Choiceless awareness

Template:Short description Choiceless awareness is posited in philosophy, psychology, and spirituality to be the state of unpremeditated, complete awareness of the present without preference, effort, or compulsion. The term was popularized in mid-20th century by Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti; the concept is a central theme in his philosophy. Similar or related concepts had been previously developed in several religious or spiritual traditions. The term, or others like it, has also been used to describe traditional and contemporary meditation practices, both secular and religious. By the early 21st century, Template:Em as a concept or term had appeared in a variety of fields, including neuroscience, therapy, and sociology, as well as in art. However, Krishnamurti's approach to the subject was unique, and differs from both prior and later notions.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Choiceless awareness is a major topic in the exposition of Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti Template:Lifespan.Template:R/superscript Beginning in the 1930s, he often commented on the subject, which became a recurring theme in his work.Template:R/superscript He is considered to have been mainly responsible for the subsequent interest in both the term and the concept.Template:R/superscript

Krishnamurti held that outside of strictly practical, technical matters, the presence and action of choice indicates confusion and subtle bias: an individual who perceives a given situation in an unbiased manner, without distortion, and therefore with complete awareness, will immediately, naturally, act according to this awareness – the action will be the manifestation and result of this awareness, rather than the result of choice. Such action (and quality of mind) is inherently without conflict.Template:R/superscript

He did not offer any method to achieve such awareness;Template:NnbspTemplate:R/superscript in his view, application of technique cannot possibly evolve into, or result in, true choicelessness – just as unceasing application of effort leads to illusory effortlessness, in reality the action of habit.Template:R/superscript Additionally, in his opinion all methods introduce potential or actual conflict, generated by the practitioner's efforts to comply. According to this analysis, all practices towards achieving choiceless awareness have the opposite effect: they inhibit its action in the present by treating it as a future, premeditated result, and moreover one that is conditioned by the practitioner's implied or expressed expectations.Template:R/superscript

Krishnamurti stated that for true choicelessness to be realized explicit or implicit choice has to simply, irrevocably, stop; however, not as a result of decision-making, but through the ceasing of the functioning of the chooser or self as a psychological entity. He proposed that such a state might be approached through inquiry based on total attentiveness: identity is then dissolved in complete, all-encompassing attention.Template:R/superscript Therefore, he considered choiceless awareness a natural attribute of non-self-centered perception, which he called "observation without the observer".Template:R/superscript

Accordingly, Krishnamurti advised against following any doctrine, discipline, teacher, guru, or authority, including himself.Template:R/superscript He also advised against following one's own psychological knowledge and experience, which he considered integral parts of the observer.Template:R/superscript He denied the usefulness of all meditation techniques and methods, but not of meditation itself, which he called "perhaps the greatest" art in life;Template:NnbspTemplate:R/superscript and stated that insight into choiceless awareness could be shared through open dialogue.Template:R/superscript

Krishnamurti's ideas on choiceless awareness were discussed by among others, influential Hindu spiritual teacher Ramana Maharshi Template:LifespanTemplate:NnbspTemplate:R/superscript and, following wide publication of his books,Template:R/superscript they attracted the attention of psychologists and psychoanalysts in the 1950s;Template:NnbspTemplate:R/superscript in subsequent decades Krishnamurti held a number of discussions on this and related subjects with practicing psychotherapists and with researchers in the field.Template:R/superscript His views on the subject have been included in scholarly papers on existential therapy,Template:R/superscript education theory,Template:R/superscript and peace research,Template:R/superscript but they have also been discussed in less formal or structured settings.Template:R/superscript

In late 1980, almost half a century after he started discussing it, Krishnamurti included the concept in "The Core of Krishnamurti's Teaching", a pivotal statement of his philosophy: "Freedom is found in the choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity."Template:R/superscriptTemplate:R/superscript

Other representations

Template:Mindfulness In contrast with Krishnamurti's approach, other articulations commonly include choiceless awareness (or related ideas and terms) as part, or as the hoped-for result, of specific methodologies and meditation techniques.Template:R/superscript Similar concepts and terms appeared or developed in various traditional and contemporary religious or spiritual doctrines and texts,Template:R/superscript and also within secular disciplines such as psychotherapy,Template:R/superscript rehabilitation medicine,Template:R/superscript and counseling.Template:R/superscript Choiceless awareness has been examined within the context of philosophy of perception and behavior,Template:R/superscript while studies have cited its possible role in job performance.Template:R/superscript Other studies have linked meditation based on the concept (among others), with neural activity consistent with increased attentiveness, considered a factor of well-being and happiness.Template:R/superscript

One term that is often used as a near-synonym is mindfulness, which as a concept has similarities to or may include choiceless awareness.Template:R/superscript Initially part of Buddhist meditation practice, it has been adapted and utilized for contemporary psychological treatment,Template:R/superscript and has been applied as a component of integrative medicine programs.Template:R/superscript

Related themes can be found in the doctrine and meditation practices (such as Vipassanā) associated with the Theravada school of Buddhism;Template:NnbspTemplate:R/superscript and also in 20th-century offshoots such as the Thai Forest Tradition and the Vipassana movement.Template:R/superscript Within these and similar fields, for example the Shikantaza practice in Zen Buddhism,Template:R/superscript choiceless (or effortless) awareness is considered to frequently be the result of a mature progression of practice.Template:R/superscript

The concept has been included in the discourse of transpersonal philosopher Ken Wilber (b. 1949),Template:R/superscript and also of independent Indian spiritual teacher Osho (Rajneesh) Template:Lifespan.Template:R/superscript Tibetan Buddhism teacher Chögyam Trungpa Template:Lifespan, who engaged in dialogue with Krishnamurti,Template:R/superscript used the term to describe the experience of shunyata (Śūnyatā) – in Sanskrit, "emptiness", or "ego-less perception".Template:R/superscript

Among other fields, the term has appeared in dispute resolution theory and practice,Template:R/superscript and has found application in artistic endeavors. In dramatic theory, theater criticism,Template:R/superscript and acting,Template:R/superscript it has been used to denote spontaneous creativity and related practices or attempts; it has additionally appeared in music works.Template:R/superscript Author J. D. Salinger Template:Lifespan, who was interested in spirituality and alternative religions, was reputedly an adherent of Ramana Maharshi's ideas on choiceless awareness.Template:R/superscript

Contrary to press reports published in the mid-20th-century,Template:R/superscript later interest in practices related to, or influenced by, choiceless awareness, has resulted in unambiguously favorable mentions in the popular press.Template:R/superscript Additionally, mass market general interest titles covering the subject have been published.Template:R/superscript

See also

• Anapanasati
• Nonviolent Communication

References

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