The Way to Knowledge....by Cherry Gilchrist

Friday August 11th, 1978. Somewhere in Suffolk, in the East of England.
 
It’s late evening, and a group of people are sitting around in a large meeting room. Everyone is tired. Not only because of the time of day, but from the efforts made during the two weeks of this course. There have been struggles as we attempted to engage all our faculties – intellect, emotions, observation – in a quest for understanding. We are not just challenged at the mental level either. Some of us are also young parents, with small children in tow. They have needed plenty of attention too – to stop them jumping in the ornamental pond, or stealing another child’s tea, for instance! The course has thus stretched us in every direction, with sessions of meditation practice, study of the Cabbalistic Tree of Life, mindful walks, discussions of theory and sacred geometry, plus the basics of washing up and keeping the public rooms clean. But it appears to be paying off, the humps and bumps have largely smoothed out, and we feel we’re really doing quite well in attaining a degree of sophisticated knowledge. A spiritual philosophy, in its original sense of ‘love of wisdom’, is within our grasp!
 
And now, surely, it’s time for bed, or at least a wind-down. But then Glyn Davies, the teacher and mastermind of the course announces that it’s time to tell us a story…He tells it in this shadowy, hushed room. It’s about a King on a Mountain. It goes something like this:

Long ago, a King stood on the mountain, high above his palace and his kingdom. He was wondering what he could leave his people, for their lasting benefit. A legacy which would endure. A new city, or a better system of agriculture, to feed everyone adequately?
 
But none of those would do. He shook his head. ‘All those things will pass away.’
 
He reflected further, gazing down on the land spreading out before him. ‘I can make sure there are people who have enough knowledge to instruct the next generation. Then if the city crumbles in an earthquake, they can rebuild it. We can set up universities, and libraries to preserve the teachings.’ The king sighed. ‘But no. Even that knowledge would become outdated. It would not last.’
 
Then at last he realised what he was searching for. ‘I will leave them the way to knowledge. This alone can endure’
 
He did so. And that way to knowledge has come down from that day to this.

In reflective mood around the pool...

What are we to make of this? My own initial reaction is of irritation, and bewilderment. There’s a sense that the goal posts are being moved. Have we not all worked hard enough both here and in our regular study groups? We have reached the end of the course after quite a bumpy journey! But as we have also been told, ‘there is always further to go’, and there is a mythic quality of what we’re being told. Something timeless is emerging here. 
It brings with it the question: ‘What is the way to knowledge?’

It’s now nearly 50 years since this story was told to us – and who knows how long it had been passed down before that? The story has been re-told on a few occasions, for the benefit of those haven’t heard it before, and it has remained with many of us since, perhaps never fully answered. But maybe the questioning which it arouses is also its purpose, as a reminder that knowledge itself is more than specific methods or formulated teachings. Yet how do we perceive the actual ‘way to knowledge’?
 
I decided to put the question to a number of colleagues and companions on this particular path, a number of whom were present at this first telling of the story. What you can read here is a selection of quotes from their responses, with varied and salient points for the purposes of this account. And I round off with some thoughts of my own.

The Responses
It helps to have a question as a starting point, but then leave it behind and spend time in silence, actively waiting. When an answer comes, keep actively waiting: there is always more. Where does new knowledge come from? The sea of the unknown. Real knowledge is only present in our contact with the unknown. 
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It seems to me that a way to knowledge is a kind of space. You can create this inside yourself by practices such as wide awareness, meditation, and by eliminating the internal chatterbox, thereby creating a space for knowledge. And you can do this sometimes with another person. I can't quite explain how it happens, but it is within my experience that in profound conversation with another person the whole room can suddenly seem to be filled with a pregnant emptiness; this time, creating a space for the transmission of knowledge. 
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A way to knowledge begins with the intuition that there is knowledge—and some
capacity to recognize that knowledge when presented with it. Some people are granted a moment of illumination very early on. The moment is a moment only, it does not return, yet it leaves such a powerful impression that the individual restlessly seeks to recapture it. 
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The way to knowledge cannot be defined any more than knowledge can, but you can learn to recognise if you are 'on the way' or not.  Practices, endeavours and challenges that require different forms of 'mentation' help to develop this ability.  
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Knowledge is neither a product of the normal processes of mind, nor is it accessible via normal faculties of mind. It is not a 'commodity', like information or data, which can be transferred from one person to another.  The kind of Knowledge implied is a faculty of another order. Arguably, such Knowing is the summation and raison d'etre of humanity in the greater scheme of earth and cosmos, and is the Essence of being human. Any who sense the possibility and are prepared to traverse a Way if they stumble across it, are simply realising the truth of their being.  
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Meditation establishes an alignment between the person seeking Knowledge and its source. Maintaining this alignment, through the regular practice of meditation sustained over time, builds a core within the individual around which their being can reorganise. It is through the process of this reorganisation that the individual is prepared for receiving the Knowledge that they were previously unable to access. 
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What is the way to knowledge? Active investigation is the main ingredient, working with, and through, a ‘centering’ meditative practice and a willed intention to wakefulness. Each moment in life must be met with freshness, and the ability to respond with wisdom to the needs of the moment. This establishes a perpetuation of knowledge, both in oneself and for mankind. 
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Knowledge exists within us all, like a wellspring concealed upon the high mountain, yet it is freely available to those who are willing to seek it out. It is by preparing the Way to Knowledge that it may be perpetuated. Therein lies the real service. 
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The first step on the Way to Knowledge is to accept that one knows very little - Knowledge is not information. Be prepared to look into the void - with infinite patience. Pay attention with a quiet mind and no expectation. 
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The Way to Knowledge is to see Knowledge in all things. 
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What is the way to knowledge? 
- to have a sense of mystery
- a sense of wonder
- the ability to sit quietly on one's own and just patiently wait
- a passion for continually digging deeper and not accepting answers along the way as final 

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The wise thoughts above illuminate different aspects of the way to knowledge. I have included extracts from everyone who replied to my request, and selected these so as to illustrate different aspects of the question raised, within the context of this blog post.
 
My own thoughts, summarised below, are from a slightly different perspective: they are based on how our time treading this particular path has actually worked out, in regard to the story itself, and the initial wise guidance of the teacher (now deceased) who told it to us.
 

• This work requires that we create a holy space, in which something can arise. 
• Asking questions is always necessary, in order to go beyond current answers and ‘certainties’
• Abandon certainty itself as a goal
• Take up a meditation type of practice that will open the way to something greater than personal beliefs.
• By all means, draw on expertise of others, bringing it together in a common arena. This becomes part of the ‘common life’ which we may share, as others have done over the centuries. Such common endeavour benefits from individual knowledge but will not be tied to it.
  

 The quality that can be generated when people work together in such a way is that of clean and clear mountain air. 

Saros, the King on the Mountain, and Soho Tree
Was the story of the King on the Mountain exclusive to Saros, among the lines of work arising from the Soho Tree group? Perhaps other groups also shared this story, and worked with this premise? Although this may be the case, I would say that the ‘Saros line’ out of all of the descendants of the Soho Tree group, is the one which has most obviously taken on the story of the King on the Mountain, and sought to explore, practice and expand this idea of a ‘way to knowledge’. This has continued now for very nearly fifty years, through working groups, courses, and satellite organisations such as High Peak Meditation and Nine Ladies.
 
All due respect is paid, though, to the founding and other continuing lines of work which sprang from the Soho Tree group, and it may be that some of them will have their own story to tell.

Credits: with thanks to various members of Saros  who shared their thoughts about the 'way to knowledge'. 
The image illustrating the 'King on the Mountain' is taken from 'The Phoenician Letters'  by Wilfred Glyn Davies, and was created by Gila Zur. A reprinted edition will be available in due course.