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Jiddu Krishnamurti – Quote of the Day Archivesfromhttp://www.kinfonet.org/
 Life AheadLearning in the true sense of the word is possible only in that state of attention, inwhich there is no outer or inner compulsion. Right thinking can come about onlywhen the mind is not enslaved by tradition and memory. It is attention that allowssilence to come upon the mind, which is the opening of the door to creation. That iswhy attention is of the highest importance. Knowledge is necessary at the functionallevel as a means of cultivating the mind, and not as an end in itself. We areconcerned, not with the development of just one capacity, such as that of amathematician, or a scientist, or a musician, but with the total development of thestudent as a human being. How is the state of attention to be brought about? Itcannot be cultivated through persuasion, comparison, reward or punishment, all of which are forms of coercion. The elimination of fear is the beginning of attention.Fear must exist as long as there is an urge to be or to become, which is the pursuitof success, with all its frustrations and tortuous contradictions. You can teachconcentration, but attention cannot be taught just as you cannot possibly teachfreedom from fear; but we can begin to discover the causes that produce fear, and inunderstanding these causes there is the elimination of fear. So attention arisesspontaneously when around the student there is an atmosphere of well-being, whenhe has the feeling of being secure, of being at ease, and is aware of the disinterestedaction that comes with love.Love does not compare, and so the envy and torture of `becoming' cease.
J. KrishnamurtiLife Ahead
Saanen 4th Public Dialogue 3rd August 1974.K: ...we are asking now,what is the relationship of attention to inattention, and toawareness? Right? They are all related. Why is the mind inattentive - not, can themind be continuously attentive? You see the difference? Is a continuous attention,attention? Do go into it.Q: No.K: Has attention the movement of time? So I have to enquire into the factor of inattention, not, what is attention. Please see the importance of it. That is, I amattentive one minute - that's quite a long time. Attentive, I give my mind, mynerves, everything I have to attend, to listen, to see, and in that attention I have allthe energy captured, all the energy is there. In that energy there is tremendousclarity. Now it is over, the next minute I am inattentive. Right? Then I say to myself,"Goodness, I wish I could keep that attention all the time". So I begin to train - listento it - train myself. I begin to train myself and say, "I must be attentive", "I mustwatch myself", "I must drill myself", "I must eat the right food", "I must concentrateon attention" - you follow? But I never ask, what is inattention. Because attention Ihave had for a second, for a minute, and I fall back into inattention. Theunderstanding of inattention is much more important than attention. Get it? Right? Is
 
that clear, may we go on? Now what is inattention? Why is the mind inattentive? Andwhy shouldn't the mind be inattentive?Q: (Inaudible)K: No, sir, no sir. Sir, look. No, sir, I explained. One minute I am very attentive, Isee everything very clearly, I have no conflict, there is a sense of a great thing, youknow, to be completely attentive, there is no problem, there is nothing. And thatattention goes away, and I suddenly find myself that I am inattentive, I have lost thequality of clarity, and then I say, "How am I to recapture that attention?" And Istruggle, and I ask questions, and I get miserable because I can't get that attention.So I am saying, what is important is not the understanding of attention for themoment, but the understanding of inattention. Right? That's simple enough, sir.What is inattention, why is the mind inattentive?Q: It seems that thought causes inattention.K: So you are saying, the operation of thought may cause inattention, is that it? Areyou sure what you are saying, sir, or is it just a guess? Don't let us guess at this, it isnot a guessing game. I want to find out the importance of inattention - please listen- the importance of inattention, and the importance of attention. Right? Inattentionmay be the mind needs rest, not that heightened energetic tremendous attention.And therefore it says, 'Let me have a few minutes'. But in those few minutes - justlisten to it - in those few minutes any action becomes corrupting action. Youunderstand what I am saying? I wish you would come with me quickly, I am racingand you are not.Look: I am attentive for one minute, and there, there is no border, there is no time,there is no me, there is no problem, the whole energy is involved in that attention, itis a heightened attention, energy. That's for the mind a tremendous movement.Then it gets tired and moves to inattention. Now in that state of inattention anyaction, any action, must be conditioning. Right? You understand? Look: I amattending, in that state of attention I can do things without effort, without thought,you know, do things. That's real creativeness - we won't go into that. And in thestate of inattention action has to go on, I have to meet a friend, I am bored withthat, there action has to happen. At the moment of action, if I am aware, inattentionis not. I wonder if you are following all this. You understand my question, sir? Themoment the mind is aware that it is inattentive there is attention - not that we mustmaintain attention. I wonder if you understand this.So inattention is part of attention. Got it? Not, from inattention go to attention. Youknow, sir, meditation is total attention in which concentration, which has a motive,and therefore an end, doesn't exist at all. Are you following all this? And
inmeditation there can be inattention
- you understand? Oh, do follow this. Please,don't agree with me, I don't think you follow what I am saying because it is reallyquite complex this thing. I mustn't discuss meditation because this is not themoment, perhaps we can do it tomorrow, if you want it.What I am pointing out is, in the state of attention, state, it is a movement, it is nota dead thing, it is a movement of attention, not the movement of time - themovement of time is concentration - in that quality of attention there is no time,there is no border. You understand border? A fixation. Because there is no centre
 
and therefore no circumference. That is attention. Now in that attention whyshouldn't there be inattention? You follow? It is within the whole area, I don'tseparate inattention from attention. I wonder if you get this. It's only wheninattention says, "By Jove, I must leave this and capture that", then you separateinattention from attention.
J. KrishnamurtiSaanen Switzerland 4th Public Dialogue 3rd August 1974.
 Krishnamurti Foudation Trust Bulletin 3, 1969 Questioner: Is it possible for a man and a woman to live together, to have sex andchildren, without all the turmoil, bitterness and conflict inherent in such arelationship? Is it possible for there to be freedom on both sides? I don't mean byfreedom that the husband or wife should constantly be having affairs with someoneelse. People usually come together and get married because they fall in love, and inthat there is desire, choice, pleasure, possessiveness and tremendous drive. Thevery nature of this in-loveness is from the start filled with the seeds of conflict.Krishnamurti: Is it? Need it be? I very much question that. Can't you fall in love andnot have a possessive relationship? I love someone and she loves me and we getmarried - that is all perfectly straightforward and simple, in that there is no conflictat all. (When I say we get married I might just as well say we decide to live together- don't let's get caught up in words.) Can't one have that without the other, withoutthe tail as it were, necessarily following? Can't two people be in love and both be sointelligent and so sensitive that there is freedom and absence of a centre that makesfor conflict? Conflict is not in the feeling of being in love. The feeling of being in loveis utterly without conflict. There is no loss of energy in being in love. The loss of energy is in the tail, in everything that follows - jealousy, possessiveness, suspicion,doubt, the fear of losing that love, the constant demand for reassurance andsecurity.Surely it must be possible to function in a sexual relationship with someoneyou love without the nightmare which usually follows.Of course it is.
Krishnamurti Foudation Trust Bulletin 3, 1969
 Krishnamurti Foudation Trust Bulletin 4, 1969Innocence alone can be passionate. The innocent have no sorrow, no suffering,though they have had a thousand experiences. It is not experiences that corrupt themind but what they leave behind, the residue, the scars, the memories. Theseaccumulate, pile one on top of the other, and then sorrow begins. This sorrow istime. Where time is, innocency is not. Passion is not born of sorrow. Sorrow isexperience, the experience of everyday life, the life of agony and fleeting pleasures,fears and certainties.You cannot escape from experiences, but they need not takeroot in the mind.These roots give rise to problems, conflicts and constant struggle.There is no way out of this but to die each day to every yesterday. The clear mindalone can be passionate. Without passion you cannot see the breeze among theleaves or the sunlight on the water. Without passion there is no love.
Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Bulletin 4, 1969
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