The Ease of Being

A musicologist and doctor, Klein was born in Berlin. In his early twenties he was a part of the French Resistance in World War II. After the war, he studied in India for three years, then returned to the West to become a spiritual teacher himself. He died in 1998 in Santa Barbara, CA. One of Klein’s major points is the importance of listening. Not ordinary listening. In The Ease of Being, he says, “When you listen without evaluating or concluding, you can’t memorize it. It comes back to you, but not through the ordinary process of memory. If you try to retain it, what are you keeping? Only the words, the formulation, and then you listen through a veil of the already known, through comparison with the past. You must become innocent in your listening.” He also says, “When you listen without being aggressive or resisting, our whole body becomes this listening, it is not confined to the ears.” This discrimination between conceptual memory (localized in the brain) and organic memory (maintained in the cells of the body) sees real understanding as that in which the body participates.

"There's no person to answer personal questions. I listen to your question and I listen to the answer. The answer comes out of silence."The essence of non-duality is Jean Klein. The same Absolute that speaks through Nisargadatta and Ramana speaks beautifully through Jean Klein. His writings are perhaps more suited for the Western tuned mind. His words cut sharply and deeply and actually push one toward the non-dual. Others can talk the talk but there is no mistaking the words of a truly realized master.This is one of four JK books I've read to date and while they are all different they are all basically about the same thing. I noticed with some authors that the later in life they wrote the book the more enlightened it seemed to me. I felt his book "I Am" more deeply than the other three so far.It's a shame that he, like the fabulous Paul Brunton, is not more widely known.

Jean Klein has a masterful way with his eloquent descriptions of the natural state of Being. While I found "I Am" to be an easier read and more direct, this book contains insights that extend deeper in some respects and are more practical with respect to daily life than the latter. He is a true sage of the highest caliber, and a true intellectual as well.

I suppose I have to admit to a certain amount of bias for the Advaita teachings, but this bias has come at the expence of much effort to translate what many teachers have to to say given their cultural background. This book presents Advaita in wonderfully warm and simple language. Jean Klein provides one of the most aticulate presentations of these teachings available and yet almost completely free from the use of Hindu and Sanskrit terms or popular "insider" language. My feeling is that this reflects his own realization.

This book is amazing, read slow

If you are inclined to read about non dualism, here is a world master. Jean Klein was an erudite and refined man and it shows in his writing. Kind of like the classical music radio station of non dualism and no Pop or Rock here. In my opinion, one needs to "feel" your way through the book and not get caught in the conceptualization.

Jean Klein literally blows modern 'teachers', ala Eckhart Tolle, away. It might seem absurd, but since Klein's books do not make the New York Times 'Best Seller' list; lends it more credibility.

Sublime

Beautiful simple truthful wise writing...........Jean Klein answers his audiences questions without fuss and with a directness that cuts through the dross.