The Crack Is How The Light Gets In

In this podcast Eckhart talks about suffering and how to
transcend it. He says suffering is everyone’s spiritual teacher
because it drives us to a kind of willingness. He believes it
cracks open the hard shell of the ego, suddenly allowing the
light to shine through. Eckhart mentions thelegendary singer
Leonard Cohen who wrote a song about this universal experience.
He sings: “There’s a crack… a crack in everything... That’s how
the light gets in.” Eckhart also uses the example of Buddha who
suffered by becoming obsessed with doing and attaining
enlightenment. Eckhart explains how Buddha put himself through
extreme practices and nearly died until one day he decided he had
suffered enough. This is the moment Eckhart says Buddha’s ego
cracked open and enlightenment poured in. Eckhart says we all
will suffer until we realize we don’t need it anymore to grow
spiritually.