc@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca | your life.          |
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