The Science and Practice of Humility: The Path to Ultimate Freedom - Softcover

Gregory, Jason

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1620553635 ISBN 13: 9781620553633

Publisher: Inner Traditions, 2014

Synopsis

From Krishna and Lao-tzu to Buddha and Jesus, each enlightened master discovered how being receptive to all experience was the key to becoming one with the universe and its spontaneous patterns of order and chaos. Revealing humility as the purest expression of this receptivity, Jason Gregory integrates classic teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Hermeticism with principles from quantum physics to explain the science of humility as practiced by the ancient masters.

The author shows how, driven by fear, the human mind creates the ego. In its greedy and arrogant quest to protect the self and its desires, the ego forges the illusion of separation, weaving complex patterns of reality that shield us from our unity with all beings and result in attitudes of aggression, selfishness, and competition. He reveals how the iconic clash between this complex, aggressive "path of the warrior" and the simple "path of the sage" is reflected in the polarized state of the modern world. Yet this state also reflects the accelerating wave of conscious evolution we are now experiencing. The key to catching this evolutionary wave is humility: the reversal of complexity into simplicity, the ancient science of mental alchemy that represents the Great Work of Eternity.

About this title

About the Authors

Jason Gregory is a teacher and international speaker specializing in the fields of Eastern and Western philosophy, comparative religion, metaphysics, and ancient cultures. For several years he studied with masters in Buddhism, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Hinduism, and Taoism, traveling to some of the most remote places in the world. The filmmaker of the documentary The Sacred Sound of Creation, he divides his time between Asia and Australia.

Daniel Reid has a Master’s degree in Chinese language and civilization, and he studied Taoist practices in Taiwan for 16 years and in Thailand for 10 before moving to Australia in 1999. He is the author of several books, including The Tao of Health, Sex & Longevity and The Complete Book of Chinese Health & Healing, and the translator of My Journey in Mystic China, John Blofeld's autobiographical account of his years spent in pre-Communist China.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 5
The Way of the Warrior and Path of the Sage

The structure of consciousness is broken down into three planes that build the fabric of reality--physical, mental, and spiritual. Consciousness is not only the foundation of the universe, but it is the whole universe. In discovering this we come to the question of which plane is the truth? If all is consciousness, could one level be more truthful than the others? We could say that those who dwell within the physical and mental planes or body-mind state are under the spell of the deluded mind and do not know their true selves nor their place within the universe. While those on the spiritual plane know who they really are, know their relationship to the universe, and can see reality as it truly is through the evolution of perception. Although one state knows the truth of evolution and the other is still a slave to the ego, the fact is they are both the truth--all levels are needed to make up what we call existence. Without the contrast of the mundane, we could not see harmony. To perceive harmony you need the intrinsic parts that make up the formation of what you see.

The fundamental truth does not lay in the levels of consciousness but in awareness itself. The individual who truly sees the world has had an overwhelming transformation. So when we mention truth we are not referring to one level as better than another but to an understanding of the correct way to see the totality of existence through consciousness. And the holy sage’s perception is a mirror reflection of how the universe is; this is called the “evolution of perception.” The way in which the universe moves in its flow and patterned harmony is within our consciousness as well. We either know this or we don’t. The way we see the world holds us to what “is” and “isn’t.”


Two Primary States of Awareness

A human has two primary states of awareness or modes of Being--those who are drawn into the daily dramas of life and those who have the elevated perspective of seeing a fractal harmony within all life. These two states of awareness run parallel with the conscious state of the false ego and the true self. The ego perceives the fine detail of reality. Like a microscope, the ego focuses on very tiny matters of life but then mistakenly builds its psychology around these insignificant situations. On the other hand, the true-self is a state of consciousness so pure that it constantly sees that life is pattern. In this state one can visualize the unfolding universe. This state of awareness is a mind of no deliberation, a mind that does not attach itself to any circumstance or thought--past, present, or future. The true self is one who dwells within the spiritual plane and knows the soul vibrations, hence the evolution of perception. The state of consciousness we are referring to here is associated with the teachers of eternity, while the state of consciousness of the ego caught in the details is referred to as the masses or the profane.

In all levels of life we find the teacher and student relationship--parent and child, teacher and student, or the most mysterious of all, the master and disciple. Both primary states of awareness are reflected in this immutable relationship between master and disciple. Disciples are still deluded by the mind, whereas masters know the totality of their own Being. In the great work of eternity these two modes of Being are known as the warrior and the sage. Evidence of these two modes are found throughout ancient scriptures and mystical stories, most notably in the Vedantic treatises of the Bhagavad Gita and Ribhu Gita (or Song of Ribhu). In both classics the warriors are suffering from their own minds and blights within this world. As they begin to question their minds, out of nowhere the guidance of the sage appears. The whole process in both scriptures is to take the warrior’s mode of perception out of the details of life into the vision of the divine. The Bhagavad Gita demonstrates this as Krishna, the sage, is attempting to move the warrior Arjuna’s awareness out of the daily mundane struggles of life into the vision of Brahman so that he might see the infinite in all things. Texts 31, 32, and 33 of the Bhagavad Gita state:

Text 31
When a sensible man ceases to see different identities due to different material bodies and he sees how beings are expanded everywhere, he attains to the Brahman conception.

Text 32
Those with the vision of eternity can see that the imperishable soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.

Text 33
The sky, due to its subtle nature, does not mix with anything, although it is all-pervading. Similarly, the soul situated in Brahman vision does not mix with the body, though situated in that body.

Through the awareness of a warrior and a sage either chaos or order descends upon Earth, but again it’s a matter of perception. Throughout time one of the biggest problems to plague this planet has been the fostering of the warrior’s consciousness and the continual suppression of the sage’s consciousness. There is no one to blame for this other than ourselves. Our obstinate refusal to look within ourselves to find the true problems in our world has allowed us to further justify our own habitual ways that are slowly killing the human species. For us to ward off this fate we really need to grasp where our awareness is rooted. To do this we need to explore the characteristics of a warrior and a sage.

Edition details

• Publisher: Inner Traditions
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1620553635
• ISBN 13: 9781620553633
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176