Understanding the Role of Practice

"You speak of the Pathless Path where there’s nothing to do, yet you also suggest practices. How do I understand the role of practice in this teaching? Rupert says: ‘On the Pathless Path, there’s ultimately nothing to do because you already are what you’re seeking. However, [suggesting a practice] is a compassionate concession to the one who believes they’re not yet that. If you find yourself lost in the content of experience, believing yourself to be a separate self, then practice serves to extricate you from that entanglement. Think of it as removing the obstacles that seem to obscure your true nature rather than acquiring something new. The practices – self-enquiry, meditation, contemplation – are scaffolding that can eventually be discarded once the building is complete. They’re like thorns used to remove thorns. Once attention is established in being, practice naturally falls away because there’s no one left to practise.’"

From event 21 - 28 November, 2025 Seven-Day Retreat at The Vedanta, 21–28 November 2025

Subscribe or purchase View full event recordings