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Foreword

There are no living beings

that cannot be freed.

— Lin-chi

Interest in Western and Eastern mysticism has grown remarkably in recent years. In these times of spiritual reflection, it is of utmost importance that the way that leads humanity to the direct experience of its true self is clearly conveyed.

This book was written in consideration of the needs of serious spiritual seekers, to disclose to them a safe, albeit radical way to self-knowledge and thus to freedom. Whoever takes this book in hand should understand that it is not meant to be merely read, but instead to be thoroughly contemplated and lived. Only to this end were its contents written, and only in this sense can it be absorbed. This work is not pleasure reading, but a guide to within.

The title of the book, Free Yourself of Everything, originates from a saying of the Chinese Zen master, Huang-po (9th century). The expression, "free yourselves of everything," like Christian mysticism's "die and come into being," constitutes the central thought of this book. The subtitle, Radical Guidance in the Spirit of Zen and Christian Mysticism, refers to the consistent application of this central thought.

It is clear to me that this book is an enormous challenge for the reader's ego-this was intended. The intention was to shake the ego to its very foundation and rouse the reader, so that by becoming completely engaged in the book, the reader may find himself or herself a different person at the end of the reading.

From my own experience, as well as from many years of guiding students, I know that without consistency, progress on the spiritual way is impossible. With this in mind, the present book is addressed to all earnest spiritual seekers who have a sincere longing for consistent, yet safe spiritual guidance.

This book seeks to help find the inner source; its aim is to lead truth-seekers to that extraordinary experience of realization, where book-learning is replaced by experience, knowledge is replaced by the wisdom of the heart, and the belief in a merely conceptual God is replaced by the enlightenment of your own mind.

—Wolfgang Kopp

Wiesbaden, October 1990