Any Belief Will Do

In this talk, Adya unpacks the pitfalls of our belief systems, pointing to how beliefs cause separation and distort Truth, no matter how noble or “spiritual” they are. He explores the notion that we don’t think our way into awakening, but rather we discard the beliefs that block us from our true nature and find an immense freedom when we let them go. Adya answers questions from students about the reemergence of conditioning after awakening, the need to let go of putting conditions on awakening, letting go of resistance to life, and the simplicity of being in harmony with life.

Topics:

• The Teachings Are Not the Truth
• Unthinking Your Way to Buddha Nature
• Standing in Our Own Authority
• The Futility of Chasing the “Right” Belief System
• When Conditioning Bubbles Up
• Being in Harmony with the Movement of Life

Quotes:

“Belief structures are one of the biggest barriers to the realization of oneness, to spiritually waking up. It’s what we believe that holds our consciousness and our perception in very limited and narrow confines so that we don’t perceive what’s beyond our beliefs.”

“It’s important that we examine what we believe, starting with our beliefs about oneself. This is what the deep spiritual inquiry—the question, ‘What am I?’—is meant to penetrate.”

“True spirituality is meant not to add anything unto yourself, but to subtract.”

“Someone who is truly free doesn’t need to believe anything. They need no surrogate between themselves and reality—to perceive reality directly is enough for them.”

“It’s not a matter of belief or disbelief—it’s just a matter of suchness. It’s a matter of seeing things the way they are.”

“We’re just the flow of existence, the flow of nothingness, the movement of stillness—the expression of the unborn.”

“Freedom has nothing to do with the external situation.”

“Reality never works by ‘this is the right thing to do.’ It’s just ‘this is the way reality is moving, this is the way life’s moving.’ It’s neither right nor wrong. It’s just the way it’s moving. You’re either in harmony with it or you’re not in harmony with it.”

Recorded in San Jose, California on August 21, 2008.
© 2008 by Adyashanti. All rights reserved.