Form is emptiness. It has shape, but no substance; it is neither matter nor energy. Form is consciousness – to see something as something gives rise to form. Form is also functional: substance, matter, and energy interact according to laws. As part of consciousness, they interact in form. Form is emptiness. Form is consciousness. Consciousness interacts with consciousness. Matter arises from form – not the other way around. Matter does not give rise to form. The flow of energy and matter – from individual…
Bodhi Zendo I had ordered a book to take with me to Bodhi Zendo: „Zen in the Art of Ink Painting“ by Katharina Shepherd-Kobel. It's a beautiful book, it speaks to me and nurtures my desire to learn ink painting and deepen my meditation. When I started Zen meditation 3.5 years ago, the urge to go to Auroville awoke. The meditation in Bremen was strict, we followed the rules, eyes half-open focused on a point, recited sutras, had walking meditations, tea ceremonies...
When I began reading the Upanishads, I realized that the inner path I had embarked upon was leading me into an extraordinarily beautiful inner landscape. Discovering that this inner landscape is connected to cosmic consciousness made me aware of the important work I must undertake—what people often call “inner work.” As I committed myself to this inner work, I focused on how I was feeling, who I am, and what I must face. What are my shadows? My insecurities? My…
During the Chola Empire, the layout of Shiva temples was highly formalized. Based on the Agamas and Shastras, the temple was fully developed into a place in space, time, and consciousness where the microcosm and macrocosm mirror each other. When a temple is built, a site will be chosen, and it has to be indicated as auspicious. Often an unusually friendly encounter with the animal realm is considered a good sign. The site then has to be…
It's a full moon in India. Time for self-reflection, meditation, and inner contemplation. I've actually never really thought about death. It always seemed like a boundary to me, the thing that defines our existence negatively. Finitude throws us back on ourselves, or so I thought. I agreed a little with Heidegger here. Thinking about something beyond death always seemed arbitrary, naive, romantic, escapist, and gullible to me... Only in existential reflection did it seem meaningful to me. The dead...
Enlightenment – Illumination: The Paradox of Enlightenment: Here's the thing about enlightenment. Someone recently asked me if I was seeking enlightenment. I was a bit taken aback. But because I really respected this person, I tried to be honest – yes, no, um, I don't quite know, actually yes, if I'm being completely honest… Why all this hedging? Why not just say directly, yes, I am, like you did, when you answered that you thought most people were seeking…
I cut short my nighttime meditation a little earlier to switch to writing meditation. Suddenly, some things became clear to me. The necessity of aligning one's own body in meditation, finding the right position, which for me means following the movements, the tensing and relaxing of musculature, the skeleton, the spine. Then observing the breath, inhaling and exhaling, the turning point of the breath, pausing to observe oneself, how thoughts begin to loosen, following them attentively...
My morning meditation is becoming a bit of a routine, although one can hardly say that after only a handful of times. It's more of a stretch, a path, or an exploration. Like hiking in the mountains: with the summit in sight, hiking through the paths, along the ridges, through the valleys and rivers, past the rock faces, through scree and rocks, meadows and forests, and beyond the tree line on glaciers in the snow, the mountains become a metaphor for the inner search. The...
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