Hundred and One Monkeys

How many of these things were initially paradigm-shattering discoveries, knowledge reserved for a select few?  How long was each regarded as Special before spreading wide enough to reach the Tipping Point:

• Building huts instead of living in caves
• Purposeful cultivation of crops
• Understanding that the Earth's seas are continuous (the Earth is round)
• Travel by flying through the skies

Each of these signaled a turning point in humankind's development, one from which there was no turning back.  And each bit of knowledge necessary to make those achievements commonplace had to pass the 100th Monkey mark, the point where the number of people holding that knowledge went from a select few, to the masses.


But what about the basic Mystery of Enlightenment, the clear seeing that there is no You, No Self, anywhere to be found?

There's no need to see No Self as an entitlement held by special "enlightened ones".  It's a fact simpler to discover than any of those now commonplace life-altering Paradigm Shifts listed above.  Why? Because it is already the case, and has always been the case.  There's nothing to develop or learn, no skill to acquire.

So the thoughts about "reaching enlightenment", "practicing to reach enlightenment", or "earning enlightenment" are all just plain false.  All of that is bullshit.  No guru, practice, time, or method is necessary.

Go Ahead.  Before googling your next guru, stop and do a simple check right now.  Point to the self, the thing that's credited with reading and digesting this message.  Was it here while reading the start of this post, or did it appear just now, after reading that last sentence?

Unless you're in love with seeking, don't dismiss the obvious.

photo credit:  Mugshotsocial on DeviantArt