(Sincerity, genuine desire, and the preconditions for freedom)
I could tell you that freedom will absolutely come to you if you walk The Journey, after having cultivated the sincere and authentic desire to taste it . .
You must understand something very clearly, my student. I have no faith in belief. Nor do I subscribe to any belief. Either I Know, or I Do Not Know. But I do not “believe.”
To Know something intellectually is to never have known it at all.
M: My student, the human being who is not swimming in Sincerity cannot ever be given a Way that is sufficiently practical for him. First he must dive into the depths, and Then learn the practicality of swimming.
M: You must first discover what you seek Freedom For and Freedom From. What is your personal definition of Freedom? What is it that you would like to happen to you? What does it look like? What does it feel like? You must answer many such questions. And you must examine your answers in order to see if they are of the Mind or of the Heart. How Insane are you for the things that you seek? How insane are you for this Freedom?
Impossibility simply has no power in the face of Genuine Desire.
And if he insists upon nothing in particular, he will live in the default and wayward musings of The Mind.
Not through fame and accomplishment. But through Uncompromising Sincerity. Be not a pretender, my dear student. Be Uncompromising. For the man who refuses to compromise holds The Universe in his hands.
(The egoic mind, comparison, and the nature of mastery)
M: Hurt arises, my student. It does not visit.
M: Because for the briefest moment when I first heard the news, I thought that you should not have done what you did. This thought flashed across my mind for not more than a second. But it arose nonetheless. And this suggests that my mind has not yet totally been eradicated.
M: What one man does has no bearing on another. There is no relativism. No comparisons. There exists only IS and IS NOT. Boga:
M: Man spends so much of his time trying to “succeed” that he overlooks the things that will give it to him quite easily.
S: A profound thought just came to me, Master. What you are essentially saying is that success is for the mediocre. M: Few will understand the Great Truth that you have just spoken, my student. You are best to keep such things close to your chest.
M: My dear student, if one has given the whole of himself to becoming a Master, he will do what is necessary to become it. And it will be a joy for him. It will be an intense journey. And peaceful the entire way. Hard work and practice are for those who try to become that which they secretly believe that it is difficult for them to become. S: Thank you, my Master.
M: Many things will seem fantastical to you, student. They will seem a thousand miles away. There are things that a man was meant to experience that most would relegate to the realm of magic and fantasy. But, in fact, magic and fantasy are at the heart of man’s existence.
M: That which a man Owns, he destroys.
When you have no role, you begin to see the flesh and blood human being. Where I once parented my children, I now revere them.
M: In those days, I worked long and hard to develop my skill. But it remained locked away. For I was prey to the greed of winning. And this greed of winning led me into the bowels of fear. And a fearful man cannot fight. He can only flail.
(Freedom from outcomes: confidence, happiness, and doing without meaning)
Confidence, my student, is not a product of comparison. It is a product of indifference.
S: But letting go of the “good” is to deny ourselves happiness, Master. M: Indeed it is. If you fall for the trap of happiness, then you will forever be its slave. S: So I should not seek applause. Nor should I seek to be liked or accepted?
S: If nothing matters, then why should a man do anything at all, Master? M: He doesn’t need to do anything. But if he chooses to do something, let it be for the purpose of Truly Experiencing It, rather than doing it for “meaning” and “purpose.”
M: Certainly. But do not try to convince anyone. S: Why not? M: If you try to convince someone, you are playing the false game. For the only reason you will be trying to convince them is in order to demonstrate the importance of your beliefs. But there is no importance at all.
(The ocean vs. the cupped hands; living for experience not purpose)
M: My dear student, while the legions of men have spent their lives learning how to cup their hands so that they may carry a few ounces of water, the wise man searches for the Ocean. And once he has found it, he need never carry water again.
M: It has taken me many years to learn what Living really is, my student. I have slowly abandoned the idea of living FOR something. I seek rather to Experience.
M: I have learned that thought is a liar. I have learned that feeling is closer to truth. I have learned that human beings chase and chase, until their lives are no more.
(Sincerity as the only path; the causes of failure and desperation)
M: Failure is largely a myth, my student. For anything that is pursued with Sincerity does not fail. And anything that is pursued with hope always fails. My failures were not a failure to achieve. My failures were a failure of cultivating Sincerity before embarking upon The Great Journey.
M: When life becomes unbearable. When you can no longer bear the weight of the mind. When Freedom is the only choice that remains for you. It is then that desperation will arise.
M: Do not allow your mind to drift toward romantic illusions, my student.
M: Because you would forever be lost in an attempt to open them. And your entire life would pass you by.
M: I discovered that my life was suffering. And that no matter what I tried, this suffering would never cease. Rather than trying to improve my condition or to become happier, I decided to go on a Journey to discover the roots of my suffering.
M: Man chases “happiness.” But in actuality, he doesn’t chase happiness at all. He chases freedom from pain. And he believes that happiness is the opposite of pain. And it is this that sinks him. He chases and hopes for “positive events,” something to go
M: Then do not fall prey to “the world,” my student. It is an enormously powerful distraction. And the greatest form of “the world” is your very own Mind.
(The world as distraction; solitude and rare gem humans)
The hard truth is that no one cares about you. No one cares about me. People only care about themselves.
M: As I said, no one really helps anyone, my dear and lovely student. They do what is in their Nature to do. If you wish to think about ways to transform someone even when they are not sitting before you, then do it.
If you do not, then do not. You are not being “unkind” if you don’t. And you are not being “kind” if you do.
M: You shouldn’t do it. But the reason that you do is because you cannot help yourself. As I cannot help myself.
S: Drop all hope? M: Yes, my student. Understand that the chances of you encountering A Rare Gem Human Being amidst the common pebbles are akin to you being struck by lightning four times in the same afternoon. If you Understand this, you will drop all hope. And be Free to be as you are.
M: I have no faith in humanity, my student. Because I understand that humanity is like the sand that shifts with the incoming tide. There is nothing to have faith in. But I do hold close to my heart the Knowledge that somewhere in this world such Gems do exist.
(Training to forge spirit; readiness, disgust with the status quo)
M: Only the fool trains in order to win. The wise man trains in order to forge his Spirit. He trains in order to perfect his skill. For his craft is his life. And its refinement is his Journey. A Journey toward perfecting himself.
M: Yes. Training is of no use until one has the Sincere Intention to achieve such a thing. When a man Genuinely values his Freedom above all else, then he is Ready.
(The weight of the mind; alcohol, sloth, and seeking truth)
M: Depression is not only sadness and lack of energy and suicidal thoughts. It is living under the weight of the mind.
Unless he comes forward and asks for help, leave him be, student. As it is said, never try to awaken a sleepwalker.
M: This may be what they have convinced themselves of. But understand dear student, that alcohol is consumed in order to escape the pain of the mind. Man craves an altered state. Because the one that he continually finds himself within is far too turbulent. Alcohol has been become man’s answer to the pain of the mind.
M: Because it is far easier to be slothful or hard working than it is to be a Seeker. S: A Seeker? M: Yes, a Seeker of Truth. In any and all domains. S: That is an interesting idea, Master.
M: The fact that you are horrified by this question demonstrates that you’ve succumbed to the culture. The world would have a man beat himself into the ground, wear his bones thin, regardless of whether he achieves the result. But the ones who Know do a fraction of the work, and achieve infinitely greater results. For their dignity lies in knowing The Truth, rather than aiming for sweat and toil.
M: A man must somehow accumulate a basic level of disgust for the status quo. If he is not disgusted by it, he will become a part of it. He must understand that that which society values is the low and the mediocre. He must be inquisitive enough to wonder what might exist beyond the level of society’s norms. He must have a love for attaining Clarity. He must become haunted by what he might not know. Then he has a chance of moving toward his potential.
M: The first Truth is this: You are not interested in the Truths, student. You are only interested in hearing them.
(Non-selectivity, relinquishing causes, and the end of duality)
M: Life is designed in a particular way. The Mind is designed in a particular way. You must take it all. Or leave it all. But selectivity is to introduce duality. And duality is the lifeblood of the mind that torments you.
M: Because he has relinquished the causes, he no longer suffers the effects. If you are no longer interested in “good” things, “bad” things cannot disturb you.
M: Once a human being becomes Enlightened, there is no one to receive the pleasure.