In ancient times, there was an enlightened being.

After realizing all truths, this being also recognized another important insight. From this significant realization, with compassion, generosity, intelligence, strict discipline, and utmost dedication to help humans escape suffering, they chose a path of teaching unlike other enlightened beings, different from other methods of instruction.

This individual opted for a mode of communication that demanded humility, restraint, and empathy for sentient beings in search of truth.

What was the pivotal insight they discovered, and why did it become central to their teaching methodology? It was the recognition of the profound ignorance within sentient beings. Teaching a student without understanding the depth of their ignorance could inadvertently turn the teachings into a tool for harm by an ignorant mind.

Other enlightened beings might have been well aware of this ignorance in unenlightened humans. However, they left sentient beings to their fate 😂, joyously. It’s everyone’s karma, and everyone’s path to follow. The world is perfect as is, no need for concern 😅

How is this ignorance of those seeking truth manifested? Whatever is taught, even if personally verified by this being, quickly becomes a doctrine, a veil, dust in the eyes, a barrier to wisdom, the pure, unarisen and undying awareness. Thus, ignorance remains complete. This results in an endless drift in delusion. How ignorant! So ignorant indeed!

Recognizing this inherent flaw in sentient beings, the flawed mechanism that makes enlightenment seemingly easy yet difficult, this being chose a unique teaching method: not to describe, to remain silent, refusing to speak about anything that could lead to boxing it into imagination, doctrine, destinations, labels, ego… without aiding in self-realization.

He would not refer to anything related to esoteric or the nature of the universe, avoiding any questions that could lead to discussions on this topic.

He advocated a single pedagogical method: seeing without the concept of time, seeing right in the current reality, the wise will see for themselves. Essentially, there’s only one way: to gradually abandon all attachments, cravings, and concerns for any phenomena.

Because of this focus, if he then described holographic spaces, energy fields, vibrational frequencies, laws of attraction, the expansion of the universe, collective consciousness… it would indeed make the ignorant more ignorant, clinging to new illusions about esoteric and metaphysical theories instead of shedding them.

Imagine you’re someone who knows how to drive and has traveled many places, seeing many wonderful things. And now you’re teaching others to drive, but they’ve been unable to drive for thousands of years due to lack of focus, constantly immersed in imagination rather than seeing the road right in front of them. 

Instead of endlessly talking about the landscapes you’ve passed, the geography of each region, the culture of each place… You choose silence and focus on showing the daydreamer: look at the road you’re on. This is a profound silence, indeed.

 “What I know is as much as trees in a forest, but what I teach is like the leaves in the palm of my hand.”

To remain silent and consistent in the face of distractions, to firmly show people to see for themselves, to awaken and enlighten, isn’t it very compassionate, very heartfelt, very humble, very patient, very aware of what to focus on for sentient beings to gradually lessen their ignorance?

Instead of describing the destination, he focus on teaching sentient beings to practice walking themselves.

An enlightened person could easily talk about many things they’ve seen, understood, realized about the universe, psychic powers, the essence of life… But that does not make them a person capable of enlightening others, or at least not concerned with enlightening others. 

And the Buddha, (yes, the enlightened being I’ve been talking about…), with compassionate intent and a clear goal: to help the ignorant remove the arrow from their eyes, only acknowledges one type of extraordinary ability, one type of psychic power: the Extraordinary Ability to Teach. 

Those who can control elements, leave their bodies… even if enlightened, the Buddha does not recognize their psychic powers. 

Only when someone can help sentient beings see the arrow in their eye and remove it themselves, then that is true psychic power. Isn’t it impressive? Very consistent with the pedagogical direction he was dedicated to, right?

Therefore, many other philosophical schools are not wrong when they talk about metaphysical, esoteric doctrines… but these topics quickly become tools for idle talk (a topic of conversation for fun among those still with dust in their eyes), not truly significant in helping people enlighten and liberate (from the arrow they’ve shot into themselves).

To become a practitioner, according to this criterion of the Buddha, one must personally verify and see for themselves, not because of reading scriptures or talking about theories.

But to become a speaker on metaphysical theories, anyone can be a lecturer, just by reading a lot, remembering well, having a bit of interest… then anyone can trade, discuss these topics, even though they haven’t enlightened, the arrow still lodged in their eye.

When someone is directly pointed out by a sage, speaking directly to their current reality, they might be stunned and find it “unbelievable, I find it easier to believe others.”

What they find hard to believe, ironically, is the reality right here within them. Are they aware of, for examples, feeling uncomfortable, know they’re lying when they are, or being aware of their cravings? This is the foundational awareness, the crucial knowing to gradually recognize all other arising and ceasing phenomena. What is there to believe or disbelieve?

Furthermore, it’s precisely the millennium-old ignorance of humans, turning everything into beliefs without realizing the nature of clear seeing as it is, without going through belief, without relying on belief. 

Therefore, if you listen to someone and find yourself believing fervently, then know the level of both the speaker and the listener, still reliant, still needing to believe instead of seeing for themselves. 

Like not knowing when you need to go to toilet, but only daring to do so according to a given schedule because you BELIEVE that’s when you should. If you find this ridiculous, then looking into the beliefs of those practicing, it’s just as ridiculous.

If someone directly points out to you, leaving you with NOWHERE LEFT TO BELIEVE, then that is the Extraordinary Ability to Teach at work.

Even if someone doesn’t teach, but it’s an ignorant person causing you suffering, it’s also because of the conditions sent for you to learn and break away from any beliefs blinding your insight.

This article is a bit of a reflection because even myself, when teaching, responding, answering, guiding those who are destined, also have to keep my mouth shut about what I’ve realized about reality, the universe blah. 

Because talking about it, I feel ashamed of my idle talk, speaking to please myself and the listener’s ear but not in line with my own dedication, which is for them to see for themselves.