The Play Within The Play

Excerpted and reprinted with permission from Good Karma Publishing. Available as a booklet through the New Mexico T’ai Chi Chih Association for a small fee (tel 505-299-2095), or as a free e-book downloadable on http://www.gkpub.com/talks.php.

Years ago, it was revealed to me, “Things are as they have always been.” I was puzzled by that for many years. If “things are as they’ve always been” that means there’s been no change in what appears to be change in our world.

A few months ago, I had another major revelation, although I don’t like to call it a revelation. When I say it was “revealed to me,” it has nothing to do with intellect at all. It has nothing to do with examining whether it’s true or not because the facts were so outlandish. It was very hard to assimilate them. They answered the question of what was meant by, “things are as they’ve always been.” I thought, “What am I supposed to do with this information?” The only person who has any record of it is Sister Antonia [Cooper], and she’s agreed not to reveal it until after I’m no longer here. …

After this last revelation, which I discussed with Carmen [Brocklehurst] at some length, I said, “What am I supposed to do with it?” It makes it seem as though your situation in life is that of a play within a play. If you’ve ever seen a play that attempts to put on a play for the audience within the big play, then you know what I mean by the play within the play.

You could also say that is so when you go to the movies. You see a good picture; there’s a screen and on it they show a view of life; and you become emotionally involved in it. Some people cry and react to it. But when the movie is over and they turn on the lights, what is left? A screen. The screen was there all the time, and the only real thing was the screen. The whole picture was only make-believe, a fantasy. This will give you an idea of what I mean by a play within a play…..

It was made plain to me that the sense of having an individual life is due to Time. Those of you who’ve studied [Eastern] teaching know the word Maya. Maya is the creator of illusion. The idea that Time is Maya, I’ve never heard of it. I’ve never read it. I’ve never even thought about it. The sense of Time gives you the sense of individuality. So this explained the meaning of “things are as they’ve always been.” Time is an illusion; time brings about the illusion. Now … how is this going to help get you a better job or make more money? It’s not going to help you at all. To most of you, it has no meaning. …

The Chinese have a phrase – the “Uncarved Block.” According to what I understand, the Uncarved Block has never been carved. Adam and Eve never left the Garden of Eden. I began to realize, from the studies when I was interested in Zen, that Zuigan was a great Zen teacher. After he had his enlightenment, he found two things. One, he no longer had any interest in Zuigan. The ego had disappeared. The ego, of course, is a big hindrance. He also, immediately after he went to the latrine, looked out the window, and saw birds flying as he was relieving himself, and he said, “Nothing was moving.” It seems pretty obvious – he had gone beyond time. His enlightenment experience had taken him beyond time. I hear people use this expression “enlightenment” very loosely. It’s not some intellectual exercise or mathematical problem, where you get the answer or something.

The meditation we do (it’s called turiya, that’s my name for it) is the fourth state of consciousness. There is waking, sleeping, dreaming, all ordinary states of consciousness, all of which, according to this, are an illusion. The fourth state of consciousness, which is spoken of in the East, is turiya. There’s no thought when you’re in the turiya state. You can’t remember what may have happened in that state because there’s no thought. So there can’t be any memory.

I’ve said to the meditation group, “When I taught meditation in India, people told me it takes twenty or twenty-five years to reach that state.” The people who’ve joined the meditation group (and I don’t think they’re there by accident) have talked to me about their experiences [that have come relatively quickly]. I’ve said, “If I wanted to give you a gift, the greatest gift that I could give you is the touch of Reality, to have you enter the state of Reality, such as Zuigan had done, and you will come to know these things.” You won’t think them out; they have nothing to do with thinking. You will come to know bits of truth, little by little. You will come (as I and many of the yogis I have meditated with) to visit these other universes. They’re not somewhere here or there or somewhere way out in the distance. They are a different vibration. If you do work to raise your vibration, you will experience these things. …

Let me bring it back down to the play within the play. What you’re living, what your senses are revealing, is the play within the play. In the original play, the vast play, where there is no change, it’s hard to conceive (although many teachers have spoken about it). There’s been no beginning and there’ll be no ending. It’s hard to picture. The human mind can’t believe that something doesn’t have a beginning, or something doesn’t have an ending. The play within the play is the world you’re familiar with.

When Lynette said, “There’s only one thing going on,” she was talking about the big play, the great play. Only one thing is going on. But we see many things going on every minute. Someone asked me, “Will T’ai Chi Chih help me see these truths?” I said, “Yes, T’ai Chi Chih has the ability (depending on how serious you are, how much you do, and how well you do it) to do many things. …

Teachers of the play within a play say that each person is born for a purpose and that purpose will be carried out. Perhaps my purpose is T’ai Chi Chih.