The Light of Discovery

by Toni Packer

To read this book is to encounter the essence of our lives and our everyday concerns. Toni Packer shines her gentle light on fear, compassion, impermanence, attraction, prejudice, enlightenment, and much more as she invites us into our own light of discovery. As she says, "In truth we are not separate from each other, or from the world, from the whole earth, the sun or moon or billions of stars, not separate from the entire universe. Listening silently in silent wonderment, without knowing anything, there is just one mysteriously palpitating aliveness."

Genres: Spirituality, Zen

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1995

Reviews

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to Packer's methodology - she claimed not to have one: inquiry is a methodology. Packer admitted she was not interested in being inspirational. If you are looking for inspiration, you will likely find little here. If you are looking for a simple approach to exploring, in silence, how thought veils us from ourselves, others, and wisdom, you would likely find The Light of Discovery helpful. Still, among Packer's books, I recommend The Wonder of Presence.

[PJ T. de Barros · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read this book about 17 years ago, I think. I remembered it as being extremely dense and extremely difficult to understand. After this second reading, I can still say that I found it dense, but I did not find it difficulty to understand. The key is that the book presents a different way of being, and until one understands (and, indeed, experiences) that way of being, the book seems impenetrable.

Most of the book consists of questions and answers. Often, the questions are from letters written to Toni Packer, the author, and the answers are her responses. In some cases, the chapters are transcriptions of conversations between the author and other people. In a few cases, the chapters are transcriptions of talks she gave at retreats. In most cases, the question or topic presented seems entirely straightforward, like the sort of questions about how to live and what to believe that one might bring to a philosopher or a priest or a mentor. The responses to the questions cut through the surface level and get directly at the way of being that is at the heart of the book.

After the second reading, I think that I have a much better understanding of the concept of the absence of the self. Now, that is not the purpose of the book. Packer might note that the concept of the absence of the self is still a thought, a construct, an illusion, just as the self is. When there are thoughts of the self, or of the lack of a self, there are still thoughts, and there is still the identification with those thoughts rather than the observation of the thoughts. Discussing the absence of the self introduces a method, a program, and that can result in building another layer of separation from immediate experience. However, I tend to be more of a navel gazer than Zen monk, and the intellectualization of the issue is what I really live for. The reason it took me nearly 20 years to intellectualize this is that it is something that is really best understood through direct experience. In fact, I must admit that my understanding and intellectualization of it is inherently wrong simply because what I have created is a conceptualization, and true understanding of the content of this book is the experience of this way of being, not the understanding, categorization, or measurement of what this way of being means.

And then I see the recursion of thought constructs about thought constructs about the lack of thought constructs, and see through it, and it dissolves, and then there is only the clacking of the keyboard and the sound of the birds outside my window and the feel of the cool summer evening air on my skin.

[Radek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spokojne, medytacyjne tempo tych, rozmów, artykułów i listów zaprasza czytelnika do pogłębionego doświadczenia medytacyjnego, które może być źródłem wglądów w codzienności. Na ścieżce odkrywania jesteśmy przecież obecni cały czas.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work is a series of essays by a Zen practioner and requires some grounding in Zen and basic Buddhism to be meaningful. That being said, Ms. Packer truly has an empathetic gift and is able to answer the questions of her students and readers with wisdom and grace. The topics are relevent and I found a couple quite meaningful to my own life at the time of reading, particularly the essay on dealing with grief.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wonder of Presence is her best imho, but all of Toni's books/talks are worth reading.