A Little Humor...

...on Politics

...on Corporate Culture

...on growing up with the Internet

...on the monastic life

...on the secret to happiness

Eckhart Tolle: Modern-day Buddha?

I recently came across Eckhart Tolle's books, and I was immediately struck by the depth and scope of his spiritual insights. As a voracious reader, who has sampled quite a vast array of discourse on Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy, Metaphysics and Psychology, I find his books to be some of the most relevant and well expounded volumes on Buddhist thought and general Spirituality I have ever encountered.

Born Ulrich Leonard Tolle in Lünen, Germany in 1948, Eckhart (a name he chose) was perpetually troubled by depression, anxiety and fear until he was twenty-nine years old. One night in 1977, after having suffered from long periods of suicidal depression, he experienced spontaneous "Samadhi," awakening from the illusion of duality. Recounting the experience, he says "I couldn’t live with myself any longer. And in this a question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void! I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and the fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved. The next morning I woke up and everything was so peaceful. The peace was there because there was no self. Just a sense of presence or “beingness,” just observing and watching."  For a period of about two years, he wandered aimlessly like the Zen Buddhist Masters of old,  spending a lot of his time sitting in park benches, “in a state of deep bliss." Eckhart wandered around staying with friends and drifted about "watching the world go by." His family was worried that he had gone insane.

People were curious, so they began talking to him about his perspective on life. Amazed at his thoughts on spirituality, people began to be drawn to him. This led to a five year stint as a Spiritual councilor and teacher. In 1995, he migrated to Vancouver, Canada where he began to write. His first three books, "The Power of Now," "Stillness Speaks" and "A New Earth," have sold millions of copies and  have been consistently on the "New York Times Best-Sellers List." Spurred by his books' successes, Eckhart partnered with Oprah Winfrey to produce webinar sessions in 2008 and launched Eckhart Tolle TV in 2009.

The current commercial tone of his enterprise is not exactly to my taste (maybe it is the best way to reach the most number of people), but I fully support his message and goal. Eckhart speaks clearly about our "collective delusions," and how our "Egos" have created the destructive path we are currently facing. We should all awaken from our "state of insanity," and realize the divinity of life, in all its forms. I highly recommend "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth" to everyone seeking genuine spiritual insight. Eckhart is the real thing, and he is showing us a viable way out of Māyā (Sanskrit माया ), our collective illusion of duality and separateness.

Here is an excerpt from "A New Earth:"

Most ancient religions and spiritual traditions share the common insight-- that our "normal" state of mind is marred by a fundamental defect... In Hindu teachings (and sometimes in Buddhism also), this transformation is called enlightenment. In the teachings of Jesus, it is salvation, in Buddhism, it is the end of suffering. Liberation and awakening are other terms used to describe this transformation. The greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction, its own madness.

--Quote taken from "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle 

Media Madness

When asked “What thing about humanity surprises you the most?”, the Dalai Lama answered:

“Man…. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

“Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility...without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed, or unhappy because of circumstances.”

I found these quotes by the Dalai Lama on the internet... I never met his Holiness personally, but these statements touch me personally and profoundly just the same.

Modern Media -- the Internet, TV/Cable, Radio, Cinema and Print, have profound effects on our daily lives.  It keeps us constantly informed and in touch with an extended world beyond our immediate environment (social circle/neighborhood).  World events now have a sense of intimacy and urgency about them, that was not palpable less than a century ago, before TV and the Internet were widely present in most households.

I have nothing against Media.  As a matter of fact, I am a rabid consumer of information in the form of books, movies, cable TV (Discovery, History, TLC) and the internet.  There are a lot of great information that can be gleaned from these media sources.  But I cannot help but wonder if Media, specifically the News and information giants like CNN, FOX, NBC, etc., are actually doing more harm than good by propagating "sensationalism."  Their practice of hyping stories to attract the maximum number of viewers, have a multiplyer effect that create media driven crises-- What would have been contained and manageable before a media frenzy, becomes more astronomical and uncontrollable.

It makes me wonder if the crises in "hot spots" around the world would become as big as they eventually turn out to be without media magnification.  The current World Economic Crisis for example or the global proliferation of terrorism, would they be as serious as they are now without constant media attention?

But it is not all bad.  Constant media focus on humanitarian and environmental issues for example, would not get the proper forum without media interest.  So in the end, it all balances out one way or another.  Like everything else in Life, there is a good and there is a bad in everything.  Media is a part of the evolution of humanity, it is here to stay whether we want it or not.

But like everything else that is potent and powerful, we must treat it with respect.  Let us be mindful of its ability to alter people's consciousness and opinions.  We should not be solely motivated by monetary or political considerations when we use media, the mental and spiritual well-being of our fellowmen (and women) must also be factored in, to avoid the degeneration and destruction of "soul" caused by irresponsible "sensationalism"-- which promotes fearfulness, excessive consumerism and egocentrism.

The well-being of our "soul" is the key to our overall health in the long-run.  Information and media might be useful in our day to day lives, but inner peace is the only thing that will bring true happiness and wellness.