Does thinking start from conclusions: Annotations on Life III

Author: Krishnamurti
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-07-01
Features: In this book, Krishnamurti records conversations with many ordinary people from 1960. Each chapter begins with a description of the scenery, starting from the weather and environment of that day. The descriptions are very detailed, and everything he sees is presented in our minds. This is the atmosphere of the conversation, like the color tone of a theme background. Then, within this atmosphere, the visitor and his unique experiences and problems are presented before us. Finally, comes the conversation between Krishnamurti and the visitor. When these three elements—natural environment, visitor, and conversation—are organized together, they become irrepeatable, always fresh, and full of vitality. Not only is the narrative style unique, but more importantly: although the backgrounds and experiences of these visitors are diverse, their desires, fears, expectations, and struggles are almost identical to the landscape of my own inner world. The questions they raise are specific, yet they reveal the common problems faced by humanity: due to our conditioning, due to our lack of self-awareness, our actions have led us into confusion and bewilderment. Krishnamurti listens to people's stories with great compassion; his continuous questioning and probing, his detailed discussions, point out the blind spots in people's thinking, guide them through the maze of their hearts, lighten the burden of suffering, and heal the inner creation. Regardless of the visitor's identity, we cannot find a name for them in the book; the locations change constantly, and there are no records of place names. What we read are the feelings for each specific person, the changes in the scenery of each place—in the absence of names, the true qualities belonging to a person or a place.