Adyashanti
Adyashanti is a spiritual guru from California. He teaches an introspective approach to enlightenment which calls for radical honesty.
With his technique, each thought is deeply examined as thoroughly as possible. As thoughts are gradually let go for the illusions that they are, the clouds clear to reveal one’s natural state of being.
Adya began his spiritual search within the Zen tradition. He looked around one day and noted people who had been practicing for 15, 20, 25 years… and they were no further along than he was. After 14 years of Zen, he had to let it go to move forward. He then used journaling as a means of examining his thinking.
After a few momentary glimpses of spiritual awakening, he gradually deepened his experience via this introspective approach. Adya is now in a state of permanent spiritual enlightenment.
It is popular in certain quarters to question the need for formal spiritual practices. Many gurus will remind you that reality is an illusion, and you simply need to snap out of it. That is the whole of their teaching.
Does Adya support this view? One might be fooled into thinking this is the case given how he abandoned his Zen practice, but one would be wrong.
Adyashanti was a zen practitioner for 14 years
In an interview, he confirmed that spiritual practices are a necessary part of the path. He understands them as means of exhausting the seeker. Exhausting the egoic energy that’s seeking enlightenment creates an opening where reality, one’s true nature, can be recognized.
Said differently, a spiritual practice will get one to the gate but must eventually be let go to enter in. You are the one standing in “your” way to spiritual enlightenment.
Moreover, Adyashanti’s radical-honesty approach to evaluating thoughts is in itself a highly intensive spiritual practice when done correctly.
This is in sharp contrast to gurus like Mooji who offer a “lazy person’s” path to spiritual enlightenment. Laziness never got anyone anywhere. Except to expensive talks by these gurus.
It’s worth mentioning that Adyashanti spends 95% of his time talking about the illusion of thoughts. Very little time is devoted to spiritual practices beyond the radical honesty approach. How many of his followers have truly exhausted their search for spiritual enlightenment, something that took him 14 years to do?
He seems to draw crowds that are just starting on the spiritual path but he’s mostly offering the last step. Might be a problem.
Adyashanti is one of the most popular spiritual gurus today. A few years ago, he charged $10 to sit in one of his satsangs. It can now cost upwards of a thousand dollars to go to one of his retreats, including food and accommodations. He’s followed a very Eckhart Tolle path in this regard.
Adya claims that these funds go to a non-profit devoted to spreading his teachings. Great, but it’s like a corporation saying its profits are directed to a marketing campaign to further advertise their product. Where’s the giving here? Is he helping anyone beyond himself?
What is the point of spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars to go to go see Adya?
You’re a single person amidst a vast sea of people. You get absolutely no personal time with him. He has no further answers to provide anyone beyond what he’s already stated in his books, which are far more affordable.
For many, such talks and retreats are essentially spiritual entertainment. You’d be better off staying home and doing the radical self-honesty work yourself. That was his path to awakening. Why not emulate your teacher instead?
We rate Adyashanti as great. He’s a very good teacher when it comes to clearly expressing his awakening experience, what this means, and how to go about it. His online books are affordable and contain all his teachings.
We strongly advise that you not spend your money on his expensive talks and retreats. If you have extra cash lying around, it’s far more spiritual to give it to someone in need or use it to help the world in some way. Do the work! Forget the spiritual entertainment as it will lead you nowhere.
“Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretence. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true.” — Adyashanti
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Nice review of Adya, thanks! I spent many hours sitting with Adya during Satsangs in the Bay area 2002-2007. He is a wonderful man but I wonder about the people he has surrounded himself with. Who you are with will determine what you can know and do. These people influence your thoughts and Adya seems to have forgotten the point of enlightenment and awakening. Rather than serving the unfortunate and the needy, Adya and his followers have built themselves a very nice business. Still, he has helped many people awaken and he helped me find my true path in life.
Totally worth the money. And I gotta say it's interesting how much ego and bias from the moderators slip into a page like this.
Nothing egoic about honestly expressing your opinion. Just because Adya is a spiritual teacher, doesn't mean you can't critique him.
VLAD: Expressing an opinion, my opinion, our opinion, is---in my opinion---completely egoic...unless you Know yourself as the Wholey infinite unicity Reality beyond separation/multiplicity...and that, too---when contrasted against total open empty/full silence---is likely just another ego trip/reflection, eh? ;)
Word salad.
I don't think Adya would express your view. In fact, it sounds like a false attachment to emptiness, which Adya warned about in his book, "The End of Your World." There are two realities, objective and subjective. Objective reality does not endorse opinions, but even as we experience objective reality, our subjective reality (birth, life, death) doesn't actually end. So, enlightened people have both an objective and subjective view of reality. If you use your objective view to dismiss the subjective opinions of others (or even to justify doing evil to others) you are not enlightened. I'm not saying I'm enlightened either, but I am trying to share what I've read.
Jeffrey: look in the mirror
It costs money to have retreats and most people can pay $10. You know people are truly serious when they pay that much money. I could not afford that myself but he has online retreats and free talks all the time. He has made a serious difference in my spiritual practice. I have practiced for years and read many books. My husband was a spiritual teacher on the Yogic path. He never charged except when he taught classes in a University years ago. He helped many but also experienced those who would not stick with it. But we live in a poor state so this was best policy for here.
based on your comment its pretty clear you wasted your money,
I've attended a few satsangs of Adya's and had a real hard time spending the money for a retreat but I did a 7 day several months ago and everything has changed in my life. As Adya has said, the biggest part of the teaching is being in the presence of an awakened being. It was more than worth the money.
COLIN WALSH...Would you please care to share with the audience---perhaps offer some clear examples---how hanging out with Adyashanti has "changed your life"...and we'll sssume your implication is that your life has been greatly improved, eh?
He offers scholarships and partial scholarships to his programs (be it online or on retreats). If you break things down, he charges $450 for a 5 day retreat. The food and accommodations is what brings the costs up, and those funds dont make it into his pockets.
The experience that I had was far worth the financial lay out. If you go and have an experience that changes your life, how can you measure all of this? If you go and it doesn't work for you, then fine, move on and get another teacher.
Adya deserves 5/5. His mission is to spread awakening, which is infinitely more valuable than donating money to various causes. I've been on 7 retreats with him and he chuckles and admits to selling water by the river, and that the true retreat begins when we leave, when we go into the world, when the rubber hits the road. Adya is a true teacher with such clear teaching and message.
Although I don't know Adyashanti personally, I consider him to be my teacher after I was awakened. At that point, and after passing a period of bliss, when my consciousness lets say returned to the business as usual of being human, his teachings through his books (especially 'The end of your world') and the various videos found in YouTube, helped me to find balance and to continue the eradication of my attachments to various beliefs and identifications within me. The part of the article which criticizes Adyashanti for charging too much money for his satsangs i find it at least inappropriate, for what his teachings has to offer and how valuable is his guidance. Is there a limit on the amount of money that makes a person 'Good' or 'Bad'? What is it? 10$, 100$, 500$? At the end of the day, a person in order to realize must be willing to sacrifice everything in order to get awakened, even be ready to give, metaphorically speaking, his own life. When someone has that kind of thirst for the truth, money doesn't matter to him. Of course as you mention in the article, the work towards awakening is all personal, and the greatest teacher of all is our own self, as long as we are true and not fooling our selves.
I love Adya
Are you considering reviewing the work of Tara Brach?
Thank you for the suggestion, Swasti. What is your experience of this guru that makes you suggest a review?
Adya is so sincere in his teachings and he is one of the best at speaking in a way that is devoid of dogma and helps those with logically-oriented minds. Also, I think people could open their minds a little to see how money flows and is redistributed in different ways. There are so many choices that one could make with one's money and not everyone is going to be pleased when the choices are made.
I have tried over-and-over to listen to his stuff. It seems more intent-driven than content-driven. Much of what he says is cliche—sounds right, but superficial—he strings cliches and phrases together instead of talking in paragraphs. He is not well-read or well-educated. I do not understand why he is so popular—I have noticed, however, that tv shows I like get cancelled and popular ones are unwatchable. I very much like Ramana Maharshi and John Wheeler—to give you perspective.
How much are you willing to give up for truth...money is so cheap it means nothing CROSS that path it is blocking your way