I've continued to work on On Having No Head - in terms of presenting it as a 'talking book'. Editing takes forever! However, it has meant that I have studied this book in even greater depth, and come to appreciate even more Douglas Harding's clarity, his depth of insight, his humanity. He presents the experience first, of Seeing, and is quite clear that there is no necessity to explain it. This is simply the way things are. But then he goes on to explore the implications and applications of his discovery. He immediately points two out, in terms of how the Seeing affects his relationship with others. First, there's no confrontation - face there to no face here. No confrontation! When the world takes this on, there will be singing and dancing! As he says, this is a most intimate exchange of appearances. We are each other! And secondly, he says that he must believe that what is true for him is true for everyone, that everyone is this clear, boundless, lucid void where they are. And so, this leads him to 'thinking the world' of others. Since where they are, they are capacity for the world. This, of course, is a profound view of oneself and others, full of truth and compassion. It is the highest respect for others as well as the deepest insight into their nature. I am re-inspired! And I am re-inspired by the whole book. Written fifty years ago, with basically no one around him who saw what he was talking about, it pulls no punches, is never off target. A masterpiece!
Richard Lang | Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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I gave a presentation to Bedales school last week. (26/5/10) About half an hour with about 400 students. I think I touched quite a few, and afterwards got to talk with several who were really taken with it. The teacher who organized it said that the next morning, in his sixth form class, one person was objecting to it, and another, a young girl, in response, explained it clearly and simply. He was amazed at how clearly she did this. It is amazing, and yet, this view or perspective is so simple and sensible and obvious... I think some students will value it now, but perhaps others will remember it later in their lives, and find value in it then.
I experimented reading and recording The Science of the 1st Person last weekend. It is quite an experience to read and record a book. It is a deep study of it. This is a great book. It is very clearly written - Douglas really thought things out clearly, and wrote them down clearly. And it is a passionate book too. And the insights are so deep and health-giving. It is about forty years since Douglas wrote it, and although this view is getting accepted in the world, the world really has not yet recognized what Douglas has done. He found the Centre, the goal of religion, but he put it in thoroughly modern, science-based terms. There is nothing to believe in, all is to be tested.
Richard Lang | Wednesday, June 02, 2010
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