Here are few notes, quotes taken from K's web site and his books with my brief comments. I view these shown here as the essence of his view. For more information, please visit: Krishnamurti Foundation of America: http://www.kfa.org/index.html

A Brief Introduction to Krishnamurti’s Teachings
by Dr. David Bohm

My first acquaintance with Krishnamurti’s work was in 1959 when I read his book The First and Last Freedom. What particularly aroused my interest was his deep insight into the question of the observer and the observed. This question had long been close to the center of my own work, as a theoretical physicist, who was primarily interested in the meaning of the quantum theory. In this theory, for the first time in the development of physics, the notion that these two cannot be separated has been put forth as necessary for the understanding of the fundamental laws of matter in general. Because of this, as well as because the book contained many other deep insights I felt that it was urgent for me to talk with Krishnamurti directly and personally as soon as possible. And when I first met him on one of his visits to London, I was struck by the great ease of communication with him, which was made possible by the intense energy with which he listened and by the freedom from self-protective reservations and barriers with which he responded to what I had to say. As a person who works in science I felt completely at home with this sort of response, because it was in essence of the same quality as that which I had met in these contacts with other scientists with whom there had been a very close meeting of minds. And here, I think especially of Einstein who showed a similar intensity and absence of barrier in a number of discussions that took place between him and me. After this, I began to meet Krishnamurti regularly and to discuss with him whenever he came to London.

We began an association which has since then become closer as I became interested in the schools, which were set up through his initiative. In these discussions, we went quite deeply into many questions which concerned me in my scientific work. We probed into the nature of space and time, and of the universal, both with regard to external nature and with regard to mind. But then, we went on to consider the general disorder and confusion that pervades the consciousness of mankind. It is here that I encountered what I feel to be Krishnamurti’s major discovery. What he was seriously proposing is that all this disorder, which is the root cause of such widespread sorrow and misery, and which prevents human beings from properly working together, has its root in the fact that we are ignorant of the general nature of our own processes of thought. Or to put it differently it may be said that we do not see what is actually happening, when we are engaged in the activity of thinking. Through close attention to and observation of this activity of thought, Krishnamurti feels that he directly perceives that thought is a material process, which is going on inside of the human being in the brain and nervous system as a whole.

Ordinarily, we tend to be aware mainly of the content of this thought rather than of how it actually takes place. One can illustrate this point by considering what happens when one is reading a book. Usually, one is attentive almost entirely to the meaning of what is being read. However, one can also be aware of the book itself, of its constitution as made up out of pages that can be turned, of the printed words and of the ink, of the fabric of the paper, etc. Similarly, we may be aware of the actual structure and function of the process of thought, and not merely of its content.

How can such an awareness come about? Krishnamurti proposes that this requires what he calls meditation. Now the word meditation has been given a wide range of different and even contradictory meanings, many of them involving rather superficial kinds of mysticism. Krishnamurti has in mind a definite and clear notion when he uses this word. One can obtain a valuable indication of this meaning by considering the derivation of the word. (The roots of words, in conjunction with their present generally accepted meanings often yield surprising insight into their deeper meanings.) The English word meditation is based on the Latin root "med" which is, "to measure." The present meaning of the word is "to reflect," "to ponder" (i.e. to weigh or measure), and "to give close attention." Similarly the Sanskrit word for meditation, which is dhyana, is closely related to "dhyati," meaning "to reflect." So, at this rate, to meditate would be, "to ponder, to reflect, while giving close attention to what is actually going on as one does so."

This is perhaps what Krishnamurti means by the beginning of meditation. That is to say, one gives close attention to all that is happening in conjunction with the actual activity of thought, which is the underlying source of the general disorder. One does this without choice, without criticism, without acceptance or rejection of what is going on. And all of this takes place along with reflections on the meaning of what one is learning about the activity of thought. (It is perhaps rather like reading a book in which the pages have been scrambled up, and being intensely aware of this disorder, rather than just "trying to make sense" of the confused content that arises when one just accepts the pages as they happen to come.)

Krishnamurti has observed that the very act of meditation will, in itself, bring order to the activity of thought without the intervention of will, choice, decision, or any other action of the "thinker." As such order comes, the noise and chaos which are the usual background of our consciousness die out, and the mind becomes generally silent. (Thought arises only when needed for some genuinely valid purpose, and then stops, until needed again.)

In this silence, Krishnamurti says that something new and creative happens, something that cannot be conveyed in words, but that is of extraordinary significance for the whole of life. So he does not attempt to communicate this verbally, but rather, he asks those who are interested that they explore the question of meditation directly for themselves, through actual attention to the nature of thought.

Without attempting to probe into this deeper meaning of meditation, one can however say that meditation, in Krishnamurti’s sense of the word, can bring order to our overall mental activity, and this may be a key factor in bringing about an end to the sorrow, the misery, the chaos and confusion, that have, over the ages, been the lot of mankind, and that are still generally continuing without visible prospect of fundamental change, for the foreseeable future.

Krishnamurti’s work is permeated by what may be called the essence of this scientific approach, when this is considered in its very highest and purest form. Thus, he begins from a fact, this fact about the nature of our thought processes. This fact is established through close attention, involving careful listening to the process of consciousness, and observing it assiduously. In this, one is constantly learning, and out of this learning comes insight, into the overall or general nature of the process of thought. This insight is then tested. First, one sees whether it holds together in a rational order. And then ones sees whether it leads to order and coherence, on what flows out of it in life as a whole.

Krishnamurti constantly emphasizes that he is in no sense an authority. He has made certain discoveries, and he is simply doing his best to make these discoveries accessible to all those who are able to listen. His work does not contain a body of doctrine, nor does he offer techniques or methods, for obtaining a silent mind. He is not aiming to set up any new system of religious belief. Rather, it is up to each human being to see if he can discover for himself that to which Krishnamurti is calling attention, and to go on from there to make new discoveries on his own.

It is clear then that an introduction, such as this, can at best show how Krishnamurti’s work has been seen by a particular person, a scientist, such as myself. To see in full what Krishnamurti means, it is necessary, of course, to go on and to read what he actually says, with that quality of attention to the totality of one’s responses, inward and outward, which we have been discussing here.

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And more quotes from K. (from K's web site):

"Freedom is not a reaction; freedom is not a choice. It is man’s pretense that because he has choice he is free. Freedom is pure observation without direction, without fear of punishment and reward. Freedom is without motive; freedom is not at the end of the evolution of man but lies in the first step of his existence. In observation one begins to discover the lack of freedom. Freedom is found in the choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity."

"Thought is time. Thought is born of experience and knowledge, which are inseparable from time and the past. Time is the psychological enemy of man. Our action is based on knowledge and therefore time, so man is always a slave to the past. Thought is ever-limited and so we live in constant conflict and struggle. There is no psychological evolution."

"When man becomes aware of the movement of his own thoughts, he will see the division between the thinker and thought, the observer and the observed, the experiencer and the experience. He will discover that this division is an illusion. Then only is there pure observation which is insight without any shadow of the past or of time. This timeless insight brings about a deep, radical mutation in the mind.

"Total negation is the essence of the positive. When there is negation of all those things that thought has brought about psychologically, only then is there love, which is compassion and intelligence."

I believe these cover the essence of K's teaching.

Note: K's decision to dissolve K's organization and Buddha's prediction about the sangha's future as well as the fact that Buddha was basically alone (only with Ananda) in his last journey before his death indicates the similarity between the two. To quote K, total negation may be the essence of the positive. Kill Buddha to Live Buddha! Negative entropy, Positive entropy.….The paradox, yet the nature's way.

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Additional quotes on Meditation

Can one look at oneself non-verbally? This means to remove the barrier of criticism, judgment and condemnation and just observe. With a mind free of condemnation and judgment and all the rest of it, then surely the space between you and the thing observed disappears: then you are not there, looking over the wall. You are that…And when you are that, there comes a difficulty. Before, you observed it as something separate from yourself, whereas you now observe it without that separation. But any movement you make with regard to that must still be a movement from the outside. But if you look at it without any movement – that is, look at it in complete silence – then that which is observed out of silence is not the same as it was when you looked at it over the wall. p.121

If you can look at "what is" absolutely without any distortion, you will see that the whole thing undergoes a tremendous change. – p.122

Observe but don’t escape as escape breeds fear. But if you are aware that it is an escape, then everything changes. P.123

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Passion is necessary to go into the question of what meditation is…Passion comes when there is the total abandonment of the "me" and the "you", the "we" and the "they" and when, with that abandonment, there is a deep sense of austerity.. An austere mind is really a beautiful mind… To perceive what is deeply beautiful, there must not only be a silence of the mind but also great space in the mind.

The meaning of meditation the word, meditation, is to ponder, think over, consider, examine in a deep sense, to feel one’s way into something not completely understood, to feel one’s way into mystery and the secret recesses of one’s own unexplored mind and depths of feeling. P. 123, 124

Because of that meditative mind there comes an understanding of what truth is. P. 125

You cannot ever know what truth is because it is a living thing. P.128

Order means the understanding of what disorder is and freeing the mind from that disorder – the disorder of resistance, of greed, envy, brutality, and fear. P. 129 ((So order may be witnessed in a very dynamic situation, as insight.))

Virtue means order. Virtue is a living thing. P. 129

If there is any resistance, suppression or control, then it ceases to be righteous because in all that is efforts involved. Effort comes about only when there is contradiction in oneself. P. 129 ((Let the mind flow freely…))

Act of seeing frees the mind…. And in that freedom, there is no conflict. P. 130

In a mind which understands what it is to learn (which is the understanding of "what is"), the learning itself brings about its own discipline; and such discipline is extraordinary austere….. Such austerity has great beauty: it is like fine steel. P. 130

In the understanding of ourselves lie the beginnings of meditation. P. 130

It is said that unconscious reveals itself through dreams….If during the day, you have watched without attempting to correct, ..but just watching, then you will see that having uncovered.. your motives, demands and urges, when you come to sleep at night your mind and your brain are quieter… that no dreams are possible. As a result, when it wakes up, the mind finds itself extraordinary alive, active, fresh and innocent. P. 130-131

The mind is always calculating, comparing, pursuing, driven, endlessly chattering to itself or gossiping about somebody else .. Such a mind cannot possibly see what is true or perceive what is false. Such a perception is only possible when the mind is quiet. … look out of silence, otherwise you cannot see. P. 131

Control implies resistance… Concentration is a form of resistance, the narrowing down of thought to a particular point. And when the mind is being trained to concentrate on one thing, it loses its elasticity, its sensitivity, and becomes incapable of grasping the total field of life. So, the problem then is: can the mind possess this quality of paying attention to one thing without losing the total attention? P. 132

When you wash dishes, you can give complete attention to it without this resistance…. The mind that seeks experience as a means of giving significance and meaning to life is, in reality, projecting own background, whereas the mind that is not seeking because it is free, has quite a different quality. P. 133

To see the truth as we go along, to see the falseness of the guru, the authority, the system: to lay the foundation of a behavior which is not the mere outcome of environment and in which there is no effort at all. All that implies a quality of meditation. When one is at that point, having understood this whole business of living in which there is no conflict at all, one can then proceed to inquire into what silence is…what the quality of silence is. P. 134

If one wants to see anything very clearly, without any effort and without any distortion, the mind must be quiet…So silence is necessary in such seeing…That silence comes naturally when all other qualities have come into being… when there is silence, there is not the space of division, but quite a different quality of space. And there must be such space, as only then can come that which is not measurable by thought – that immensity, that which is supreme and which cannot be invited… Truth cannot be invited. The mind has not enough space and is not sufficiently quiet. So meditation is from the beginning to the end, and in meditation lies the skill in action…. If you can do this, you come to it with a full mind which is intelligent, sensitive and without any distortion. P. 134-135

Beauty is there for you to see, if you have the mind and the heart to look – not out there in the cloud, in the tree, in the water, in the thing, but in yourself. P. 136

..One can then become aware of what one does, of what one says, of what one thinks, how one moves, how one sits, how one eats, watching all the time but not correcting. And if you watch in such a manner, without any choice, then out of that deep watching will come a balanced, sane, human being. P. 149

Excerpts from: You are the world, by Krishnamurti, Harper and Row