well yes that's my question where do our thoughts come from
that's a very good question if I were to give a name to the place where thought come thoughts
come from he wouldn't help you in fact it would if anything prevent you from finding
out yourself but wherever thoughts come from do your thoughts not arise in you yes okay so
that's one thing we can say for sure all the thoughts appear in me so do you ever have an
experience of a thought existing outside what we call me and being placed into me
now okay so tell us about the me so whatever me is whatever I am must there before me the
place we can call it a place from which thought or in which thought arises so we're honing down
the possibilities now thought cannot arise out of you well when a thought arises when it exists
and when it disappears it always arises in me it exists in me and it disappears into me have
you ever seen a thought leave you and go into something outside of you no no so we're we're
narrowing the possibilities whatever I am is that from which thought arises so the
question is now what is me what am i that is that is that from which a thought arises
in which it exists during its existence and into which admonishes when it comes to an end
right okay now just to follow on with that whatever it is that our thoughts arise from
that we call me or I must itself be inherently or intrinsically free of thought because thought
arises in it prior to the arising of a thought whatever that is is free of the thought so the
thought arises in exists in and vanishes into that which is inherently free of thought yes
that in fact goes for every feeling we have every sensation we have and every perception
we have the perception of this room appears in our self it arises in our self and therefore
the self if we can call it a self in which our thoughts sensations and perceptions arise must
itself be intrinsically free of or empty of thoughts sensations and perceptions well in
noticing these thoughts that they come up and the perception just comes up made me feel very free
it became very clear that there is no no free will as we think the body mind has but it all
comes up from this nothingness from this from this no thing Ness exactly which is no thing
which is actually not something that is but it is not nothing yeah yes exactly yeah yes but but
but but you're right there may be no individual freedom nevertheless this no thyng nests from
which or the experience Rises being free of the qualities of all experience is itself absolutely
and inherently free and that freedom echoes in each of our minds as the feeling to feelings one
I have free will and two I long for freedom the longing for the knowledge I have free will is
the recognition that the freedom we feel that is at our disposal is an echo in each of our minds
of the true freedom out of which all experience arises and our longing for freedom comes from the
knowledge that what we essentially are is absolute freedom itself and that is why when we anyone ever
puts any constraints on us we rebel the freedom you're not talking about it's not the freedom I
meant when when I said we don't have free will like we're not in the driver's seat that's what
I meant yes but the freedom I felt when seeing these thoughts come from the no thingness that
that very freedom you know it's it's it's not that we don't have freedom its we have freedom but our
freedom is not the possession of a separate person right we take take the experience of love we all
experience love yes none of us would say I never experienced love or I don't have the experience of
love now love is not an experience that belongs to a particular person the experience of love just as
the space in this room it's an analogy the physical space in this room doesn't belong to
the four walls of this room it wasn't generated by this building it is temporarily contained
in this building but the space in this room is actually belongs to a space that is much larger
than this room so the same the experience of love which we feel it is like the space in this room
it doesn't belong to a person it is all love is God's infinite love shining in each of our minds
it's the same with freedom the freedom that each of us feels is real there is freedom we are not
wrong to feel either I have freedom or I long for freedom but it it's just that the freedom that
each of us possesses to the extent that we possess it doesn't belong to an individual body mind it is
the freedom of infinite consciousness echoing in each of our finite minds I understand that now and
that's why I felt so so much freedom's suddenly because it's it's not there's nothing to do with
my body mind yes that that's right but we can at the same time use and our body minds can use the
freedom that it is given it can as it were channel that freedom in certain directions so when you're
asked faced with a choice shall I do this or shall I do that the freedom with which you choose this
or that is not your own personal limited freedom it is the freedom of consciousness and it is the
job of your body mind to channel infinite freedom in a direction that is either towards this or that
in such a way that it expresses truth reality love intelligence so although the freedom is
not your individual freedom nevertheless it is the job of your body to channel that freedom
in such a way that it expresses and shares and celebrates truth and love and beauty yes
years ago I became lay Buddhists and I took the precepts and well you know about the precepts and
after some years I discovered that the precepts are not rules but they are
feelings actions or whatever that come from yourself because you wouldn't want
to do anything it absolutely absolutely its inherent yes it is exactly as we were saying
last night in the conversation about morals and ethics yeah when we said that really all true
morality or ethical behaviour comes from a single understanding and that is we share our being and
one had some Augustine when asked about this just said love and do whatever you want here once you
are in touch with the fact that we all share our being and you use that single understanding to
guide all your behaviour then you no longer need precepts or morals the this single understanding
guides everything you think and feel and therefore your subsequent activities and relationships yes