Presence Beyond Form

So that is the. The presence that has no form. That is a. Something opens up within you that is very deep and far transcends your form identity. It connects you with something vast. It's not even something. It connects you with a great depth. And therefore I often use the analogy of the ripple on the surface of the ocean. And every human being is at a ripple. In this analogy, as long as the ripple is not aware of its true nature, it only knows itself as a little ripple. And it looks to other ripples for fulfillment or wants to protect itself from other ripples and compete with them, or compares itself to other ripples. It's a very problematic existence because it only knows the surface of reality. It's an entire experiencing entire reality as a surface phenomenon. Continuously trying to find some kind of ultimate fulfillment, happiness on the surface level through other ripples or other situations that are also ripples. And it's frustrating to live as a ripple because you're just a little. This little thing. And some ripples manage to get bigger. They might. They might gobble up a few others and then they grow into a wave. In this analogy it means you have your private jet waiting nearby. It's a clear sign that you have grown into a wave. You're no longer just a little ripple, but you're just as short lived as the ripple. And now you have to compete with other big waves. So it becomes problematic again. And a moment may come when the ripple or the wave suddenly perhaps becomes frustrated with that surface existence and says, is that all there is that I can't take anymore? Because things continuously. Obstacles continuously arise. And there's always things that are unfulfilling. And even the most promising things that you enter into relationships, situations, places, all kinds of. Even the most promising things. There's always sooner or later some flaw appears in it. What's wrong with the world? Why is there always this, not this ultimate fulfillment is always kind of short lived because you're still on the surface only. And then the moment comes and perhaps accidentally or because another ripple close to you who has gone beyond its mere ripple existence says something, or you can sense something. And then perhaps for a moment there's a cessation in the stream of thinking without loss of consciousness. And the ripple goes. The ripple goes, oh, there's more to me than I thought. It doesn't know what it is. It doesn't have a name for it. But it can sense a depth suddenly. And as it senses the depths that is suddenly the vertical dimension has come in. It's no Longer just the horizontal dimension. There's a vertical dimension of consciousness where there's only the present moment. Past and future exists on the vertical dimension of reality. And there's a transcendent reality, there's the vertical dimension. And the rebel suddenly discovers that it is a manifestation, a temporary manifestation of something vast. And it is not separate from it, it is a manifestation of it. So it's no longer just a little ripple. It senses its origin in Buddhism. And sometimes in Zen, you have strange expressions, your true face before you were born, all kinds of expressions to point to it. So it discovers that it is the ocean, or it probably doesn't have a name for ocean. It discovers its connectedness to something transcendent that transcends ripple existence. And then gradually, that's the fast discovery. And then it occasionally loses it again. But gradually it is able to have some attention in that depth. Even when it is occupied with its surface ripple existence and operates there, it does that. And yet there is a depth, there is a rootedness in being, and that transforms the way in which the ripple. We'll let go of the ripple in a moment. As you know, the ripple is you. The ripple existence then becomes no longer as problematic as it was before, a little bit more sane. The dysfunction that has created an enormous amount of unnecessary suffering. The reactivity that amplified every challenge that the ripple encountered in life, that amplified it and made a huge thing. And then through reactivity, that challenge actually grew even worse because you amplified it. Well, the ripple, sorry, the ripple amplified it. It's easier. We can bypass the remnants of ego in you by talking about ripples. And then the ego doesn't feel offended. That's the power of parables and stories. So the ego, the ego doesn't realize that it's about me. So it listens to a story. And whereas before the ego would have created a barrier without knowing, it's a little bit like a sugar coated pill. So you give to a child and it tastes good and then you swallow it and then it begins to work. It's called, I believe it's called the red pill. It.