Em-bodi-ment Since my own awakening 25 years ago, I’ve had many dozens of discussions on Self-realization, one-on-one. What has been of great help to me in these discussions is that I’ve talked, written or read about this subject probably every day, for a couple of decades. In terms of the reading, it’s ranged from ancient classics to current publications. One thing that you notice, when reading enlightenment material, is that these teachings have been refined over the centuries. Look at the Vedas, and the difficulty the writers had in describing these matters. Even from a generation ago, the teachings of people like Alan Watts or Krishnamurti are being refined by spiritual teachers today. The most common concern that spiritual teachers hear—and you can hear this on CDs and DVDs, in the question-andanswer period—is: “I have an intellectual understanding of nonduality, but I don’t feel that I’m quite there yet. Is there something I’m missing?” To have an intellectual understanding is better than having no understanding at all. But, in many cases, what these persons are stumbling on is a common matter that has to do with what follows realization, and that’s what some teachers call “embodiment”—living out of the precepts, beyond merely awakening to them. The spiritual aspirant is seeking to be one with ultimate reality. Every spiritual and religious tradition has used in common a particular word to describe ultimate reality (or what is otherwise called God, the Absolute, Brahman, Tao,
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