choicelessness

The enlightened state of mind is a choiceless state. In this silent, spacious consciousness, we are not concerned with listing possibilities; weighing up pros and cons; trying to out-guess life itself and, through a controlling mentality, make decisions. No, this is nonsense. In any case, even with all that mental turmoil of the normal way of being, the choice that arises is utterly conditioned. In it there is also a tension between all the fragments of the mind, pulling in different directions. And so, following choice, we invariably feel incomplete and unfulfilled.

In the enlightened state, choice is seen as an illusion. With that understanding, the feeling of making a choice drops away. With this, action becomes spontaneous, natural; a response to the moment; always fresh, unique.

This choicelessness brings a peace to the mind. It allows the mind to integrate itself and no longer be fragmentary. So one is no longer torn between what one feels is the right thing to do, according to one’s upbringing; what one desires to do, according to one’s greed; and what one would naturally do, if the mind were not present. Only the third of these will bring a peace into one’s life. Of course, sometimes the action will be identical (to an external observer) either to what you would have done from a sense of duty, or to the action you would have taken from greed and the ego. In fact even the sense of duty is ultimately egoistic. So we cannot tell, from a report of an action, as to whether it was done from a choiceless state or through choice. But internally you will know; you will know whether your mind is still believing itself to be choosing, or whether that has dropped away and you are moving with the flow of life, as part of life; playing your part as it unfolds, without any worries, without any inner tension, without any doubt. For all this comes with choicelessness.

So plunge in, my friends. Dive into the ocean, choicelessly, and feel the bliss of being carried by life itself, of which you are a part.