Jean Klein's edited dialogues with students — Klein was the French Direct Path teacher (originally a doctor and musicologist) who studied for years with Atmananda Krishna Menon in Travancore in the 1950s and who taught quietly in Europe and California for decades. The book centres his characteristic exchange-mode pedagogy: long pauses, philosophical inquiry conducted as live investigation rather than as transmission of doctrine.
The dialogues were held in England, France, and the United States between 1980 and 1985, and are arranged chronologically by location and date. Each session opens with a student question and proceeds through a series of exchanges that model the Direct Path method: rather than offering concepts to hold, Klein repeatedly redirects attention to the awareness that is already present. The book is the third by Klein published in English and the one most widely cited by his students Francis Lucille and Rupert Spira as formative.
What is sought is a sudden insight, a clear awakening to what we are, what we have been, and what we shall be forever.
Introduction
First lines
Every time I meet you I'm astonished by your happiness. Does this happiness come from outer circumstances? It depends on nothing outside. It shines on its own.
Contents
Prologue
London, April 1980
New Mexico, August 1980
Paris, December 1980
California, July 1981
Switzerland, November 1981
London, November 1982
California, December 1985
Reception
A small but unusually consistent readership — Klein is the linchpin of the contemporary Direct Path lineage that produced both Francis Lucille and Rupert Spira, and his books continue to circulate through the Non-Duality Press and Third Millennium Publications catalogues. Inside academic Advaita he is essentially absent; inside the practitioner community he is treated as the most rigorous exponent of Atmananda's lineage in the West. Klein's combination of quiet public profile and high intra-scene status is unusual and largely intentional on his part.
Frequently asked
What is The Ease of Being about?
It is a collection of dialogues between Jean Klein and students, held in England, France, and the United States between 1980 and 1985. The exchanges follow Klein's characteristic pedagogy: long pauses and live philosophical inquiry rather than doctrinal transmission, pointing toward the non-dual awareness that Klein taught as our true nature.
Who was Jean Klein?
Jean Klein (1912–1998) was a French doctor and musicologist who spent several years in India in the 1950s, studying with Atmananda Krishna Menon in Travancore. He was eventually sent back to Europe to teach Advaita Vedanta using what he called the Direct Path approach — pointing directly to awareness rather than offering a graduated practice system.
What is the Direct Path teaching in The Ease of Being?
Klein's Direct Path approach, rooted in the lineage of Atmananda Krishna Menon, bypasses graduated spiritual practice in favour of immediate investigation into the nature of awareness. The dialogues in the book model this live inquiry — Klein rarely states conclusions; instead he guides the questioner to look directly at what is already present.