Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tt00177)

Thoa Tran wrote:
>
> However, from what I could read, K's process of nihilism was a way of
> clearing the path of falsehoods, of destroying attachments. In that way,
> you can get at the truth. His way of tearing down all that one attaches to
> offended many people. He tore down attachment to gurus, to rebirth, to
> intellectualization, and to memory. These attachments only lead to
> separation into I-other, to separation via division and focus, and to
> reliance on the fleeting process of time. He stated that we are so
> conditioned that we are not aware of the shortcomings of such attachments.
> Our want of stability makes us maintain our attachments. All these
> attachments, though they appear positive, actually destroy the total
> picture of Reality. Hence, to get closer to the whole picture, his process
> destroys them. Negating the negative creates a positive.

I understand his "philosohy" very much as you described it above. Only that I
don't agree with the last sentence: Negating the negative is not in itself
enough to create a positive. And therein, as I see it, lies the failure of K. He
is negating the negative (if you want to call identification with ideas such)
but he does NOT provide the right alternative. In theory he would transcend the
intellect and its attachments, but in actuality he lacks the humility and
devotion to do so. His solution is no solution at all. He does not escape the
limitations of the intellect but his therapeutic process is based at a subtle
intellectual level of denial/nihilism. He believes himself to be free but, IMO,
his "freedom" is an intellectual counterfeit, not the real thing.

> He replaced these with an awareness of mind. He wants us to be aware of
> the conditioning of our mind through focus on the present moment, on seeing
> things as they are, without judgment, without preconception, and without
> expectation.

Yes, this is the theory.

> With this comes direct truth,

Nor necessarily. He is too much caught in the intellectual process of what you
describe to really trascend the intellect and perception through it.

which is purer than truth
> diluted with abstractions passed down through communication and social
> conditioning. Firstly, with awareness, we quiet the abstractions of our
> mind and thus are more focused on the present moment. Secondly, we are
> less prone to conflict because we will not have preconceived notions,
> grudges, or false expectations. Lastly, we will abstract less and live
> more.

Nevertheless, I find your description of K's "pathless path" very much too the
point and insightful.

Bjorn