How The World Can Be The Way It Is

[cometboyat60]

A brilliant book by a former science writer and current Buddhist priest. The author makes an extremely concise argument about how 'consciousness' (what Gurdjieff would call 'personality') creates the seemingness of self and world, while simultaneously keeping us from 'seeing' things as they are ('the world as it is')--hiding what Gurdjieff would call 'essence.'

 

[mcb]

It is one thing to read about "How The World Can Be The Way It Is" but quite another to arrive at it starting from self-observation and generally "doing the Work." And once you arrive at it (or twice or thrice or however many times it hits you), you still have your Work cut out for you.

 

[cometboyat60]

Well, he is a buddhist priest, so that is pretty much his point...because Gurdjieff wrote about 'the work' of awakening doesn't mean he felt hid ideas were a substitute for the work. The ideas are a guideline for the work.