The end of the search

If you prefer to watch a video, here is an earlier version of the blog. It's a talk given during one of the online sangha meetings.

We have an idea of what the end of the search looks like, permanent bliss, permanent happiness, or permanent peace. While we’re still searching, we think there’s something that we get, or that we attain, like a permanent state. But that’s not the end of the search, that’s the idea that gets you searching.

The search often takes off from unhappiness or suffering. There may also have been glimpses of love, happiness, bliss, or peace.

Maybe these glimpses came just once, maybe more often. Sometimes they last just a moment, or they may last longer. As you’re experiencing them, you think you’ve got it. But then the experience comes to an end, and you think you’ve lost it. And so the search continues. Or there may be a word, a concept, like enlightenment or awakening, and you just know that’s what you want.

But the end of the search is not getting what you’re looking for, because you’re searching from a perspective that’s slightly off. It’s a shift in perception and perspective.

Read More