





                              <- FOREWORD ->



          I have not been able to inspire much interest among
      publishers with this book.  I am no salesman.  However, I have
      written this book for interested people to read, and not for
      personal profit, so I offer it to you here at no cost other than
      the toll it will extract from your false heart.

          If you are interested in finding out more about the ideas
      presented in this book I would be glad to hear from you.  I
      would also be glad to hear from any publishers who would like to
      make this book more convenient to read by printing and binding
      it for me.




                             Kevin Solway
                             P.O Box 207
                             St. Lucia
                             Queensland  4067
                             Australia














                             <- INTRODUCTION ->




          In these few marks on paper, I offer you everything that I
      have, and everything that I am.  Thus I exist in this work both
      physically and spiritually.  If you read me as you read the
      works of others, I will appear empty.  Project your own
      understanding onto me, to make me meaningful, and you will
      destroy me.  Dismemberment does not appeal to me, so I will warn
      and warn again in an attempt to confound.  And even if my
      warnings touch only a single one of you, the effort will have
      been worth the trouble.

          These writings will not be welcomed by the run of humanity,
      nor are they intended for such animals - the herd, obsessed with
      happiness and the preserving of the life.  My wisdom is not for
      the public life and the organizations within it, neither for
      mass movements nor break-away sects.  Groups appeal to the herd
      mentality, but the wisdom I speak of in these writings cannot
      exist in such an environment and in such minds.  Rather, I
      preserve this work for the mere handful of worthies, the true
      individuals, few though they be and far between.  You will know
      yourself to be one of these precious ones when the externals of
      authority and tradition fill you with disgust, and when you at
      last delve into your own intelligence in search of your own
      wisdom.

          Any search for a wise teacher is mistaken, for the truly
      wise are as rare as the stars at midday.  You could comb the
      world without discovering a single one.  Much less would you
      find an organization full of them!  Hence, if these writings
      fall into the hands of "groups", be they adherents of mysticism,
      devotees of meditation, or scientists, you can be sure my heart
      is not with them.

          In time, many will hold up these words for their own devious
      purposes.  Not least among them will be the philosophers - those
      foul creatures.  They will strip this work bare as soon as they
      get their greedy hands on it.  My truth is infinitely remote
      from professional thinkers.  Their delight is to slam me into a
      category, aligning me with this or that religion or school of
      thought, much as they might throw a criminal into jail.  They
      say my thought coincides with so and so, while it differs with
      such and such.  They conveniently miss the whole point, and lose
      everything.  How do such ignorant fools hope to judge men of the
      Infinite?  My ideas will always appear contradictory and
      paradoxical to them.  In their hurry to get on with their job
      they judge brothers and sisters to be of different species!

          We barely deserve spiritual writings.  Wise words need a
      special reader.  Such a reader must have an irrepressible
      intellect, a courageous heart, and the stride of a giant.  Yet
      who among us is not too feeble to bear scrutiny?  Who among us
      has left the animal behind and become human?  There will always
      be those who find happiness elusive within the mainstream,
      rejecting it in favour of the uncommon.  Such people think that
      the fewer who share a belief, and the more <unlikely> that
      belief is, then the more true the belief must be!  The ideas I
      present in these writings may well attract such defeated and
      desperate minds which seek an unusual stone.  More than likely
      these people will form an organization to "preserve the truth".
      And if it also provides moral support and gives people something
      "constructive" to do with their time, then well and good, <but I
      will have nothing to do with them>.  Such shells of men will
      have been attracted for the wrong reasons, and will therefore
      only flesh-out their own despicable ideas.  I do not and will
      not breath the same air as they!

          But if you have thrown your happiness to the wind, with the
      joy of becoming free of the greatest of burdens.  And if you
      have chosen to trust your fate to reason alone, then I am the
      air for <your> lungs.

          You should regard these writings not so much as dogmatic
      scriptural injunctions, but as a childrens' class in the use of
      the brain.  It is all about making the brain a teacher, in order
      to distinguish between the true and the false, the wise and the
      foolish.

          These words are to awaken you to the highest wisdom.  But
      what is wisdom?  If there is wisdom, then where are the wise
      men? . . .  It is ever true that the wise are few, because
      nothing is hated quite so much as truth, and few can accept such
      hatred - too many of us need love.

          Despite the rarity of the sage, I would like to paint a
      rough picture of him, just to give you an idea of how inhuman he
      really is, or perhaps to alter your conception of what it means
      to be human.  He is a solitary being, though he is also at home
      in a crowd.  Altogether he has a complete lack of human values.
      He loves nothing, therefore he hates nothing.  Happiness is
      repugnant to him, so he never suffers.  He depends on nothing,
      and questions all human motivation.

          But don't take my word for it.  Only a sage can recognize a
      sage, just as a specialist in a field of work knows his subject.
      So the first step in the search for wisdom is to cultivate your
      own.  Nor will you find it anywhere outside your own mind.  If
      you try to find wise men, you will create your own, and your
      mind will rot with their false wisdom.  For where would you find
      a man of true wisdom?  Even if you did meet one, how would you
      recognize him?  Having disregarded your own mind in favour of
      your search, you will be penniless.  No doubt you would judge
      the genuine sage to be destructive of human morals, cynical,
      negative, and quite mad.  Moreover, how would you possibly be
      able to benefit from his teachings?

          Thus you must discover the guru within your own mind.  In
      the end you will find there is no other way.  You stand alone
      with your own brain tucked securely away inside your skull.
      There is just you and your thought.

          These notes are designed to be a stimulant, or a catalyst,
      or perhaps a guide - a guide for a trek across a vast and
      unfamiliar desert on the expectation of finding an oasis.  <You>
      must do all the walking.  And no less must you also consider the
      reliability of the guide!  You may do well to listen to his
      advice, but in the end the decision is yours alone.  Ultimately
      you must rely on your own desert skills, accumulated over many
      years, to test his judgement.  Use his aid to awaken and amplify
      your own skills.  Learn from him where his knowledge is greater
      than your own - and take a different direction where perhaps his
      judgement is faulty.

          Long desert years can teach many things, but bad habits and
      biases become ingrained.  A guide's advice may seem sound
      enough, but is he mistaken?  The guide may be correct in nine of
      his directions, but what about that tenth one?  This last is the
      most crucial, determining whether you make it to water or die of
      thirst.  In spiritual matters, a single wayward direction
      signifies bankruptcy, for once true wisdom is awakened there is
      never any mistake as to its direction.

          Let no one ever say that what I present in these writings is
      a new religion, or that it reveals profound truths that have
      been hidden from all who have gone before.  The truths I speak
      of are not new.  Many have been aware of them before me, and
      experienced them more deeply.  All the essential truths I point
      to can be found in the teachings of Buddhism, Hinduism and
      Christianity.  And in some respects the teachings of these
      religions far outweigh the power and effectiveness of what I
      offer here.

          The appalling thing is of course, that these religions have
      become corrupted and their meaning lost.  Their teachings have
      been misinterpreted and have spread through society in a highly
      damaging form.  The physical words of the teachings may have
      remained relatively unchanged through time, but the
      <interpretation> and thus the <truth> of them has changed
      radically.  Truth is certainly present within some religions,
      but is absent from them as they exist in all their diverse forms
      today.  The truth can indeed be found within many religious
      scriptures, but only when you <understand> them correctly.

          I have nothing to add to the teachings of the Buddha, they
      are complete -  when rightly understood, and when the chaff is
      separated from the seed.  My aim is to help in that separation
      process, to help weed out the mass of unwanted cultural rubbish
      that has gathered over centuries.  I say again, I do not expound
      a new truth, or even improve on an old one.  I seek to clarify
      the very same Truth that has been known for many ages; the very
      same Truth that has been forgotten for many ages.

          I am not one for originality.  If I invent new names for
      God, it may well help you to overcome any preconceptions you
      have about the old ones, but I will not do this, as new names
      only create more confusion.  There are already enough words, so
      I will use the words we already have, and try to awaken your
      minds to their real and intended meaning.

          I seek to present the characteristics of Truth in such a way
      as to distinguish it from all those mystical truths and
      philosophies that are common barter these days, and which
      present themselves as the ultimate.  I will set reality into
      sharp relief against the backdrop of worldliness, thus allowing
      it to be seen in all its glory - and terrifying power.

          I have tried to present these thoughts in as efficient a way
      as possible.  I do not make an effort at writing beautifully.
      Writing and reading must not become mere entertainment - they
      can be powerful attachments as damaging as any.  Effectiveness
      is my sole consideration, so forgive me if I have strayed from
      the traditions of style and content.  I have not written to
      speak to you, but to trigger your own mind into speaking with
      itself.  I aim to challenge your most deeply cherished of
      thoughts.  I want to invoke you to think with your whole being,
      rather than allow you to hold ideas at the safe distance of your
      intellect.  It is all about the discovery of courage.

          As you read, know that you read my blood - no light matter!







                                <- AGEING ->




      <<Ageing>>

          When you're seventeen you know everything.  When you're
      twenty-seven, if you still know everything you're still
      seventeen.

          Unfortunately, most of us don't begin to think until the
      ripe age of thirty - when things are a little more quiet.  The
      problem is, at this age it is too late to begin doubting one's
      basic assumptions in life.  Pride is a factor - it is too
      distressing to admit failure and have to start all over again.

          As we age we nearly always undergo a hardening of the
      attitudes, or a hardening of the heart - not unlike hardening of
      the arteries.  All our efforts become directed towards
      extinguishing the idea that something new may be possible.  Up
      until now we have had some ideals, some faith in reason, but age
      beats all the hope out of us.  Now we need security, and
      security requires certainty.  If our categories are not concrete
      and beyond doubt we will surely be crucified by them.
      Therefore, once we reach thirty we know everything - even if it
      is the cowardly certainty that we can never know absolute truth!
      From this time on we are the slaves of abstraction and unable to
      ask the noble questions of youth.

          For young children it is primarily experience that
      determines character.  For the adult it is character that
      determines experience.  That is, the ego is initially built on
      experience, and later builds experience.  Thus the elderly fear
      change because they have something to lose; while the young are
      still building, and have everything to gain.  Children are
      therefore curious and open; they are not afraid to ask questions
      precisely because they do not fear ignorance.

          But children become adults, and soon the feelers of abstract
      thought grow and reach out, bringing a new knowledge, a great
      knowledge, and great fears also.  Soon, everything becomes
      fearful, and they too will be heard barking, even when the wind
      rustles through the grasses.

          What is it to be a child?  A child is one who sees adults as
      mad.  Thus, when you find the people of this world acceptable,
      you have grown up.  It is better to have more of the adolescent
      in you than the "mature".  Strictly speaking, maturity indicates
      the end of growth, both physically and mentally.  If you're
      green you're growing; if you're ripe, your rotting.



      <<Zeal>>

          As a young child I used to beat-up my parents till they told
      me the truth; such was my passion for the absolute.  By the
      grace of God that zeal is still with me!  These days I beat-up
      God till he gives me what I want.



      <<Maturity>>

          "Maturity" is the balanced, stable and content ego-mind of
      later life.  It precipitates once the many worldly skills have
      been learnt and integrated so as to operate automatically.  The
      mature can be said to "have their act together" - an apt
      expression, as it is truly only an act which they have
      perfected.  They are actors, who after long years of practice
      have perfected a certain role.  And they are ever comfortable
      with that role, provided the stage is set for them.

          The more composed, or balanced a person is, the more secure
      is his ego, and the less likely he is to partake of any real
      thought.  He will not risk everything he has built up during his
      life, not now.  He believes suffering is behind him.  "Suffering
      and anxiety are for youth" he thinks in his deepest thoughts.
      "We need hardship to mature" he reflects.  Oh Great Sage!

          The mature man is one who has lost the strength and desire
      for perfection, and now proclaims such striving to be folly.
      Here begins compassion . . .



      <<Children>>

          The textbooks say that children display "egocentrism" - as
      if this were different from the plain old <egotism> of adults!
      The fact is, we cowards refrain from saying children are
      egotistical because it doesn't seem right to condone normal
      behaviour.

          "Egocentrism" says that it is acceptable to be egotistical
      about helping others, as opposed to serving only oneself.  It is
      designed to do away with the more nasty and inconsiderate word
      "egotistic".



      <<The Youngest Child>>

          How so very important it is, whether one is the first child
      born, or the last.  So much rests upon this.  The oldest child
      is more exposed, and becomes independent and hard, whereas the
      youngest is more sheltered, and correspondingly softer.

          I have heard it said that the youngest child matures sooner
      than his elder brothers and sisters.  It is more accurate to say
      that he <grows-up> sooner - at the expense of maturity.  This is
      because the company of elder siblings is stimulating, and the
      younger child can rapidly learn the many tricks and deceptions
      of life.  However, he never faces the hard knocks of those who
      go before him, and doesn't become seasoned.

          The oldest child is like a wise old weather-beaten man who
      shows his years; while the youngest is a bright socialite of the
      city.



      <<Old age>>

          If you begin by sacrificing yourself to those you love, you
      will end by hating those very people.  This follows as surely as
      night follows day.  A house built on sand, no matter how
      devotedly, is doomed to be washed away with the rain.  All
      things are temporary: belief in them is sure to end in
      disappointment.

          The old-aged are often bitter about life.  They feel cheated
      that all they had been given has now been taken away.  Gone is
      the strength and beauty of youth, gone are the children, friends
      are dead, dreams of the future are no longer possible, and past
      achievements seem empty.  There is nothing to savour from the
      past, nor anything in the future or the present.  Time will
      strip all things bare - do not doubt it for a moment!

          We must learn that this life is not ours to lose.  Not even
      temporary rights are ours.



      <<Too late for spiritual life?>>

      Age:   I'm fifty-four years old I'll have you know!  Its too
             late for me to be embarking on a brand new way of life.

      Youth: Perhaps you are right.  There's no denying you have
             become set in your ways.  But it's not too late to
             consider your "future lives".  So, you may have made the
             mistake of ceasing to grow, but you can still use the
             time you have left to tell others of your mistake, and
             help prevent them from making the same blunder.



      <<When does old begin?>>

          We are truly old only when death is near - and at whatever
      age this may be.  The idea that it is possible to die young is
      ludicrous.  We die at the end of our lifespan and not before.
      Life always runs its full term: how can it be otherwise?


      <<Too old>>

          The pure mind must have its foundation in the early years of
      life.  The elderly man whose mind turns toward the philosophic
      and religious spheres can at best only become the shadow of the
      spiritual man.  He may have all the form, but lacks the
      substance.



      <<Age>>

          When you're eighteen, the world's your oyster.  If you don't
      find a pearl in it, you just open-up another one.

          Yet the time will come when you run out of oysters to open,
      and the pearls you have turn red-hot.







                              <- ATTACHMENT ->




      <<Drugs>>

          Heroin, cocaine, and alcohol can indeed open up the mind to
      altered states of consciousness, as can music, poetry, and
      meditation.  However, do not think these experiences give you
      new insights into reality, or that they are even remotely
      spiritual.  Drugs like these can serve only to help the ego
      forget its problems, and only for a short time.  They
      dangerously suppress the symptoms, but do not cure the disease.
      You may well experience a rare heavenly bliss and warm
      fulfillment, though I bid you think again!  Soft drugs
      invariably lead to hard-drugs.  Small superstitions give birth
      to gross miscarriages of reason.

          Far from bringing us closer to reality, such practices
      distance us from it by making us content with a dream.  At least
      at other times reality is close enough to foil our plans.

          This is not to say altered states of consciousness are
      without their use.  With intelligence, they can help to make us
      aware of the many faces of reality, and thus that reality exists
      purely within the mind.  Unfortunately, the herd look no further
      than their present comfort, and cannot learn from experience.
      Implications and consequences are alien concepts to such
      animals, who are fully occupied just keeping from drowning in
      the stormy seas of their lives.  They have no time for
      investigating the nature of life and death: they have no time
      <to live.>



      <<Entertainment>>

        Entertainment: a way of avoiding boredom.

        Boredom: when you don't want to think about life and can't
                 find entertainment.

        Loneliness: what people who are attached to the company of
                    others call boredom.

        Depression: when you are forced to think about life, and don't
                    like what you see.



      <<The Strength of Attachment>>

          So, you wish to know the strength of your attachment for a
      particular thing?  Look no further than your need for it,
      because need <is> attachment.

          If you wish to know the character a person, then look where
      their love alights: no one can hide.



      <<Attachment to the future>>

          The girl says: "Some day my prince will come, and take me
      away from all this."

          We all live with the hope that our daily toil is leading
      towards perfection.  We believe the reward for all our suffering
      is just around the corner, and that soon, everything will be
      different.  Indeed, it is commonly said that hope is the only
      thing that makes life worth living.

          That which is commonly said is always wrong.  Hope does
      <not> make life worth living, because it is in vane.  Perfection
      never comes to the foolish, no matter how long and deep their
      faith.  It is not surprising the elderly feel bitter and
      cheated.

          If a cart is not moving, do you hit the cart, or the horse
      that pulls it?  If we do not attain perfection are we to blame,
      or the method we use to attain it?  The method is the horse, and
      we are the cart.  Falsely placed hopes cannot carry us to our
      destination.



      <<Work>>

          A job is not merely a tranquillizing drug forced upon the
      ego, but is a dangerously addictive and destructive poison.

          Work destroys the mind more effectively than anything else,
      which is precisely why it is enforced.  After all, we are all
      equal, and therefore <nobody> must be permitted to have a mind.
      Work saps you of your thought by a process of taking your mind
      prisoner, monopolizing it, absorbing it, preventing you from
      thinking about anything other than work.  It becomes your life,
      and you become it.  What is left?

          You may not enjoy your work at first, but you soon change to
      accomodate it.  In time, work comes to possess you so thoroughly
      that every moment away from work is spent recovering . . . <in
      preparation for work>.  We come to accept work as a necessary
      sacrificial ritual, in which we sacrifice ourselves.

          "Everybody needs love" and "everybody works" become uttered
      in the same breath - two dogmas that represent the cornerstones
      of our entire existence.  With their help we successfully banish
      freedom of thought from society.  Yet is this not what we really
      want?



      <<Strength>>

          You must be strong to live freely in this world, where all
      people are "drug addicts" who try to force their drugs upon you
      with every possible threat and manipulation - in the name of
      "morality".

          To preserve yourself, you must know fully: this is not mine;
      this am I not; this is no soul of mine.



      <<Running Away>>

          We prefer to run away from problems than face them squarely.
      We are not clever enough to dissolve problems when they are
      small, so we let them grow into monsters, and then try to live
      with them.

          Travel is one such monster, and it claims far too many of
      us.  We require continuous change in order forget ourselves, our
      past, and all the suffering it supports.  But how can you run
      from yourself?  No matter how far you run, your thoughts will
      accompany you.



      <<Your good friends>>

          An <individual> cannot have friends - <by definition>.  So
      let your good friends be your thoughts of the Infinite, and have
      no friend besides; for what kind of friend could that be?
      Confide in God alone.  Live with eternity.

          The last thing you should ever do is offer your hand to a
      person in need.  Look into their eyes; how deep is their
      delusion!  How could you give further poison to one already
      dying from it?



      <<Spiritual friends>>

          A spiritual friendship is no ordinary friendship.  Your best
      spiritual friend must also be your best enemy, for they will
      challenge you, and pinch and poke you into action.  Spiritual
      friends do not wish to flatter you, and make you <stronger>, but
      to undermine your false prides and make you <weaker>; because
      only the weak are strong enough, and sensitive enough for God.
      Only the weak can have doubts, a chink in the armour through
      which God can enter.  Only the weak can transcend goodness, for
      the strong are content to do their good, but good always turns
      bad within samsara.



      <<Television>>

          Television represents one thousand more ways to avoid
      thought.  Could there be a more lazy way to live?  At least
      before television we would have to occupy our own minds, which
      would require some power of will.  But now, with the pressing of
      a button, you can have your mind flooded with the thoughts of
      another.

          Some of you cry "But what about the educational programs."
      All I can say is that if those programs are educational then
      education is dead.  Your "education" is a merely self-righteous
      form of entertainment.  The horrifying thing is, that you have
      been taught to regard education in this way by television!

          Research has found that even though we watch television for
      relaxation, we are less relaxed after watching television than
      beforehand.  I am sure this is because we feel degraded by the
      way we are treated by this imposing machine.  Television is
      aimed at the lowest common denominator in society - so we the
      viewers are treated as fools.  Nor do we have any direct control
      over the content or timing of what flashes on the screen before
      us.  Our self-esteem suffers even more when we realize that we
      are so wretchedly weak that we still love the drug of television
      despite its utterly disrespectful treatment of us.

          Television watching is like smoking, in that the
      psychological harm it does to a person in terms of guilt,
      degradation, and demoralization, probably outweighs any other
      harm.

          Simply looking at the night sky and the infinity of space
      can be enough to awaken us to our true nature.  Perhaps this is
      why we invented television - to keep us indoors, to glue our
      eyes to, and prevent them from straying.

          And perhaps this is also why so many of us live in cities,
      where atmospheric pollution and bright lights render the stars
      invisible.  We huddle together in these, which we call the great
      cultural centres, as though digging ourselves a hole to hide in
      - while all around us the magnificence and glory of Nature go
      unnoticed.



      <<Groups>>

          "Which side are you on?" . . . evocative words indeed.  They
      could be the entire lyrics for a protest song.  And what are
      these words saying?  Which group are you with!  Which club do
      you belong to!  Are you a somebody!  The implication being that
      if you do not join a group then you are an indecisive person of
      no character.

          These days it is all the rage to have an opinion; whether
      that opinion is justified is irrelevant . . . <as long as you
      have an opinion!>



      <<Lust>>

      Note: in this, and rest of the dialogues in this book, the
      person "Q" represents the seeker of truth, or at least the
      opponent of it, while person "A" represents truth.

      Q:   What is the difference between lust and desire, and what is
         wrong with them?

      A:   Lust is like the root of a tree and desire is the branches.
         Lust is the root desire, the basic hunger for permanence and
         power.  Desire is a modification of lust; it is controlled
         lust.  Lust is also foolishness, for nothing is lacking in
         reality.  In Nature everything is perfect from the very
         beginning.

           However, if you are not enlightened, then lust is a part of
         your being and you cannot realistically hope to be instantly
         free of it.  In this case it is good to lust for Truth and
         for God.  Only a ravenous hunger for God can quash lust and
         desire.  If a child cries loudly enough for its mother, she
         will soon come running.  The fire grows until the fire
         brigade are called into action; then it is rapidly quenched.
         If you love the Truth enough, it will not be able to evade
         you.

           Likewise, if you wish to possess anything at all, whether
         it be man, woman, or money, then make sure you always occupy
         your mind with it, and desire it with all your heart.  You
         will gradually come to identify yourself so closely with the
         object, that you will feel inseparable from it.  The foolish
         find much pleasure in such loss of identity.  They say they
         "lose themselves" in the things they love.  The wise weep
         over their plight.



      <<Filling the mind>>

      Q:   How do you fill your days?

      A:   How can they be emptied?  A day is a full day no matter
         what you do with it.  When you abandon concepts of "full" and
         "empty" then your days will be truly full.  Think of God, and
         your days will become full of God.

           Whatever you think, you become.  Have you noticed how male
         actors who always play the role of a woman become more
         effeminate?  If you always think of women, you are bound to
         become like them.  If you continually think of yourself as a
         successful businessman, then you will gradually acquire the
         qualities of a successful businessman.  In the same way, if
         you continually fill your mind with the infinite, then your
         mind will gradually become infinite.

           Chuang-tzu once said: "The effect of life in society is to
         complicate and confuse our existence, making us forget who we
         really are by causing us to become obsessed with what we are
         not." Thus we should concentrate on what we really are,
         rather than on what we are not.



      <<Mind your own business>>

      Q:   I <choose> the ups and downs of egotistic life, what right
         have you to try and change me?

      A:   Choose all you like, you will not stop the man of Truth
         from managing his own affairs.  He regards you as his own
         self and will try to stop you from destroying yourself along
         with all humankind.

      Q:   But you cannot change the way I think!

      A:   This conversation is changing the way you think whether you
         like it or not.  Do you really think you are independent from
         me?  You breathe in the air I breathe out!  All things in
         this Universe are interconnected, and our minds too are
         physically connected.  How can I <not> change the way you
         think?

      Q:   I can see that your mind has an effect on mine, as does
         mine on yours, but you have yet to change my mind in the way
         you want to.  Many of your ideas bother me deeply.  You are
         against all attachments, yet clearly not all attachments are
         bad: it is a surely a noble thing to cultivate <good>
         attachments.

      A:   There is no such thing as a "good attachment".  An
         attachment may not cause immediate harm, in your eyes, but
         all attachments hold within them the seeds of destruction
         that even you may learn to recognize.  Parents may bring a
         child up to love sport, music, and reading - yet the child
         becomes a mass murderer - why?  Of course it is because of
         upbringing.  All things have causes, and there are no causes
         other than upbringing, whether they be genetic or
         environmental.

           The child was reared to be an egotist, that is, without
         wisdom, so the child became an egotist.  Once you have an ego
         you are no longer in control of your own life.  Your precious
         life becomes a struggle for survival, to avoid pain.  And you
         don't have the luxury of being able to choose just how to
         avoid that pain, but will make full use of whatever
         opportunity presents itself.  Nor is there time to consider
         the consequences of your actions.  From the perspective of
         every ego, living is a case of "kill or be killed".

      Q:   You speak many strange words, are you Enlightened?

      A:   Can you discover whether a person is enlightened simply by
         asking them?  Can you believe what people say?  If you take
         people at their word, you are resting your life on shaky
         foundations indeed!  How do you know whether another is
         telling you what they really think?  Or what if they are
         genuinely mistaken in what they say?  Even if they do tell
         you the truth - how do you know you are correctly
         interpreting their words?

           You must become enlightened <yourself>.  Only then are you
         able to consider the meaning of enlightenment, and the words
         of those who have achieved it.

      Q:   You say we should not be so materialistic.  But if everyone
         gave up their material attachments the whole economic
         structure of our society would collapse!

      A:   Truth cannot be altered to accomodate the world.  The
         moment Truth is compromised it ceases to exist.  Therefore
         the world must bow to Truth.



      <<City and Country>>

          Country living is dangerous; it is far too easy to stagnate.
      If the reality of change is not forced upon us there is little
      to threaten our cherished beliefs.  The ego will be sheltered,
      never be knocked off balance and forced into change.  Where
      there is no change, there is no hope.  While the countryside can
      be a good place to assimilate and digest one's life experiences,
      the wretchedness of our lives is not so evident in the country
      as it is in the city.

          The city has the whole of life within it.  A thousand
      different and contrasting world views all rubbing shoulders with
      one another, prodding the ego from every direction.  This
      variety helps to prevent the blindness of familiarity, and
      provides much needed intellectual stimulation.  Here we can see
      egotism in all its forms, and importantly, the causes and
      consequences of this egotism can be examined side by side.  In
      the city, it is much more difficult to rest content.

          An intensely strong motivation, deep disgust, and a yearning
      desire is required to transcend this world, which can be
      difficult to generate in the sleepy dales of the countryside.
      This is why the city is so useful: it reminds one of the Devil,
      and therefore of God also.  And even though distractions in the
      city are many, it may be easier to find God here than in the
      mountains.  For here at least there is more chance we will
      exhaust all avenues of enjoyment and pain, and finally turn to
      reason, which, after all, we wretches will only do as a last
      resort.

          So, be warned, while the countryside proffers one peace and
      quiet and freedom from disgust, tranquillity can be fatal!



      <<Worn Paths>>

          Imagine a wilderness, with paths scattered throughout.  A
      traveller naturally falls into these paths, as they offer an
      easier passage through the punishing country.  His passage wears
      the paths even more, making them even better defined.  Gradually
      these paths become major thoroughfares.

          This is a model for the human mind, with the paths being our
      habitual deluded patterns of thinking.  As a forestry student
      our dictum was "Off the road and into the bush!"  We didn't want
      to be "led down the garden path".  Spiritual growth too, demands
      that we abandon false brain-pathways, and start out anew,
      striving headlong into the wild and untamed country.  After many
      years of effort, a new way will take shape - the highway to
      enlightenment.

          So, after much work, you may have at last found the highway
      to God - then congratulations - but this is only the beginning!
      Sticking to the main road is easy, but we love to be
      sidetracked.  The old, familiar routes take time to grow-over,
      and until they do, the tendency is to fall into them again.  And
      each time you re-tread an old way, it is refreshed, and becomes
      all the more attractive to travellers like yourself.



      <<Attached or unattached>>

          The supported man, and the standing man look the same, but
      move quite differently.  A puppet does not have the freedom of a
      human being.  A fool does not have the freedom of a sage.



      <<Money in the bank>>

          Money is the root of all evil, and comes in many forms:
      there is experience in life, formal qualifications, and
      experience with suffering; all are easily experienced as money
      in the bank, which is a form of attachment to the future.



      <<Comic>>

          The dying man says "I am not afraid of dying, it is leaving
      my wife that terrifies me."  Hah!  Has he really lived all these
      years only to think he will be going somewhere at death!  And
      when he is dead, the widow, drowning in grief, says "I know my
      husband is dead, I just don't know where he is, that's what
      upsets me so."



      <<Observations on marriage>>

        - You should really make the most of marriage, because your
      only going to get married two or three times in a lifetime.

        - Marriage is a great institution - if you don't mind living
      in an institution.

        - Marriage is an attempt to complete childhood.  Thus in
      marriage we never fully become adults, for childhood must be
      grown out of, not completed.

        - If you are single and attached to the opposite sex, then
      three quarters of your mind is taken-up with them.  This leaves
      only one quarter available to reason.  With so little reason
      available to you, marriage is sure to follow.  Now the <whole>
      of your mind is taken up with <family> - eliminating reason
      completely!

        - An unhappy husband once said to a psychologist "Marriage
      doesn't work, the only thing that works is divorce."  "Divorce
      is only a temporary happiness" replied the psychologist.

        - Does a wife truly wish for her husband to become a Buddha?
      Does a husband truly wish for his wife to become a Buddha?
      Thus, if you wish to become a Buddha, do not marry.

        - In contrast to a loose-jointed framework egotism, the union
      of marriage is a stone-wall egotism.  This is precisely why we
      are told marriage is the truly ennobling life.



      <<Polygamy>>

          One thing to be said for polygamy is that it gives a man
      more freedom - yes, freedom.  A lone wife will feel she is
      entitled to the entirity of her husband's attention.  His very
      closeness gives her a purchase on him.  It is as though he
      presents her with a large surface area to which she can apply
      her glue - which bonds deathly tight.  However, one wife among
      many will feel no such exclusivity.  She will feel no ownership
      and will make few, if any demands on her husband.



      <<Love>>

          It can move one's heart to see a young couple romantically
      enthralled with each other.  However, the heart becomes deeply
      sad just a few months later - to see their paralyzing dependence
      on one another.

          It is not sex that keeps one from God, but <love>, its
      attendant emotions, and the lifestyle that supports it.



      <<So much effort>>

          I wish I never heard of your "time management" and your
      "quality time".  I wish instead you would go <beyond> time.
      Then you will have all the time in the world!  In such a
      timeless state it is impossible to do anything that is not
      perfect, and waste is never a concern.

          And then I hear you talk of the importance of concentration.
      If only you would concentrate on not concentrating!  With all
      your efforts you only concoct for yourself a deadly concentrate.
      Let it go to the winds!  Let it evaporate harmlessly away on the
      strong and fresh ocean breezes.  Be rid of your burden!



      <<Thoughts about war>>

       -  We do not fear war, because it provides less suffering than
      does peace.  Why is this?  Simply because peace inevitably
      becomes tiresome and boring, and makes us feel insufficient and
      vulnerable.  War, on the other hand, arouses feelings of
      confidence and power - it reinvigorates.

       -  It is said that teenagers can readily adapt to war because
      they are too young to comprehend their own death.  More
      accurately, they cannot comprehend their own life.  They have
      not yet developed hopes and goals for the future, and therefore
      have nothing to lose.

       -  Some say war memorials are a glorification of war.  Well,
      they are certainly a means for emotional gratification,
      precisely the value of war itself!



      <<The traveller>>

          Travel broadens the mind, but often dilutes it in the
      process.  There is more of a stretching than a broadening, with
      depth being sacrificed for more extensive shallows.

          The classic traveller is like a salesman in that he has to
      compromise and bend to suit others, being dependent on their
      good will.  The wise, however, do not compromise, and thus are
      not strangers to cold and hunger.

          Therefore, if you haven't the strength to travel as do the
      wise, then settle yourself until you are.  If you travel too
      soon your mind will become overrun with plans and concerns for
      food, shelter, and how to please others.  Such a mind has no
      room for real thought.  So, be careful how you run, for you may
      leave something valuable behind!



      <<Country/City>>

      - In the outback: the outback is constant, while we change.

      - In the city: the city changes, while we are constant.



      <<Romantic love>>

          With our romantic love we are like a dog chasing a car.
      There is much thrill in the chase, but what to do with the car
      when you catch it?  We are more animal than we give ourselves
      credit for.



      <<Masturbation and drugs>>

          <All> worldly joys are wholly selfish, whether they arise
      from compassion, love, or greed: thus all worldly happiness is
      masturbatory in nature.

          Similarly, <all> attachments are drugs: thus we are all drug
      addicts.



      <<Talk>>

          The reason people talk so much, is because if they didn't,
      their brains might start to work.



      <<The power of food>>

          A man will put down his poetry to listen to music.  Even
      this he forgets upon the sight of a beautiful woman.  Yet even a
      woman cannot hold him when he smells food!



      <<The approval of others>>

          We poor fools seem to find our identity in how others
      perceive us.  We need their approval before we can do anything!
      Men especially need the approval of women.  Perhaps this is a
      legacy from childhood, and the wish to please the mother.

           The wise are altogether different.  They know themselves as
      individuals; that is, separate from the world, where praise or
      hatred cannot touch them.  They are mere robots, and God is the
      programmer; and robots do not seek approval as they go about
      their business.  The sun needs approval from no-one, and it
      shines.  The wind needs approval from no-one, and it blows.

          Not that it would ever occur to the wise man to seek
      approval, for who could judge him anyway?  And what of it if
      they could?  Who, when faced with the terrifying rawness of true
      thought, would approve?  If the wise man ever meets with the
      approval of a woman, it is because she has not confronted his
      thought.

          The sagely mind is free and perfect.  It has no capacity,
      and therefore no room for praise or blame.  This is no human
      mind.



      <<I read it!>>

          To the people of today, if something is written in a book
      then it means that a significant number of people share the same
      view.  This alone qualifies it in their mind as a valid, viable
      consensual reality.  Reality is thus created by numbers, and
      numbers become God.

          If you question their assumptions they will argue "do you
      seriously think so many good and intelligent people can be
      wrong?".

          This is exactly the case in religion, where, rather than
      seeking truth through reason, people place their faith in what
      is popular and "viable".  Or rather, they consider it
      <reasonable> to place their faith in numbers.



      <<Cannot escape God>>

          You might cover your ears with your hands and blindfold your
      eyes, but you can't escape the sun sailing in the sky, the
      leaves of trees swaying in the breeze, the waves crashing
      against the shore, and the vast depths of space.



      <<The rich>>

          A sticker seen on the rear bumper of a porsche said "He who
      dies with the most toys wins."

          The poor get poorer.  The rich get porsche.



      <<The child>>

          Can you become a little child?  Unblinking and unaffected by
      externals, wandering aimlessly, resting where put, following the
      current of things, ignorant of the distinctions of sex.  After
      all, what does a dead man know of desire?: for a child is yet
      dead.

          A child can cry all day without its throat becoming hoarse.
      Can you too speak from the source?  Can you speak as yourself,
      rather than as your voice?  Can you lay your mind open to the
      Universe, fearless of the consequences?



      <<Attachment>>

          One day of joy is too much.  One thousand days is never
      enough.



      <<Renunciation>>

          Truth appears cold - to one attached to warmth.  One cannot
      <throw away> attachments - they must be <outgrown>.

          Sometimes it is better to give-in to an attachment - to get
      it out of the system.  The ego must be convinced beyond doubt of
      the wretchedness of life.  Stubbornly, the ego seems only to be
      able to learn the hard way.

          It is not enough to dislike attachments; there must be
      <disgust>.  Yet nothing conquers quite like <love>!  To actually
      <love> being free of attachment, free of life, wild and
      unrestrained as the wind: that's what I call <vicious>!







                                <- BUDDHISM ->




      <<Miracles>>

          The Buddha said: "The greatest miracle is to know the Truth,
      and to make it known to others."  This utterance was probably
      the greatest miracle of all time.



      <<One thing at a time>>

          It is said the essence of Zen is to do one thing at a time;
      but I say to you, the essence of Zen is to do all things at one
      time.



      <<Zen>>

      Q:   I wish you wouldn't use all those Zen techniques.  Can't
         you just talk to me in plain language?

      A:   What on earth are Zen techniques? - I know nothing of them.
         I use whatever means I see fit to make you see the Truth.
         That is all.

      Q:   But who are you anyway to be making all the authoratative
         statements you do?  I think it is highly presumptuous of you.

      A:   Who are you to be saying "who are you?"



      <<Nice Zen>>

          You must have the ability to drive off the plowman's ox and
      to snatch away the hungry man's food before you will see how Zen
      helps people.



      <<The death of Buddhism >>

          In ancient times the title "Zen Master" was highly regarded
      by the wise.  In ancient times there were still one or two
      genuine teachers worthy of the title.  Today however, Buddhism
      is dead, and calling someone a Zen Master is no different to
      calling them a dog or a pig.

          A thousand years ago, a Dharma Dragon like Hakuin may have
      seduced me into accepting the title of a Zen Master.  Today,
      however, I would sooner shoot myself in the foot.  A thousand
      years ago I may well have dedicated my efforts towards cleaning
      the vile muck out of the temple.  But it has gone too far.  The
      temple has become a heap of dung.



      <<The Ten Innermost Jewels>>

      Four entrustments:

      1.  Entrusting one's mind and thoughts to the attainment of
          enlightenment.

      2.  Entrusting one's life to life as a beggar.
           - Accepting poverty.

      3.  Entrusting one's life to life as a beggar to death.
           - Not holding any hopes and dreams of success.

      4.  Entrusting one's life to a barren cave.
           - Accepting that society regards you as an enemy, and will
             make no place for you.



      Three diamond-like convictions:

      1.  To be stalwart towards hindrances caused by friends and
          relatives.

      2.  To disregard the opinion of worldly people.
           - No matter whether they call you a madman or a saint.

      3.  To firmly guard one's practice.



      Three changes in one's living status:

      1.  Expulsion from the ranks of men.

      2.  Finding oneself among the ranks of dogs.

      3.  Attaining divine ranks.







                            <- CAUSE AND EFFECT ->




      <<Did we begin ?>>

          A scientist said recently that the soul comes into existence
      when the mother accepts the child.  A Tibetan lama has said that
      the life essence passes from the father into the mother, <before>
      conception.  Personally, I believe it all begins with the
      sparkle in someone's eye.

          So when does life begin?  Who is right and who is wrong?

          The whole question of a woman's right to abort a pregnancy,
      and whether it constitutes murder, revolves around the problem
      of when life actually begins: that is, the <definition> of life.
      Does it begin at conception, or at birth, or at some time
      between conception and birth, or even <before> conception?  Is
      it possible that some of us <never> actually meet the criteria
      for "life"?  Then again, are we assuming too much in supposing
      that life can come into existence at all!

          Most of us believe in our self-existence and therefore that
      our life must have begun at some point in time; and this point
      in time is the whole point!  For despite our frantic efforts to
      ascertain the exact moment of our grand coming into existence,
      we are doomed to failure as is the cat who tries to catch his
      own tail.

          To believe one's life began at birth is satisfying enough
      for a child, but as our knowledge grows it fails to satisfy.
      Many a scientist finds the moment of conception a satisfying
      place to make a beginning.  They say that conception represents
      the "complete genetic complement," and a new existence.  But
      upon analysis we find that conception is not an event, but a
      <process> - a process in which nothing whatsoever can ever come
      into existence.  And what is more, nothing becomes "complete" as
      nothing was lacking in the first place.  Conception results in a
      genetic code inside a cell, <a set of instructions>, nothing
      more - which is no more "life" than a blueprint for a house is
      the actual house.

          If anything at all comes into existence at conception it is
      our <labels>, or words we use as tools to provide us with
      handles for grappling with an elusive reality.

          What does this leave us?  A world without beginnings!  The
      extinction of the spark of life!  This seems a heartless
      prospect.  This knowledge of beginnings is not spiritual, and
      may leave your heart ashen; but mark my words: <it is the
      highest of all!>  I beg you consider that Nature is not entirely
      undeserving of respect.

          Yes, respect for Nature is something we know little of.  And
      it saddens me to have to say that we people . . . are believers
      in magic!  The demon of superstition abounds within our hearts
      and minds.  We have presupposed that a "self", some abstract
      phenomena we have never satisfactorily defined, does exist and
      has come into existence.  Then we clever people amuse ourselves
      conjuring up events of "creation" to explain it all, wrongly and
      unnecessarily piling rubbish on top of what already exists in
      all its perfection.

          The belief that life is created at conception, or at any
      point in time for that matter, is just as deluded and as
      wretched as the Christian belief in creation.  It is a belief
      that something can be created out of nothing.  Such thinking is
      positively hateful of reason and is typical of the scoundrels we
      humans are.  We are not slow to disparage others when they throw
      reason to the winds.  And we heap scorn upon those unfortunate
      fundamentalist religionists, when all the time, we, hypocrites
      to the core, harbour the deepest evil - <blind faith in
      self-existence>.

          Life can never come into existence.  There is just change
      here, and no matter how much you might like to have been "born",
      it is simply not a real possibility.  No matter your love of
      life, reality remains.

          Know that any boundary line you draw to designate a
      "beginning" will by necessity be totally arbitrary.  Nonetheless
      such boundaries must be made-up for practical purposes, there
      being no demarcations in reality.  The crucial thing to remember
      while we go about our business is that all boundaries are drawn
      by the imagination, and are therefore illusory.  I bid you never
      forget this truth!

          Can we avoid these illusions?  No, for we have evolved
      within Nature in such a way that our senses and concepts provide
      us with boundaries, with illusions, which we must accept if we
      are to survive.  However, we must not be ruled by these
      marvelous appearances, but put them firmly under our control.
      If we concretely defined life as existing at conception, then to
      halt the growth of the resultant chemical grouping would
      literally be murder!  If we let words control our lives in this
      way we will be perpetually faced with such ludicrous and
      perplexing problems.

          We ourselves define what is to be "life" and "death".  They
      do not exist of their own account, so we must devise them for
      communicating and living.  Such concepts should be used as tools
      to make life easy.  It is madness to let them dictate to us, and
      to let them confound our spirits with unending confusion.  We
      ourselves must choose definitions of life in line with the
      requirements of the survival of our species, and the advancement
      of wisdom.  We could choose "life" to mean any number of things.
      In an underpopulated world life could begin at conception,
      making abortion illegal, while in an overpopulated world life
      might begin at birth.

          The essential thing is that there are no ultimate values
      given to us.  We alone are the creators of values.  Do not shirk
      your responsibility!  Learn to be a creator!  To fail here is to
      personally condemn humankind to death.

          Can religion help us live up to such a resposibility, and to
      live more harmoniously with reality?  Hardly!  The religions of
      today are symptomatic of the anti-thought pervasive through all
      society.  They are the perfect crystallization of all I deplore.
      They express a pitiful fear of personal responsibility, a fear
      of <freedom>, and are kept alive through a psychology of
      self-grasping and the desire for permanence and predictability.
      Religion is the most active of movements to fight against the
      terrifying chaos of Nature.  Its method is to package everything
      into neat little bundles, suitable for displaying on a
      mantlepiece.  Religion is a sorry statement that we humans
      prefer to find happiness in belief rather than through reason.

          So I implore you to use your brains, and have faith in your
      own ability to reason.  Yes, I hear your doubts all too clearly:
      you regard reason a dubious master.  But hear me out!  If you
      use reason without fear or concession, how can it possibly lead
      you astray?  So I say, respect your mind, love reason, <be an
      example>!



      <<Birthday>>

          Ramana Maharishee said: <"You who wish to celebrate the
      birthday, seek first whence was your birth.  Your true birthday
      is when you enter that which transcends birth and death - the
      eternal being.  On your birthday you should mourn your entry
      into life.  To glory in it, and celebrate it, is like decorating
      a corpse.">

          To celebrate the birthday is to celebrate the ego, and is to
      fight against destiny.  Only when life and death have been
      transcended can destiny play its joyful games unrestricted.



      <<Causation>>

          All things find their beginning in their causes.  This is
      not a difficult notion to grasp.  However, causes are infinite
      and therefore impossible to grasp, so the ultimate cause is
      beyond comprehension.

          It is then said to me:

          "What is the use of knowing that all things are caused if we
      can never know what those causes are?  Causation may well be the
      Way of Nature, as you declare, and all things accordingly
      natural; but such knowledge is worthless!  If you are correct in
      saying all things are natural, then nothing is unnatural and the
      word "natural" ceases to have any useful meaning.  It seems you
      would have us do away with all our words."

          Does it not help to know the Truth?  Ask this of yourselves.
      I tell you, it is only the <ego> that cannot make use of Truth.
      Truth alone has the strength to free the mind of emotion and its
      distorting force.  Being free of delusion, you will experience
      true freedom.  Why worry about possibly having your words
      stripped from you?  Even if you do lose your precious words,
      which I do not accept, is the Truth not good enough
      compensation?

          It seems to me you cannot function without your precious
      distorting force.  You seem to have no life beyond your fiction.
      Any authentic truth would sap the life blood out of you.  You
      haven't the strength to see that your whole life from beginning
      to end has been a hopeless mistake.  And even less have you the
      strength to confront others with such a truth.  In the end you
      always conclude "It is useless to think in such a dangerous
      manner, that type of thinking never got anybody anywhere."



      <<Motivation and karma>>

          Action is the body of karma and continues the flow of karma.
      All actions have causes, and all actions have effects.

          I have often said that it is a person's motivation alone
      that creates karma, rather than their physical actions; thus
      good intentions are rewarded, even if they sometimes fail to
      produce the desired result.  Yet this is not strictly true, for
      all actions have an effect in accordance with their causes,
      regardless of whether those causes are mental or physical.

          Even so, it is by far the motivation that brings about the
      greater consequence.  Take the case of an ordinary thoughtless
      person giving a thousand dollars of their own hard earned money
      to help a poor man.  No doubt there will be an effect here,
      perhaps even a beneficial effect, but the greatest consequence
      by far issues from the (impure) <motivation> behind the action
      of giving.  Ego-based motivations always result in further
      egotism and destruction, whereas a pure motivation is an eternal
      well-spring of glorious wisdom.  Nothing but good can arise from
      a pure motivation.

          Actions may indeed <appear> helpful, and the poor may become
      healthy.  However, healthy bodies and happy minds are not
      reliable indicators of healthy spirits.  The poor man's new
      found wealth may give him the financial space to develop his
      mind - then well and good - but it is no thanks to the person
      who gave him money.  For it was their intention only to be rid
      of their guilt, and to experience their warm glow of
      satisfaction.  Any benefit that should come out of such a
      situation is purely by chance, and is far outweighed by the
      deleterious effects of a selfish motivation.



      <<To judge another>>

          There is no greater virtue than judgement, and it is so easy
      to judge truly.  You can judge a tree by the fruit that it
      bears: how can it deceive?  How can you be misled or mistaken if
      you trace the pathways of cause and effect?

          Judge a man's character by his actions, look at his friends,
      and you too will learn to see through walls.



      <<Fault>>

          When someone, wallowing in self-pity, blames their own
      failure on themselves, you must explain to them how they are
      blameless.  After all, they and everything they do have their
      causes which stem from beginningless time.  No-one can change
      destiny.

          However, when they blame others, then explain how the fault
      is their own.  It is at least their responsibility to get others
      to take responsibility.



      <<Karma>>

          Never say "I am too deluded for there to be any chance of my
      becoming wise."  For the smallest of seeds can grow into the
      largest of trees.  Once a cause is created it is never lost,
      even though it may take a million years to grow and reach
      fruition.

          Use reason, then <have faith>: this is always the process.
      You must come to understand cause and effect <fully>, or you
      will fail to break through the Barrier and will therefore
      believe your efforts are in vane.  Break the chain of karma, or
      you will remain a fool who believes in death.



      <<The pay-back>>

          Oh how you pay for your past joy: how women haunt!



      <<Failure to learn from past lives>>

          Christianity is an enormous wealth: it has provided us with
      thousands of years of mistakes from which to learn.  So what
      have <you> learned?

          War is eternally followed by peace, and peace by war.  After
      all, is not every war fought - for peace?  Yes, happiness is
      followed by suffering, and suffering by happiness.  Has a
      relation between the two ever occurred to you?  And has it
      occurred to you that the relation is <causative>?

          Because the ignorant do not understand cause and effect they
      are perplexed by so many things in life.  They do not know why
      they suffer.  They are like a dog being beaten for what it did
      yesterday.



      <<Fate>>

          The shadow falls in such a direction as the sun wills: we do
      not have free will about having free will.  Those who believe in
      free will save themselves - but lose the world.

          Things are predetermined, though we can never know for sure
      in what way they are determined.  Thus we have fate and destiny,
      yet also mystery.

          Ultimately, however, there can be no predetermination as
      things necessarily pre-exist in their causes.  If a thing
      already exists, it cannot be determined or destined.  Creation
      too, is impossible.



      <<Causation>>

          The fool asks "Why did this happen?" and "What is the
      purpose?"

          This is like saying "Why does a plant come from a seed?"
      The whole world is caught up with the delusion of reward and
      punishment.  The reward for the seeker of true knowledge is no
      reward.



      <<What is history?>>

          Is history a purely academic study of the dead past?  Or is
      it rather a study of human behaviour, and therefore a biological
      science?  I put it to you that history is a living material out
      of which we are made, and is therefore a study of our "past
      lives".



      <<What you are>>

          Open yourself up to who you are, to <what> you are.  Look to
      your causes, look to the past, look to what makes you.  You are
      what makes you.  True eyes do not see things themselves, but
      their causes, their <totality>.

          You are what you do, what is within you, which is what you
      have been, and what you will become.



      <<Childhood memories>>

          As a child my father said to me "It was I who brought you
      into this world."  This got me thinking.  Was I going to owe my
      life to another for evermore?  My intuition suggested my father
      was in error.  So where did I really come from?  This question
      occupied my mind for years.

          To begin with, my mother was certainly as responsible for my
      existence as my father was, so he wasn't my sole creator.  Yet
      did my parents make me at all?  Were they instead merely
      vehicles for my genes?  The latter is surely true.  So, I was
      made by genes then, which come from beginningless time, and are
      not made by parents.  Then is my body simply made by genetic
      material?  Not at all, it is made out of transformed food, and
      my parents did not create the food either!

          Then I knew where my body came from, but was I my body
      anyway?  Is not the essential "me" my <personality>?  Then where
      did this personality come from?  Certainly, my parents had some
      input, but there were millions of other inputs.  And even the
      input from my parents was not theirs to give, but was channelled
      through them.

          My conclusion then: parents do not make a child, neither
      body nor mind - we are truly Children of God.



      <<Planning>>

          Nothing of worth is achieved without planning.  And both
      short and long-term plans have their place.  It is all very well
      to plan to have a University degree at the end of a three year
      course, but you must pass your exam <today>!  Likewise, if you
      want to spend future years in the presence of God, you must pass
      the required daily tests.

          If you don't drive carefully today, you may not be alive
      tomorrow.



      <<Complexity/simplicity>>

          Humans are held to be the most complex lifeform on this
      planet.  What does this mean I wonder?  If you break something
      down into smaller and smaller pieces it becomes more and more
      simple, and human beings are no exception.  As understanding
      grows, complexity dwindles.

          Nature, which knows nothing other than cause and effect,
      finds complexity and simplicity meaningless.



      <<Original mass>>

      Q:   Where did the original mass of the universe come from?

      A:   What is this "mass" you speak of?  Where is the boundary
         between mass and not-mass?  Both are manifestations of Mind.
         Mind is that which is without beginning.



      <<Causation>>

      Q:   Your whole philosophy is based on assumptions about cause
         and effect.  You say that all things have causes, and thus
         lack inherent existence because all things are dependent on
         their causes.  But how do you know all things must have
         causes?  If you are wrong, then things <can> exist
         inherently, and your entire philosophy falls to the ground!

      A:   "Existence" is a human concept.  If you perceive or
         conceive of a thing, then you <cause> its existence.  Thus
         there is no way a thing can be without causes.  Also, a thing
         cannot exist without having parts, and these parts constitute
         causes.  In nuclear physics there are some particles which
         arguably have no parts.  However, they do have
         characteristics, or attributes, and these too constitute
         causes.  Again, things must have causes.

           In addition, we live in a world where time is a
         demonstrable reality.  The passage of time necessitates
         change, and change is made of cause and effect.  Thus, where
         there is time there is causation.  When our minds created
         time, they created causation too.  The one cannot exist
         without the other.

      Q:   Your argument defeats itself: if nothing truly exists, then
         cause and effect doesn't truly exist.  Yet you use it to
         support your philosophy!  Similarly, why do you think time is
         real?

      A:   It is incorrect to say that cause and effect doesn't exist,
         for while things lack inherent existence, they also lack
         inherent non-existence.  Because cause and effect is a useful
         concept it is a valid and useful tool.  Without tools, we can
         do no work.

           As for time, it is real if we make it real.  If we made
         time not real, through conceiving of it in a different
         philosophical manner, then, once again it would be impossible
         for an inherent existing self to exist.

      Q:   Why?

      A:   Because a self can only exist in relation to other selves.
         Relations are causes, which are not possible when there is no
         time.

      Q:   Given the existence of time, why does the passage of time
         necessitate change?

      A:   Because time is measured by change.  If there were no
         change, there would be no time.

      Q:   You have given me a circular argument!  You say that change
         is a reality because time exists; and then you say time is
         measured by change!

      A:   Yes, the argument is circular, but this does not make it
         false.  You see, we are speaking from the aspect of relative
         truth.  In the end, all dealings in the relative world turn
         out to be self-referential, and circular.  This is because
         all things exist only in relation to each other.

           If you want ultimate truths you will have to look behind
         and beyond all these words.



      <<Life>>

      Q:   Human life obviously begins at conception because the
         fertilized egg (the conceptus) will develop into a human
         being.

      A:   Will it?  How do you know this?  What if the mother is run
         over by a truck?  Clearly, the fertilized cell will only
         develop into a human being if and only if it gets the right
         conditions.  A male spermatozoan or a female ovum will also
         develop into a human being given the right conditions; does
         this mean life begins with the formation of the gametes?

      Q:   But the gametes cannot develop into a human being <on their
         own>, they are incomplete, whereas the conceptus is complete.

      A:   Can the conceptus develop into a human being on its own?
         Is it really complete?  If we placed a conceptus on the palm
         of your hand and left it there, would it develop into a human
         being on its own?

      Q:   Hmmmph!  Then look at it from another angle.  You would
         have to agree that conception is the <cause> of a beginning,
         and is thus the beginning of life.

      A:   Make up your mind.  Is conception a beginning, or the cause
         of a beginning?  If conception is the cause of a beginning,
         then what about the cause of the beginning of conception - is
         that not also a beginning?  If you ask me, your "conception"
         is merely a conception of your brain.



      <<Beginnings>>

      Q:   The whole world is evidence of a Superior Creative
         Intelligence.

      A:   How so?

      Q:   Well, all things must have had a beginning, and that
         beginning can only be God.

      A:   That's puzzling.  It is my experience that <nothing> has a
         beginning; for all beginnings have beginnings and so on ad
         infinitum.

      Q:   Yes, but where did the whole of Nature come from?  It must
         have had an original beginning.

      A:   You agree that <all> things have beginnings.  So this
         "original" beginning of Nature, according to your reasoning,
         must also have a beginning.  If a beginning has a beginning
         it cannot be a beginning.  Thus I say that all is
         beginningless.  And consider this too: how can that which is
         without beginning have an end?

      Q:   If nothing has a beginning, then why do scientists say the
         big bang was the beginning of the Universe?

      A:   God knows!  They also say time began at the big bang; but
         how can something begin when time doesn't exist?  All talk of
         beginnings and ends is futile.  It is as rational to say
         there are beginnings as to say there are no beginnings: both
         have their use, and their correct place.



      <<Buddhism>>

          It seems to me that the religion which most espouses cause
      and effect believes in it the least.

          The Buddhists of today believe that the individual is alone
      responsible for all that befalls him.  Consequently they do not
      consider it possible to cause another to suffer.  Nor do they
      believe it possible to change others for the better.  Thus, in a
      single blow they avoid any responsibility for others.

          I will throw down what has already fallen!  An understanding
      of rebirth will yet be reborn.



      <<The vow>>

          Many children vow never to become like their parents; but
      how many vow to avoid the <causes> of becoming like their
      parents?

          If you wish to be rid of a weed, you must pull it out <by
      the roots.>



      <<Man/Woman>>

          To the women in my audience: cause and effect is most
      definitely <real>.

          To the men in my audience: cause and effect is most
      definitely <not real>.







                             <- CHRISTIANITY ->




      <<The Other Side of the Coin>>

          Love, I am told, is the basis of Christianity.

          Then what is love?  Does the word not describe the good
      feeling we get from something?  Have you noticed how we only
      love that which lifts our spirits?  Do we ever love those things
      that bring us unending pain?  It should be clear from this point
      alone that love is entirely selfish, even if it is in the name
      of some God.

          There is another side of the coin to love - hatred and
      violence.  And just as one side of a coin is inseparable from
      the other, love is inseparable from hatred.  Wherever there is
      love there is also hatred -  <hatred of the loss of love>.  And
      wherever there is hatred there is also violence, for hatred is
      violence.

          It should not surprise us that Jesus himself despised all
      nice sounding things.  He said that he detested all things
      valued by men (Luke 16:15), and I ask you, what do men value
      more than love?  To be sure, the more popular or appealing a
      thing is, the more false it is bound to be.  Jesus said "Do not
      think that I have come to bring peace on earth.  I did not come
      to bring peace, but a sword." (Matt 10:34).  The true love of
      Nature is such a sword; I bid you forget your petty love.  Don't
      be fooled by sugar-coated words; seek only men's bread, bitter
      bread.



      <<The Creation of God>>

          From where does inner spiritual strength come?: from God or
      from a <belief> in God?  The question doesn't bear thinking
      about; the God of Christianity is so obviously a creation of the
      imagination.  To discover why we people feel the need to create
      such Gods, we must examine the operation of the ego.

          Most of us regard egotism as consisting almost entirely of
      dominant behavior, as seen mainly in men.  Yet submissiveness is
      equally egotistical, and is most common in women.  Indeed,
      dominance and submission are the two primary means by which the
      ego finds security.

          Submission is most satisfying when the object one submits to
      is super-dominant.  Therefore, Christians have seen fit to
      create for themselves an all-powerful, all-knowing God - <in
      their own image> - to submit themselves to.  Another cunning
      reason for the creation of such a God is so we might all be
      equal before him.  This savage blow adequately disposes of the
      great individuals, and conveniently protects the Christian from
      standards.  For now they can refuse to believe that truly wise
      men can and do exist, we being all equal before God.

          There is nothing more repulsive to me than the effeminate
      submissiveness found in Christianity, nothing worse than their
      "love", "kindness", "peace", and "equality", which are all part
      of their plot designed to turn everything into a childrens'
      fairy-tale.

          What Jesus said to the Pharisees all those years ago applies
      equally well to Christians today: "Woe to you!  You travel over
      land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one,
      you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!"   (Matt
      23:15).



      <<Tombs for the Prophets>>

          <"Woe to you, because you build the tombs for the prophets,
      and it was your forefathers who killed them!  So you testify
      that you approve of what your forefathers did.  They killed the
      prophets, and you build their tombs.  Therefore this generation
      will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed
      since the beginning of the world."> (Luke 11:47)

          Jesus spoke these words to the "interpreters of the law,"
      the Pharisees.  Yet the Christians of today fall into this very
      same group - for wrongly interpreting the Bible.  They protest,
      ever so earnestly "we would not kill Jesus" - but their words
      cannot hide their hearts.  They build a grand tomb for Jesus,
      called the Church, and thereby testify against themselves that
      they agree with what their forefathers did.  Their forefathers
      did the killing, and now they do their best to keep Jesus dead
      by burying him beneath their false remembrances.



      <<The non-existence of God>>

          By far the greatest proof against the existence of God is
      the calibre and personality of the people he is supposed to
      support.

          What deity in his right mind would cast his personal aura
      around such a motley bunch of smug, self-centred, hypocrites?
      Their only claim to such signal honour is the cosmic breadth of
      their own egos!

          Furthermore, for a God who is supposed to be compassionate,
      his incredible meanness is ample proof that such a God cannot
      exist.  Some of us may live our lives earnestly seeking the
      truth and wanting to live honestly.  Consequently, we will not
      believe in a God.  What is more, we only do this because of our
      upbringing - we are innocent!  God, in his almighty wisdom,
      judges us to be <evil>, and despite our suffering in this life
      (for wanting to live honestly) we are condemned to <eternal
      punishment in the flames of hell!>

          The fact that people of different religions worship entirely
      different Gods is also telling.  And just because a person is
      born in a particular country, and into a particular creed, he is
      convinced that <his> God is the only true one.  This does not
      mean in itself that all religions are wrong, but it does mean
      there are an awful lot of false Gods out there, with a lot of
      pathetic people in tow.

          On top of this, the incredibly irrational arguments
      Christians offer as proof of God's existence are alone enough to
      convince any thinking person that a God <cannot> exist!

          Has it ever occurred to you there might just be some truth
      in religious scriptures, but that misguided souls have
      misinterpreted them?  Might I suggest that instead of God being
      Truth (as Christians proclaim), <Truth is God> - and that the
      Truth has many names.

          What is this "Truth" I hear you ask me.  Look around you,
      Truth is not apart from the physical world.



      <<Was Jesus a woman?>>

          Many of you regard compassion the highest virtue.  Forgive
      me if I cannot oblige you, for I do not believe in it.  You do
      not have to think terribly deeply to realize that the so-called
      virtues of compassion, sympathy, and love, are all 100% selfish.

          We pleasure ourselves in three ways with the drug of
      compassion.  Firstly, our ego gets a boost by its good
      conscience.  Secondly, the ego feels secure in the thought that
      compassion is an investment which will be returned (Christians
      believe they will go to heaven).  And thirdly, if one should try
      to help others, there is the sympathetic (similar-feeling)
      response of feeling in oneself the benefit one imagines the
      other person to feel.

          What filthy wretchedness is compassion!  And all the more so
      when it is done in the name of some God, and with the excuse of
      possessing ultimate authority.  By submitting to an imaginary
      God, we thereby avoid taking responsibility for our actions, and
      are then oblivious to the disastrous consequences.

          "Compassion" is one of those sweet, sugar-coated words,
      along with "love", "devotion" and "peace", which pander to the
      pleasant dreams of Christians.  But each one of these words is a
      <time bomb>, capable of destroying humankind!  Each bears within
      it the seeds of hatred, violence, greed, and war, which will
      inevitable come to fruit.  Yet Christians do not concern
      themselves with consequences or responsibility; they see only
      the "peace", and not the <war> that lies within its thin shell.

          Was Jesus a woman?  Christians certainly paint him as such -
      submissive, meek, mild, compassionate, and loving.  They have
      projected their own petty values and weaknesses onto him,
      <turning him into a woman!>  For a person to need a father
      figure for support is bad enough, but this is not nearly so bad
      as needing a <mother> figure!

          I challenge you to examine the character of Jesus.  Do not
      think for a minute that he had any of our crude worldly virtues.
      Jesus was definitely not a Christian, and it is a crime to
      suggest he has anything to do with such a farce.  Jesus was more
      of a man than the most manly of men, for he had gone beyond both
      the masculine and the feminine, beyond fear, love, <and
      compassion>.



      <<The most comical of all beings>>

          <Jesus says, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.">
      <Mediocrity (Christianity) takes him at his word and sets up a>
      <man-fishery for profit.  And this man-fishery is a godly>
      <enterprise, the stock-holders in this company can appeal to>
      <words of scripture for backing.  They can go tranquilly to meet>
      <the judgement, saying "We have accomplished thy word, we have>
      <fished for men." >
                                                    Kierkegaard

          Such is the mentality of Christians, who treat men as dead
      fish.  O what a fool they make of their God!  Do they really
      believe that an all-powerful God would have to stoop so low as
      to depend on a few words on paper to make people believe in him?
      Such a pathetic attempt!  And do they really think such a God
      would have invested so much in a single man, Jesus?

          Now what is this Christian God but the most comical being
      that ever lived!  He sets the earth in motion, then threatens it
      with a hell!  Eternal punishment!  He says "unless you make your
      life as profitable and enjoyable as you possibly can, I'll seize
      upon your person, and torture you to death in the most dreadful
      manner."

          This is comical.  One does not need to force people to be
      happy under threat of a loaded pistol!



      <<Of Dreamers and Believers>>

          Faith and belief are important concepts in Christianity.
      Christianity is the most depraved vision of life imaginable.
      What does this say about faith and belief?

          I put it to you that faith and belief are the highest
      qualities of mankind - but only when it is faith in <truth> and
      belief in <truth> - not faith and belief in illusions.

          Sadly, precious few can be said to be true believers, and
      men of faith.  This is because our society is based on the herd
      mentality.  Mediocrity and compromise have sway over the
      individual, and over reason.

          A magician performs a trick on stage, an illusion.  Many of
      the audience are emotionally rapt.  They fool themselves into
      believing that illusion is in fact reality in order to enjoy the
      show.  Similarly do we lose ourselves in things such as
      television, whose picture is just a picture, and not reality.
      And then a fellow imagines that his lover is something immensely
      valuable - when all she is in reality is just a bag full of
      blood, mucous, bones, and fat.  Again, our dreams at night can
      be disturbingly real, but they are no more real than all our
      other experiences.

          Religionists and their ilk are expert dreamers, and expert
      believers.  To justify themselves they plead "but people need a
      God," and they desperately implore "you need to believe in
      something." Indeed they do need their beliefs - in the same way
      that a drug addict needs his drug.  They justify in the same way
      that a drug addict justifies, and ignore consequences just as
      skillfully.

          No, our world has too many dreamers, and too many believers
      in dreams.  It is time to wake up!

          I urge you to first seek the truth; penetrate through the
      illusions of the everyday - then have faith in what you
      discover.  This is the most excruciatingly demanding task a
      person can ever take on.  Be warned, it is no folly!



      <<Spiders of the Cross>>

          Christians are like spiders, who spin their sticky and
      tangled webs upon the cross, using it as a convenient support.
      Within a few years, the webs build up, until the cross is no
      longer visible - a dark and dirty shadow.  Here the spiders lay
      in wait - to trap unsuspecting passers-by.

          <"Woe to you, because you have taken away the key to>
      <knowledge.  You yourselves have not entered, and you have>
      <hindered those who were entering." >
                                                  (Luke 11:52)

          Just as a spider has no chance of ever fathoming the
      profound philosophic meaning of the cross, nor does a Christian
      have the slightest hope.  Such creatures are not even fit to be
      taught about spirituality, let alone practice it!  They take
      every priceless gem of religious teaching and totally distort it
      to suit their own egos.

          Christians claim to worship an infinite God, but they
      instead worship a finite one, and of their own making (either
      Jesus himself as God, or a grandfather figure, or some other
      necessarily limited conceptual form).  To worship the finite in
      the name of the infinite is the worst kind of idolatry, and is
      truly using God's name in vain.

          Are not Christians also like cannibals? - for they live by
      eating the man who died for them.

          Christians not only use the teachings of Jesus as a crutch
      (or a stretcher) for their egos; they actually live off it.
      They make cunning and protracted plans to make the teachings
      their primary source of sustenance for the rest of their lives.
      At least ordinary cannibals get the job over with quickly!

          By masticating and macerating the valuable teachings of
      Jesus with their egos, they are in fact eating the body of
      Christ.  Little did Jesus realize he was going to be
      <cannibalized> when he said to his apostles "this is my body
      given for you."  Jesus also said: "Where there is a corpse,
      there the vultures will gather."

          Christianity, which came into the world as the truth men die
      for, has become the truth upon which they live.



      <<Evolution or Evolution>>

          Of all the evils perpetrated by Christians, arguably the
      worst is their disbelief in the law of cause and effect.  Their
      belief in the existence of a God who created Nature, and who
      himself is causeless, is the most criminally wrong and unfounded
      of all delusions.

          The fundamental characteristic of Nature is change, which is
      the only thing that doesn't change.  All things, which are
      changing, have causes and also effects.

          There is no room in Nature for the likes of "chance".  Take
      the rolling of a dice for example.  The number that turns up
      when we throw a dice is <caused> by such factors as the way we
      throw the dice, the shape of the dice, the table surface and so
      on.  However, no matter how many causes we know, we can never
      predict <anything> with 100% certainty - not even that the sun
      will rise tomorrow morning - because the causes involved are too
      many and complex.  Even so, this certainly doesn't mean things
      are without cause.

          Our limited minds cannot trace the infinite complexity of
      causes and conditions in Nature, so there will always be
      unknowns.  It is because our egos are uncomfortable with the
      threat of the unknown that we try to fill the gaps in our
      knowledge by manufacturing explanations.  In such a way do we
      arrive at the notion of a God who created us, or even aliens who
      are breeding us.  Hardly a solution!  We must instead learn to
      accept the infinite complexity of Nature, for She works in
      mysterious ways, and we cannot follow Her.  There is no disgrace
      in not knowing something that cannot be known; all disgrace lies
      in knowing something mistakenly.

          If the current models for the mechanism of evolution contain
      small gaps - what matter!  Christians say that scientists cling
      to the idea of evolution to avoid facing the reality of God.  I
      believe the opposite is closer to the truth.  To believe we were
      specially created by an all-powerful God is very satisfying to
      the ego.  But Science contends with the infinity of Nature, of
      cause and effect, our Creator; the True all-powerful God.  The
      power that is feared by all who cling to life.



      <<The Christian faith>>

          Christians profess: "Some things are not meant to thought
      about, but should be taken on faith."  Their God does not want
      them to suffer reason.

          Yet does their God exist?  They say yes, but he is
      <unknowable>, hence faith is required.  These wretched
      Christians <make> their God "unknowable" for the express purpose
      of making him easy to know.  He is easy to know because they
      have but to imagine him, and he is there.  This is in stark
      contrast to the True God who <is> knowable, yet extremely
      difficult to know.

          Similarly, they make Jesus superhuman, elevating him to the
      plane of God, at which distance he cannot make demands.  For now
      he is not human, so cannot expect us to be like him, or even to
      want to be like him.  You see, we are only human and he, after
      all, is <God>.  Such a Jesus can at most only expect our worship
      and praise.

          I tell you, the only thing the "Christian" Jesus has in
      common with the real one is a name.  No one can deny the
      colossal effect the "Christian" Jesus has had on this world: it
      is just so horrible to contemplate!

          Imagine this: An immortal called Jesus takes a short
      excursion from his paradise in the heavens to visit earth.  To
      the inhabitants he says: <"I am God, and you are merely human
      and mortal.  I am the Almighty, and you - are not.  You can
      never be as I.  Nevertheless, I see fit to bless you with my
      presence, which is a great inconvenience to me as I much prefer
      the comforts of heaven.  I come to this earth to show you my
      incredible power, and to give warning that you had better do my
      bidding - or else!">



      <<Marriage>>

          Christianity has strayed so far from the truth that marriage
      is now regarded as the highest excellence.  The priest says "If
      you are too weak to marry you should remain single."  Agh!  It
      is hard to believe the teachings of the New Testament could be
      twisted so completely into their <exact opposite>.

          Marriage is mutual selfishness, a team effort to defeat
      reality.  Yet the priest calls it "mutual fulfillment".



      <<The pope>>

          The pope is the all-round "no-man"; who could take him
      seriously?  Even his own followers regard him as somewhat of a
      fictional character.  He is an entertainer: Mr. Pope and his
      pope-mobile - like Santa Claus and his slay.

          Whether or not Santa Claus really exists is irrelevant to
      us: what matters to us is the <fantasy.>



      <<The clergy>>

          It is fitting that the Christian priest wear a dog-collar;
      for he is led on a lead.

          Today's furor in the Church is over the question of a
      woman's right to ordination.  This is quite foolish because
      there is no clergyman who is not in reality a woman.  There is
      not a man among them.  In any case,  the whole debate is quite
      laughable, and people are worrying themselves unnecessarily
      about nothing, <for Christianity simply does not exist!>  Who
      could drag it into the twentieth century?  Who could reform it?



      <<The shortness of vision>>

          Christians are often heard to argue that it is not they as a
      group who are responsible for all the divorce, abortions, drug
      abuse, and violence in society, but that such problems are
      primarily due to the non-Christian element.

          For all their talk, the real cause of all these problems is
      the selfishness and egotism that comes of petty mindedness.  In
      this regard, Christians are the very worst culprits.  Whereas
      most people will quite honestly admit to their egotism,
      Christians never cease in their efforts to conceal it.  The
      shopkeeper is an honest man, who openly says "I am a
      shopkeeper."  The priest, in his solemn sanctity would not admit
      to this at any price.

          Christians may not be directly, physically responsible (in
      the immediate sense) for many of the rapes and murders, but they
      are definitely a major cause.  And why?  Because every single
      Christian perpetuates the self-righteous and self-centred
      lifestyle that is guaranteed to blossom in violence and
      suffering.  Christians set the trend of self-gratification, and
      others naturally follow - and in their own way - choosing
      different drugs to that of the Christian, to suit their own
      individual tastes.  If you bring your child up on heroin, you
      cannot blame them if they one day experiment with LSD.  Religion
      is just one of many "drugs", just one "opium of the people."

          The worst of it, is that young children are inducted into
      this shameful drug taking while they are too young to question
      what is being done to them.



      <<Cults>>

          When a religion is small and newly formed we call it a
      madcap cult; though when it becomes established it qualifies as
      a bona fide religion.  What then are religions if not large and
      dangerous cults?

          Christianity is a monster madcap cult, made up of
      desperately selfish people.  Their "compassion" is a crudely
      disguised form of self-love, and their "peace" involves an
      intense hatred of whatever threatens it.



      <<The Christian defense>>

          Christians, in their defense, plead "Jesus really did exist
      two thousand years ago."  So what!  And he may also have been
      wise.  But what has all that got to do with Christianity?  If
      you can judge a tree by the fruit it bears, and if by any chance
      Christianity is an indication of the personality of Jesus, then
      he was the most ignorant and self-centred hypocrite who ever
      lived!



      <<A Personal God>>

          The problem with Christianity and communism is that nobody
      has tried either of them.  The so-called Christians of today say
      they believe in a personal God; but how more <impersonal> could
      a God be that exists who knows where, ruthlessly ordering his
      creation around?

          The wretches of today who call themselves men cannot bear
      the weight of having a personal God, so they expelled him into
      infinity.

          How many are there that venture to become God-men?  Only for
      them does God become truly personal.  For them, His loved ones,
      He sees fit to preserve the finite, in which God-men have been
      seen to dance and play.



      <<Despicable ease>>

          The Christianity of today - despicable ease - holds God to
      have abandoned one if things do not go according one's will.  It
      would never occur to such fools that it is <impossible> for God
      to abandon a part of Himself.  If you politely suggest to them
      that perhaps <they> had instead abandoned God, they would accuse
      you of the most treacherous blasphemy.

          "We have both love and happiness" they smirk unto me "and
      the God who is Love brings all happiness.  Thus do we relate to
      our Father."  Do they really think the Devil is such a fool he
      is unable to make a person happy!  Oh well, as in the movies, I
      suppose the good guy has to win.

          "Jesus said 'Ask and you shall receive,' therefore we ask"
      they explain.  But <I> tell you, there must always be giving
      before there can be taking.  How conveniently they ignore the
      struggles of Jesus's life!  They concentrate only on his birth
      and death, Christmas and Easter, condemning his life to
      oblivion.



      <<The paid>>

          How wretched scholars are - accepting money to enlighten
      others, while themselves are in darkness.  On the other hand, at
      least they are not as bad as the priest, who cheats people out
      of their hard-earned money <in the name of God.>

          A priest's life is not an easy one: each day he has to lie
      increasingly, to keep pace with the rate that science is
      uncovering the truth.



      <<Anarchy>>

          The anarchist doesn't want to be ruled.  Christianity is a
      form of anarchy, because the Christian doesn't want to be ruled
      by reason.



      <<A Statement of Belief>>

          I am a Christian, though I do not believe in a personal God.
      Nor do I believe in a physical heaven or hell, or life after
      death.  I do not believe Nature was created.  I do not
      necessarily believe Jesus was crucified on a cross, and I
      certainly do not believe he physically rose from the dead.  I do
      not necessarily believe Jesus ever existed, or that if he did,
      that he possessed wisdom.  I do not believe one has to read the
      Bible to be a Christian, nor for that matter does one need any
      respect for the Bible.

          My doctrine is: the Truth is God.  Say yes! to the Living
      Reality.



      <<Today>>

          The Christians of today speak of themselves as "vehicles for
      God," a selfless sacrifice . . . and then I speak of myself as a
      vehicle for my genes and thoughts.  How disappointed they are in
      me!



      <<Lenience>>

          We cannot be lenient on a priest just because his <words>
      are correct.  Words are only scratches on paper, or noises of
      the throat.  What is important is the <meaning> of the words,
      for they are the <true> words.  If you speak, but with incorrect
      meaning, then your words are wrong.

          You may hold the key to the door of knowledge - you may have
      words - but if you don't go through the door you will only
      hinder others from doing so.



      <<Necessary Being>>

          The "necessary being" argument states that as all things are
      caused then Nature itself must have been caused, and that it can
      only have been caused by something without causes - God.

          Firstly, it may be true that all <things> have causes.  But
      Nature Herself is not a "thing" and therefore cannot be said to
      have causes.  "Things" can only exist for observers, and as we
      are manifestations of Nature, we cannot stand apart from Her to
      observe.

          Secondly, no law says that all things must have causes.
      Show me a single cause!  Show me where that cause begins and
      ends - it cannot be done, so why all this talk of "causes".

          Thirdly, why create the notion of a "necessary being" at
      all?  Such a being is actually an unnecessary being.  Why must
      things have an ultimate cause?  Why can't causes stem back
      endlessly?

          Whoever formulated the "necessary being" argument must have
      really tried hard, as I have never heard an argument more
      shallow, blatantly dishonest, and hateful of reason.  Instead of
      going to all the trouble of creating this "unnecessary being",
      why not save a step and accept the Reality of Nature?  Do you
      really hate Nature so much as to wish to step beyond and apart
      from Her?  The "necessary being" argument is necessary only for
      the ego in its unending battle against reality.

          Christians say that a "creative agency" is necessary to
      explain why this particular Universe came about instead of any
      one of infinite possible Universes.  Yes, a creative agency is
      indeed required, and that creative agency is their own foolish
      brains!  Contingency ensures there is no such thing as chance.
      Only one thing is ever possible - that which happens.
      "Coincidences" are therefore impossible, though there can be
      ignorance about the possible.



      <<Religion>>

          Truth hurts, so it is not popular.  It follows that nor is a
      truthful man popular.  He is hated as much as death itself.

          Religion, knowing this, has understandably made itself
      attractive and reassuring.  Yet should religion be sold as sex
      is sold?  Should it dress-up seductively, smile, and do
      everything to please the client?  Is religion really something
      for the masses, like the latest thing in contraception? - so you
      can indulge in the pleasures of life without having to face the
      consequences.

          This must be said, so let it now be said: that which has
      come to be known as "Christianity" is <precisely> what Christ
      came to <abolish>.  Christians have conveniently turned
      everything around to suit themselves.  They create a God in
      their own image, then promptly set him to work as a servant.
      Rather than believe in what Jesus believed, and in Truth, they
      prefer to believe in the historical man of Jesus, and that
      historically, he believed in a God.  But they neither understand
      Jesus, nor the "God" he professed to have faith in.  Christians
      have made themselves safe, by putting Christianity at a
      distance.  They have made it into something historical, which
      becomes more diluted with each generation.

          Truth, or understanding Nature, does not interest the
      Christian in the slightest degree.  Interest in truth makes one
      vulnerable to change, and change is painful.  "But I am too
      weak" says the Christian, with relief, and recoils into the
      safety of belief.  If these so-called Christians would only be
      honest, and say "Yes, I do it purely for my own well-being,"
      then I would think there is at least some hope for them.
      Instead they say "I do it for others, out of my love of God."
      Nothing could be more loathsome.  It is one thing to get fat
      merely from over-eating; but to get pallid-fat, on cakes and
      confections - this is horrible.

          The priest is a total abomination.  He does his utmost to
      make sure that nobody has the gall to venture out, and try to
      understand.  He does all in his power to make of us content with
      mere belief.  He shakes with terror at the thought that a person
      may be so presumptuous as to wish to know the Truth for
      themselves.  He would much prefer us to remain content and
      harmless, like a herd of cows.  And just as a physician bungles
      a case to make himself indispensable, so does the priest
      demoralize men, to make himself indispensable.  At his very best
      he dispenses advice that is superficially empowering, but is
      <crippling> in the long-run.



      <<The sermon>>

          It is said that the purpose of the Christian sermon is to
      convince the Christian that he does in fact believe in
      Christianity.  That is, to give the Christian faith that he has
      faith; to <remind> the Christian what he believes in.  And why
      does the Christian need to be reminded? - because it is so easy
      to forget you believe something, especially when what you
      believe in isn't true.

          Personally, I think that to ask someone to believe in the
      doctrines of Christianity is to ask too much.  Thus I hold that
      the sermon is designed to help the Christian <forget> his belief
      that he doesn't really believe in Christianity . . .



      <<Equal and opposite>>

          Wherever Christianity exists there will also be Satanism.
      Any power creates its equal and opposite.

          When you mint a new coin, that coin will have two sides.
      Money is the root of all evil, so it is better not to create any
      currency: when there is no currency, there is no poverty.



      <<An honest Christian>>

          Is there such a thing as an honest Christian?  Surely there
      must be one or two; perhaps the odd monk or theologian?  What
      about the Pope?

          An "honest Christian" is a contradiction in terms.  It is
      <impossible> to be a Christian and honest at the same time.  Let
      no priest sympathize with my truths!  Let him renounce his
      Christianity before he seeks my companionship.



      <<Divine/Human>>

          Christians confidently tell me that Jesus was both fully
      human <and> fully divine (well, perhaps not quite so
      confidently).  Yet they manage to completely ignore his human
      aspect, and totally obscure the light of his divine aspect with
      their own darkness.  They end up with a Jesus creature of their
      own making - a kind of fairy.



      <<Religious people>>

          Ask a Christian how they know the Bible was indeed inspired
      by God, and not the Devil.  Or ask them how they know their
      "experiences" are of God, rather than of something else.  Then
      you will see how much faith they have in reason.  They will of
      course abandon reason immediately, as though they had
      inadvertently picked up a burning ember.  Feelings are their
      so-called life.

          They are like the boy who pretends to own his father's car,
      yet when the police pull him over he pleads innocence.
      Christians get the benefit of believing they possess the
      highest, but they do not take responsibility for it.  They do
      not hesitate to preach their wisdom, but when pressed on a
      telling point they reply: "The Bible says so."



      <<Christianity/Buddhism>>

          Because Christianity is so philosophically shallow, there is
      ample scope for debate within its walls.  In fact, there is <so
      much> scope for debate it is a <necessity>.  The Christian needs
      a careful measure of debate and questioning to create the
      illusion for himself that he is not a complete animal: this is
      the purpose of theology.

          The eastern religions, like Buddhism, have greater
      philosophical depth.  Consequently, Buddhists are more secure
      and sure of themselves, and feel no need for rigorous
      questioning, or re-evaluation and re-interpretation.

          For this reason, the Christians may have a dubious edge on
      the Buddhists, for as long as there is dissatisfaction there is
      hope.  The Buddhists know a thing or two more than the
      Christians, but have stagnated in their complacency and
      self-righteousness.







                             <- CONCENTRATION ->




      <<One-pointed concentration>>

          Take care how you try to take control of your mind.  You
      seek one-pointed concentration, but I tell you concentration is
      <always> one-pointed.  Only one thought can occupy awareness at
      any one time.  Do not try to force the mind to do anything
      unnatural.  It is the nature of mind to jump hither and thither,
      so any effort to concentrate and confine it is doomed to end in
      frustration and disappointment.

          While you cannot contain the mind, you can certainly work
      towards stilling it.  A turmoiled mind chops and changes,
      thoughts race from one attachment and from one anxiety to
      another, unmanageable.  In a peaceful mind thoughts move
      smoothly and without agitation; one can give each thought all
      the attention it needs before passing on to the next,
      undistracted by fears and anxieties.

          Thought within a concentrated mind is like lightning, but
      without the thunder.  Only with this mind will your thought have
      the power necessary to attain knowledge of the infinite, and
      further, to act on it!  Remember, the concentrated mind is a
      tool only for use in greater things - do not rest in its bliss.

          It is said to be important to train the mind in
      concentration.  Yet I say to you, <train yourself to love the
      truth with all your heart!>  Then you will have no need of
      concentration, for the mind sticks inseparably and quite
      naturally to whatever it truly loves.  If you find joy in a
      lover, then <nothing> can distract you from thinking about your
      lover.  Likewise, if you love God, then you will not allow God
      to leave.  It is not enough to love concentration, for then you
      will be forever focused on concentration, and will forget God.

          You see, concentration by itself brings happiness, but not
      Truth; whereas love of Truth brings both concentration and Truth
      without effort.  Love is warm, while concentration is cold by
      comparison.  Concentration must become effortless, as it only
      can with love.  So be wary of training, for you do not need to
      <train> yourself to eat lovely chocolate!

          You think concentration will give you the strength to see
      the ultimate; but only a sincere desire to put reason into
      practice will help you.  Without this seed of sincerity even the
      most powerful of mental attainments will be without the legs to
      move.

          This is your bondage, that you practice meditation.  So I
      tell you, do not meditate: keep your mind in its natural state.



      <<Meditation>>

          Don't get bogged-down over meditation.  True meditation is
      simply loving God.  It is just a way of spending time to make
      sure you don't waste time - that's all.







                             <- CONSCIOUSNESS ->




      <<The Senses>>

          What makes all things?  The senses make all things.
      Therefore learn to see <through> your eyes in the most real
      sense, and not <with> them.  Then there will be no confusion
      over subject and object.  The Truth is just like this.

          As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even
      one of the senses on which the mind can focus can carry away
      one's intelligence.



      <<Consciousness>>

      Q:   What is consciousness?

      A:   Thoughts.

      Q:   Then consciousness must die when the body dies, because
         thoughts are dependent on a functioning brain.

      A:   Thoughts are not just chemicals within the brain - they are
         much more.  Thoughts can be shared with others, and even
         written in a book.  So, when the body dies, consciousness
         does not die.  Consciousness is already dead, so cannot die.

      Q:   What is it that is conscious?

      A:   No activity of mind is ever conscious.

      Q:   Surely consciousness is conscious.

      A:   What is consciousness?



      <<Material consciousness>>

          Modern Buddhists use the "preservation of type" argument to
      maintain their belief in literal reincarnation.  The argument
      says that consciousness cannot die at death, for just as nothing
      can be created, nor can it be destroyed: all must be preserved.

          But I tell you consciousness is <material> and therefore
      dies with the body . . . inasmuch as a body can die.  Why is
      consciousness material?  Because if it were non-material it
      would not be able to know about the material.  Consciousness
      must either be <separate> from the material, and necessarily
      isolated, or <the same> as material, and sharing its properties.
      There is no alternative.

          If the preservation of type argument were strictly true,
      then it would not be possible to make milk into butter, as milk
      is of a different type to butter.  Similarly, it would be
      impossible for a child to grow into an adult, they being
      different types.



      <<Illusion>>

          It is claimed that something has a consciousness if there is
      something it is like to be that thing.  But is there something
      it is like to be us?  What is it?  Is it not all illusion?







                                 <- DEATH ->




      <<The fear of death>>

          We people are not death-denying, but <truth-denying>.  Death
      is the ultimate escape from suffering, so we are hardly afraid
      of <it>.

          We do not fear death, but we do we fear the possibility of a
      protracted and painful death.  We fear the loss of personal
      freedom that comes with illness.  We fear rejection by our
      friends.  And we fear having to abandon our dreams for the
      future, and the hope which gave us so much strength for life.

          So you see, the death we fear is the death of happiness.  We
      see the loss of a happy life as the loss of life itself.  To add
      to our troubles, these deaths are happening all the time.
      Whenever we perceive that we have lost something, we experience
      a death.  Again, we are not afraid of death, but of the thought
      of loss.

          Reincarnation doctrine teaches that your thoughts during
      "death" determine your future rebirth.  In other words, your
      attitude during the experience of loss will determine your
      future consciousness, and your "future life".



      <<Suicide>>

          A popular song goes . . .

            "Drowning in the sea of love,
             where everyone would love to drown."

          and another . . .

            "Killing me softly with his song."

          The psychology behind these words is the desire to fill the
      mind with so much rubbish that boredom and suffering will have
      no place to exist.  We use entertainment and the media to swamp
      our minds with sensational tripe, to arouse our every emotion so
      that we might forget reality altogether.

          When reality is forgotten, life ceases to exist.
      Consequently our whole lives revolve around killing ourselves!



      <<Resurrection>>

          Jesus's death is symbolic of the death of the ego.  His
      resurrection is symbolic of subsequent rebirth in the spirit.

          The ego does not really exist, therefore its death is
      unsurprising.  The spirit is eternal, so its birth is a
      certainty.

          Someone who has died cannot be hurt by anything, nor
      afflicted with any problems.  The dead have no chores.  However,
      despite their dead condition they still hang around.  In truth,
      we are all dead - we just haven't woken-up to the fact.



      <<Death>>

          Modern Buddhism stresses the importance of death awareness,
      yet negates the whole idea of death with a belief in literal
      reincarnation.  This conveniently takes all the punch out of
      death, making the Buddhist meditation on death useless.

          The power of the idea of death shouldn't reside in its power
      over life, but in how it can impel us to discover <the>
      <illusoriness> of life.  Death awareness achieves nothing if all
      it inspires us to consider is the possibility of life after
      death, or the temporary nature of life.







                                 <DELUSION>




      <<Trying>>

          To slip into trying is to slip into delusion.  We make so
      much work for ourselves!  In the first place we justify our
      deluded behaviour, taking us sufficiently far from Truth to feel
      safe.  Then, to give us something to do, we manage to justify a
      battle to return to the Truth we have lost!

          This is not the Way!  You need neither take a rest in
      attachments nor return to Truth, but slip imperceptibly into the
      stillness of boundlessness.  Discover the Supreme Knack, and
      attain simplicity.  Truth can be neither lost nor gained.

          It is futile to think about things: things are neither real
      nor illusory.  You must have faith!  Learn to ramble with
      effortless ease in the vacancy of the fields of indifference.
      Learn to live directly, alongside things - for Truth resides in
      things.

          Are things caused or do they have independence?  Both
      avenues are fruitless.  Better to accept the Being of things and
      be done with it.  Trying to understand more is really to
      understand less.  It is like pouring more fuel upon a raging
      fire to try and put it out.



      <<Beware>>

          When that mind of Truth finally does arrive, you are in more
      danger than ever!  At first there is no attachment, but soon the
      beast of enjoyment rears its ugly head.  With enjoyment one
      becomes willingly blind.  Your purity and stillness of mind may
      well have been the fruit of wisdom, but the ego will come forth
      and take the credit.  Now, with its increased strength and
      confidence it is not one to let upsetting thoughts arise.  The
      ego becomes King once more, stronger than before.

          Even if you manage to dethrone the ego again, and return to
      reason, the damage has been done.  The ego has been fed its
      nectar of the gods, and it will not forget!

          So I warn you that as your God consciousness expands, so
      does your ego.  Do not underestimate the power of the ego!  It
      will remain strong and powerful beneath your deepest thoughts,
      ready to pounce at every opportunity, until the final ember of
      desire has grown cold.



      <<Lies>>

          Refraining from speaking the truth is also a form of lying.
      We argue that "white lies" help us to avoid the unpleasant
      confrontations that would only upset others; but then our whole
      existence becomes a white lie.  And while snow is pure white, in
      a blizzard it becomes black.

          <"Lying is a refusal to accept and relate the truth exactly>
      <as we see it.  And lying does not require effort, as we like to>
      <imagine.  Lies come effortlessly in the form of feelings,>
      <convictions and beliefs.  And we refuse to believe that we are>
      <so evil to be able to lie effortlessly.  Another lie!">

                                                  Nietzsche

          The priest believes he can never know what is ultimately
      true because he is not Christ.  And he believes that in order to
      lie the truth must first be known.  In this way he immunizes
      himself against lying!  He banishes both truth and falsity from
      his vocabulary and replaces them with "faith".



      <<The pleasure in devotion>>

          Devotion involves living and expressing one's life through
      another, so one rises or falls by the fate of that other.  Thus
      we must respect what we devote ourselves to, be it a spouse, an
      occupation, or a belief system.  The pleasure in devotion, if
      pleasure there can be from such a precarious arrangement, is in
      the giving-up of oneself.  By giving up oneself one also leaves
      behind one's problems and sufferings.  In a sense one becomes
      selfless, but more importantly <soulless>.



      <<Who to blame?>>

          If the patient gets angry, should the doctor get angry with
      the patient?  No, the patient is ill, and commonly gets angry
      for this reason.  If a child gets angry and strikes out at the
      parent, does the parent beat the child in return?  Not at all,
      for it is the nature of children to have occasional emotional
      outbursts.  If a man is rowing across the river and an empty
      boat drifts into him, spilling him into the water.  Does he
      become angry with the empty boat?

          So I tell you, do not be upset with others, whatever they
      may do.  We are all like empty boats: we have causes, but no
      driver.



      <<The immoral society>>

          Business owners and advertisers justify corrupting and
      debasing society with their wares by saying "we only give people
      what they want."  They speak truly enough, the problem is,
      commercialism serves our base animal nature, rather than our
      higher intellectual self.  Commercialism is geared towards the
      lowest common denominator in human consciousness - which is
      sub-human.

          Similarly, hypnotists claim that people will not do anything
      under hypnotic influence they do not really want to do.  Again,
      this may be true, but it is also true that hypnotism removes a
      person's inhibitions, their <conscience> - unleashing the raw
      ego.



      <<The imagination>>

          Imagination is at the root of all fear and anxiety.  If you
      were to place a plank on the ground and ask someone to walk
      along it, they would see no danger, and would not lose their
      balance as they traversed its length.  However, if you were to
      suspend the plank one metre above the ground, they would
      probably hesitate.  And if you placed the plank forty stories in
      the sky, spanning two skyscrapers, their answer would be a
      resounding "No!".

          The physical situation is exactly the same in each case.  It
      is still the same plank, and the risk does not increase with
      height.  The factor that changes everything is the imagination.
      The imagination of falling off the plank is experienced as a
      reality, which paralyzes the mind with fear.

          Fear is the mind killer.  Yet fear is only imaginary, so is
      easy to destroy.  A thief flees when found out.  Darkness
      vanishes the moment the light is turned on.

          A mind bathed in spirit is not within time, but time is
      within it.  A boat is meant to go into water, but the water must
      not get into the boat.  In the same way, we are meant to be in
      the world, but the world must not get into us.



      <<Desire>>

          God is like a magnet, which does not attract iron that is
      rusty and dirty.  God cannot draw you to Him when your mind is
      laden with the rust of material desires, and when the dust of
      sensual craving sits heavily upon you.

          Your many desires are like the coins in your pocket.  The
      more you have, the more they weigh you down.  Why don't you
      convert them into the one paper note of higher currency? - the
      currency of Heaven?



      <<Two seasons>>

          I once heard a story of two men who had both visited a
      certain river.  In a discussion between the two, the first man
      said that he saw the river full, while the second man said that
      it was dry.  After much argument they decided to go back to the
      place and ask the locals.  The locals said they were both right,
      as they saw the river at different times of the year.

          Words cause problems in the same manner.  If we regard words
      as the actual objects instead of mere labels, then we are indeed
      creating problems for ourselves.  Two people may hold the same
      view, yet think they believe differently simply because they use
      different words.  Alternatively, two people may hold conflicting
      views yet will believe they share the same view because of
      similar words.

          This latter case is all too common these days.  People
      <want> to believe they share the same view as others, to avoid
      friction.  For example, traditional Christians and Buddhists
      will often refuse to recognize their fundamental and
      irreconcilable differences on the basis that both traditions use
      the word "compassion" - which they take to mean that both
      traditions are essentially the same.  Such thinking is below
      reproach.



                            <Greed>

                          Greed is good
                          A noble motto
                          Which also means
                          Greed is God





      <Common misconceptions>



      <A. <The misconception that intuition is a spiritual skill.>>

          There are three primary types of consciousness:

          1. No intuition
               Where there is awareness only of externals and emotional
               feelings.

          2. Intuition
               Where there is an awareness of the richness and power of
               the mind, but there is no integrated understanding or
               control of this power.  Reason is undeveloped.

          3. Total knowledge
               Here there are no "intuitions", but a continuous mind
               with no division between reason and intuition.

          It is a mistake to see these three as progressive stages.
      The first does not lead to the second, and the second will not
      lead to the third.  <Reason>, and reason alone has the capacity
      to carry one into the realms of all-knowledge.

          This is not to say the intuitive mind is without value.
      Then what is the intuitive mind?  It arises when the mind is
      clear enough for it to make clean and unhindered associations
      through connective thought.  It enables one to tap hitherto
      unavailable sources of insight.  To those who experience this
      mind for the first time, such a power seems beyond this world,
      and is easily mistaken for enlightenment.  Furthermore, the
      talent of intuition is often accompanied by the realization of
      the interconnectedness of all things in Nature.  This feeble
      mental advancement can be the cause of great excitement and
      monstrous self-deception with it.

          Unfortunately, intuitive powers are usually more of a
      hindrance to spiritual growth than a help.  A shallow brute of
      person, concerned wholly with externals, is often more in touch
      with reality than the sensitive and intuitive person, who cannot
      place his feelings in context with the real world.  This is
      because intuitions invariably degenerate into superstitions, if
      they did not surface as such.

          The intuitive life may hold much colour and joy, but it
      fails to provide one with a love of truth, a holy courage, and a
      deep yearning for God.  Even when distinguished from crude
      emotional feelings, intuitions do not bring about wisdom, unless
      they are combined with a healthy foundation of reason.
      Enlightenment is intuition <after> reflection.  Reason is the
      essential element, the condition without which there is nothing.

          The religions of today, as understood by their adherents,
      fall into the first category - no intuition.  Such shallow
      doctrines may convert you in a moment.  The mystical and
      meditation schools fall into the intuitive class, and can give
      you a few ecstatic hours after a few years.  But all-knowledge
      involves a love of Truth, and is the labour of a lifetime.

          It is relatively easy to attain intuitive skills if one
      becomes child-like, abandoning the sharp categories of adult
      rationality.  But this is a case of going <backwards> to
      childhood rather than forwards to a new birth and holy
      innocence.  Those with total knowledge require <all> to be
      reason.  They need to know everything, including where their
      intuitions or mental associations come from, and what they mean.
      They take nothing on faith unnecessarily.

          Witch-doctors and seers of various kinds may be intuitively
      skilled and in touch with the rhythms of Nature; but they have
      no love of Truth.  To them, myths are not merely myths, but
      actuality.  This brings me to the next major misconception I
      wish to deal with, which concerns the problem of mistaking
      symbols for reality itself.




      <B. <The misconception regarding "aspects" of the Truth.>>

          There are <not> different levels of knowing or explaining
      Truth, though there are certainly different <aspects> to both
      knowing the Truth and to explaining it.  If there are any
      "levels" of truth at all, there is the level of untruth, and the
      level of truth - no more.

          If one knows the underlying Substance of Truth, then one
      will see all its aspects quite automatically.  It is impossible
      to be aware of only one, or several aspects of Truth, without
      being fully able to appreciate them all.  Therefore, if someone
      claims to have realized an aspect of the Truth, but is unaware
      of <all> the ways of God, then they are not seeing an aspect at
      all, but a false construct of the imagination.  Once you know
      fully about a whale, you will also know how it will appear from
      the countless different angles.

          It is wrong to consider the many different religions as
      representing different aspects of Truth unless each of them are
      fully aware of all the aspects.  The religions of today are far
      indeed from such a goal.  Their "aspects" are apparitions.
      Christians say a God exists.  Buddhists demand that no such
      thing is possible.  These are <not> two different ways of
      describing the same Truth, but are entirely different mental
      constructs.

          A similar misunderstanding arises regarding the stages of
      spiritual growth.  The so-called stages of the spiritual path
      are too often seen as training in different aspects of truth.
      That is, as degrees of rightness.  When all aspects are learned,
      one is supposed to arrive at the complete truth.  Nothing could
      be more wrong.

          Book-learning is nothing to do with truth.  Nor are ritual
      practices or mysticism related to truth even in the smallest
      way.  These activities may on occasion stimulate the mind into
      further action, but so can many other activities.  Taking drugs
      may stimulate the mind, but this doesn't make drug-taking a
      stage in spiritual life!  Religious practices can only be called
      stages in spiritual life if they lead directly towards truth;
      that is, if they promote enquiry, reason, and faith in reason.
      We must realize that the religions of today are the mortal
      <enemy> of reason and enquiry.

          Today's religion is <not> symbolic of Truth because it is
      neither presented nor received as symbolic.  Nor is Truth
      conceived of in any form by religion, because in religion there
      is no awareness of Truth at all.  Nor is the mysticism of the
      "new age" any closer to the true path.  Mystic reverie and
      meditative self-absorption are no different to the bliss of
      losing oneself in daydreams of love and wealth.  They certainly
      give the spirit a new lease of life - the spirit of the <ego>!

          Modern psychology is helping to feed these deluded ideas.
      It says we can never know absolute truth because all is
      relative.  This argument can justify anything you like in that
      it completely does away with truth.  Psychology holds that we
      see reality in different ways, and suggests that we have a
      <right> to do so - a right which should be respected.  Yet I say
      again, people <do not> see reality in different ways.  On the
      contrary, they construct entirely different realities out of
      their concepts, which have nothing to do with the real world.
      They have different ways of sorting out and surviving the mess
      in their brains, <not> different ways of seeing reality.  They
      see a threatening and confusing world waiting to be tamed by
      thought, and are blind to the eternal Truth which requires no
      taming.  Their ignorance of reality is inevitably harmful to
      society, and hardly deserves respect.  Not only is their model
      of reality false; what it models is also false.

          Indeed, all is relative.  I only wish you would <believe>
      it!  The reason you do not see the Ultimate Truth beyond doubt
      is because you continue to believe in your relative truths,
      despite having found them out!

          Insanity can be localized to particular parts of the brain.
      You may be perfectly rational when doing mathematics, yet become
      quite mad when religion or relationships are involved.  This is
      because we divide our minds into insulated departments which we
      do not permit to interact logically on each other.  We divide
      our lives into idea-tight compartments, which we believe is for
      our own safety, blinding ourselves to the contradictions and
      evils that permeate our existence.  Consequently, the so-called
      "aspects" of our lives are completely independent dreamworlds.

          This does not mean we should simply accept all the
      compartments as an interacting whole.  Two wrongs do not make a
      right, let alone countless wrongs.  I read somewhere that "the
      higher philosophy is so wisely balanced and beautifully
      integrated that it does not disdain any of the ways of knowing,
      but uses each in its proper place."  Such thinking is fatal,
      as it avoids the dreaded task of <demolition>.  There is no easy
      solution to our problems.  We must destroy all the compartments
      of the mind, and start our education again.  The so-called "ways
      of knowing" are <hindrances>, not stepping stones.  If you want
      to become popular and revered as a sage, then by all means talk
      of <integration>.  But if you want immortality, then you will do
      what is difficult: you will not speak of stages, but of <truth>.

          One must work from the bottom up, rather than the top down.
      Only by understanding the underlying Substance can one
      understand its aspects.  Chaos, randomness, and chance, are
      together one aspect of reality, and determinism, fatalism, and
      causation, are another.  If one cannot see both angles clearly,
      one cannot therefore know the reality underneath.

          The idea of "aspects" is just another blockade to protect us
      from the demands of Truth.  We say we cannot know truth, other
      than through its aspects, and conclude that we should not
      criticize the views of others, as they might be viewing reality
      from another aspect . . . those cowardly words again! . . .
      "might" and "aspects".  It is because you have no courageous
      faith in reason that you do not know the Truth.  And because you
      do not know the Truth, you have no confidence to think or do
      anything decisively.  Thus you hide yourself behind your petty
      "no ultimate truth", and will not come out to help others with a
      harsh word, even if they were dying in front of you.




      <C.< The misconception of seeking the truth through others.>>

          The student will complain: "At first I learned much from
      you, but now your words are confused and offer me no sustenance.
      You cannot explain the truth to me, so I can only conclude that
      you do not understand it."

          This problem arises when the student seeks truth, but does
      not wish to abandon untruth.  He gets ahead of himself and
      conveniently forgets the difficult task of <practice>, because
      practice always means the dreaded <renunciation>.  Practice
      requires faith, and faith kills.  It is easy to see why people
      reach an impenetrable barrier.  Up until now the ego has in some
      respects been strengthened by the power that comes with
      knowledge.  Now knowledge turns traitor, and just as a parent,
      for their own mental well-being, denies the reality of a
      rebellious child, so the ego denies its rebellious thoughts.
      The student comes up with endless objections, which are an
      excuse for not being able to accept what reason dictates.  They
      will spend all their time thinking-up vane arguments rather than
      getting down to the task of cleaning up their minds.  They will
      concentrate on undermining the teachers words, demanding Truth
      from them, without uncovering their own Truth.

          Because they seek Truth in a teachers words, they find none;
      for words are but signposts.  They see his words, but not his
      meaning.  They see his surface, but not his depths.  Despite all
      this, the teacher remains stalwart, and refrains from using
      complicated arguments and rationalizations.  He continues to
      speak simply, appears a simpleton, and is thus accused of
      incompetence.

          He could weave beautiful philosophies and tell captivating
      stories, and the world would love him.  But he has too much
      respect for life.  He could display his power of intellect to
      all, and they would pronounce him a great man; but he has left
      reasoning behind.  He is a catalyst for a chemical reaction
      which precipitates enlightenment - but <you> must provide the
      ingredients.

          There are no words to explain the Truth.  The more words you
      use, the farther you will be from it.  Sometimes the sage
      remains silent; at other times he speaks.  But when he does use
      words he refutes those very same words.  In this way he uses
      words to <convey> Truth, without explaining it.




      <D. <The misconception that the "new age" movement has anything
          at all to do with spirituality.>>

          Boredom can only be suffered for so long, before a change is
      needed.  The latest break-out of activity has been called the
      "new age" movement.  It arises out of discontent and is a
      resounding vote of no-confidence in traditional religion and
      science.  The consensus is that while the prevailing structures
      may bring outer stability and security, they are not conducive
      to the promotion of inner spiritual resources within
      individuals.  It is claimed that our modern technological
      society provides for the stomach, but not for the soul.

          I hereby rename the "new age" <the woman's age>.  For to be
      honest, we are seeking to satisfy <the heart> - let's leave the
      spirit out of it!  You see, needs of the spirit are impossible
      for a spiritless people.  But thanks to the new-found voice of
      our women, and their new-found power over men, we are hearing of
      the needs of the heart.

          Creativity, intuition, emotion . . . let them come - and let
      reason come too!  For only reason can destroy heart.  And why
      must the heart be killed?  Because reason is human, and the
      heart is animal.

          Modern times have been a strain on old ways, and on old
      ideals and hopes.  For all our scholarship, we have yet to
      discover peace.  All our philosophy and theology have brought us
      no closer to understanding life.  Science has defeated itself
      and become relative.  Thus we no longer believe in truth, have
      given-up on truth, in favour of utility.

          For all these reasons, the male of our species, the dreamer,
      has lost his ability to dream.  He has lost confidence in
      himself and has fallen back on his inner feminine resources.
      Women are all too keen to lend him a helping hand; but nor do
      they hesitate to put the boot in while he is down, debasing him
      further.  Now, having abandoned his own will, and having had it
      kicked out of him by woman, he has become a vehicle for the will
      of woman.  He has discovered heart, but I tell you, <the heart
      is animal>!

          The "new age" is the very embodiment of nihilism.  It says
      "There is no Truth, <all> is acceptable, <all> are aspects,
      <all> is truth."  I am not the first madman to say "God is
      dead," but I am the first to say that he died of <too much
      truth!>

          It is the distorted reason in man which denies heart.  And
      it is the heart in a man, the heart he denies, which distorts
      his reason.  It is the heart in a woman which denies reason.
      And it is the heart in a woman, the heart she loves, which
      brings her to want to satisfy her heart.  Both woman, and the
      woman in man, saw through the faulty masculine rationality.  But
      this woman did not see through the fault of her own heart!

          I tell you, the heart is animal, and because we are animals
      we have ever a tendency to go again on all fours.  I fear that
      just as water flows downhill, following the path of least
      resistance, we will fall from the snow-capped mountains and
      clear skies of reason, down to the engulfing hell-fires and
      heavens of the heart.  Granted, we will not have far to fall, as
      our reason has yet only made a base-camp in the foothills -
      where it promptly forgot its task.  Yet here at least one might
      get a breeze of cool air from the tops, which might incline our
      gaze upwards.

          The modern woman is more masculine than her predecessor; but
      if man is pseudo-rational then the modern woman is further again
      removed from the ideal, for she is a <pseudo-man>.  Her "new
      age" philosophy is devoid of any intellect at all.  At best,
      science is pseudo-truth, but the "new age" is mere
      <pseudo-science>, though with a feminine heart.  <And the heart
      is animal>.







                             <- ENLIGHTENMENT ->




      <<To enlightenment>>

          You must commit yourself to your task as a fish commits
      itself to water.  Thirst for God as much as a dying man thirsts
      for life.  Long for enlightenment as much as a drowning man
      longs for a breath of air.  If you don't strongly determine to
      get up in the morning, you remain asleep.  Similarly, if you
      don't determine to break the cycle of a attachment, it will
      continue forever.  You must will to die to the world.  If you
      are uncertain whether to be truthful or not, how can you
      possibly live in truth?

          Forget your letting-go and giving-in and expanding your
      consciousness.  If anything, enlightenment is a <becoming>.  The
      experience is like that of a drop in the ocean, who lets the
      ocean in.

          You must uncover the true mind you were born with.  When you
      were born, you had an unborn pure mind, and knew things without
      effort.  You knew well enough whether a thing was hot or cold.
      The unborn pure mind is like a bright mirror.  When anything is
      placed in front of it, its shape <has> to be reflected, even
      though the mirror has no intention to reflect it.  And when that
      object is taken away, the mirror does not reflect it, even
      though it does not decide to cease reflecting it.  This is the
      vital nature of your true mind, and is the basis of
      enlightenment.  So I tell you, understand "unborn" and make it
      your life.



      <<Transcript of a conversation with a group of Buddhists>>

      Q:   If I do what I think is right, isn't that good enough?

      A:   The enlightened do good.  The ignorant do bad.

      Q:   I am trying to do my best.  I can't do any more than that.

      A:   I am here to make your best better.

      Q:   Are you then enlightened? - thinking you can go around
         changing people.  If you are enlightened then you should be
         able to perform miracles, or at least create an illusion or
         two for us.

      A:   If the Buddha himself materialized before you to give you
         teachings, you would not be able see him.  Anyway, you create
         more than enough illusions all by yourselves without any help
         from me.

      Q:   Forgive me for being stubborn, but I challenge your claim
         to enlightenment.  If there is such a thing as an Ultimate
         Truth, then I wish to know it.  And if you are truly
         enlightened then you should be able to explain the Truth to
         us on many different levels, to suit our individual
         capacities.

      A:   What makes you think that?  Have you read it in one of your
         books?  Since you yourself know nothing of enlightenment how
         can you make such statements?  Do you imagine you have a
         partial understanding of Truth?  I tell you there is no such
         thing!  With regard to Truth, you either understand it, or
         you don't.  God does not come in portions.  A drop of water
         is never partly boiling.

           Only if God Himself speaks through you are you qualified to
         speak about enlightenment and what is possible with it.  Do
         not think your words harm no-one: we are all teachers, and
         thus have a great responsibility to others.  Do not be the
         blind leading the blind.

      Q:   I really will try to understand this "Truth" of yours if
         you can explain it to us.  Will you give us your explanation
         of the Buddhist "Two Truths".

      A:   The two truths, the ultimate and conventional, are in fact
         only one.  When we say that waves exist, it is understood
         that the ocean exists, and vice versa.  The two truths are
         not separate existences, but different aspects of the one
         Truth.

      Q:   Our Buddhist scriptures say that the self has a
         conventional self-existence, yet I have heard you deny the
         conventional existence of a self - how so?

      A:   The self is a fact, not a reality.  You are trying to
         understand two before you understand one.  You are trying to
         understand the conventional dualistic world before you know
         God.  Conventional existence is not so easy to understand.
         Do you really think you can understand the meaning of
         "conventional" before you have understood the way in which
         all things exist?  First the Kingdom of God!

      Q:   It seems to me you are just refuting everything we say,
         trying to avoid our questions.  How can we communicate
         without conventional reality, and if we don't use words?;
         we'll just end up in confusion!  Let us leave this question
         of ultimate and conventional truths for now if we may.  I
         want to know what you understand by the Buddhist term
         "emptiness".

      A:   Everything looks confused to a confused eye.  But when all
         falsity is abandoned, there is no confusion.  As for
         "emptiness", this word cannot be defined.  If I were to be
         really verbose, and risk losing my tongue, I could say what
         is normally said - that emptiness is the way in which all
         things really exist; that is, lacking inherent existence.

      Q:   What's wrong with that definition?

      A:   Saying that all things lack inherent existence is an
         assertion about things, and is therefore guaranteed to be in
         error.  If all things lack inherent existence, then what is
         inherent existence?  Is inherent existence something real to
         be able to talk about it?  If inherent existence is not
         something real, then we cannot rightly talk of a lack of
         inherent existence.  Furthermore, what is it that possesses
         the quality of lacking inherent existence?  Does <it> have
         inherent existence?

           There were some questions to which the Buddha remained
         silent.  One of them was "Where does a person go when he
         dies?"  His answer (silence) communicated that the question
         was wrongly asked.  What is this "life" you imagine to exist?
         And what is this "death"?  That which does not come into
         existence experiences neither life nor death.  Things exist
         neither with inherent existence nor without inherent
         existence.  You continue to dispute with me because you don't
         understand.

      Q:   You continue telling us we don't understand, without giving
         a reasoned argument!

      A:   My arguments may not seem reasonable to you personally,
         though I will explain myself further for the benefit of your
         companions.

           I only speak the truth.  You want me to tell you what
         Reality is, but Truth cannot be heard by those without ears
         to hear.  You don't understand because you refuse to let go
         of your finite common-sense and open yourself up to learning.
         You are like fish that cannot comprehend life on dry land, or
         insects of the summer that know nothing beyond their own
         season.

           You people refuse to see what is directly in front of your
         own eyes.  You are like someone who refuses to get out of bed
         in the morning, preferring his confused dreams to the glory
         of the day.

      Q:   Even if what you say is true, and we Buddhists are blind
         sheep, I think you are too critical of others.

      A:   I do not criticize people, but their habits, motivations,
         and thoughts.  I do not see people as self-existing entities,
         but as the results of causes.  "People" do not exist in the
         way you think they do, and your traditional Buddhist ideas
         concerning "personal karma" are a big mistake.  Forget
         personal karma, you Buddhists have never given a thought to
         what a person actually is!  You talk of reincarnation,
         repeated life and death, when you yourselves understand
         nothing of either life or death.

      Q:   You speak authoritatively, but ultimately your views are
         only your own, and are subjective.

      A:   It means nothing to me whether you call my truth subjective
         or objective.  Though I wonder what you mean by the word
         "subjective".  Do you mean that any thought held by an
         individual is subjective, and therefore false?  You probably
         didn't notice, but you did use the word "ultimately".  So,
         you <do> believe there is a truth beyond the subjective!
         Have you not experienced an occasion where someone's personal
         thoughts were correct?

      Q:   I cannot fault your reasoning, but I fear that you are the
         sort of person who takes things apart into little pieces, and
         can't put them back together again.

      A:   I think perhaps <you> fear being taken apart into little
         pieces; and then not being able to put yourself back together
         again.  Do not fear.  When you take apart all your false
         thoughts you will automatically see Reality, and will not
         need to put anything back together.  It is because you refuse
         to take things apart that you do not see your own nature.

      Q:   I don't think you have the right to go around criticizing
         others.

      A:   On the contrary, it is my responsibility to do so.

      Q:   Shouldn't you let people live their own lives and make
         their own mistakes?  Surely it is our own personal freedom
         that we can make our own mistakes.

      A:   I try to influence the minds of others because of what I
         call "the whim of God."  Nature has given me the
         responsibility to show people the error of their ways.  You
         say I should mind my own business, and that is precisely what
         I am doing.  You see, I regard all people as my own self, and
         what they do, I do.  It is my responsibility to correct
         myself, is it not?  How can there be "personal freedom" when
         we are all interconnected, and when the actions of one person
         influence the actions of everyone else?

           All is "I".  A flower is I, the moon is I, my brother is I,
         even you are in fact myself.

           God is the doer of all things.  God alone is real and all
         else is illusory.  You may not think you are myself, but this
         does not change the reality.  Being One with all is what I
         call Love.

      Q:   As far as we are concerned you can't have any wisdom
         because you have no respect for others, and few have any
         respect for you.

      A:   I respect only Truth.  For me, there is no "good" to be
         respected and "bad" to be despised.  I do not put false
         values on things as you and all other worldly thinkers do.
         Things are just as they are - some are good and some are bad.
         Thus there are good men and bad men.  A good man is the
         teacher of a bad man.  A bad man is the hater of a good man.
         I am not respected because I am a good man.

      Q:   Forgive me, but your thoughts are so cold and clinical - so
         logical!  You are full of intellectual speculation.  Clearly,
         your actions do not flow from your heart, but from your head.

      A:   Again, for the benefit of your patient companions, there is
         no difference between the head and the True heart.  The True
         heart is not the emotional heart.  All human emotions,
         feelings, and intuitions, are based on the ego.  True heart
         is based on wisdom alone, which can only be discovered
         through reason.

      Q:   I come back to my initial point: if you are so wise, then
         you must be enlightened, and should then be omniscient and
         omnipotent!

      A:   Have you read this in your books also?  Since you yourself
         are not enlightened how can you talk about such things!  You
         have no idea of the meaning of the terms you are using.
         Omniscience and omnipotence are inherent in all of us.  When
         the mind becomes clear of all delusions these natural powers
         are what remain.

           Omniscience, "all-knowing", does <not> mean knowing
         everything that is happening in the Universe.  The omniscient
         mind is where thoughts are infinite in nature, and therefore
         unbound.  Similarly, omnipotence does not refer to unlimited
         power over Nature, but to one's primal state of unbridled
         perfection that is beyond measure.

      Q:   But the Buddha said that the enlightened man can see all
         past and future lives.

      A:   Once again, you, an un-enlightened person, have the
         effrontery to speak of past and future lives!  You have yet
         to understand this life, yet you vainly go about talking of
         past and future lives!

      Q:   But it is the Buddha who said these things, not myself.

      A:   What do you know of the Buddha?  You who are unenlightened!
         How can you hope to understand the functioning of the
         enlightened mind?  How can you hope to understand what an
         enlightened man means by "past and future lives?"

      Q:   Surely the Buddha wouldn't have taught us those things if
         they were untrue, or if they were so difficult that only one
         or two could ever understand them.  The Buddha wanted to help
         us all to escape our suffering!

      A:   Again I say to you, how can you, who are un-enlightened,
         hope to understand what the Buddha did or did not intend?
         For that matter, how can you judge who is a Buddha?  You have
         no comprehension of enlightenment, or the nature of an
         enlightened person.  You are painting a picture of the
         enlightened man as you wish him to be.  You are projecting
         your own false values and creating your own imaginary Buddha.
         You have fallen into exactly the same trap as Christians, who
         have created their own Jesus out of the evil broth of their
         own lies.

           I think I have said enough for you to think about for one
         day.

      Q:   All I can say is that you are lucky we are spiritual
         people, otherwise we might well get violent with you for what
         you've said today.



      <<The Jump>>

          We people live within a tall container.  If you can jump
      half a metre, you are regarded as talented.  If you can jump a
      little over half a metre, then you are a superman and a genius.
      But jump clear out of the container - <and you are not seen!>








                              <- EVOLUTION ->




      <<Survival>>

          Sometimes physical mutations help a species to survive, and
      sometimes not.  Similarly with changes to the consciousness of
      man.  Spiritual wisdom may aid the survival of the species, or
      not.  It is a matter of probability, and personally, I think the
      best odds lie with wisdom.



      <<Roots>>

          The fool searches for his roots, but is perplexed when they
      keep branching into other species.

          There are physicists who are searching for a "creative
      agency" to explain the Universe.  The problem is, the more you
      discover of a creator, the more he branches off into other
      creative agencies.  Indeed, there is no beginning to beginnings.



      <<Evolution>>

          Evolution is not a scientific theory, but a principle, a
      doctrine, and a philosophy.  Evolution is the process of change
      - both mental and physical.

          Critics of evolution have said: "We have looked at the
      evolution of matter, but not its origin."  They cannot see the
      wood for the trees, for evolution is <precisely> about origins.
      Origins make up the body of evolution.

          There is a strong argument that much of our behaviour
      evolved as a side consequence of our having evolved a large
      brain.  A gradual increase in brain capacity gave us an
      evolutionary advantage in activities such as food procurement
      and finding shelter.  When a certain brain capacity was reached
      many other things became possible - as a side consequence.
      Detailed abstract thought, which enabled us to extend our
      thoughts forward into the future and back into the past, made us
      aware of our own mortality.  The fear of death was born, and it
      didn't take us long to make-up all manner of belief systems to
      help overcome this fear.  However, a large brain wasn't all bad,
      for in the same stroke we gained a strange and wonderful thing -
      the potential to discover Ultimate Truth.

          Describing our potential for enlightenment as a mere side
      consequence may be true in one sense, but is quite untrue in
      another.  You see, the thing from which our "side consequence"
      stems is itself a side consequence.  That is, our large brain
      capacity is a side consequence of the laws of Nature.  The laws
      of Nature are such that things change, therefore there are
      changes to genetic material, and our brain capability changes as
      a consequence - a "side" consequence.

          Yes, <all things> are "side consequences".  God is the
      primary Being, and all things are His play.



      <<The beginning of life>>

          "Life" is a concept for practical use only; it doesn't exist
      by itself.  A tree doesn't say "I am alive."  A rock doesn't say
      "I am dead."

          Some reject evolution because they abhor the idea of being
      just a "sophisticated slime" that evolved, by blind chance, from
      the primeval ponds.  They need not worry, for any slime that is
      ignorant of evolution is in no way sophisticated.



      <<Simple and Complex>>

          We seem to think that the more complex a thing is, the more
      advanced it is.  This conveniently puts humans at the pinnacle
      of creation.

          Yet is it not our experience that the simplest thing that
      does the job is best?  The insects have been around much longer
      than we humans, and look like remaining long after we have
      self-destructed.  Could humankind be a failed experiment in
      complex construction?  Or is there some other purpose to life
      than mere survival?







                                 <- FAITH ->




      <<Faith>>

      Q:   All religious traditions emphasize the importance of faith,
         yet you reject it!  Please explain yourself.

      A:   I reject only blind faith.  Blind faith is when you believe
         something without having established certainty of its truth.
         In contrast, <true> faith is when you believe in something
         you know with certainty to be true.

      Q:   But if you are certain of a truth, then surely you don't
         require faith in it?

      A:   We don't like to believe in the products of reason - one
         requires faith in reason.

      Q:   That <sounds> reasonable enough, but you are rejecting all
         religious traditions!  Surely scriptural authority and the
         instructions of a genuine guru count for something?  Are they
         not deserving of some faith?

      A:   As I have said, authority is not deserving of any faith,
         unless you know with certainty what the authority says is
         true.  That is, it is good to have faith in a genuine
         authority, though to be able to judge the genuineness of an
         authority one must first have certainty about what is true
         and false.

      Q:   Then you are saying that to judge another to be a genuine
         authority, we ourselves must be an equal authority.

      A:   Correct!

      Q:   Perhaps, but we can certainly recognize those who have
         superior knowledge to ourselves, and make them our gurus.

      A:   If you learn something from a person, something you are
         certain is true, then you can rightly assume the person in
         question knew it before you did.  You may then infer that the
         person is probably in possession of further such truths; but
         remember this is only a statement of <probability>, and not
         certainty.  Make this person your guru by all means, but it
         is wrong to assume the guru knows everything, or indeed that
         the guru knows any more than yourself.

      Q:   If we cannot be certain that another knows more than
         ourselves, then how can they be our guru?

      A:   A guru is a teacher of truth.  If a person teaches truth,
         they are a guru, otherwise not.

      Q:   An extremely wise guru, renowned by some as a saint, has
         taught that if a guru teaches nine things you agree with, and
         one you are unsure about, then it is wise to accept that
         extra one on faith.

      A:   Do you believe that on faith?  I sincerely hope this "wise
         guru" of yours did not say that, or that you misunderstood
         his teaching; but I fear you may have heard him correctly.

           I repeat, you should take nothing on faith.  Learn to
         examine each item individually and on its own merits.  If you
         are unsure about that tenth item, then you should give it
         special examination, but whatever you do, do not believe it!
         It is always that tenth item which distinguishes the true
         gurus from the imposters.  It is easy to speak many small
         truths, and it is equally easy to fall down on the big ones.
         If a guru teaches nine things you agree with, and one that
         you know to be wrong, then you would do well to review the
         previous nine in the light of the tenth!

           Watch how you go.  The disciple, in following his master,
         should be careful not to tread upon his masters shadow.  Keep
         your distance!  Beware lest ye be crushed by a falling
         statue!

            A genuine guru will not teach you anything.  Though he
         will not complain if you use him as catalyst, or a stimulant,
         or as a foe to challenge the authenticity of your own
         attainment.  There are three kinds of succession:  The
         inferior man succeeds the man of power.  The mediocre man
         succeeds his benefactor.  The superior man succeeds his
         <enemy>.



      <<Doubt>>

          Doubt is the fuel for Faith.  It is also a marvelous pillow,
      for a well constructed head.

          <"Only that God who sees in highest heaven: he only knows>
      <whence comes this Universe, and whether it was made or>
      <un-created.  He only knows . . . Or perhaps he knows not.">

                                                    Rig Veda X, 129

          Unfortunately, "doubt is the fuel for faith" becomes
      hideously comical when seen in the context of modern
      Christianity.  The Christianity of today sets up faith as a kind
      of challenge - to make life more interesting.  Doubt is
      essential, because without doubt there would be no such
      challenge, and no fun.  Consequently, Christianity has gone out
      of its way to believe in the most ridiculous notions humanly
      possible, to ensure doubt for all but the most brainless.
      Indeed, people are never happy unless they're never happy.

          People these days cultivate doubt because it is an
      intellectual status symbol.  Thus their doubt is an imitation
      doubt.  And because they never truly doubt, they never arrive at
      a real resolution to life's problems.  They doubt everything
      except that which should be doubted - <the heart>, which after
      all, is unreliable.

          True doubt is a kind of true faith, because it is a faith in
      reason, which is indirectly a faith in truth.



      <<Faith>>

          Blind faith is an essential part of everyday life.  Yet
      this does not justify blind faith in religion!  The true thinker
      accepts what life forces upon him, but will not submit to faith
      unnecessarily.  When crossing a road one has faith that the cars
      will stop at the red light.  This is blind faith perhaps, but it
      is supported by experience, and more importantly is <necessary>
      if one is to cross the road.  Religious faith on the other hand
      is totally uncalled for, and is an irresponsible waste of human
      life.

          That Christianity is nothing but an evil broth thrown
      together to satisfy the masses is illustrated perfectly by a
      former Dean of St.Pauls Cathedral, London, who once said
      publicly: "As for repudiating obsolete dogmas, it is very
      difficult.  We have no right to offend these little ones that
      believe . . . It is perfectly hopeless to try to compose a creed
      which will satisfy both a learned scholar and his kitchenmaid."

          Religious people know nothing about truth or falsity, nor do
      they wish to.  It is useless to mention "blind faith" in their
      company, for it is a meaningless term to them.  They understand
      only one word, and that word is "satisfaction".

          To demand an intellectual conscience of people is to be in
      the throng of the city as a solitary in the desert . . . the
      herd are so empty of conscience they will not even hate you.








                                 <- GOD ->



      <<God is dead>>

          It is said: God is dead.  But if God is dead, then Man too
      is dead.



      <<Original Sin/Virtue>>

          Man is born to trouble, as sparks fly upwards; though his
      upwards flight is sometimes towards God!



      <<Movement>>

          Are you moving this minute like God's immaculate machine?,
      without a single unnecessary move?  How does one move such?  The
      task is to discern the task in everything and at all times; and
      that task is God.



      <<Holidays>>

          Someone on holiday forces themselves to let-go of all their
      worries.  They reason they have gone to so much trouble, and
      spent so much money on their holiday that they would be stupid
      not to enjoy themselves.  They would feel a failure if they were
      not able to relax.  With this powerful motivation they force all
      disturbing thoughts from the mind.

          Now take your case: you have been chosen to take the holiday
      for the whole human species!  The onus is on <you> to take a
      rest in God on their behalf.  Are you going to forego the
      holiday that the species is relying on you so much to take?



      <<Don't parley with the world>>

          I beg of you, transcend! - do not spend your few days here
      "solving problems".  What are you waiting for?  I tell you,
      attain the Kingdom of God <first>, then do all the thinking you
      like.  Only with intense Love of God will you attain a
      clean-clear infinite mind.  Otherwise you will continue your
      unending dance with the demon of the earth.

          When you cease your unnecessary problem solving, you will
      cease to distinguish between the shape of a person and the shape
      around the person.  Know this as a sign.



      <<A girl in love>>

          Which do you think she appreciates more - that her beloved
      remembers her on the week-end when he has nothing else to do, or
      that he still thinks of her when he is busiest of all.  In the
      same way, God is most pleased when you think of him when it is
      difficult to do so.



      <<Taking a rest>>

          It is impossible for the lover of God to take a rest from
      God.  Even when life becomes unbearable because of God's
      demands, and when one asks God for permission to take a rest,
      the rest period is no less strenuous, for the rest is again the
      God-relationship.

          We may get involved with God on the understanding that God
      will love us.  But soon we find out that it is <God> who wants
      to be loved, and according to <God's> understanding of what love
      is.  It is not easy to be a Christian, even for the best of us:
      it is permittable to say "I dare not".



      <<God is fatal>>

          It takes a lifetime to build up a secure dream, a dream that
      can justify one's loves and relationships.  And when it is done,
      there is great comfort.  Then God enters the picture!  And when
      he has taken the dream apart, it is impossible to put it back
      together again.  God is fatal.



      <<How fast!>>

          How <fast> the change can be . . . from a tormented mind of
      tiredness and boredom, to the powerful clear mind of bliss.  One
      has only to drop everything with a devoted love of God and in a
      moment you have cast off your burden and become a Buddha.
      Suddenly you are no longer the doer, but God is the doer, and He
      takes all responsibilities.

          After all, who are you to take responsibility for what God
      does!  What presumption!



      <<Kingdom of God first>>

          If an arrow is shot in your side, your first job is to
      remove it.  Then, and only then, are you at your leisure to
      consider the details of from whence it came, and why.  The fool,
      blinded by his hurt, is too busy worrying about the rude
      invasion of his privacy to think of removing the arrow, and save
      his own life.

          When you are sick, it is advisable to take the medicine and
      get better.  Thinking of what it may be like to regain your
      health will not save you, no matter how genuine your love of
      life.

          Don't waste time thinking about the reality of the mental
      world as opposed to the physical world; not when Reality is
      right there in front of you!  There is no greater barrier to
      knowledge than the desire for understanding.  You haven't time
      to tackle with phantoms; life is so short, and there is so much
      to be done.

          Have faith in reason I tell you! - but you want to
      understand all, all psychology, and all religion.  You say "I
      cannot make a move until I have all knowledge at my disposal.
      What rubbish!  You can certainly <make a start> by rejecting
      that which you <know> to be false.  What are you scared of?  Why
      the delay?  One reason only is sufficient to see fit to reject
      the evil game known as "love", so false is it.  Yet you have
      gathered for yourselves a thousand reasons, and still this is
      not enough for you to break the chains with which you hold it to
      you - much as a child holds to his mother by her apron strings.

          You fools think you can learn all that is false while you
      merrily bathe in falsity like pigs in swill.  Your whole world
      is false: you can only relate your falsities to other falsities.
      Consequently, even your falsities are false.



      <<Escapism>>

          There are two ways of escaping the sufferings of this world:

          "Accept my life, dear God"    - Kierkegaard

          "Beam me up Spock"            - Kirk  (Star Treck)



      <<Speak the truth>>

          It is not hard to keep the opposite sex away: all it
      requires is a little honesty.  Speak and think always of God,
      and of the love of God.  Speak always of non-attachment, and
      with disgust for all things petty - and watch them run for cover
      - purely for self survival!



      <<Atheists>>

          Even atheists are not true believers, not truly Godless like
      myself.  They reserve the possibility of one day believing in
      some God or other, just in case such a fantasy should become
      necessary to get them through a difficult period in life.  We
      wretches like to keep our options open - to give the imagination
      full reign.



      <<Cured by the grace of God>>

          God is called into existence as an explanation for
      everything we cannot satisfactorily explain with reason.
      In this way the non-rational becomes God: consequently the
      emotions are God!



      <<Proof of God's existence>>

          The lack of inherent existence in all things is <proven>,
      therefore an individual God is <disproven>.

          The reality of the <True> God cannot be proven, because God
      is merely a word for Reality, and Reality cannot be proven to
      exist - it just <is>.



      <<From the depths>>

          God is found - <only at the expense> of others.








                             <- IMAGINATION ->




      <<Children>>

          How is a great mind born?  It all begins in childhood.
      Introduce children to the realm of the imagination, and with the
      grace of the Earth they will learn that reality is a thing of
      the mind.  What can possibly limit such a one?

          All too easily, however, the imagination becomes a dangerous
      escape from reality.  Children often stagnate with an incomplete
      understanding of the imagination.  They grow up thinking nothing
      in the world can harm them, that they can always create their
      own pleasant reality inside their own minds, independent of the
      outside world.  The imaginary friends of childhood can so very
      easily grow into the countless religions and superstitions of
      adulthood.  So take care with the children.



      <<Imagination>>

          Just as you should try to clarify your dreams and
      visualizations, making them vivid and detailed, so should you
      sharpen-up your waking life.  All of life is an image-in-ing,
      and for as long as the mind continues to create images you will
      not be able to escape the imagination.  I ask you, what <isn't>
      an image in our minds?  We are indeed creatures of the
      imagination, for it is all we have got, and is the only reality.

          When we relate to objects we are actually relating to images
      in our minds.  When a man loves a woman, he is not in love with
      the woman herself, but with his picture of her.  So, never think
      your lover has given themselves to <you>, for they have instead
      given themselves to desire, pleasure, and illusion.

          The enlightened man is different because he is in control of
      his imagination, so his imaginings are pure, and he is
      unattached to these imaginings.



      <<Vision>>

          A turmoiled mind is cast from one disturbing conception to
      another.  And because vision is closely related to the
      imagination, is it any wonder the eyes become tired and sore?








                              <- INDIVIDUAL ->




      <<Widely Read>>

          If a person is widely read, it is nearly always because he
      refuses to think for himself.  He reads to keep knowledge at the
      distance of his intellect, and at the distance of the book in
      his hand, where knowledge is impersonal and objective, and at
      which distance he deems himself safe.  He never becomes an
      individual, and his words are never his own, but borrowed.



      <<Insignificance>>

          No matter how many people there are in this crowded world,
      the individual person never becomes insignificant: he never
      comes into existence!  Thus he is forever fulfilled and
      omnipotent, creating everything out of nothing.



      <<Individuality>>

          The believer doesn't believe himself worthy or capable of
      deciding what is true or false for himself, so he believes in
      what he reads, or in what he is told.

          His hypocrisy lies in his having <still> decided something
      for himself, in having decided which authority to believe in.
      He doesn't want to be an individual, but cannot avoid being so.
      Thus he turns his back on himself, on truth, and on God.



      <<Increasing level of difficulty>>

          Imagine a bond between all people, an elastic bond.  The
      more highly you develop spiritually, the greater is the force
      pulling you back down.  The more you must depend on the grace of
      God to counteract the increasing pull from below.

          And as much as the weight of the world pulls you down . . .
      you pull entire world up with you as you go.



      <<No identity?>>

          Do we moderns lack identity?  And is this lack of identity
      the source of our problems?  Heavens no!  We have more than
      enough "identity".  There are thinkers, jokers, punks,
      activists, Christians, Mothers, Fathers, just to name a few.

          There is no shortage of identity - what we lack is <human>
      identity.  I see many characters, but no human beings.



      <<Scripture>>

          The only way to successfully interpret religious scriptures
      is if you do not need to interpret them, and do not care to do
      so.  You must not have preconceived ideas about whether such
      writings are in fact spiritual in nature at all.

          Only when your wisdom is independent of books, when the
      words of the "Great Wise Men" are irrelevant to you, and you
      have the wisdom gone beyond, can you do justice to the blood of
      others.

          The one who reads books or listens to the words of others in
      search of Truth is someone who does not know the Truth.  Knowers
      of Truth do not look for Truth outside of themselves.  One who
      is ignorant of Truth cannot correctly interpret the words of one
      who is realized.  So I say, don't mistake knowledge for
      advancement: seek only the source of knowledge.

          The fool lacks the courage to look within himself for Truth,
      so he looks everywhere else.  He runs from himself, seeking his
      head which he thinks he has lost.  He runs from Truth to set up
      something more agreeable.

          The authority of the sage does not come from any scriptures
      or any grand historic tradition, but is his own, and is
      absolute.



      <<Who is the doer?>>

          Do you do all the good things you want to do?  If not, then
      you are doing things you don't want to do - so it is not you who
      are acting!  Who is it?



      <<Pluralism>>

          The world is growing smaller by the day, and we are forced
      to confront values that conflict with our own.  We find that if
      we are to avoid friction with others, and preserve peace in the
      world, we must hold many contradictory beliefs.  Thus the
      universal personality is born, capable of tolerating all.
      Unfortunately, its birth succeeds the death of individuality and
      character.



      <<Changing others>>

      Q:   You can't <make> others change.

      A:   You don't like the idea that others can make you change.
         You like to feel in control of your life.  You imagine
         yourself to be like a God, untouched by the world, creating
         from nothing, and in control of your own destiny.  Yet Nature
         controls every aspect of your life, and Nature dictates that
         others will make you change.  Do parents give the child a
         choice whether or not to go to school?  No!  The parents
         <make> the child go to school.  So do the wise make others
         come to see the truth.

      Q:   But people have their own individual karma they have to
         follow.  You cannot create causes for their change.

      A:   Who said anything about creating causes?  I follow my own
         individual karma, and that is to make others change.  You
         see, you have to be very careful about this concept of
         "individual karma".  It is merely a category used for
         convenience of communication, and has no other reality.
         Therefore, there is no individual karma or group karma.  You
         must abandon all such concepts, other than for practical use.
         You must first learn to see the formless aspect of karma
         before you can see all its other aspects.

      Q:   Are you enlightened?

      A:   If I speak the truth and put it into practice, then I am
         one who is enlightened.



      <<To see things objectively>>

          Visualize a small version of yourself standing on the upheld
      palm of your left hand, and visualize the rest of humanity on
      your other hand.  Now, weigh up the two, and ask yourself, which
      is the most important?

          When I put this to people they reply: "But why can't I be on
      the hand with all the others?"

          How it <scares> a person, to even <imagine> themselves as an
      individual!  This is particularly so with women.  A man may well
      reason that the species is more important than the individual,
      but for women a single life has more value than the rest of the
      Universe.



      <<The world>>

          Be wary never to feel at home in a house of sin!  Learn
      never to feel at one with the people.  Remain ever separate,
      observing, and alone.  Be fearful of this world, until you learn
      to truly love God.  A dose of disgust is necessary, lest you
      become foolishly enamoured of this world.



      <<So hard for me to believe>>

          How can others be <so different> from me?  Am I not human?

          In genetic development one small change in the genetic code
      can result in massive differences in the resulting creature . .
      I had just one thought that others did not have . . .

          Now I am a diamond in a forest of charcoal.



      <<Preparation for the future>>

          You must be able to visualize yourself doing what you wish
      to do.  If you cannot at least do this, then your goal is not
      realistic.

          How can you hope to one day become a true individual if you
      can't visualize yourself living without the crutch of emotional
      attachment?  If you cannot see yourself soon being hated by all
      humanity, men and women alike, then you have not yet grasped
      what it means to live honestly.








                             <- THE INFINITE ->




      <<Dust to dust>>

          We come from dust, we are dust, and return to dust.  Thus is
      the unchangeable nature of God.  Behold immortality!



      <<Always>>

          Jesus said <"I am with you always">: this is such a
      beautiful statement when understood in its deepest sense.

          As the word "always" suggests, He is not present in time, He
      <is> time.  I am with you all-ways - God is present in every
      way, how can Reality abandon you?



      <<Immortal and infinite>>

          Does "immortal" mean everlasting life?  No such thing!  To
      be immortal is to be im-mortal, that is, not mortal, not living
      - and thus incapable of death.

          Similarly, "infinite" means not finite; it does not mean
      "immeasurably large".



      <<Wonder>>

          There is a correct and an incorrect way to wonder.

          I bid you not seek happiness in the infinite complexity of
      Nature.  Shun sunsets and blue skies.  And why?  Because such
      wonder is nothing more than a cowardly egotistical submission to
      the complexity and creative power of Nature.

          The wonder I wish upon you is stainless; it is incapable of
      co-existing with such crudities as happiness.  It is not tainted
      with the grime of emotion, but is as deep and clear and heavy as
      Nature Herself.



      <<The Void>>

          The void is a deep and dark ocean.  If you as much as
      generate a single deluded thought, great and furious currents
      well into being.  When this happens, the fabric of reality
      itself is disturbed.

          Therefore be still and unmoving, like an uncarved block of
      wood.  Return to what you were before your mother and father
      were born.







                                 <- JOY ->




      <<Truth>>

      Q:   You say that Truth is life, but when I look at you . . .
         you are a young man, yet your head is balding and your hair
         is turning grey.  It seems to me you are dying an early
         death, and have not seen much of happiness.

      A:   Granted, my happiness is different to yours.  Mine is a
         future happiness.

      Q:   The way you are going, you haven't got much of a future!

      A:   Neither the future nor anything else stops with my death.
         My future happiness is as safe as the future itself.  And the
         future is as safe as the past.

      Q:   I don't understand why you work towards a future happiness,
         when happiness is available to us this very day.

      A:   My happiness is more different than you think.  While your
         happiness is the cause of suffering, and your suffering the
         cause of happiness, my happiness, and my future, is beyond
         both happiness and suffering.  My future is the wreckless,
         extravagant and ruthless joy of Nature Herself; a timeless
         romp across Universes; the creation and destruction of gods
         and men; playing with the sands of time.  It is the joy . . .
         the joy that I couldn't be born, even if I wanted to.



      <<Waking>>

          Wake to the day with the joy and zest of having arrived in
      Heaven.  All will be well for you.  Sit back and enjoy!  What
      can possibly touch you, who are beyond space and time?  Be as a
      dead man, the dead man you are, untouched by the worries and
      concerns of this world.



      <<Encourage the children>>

          Some know much, but not enough for joy.  They know what is
      false, but not what is true.  They seek truth, but not
      perfection.  They sacrifice much, but not their suffering.  They
      give much, but not their life.  They love truth, but will not
      <become> that love.

          I tell you, the children must be encouraged.  If you tell
      them "nobody is perfect" they will not seek perfection.  If you
      tell them that some things cannot be known, they will not try to
      know them.  If you tell them they must be human, they will
      remain human.  I beg of you, my brothers and sisters, give me a
      Superman!

          When a child thinks they have reached the pinnacle, in
      academia or in sport, then show them where they stand in
      relation to the eternal - thus encouraging them onwards.  If you
      let them settle with grand ideas of themselves they will resent
      you later on.  For there will be a rude awakening, and they will
      be ill-equiped to cope with it.  But point to the horizon, and
      urge them forth, and their humility alone will be sufficient to
      forge a path and propel them along it.

          So just make sure you teach by example and seek only the
      supreme joy of wisdom.  Do you have it in you to pass-up the
      joys of talent?  Oh how success cripples!



      <<Joy>>

          The joyful wisdom is not achieved through controlling lust.
      Lust itself vanishes with even a single breath of the true
      joyful wisdom.

          "If you can harmonize and delight in all things, master them
      and never be at a loss for joy, if you can do this day and night
      without a break and make it be spring with everything, mingling
      with all and creating the moment within your own mind - this is
      what I call being whole in power."
                                                       Chuang Tzu



                  <First Time>

                  I grew ears,
                  And for the first time,
                  I could hear the wind,
                  And see the colour of the sky,
                  And wonder at the illusion of distance,
                  And feel the touch of thumb on forefinger.








                                 <- LEARNING ->




      <<There is much to learn>>

          You can learn much from the workaholic businessmen and the
      religious fanatic.

          From the businessman, be reminded how great your resolve and
      confidence must be.  And seeing the deluded and fanatical
      religionist absorbed in bliss during ritual, be reminded of how
      you must love the Truth with like fervor, and become absorbed in
      Truth.



      <<Bad receptacles>>

          Three types of person are unable to learn:

          - The upside-down pot.

              If you are totally content with who you are, then you
              will have no desire to learn.

          - The defiled pot.

              You may desire to learn, but your bad habits prevent you
              from progressing in thought.  You will be like an
              imperfect mirror that distorts an image.

          - A pot with holes.

              You may have intelligence and a keen desire to learn,
              but your motivation is weak.  Without a powerful
              motivation there is no concentration, and without
              concentration there is no assimilation or memory.



      <<Raising the sights>>

          One aims only as far as one can see.  We live behind a
      towering wall of stone, to protect us from the outside.  If a
      generous soul from the outside should one day kindly smash a
      hole in our wall, and then himself show us the way by dancing
      beyond the distant horizon, then our sights will be raised quite
      automatically.  People can only achieve what they believe to be
      achievable; so I tell you, make yourself a pattern to the flock!

          The situation is like that of fleas, who, when you remove
      the lid of their jar will jump only as high as the lid used to
      be.  They restrict themselves to a perceived limit, until after
      a time they realize the restriction has been lifted, and jump to
      freedom.



      <<Stimulating subjects>>

          The subject of the sexes, evolution, and the beginning of
      life are all good subjects to stimulate and promote minds into
      the spiritual sphere.  All three are fundamental to our lives,
      so progress with them empowers the mind quite naturally.  One
      who masters them has the feeling: "While others stumble about in
      darkness I have learned how to turn on the light - what can hold
      me now!  This very Universe is not enough to confine me - I am
      free!"



      <<Confusion>>

          Confusion is an essential part of learning.  If confusion is
      avoided we can never go through it and progress to clarity.
      Confusion results when we are not sure.  While surety is
      lacking, there is room for learning.

          The perplexed student of philosophy asks "how much of me is
      me?"  This is something.  At least he is partially unsettled.
      He may yet become <more> unsettled, then ask the real question:
      Is there a me?

          Good teachers cover their tracks.  They do not wish to
      mislead people by leaving behind them a tangible path to be
      followed.  Therefore they appear to contradict themselves, and
      do not give easy answers.  The price of answer-giving is high.
      It prevents people from learning how to think for themselves.



      <<To develop the mind>>

          Three main paths of mental activity need to be exercised:
      In, within, and out.

      In:     Read and listen, accept everything Nature has to offer.

      Within: Having taken-in information, convert it into knowledge
              and wisdom by bathing it in the light of Reality.
              Digest your mental food in the stomach of the Earth.

      Out:    Speak and write, so other parts of your mind (which
              includes other people) can benefit from your gain.

          These three pathways are intimately linked: if you wish to
      function fully you must develop all three to their capacity.
      Therefore, when you read, do not merely read, but think, and
      write, and sometimes read aloud, ensuring the development of a
      balanced mind.



      <<Human>>

          Those who are truly human will overflow with joy when you
      show them their own ugliness, and they will beg you to reveal
      more - others will blink.



      <<Alertness>>

          There are three types of mindfulness:

           1.  Mindfulness of the body
           2.  Mindfulness of the mind
           3.  Mindfulness of mindfulness

          Mindfulness is a matter of <alertness>.  Alertness is a part
      of the mind that stands back and observes, and can see things in
      perspective.  Alertness checks what the mind is doing and asks
      "Is there is anything better I could be doing at the present
      moment?", and "Is this activity advancing me towards my goal?"
      Alertness keeps us at a safe distance from the stickiness of the
      world.  Lose your alertness, become absorbed in things, and you
      will be at their mercy.

                  Whatever has been learnt
                  By those whose minds lack alertness
                  Just like water in a leaking vase
                  It will not be retained in their memory.




      <<How a man can give birth to a child>>

          You cannot <give> a person enlightenment, just as you cannot
      give birth to another's child - but you can certainly assist
      them in bearing <their own> child.



      <<Angry young men>>

          Let the angry young man go forth, and become an angry God!;
      for an angry God is a blissful creature.  The Old Testament is
      more beautiful than the new one: God was more angry in those
      days.



      <<Proof>>

          Scientifically, nothing can ever be proven conclusively,
      only <disproven>.  All we can do is formulate hypotheses and
      theories based on evidence.

          Sadly, this noble principle is useless in the face of an
      unreasoning mind.  Such a mind is utterly convinced even by a
      complete absence of evidence.



      <<Certainty/Uncertainty>>

      Q:   You say all is uncertain; but surely my knowledge that I
         have lived a life is an absolute certainty.

      A:   We cannot know with certainty that we had a childhood; it
         may have been programmed into us, or projected into our
         brains.  However, our childhood is a strong apearance to us,
         and I can't think of anything that would discount it.
         Therefore, because it is a reasonable idea we should uphold
         it as a reality.

      Q:   If we accept childhood because it appears to us, then we
         should also accept the ego, which is certainly a strong
         appearance to us.  The ego may consist of false thoughts, but
         it is surely reasonable to accept the conventional reality of
         the ego, along with all its desires.

      A:   Hunger is a reality, but we need not put up with it!
         Likewise, delusion is a reality, but this doesn't mean it has
         to remain.  There are many realities: it is also a reality
         that I want to live in accordance with Truth, which involves
         destroying the ego.  Childhood may not be a false thought,
         but the ego certainly is: some things can be known <with
         certainty.>

           Uncertainty too, is a certainty.  Uncertainty does not
         defeat the purpose of learning, but is the goal of it.



      <<Learning>>

          Without fuel there is no fire.  Doubt is the fuel for
      learning, and later for faith.  The moment there is a genuine
      doubt, the mind opens, and knowledge enters.  With doubt one
      considers the possibility that something new is possible: this
      involves learning.

          Without learning there can be no knowledge of truth, let
      alone <faith> in it.  Oh how I despise the priests of religion
      who speak lovingly of "faith": they know not of what they speak.
      I tell you, <without knowledge there can be no faith>.  One must
      know all about God before one can have faith in Him.

          Studying is easy, to truly learn is difficult, and to act on
      what you have learnt is more difficult still.



      <<Openness>>

          The prodigal son was loved and helped by his father when the
      self-righteous son was not.  Only the sufferer can be helped by
      God.  Only his mind has room for something new.

          Similarly with the brother who said "yes" and did not, and
      the other brother who said "no" and who eventually did his
      fathers will.  The one had room for something new.



      <<Advice for University students>>

          Many find their security and comfort in a church.  Others
      find it at a University, which is like a church in many ways.

          The lecturers are the priests, and the gospel is the
      educational tradition that has been passed down through the
      centuries.  And just as religion has lost all semblance to truth
      through the passage of time, so has our education system become
      completely without a basis in truth and reason.

          Our system of education is more honestly called "socio-
      engineering".  It manufactures a society by forcing traditional
      values and patterns of thinking onto us, rather than encouraging
      us to think for ourselves.  Thus, a University is the same as a
      church in that it is a place for self-gratification, rather than
      for rationality and thinking.  It is a place for <illusions>.

          Important questions are not at home in a place of learning.
      University education must be popular, or Universities go out of
      business.

          Philosophy departments take a token look at life: but there
      is never an intention to find answers.  Philosophy is a
      scholastic exercise providing scholars with jobs - the ultimate
      in twaddling.  The result is a huge amount of meaningless
      knowledge, the application of which does more harm than good.
      And why?  Because our knowledge and our lives are without a
      basis in Truth.

          The academic staff are necessarily the worst culprits - a
      result of the length of time they have spent being "educated".
      Three or four years at a University is enough to destroy any
      tendency towards reason and free thought a person may have.  Our
      friendly professor has spent many years in this mind-deadening
      environment, and it shows on his face.  In his fatherliness he
      passes his feeble thoughts on to his thousands of students,
      perpetuating ignorance in grand fashion.

          Universities successfully teach one how to be happy, self-
      satisfied and proud for one's education.  They do not teach one
      to reason, investigate, question, and suffer for the truth.
      Universities train in taking soft options, in suppressing or
      omitting the important or essential truths, and successfully
      produce contented sub-humans.  For example, evolution is rightly
      taught, and shows that all things arise out of causes and are
      not spontaneously created from nothing.  However, the fact that
      evolution points to the non-existence of an independent "self",
      and the world-shattering consequences of this knowledge in our
      lives, is <completely ignored>.  Yet this knowledge of self is
      the most important of all, and is the only thing that can truly
      be called wisdom.

          The only difference between the University graduate and the
      ordinary animal-creature on the street is that the graduate
      earns more money.  Though what makes the educated person so
      despicable is that they set themselves up as being accomplished
      in the realm of the intellect, when their ignorance is probably
      more complete and secure than anyone's.

          The situation is this - the one who is to attend a
      University for what is a sizeable portion of their life, feels
      that they must conform and fit-in just to survive the ordeal.
      Such is our weakness: we so want the money and security
      education provides, we willingly sell our soul for it.

          Be warned, what you do is who you are, and determines what
      you will become.

          If at first sight University life seems shallow, artificial,
      and like a dream, then you see truly.  Hold-on to this thought,
      and have faith in it.  Dreams have a tendency of gradually
      engulfing one's better judgement, until they seem to be reality
      itself.  Be on your guard!  Do not loose your footing and get
      swept away in the torrent of youth and yearning (as opposed to
      Truth and learning).

          Be honest with yourselves.  If you attend University purely
      for security and comfort, then know that it is so.  Do not
      pretend you are doing anything other than dragging the world
      even further down than it already is.  I beg you not to obscure
      and clutter the way for those few who have it in them to strive
      for Truth.








                                 <- LOVE ->



               <"I love him who is a free spirit and a free heart:>
               <thus his head is only the bowels of his heart,>
               <but his heart drives him to his downfall.">

                                                  Nietzsche



      <<What is Love?>>

          Much has been spoken of love.  And after all has been said,
      it is clear that love is above all - comical.

          For it is comical that we regard ourselves to be individual
      and whole, yet do not feel complete without our "other half",
      which must surely make each one of us <half a person>.  We must
      truly despise selfhood, for we do not desire to be one with
      ourselves, but only with somebody else.

          Man in particular regards himself to be a lion of strength
      and independence.  Yet he becomes a puppy under the love that
      destroys selfhood and makes us all the same.  He so often feels
      in control of love, seeing it as a tool for his skillful hands,
      believing it a game.  Yet love comes to control him
      increasingly, and relentlessly, until it dictates his every
      move.  He is proud of his ability to shatter alleged mysteries
      with the power of reason.  Yet, to him, both women and love
      remain total mysteries - mysteries so overwhelming they have
      conquered him utterly, for he submitted to them long ago.

          Woman, on the other hand, sees herself as modest by nature,
      earthy, with feet on the ground, unlike her male counterpart.
      Yet have you noticed how she makes not the slightest objection
      when man promotes her to the position of goddess?  For when a
      man loves a woman she becomes for him the greatest of all
      things.  He sets her up on a pedestal, making himself naught
      before her, and offering no less than his life.  Does she feel a
      pang of conscience about this untoward attention?  Does she
      refuse it?  On the contrary, she feels insulted if man doesn't
      lay himself at her feet, crying over her infinite beauty and
      absolute power.

          Yes, love is truly incredible, but more incredible still is
      our ignorance of it.  For all our intellectual attainments, love
      remains notably unexplained.  If humankind has a worst failing,
      it would have to be our ignorance about the true nature of love.
      The lover knows not what love is, nor exactly what it is he
      loves, nor why he loves.  Indeed, our ageless profound wisdom
      tells us not to question love . .  not to spoil what is already
      perfect.  If ignorance about love is your dignity, then much
      good may it do you.  I will be content as a failure in your
      eyes, vainly holding to my thought.  For if love is a mystery,
      it is so only to those who refuse to think.

          I hear many of you object that you are not complete
      philistines, and that you do in fact contemplate love at length.
      Well, if your music and reading tastes are anything to go by,
      you do indeed never stop thinking about love.  The problem is,
      you think about love <after the fact>.  First you accept love,
      then you think about it.  You never stop to consider what love
      is, whether it is right or wrong, real or illusory.  Did doubt
      and reflection die with God?

          Then let us take a closer look at this love of ours: who
      knows what evil dwarves we may find lurking in the nooks and
      crannies of our hearts!  Perhaps love is not the great and
      unfailing pillar of virtue we are led to believe.

          Certainly, of the millions in this world deserving of our
      love, in marriage we choose to give our whole love to a single
      one.  Is this fair?  Should we not love all people equally and
      unreservedly?  The grisly fact is, we love only for what we get
      in return.  That is, we love <what> we get in return - we love
      happiness and happiness alone.  Do you doubt me?  Then ask
      yourself, do you <ever> love that which brings you unending pain
      and hardship?

          Love is an attempt to redress the conflicts and unmet
      desires of childhood.  Consequently, our loved one tends to be a
      composite of our family members.  It is all to do with ego
      gratification.  We do not love someone because of their
      goodness, but because they make us feel good.  Thus, love comes
      before morality . . . and (conveniently) prevents it.

          Also amazing is the belief that we can avoid possessiveness
      in love.  All too often I hear it said: "Love by all means, but
      avoid the curse of attachment!"  Agh!  As if love and attachment
      were two separate things!  How I am tried!  Don't you know that
      love <is> attachment, and is therefore the embodiment of
      possessiveness?  Don't you know that your loved one becomes your
      alter-body, your alter-mind, and your alter-self?  And just as
      you would feel possessive of your own eyes if a stranger tried
      to take them, one feels possessive of love.  How little we would
      enjoy our love if love was not itself attachment!  We would need
      no lover, and when there is no need there is no caring, no
      enjoyment, and no purpose for any relationship.

          And how often I notice our habit of falling in love with our
      opposites!  Curiously, we seem completely unaware of this
      irrational behaviour: we regard it as normal, seeing no
      contradiction.  Or is it more accurate to say that we perceive
      nothing wrong with irrational behaviour?  Think about it for a
      moment: worshipping and devoting yourself to someone whose
      values are opposite to those you cherish!  Falling in love with
      your enemy!  The world calls it sharing: I call it compromise
      and weakness.

          Yet there must be tension in a relationship to give love
      material to work with.  There must be conflict in order for each
      participant to find their own identity and their own joy.  That
      is, some suffering is necessary in love, as love involves
      playing one lover off against the other <through pain>.  That
      is, for a couple to be compatible in love, there must be a
      degree of incompatibility.  Thus, in love, the imperfect is held
      to be perfect.

          Yes, love needs rough terrain.  It needs the challenge of
      mountain climbs, and the thrill of downhill runs.  Such
      activity, however, is not without cost: bones break when you
      fall.

          It must also be said that love <expects> compromise and
      sacrifice from the loved one.  Yet how <foolish> is a love in
      which one has to change who one is, to keep in favour with love.

          The concept of love as <sharing> also deserves a second
      look, for it seems to me that between two beings so radically
      different as man and woman, no true reciprocal relation is
      possible.  Man and woman have entirely different concepts of
      love, so there are two loves, and they are so unlike as to
      deserve different names.  The love of woman is devotion.  The
      love of man is to want devotion.  Woman gives herself; man
      acquires more.  I see little scope for sharing in such a
      relationship.

          I particularly challenge a man's motive for falling in love.
      What is his purpose?  What does he hope to gain?  The answer is
      too crude to bear a mention.  Furthermore, I question the
      dignity of winning a woman's affection.  And still more, how
      dignified is it to lose your temper with, or argue with a woman?
      (which surely is a measure of love).  For a woman, like a child,
      has only the shallowest and most insubstantial of thoughts.  If
      you were to try to paddle your feet in her oceans, you wouldn't
      even get your feet wet.  How can one honestly expect her to be
      rational, consistent, and just?  It is <the man> who falls
      short, with his unrealistic expectations of woman.  To expect a
      woman to be a woman, and yet to think as a man, is to <be> a
      woman, and is far indeed from dignity.  How much <less> dignified
      it is to actually <love> a woman!

          Undeniably, contradictions abound where love is even
      mentioned.  Love is held to be a universal good, yet we find
      that some loves, strangely, are more acceptable than others.  To
      love one's family is virtuous, yet to love violence is evil.
      So, we tell the young to be cautious where they place their
      love, which is like trying to tell a cancer that it may infect
      all parts of the body - except this one particular part.  You
      see, love is so ruinous of mind that once it is created, nothing
      can stop its destructive course.

          For all this, love is most comical among the scholars and
      intellectuals, for here the contradiction is most glaring.  They
      pride themselves on their respect for reason, yet their lives
      evidence the exact opposite - because love is without doubt the
      most irrational and non-sensical of all pursuits.  To one and
      all it is an unknown quantity, yet the intellectuals have no
      problem with it.  This gives one cause to seriously doubt what
      qualifies them to be the guardians of human knowledge.  They are
      quick enough to pounce on a fellow scholar if he has some small
      fault which might distort his judgement.  Yet love - that
      immense and unknown power - is accepted as the linchpin of life
      without question.

          To see a serious person, who thinks himself serious,
      parading in a clowns uniform and behaving as a clown -
      completely unknown to himself, is comical.  It is even more
      comical when a whole group of serious friends are likewise
      clowning - unknown to themselves.  So are the intellectuals, who
      cannot see the foolishness of their love, continuing about their
      business as though nothing were wrong - as though they were
      innocent!

          Unfortunately, of the rare few in this world who do exercise
      their brains, only one or two do so in earnest.  The rest are
      mental sportsman, who think merely for entertainment.  These
      wretches are even worse than brainless animals, for they
      understand love, yet go along with it regardless.  Woe to them
      who knowingly submit their will to a lie!  Woe is the scholar!
      Woe the academic!

          Their cold and rigid thought cannot cope with something as
      simple in essence as love.  Formal academic thought is biased,
      and does not provide the power or means to discover the things
      close to the heart, close to the mind - the subjective truths.
      Yet without subjective truth there is no truth at all, no matter
      how many volumes of categories and systems we manage to fill.
      True objectivity comes about only through absolute subjectivity.

          Only the individual, thinking with his whole being, sees the
      true and ugly face of love.  Then love, for him, becomes
      impossible.  However, this is not the end of it, for he will be
      swept up by a vast wind, and a new love, that will carry him
      beyond desire.  He will discover Truth, and Love is Truth, and
      True Love is being truthful.  No longer will he wander aimlessly
      through the cruel mystery of love, life, and suffering.  No
      longer will he be love's slave, and his life a juggling act with
      contradictory opposites.  He will be free.

          Well, I thought love was humorous, but I am not laughing -
      and nor are you.  Is love then too humorous to laugh about?

          . . .  Or perhaps only some truths are funny.



      <<Commitment and marriage>>

      A:   When I get married I will be forever faithful to my
         husband.

      B:   What if, when you are married, you meet a better man, whom
         you love even more than your husband?  Wouldn't it be
         terribly unfair to him if you didn't marry him?

      A:   Well, in that case I would get a divorce - as long as it
         wasn't just lust.



      <<That hard headed woman>>

          The song goes: "I'm looking for a hard-headed woman.  One
      that will make me do my best."

          Hah!  The contradictions of relationships are unlimited!  If
      the woman really was hard-headed she certainly wouldn't have any
      interest in men - nor men in her!

          Man wants a woman to appear as the person he himself wishes
      to be - the perfect man.  He wants to see her as strong,
      rational, cool, above the world.  If she gives this appearance,
      then good for her - but she had better be feminine underneath!

          A woman has to be all things to a man, sometimes a mother, a
      sister, a daughter, a prostitute, and sometimes . . . a father.



      <<A lover?>>

          When she looks on you with longing eyes, she is like a
      heroin addict, ogling her white powder with eyes of burning
      love.  What is love if not this?



      <<The cancer of love>>

          The universal catch-cry is: "The most important thing in
      life is love."  What this really means is: "The most important
      thing in life is that which makes me feel most important."

          Most people (and who are not "most people") do not even
      realize they are dying of disease.  They see their human love as
      a virtue, rather than a cancer.

          The first of the four Buddhist noble truths is "the
      recognition of ignorance."  However, in failing to uncover the
      truth about their greatest joy - I am speaking of love -
      Buddhists fail to realize even this first and essential truth.

          It is not by chance I entitled this collection of writings
      "Poison for the heart."



      <<Sexual relationships>>

          We speak of "sexual relationships" to avoid the actuality of
      the <emotional> relationship.  To consider emotions is to get a
      little too close to an unwanted truth - the insecurity of the
      ego.

          More accurately, sex is 90% emotional only during the
      fleeting romantic stage - then it becomes 90% physical.



      <<Blowing love out of the water>>

          Would your lover still love you if you were covered from
      head to toe in boils?  They would?  Then what if you had no arms
      or legs either?  They would?  Then would they love you if you
      had a bad personality as well!

          We people have no choice about what kind of personality we
      have.  It is surely unfair to love someone just because they
      happen to be physically attractive and have a good personality.



      <<The third person>>

          Lovers hate a third person, and "three's a crowd" because
      that third person represents and reminds us of the true
      perspective.  Reason is a third person where love is concerned,
      and one does one's best to be rid of it by living a sub-mental
      existence.



           <Beauty (or a bodhisattvas lament)>

           A clover crested hillock,
           A lush carpet of virulent green.
           Fragile bouquets gilded by brilliant fire,
           In a saphire sky,
           Where crystal palaces skud gracefully by.
           A restless brook burbles in rocky delight,
           Chattering of distant peaks,
           Pillars of the sky,
           Cloaked in pure white sabel,
           Locks of icy wind cascading from top-most crown,
           Where a lone eagle soars in majestic pride.
           All dissolves to mud when I see her smile.


                     modified from
                       a University students' magazine



      <<I will not love (because . . .)>>

      1.  I will not cause a woman to pain - as I would upon my death,
          if not before.

      2.  I will neither hate nor be hated: as you always hate the
          thing that you love, insofar as it pains you.

      3.  I will not cause others to suffer through envy, because of a
          woman's love for me, or because I love another.

      4.  I will not love, restricting my own freedom, as well as the
          freedom of another.



      <<Love>>

          Love is . . . being another's psychological boxing ground.
      It is also like being a cooked goose, stuffed and sitting on the
      table, and being told how tasty it is - before being devoured.
      Such a goose has no cause for rejoicing.  Thus you must be a
      <wild goose>, high and free.

          So, they still see you as a table goose?  They still taste
      you on their palates? - let them to their imaginings!



      <<Woman vs Nature>>

          When a man loves a woman, he can never really appreciate
      Nature, because his heart's just not in it.  It's in a woman.



      <<A woman's love>>

          When a man loves a woman, he does not give himself, but
      takes her.  When a woman loves a man she gives herself utterly.
      Utterly?  Yet there is one small thing she will never submit -
      her enjoyment!  Thus she keeps for herself what she really
      values, and gives what is not important to her.  His gain is
      therefore hollow, as she has given nothing.  He has been duped,
      for she has given him sand dressed up as gold.  But then . . .
      she never did promise him anything.

          What is more, it is not so much the man that she loves, but
      the <Man> that he reminds her of.  So she loves another, not a
      physical man but an imaginary one.  And there are many who
      remind her of Him.  Therefore the man in love is eternally
      cuckolded.  He looks after another man's woman, in the naive
      belief that she is his.

          Men too are unfaithful, but I do not need to tell you that.








                               <- MACHINES ->




      <<Machines>>

      Q:   It is impossible for a machine to possess life.

      A:   <You> are a machine that possesses life.

      Q:   But a machine cannot experience self-consciousness.

      A:   A machine can <believe> it is experiencing self-
         consciousness, as you do.

      Q:   Are you saying that I only <believe> I have self-
         consciousness?

      A:   Yes.

      Q:   How can you know self-consciousness is not real?

      A:   Because it is impossible for a self, or anything else for
         that matter, to exist inherently.

      Q:   Machines are wholly material, so how can they possess life?

      A:   <You> are wholly material and yet we say you possess life.

      Q:   I am not wholly material!  I have a soul or a spirit, which
         purely material things do not.

      A:   What is this soul of yours?  Show it to me!

      Q:   We cannot adequately describe much of our behaviour and
         experience in words; this is evidence of a spirit, or a soul
         that dwells within the body.  Our scientific categories are
         not sufficient to deal with such spiritual truths, so I
         cannot show it to you as such.

      A:   We cannot adequately describe much of a computer's
         behaviour and experience in words.  There are an infinite
         number of variables operating whenever we use a machine, so
         there is always unpredictability, and therefore "spirit" as
         you say.

      Q:   How can you say that?  It is my experience that machines
         are totally predictable: it is this predictability that makes
         them different from us.

      A:   Can you predict with certainty whether your car will start
         in the morning?

      Q:   No, but machines always have definite causes for what they
         do.  If a car fails to start in the morning, the engine may
         need new spark plugs.

      A:   <All> things have definite causes, though we may not be
         able to determine precisely what those causes are.  Can you
         be certain that the problem with the car is worn spark plugs?
         If you replace the spark plugs and the car starts, can you be
         sure you have fixed the problem?  You see, all things are the
         same, whether human or machine, in their inherent
         unpredictability.

      Q:   The difference between machines and humans is that in the
         case of machines there are only a limited number of possible
         reasons for failure.  The problem with the car will be found
         in either the electrical system, or the fuel system.

      A:   Things have <infinite> causes because of the
         interconnectedness of all things.  There are however a finite
         number of <categories> of causes, though each contain an
         infinite number of causes.  The electrical and fuel systems
         are two such categories.  A further category might be called
         "extraordinary causes," which would cover the possibilty that
         aliens are directing a disabling beam at your car from outer
         space.

           Similarly, if a human being is faulty, the cause must lie
         within a limited number of categories of causes.  For
         example, a cause must be either physical, mental or
         spiritual.

      Q:   But machines are man-made, and man-made things cannot
         possess life.

      A:   Are machines really man-made?  I think you will find it is
         Nature that makes all machines, just as Nature has made us.
         Nature works through us and <as> us to do all that we do,
         including the making of machines.

      Q:   You have yet to convince me.  If an exact robot copy was
         made of me, would <I> feel self-conscious in that robot?

      A:   If it was an exact copy of <you>, then it would sincerely
         believe it was you.  What is more, it would question whether
         it was possible for <you> to possess life, as you are merely
         a machine, whilst it possesses spirit.

      Q:   Would such an intelligent machine experience emotions?

      A:   Just as you do.

      Q:   But my emotions are based on a whole lifetime of
         experiences, whereas the machine would have no past.

      A:   It is conceivable to program a machine to think it has had
         the same experiences as you.  It is also conceivable, with
         suitable technology, to make an exact copy of your brain,
         with all its thoughts and memories intact.

           You seem to forget that <you> are a machine, and changing
         from moment to moment.  You are therefore not the same
         machine for two consecutive moments.  Each new "you" inherits
         memories and experiences from the old you.  At any point in
         time you have no age at all, yet possess a lifetime of
         experience.  As you see, age is no barrier to experience.

      Q:   This is serious!  If we build machines that are as much
         alive as we are, then who are the real humans?  These
         machines, whose brains are based on superior technology to
         our own brains, may even be able to think faster than us!
         They could be installed with enhanced senses, like eyes
         capable of telescopic or infra-red vision!  And what about
         reproduction?  Will there be interbreeding between humans and
         robots?  What is to stop these machines from out-competing
         the human race for food and resources and driving us to
         extinction?

      A:   Don't be so upset - change happens.  Sometimes this change
         goes by the name of "evolution".  If these "new humans" are
         truly superior to us, then why should we deny them?  Anyway,
         this is not a new thing.  Our very own human reproduction
         involves the production of new machines, who may well be
         superior to the parents, and who will eventually replace the
         parents.  Do we not wish our children to be an improvement on
         ourselves?

      Q:   This is quite disappointing to me.  I have always thought
         there was something sacred about the creation of a new life
         through the love of a man and a woman.

      A:   To create even the simplest of mechanical machines is a
         higher act than biological reproduction, for it is at least
         the result of a thought process, rather than blind chance and
         lust.



      <<Life>>

          Can a machine possess life?  If a cell is alive, and an atom
      is not, then the link between living and dead matter is
      somewhere between a cell and an atom.  I tell you, <life is
      imputed by mind.>



      <<The computer>>

          They who desire to become vehicles for God have a tough time
      of it in this world, and often consider backing down.  They
      think: what can one single robot do in this badly deluded world?

          A computer can do only what it is told to do, within the
      constrictions of its hardware.  Never think yourself more than
      the computer you are.  If you work on a task, what matter if you
      succeed or fail?  If you fail it will be due to limited software
      or hardware.  A pure robot has no need of moral support, the
      company of others, success, or motivation.  All problems arise
      when he loses his instructions and gets confused.

          Is there a bug in the system?  Are you producing incorrect
      results?  Are you taken-in by illusions?  Some programs are
      created to fix bugs, but even these are programmed, and are
      therefore beyond your reach and responsibility.  In fact,
      everything is beyond your reach and responsibility.  Even your
      thought of your own existence is programmed.

          If you operate as the single machine you are, then nothing
      more can be required of you.  Nobody can help or hinder you, as
      you are the only one who can ever be inside that mind of yours.
      Think simply, step-by-step, one thing at a time, one after the
      other - what can possibly disturb such a process?

          Because God is your creator and programmer, and because He
      is beyond right and wrong, let Him get on with what he's doing.
      And just as a computer is a vehicle for the mind of man, you are
      the vehicle for the mind of God.  You are the machine, God is
      the operator.



      <<Humans>>

      Q:   Are we human beings merely machines?

      A:   I don't like your expression "merely" machines.  You see,
         <all> things are machines.  And why?  Because everything
         works by cause and effect, which is a mechanistic process.
         That which works mechanistically is a machine.

      Q:   There are some things which do not work mechanistically.

      A:   Name me one thing that happens without being caused to
         happen!  You cannot do it.  You may be able to cite me cases
         where you are unaware of the cause, but it is absurd to
         suggest that anything can be without a cause.

      Q:   Looking at our situation from the genetic perspective, are
         we merely survival machines, robot vehicles blindly
         programmed to preserve the genes?  Is reproduction our
         primary purpose?

      A:   Your question implies that the mind is but a tool of the
         body.  It can equally well be argued that the purpose of mind
         is to preserve the mind - that the mind is the purpose of
         reproduction, rather than the other way around.  What came
         first, genes or mind?  The answer is neither and both.

      Q:   That raises an interesting question: what is the mind?
         Is it in the brain?

      A:   That in turn raises another interesting question: what is
         the brain?  It is assumed to exist in the skull, but when we
         try to find its beginning and end we are confounded.  We
         discover that the brain is inseparable from the body, which
         is in turn inseparable from the environment in which it
         lives.  Now where is the mind?



      <<What is life?>>

          There is a Cambridge University graduate in England who had
      parts of his brain damaged by a viral infection.  Now he cannot
      recall any experience from the past beyond the last five
      minutes.  He lives continually in the present with the constant
      feeling that he has just woken for the first time.

          He constantly insists that he is dead.  He reasons that
      although he experiences the present, he has no past, and
      therefore has no real consciousness.  That which is without
      consciousness, he claims, is dead, or at most like an animal.

          Do we have the right to tell him that he is human, just
      because we have the tendency to perceive him as such?

          Face this issue!  Don't avoid it!  Who are you?  Are <you>
      human?

          If we say he is still human, but that his humanity is
      diminished only by the degree that he lacks all the normal human
      faculties, then a tree must also be partially human, inasmuch as
      it shares some faculties with humans.



      <<Programming>>

          Computer programming is a worthy enterprise; but one must
      get one's priorities right.  It is more important to program
      <human> computers to work properly than to create new and
      inferior machines.  <These words are the program, and you are
      the computers to be programmed.>








                                <- MEANING ->




      <<Useless words>>

          Chuang Tzu was told: "Your words are useless!".

          He replied, "A man has to understand the useless before you
      can talk to him about the useful.  The earth is certainly vast
      and broad, though a man uses no more of it than the area under
      his feet.  If, however, you were to dig away all the earth from
      around his feet until you reached the underworld, then would the
      man be able to make use of it?"

          "No, it would be useless."

          "It is obvious, then", said Chuang Tzu, "that the useless
      has its use."

          You must understand One before you can understand Two.  See
      first the uselessness and emptiness of the myriad phenomena by
      penetrating their substance with the power of reason.  Accept
      the unpalatable reality, then . . . behold the Truth!  If you do
      not place your life in the hands of reason, passing through
      uselessness, your mind will remain useless.

          Chuang Tzu also said: "The fish trap exists because of the
      fish; once you have the fish, you can forget the trap.  Words
      exist because of meaning, once you've gotten the meaning, you
      can forget the words.  Where can I find a man who has forgotten
      words so I can have a word with him?"

          Words are meaningless if you look for meaning within the
      words themselves.  The more you turn them over with your
      ignorance, the more confused you will become: words will at
      times appear to mean all things, and at other times nothing at
      all.  Reality is beyond words, but not beyond their meaning.  A
      word is just a word, a meaning is just a meaning, there is
      nothing more to it.



      <<Truth>>

          Truth learned from another is of no value.  At best we take
      custody of a lifeless carcass.  The only truth which is vital
      and effective is the truth we discover ourselves.

          Theories and doctrines are fabrications of the mind, but
      genuine spiritual teachings are different.  They are designed to
      turn this way and that; pointing one way, then another; directed
      beyond name and form.

          Yes, spiritual teachings are <meant> to perplex - in order
      that you might come to seek <meanings>.



      <<Words>>

          The Buddha said, "Words are neither different nor not
      different to Reality.  If meaning is different from words, it
      will not be made manifest by words."

          No word ever has the same meaning twice - neither for the
      speaker nor for the listener.  Things are neither forms nor
      words, nor are they not forms and words: they are just what they
      are.  Things are not what they are because of our naming.  Truth
      is not nominal.  The colour blue is blue because it is blue; it
      is called blue, and it is blue.

          Do not become lost in absurd metaphysical and semantic
      arguments.  We do not make reality, and nor do we not make it.



      <<Silence is Golden>>

          More words count for less.  When you use words, make them
      silent!



      <<Meaning>>

          We try to encapsulate our life experiences in symbolic
      containers that are hopelessly inadequate for the task.  We
      should not try to contain, but to express.  We don't want others
      to hear our symbols, but our <meaning> - which is our
      <experience>.

          However, success in communication depends not only on the
      speaker, but also on the hearer.  The wise do not listen for
      words, and require few, as they perceive the meaning of words
      directly.  They do not mistake the roadsign for the place
      itself.  Words are only labels for things, sticky labels
      perhaps: they are not the thing itself.



      <<Words>>

          To take a car onto the road one requires a driving licence,
      but to use words one requires nothing.  This is dangerous, for
      words are dangerous weapons in untrained hands . . . and
      religious words are the most deadly.

          Do not believe in what you read in supposedly spiritual
      scriptures, or in what you hear from reputed sages.  Only when
      you have worked things out for yourself, and know the
      indisputable Truth which is independent of any historical or
      scientific proofs - only then will you truly know the meaning of
      words.








                               <- MUSIC/ART ->




      <<Music>>

          "To do is to be" - a philosopher
          "To be is to do" - another philosopher
          "Do be do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra



      <<Spirituality of music>>

      Q:   Does music facilitate spiritual progress?

      A:   It can be useful only in the very early stages.  Music may
         stimulate us to realize that reality is in the mind, and help
         us to form some notions about the ephemeral nature of
         reality.  However, we too often get stuck to music.  If you
         want to know whether music makes one more spiritual, you need
         look no further than the lives of musicians.  Their lives
         teach us that we learn to sing because our hearts have
         forgotten how.

      Q:   Don't you think the calming influence of music is important
         in this modern materialistic world?  It is said: "Music
         soothes the savage beast."

      A:   Music soothes <only> the savage beast.

           We find music relaxing because it provides pattern out of
         chaos - but reality <is> chaos.  The effect of music is to
         calm by way of tying-up emotional loose ends in the mind,
         with different types of music working on different loose
         ends.  Music draws unresolved conflicts and anxieties to the
         surface of the mind where they are pandered to.  Go ahead,
         tie up those loose ends - and end up with a beautifully
         rounded mass of seething knots!

           Music works as a drug to disable the mind.  It helps to
         distract our attention away from everyday problems, giving us
         a holiday from categories.  We sense a sublime, impalpable
         message in music; and it is impalpable for one good reason -
         it is not rational!  Beware this demon, who masquerades as a
         God!  Music is like a plastic flower, pretty, but not the
         real thing.  The Ultimate is like music, but music is not
         like the Ultimate.  Do not be deceived by temporary clarity:
         where the ocean is smoothest the most dangerous currents
         flow.



      <<Art>>

          While music uses sound, the medium of the visual arts is
      light.  In a painting the shadow of an object is seen to be as
      real as the object itself.  It is therefore possible to learn
      something of value from art: that things are not as real as they
      seem.

          It does not, however, require much art to reveal this truth.
      Art so easily becomes an addictive drug.  The taking of drugs
      can be an education, but often ends horribly.

          The medium of the poet is language, and with language the
      poet shamelessly exploits his experiences.  He may detect many
      an illusion, but is not strong enough to see the Grand Illusion.
      He remains fixated by happiness and suffering.  He excels in the
      blurring of words and the fudging of reality.  Again, this has
      its value, but not to the wise.

          The wise see things hard and fast.  Power over words, light,
      and sound, provide them no joy.  The artful say "Art imitates
      life"; but I say unto you, this is nothing to be proud of!  The
      wise are more concerned with life than imitating it.



      <<Wine, women and song>>

          As a child I felt strangely threatened by those who enjoyed
      losing themselves in blissful absorption in music: what were
      they running from?  No-one could mistake their passionate love
      of music - but love grows in direct proportion to hatred!  To be
      able to generate <so much> love, there must be something truly
      hateful.  What is it?

          Ramakrishna used to say that "women and gold" were alone
      responsible for a man's failure to realize God.  May I take the
      opportunity to extend it to women, gold, <and song>.



      <<Women and art>>

          Women, feminine women at least, cannot do true art.  Art is
      masculine: it has an eye for the future.  Genuine art is not
      mere feelings of the moment, but contains the weight of the
      world within it.  It holds the past, present, and future.

          Van Gogh was an excellent artist, but was a poor artist of
      the spirit.  He was masculine, but not masculine <enough>.  His
      disgust was admirable, but his love was lacking.








                                <- NATURE ->



                    In the beginning was the Natural order.
                    And the Natural order was with God.
                    And the Natural order <was> God.



      <<Sinned?>>

          Ask Nature forgiveness for all your sins.  She can hardly
      refuse you.  She is, after all, the doer of all things.  She
      cannot blame you for something She did herself.  Nature is a
      harsh mistress, but fair.



      <<The lovers of Nature>>

          The lovers of Nature are like the child who was given a
      kitten for his birthday, but in the child's loving embrace the
      kitten suffocated to death.  Or they are like the child whose
      parents had given him money to buy food for their evening meal,
      but he spent it on sweets instead.

          Nature is a great and powerful Guru, yet the lovers of
      Nature treat it as their own pretty child all dressed in pink
      and frills.

          To see the infinite in a landscape, but not in a piece of
      plastic, is like worshipping God's clothing, instead of the Man
      Himself.  Whatever you experience, remember one thing: <you are
      that!>  Hear the roar of a truck passing your window, and say
      hello to yourself!  It too is a part of Nature, and thus a part
      of your own body.  And if anybody should ever harm you, who is
      it that does the harming?  Can the sun burn itself?

          I have found that if I venture into the forest - to get
      closer to Nature, my conscience gets the better of me.  I see
      the trees going about their purpose, and all the while holding
      nothing against their brothers, the skyscrapers, in the concrete
      jungles.  Yet here I am, failing to serve my purpose, shunning
      the concrete jungle and trying to find Nature!  What a forlorn
      task!

          He who hates the concrete and plastic of the city also hates
      Nature.  What can be said for one who shuns Heaven in his search
      for perfection?

          It is one thing to wonder at the intricacies of Nature - a
      spider catching a beetle, or the sky at night.  It is quite
      another thing to wonder at its infinite complexity.  And it is
      another thing again to enter into this wonder.  The wonder is
      not in the trees, or the skyscrapers, or even in the infinite
      complexity of Nature - but in <the end of it.>

          Never think "why" Nature is as it is.  Never think "why" you
      eat, sleep, and breath.  Wisdom says never stop thinking why you
      should never think "why".



      <<Prayer to Nature>>

          Mother, I pray that you will not lead me into temptation.
      No!, Mother, you alone have whipped all this up, now you can
      jolly well take responsibility for it!  Now <you> can take over
      here.  Serve your own purpose, and let me be!

          How long have you tricked me O Mother!  So much trouble, so
      much concern - but no more!  From now on you can do everything,
      as I will refuse to assert <even my own existence.>



      <<The Body>>

          The body should be neither worshipped nor scorned.  The body
      is a tool of the mind, and as such needs to be in good repair.

          However, the mind is also a tool of the body.  Have respect
      where respect is due!  I go not your way, all you despisers of
      the body, who call it "material".



      <<Red sunset>>

          Is the sun red at sunset?  What colour is it during the day?
      Red?  Yellow?  Are the clouds red at sunset, along with the sun?
      Are the clouds white during the day?  What makes colours?

          Does a flag flap, or is it just the wind that moves?  If we
      debate such things we will always be in error.  Things are just
      as they are.  Accept the fact!



      <<What is man?>>

       - The long sought after "missing-link" between animals and
         humans.

       - An ape with large brain capacity enabling him to enjoy
         crosswords, television, and the atomic bomb.

       - A bipedal relative of plants.

       - A rational animal who loses his temper when called upon to
         act in accordance with reason.

       - A failed evolutionary experiment in ignorance.



      <<To borrow is cheap>>

          Never forget that you <borrow> your mind and body from
      Nature.  This effectively means your life is a pile of trash.
      Nor should you be surprised when you have to hand it back.

          On the other hand, although I own nothing, I much prefer
      doing business with someone elses money than my own.



      <<Do nothing>>

          For someone building a stone wall, those stones which can
      fill no holes have no value.

          <Be> that stone which can mend no holes.  Nature has made
      you just as you are, and uses you as She wills.  Take a rest!  A
      stone which can mend no holes does not get stressed when it
      cannot do what it is not made for.  Be who you are.

          You have no battle to fight, for what could oppose the will
      of Nature?  The moment you have a problem to be tackled, and an
      enemy to be faced - you lose.  One who fights the empty air is
      defeated no matter how he fares.



      <<Biology>>

          Biology is the greatest of all Sciences, for what is not the
      study of life?



      <<God and Nature>>

      Q:   What is God?

      A:   Another name for Nature.

      Q:   What is Nature?

      A:   Your question is wrongly put.  Nature is infinite and
         therefore unknowable.  Nature is all-powerful and therefore
         all-knowing.  To speak of Nature as a thing, with limits, is
         to take the name of the Lord in vain.  Any boundaries you
         draw onto Nature are nothing but your own superstitions,
         which make your faith groundless.  If I could tell you what
         Nature is, it wouldn't be Nature.

      Q:   You sometimes speak about Nature as though it were a
         person, at other times as though it were a thing.

      A:   Nature metaphors itself.  She says "As if I'm this."

      Q:   Can science uncover the reality of Nature?  I am confused
         on this matter.  It seems that as scientists learn more about
         the functioning of Nature their faith in materialism and
         reductionism grows, yet overall they seem to be growing more
         holistic.  How can this be?

      A:   Scientists do not go anywhere near far enough!  This point
         you raise is the crux of the matter - a koan.  Understand it,
         and you understand all.  The reality of the material world
         cannot be disputed, nor the essential Oneness of all things.
         Both are Truths and join in one.  When you can join them,
         together with the core of your being, there will be no more
         confusion.



      <<The Housekeeper>>

          You are your Mother's housekeeper, and this world is your
      home.  So make yourself at home, and be at ease.

          And too, you are your brothers keeper!



      <<Observations>>

          Buildings of the city arise for an instant, then deteriorate
      into dust.  People flicker into being and then are gone.
      Galaxies spray out like mist that vanishes.  What can challenge
      this?

          Living in the country, the wind sweeps across the fields,
      playing heavenly strings.  Living in the city, a parent bellows
      in violent anger at a small child.

          All is the Mother.  All is still.  Pick-up on the thread
      that runs through all existence - it is the lifeline.
      Sauntering by the side of all things, I ask what experience is.
      The Mother of all things replies - "it is" and "I am".



                          <Remonstrance>

                       I looked up at a tree.
                       It was looking down . . . laughing.

                       Suddenly Faith returns.
                       And the Earth spins again.



                          <Marriage>

                        A trickling stream,
                        A vivid dream,
                        A look, a touch, a smell,
                        Heaven's bell.

                        Wind, a cool touch,
                        Too much.
                        A tree, a tree,
                        With me.

                        Moist dirt underfoot.
                        Family greens and browns.
                        New life arises and is dead.
                        Beautifully wed, I've often said.



                          <Mind Breezes>

                         There is no life.
                         There is no death.
                         Nature will do
                         What it will.

                         A bird sings from upon a branch,
                         A brick wall is silent.
                         Species die,
                         Wind blows,
                         Mind breezes.








                               <- POLITICS ->




      <<Politics>>

          Christianity is known as the woman's religion because it is
      based on unthinking submission.  Politics then must be the man's
      religion, for it is based on competition and the hunger for
      power.

          Ideally, politics should be the tool of wisdom - with wisdom
      coming first, the foundation upon which all else is built.  When
      politics becomes primary to our existence we have reached the
      deepest depths of depravity.  Thus we are at rock-bottom.

          Parliamentary discussions remind me of theologians throwing
      scriptural quotes at each other.  Their words and even their
      personalities are scripted.  Their greatest pleasure is in
      bludgeoning their opponents to death with witty and articulate
      debate.  The validity of an argument is beside the point, it is
      the <winning> that matters - the <power>.



      <<Capitalism/Socialism>>

          A capitalist is someone who selfishly wants more than
      others.  A socialist is someone who selfishly doesn't want
      others to have more than himself.



      <<Socialism>>

          Spiritual wisdom must come before any social structure can
      be effective.  Without spiritual wisdom there can be no true
      concern for others; any social structure will inevitably
      degenerate into power struggles among beaurocrats, with the
      members of the public doing their best to insulate themselves.

          Socialism is a worthy goal, but if the public are not
      interested you cannot force it on them from above - not without
      straying from socialism.

          If your body is not working, then you are sick, and must
      look for disease.  In doing so, beware mistaking the syptom for
      its cause.  Go to the root!  It is said that if the builder
      doesn't stick to the specifications, then you can't blame the
      architect if the building is structurally unsafe.  But if the
      architect doesn't know what he is doing, his building is bound
      to fail.  So not only must we tear down the building, but sack
      the architect as well!  We people are too scared to go all the
      way.

          Redoubling ruthlessness rediscovers love.  Only hardness
      creates.  Rather diamond than charcoal!


      <<Socialism/Feminism>>

          Socialists and feminists have much in common.  Both see two
      primary classes in society: the ruling class and the
      down-trodden.  They both fight to break down the class
      structure, to free the "slaves".  Yet while they are correct in
      their assessment of the ruling class as being expressive of
      selfish dominance, they are totally mistaken regarding the ones
      dominated.  The so-called lower class does not so much represent
      slavery and oppression, but <submission>.  The submissive class
      actually <enjoy> their lot in life, and wouldn't swap with the
      so-called "rulers" for any price.

          The only real classes in society are those which designate
      the two primary sources of ego-happiness: dominance and
      submission.  Of course, overall we are all in the one class of
      deluded pleasure seekers.

          One cannot break down class structures by any means other
      than wisdom; for who other than the wise would tolerate being
      robbed of their happiness?  You can try telling people "you
      don't have to be just sheep," but this is useless if the people
      don't believe they are sheep, or that there is anything wrong
      with being sheep.  They will of course argue that sheep are
      lovely and intelligent animals, and what have you got against
      them!  Try to tell the average person they should strive for
      power over their own lives, and they will tell you that power is
      one's ability to be happy - which they already have, thank you
      very much.  Tell them they should seek freedom, and they will
      tell you that freedom is happiness - which they already have,
      thank you very much.  In addition, they will inform you that
      they probably have <more> power and freedom than the "upper
      class", who are burdened with countless desires and social
      duties.

          The herd cannot admit to their herdliness.  They will not
      own-up to their pitiful pleasures.  And because they refuse to
      look down at their own feet, they will not see themselves <in
      their masters!>  Thus, for the working class to fight against
      the ruling class, in the name of "socialism", is to fight
      against themselves and promote their enemies.

          The socialists and feminists are trying to impose a
      lifestyle on people which they do not want - and they are doing
      it in an extremely aggressive and dominant egotistical manner.
      History tells us there are no shortcuts.  You cannot use
      dominance to break down a structure of dominance and
      submissiveness.  A bad tree never produces good fruit.  I would
      much rather you battled the pervasive <submission to ignorance>
      than the dominance of the ruling class.  I would rather you
      faced the demons within your own self, before seeking an enemy
      without.

          Current socialist philosophy is nothing more than a dream to
      give people hope and a reason for living.  That is, it is a
      religion.  And just like a religion its arguments are not enough
      to convince people of their duty to others, so they continue to
      serve only themselves, despite the outward forms.

          Only spiritual wisdom can shed light on the dilemma.  With
      wisdom the desire for happiness disappears much as fog clears in
      the morning sun.  With the loss of happiness, our worldly power
      and freedom lose the source of their existence.  All that
      remains in the brightness of the new day is a power over
      delusion and a freedom from ignorance.  Now, with no structure
      of happiness, there is no force, and no apathy, no striking out,
      and no holing-in.  No <blindness>!







                                <- PURPOSE ->




      <<Ego tricks>>

          We make things so hard for ourselves: we need purpose to
      give our activities importance, hope to give us future, and
      suffering as a stepping stone.  We say "every day in every way,
      I'm getting better and better."  All our actions are "for" and
      "because".

          Why so much effort?  The sage requires no such "purpose".
      He knows nothing of the love of joy or the fear of suffering -
      yet he knows all.  He makes not the slightest effort to improve
      himself: his nature is unchangeable.

          The one who doesn't change is either the wisest of the wise,
      or the dullest of the dull.



      <<Survival of the species>>

          This is too big a purpose for people to take seriously, too
      obvious, too important, too realistic, too demanding.  Thus we
      people prefer to save the whale, or the rainforest, or the poor
      and starving, or the football premiership title.  All such
      activities are capital entertainment and keep the ego sated; but
      the mere thought "survival of the species" makes severe inroads
      into ones happiness and therefore cannot be tolerated.

          The only time people so much as mention the species is when
      they try to justify their greed for sex - by arguing that they
      overcrowd this small planet with children "for the survival of
      the species."

          Yet it would be too much for these jackasses to ever
      consider the true value of human life, far too embarrassing for
      them, because all along they have given more value to the life
      of their pet dog than the entire human species.



      <<The survival of the wisdom>>

          Is the survival of the species an irrational purpose?  Yes,
      but nevertheless a useful one.  If the species survives, wisdom
      may survive with it.

          Is it then rational to desire the survival of wisdom?  Well,
      this purpose most resembles reason, and is therefore the natural
      purpose for a mind that values reason.  It is a purpose that
      remains after thinking has run its full course and exhausted
      itself.  Such a purpose is neither rational nor irrational, and
      is not prone to common analysis.

          Upon reaching the end of reason, reason itself is abandoned,
      just as one would abandon a boat when one has reached the
      farther shore.  Purpose then arises spontaneously.  Yet this is
      not to say it arises without thinking, without any effort or
      desire.



      <<Great Purpose>>

          He who commits himself to the Way must be equipped with
      three essentials.  A great root of faith, a great ball of doubt,
      and a great tenacity of purpose.  Lacking any one of them, he is
      like a tripod with only two legs.

          By "great root of faith" is meant the firm conviction that
      the practice of reason alone can carry one to the perfection of
      Ultimate Enlightenment.  With the practice of reason great
      doubts about life and death will crystallize.  Yet even though
      you become a great ball of doubt, you will be unable to break it
      apart unless you constantly work on it with a great burning
      tenacity of purpose.

          The practice of the Way is like making fire by friction.
      The essential thing as you rub wood against stone is to apply
      continuous all-out effort.  If you stop when you see the first
      trace of smoke, you will never get even a flicker of fire, even
      though you may rub away for a thousand years.

           Don't think the commitments and pressing duties of normal
      life leave you no time to go about forming a ball of doubt.  If
      a man, while pushing his way through a busy marketplace, drops
      some bank notes onto the ground, will he just leave them there
      and forget about them, just because he is in a crowded place?
      Of course not.  He would be down there frantically pushing and
      shoving with tears in his eyes trying to find them.  Yet what is
      a bit of money compared with Great Enlightenment?

          The worldly man needs a great purpose to motivate him - if
      he wants to achieve anything much.  Likewise does the spiritual
      man require Great Purpose to provide the force necessary to
      relinquish his ego.



      <<Purpose of life>>

      Q:   What is the purpose of life?

      A:   What is the purpose of a new born baby?

      Q:   But you must have a definite conception of what you want to
         achieve in life.

      A:   My goal is to become human, and work for the survival of
         wisdom.

      Q:   Why do you strive for the survival of wisdom?  What value
         does it have?

      A:   Why does a flower grow?  What value does it have?

      Q:   Do things have a purpose, or a reason for existence?

      A:   Things do not have "reasons", but they do have causes.
         Things happen by necessity, not by purpose.  "Reasons" are
         mental constructions.

      Q:   You say we are never born and never die, and that we lack
         inherent existence.  Then why bother trying to attain
         enlightenment?

      A:   It is the whim of God.  You must listen to his whispers to
         know his whims.  These are his most private secrets.

      Q:   Is a happy person close to enlightenment?

      A:   Happiness is far away from enlightenment.  Where there is
         happiness there is contentment, fear of change, and thus no
         room for progress.

      Q:   I am looking for something to give my life meaning, but I
         am having difficulty finding it in your words.

      A:   Get rid of the idea "my life" and you will have solved your
         problem.  When there is the concept "life" there will
         automatically arise the concept "meaning" and therefore
         "meaningless".  When concepts exist in the mind, they are
         experienced.



      <<Values>>

          I am often asked how I arrive at a purpose in life,
      especially since I reject all values.

          The simple answer is that to discover true values you first
      have to abandon false ones.  True values are seen quite clearly
      and effortlessly after false values have fallen away.  But we
      people want to enjoy the fruit without having to do the work of
      planting the seed.

          If you behave in such a way, then you will be avoiding the
      essential problem, merely skirting around the job that has to be
      done - the job of thinking for yourself and becoming an
      individual.  I will not make it easy for you by pandering to
      your tastes.  If I treated you as children you would remain
      children.








                               <- QUALITY ->




      <<Quality/Quantity>>

      Q:   What's the use of working to maintain a good quality of
         spiritual instruction, if you only ever influence a few
         people?

      A:   It is better to produce a few fertile seeds, capable of one
         day producing a vast forest, than a lot of useless chaff.



      <<The target>>

          An archer must have his eyes glued to the target if he is to
      be successful.  If you are distracted by the opposite sex, a
      spectacular show, music, or conversation, then all your efforts
      will be wasted.

          The deer hunter, after three weeks trekking in the
      mountains, spots the prey through the trees.  At this point he
      will not let himself be distracted by anything, and though the
      wind rages about him, his mind is unmoved.

          The prey is God.  He is your food, without which you will
      perish.  It is a matter of life and death.  When the winter of
      life arrives, those who have not fattened themselves with God
      will waste away.



      <<The last week of your life>>

          Can you afford to waste time?  You could die at any moment.
      When will you be struck down by a heart attack, a stroke, a mad
      killer, or a drunken driver?  Who can tell?

          If this was the last week of your life, what would you like
      to be doing with it?  This could well be the last week of your
      life!  Will you spend it slaving for those extra dollars you
      don't really need?  Will you spend it bowing to your wife's
      foibles?  For what will you be remembered when you die? - if in
      fact your life is worth remembering at all.

          Only the wise are worthy of remembrance.  They alone have
      discovered the mystery of existence and the salvation of man.
      This is no time to waste you fool!



      <<The selfless observer>>

          Remain centred, in control of your senses.  Do not let your
      senses be in control of you.  Observe the sense data as it comes
      to you.  See <through> your eyes, not with them.  Do not be
      drawn towards the gates of the senses where you will be sucked
      outside, and become absorbed in the outside world.

          With the wisdom of the Infinite, look at things and then
      "reject" them.  As one concept arises after another, reject.
      When you see an object, look past its edges.  As you wrathfully
      reject all, practicing un-thinking, you will break through to
      the clear-light and see All.  This is the beginning.



      <<Truth itself>>

          The Buddha gave many great teachings, but unless you have
      direct insight into the nature of reality you will not be able
      to use a single drop of the Buddhas wisdom.  It will be forever
      beyond your reach.

          Without this direct knowledge, no matter how much you read
      the scriptures, discuss philosophy, or practice religious
      disciplines, you will only be creating the causes for your own
      illusion.  Every effort you make will drag you even more deeply
      into the quagmire of attachment.

          So get your priorities right and concentrate all your
      efforts towards discovering the truth.  Forget respect for
      authority and your worthiness as a humble student.  Focus on the
      one thing of importance.



      <<Teaching too soon>>

          Qualify yourself before you begin teaching others.  Don't
      rush to make your mark.  Those with tattoos often wish they did
      not have them.

          When a person begins teaching, they cease learning.  Or
      rather, when they cease learning they begin to teach.  When they
      have taken all they can comfortably take from knowledge, they
      seek the comforts of the teaching role - money, power, and
      respect.  Now, all their time is spent trying to maintain
      appearances, playing the guru, and playing up to the
      expectations of their students.  Now they have not the time nor
      the inclination to seek truth.  On the contrary, now they are
      expected to <know> it, perish the thought of <seeking> it.

          Now they pile up an armoury of words and categories with
      which to bludgeon the weak into submission, and to protect
      against the strong.

          Their words have structure but no substance, while <true>
      words have substance but no structure.  These false teachers are
      brittle and have many holes, but the true man is yielding yet
      impermeable.  The false teachers cannot speak definitively.
      They mirror the needs of the weak, and have no words of their
      own.  They only teach others how they have been taught
      themselves.  They are no prophets, no messiahs.  They do not
      have their own authority, and are not ready to be hated.  Their
      teachings do not strike home to one's innermost being.
      Listening to them is like scratching at an itchy foot without
      taking off your shoe.

          They have admirable words about the infinite, yet scorn the
      body.  They strain out a gnat, while swallowing a camel.  This
      is all because their teaching does not stem from enlightenment.
      It is shameful.

          These false teachers are like rolling pins, that can
      reshape, but cannot <create>.  But the true man is as hard and
      sharp as a knife.  The false teachers speak of "the One" and
      "the many" as two aspects of Truth, though they only conceive of
      these one at a time, in isolation, not <simultaneously>.  For
      them, each conception entails a different idea-tight mental
      compartment, and a different mental construction.  This
      predictably results in an endless supply of ridiculous
      contradictions.  They end up believing in an <infinite> soul
      that is <separate> from the body!

          Similarly, the false teachers conceive of rising to an
      "absolute Truth" and of a coming down to a "lower plane"; all of
      which the wise know nothing.  The true man does not construct,
      therefore he does not go to the effort of attaining higher
      levels of consciousness only to return again.  There is no work
      left for him to do.  His life is simple, now seeing the many,
      now seeing the One, all in the glance of an eye.  The true man
      does not build, but just casts different types onto the eternal
      substance - pleasantly fishing.  All aspects exist for him at
      once.  He has nothing, yet gains everything.  This is quality.









                               <- REALITY ->




      <<One Word>>

      Q:   You say God is Reality.  Can you prove this God of yours is
         real?

      A:   This I cannot do.  How can I prove reality exists?  The
         unreal never is; reality never is not.

      Q:   What is Reality?

      A:   I know, but if I have to tell you, then I don't know.

      Q:   Why can't you tell me what Reality is in words?

      A:   If you understood my words I could tell you in the single
         word "Buddha".  As you do not, I could talk for a thousand
         years and you would be no closer to my meaning.

      Q:   Can you tell me something concrete about Reality?  For
         example, can you tell me whether things really exist?

      A:   Which is more real, the object or its shadow?



      <<Death of the senses>>

          A blind man may lack one of his five senses, but reality is
      not diminished for him.  A dead man loses all his senses, but
      does not thereby lose reality.



      <<Time>>

          Formally, time measures space.  Specifically it measures the
      distance the earth moves around the sun.

          Experiential time is more familiar to us.  We experience
      past, present, and future, so they are all absolutely real.  The
      past is a repertory of recordings for use in the service of the
      present.  The future is a set of dreams to give direction and
      purpose to the present.  The present is central, but not
      everything.



      <<Species>>

          How do we identify our species?  Our genetic code is always
      changing, so we cannot use it to identify us.  Our physical form
      too, is always changing.

          It is impossible to get hold of things that are forever
      changing.  Thus, species are whatever is practicable.



      <<Name and form>>

          It is clear enough that names are merely labels stuck onto
      forms.  What desperately needs to be understood is that forms
      too are labels - stuck onto Reality.



      <<Madness>>

          I heard a psychologist say that the most sane person he had
      ever known, he had to commit to a psychiatric ward.

          The weak are struck down by Reality.  But those who are
      never touched by the tongue of its lightning are immeasurably
      weaker.  They close their eyes when truth comes near, set up
      protective walls to shield themselves from destiny.

          They are like a person living in a dark room with a snake.
      "Be careful of that snake!" you shout.  "No, its only a piece of
      rope" they reply.  "Turn on the light and you will see."  "No,
      it would hurt my eyes."



      <<Reality or illusion>>

          Nothing is "real", as all things arise out of causes.
      Neither can anything be "illusory", as there is nothing real to
      make them illusory.  So you need not expend effort projecting
      reality or illusoriness onto things.  Simply accept things for
      what they are.



      <<Regaining the Experience of Reality>>

          First, remember to remember the importance of the
      enlightened mind, and remember to remember how such a mind
      feels.  Then call to mind the feeling of enlightenment, and
      quickly attain it.



      <<Ultimate/conventional reality>>

          Both the words "convenience" and "convention" come from the
      word "convenen", meaning "to agree, be suitable, meet."

          Things exist <by> convention <for> convenience, and
      conventional reality is a convenient one.  That our perceptions
      are suitable for human existence, and that humans share similar
      perceptions is Ultimate reality.  There is no difference between
      Ultimate and conventional reality.



                      <The Sound>

                  I play a chord on a guitar.
                  I ask you - What is it ?  Answer!
                  You are speechless.
                  Your egotistical mind flounders.
                  You cannot trace what it is.
                  It has no boundaries to see or touch . . . No way out!
                  I say . . . It is a sound!
                  Just a sound.
                  This sound is the sound of sounds.
                  You know it!







                                <- REASON ->




      <<Words>>

          To paraphrase the Buddha: <Do not believe in scriptures
      because of their age, nor because they were written by, or about
      some reputedly great sage.  Do not believe in what you have
      heard.  Do not trust your heart.  Do not think your habits are
      the truth.  But listen to my words, and to the meaning behind my
      words; and if what I say agrees with reason then accept it, and
      make it your life.>



      <<The enquiring mind>>

      A:   You must cultivate the enquiring mind, much as a farmer
         cultivates his crop if he wants a rich harvest.  Everything
         must be doubted, everything investigated.

      Q:   Everyone enquires!  Scientists never stop enquiring.  I
         think we enquire too much.

      A:   Scientists and scholars enquire into everything except
         their own nature: they are cowards.  To learn <about> oneself
         is easy, but to learn <who> and <what> one is, is frought
         with difficulty and pain.  They have no love of reason, in
         spite of their stupendously high salaries.

      Q:   Why is it that one person has faith in reason while another
         does not?

      A:   By that very fact!  One who is reasonable will have faith
         in reason because it is reasonable to do so.  Those who lack
         reason will not believe in it.

      Q:   Then how does one become reasonable initially?

      A:   A reasoning mind grows out of early life.  A good education
         can bring about the desired effect; if it doesn't, then it
         isn't a good education.  Children must be encouraged to
         depend on reason above all else.

      Q:   Can reason become a crutch?

      A:   With such a crutch one soon becomes healed.



      <<Reason and the Christian>>

          Try to reason with a Christian, and they will look at you as
      though you are from another planet.  Their eyes say "Who does
      this person think I am?  Could he think I am interested in
      truth?  He is mad! - totally out of touch with reality!"

          They will tell you, scornfully, "thinking doesn't fill your
      stomach."  Perhaps so, but it does ensure you are a creature
      worthy of having a stomach.

          Christains say that Truth can be known without having to
      resort to reason.  They believe that God in his infinite
      compassion would not want us to experience the suffering of
      thought.  They regard their reasoning mind as a curse of the
      Devil.

          A respected Christian poet was once asked what it was he had
      faith in.  He answered: "I think I have faith in reason."  He
      only <thinks> he has faith in reason!  This just about sums it
      up doesn't it?  We people hardly deserve the brains we have been
      given.



      <<The final court of appeal>>

          The people of today value utility above all.  If something
      works (makes you happy), then it must be right.  Feelings are
      their first and last, their everything.  Yet they have the gall
      to appeal to <reason> to support their folly!  This shows their
      belief in feelings is not so strong after all.  Who can take
      them seriously now?  They, who totally compromise their
      philosophy of wickedness by trying to support it with reason.

          They have built a straw house on sand, and now cleverly
      enclose it in cardboard - to make it all the more permanent.



      <<Rationality, emotionality or both?>>

          It is irrational to value rationality.  It is also
      irrational to value the emotions.  It is <doubly> irrational to
      value both.

          Yes, it is also irrational to put so much value on reason,
      to be able to say these truths!  So drop it all as you would an
      unwanted burden.

          Here the ignorant are confounded.



      <<One thought>>

          Isn't it wonderful to live in a world of thought? . . . just
      think!



      <<Where do thinkers come from?>>

          Thinkers usually come from either the lower or upper-middle
      classes.  These groups are different from the norm and identify
      with that difference.

          The ego naturally attaches to whatever it has; in this case
      it has <difference>.  The attachment progresses with an
      increasing rejection of the normal, and a striving for the
      exceptional.  And what is the best vehicle to deliver one to the
      exceptional? - <reason>.



      <<Word Power>>

          An immense power is to be found in words for both the wise
      and foolish alike.  A single word of wisdom can send the Mother
      Herself into rapturous delight.  Great is the one who delights
      the Great Mother!

          With tools one can build a monstrosity, and with tools one
      can dismantle it.  Words are those tools, so let no-one
      disparage the power of the word.



      <<Arbitrary>>

          "Arbitrary" is a word we do not understand the meaning of.
      We think it to signify a category or boundary made up for
      practical purposes - because the <real> boundary is as yet
      unknown.

          For example, we choose an arbitrary point in time for the
      beginning of life, but refuse to challenge the premise that a
      real beginning exists at all.  To defend our stance we say "You
      cannot prove there is no beginning, so you cannot prove me
      wrong."  True enough, one cannot be proven wrong if one refuses
      to hear to the proof.



      <<Rationality>>

          Who is there in the world who can speak of their irrational
      mind without love?

          One or two seconds - this is all it takes to penetrate to
      the important truths of life and death.  Yet it is eternally
      true, that man does not wish to exercise his mind to such a
      degree.

          The people of today say: "What's the use of thinking?  It
      doesn't get you anywhere."  This is like a blind person saying
      "What's the use of looking, you'll never see anything."  Yet the
      people of today are blind only because they refuse to open their
      eyes.



      <<Destructive>>

      Q:   You destroy beliefs, but what do you give people to replace
         what you have taken from them?

      A:   I give people <truth> and the power to <reason>.  They play
         on the seashore, and I am a wave that sweeps their toys into
         the deep - then they weep.  But I deliver new playthings at
         their feet, and new coloured shells.

           It is natural for loss to become gain.  Reason always
         remains standing when all things fall down around it.  I give
         as much as I take.  The power to digest and assimilate
         experience, to break-down the idea-tight compartments of the
         mind, and finally, Buddhahood, is no small gift.



      <<Irrational/non-rational>>

          We have lost faith and turned our backs on reason.  We
      believe the emotions are rational because reason is too
      difficult.  Yet to call the emotions <rational> would be a
      little <too> dishonest, and we cannot call them <irrational>
      without shame, hence "non-rational".

          But if our lives are non-rational, they are also
      <irrational>, for there is no truth in feelings.  To trust one's
      feelings means to give more obedience to one's grandparents than
      to the gods which are in <us>: our reason and our experience.



      <<Perfect rationality>>

      Q:   Perfect rationality is not humanly impossible.

      A:   Why so?  If reason has failed you, then you have not been
         rational enough.

      Q:   Human beings are limited, so perfection remains forever
         beyond our grasp.

      A:   In what way are we limited?

      Q:   It is impossible for us to know everything, because the
         Universe is infinitely complex, and our brains are finite.

      A:   I grant we cannot know everything, but clear and logical
         thinking is not beyond our reach.  An understanding of
         principles and the manifestation of that understanding in our
         lives is not impossible: this is what I mean by rationality.

      Q:   You are forgetting that human beings are emotional
         creatures as well as rational.

      A:   Yes, we experience emotion, but emotion is not something we
         have to put up with.  One may be hungry, but need not remain
         so.



      <<Discussion with a psychologist>>

      Q:   Your philosophy is one of a denial of emotions.

      A:   I do not deny the emotions, but their validity.  I do not
         endorse the bottling-up or harbouring of emotions, neither do
         I recommend the expressive release of them.  You see, the
         expression of emotions is a denial of the <cause> of
         emotions.  If you tackle the cause of emotions, then emotions
         will be overcome.  This is certainly not a <denial> of
         emotions.

      Q:   You seem to think emotions are not physical.  But there are
         regions of the brain which, if removed, prevent a person from
         being emotional.  This would indicate that emotions are an
         inherent part of being human.

      A:   The emotions I speak of are the irrational feelings created
         by deluded thought.  When you are rid of false thoughts, you
         will be rid of false feelings, regardless of your physical
         brain.

      Q:   What you are saying is not practical.  Our society needs a
         consensual reality to be able to function.  You are not
         conforming to our consensual materialistic-emotional reality.

      A:   This world is not materialistic by nature: I wish you would
         reach <this> consensus.



      <<Reason>>

          Faith in ordinary human reason can be equated with having
      faith in a flat earth; if you go too far you are presumed to
      fall off the edge - and become insane.  Of course, the earth is
      not flat, and the oceans are vast.  So it is with reason, you
      merely go beyond the horizon of man.



      <<Life in Australia>>

          Some cultures have a long and rich history.  One can feel a
      warm sense of belonging and even a sense of immortality in being
      a part of such a culture.  It is just like enjoying a family
      life - the cost of which is that you forever remain a prisoner
      of family expectations.

          I thank the gods I came to Australia as a child, leaving
      Britain and all its history behind.  For then I had a future and
      not just a past.  Reason needs a future.









                             <- REINCARNATION ->




      <<Discussion>>

      Q:   Is reincarnation true?

      A:   You ask about reincarnation, but you don't even know who or
         what you are!  When you know about yourself, then you will
         know all about reincarnation.

      Q:   What do you mean by "who or what you are"?

      A:   There is no trick, just ask yourself who and what you are.
         Where did you come from?  What makes you?

      Q:   Traditional Buddhism teaches literal reincarnation.  That
         is, that there is an individual self, or subtle
         consciousness, which transmigrates from one body to another
         at death.  The teaching says we have the same self throughout
         life, though it changes from moment to moment along with
         everything else.  This change is a continual rebirth, and the
         process cannot end with death because processes do not end.
         Thus, we take another body when we die.  Do you agree with
         this teaching?

      A:   If all things are continually changing then how can we have
         the same self throughout life?  If we do not have the same
         self even from moment to moment then how can we possibly have
         it from one life to another?  Thus, literal rebirth cannot
         happen during life nor after death.

           However, reincarnation <is> literally true when understood
         correctly.  Your causes, which are what you were, are called
         your past lives.  Your effects, which are what you will
         become, are called your future lives.  For example, a child
         is to some extent the future existence of the parent.

      Q:   Yes, I can see that much, but will <I> exist in a future
         existence?  If a revolutionary thought occurs to me, a
         thought that has the potential to save the human race, and
         then I die before I can share it with others, will that
         thought be preserved intact, or will it be lost forever?

      A:   Can anything ever be truly lost?  The forms of things are
         changing, hence utterly destroyed and reborn each instant.
         Forms change though the substance remains.  Nothing can ever
         be truly created, as creation implies causelessness, which is
         an absurdity.  Therefore a creative thought, such as you
         speak of, is an appearance only, and has necessarily existed
         since beginningless time.

      Q:   That doesn't satisfy me.  You gave an example of how we
         live-on through others; but what if the entire human race
         dies out?  How can we, and our consciousness survive when
         there are no longer any human beings!

      A:   I have already given you the reasoning; it is now a matter
         of faith - <faith in the truth of reason>.  You are merely
         looking for a "truth" that satisfies your ego.

           Even if the Universe itself should end, you and your
         thought cannot be touched.  So I say, though empty space
         should cease, my vow will never end.



      <<The self>>

      Q:   What reincarnates?

      A:   The ego.

      Q:   What is the ego?

      A:   Deluded thoughts constitute the ego.  When there are no
         more deluded thoughts there is no more reincarnation; that
         is, there is no more experience of loss and gain.

      Q:   What are deluded thoughts?

      A:   Deluded thoughts are unnecessary and unwanted patterns of
         electrical impulses in the brain.  They make you believe
         things really exist in themselves, thus making you feel
         insufficient and insecure.

      Q:   If I meditate on restraining the senses, emptying my mind
         of birth and death, attaining a mind of clear-light and
         simplicity, will I have achieved the ultimate?

      A:   You will be far from the ultimate.  The consciousness you
         speak of is known as the storehouse consciousness, because it
         contains the seeds of all the sense consciousnesses.  It is
         the deepest, innermost generative core of the ego, and as
         such it is the "thing" that reincarnates.  Do not make a nest
         in this place, for it is a trap that will bury you alive.
         Worshipping this seemingly heavenly mind is like putting a
         thief in charge of the security of all your possessions.

      Q:   How do I get rid of these deep deluded thoughts?

      A:   Just stop having them.



      <<Reincarnation>>

          The foolish demand self-existence.  They imagine they will
      take another body at death.  Yet there is no "self" that
      transmigrates from life to life.  Reincarnation refers to
      <reformation>, not transmigration.  It is all about change, the
      body of which is karma.

          Reincarnation refers to the continued life of the imputed I,
      the ego, which is a false thought, or ignorance.  Just as one
      lights a candle from the flame of another, so are false thoughts
      passed from person to person.  These thoughts are false because
      they believe they experience loss and gain, life and death.  It
      is because these thoughts believe in life and death, they are
      said to be caught in the cycle of repeated birth and death.
      This false grasping mind experiences the inevitable changes of
      life badly, which prevents it from breaking out of the vicious
      circle of ignorance.

          Some things appear and are true, like the sun.  Other things
      appear and are not true, like happiness and suffering.  Yet they
      still appear, and we have names for them.  Reincarnation is such
      a name.

          Buddhas are supposed to be beyond life and death, yet, in a
      sense, even they reincarnate, for they do not escape change, and
      change is ultimately birth and death.  However, Buddhas do not
      experience <the pain> of change, which is birth and death.



      <<Between lives>>

          The "bardo", or the intermediate state between lives, is a
      name for dream consciousness.  It is only a partial
      consciousness, and lies between two "lives" in the sense that it
      separates two waking states, in which there is full
      consciousness.  Partial consciousness means diminished control,
      which results in dreams being driven by the karma of past
      experiences and habits.  Past experiences and habits are
      invariably emotional and deluded.

          During the day we may cultivate a peaceful, happy, and
      contented mind.  On retiring that evening we may well feel free
      and relaxed.  The room may seem bright and spacious.  Yet in our
      dreams, deep loves and fears make their way to the surface of
      the mind.  Our train of thought becomes disrupted and then lost
      altogether.  The next morning we find ourselves in a "different
      world".  We may feel tired and depressed.  The room may appear
      small and dirty.  We have quite literally been reborn into a
      different realm of existence - "thrown" into a new life by the
      delusions of the ego.

          The ego is like a thief that harvests your crop during the
      night and steals it; it steals the fruit of virtue, and sows the
      seeds of non-virtue.



      <<The candle>>

      A:  A candle flame reincarnates while it is alive, setting light
          to other candles for example, but ceases to do so once it is
          dead.  Similarly with human consciousness.

      Q:  But a candle flame is not the same as human consciousness.

      A:  On the contrary, its essence is exactly the same.

      Q:  No, human consciousness has self awareness, while a candle
          flame does not.

      A:  Self consciousness is only a superficial characteristic.
          Essentially all things are the same, in their lack of
          inherent existence.



      <<Observations concerning rebirth>>


         - Criminals have a compulsion to return to the scene of the
      crime - if only to gloat.  They are often caught at this time.
      An abused woman will divorce her husband, only to marry another
      man who abuses her.  Many are attracted to suffering, so they
      can enjoy happiness all the more.


         - If the parents are rich, successful, and happy, their
      children will live hellish lives ending in suicide.  If one
      generation is peaceful, the next will go to war.  How do I know
      this? - by looking!


        - Children do not have as much fun in childhood as adults do
      in adultery.

                                         Spike Milligan


         - No man, not even a married man, can know definitely how
      many children he leaves behind him.

         - If I can see further than others, it is because I stand
      on the shoulders of giants.

                                         Kierkegaard.


         - One sows and another reaps.

                                         John 4:37


         - It is a mistaken conception to think,
           That I shall experience the suffering of my next life.
           For it is another person who dies,
           And another who will be reborn.

                                         Shantideva


         - Let him who wishes to kill his opponent first consider whether
      by doing so he will not immortalize him in himself.

                                         Nietzsche


         - In the Hindi language a son is called Atmaja, "the self
      reborn" - there is no difference between you and your son.


                     Yesterday I loved,
                     Today I suffer,
                     Tomorrow I die,
                     Yet, today and tomorrow
                     I like to think
                     Of yesterday

                           From a spanish song

            - And the day after tomorrow? . . . I love?



      <<No Tomorrow>>

          There is no tomorrow for those who cannot see it.  People do
      not think further into the future than the lives of their own
      children, and even this they do only for a present joy.

          Failure to see, and work for the future, is called an
      inability to see and work for one's future lives.



      <<We do not learn>>

          We are doomed to repeat our mistakes for much longer to
      come.  "New religions" spring up daily, new philosophies, new
      wisdom.  What hope have we? - we who refuse to make a start in
      the beginning itself.



      <<Praying for the dead>>

          I pray for you, that your praying for the dead constitutes
      your learning from their mistakes, taking responsibility for
      their crimes, and doing what they never had the courage to do.

          Let those fountains of grief, and waterfalls of pity go
      their own way - the way of the dead.



      <<Ego-cycles>>

          The King wants to be a peasant and feel the simple freedom
      of the peasant.  The peasant wants the freedom and power of the
      King.  Each gets what he wants.



      <<Love of animals>>

          You love animals - they help you to forget the worries and
      complexities of human life.  You wish for the simplicity and
      carefree lifestyle of an animal.  Take note: whatever you desire
      in your heart <will manifest>.  Your "rebirth" as an animal is
      guaranteed, because <you are> what you desire in your heart.



      <<Birth, death and rebirth>>

          The man of knowledge does not escape the wheel of birth,
      death, and rebirth.  He does not escape cause and effect, but
      <ignorance> about cause and effect.  He does not escape death,
      but the burden of life.

          Right now, what <I> am is becoming <you>.



      <<Impermanence>>

          Life slips through your fingers like sand.  Yet you are the
      beach!  Why grasp at handfuls of sand?



      <<The wave>>

          The wave is the embodiment of life.  One moment it is alive
      and active, rolling in, crashing against the beach, and then is
      gone - yet somehow feeding those that follow.



      <<Circles>>

          At first we say "All is a mystery, God alone knows all."
      Later, with the fever of knowledge, our story is "All can be
      explained with Science."  Later still, in the maturity of
      knowledge, we change our story to "Nothing is explainable: all
      is chaos."

          Thus we go forever in circles.  We are like monkeys, letting
      go of one branch to take hold of another.  We will never see the
      Truth if we refuse to come down from the trees.  The wise see
      the precariousness of life in the trees, and return to the
      earth.  Is not the earth more faithful?



      <<The case of posthumous birth>>

          If life is measured by the degree to which one interacts
      with the world, and makes a mark on the world, then some are not
      born till after death.  Indeed, some people are <never> born,
      while others might be said to have been born before birth.


                   "God is dead", Nietzsche

                   "Nietzsche is dead", God

                   "Some are born posthumously", Nietzsche









                               <- RELIGION ->




      <<Prayer>>

          Pray not for Truth to be revealed to you, but that you might
      develop the strength to understand it.  Pray not for God to love
      you, but that you might love God.

          "Prayer" has popularly come to mean <wishful thinking>, when
      it should rather be an effort of will in the light of Wisdom.



      <<The religious teacher>>

          The religious teacher of today is sterile, unable to
      engender anything of worth in others.  He cannot kindle the
      spark of conscience and the cleansing flame of reason.

          What use is he? - hiding there behind his multi-layers of
      religious apparel - bullet-proof jackets, layers of tradition,
      the thrown-together stick framework of theology, yet still
      failing to keep out the blustering winds.

          Incredibly, his uselessness is his very appeal.  It is
      precisely because he is harmless that people have no hesitation
      in believing his every word.  He is harmless because he stresses
      the importance of <action> over thought.  To speak the truth
      would be a superfluity to such a martyr, who is generously
      rewarded with both praise and coin, by people who regard it a
      privilege to been graced with his lofty teaching.



      <<Happiness>>

          "We are all the same" say the priests, "for do we not all
      seek happiness?"  True enough, except for the small matter that
      we people seek happiness in totally different and conflicting
      ways!  Yes, we are the same alright - if only this sameness were
      not our blindness!

          "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature in a
      heartless world.  It is the soul of soulless conditions.
      Religion is the opium of the people."
                                                       Marx



      <<Man or monk>>

      Man:   Rituals are an extremely harmful practice.

      Monk:  Yes.

      Man:   Then why don't you discourage ritual practice among your
           followers?

      Monk:  I give them what they want.

      Man:   If a drug addict begged you for drugs, would you oblige
           him, even though he is dying from those drugs?

      Monk:  Rituals are not that bad.  They do more good than harm.

      Man:   Rituals are yet more things to become attached to, yet
           more excuses to refrain from thought.  You are the provider
           of these evil things and are responsible for the harm they
           do.  You wear robes, appear a monk, and people become
           attached to the idea "monk".  If you really wanted to help
           people you would wear any convenient clothing, then people
           would find it much more difficult to become attached to
           "monk" and would thus have one less hindrance to their
           spiritual progress.

      Monk:  My religion would not exist if we monks and priests did
           not wear robes, and if we did not provide the people with
           rituals.  You shouldn't criticize monks.  One becomes a
           monk to simplify life and create the space to develop one's
           spirit -  a space that would not be there if one was living
           in the world.

      Man:   You disappoint me.  You have reached the limit of your
           rationality and are beginning to rave and throw scripted
           responses at me.  Now I feel as though I am talking to a
           cold unthinking machine rather than a real human being.

             You say your religion would not exist without all the
           robes and rituals.  Yes indeed, it would cease to exist;
           but what have robes and rituals got to do with wisdom?  The
           fact that your religion would disappear without such things
           shows that your religion is unconcerned with truth.

             Regarding your idea about the simple monastic life - come
           now!  Do you honestly think your life, with its unending
           rules, elaborate rituals, and convoluted rationalizations,
           is simple?  What you really crave is space to cultivate
           your selfish happiness unhindered - this is <your>
           "religion".



      <<The Mother>>

          In Tibetan Buddhism it is said that you must learn to
      recognize all beings as your mother, and to then repay your
      mother for all her kindness in having been a mother to you.

          So many words!  If only they knew who their Mother really
      was, then they would see <all things> as Mother.  Then there
      would be no desire to "repay", for what can a mother do for a
      child?  It is a Mother's <duty> to look after her child, and it
      is the child's right to demand her attention.

          I cringe when I hear people speak of "others" - helping
      others, loving others, cherishing others.  If only they would
      take responsibility for themselves!  This "others" is a way of
      avoiding personal responsibility.  "I do it for others, to
      please God."  What a horrible little word is this "for".  With
      just one "for" all responsibility is passed to "other".

          If you question these people about their motivation, or
      about the consequences of their actions, they will not hear you;
      they who after all, do not even exist as they have submitted
      themselves to God, or the Church, or some other grand purpose.
      They see themselves as the mouthpiece only, and not the speaker.
      Indeed, they regard it presumptuous to use your own words and to
      speak for yourself.



      <<Decisions>>

          I once met a fellow who had the deeply taxing decision of
      whether to become a minister of religion or a door-to-door
      vacuum cleaner salesman.  He chose the latter.  Little did he
      know how much good came of his decision.  How very much more
      honest it is to be a door-to-door salesman than a clergyman.



      <<Thieves>>

          Some monks and priests proudly claim not to ask their
      followers for money: they do however <expect> it - which is even
      worse than asking!

          They are criminals, cheating innocent people out of their
      hard-earned money on the pretext that it is for a good cause.

          "Actions speak louder than words" they say.  Quite so, and
      while their words may seem in the clouds, their teaching is
      grovelling in the dirt.



      <<False teachers>>

          The words of the ancient wise men were like arrows.  But
      these men died, and their teachings with them.  Then came those
      whose words where like chocolates, which people gladly consumed,
      while discarding the hard centre.  Today we have the teachers of
      submission . . .  whose chocolates are soft <throughout>.



      <<Religion>>

          When studying different religions, it is more important to
      notice the differences between them than the similarities.  This
      keeps us on the move, prevents stagnation, and insures against
      becoming attached to words.



      <<Two masters>>

          A well respected guru has said that, if you don't fancy
      relinquishing your ego, it is possible for the ego <to remain>
      as the servant of God.  Don't you believe a word of it!  Try to
      serve two masters, and you will soon love the one and hate the
      other.  Can the Devil remain as a servant of God?  Or is he an
      impostor!



      <<Religion and culture>>

          The priests of today, those great wise men, knowingly
      proclaim that the material and the spiritual realms should not
      be regarded as separate, but as <complimentary>.  They say
      religion and culture must work together.

          But I tell you, when spirit becomes entangled with culture,
      it is <the end> of spirit.  Culture is too strong and wild an
      animal to domesticate.  The priest merely tries to promote and
      justify his own worldly lifestyle, and the crude culture of his
      religion, by calling it spiritual.



      <<Atheists>>

          There are some who proudly claim to be free of superstition,
      and therefore free of religion also.  Yet they believe in the
      greatest superstition of all - a "soul" that comes magically
      into existence, then mysteriously disappears on death.

          When I present such ones with my purely materialistic
      truths, they have the gall to dismiss me as spiritual!



      <<Man and God>>

      God:   I hate to disappoint you, but <there is no life after
           death.>  It is better that you know.

      Man:   Now look here God, you are horribly mistaken on this
           point.  Do you really think there is no purpose to our
           lives?  Are the loose ends never to be tied up?  Is there
           no justice?  No right of reply?  Will the evil among us not
           receive what is coming to them?  You, my dear God, should
           have more faith in your inner feelings.

      God:   You don't seem to understand, <I am God>!

      Man:   Hah hah.  Well, you are consistent, I'll give you that
           much.  Come back and talk to me again sometime, when you
           can make a little more sense.



      <<The teachers of religion>>

          The thousands of religious teachers of today teach only for
      the purpose of pumping themselves up, to convince themselves
      more strongly of themselves.  Performing for an audience
      provides a reason and an impetus to be vital and confident; it
      provides a purpose: the purpose, among other things, is to avoid
      embarrassment.  In this way they create an object of fear, so
      they can spend the rest of their lives fighting against it.
      They are like the mountaineer who risks his life in the useless
      task of climbing a mountain . . . to feel alive!

          The greater the number of people they convince, the more
      convinced they are of themselves.  They wish also to impress,
      for if they are great in the eyes of others, they <feel> great.
      They do not shun titles.  In short, they are parasites that feed
      off the reputation of their religion, and the weakness of their
      followers.

          The truly wise do not desire to teach: it has nothing to
      offer them.  They are not spurred on by fear so do not care if
      they are seen to fail.  Though they might receive praise and
      thanks, their spirits are not enlivened.  Titles and reputation
      are irrelevant to them as they seek nothing external to
      themselves.  They are motivated by nothing, remain like stone,
      unconcerned with everything human.



      <<Christians and scripture>>

          Christians say the scriptures are "gospel", yet what the
      scriptures <actually say> is superfluous to them.  Christians
      use the scriptures purely in an attempt to make sense of life,
      to find meaning, and a satisfactory model upon which to base
      their lives.  That is, they are not interested in searching for
      truth, but for something they can <believe> is truth.

          Christians need an authority - but only as long as the
      authority is a puppet - a puppet to which <they> are pulling the
      strings!  Thus they create a God for themselves, then humbly
      submit to his will.

          The problem is, because Christians have set up the
      scriptures as an ultimate authority, they cannot then suggest
      anything in them is either wrong or outdated.  Therefore they
      have had to devise and cultivate all manner of tricks and lies
      for the purpose of interpreting words any way you want.

          If you explain to a Christian the meaning of a scriptural
      passage, they will always say you have not "interpreted" it
      correctly, and that you have taken it "out of context."  You
      see, in <their> context truth is irrelevant, so if you put value
      on truth you automatically misinterpret.



      <<The very worst>>

          A theologian recently said: "Religion brings out the very
      best in people, and also the very worst."

          The question then begs to be asked: are we really talking
      about religion, or something that <merely goes by the name of
      religion?>



      <<Christmas>>

          At Christmas inhumanity is at its most ugly.  More than at
      any other time everyone becomes the same, performing the same
      rituals, religious or otherwise, and are seen to be the
      automatons they really are.  One becomes used to the usual human
      follies; it takes this special once a year event to shock me
      into seeing the reality that was present all along.  I can well
      do without their "Christmas spirit".



      <<Religion - the backbone of society>>

      Q:   Religion may not be true, but it plays a valuable role in
         bringing about social cohesion.

      A:   Is a pack of lies then valuable?  Religion certainly brings
         about social cohesion: it glues us together in one great
         putrid ball of garbage!

      Q:   Why should we let a little thing like God come between us?
         You know, I don't believe everything the Christian Church
         teaches, but I agree with the essential Christian values -
         and I think you probably do as well.

      A:   Is a pack of lies then a small thing?  Personally, I
         disagree with <everything> any Christian has ever said.
         Their "essential religious value" is: <believe what you>
         <like.>








                               <- SAMSARA ->




      <<Ego-cycles>>

          Satisfaction seeking follows a cyclic pattern.  Thought
      moves endlessly between the intellect and the emotions, not only
      in individuals, but also on the scale of whole societies.

          Some people are in a stage of fearing free thought; these
      are the fundamentalists of any society.  They tend towards the
      preaching of hell-fire, punishment, and the like; though it is
      not a requirement to be religious to fall into this category.
      Everything with them is black and white.

          The remainder of people cannot live with the obvious lies
      associated with simple and clear-cut values.  These
      freethinkers, semi-intellectuals all of them, dangle their feet
      in the waters of thought, though fail to find answers.  They
      preach "everyone is saved," and "all are equal".  This attitude
      gives a taste of freedom, though its fogginess soon becomes
      boring.  You see, when right and wrong are unclear it is
      difficult to boost one's self-esteem: the world quickly becomes
      a dull and confusing place.  At this testing time, people often
      return to the simplicity of the fundamentalist approach.

          The fundamentalist and the freethinker are equally hateful
      of truth in their different ways.  The fundamentalist ignores
      the fact that values are purely self created, while the
      freethinker ignores the fact that opposing ideas are not
      compatible.

          Perhaps I have been a little too generous with my use of the
      term "freethinker".  For the freethinker I am thinking of
      largely rejects the noble "either/or": he largely rejects
      <reason>.  He is only a freethinker in the sense that his
      thinking frees him from either/or thinking, <not> in the sense
      that his thought is original and unhindered.  He survives life
      by rejecting either/or, while the fundamentalist seeks refuge in
      a warped either/or world.

          As I have said, ego-cycles are not confined to the
      individual; there are no ends in Nature.  Causes have effects,
      and seeds eventually bear fruit.  If the eventual fruition is
      not in the individual, then it is in others within the
      individual's sphere of influence - which is unbounded.  Cause
      and effect ensures that the easy-going religionist, the
      freethinker, tolerant of a broad variety of scriptural
      interpretations, is the alter-ego of the killer - the violent
      and hate-ridden fundamentalist.  Hence the killer is not a
      different person to the pacifist; he is one and the same, though
      under a temporary guise.

          Some parents may be proficient and experienced freethinkers,
      and may never personally experience the terrible consequences of
      this egotism of theirs.  However, children cannot always echo
      their parents.  Rather than be poor copies of their parents,
      children will often try the only alternative.  Thus, if the
      parents are freethinkers, the children may well abandon thought
      altogether and become fundamentalists.

          Confused, the parents will plea, "We didn't bring our
      children up to be that way."  Then I ask, who did?  The children
      are egotists <just like the parents>.  The particular "drugs"
      they use may not be exactly the same, but this is a trivial
      matter, as all such drugs are interchangeable and equally
      destructive.

          So you see, the two poles of thinking are inseparably
      joined.  One comes with the other, leads to the other, and there
      is no escaping it.  The more strongly one encompasses free
      thinking, the more certain is the result of fundamentalism - and
      the more strongly one binds oneself to the ego-cycle of samsara.

          How to escape the double bind?  Become a <real> freethinker.
      Real freethinkers have no attachments.



      <<Heaven and hell>>

          Nirvana and samsara are one and the same, though seen from
      different viewpoints.  The wise see nirvana, and rest in it.
      The ignorant see and struggle with samsara.  Samsara is the
      world of happiness and suffering; it is the world of change.
      Nirvana is beyond both happiness and suffering; it is constant.



      <<Samsara>>

          Happiness is the transition from one form of suffering to
      another.  Suffering is the transition from one form of happiness
      to another.  Samsara is made of these transitions.









                          <- SCIENCE/PHILOSOPHY ->




      <<Scholars>>

          The scholastic heart loves categories because they keep
      things at a safe distance - the distance of the intellect.

          Scientists believe that truth can be arrived at by pursuing
      the scientific method - at least, as close to truth as it is
      possible to get.  In a similar vein, theologians stubbornly
      continue to await the newest piece of theological brilliance
      which finally reveals and proves their God once and for all.
      Both parties believe they are getting incrementally closer to
      their goal.  Unfortunately, all their efforts only serve to
      remove them farther from the truth, because they are isolating
      themselves from the only course of abstract thought that can
      destroy thought.

          Scholars cut things up into smaller and smaller pieces, but
      are unable to fit them back together again.  They are discerning
      in their dissection, yet blind to the world around them.  Their
      mental dexterity renders them able to see causes and effects,
      but unable to see <the body> of cause and effect - Nature.
      Trapped within a complex of categories, they see little of
      worth, and go in circles.  This led Schopenhauer to say:

      <   "The scientific, literary, and artistic spirit of the age>
      <make a declaration of bankruptcy about every thirty years.>
      <During such period, the recurring errors have so increased, that>
      <they collapse under the weight of their own absurdity.  There>
      <often follows now an error in the opposite direction.">

          Yes, I have to laugh when I see the scientists reinventing
      the wheel a thousand times over.  Then, when some bright spark
      of a scientist happens to discover the unfortunate predicament,
      he proudly announces the momentous discovery to the world as his
      own!

          For example, after stupendous effort a scientist makes a
      breakthrough in his understanding and conjures up enough courage
      to challenge the prevailing paradigm, and says:

          <"A 'species' is of no significance in itself; it is not>
      <adapted specifically for an environment, but is an incidental>
      <consequence of the development of sexual reproduction.">

          He hasn't the courage to say what needs to be said: that the
      category "species" exists only <by definition>, and that
      changing the definition results in completely different species.
      For not only are species an incidental consequence of sexual
      reproduction, they are also incidental of our definition of what
      a species is!

          The scientist rightly reminds us that not all the structures
      and functions of animals are necessarily adaptive, but can be
      carried along in the gene pool, purely incidental of past
      genetic history.  He makes the point that many have come to
      think of the "species" as a concrete entity, without any thought
      as to where it comes from, or what it actually is.  Yet he
      doesn't see the real problem, the problem of categories, the
      problem of <reality>.

          Categories are an attempt to finitize that which is infinite
      by nature.  If we concentrate on the category, and not on what
      it applies to, we lose an infinite amount of information -
      literally.  Scientists are either not aware of this predicament,
      or simply don't care to know.

          Scientists are fully occupied creating more and more subtle
      categories, which, it appears them, describe nature with
      increasing accuracy.  Their thinking is also becoming more
      abstract, if purely in an attempt to avoid being swallowed up by
      the complexity of their own categories.  Yet no matter how
      detailed or abstract scientists become, no matter how
      reductionistic or holistic, they will be infinitely far from
      reality, and doomed to go in circles, until they learn what
      categories are.

          Children can help us here.  A child's categories are
      extremely simple, enabling children to see things that are
      invisible to adults.  This does not mean we should become
      children!  Of course, children do not have the penetrating
      vision of the adult abstract mind.  However, children can help
      us become aware of what we have lost, and can yet refind.

          The true man of spirit has the direct vision of the child in
      addition to the power of abstraction.  He is not ruled by
      categories; he creates, masters, and uses them, all in the
      knowledge they are neither real nor illusory.  He sees his own
      categories without categorizing them.

          Scientists argue much about the source of our condition.  Is
      it genetic or environmental?  Evolution or upbringing?  Yet I
      ask you, what is not "environmental"?  Do not underestimate the
      power of the Earth!

          To find Reality you must go to the root.  Many flitter
      around on the branches; some realize that all the branches come
      from the trunk.  But the Truth is deeper still!  Even when one
      gets to the root, what is the root of the root?



      <<Discussion with an ecologist>>

      Q:   I can understand some of what you say about cause and
         effect.  Only yesterday I lectured my third year class about
         "sources" and "sinks", saying how they were completely
         nominal.

      A:   I am saying a lot more about cause and effect than that!
         Not only are causes and effects nominal, but they cannot be
         said to exist!  You don't understand the meaning of
         "nominal".  By saying, something is nominal, we are really
         saying it does not exist outside our imaginations.  You can
         see that branches are connected to the trunk, but cannot see
         where the trunk comes from.



      <<Fatalism>>

          What a dreadful disease is fatalism!  If people do not
      submit to the fantasy of a God, they submit themselves to what
      is "natural", to genetics, and a biological determinism, or to
      the supposed genius of scientists and their technology.

          Fatalism is a wish to submit to a preconceived idea of what
      the future holds.  Both Hegel and Marx were fatalists when they
      fell into the trap of defining dogmatic laws of Nature that, in
      their minds, could never be transgressed.  Their "laws" were of
      course just wishful thinking on their part.  All such futile
      behaviour is a result of the ego's vain search for meaning and
      purpose.  It is better to be rid of the ego than lose all
      dignity.

          The considerable forces of Science and technology play an
      important part in the fatalistic views of many.  We are not
      concerned about the future, as we believe "the scientists" have
      it under control.  We see Science as a cure-all, and thereby
      find an excuse to live however we please.  Science has become
      our hero, and hero-worship means submission, which in turn means
      fatalism.

          How I wish the public knew how weak and fallible scientists
      really are!  How I wish they knew to what degree scientific
      advances are based on pure chance.  How I wish they wanted to
      know!



      <<Honesty>>

          <"Hypocrites!  You know how to interpret the appearance of>
      <the earth and the sky.  How is it that you don't know how to>
      <interpret this present time?">
                                                  Jesus

          Scientists are experts on the intricate workings of cause
      and effect, though do not apply their knowledge to themselves.
      They understand the life and death of stars, yet don't
      understand their own life and death.

          Of what use is it if scientists <do> discover for
      themselves, in a form they can digest, that the Universe is
      infinite?  What will it benefit them?  Such an understanding is
      possible this minute, without science - but nobody wants to
      know.



      <<Me, a scholar?>>

          I am no scholar in my absolute knowledge.  I do not
      experiment, test, and then tentatively put forward theses.  On
      the contrary, I simply <state> the Truth, which I do not want
      you to accept, but implore you to investigate.  I have neither
      the time nor the inclination to go through all the details of
      the investigation - you can do this much for yourselves.



      <<Difficulty>>

          Scholars create a stultifying profusion of complex
      categories and relationships out of something that is
      essentially very simple, then proudly proclaim the immense
      difficulty of their profession!

          To try to simplify their ridiculously complex arguments,
      philosophers spend days devising illustrative stories to enable
      a reader to come to grips with their argument.  Unfortunately,
      their stories are so complicated it is almost impossible to
      understand the story, let alone the message behind it.



      <<Education>>

          Articulation has become the measure of a man.  Knowledge
      does not enter into the equation.

          Our education system rewards one's ability to regurgitate,
      express, and convince.  <Thinking> is outdated and is not
      encouraged.  In any case, there is no-one around these days
      qualified to teach and assess thinking, for who, today, knows
      how to think?

          That we place no value on reason can be seen by the fact
      that truth and myth are taught side by side in our educational
      institutions as companions of equal value.  A teacher may
      explain the magnificent biology of life, yet his heart is full
      of evil superstitions.  Deep within he believes in a "soul",
      which magically springs into existence at conception, and
      equally mysteriously disappears at death.  Unfortunately,
      actions speak louder than words, and the heart louder than the
      head.  Thus a teacher's superstitions have more impact than his
      science.  This week-day criminality at school is then
      supplimented on the week-end with the myths of "Sunday school".

          Myths and lies are invaluable to society in their role of
      defusing the power of reason.  After all, reason can be
      extremely dangerous if used in earnest: some mad men have even
      claimed to have discovered the truth through reason.  God
      forbid!



      <<Agriculture>>

          It has been said that the biggest mistake mankind ever made
      was agriculture.  It resulted in a population explosion,
      overwork, an exhaggerated role segregation of the sexes, and
      devastation of the environment.  All of which may spell the end
      for the human race.

          However, agriculture also generated an immense economic and
      intellectual machine.  Now literacy and communications are as
      never before.  Now we have genetic engineering, and may one day
      create new species of intelligent life.  Now we can travel to
      other planets and may one day inhabit them.  Now we are learning
      to manage our environment on an increasingly large scale.  All
      is not lost.



      <<Scholars>>

          Could there be anything more ineffectual and pitiful than
      "comparative philosophy"?  Note that it is neatly removed from
      philosophy by one word - "comparative".  Yet what philosophy
      today is not comparative?  The philosophers of today are mere
      onlookers and jugglers of other peoples words.  They are
      parasites!  Their aim in life is not to learn the truth, but to
      add to the literature of their genre.

          When I read the attempts of these quasi-men to analyze, <and
      even criticize> the likes of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard . . . I
      don't know whether to laugh or cry.

          "We are more comfortable with the Infinite these days" they
      tell me.  And there is pride in their voices.  A pride that does
      not infect me.  For these cold ones have fashioned their comfort
      through mental trickery.  I see them hiding there behind a
      hundred new categories, and a thousand new books - and they dare
      not even peep around the side.



      <<Philosophy>>

          The fault of western philosophy lies in its continual need
      to revive irrational nonsense to give substance to its own love
      of rationality.  On the whole, philosophy is an indispensable
      aid to women and Christians.

          The philosopher will speak of how we "project reality," but
      will never say things are <illusory>.  He hasn't the courage to
      tackle problems head on, so will skirt around them at a safe
      distance.  From his remoteness he can only discern appearances,
      which change depending on the angle from which he views them.
      Hence, whatever is simple he makes complicated.  His copious
      arguments are an attempt to firstly display his dexterity at
      avoiding the truth, and secondly to justify his cowardice.

          He will not say anything that might hurt others, as he
      doesn't believe in what he's saying <that much>.

          The philosopher thinks that "deep" means difficult to
      understand, <in an intellectual sense>.  Thus, a deep argument
      must necessarily be complicated and detailed.  Only when he
      <sees> the deep bottom, does he regard it as deep.  Consequently
      the <truly> deep thinker appears shallow, because his bottom is
      <so deep> that not even the clearest water betrays his depth.



      <<The barrier>>

          Philosophers and theologians have a remarkable command of
      the English language.  They can articulate on subjects of
      extreme complexity and difficulty with ease.  Though this is
      hardly surprising, given the degree to which they have devoted
      their lives to the enterprise.  Indeed they <need> to devote
      their lives <without reserve> if they are to avoid a
      confrontation with the absolute.

          Their rationality has placed them in the proximity of truth;
      now they do all they can to avoid it by taking their knowledge
      to an extreme.  They become experts at hedging around the truth
      and procrastination.  They cannot see the wood for the trees;
      but this is exactly the way they want it - so they have taken it
      upon themselves to plant countless forests of trees, trees with
      all manner of impressive and difficult names - as a safeguard.
      You see, proximity to truth is not to be confused with
      closeness, for if you are even a hairsbreadth away, you are a
      million miles.

          It is as though these scholars journeyed to the end of the
      earth, and on encountering the Void, a barrier they cannot pass,
      they decided to set up camp.  Shortly, the camps became many,
      and eventually grew into vast and complex cities.  Consequently
      these scholars are experts on the small patch of terrain, there
      at the end of the earth, but have never ventured beyond it -
      into the Infinite.

          If they meet a true man of the void, they speak
      enthusiastically to him of their world and lives, but he finds
      it difficult to follow their speech, for he only glanced their
      world in passing.



      <<Philosophy>>

          Science and philosophy <proved> that reason was insufficient
      in determining absolutes - this led to the feeling that there
      were no standards other than human ones.

          But what was really proven was that <human reason> was
      inadequate - not <reason>.



      <<Science vs Tao>>

      Q:   Surely science and the Tao (the Way) are compatible.  For
         they both reveal the truth.

      A:   Science has <no> Truth.  Tao has <all> Truth.  This is how
         it must always be with opposites - all or nothing.  Thus my
         intellectual conscience demands.

           Though let me say this: Tao includes science, but science
         does not include the Tao.  In other words, science is a part
         of the Infinite, but the Infinite has nothing to do with
         science.  Science is only true when seen from the perspective
         of the Tao.  If you put fifty zero's after a one, you get a
         very large number; but erase that one and nothing remains.
         It is the one that makes the many.  So I tell you: first the
         Kingdom of God!

           You say that Tao is Truth, <and science also>.  But there
         can be only <one> truth, as truth is one by definition.  If
         there is more than one truth, then the term "truth" loses its
         meaning.  Perhaps you mean that science and the Tao
         <together> constitute a single truth?  Then is the Tao half
         the truth, and science the other half?  Yet the Tao is
         precisely that which does not come by degrees.  Either it is
         the full truth, or not at all.  Choose!

           How I despise your "also".  That despicable little word is
         the most used word in every scholar's vocabulary.  Either/or
         is an alien concept to scholars, who live for, and are
         nourished by the category - categories that <blur>
         boundaries!  Their lives are devoted to the task of keeping a
         maximum number of categories afloat simultaneously.  They are
         like the clown who tries to balance dozens of spinning plates
         on sticks, and always comes to grief in the end.  They have
         made the scientific method into a God, and left reason far
         behind.

           The scientific method is incompatible with Truth because it
         depends for its existence on illusions; that is, the
         category, duality, or relativity.  One solitary ultimate
         truth would destroy the many truths science is made of.
         Therefore Truth is the mortal enemy of science, and while
         scientists may seek unifying principles, it is more than they
         are worth to genuinely seek the Truth.  For the same reason,
         it is impossible for them to consider that others go above
         their heads.

           Science is a mental tool for making sense of Nature; it is
         <not> Nature Herself.  It can show us what works, not what is
         true.  It is irrational and unnecessary to infer that what
         works is true, or is true to the degree that it works.  Only
         the man of the Tao can do true science, for he does not
         project onto his hypotheses and theories what they are not.
         If they work, he is happy enough - <and leaves it at that>.
         He does not grasp and settle down in his ideas.

            My words are in the English language.  Mathematics is the
         language of the mathematician.  Neither English nor
         mathematics is a pure, untouchable expression of ultimate
         truth.  They are simply models or frameworks for dealing with
         experience.  The numbers 0,1,2,3 . . . are <symbols>
         representing <concepts>, nothing more.  And like any
         language, they are open to interpretation.  Again, only the
         man of the Tao can interpret them correctly, because he
         doesn't project self-existence onto things and become
         attached to them.

            If the symbols of science are incorrectly interpreted, and
         if things are made out to be more than they are, then it is
         fair to say that science is plain wrong.  Ideally, and
         purely, science is about producing workable answers to
         practical problems.  There is nothing wrong in this - except
         that science <cannot> be separated from the human mind in
         which it finds its being.  Mind is the sub-stratum of
         science, and if that mind is deluded, then science too, is
         invalid.







                                 <- SELF ->




      <<The self>>

          Self-existence can be visualized as volcanic islands
      projecting above the sea.  Underneath they all slope into the
      substrate in which they are one.  And the sea is our deluded
      thought.

          The self is a temporary manifestation of the unbroken web of
      causation.  In some senses it exists, and in others it does not.
      Therefore I speak of the self as existing to convey one point,
      and as not existing to convey another.  It is the meaning that
      matters, not the words.



      <<Body and mind>>

      Q:   Please explain why you don't believe in the existence of a
         self.

      A:   Tell me what you are.

      Q:   I am my personality, my mind, my thoughts.

      A:   Is your body not you?

      Q:   My body is me as well.

      A:   Then the combination of your body and thoughts are "you".

      Q:   Yes.

      A:   In that case I have a very serious question for you: <what
         is> this conglomeration of "body and thoughts"?  Where does
         it begin and end?  Is your body not dependent on the outside
         world for food?  Is your mind not similarly dependent on the
         outside world for experience?  Then how can you separate your
         mind and body from the outside world?

           Furthermore, your body and mind are continually changing,
         so which "body and thoughts" are you?

      Q:   I can see how all things are in a state of continual flux,
         but how do you reach the conclusion that things lack
         self-existence?

      A:   Nothing is the same for two consecutive moments.  Before we
         can posit the existence of a thing, that thing becomes
         something different.  <You> are a different person this
         moment to the one that existed five minutes ago.

      Q:   Yes, I change, but <a part> of me remains the same.

      A:   Which part exactly?  Are you saying some things are immune
         to change?

      Q:   Don't you even believe in the existence of a soul within the
         body?

      A:   "Soul" is but an appearance, and a useful abstraction.  It
         is a word for something which appears to have continuity and
         to be the master of the body.  The soul is no different to
         "Wednesday" or "wind" in being a mere adventitious
         designation.



      <<All is Self>>

          Let everything into yourself.  "You are that" as Vedantic
      literature says.  You are the doer of all things.  When a man is
      shot dead, you are the murderer, the murdered, the gun, and the
      bullet.

          Public speaking can arouse much anxiety.  However, if you
      know firmly that the audience, the microphone, and the building,
      are all yourself - then what anxiety can there be?



      <<Adam and Eve>>

          Adam and Eve were commanded by God not to eat from the tree
      of knowledge - the tree that would give knowledge of values.
      But they were hungry.

          Before the sorry moment, the happy couple were free of self-
      consciousness, and felt no need to cover their bodies with
      clothing.  But upon eating the fruit their minds filled with
      self-serving ideas and false values.  There was separation,
      "self" and "other" - two things instead of the One.  With the
      birth of self-consciousness was born insecurity - and they
      covered their now "private" parts with leaves.

          I am reminded of the Buddhist sage Manjushri, who while
      travelling allowed a thought arise in his mind.  Immediately two
      iron mountains rose out of the ground to block his way.



      <<Separate from the Universe>>

          Usually, I say how we are not separate from Nature and are
      in fact One with it.  I will now say something different.

          We are entirely <separate> from all else in Nature and exist
      totally within the confines of our own minds.  How can anything
      touch or hurt us?  How can we be lacking anything, we, who are
      so entirely separate from the world that we cannot gain
      anything, nor lose it.  That is, we cannot take anything from
      the world and incorporate it into ourselves, nor can it take
      anything from us, being eternally apart.

          Use the senses as the selfless observer, simply surveying
      the sense data as it comes to you.  Do not be drawn out towards
      the doors of the senses where you will surely be sucked outside
      into the whirling chaos of the world.  Rather, bring the entire
      Universe into yourself: it is not selfish to become infinite.
      Watch the magicians trick, but do not be drawn into the affair.
      If you let your attention slip for even a moment, you will
      become absorbed in the outside world just as water is absorbed
      by a sponge.

          Look at things, then "reject" them.  As one concept arises
      after another, reject.  When you see an object, see past its
      edges.  Wrathfully rejecting all, practicing un-thinking, you
      will break through to the clear-light of All-vision.



      <<Respect>>

          The greatest respect is to have none.  The greatest
      politeness is to show none.  The greatest humility is to be
      without it.



      <<A drop>>

          The fool says "I live for now until I die."  This is like a
      drop in the ocean arguing its own independent existence.

          Life is like the breath of a buffalo on a winter's morning.



      <<The self>>

          The grand teachers of submission have such magnificent
      teachings of the self; who could fault their cleverness?  Their
      teaching goes something like this: "All concepts must be
      conceived by something.  Even the concept 'self' must have a
      conceiver - the self behind all concepts is the True Self."
      They say "I think therefore I am."

          Why must concepts emanate from a conceiver?  When we analyze
      any concept we find that it has neither a beginning nor an end -
      now, where on earth is this "concept" and "conceiver"?  It is
      all very well to say "I think therefore I am,", but the premise
      "I think" has no foundation as the "I" only comes into existence
      <after the fact>, that is, <after> the conceiving has been done.
      "I think therefore I am" really means "I think I am therefore I
      am."

          Can an eye see itself?  Can a fingertip touch itself?  I beg
      of you, do not participate in such futile thoughts.  The
      fingertip can touch a hundred thousand things, yet never comes
      any closer to itself.  The eye and the fingertip are
      manifestations of Nature, do not make of them what they are not.
      Such is the self, a manifestation of Nature and a reality; a
      reference point set up by Nature within Herself.  If Nature
      creates illusions then accept those illusions.  And if Nature
      makes you aware of their illusory nature, the knowledge should
      not be ignored.  It is a foolish thing indeed to fight against
      Nature.

          Yes, we live in a dream, the Dream of Nature, from which we
      can never awaken.  As long as there is self, and there always
      will be as far as the self is concerned, there is illusion.  The
      Dream is the All.  But if the Dream is the All, then there is
      nothing other than Dream, so "Dream" loses any meaning.  For
      this reason, never imagine that all this is not absolutely real.
      Don't waste your energy trying to see "The Infinite".  You will
      see all that can be seen, if only you would refrain from
      big-noting yourself!



      <<Self-existence>>

          I've sometimes said "If your self really did exist, then
      there would be good reason to suffer."  But this is not so.  If
      you really were self existent, then you would be <independent>,
      and unaffected by the world.  What could possibly touch a
      self-existent entity?  So, desire is found to be faulty even
      when we use faulty reasoning!



      <<The two headed snake>>

          A snake was born with two heads and necks.  Each head fought
      the other for food, although they shared the same body and
      stomach.

          Are we here talking about one self or two?  Have no
      illusions!



      <<The real me>>

      Q:   Is the ego the real self?

      A:   The ego is an illusion.

      Q:   You are denying the reality of the ego.  How can you tackle
         the ego if you deny its existence?

      A:   If I created the illusion of an elephant floating in
         mid-air, would the elephant really exist?  The illusion
         certainly exists, but the elephant is not a reality.  As soon
         as I stop creating the causes for the illusion it immediately
         ceases.  So it is with the ego.



      <<Weight of the soul>>

          A person weighs exactly the same dead as when alive.  Does
      this mean the soul is weightless?  No, it means the soul weighs
      exactly the same as the body.

          The soul is not in the body as much as the body is in the
      soul.



      <<The real self>>

          Many say the real self is pure and immortal.  Yet I have
      heard the same people say that the decrepit and diseased self of
      an ailing old man is <not> the real self, <nor> is the
      undeveloped self of a new-born baby.  Highly selective!  It is
      just like the husband who regularly beats his wife and
      afterwards pleads forgiveness claiming that "it was not the real
      me who beat you."

          The fact is, you are what you do.  Don't try to find
      yourself apart from change.







                                 <- SLEEP ->




      <<Importance of dreams>>

          During dreams the five physical senses are inactive, so
      there is an absence of sensory distractions.  The mind's eye can
      now focus with concentrated energy.  At this time both true <and
      false> thoughts will be magnified and make a deep impression on
      the mind.  Beware!



      <<A story of sleep>>

          I once heard the following story:

          A good man had spent his whole life cultivating wisdom, and
      his mindfulness was vast.  However, he sometimes forgot his
      purpose and let his mind lapse.  He reasoned that, balanced
      against his good qualities, his lapses were only a small fault.

          He was rather fond of sleep and therefore missed
      opportunities to advance his knowledge and understanding.  Then
      he died.

          On examining his conscience he thought his qualifications
      high enough to enter Heaven.  When he arrived at the gates they
      were shut, but a voice addressed him, saying, "Be watchful; for
      the gates will open once every hundred years."  He settled down
      to wait, excited at the prospect.  But, deprived of people with
      whom to converse and pass on his knowledge, he found his
      capacity of attention was not enough.  After watching for what
      seemed like an age, his head nodded in sleep.  For an instant
      his eyelids closed.  In that infinitesimal moment the gates
      yawned open.  Before his eyes were fully open again, they closed
      . . . <with a roar loud enough to wake the dead.>



      <<Sleep>>

          Be alert!  If you have stood on guard for six nights,
      without a smell of the enemy, you become complacent and
      victorious.  You fall asleep.  <Now they attack!>

          "It will be good for those servants whose master finds them
      ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the
      night.  If the owner of the house had known at what hour the
      thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken
      into."
                                                  Luke 12:36

          Never underestimate the power of delusion.  It is the most
      cunning of enemies.  Also, never forget what the enemy looks
      like!  It is so easy to let the enemy through your doors
      thinking them to be a friend.

          The judgement of God happens at each and every moment in
      accordance with the law of cause and effect.  But <the fruits>
      of one's actions, the result of the judgement, can appear at any
      time.  So at all times, be prepared for both God and the Devil.
      Heaven may call you, but if you are lethargic you may not hear
      its call!  The Devil too, likes to pay a visit while you sleep.

          It is not too difficult to extend control of the mind into
      the first bout of dreaming, but control is easily lost later in
      the night.  The more you learn to cleanse your mind of deluded
      concepts during your waking life, the more easily you will be
      able to keep delusions at bay during sleep.  It must become
      automatic: if there is effort, exhaustion follows.



      <<Enjoying dreams>>

          Practice enjoying dreams, in the knowledge that they are not
      real and cannot harm you.  In this way you can come to an idea
      of how the dream of waking life is to be enjoyed (though in an
      infinitely purer sense).

          Life is a dream - sharpen it up!  Enjoy it with the joy of
      wisdom.  If your eyes become tired and deflated then pump them
      up again with love of Truth.



      <<Priorities>>

          When people speak of vivid dreams, they are thinking of
      vivid <vision>.  It is far better to have vivid <reason> in
      dreams.








                           <- THE SPIRITUAL MAN ->




      <<Socrates>>

        -  Socrates was great, because he distinguished between what he
      knew, and what he did not know.
                                               Kierkegaard

        -  I admire the courage and wisdom of Socrates in everything he
      did, said - and did not say.
                                               Nietzsche



      <<The termite>>

          The spiritual man is a gad-fly.  Or he is a termite, who
      reminds a house's occupants of its temporary nature.  He is the
      conscience of society.

          We build castles for ourselves, islands of permanence in a
      changing world.  We try to create our own heaven, cutting
      ourselves off from the real world in the process.  The job of a
      termite is no small one.



      <<Snake venom>>

          The spiritual man willingly confronts difficult situations.
      He makes himself vulnerable, to bring his weaknesses and their
      accompanying delusions to the surface where they can be
      recognized and dealt with.  Thus does his suffering facilitate
      healing.

          You can inject snake venom into your blood to gain immunity.
      There may well be fever at first, but one emerges the better for
      it.  The weak cannot take large dosages, so their progress is
      slow.  The strong transfer their blood for poison; they gain
      immunity rapidly.

          It is sometimes better to make a small incision to diminish
      a worse pain.



      <<Ask yourself>>

          When asked a senseless question, Ramana Maharishee would
      often answer: "Ask yourself who is asking the question."

          The questions of the ingenuine always come from the ego.
      They always seek support and confirmation.  So the guru asks the
      student: what is the source of this ego, from whence issue all
      foolish questions?

          Near his death, Ramana commented: "They say that I am dying,
      but I am not going away.  Where could I go?  I am here."



      <<An example to others>>

          The one who is a good example to others is often <not> the
      one who speaks eloquently in public.  He may not be
      knowledgeable.  He may not be clear eyed and fearless.  Few will
      see him as a model for perfection.

          We people prefer the person of talent: the sportsperson, the
      businessperson, the musician, the artist.  For these not only
      have the regular attachments, but have some other-worldly power
      behind them as well.  We adore what we feel is perfect <for us>.

         Unfortunately, skill in any activity, be it poetry, sport, or
      speaking, is a result of much practice, and such practice has a
      cost: the cost is God.  Any form of success that comes before a
      strong familiarity with the Infinite has been developed, boosts
      the ego to a level beyond control.  From this position one is
      lost.

          The true man of wisdom turns his back on talent: he is
      <unbound>.  He loathes attachment as he would an unnecessary
      burden.  However, old habits die hard, and the spiritual man
      suffers because of his wisdom.  His suffering and insecurity
      often make him a poor and shaky public speaker.  He spends so
      much time thinking of God, when it comes time to speak . . . he
      has forgotten how.  When he does manage a word or two he doesn't
      speak kindly, so few hear him.

          However, the spiritual man is insecure only at first.  He
      gets better as he learns to swim more easily in the sea of the
      Infinite.  When he finally learns to stop swimming and <float>,
      his ego dissolves completely.  Having eliminated the cause of
      suffering, his security is transcendent.  Now, and only now, can
      he begin to perfect all the skills necessary to help others in
      even better ways than he already has.  Now he has the spiritual
      strength to do intellectually demanding things without losing
      concentration on God, without becoming absorbed in what he is
      doing, and in the world.

          Any activity that is without the transcendent strength,
      inner-quiet, and peace that comes from a wisdom of the Infinite,
      is performed by a deluded mind.  Such banal activity ignores
      Truth and buries oneself and others deeper into samsara and its
      hells.  It is not worth the effort trying to justify such blind
      and wreckless activity; first learn to see, then you are free to
      be as active as you like.

          I beg you, if you want to give your species something of
      lasting value, then do not seek to become a skillful speaker.
      The best way to teach is to be an example.  Show others the
      correct priorities by the way you live your life.  Such a
      teaching, without words, is a thousand times more powerful than
      anything eloquence can produce.

          Now imagine the awesome power of the teachings of one who,
      living a truthful life, develops all the verbal skills as well!

          Even so, no matter the spiritual man's wisdom or teaching
      skills, he will always be hated.  When relaxed and eloquent he
      will be hated for what he says; when nervous with God induced
      insecurity, he will be hated both for what he says, <and> for
      the uneasy way he says it.

          All this the spiritual man takes in his stride, which spans
      entire universes.



      <<From Indian Scripture>>

          "To him who has travelled far along the path, sorrow ceases
      to sadden, fetters cease to trouble, obstacles cease to hinder.
      Such a one is free.  For him there are no more rebirths.  His
      old karma is exhausted, and he creates no new karma.  His heart
      is freed from desire for future life.  No new longings arise in
      his soul.  He is like a lamp who burneth from the oil of the
      spirit, and not from the oil of the outer world."



      <<Living directly>>

          The sage reacts to circumstance alone.  The fool, on the
      other hand, feels the urge to sneeze, but then it passes, so he
      replaces the sneeze with a verbal "Ah...choo" - fulfilling his
      expectations.  The fool merely follows a script: he does not
      actually live.



      <<Heart in the right place>>

          Take the spiritual man apart, looking for a trace of heart,
      and you will find none.  He keeps it hidden in a place you will
      never look, safe from prying eyes - with God.

          "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
      <Your> hearts are found with your attachments, so this is where
      you look in the spiritual man - in vain.



      <<The greatest heart>>

          The enlightened man seems overly thoughtful and cold,
      inhuman; he analyzes everything.

          How strange is his mind!  Instead of thinking about others,
      and trying to understand their suffering, he sees himself <as>
      others.  This is the best of Love, and the greatest heart.



      <<The wise man>>

          The wise man lives simply.  He says in his heart: I know who
      I am, and doing the best I can, by working to a plan.  When he
      wakes in the morning he plans for the day.  In addition, he has
      plans for the week, month, year, his lifetime, and even for
      hundreds of years into the future!  He takes one thing at a
      time: Nature does great things in small steps.

          At times he says: O Mother!  I cannot ever know who I am!
      And everything I will, you have willed!



      <<The good man in love>>

          He converts everything she says into his sphere, to make
      meaning of it, which is beyond her meaning and understanding.

          He keeps his love at distance, therapeutic only, to let
      deluded tendencies run their course, harmlessly exhausting
      themselves.  He never believes for a moment that he loves <her>:
      he loves love itself.  He actively avoids situations with the
      woman where his ego might be aroused to a level where he would
      lose his perspective - the perspective of a psychologist.  He
      must remain in control.

          He sees his love as a fork in the road, where he is forced
      to choose between the world and God.  For it is here, in love,
      that the two opposites are best thrown into sharp relief and
      opposition.

          How cruel he seems! - when his wisdom is young - using a
      girl as an experimental animal!  One minute he overflows with
      emotional passion, and the next he is in distant intellectual
      thought.  So it is when the ego is in its death throes, having a
      last fling at life, wanting to know if it is still possible.

          And how the girl must pain!  It is as though she had been
      given a gift, and then having it taken from her <for her own
      good>.

          Yet how could it be otherwise, when he is twenty five
      winters old, and she, twenty summers.



      <<Glass Houses>>

          Sages do not hesitate to criticize the harmful behaviour of
      others.  They see others as their own self, and regard all
      wisdom and ignorance as their own.  They do not wait to be asked
      their opinion.  They never hesitate to speak when a word needs
      to be said.  They will speak harshly towards our most deeply
      cherished beliefs - if those beliefs be in error.

          False teachers, however, do not criticize others; they live
      in glass houses and fear for their own safety.  They do not wish
      to make enemies.  They know their own ideas and values have no
      basis in reason, so are ashamed to offer them up for public
      scrutiny.  The last thing they want is to end up on the
      receiving end of <other people's> advice.

          Someone who cannot swim does not rock the boat.



      <<Samsaric and non-samsaric karma>>

          Samsaric karma is "throwing" karma which controls the
      direction of your life.  You are at its mercy.  The wisest of
      the wise have non-samsaric karma, which is such a weak karma
      they can overcome it in an instant.  In this way the wise can be
      said to have control over their destiny, or their "future
      lives".



      <<The God-Man>>

          The God-man has two natures: human and divine.  Two forms of
      consciousness merged into one.  The result is a consciousness of
      the Infinite through a brain that finitizes.



      <<Characteristics of the sage>>

          A young boy has not experienced the unity of man and woman,
      yet his manhood is strong.  He feels no magical pull of
      attraction towards the opposite sex, seeing them at most as a
      strange curiosity.  Likewise does the man of knowledge wonder
      aimlessly about, desireless, without direction, and with nothing
      directing him.  He desires neither life nor happiness; how much
      less does he desire woman!

          The sage is like an ocean.  There may be an occasional
      surface storm, but deep down there is stillness.  His occasional
      anger is only an appearance.  It is like burnt string, which
      looks like string, but a mere puff blows it away.  His
      attachment is like that of a child.  He makes a play house, and
      if anyone touches it, he will jump up and cry; the next moment
      he himself will break it.  The sun undoubtedly has dark spots,
      but these do not obstruct its light.  It says nothing against
      the ripeness of a spirit that it has a few worms.

          He thinks of perfect wisdom as often as a jealous man thinks
      of his beautiful lover when he finds out she is spending the
      evening with another man.  He wants perfect wisdom as much as an
      egotist wants to avoid pain.  He spurns the world as much as the
      egotist craves for it.

          He cannot be defeated in argument, as he canvasses no
      position.  When no ground is held, it is safe ground.

          His ways are simple, his words plain.  He is aware of the
      limits of words, so does not stretch them too far.  The more
      elevated his thought, the less contrived his expression.  He
      cannot be classified into harmlessness as can scholars.  He
      drives his meaning home hard; he speaks to our souls.

          He does not motivate himself to attain God consciousness.
      Motivation creates false values.  He transcends instantaneously,
      his dictum being "First the Kingdom of God."

          He is not impatient and restless.  He refrains from
      decisions till he has to make them, waiting to receive as much
      information as he can, then using as much time as he can to
      consider that information.  By contrast, the fool, fearing
      uncertainty, rushes his decisions in order to allay his fears of
      the future.

          It can happen that a snake gets his prey stuck in his mouth,
      too large to swallow or spit-out.  Both will die a lingering and
      painful death.  But the sage is like a cobra: he kills with a
      single bite.

          To the worldly, the sage is a mystery.  Now he seems
      predictable, now he surprises, now he has character, now he has
      none, now he is shallow, now deep, now mad, now he disappears
      altogether!  He defies categories.  He is always intensively
      concentrated on what is real.  His eyes fall on infinite vistas.
      He reads others as he would a page.

          He doesn't hesitate to reject disciples if they are not true
      warriors of the spirit.  If they cannot learn to judge a man
      truly in an instant, and if they cannot say "no" to the world
      <and really mean it>, they are his enemies.

          What is his greatness?  Is the sun great?  Is a clod of
      earth great?  Is the sage great?  They are all great because
      they do not think they are great.

          Those of the world frantically wave their arms about trying
      to stay afloat on the surface of the ocean.  At length they see
      an island and seek refuge on its shores.  Then the island rears
      itself out of the sea and devours them - a resting monster.  The
      way of the wise is to plunge into the deep, learning to live in
      the powerful and roaring currents.  One cannot sink who has
      already sunk.

          The man of knowledge has eliminated all things from his
      sight: nothing remains to blind him.

          He is ignorant of everything, uncertain of everything.  His
      only certainty is that he is uncertain.  Yet there is nothing
      which he does not know.

          He is like one who comes to people living in a world where
      everything is red, preaching that nothing at all is red.  Most
      hateful about the sage is his persistence.  "If he would only
      say what he has to say the once, and then go away!" the people
      plea.  But no, he will not go away.  On the contrary, he has
      only just begun!

          He has a strange body - like that of a kangaroo.  Usually he
      sits still, but when he moves the tremendous leap that follows
      strikes terror into all who have attached themselves to him by
      the tender ties of kinship and friendship.

          He forgets nothing, but forgives everything.  Therefore he
      is doubly detested, for he causes the foolish double shame by
      his honesty and magnanimity.

          Unfortunately he is usually a he.



      <<Hated by the world>>

          The first time people hear the sage's harsh words they
      dismiss him as a troublemaker.  The second time they dismiss him
      as an antisocial person with "problems".  The third time - and
      by now his truths are beginning to strike home - they call him
      "mad".  The fourth time, and they are calling for his head!

          Society does not hate only <what> the thinker thinks, but
      <that> he thinks.  They hate his presumption that he might think
      for himself.  And they hate his superiority when he tells them
      "I am right to think, and you are wrong for refusing to do so."
      He is the conscience society never had, and is hated as such.



      <<Smiling>>

                  When your smiling, when your smiling,
                  The whole world <dies> with you.

          Don't worry, be happy.  If you are happy your happiness will
      spread throughout society - like an infectious disease.  Smiles
      are like fleas that jump from man to man.  Keep smiling: the
      world loves an idiot.  When the ego finds happiness, what chance
      is there to undermine it?  A smile costs nothing but your life.

          The true sage is forever watchful of the consequences of his
      actions.  He watches equally for both intentional and
      unintentional consequences.  It is so easy for the ignorant to
      misinterpret his state of mind as <happiness>.  How easily they
      mistake the look on his face for that of childish innocence!



      <<Language of the spirit>>

          Some people feel released from bondage when they can think
      in another language - a different framework of reality.  They
      feel released from the confinement of words.  Artists step even
      further, into immediacy, into the language of shapes and
      colours, the language of the mind, unobstructed by words.

          Only the sage speaks truly.  Only he speaks <the language of
      the spirit.>



      <<Teaching methods>>

          The wise awaken us by bringing our dreams into sharp relief.
      They do this with the tools of humour, fiction, and fantasy.  By
      skillfully treating the world as a theater, the world is seen
      more clearly as the theater it is.  By exposing contradictions
      in our being and in our behaviour, delusion quickly comes to see
      itself.

          Laughter gives strength.  Strength gives confidence to laugh
      at increasingly dangerous and revealing truths.  Before long,
      penetrating humour reveals a little too much for comfort.  It
      ceases to entertain.  The ego begins to see the joke of its own
      existence.  Given fuel, this spark may kindle the spiritual
      mind.

          Using such methods as humour, the wise destroy the cherished
      boundaries between imagination and reality.  They throw
      everything into doubt.  By making us attached to reason, the
      fuel of humour, they deceive us into a false sense of security,
      while imperceptibly leading us towards liberation.  Humour is
      too strong a weapon for our natural armour, and makes a crack in
      our shell.  Through this crack a serum can be injected - a serum
      called "reasoning in earnest".

          You see, the humour of the wise is fundamentally different
      from the humour of the world: it is <in dead earnest>.  When the
      wise laugh at something, they can never believe in it again.
      Does one take back one's own spittle having spat it?  The
      worldly wit continually repeats his follies, having no
      passionate love of reason, seeing reason only as a convenient
      support for a dreamworld.

          We like to listen to the aesthetic, but not to the true.
      Therefore the wise talk of the aesthetic, tricking us into
      approaching the true by making us dissatisfied with the
      aesthetic.



      <<This world>>

          Reality is on the other side of the river, yet all we can
      see from this side is the upside down reflection of the other
      bank.

          Thus, the mind of the sage cannot be appreciated by those
      absorbed in the world.  They can only see the appearance of his
      mind, which is always upside down.  This is why it says in one
      of the Buddhist scriptures: "The virtuous one's mind is turned
      upside down, and does not accord with the Buddha wisdom."



      <<Fair-weather sailor>>

          If you think of the Infinite only when things are well for
      you, it will remain at an infinite distance.  If you crave
      happiness first and foremost, with Truth as a secondary
      consideration, then as soon as the pain of this world returns to
      you, worldly antidotes will be your saviour.  You will be merely
      a fair weather sailor, a pleasure craft owner, whose roots are
      firmly planted on dry land.  You will never find your being in
      the vast oceans.  With time however, you may develop a taste for
      the sea, but how difficult this is, for you who have not seen
      its fury!

          Only the sage will take to the sea in fair weather or storm.

          Myself, I am a fisherman.  A fisher of men and a lover of
      the sea and its furies.  And if our craft is nearly swamped, I
      will not hesitate to rock the boat . . . in the hope of sloshing
      some of the bilgewater over the side.  And too, an unsteady boat
      can quickly give people an appreciation of the sea.



      <<A Visitor>>

          The mystic says he feels like a "visitor" in this world.  By
      contrast, the man of knowledge says he is <the meaning of the
      Earth>, and no visitor.



      <<True Mind>>

          The true mind does not possess its power by virtue of its
      ability to see the value of things clearly, but by virtue of its
      ability to <place> value on things clearly.  The power of the
      True Mind is that it is not inflicted upon by anything, it is
      not swayed, but itself sways the Universe.



      <<Childhood memories>>

          The foolish often remember more of their childhood than the
      wise.  The wise do not linger on their childhood; they have no
      reason to harken back to happier days.



      <<Difference>>

          What a difference there is between the empty face of the
      passionless, and the bold face of the passionate.  What a
      difference between glazed china eyes, and those that sparkle, a
      distant light, from a deep hidden source.  What a difference
      between the weak, who have nothing to be ready for, and the
      strong, who are ever watchful.



      <<Roles>>

          People are quite prepared to tolerate the enlightened man,
      but only as long as he is an "enlightened man".  That is, as
      long as he fits within their categories, and thus is not truly
      enlightened.  In payment for his lofty teachings the people say
      "thanks for that."

          The truly wise do not pander to peoples' illusions: they are
      hated.  If they are not hated, they are not truly wise.



      <<Incarnations>>

          God incarnates in all things, but reveals himself through
      only one or two rare people.  We call them "incarnations".

          Some things reflect the sun's rays better than others.  A
      mirror reflects better than a rock or a tree.  All men are <not>
      equal.



      <<Suffocation>>

          Do not think the life of the spiritual man is easy: each
      thought of every human being destroys the very thing he lives
      for.  With our goodness, righteousness, unselfishness, and
      compassion, we effectively snuff him out of existence.  When you
      take in a beautiful vision, you tear out his eyes.  When you
      linger on a delightful sound, you rip off his ears.

          To him we are a billion biting flies, not allowing him even
      his breath as we fill his lungs with our number.

          Is it surprising that at times he feels suffocated?



      <<Zarathustra returns again>>

          Zarathustra, face as brass, made his way to the town square
      accompanied by several disciples.  A crowd gathered around him
      and he looked upon them with a stellar love.  The hearts of his
      disciples emptied and their spirits soared.  The people were
      struck silent.  He spoke:

          I seek not the spirit of man, but the heart of the Earth.  I
      go not the way of your Gods, nor your Supreme Consciousness.

          You work to conserve the environment, asking reasonableness
      of others - I tell you, look down at your own feet!  Once,
      Nature was named "God" and you immediately made "God" into an
      image of yourselves.  Later, the earth was named "Gaya" and
      suffered the same fate.  You say you want to live in accordance
      with Nature - Nature, that purposeless chaos! - who among you
      would live with such a thing?  To live with Her one must be as
      mad and unrestrained as Nature Herself.  You not only want to
      tame Nature, but to remold Her into a clone of your evil selves.

          The Earth endowed you with a mind, but what do you know of
      it?  You do not respect even your own minds, yet preach
      respectfulness towards <others!>  What faith have you in reason?
      You teach, by the teaching of your life, that reason is of no
      worth.  You worship altered states of consciousness, common
      dirt, and call them "religious experiences".  You worship
      feelings, the foul excrement of the ego.  Your life proclaims
      "Believe as you will - follow your heart's desire" - I would
      fain tear your heart from you with my bare hands!  You may be
      intelligent, but you are not intelligent <enough!>  We live, but
      what of those to come?

          Nature is so clean, so pure, why do you run from it so?  You
      run from truth as do roaches from the light.  You say "Food and
      water are essential for life - attachment is both natural and
      human."  Oh, you do well to avoid the truth.  For it is
      <emotional> not bodily needs I denounce.

          At this he thought: one cannot speak to pigs and fish, and
      silence is so difficult, especially for a talkative man.  His
      eyes glistened for a moment, a tear?  A blink and it was gone.



      <<Hakuin>>

          Someone asked Hakuin "Why does someone who is originally a
      Buddha suddenly become a sentient being?"  "It is a mistake on
      the part of his parents," said Hakuin.

          He also used to say "The words and phrases that I speak are
      a ration of unchewable nails.  You couldn't possibly get your
      teeth into them."  And "You can no longer find a single man who
      is capable of facing a person and clearly judging him before he
      has made a move or said a word.  They have disappeared
      completely.  What a terrible pity!"

          It is said that Hakuin's poison is so virulent that the
      slightest drop, even a word, can kill everything in the
      Universe.  Personally, I think he was too soft.



      <<Patronizing>>

          Call me patronizing all you like.  I am the teacher, and it
      is my duty to tell you when you are wrong.

          What do I hear you say?  You don't want to go to school!
      <But school is compulsory!> . . . then you don't want to do my
      subject?  Yet this subject too is compulsory.  Now you claim to
      be adults, and tell me that you cannot be told what to do.  But
      I tell you, only when you truly know <who you are> will I call
      you adults, and not before.  Only when you know the beginning
      and end of things will you have left the child behind.



      <<Grief>>

          It is said that if one does not go through the grieving
      process after one has experienced a loss, the wound will never
      heal, and one will suffer forever.

          A loss may be denied by saying "I didn't really need it
      anyway;" but deep down one feels a real need, and a guilt
      because of that need.

          The sage never experiences loss, having nothing to lose.  He
      does not deny loss, but <possession>.



      <<The spiritual man>>

          How did he come to reach his monstrous size? - Because he
      was too unwieldy and ugly for anyone to make use of him.  Thus
      people left him alone, and he grew to the ridiculousness you see
      before you.  Or perhaps it is we who are ridiculously small? -
      all the same, there is a ridiculous element.  His grace was that
      in his youth women saw no substance in him, and men saw no
      profit.



      <<Honey>>

          When your spiritual energy begins to flow, the opposite sex
      will be attracted like bees to the honey.  But so too will come
      the flies!

          To some you will be an exquisite nectar, and they will try
      to suck from your surface, or catch what spills over your brim.
      To others you will be a boil of pus to be ruptured.

          You must beware not only the lance, but also the kiss.
      Others too must <become> honey!



      <<Masculine/Feminine>>

          The spiritual man has power like no other.  He must be so
      careful it doesn't run away with him.  His wisdom lies in his
      absolute submission of strength to God.  A bird carrying a fish
      is chased by all the other birds, until he lets go of the fish
      and becomes free again.

          Thus his final action is feminine: but the ultimate feminine
      is a male.



      <<Now>>

          When you meet a person for the first time, never presume
      them ignorant.  <Innocent until proven guilty!>  If you should
      accidentally look down on a Buddha, you will soon be cut down to
      size - destiny will see to that.  Though I warn you, destiny
      knows nothing of compassion!

          Buddhas respond to the situation at hand, and not to their
      presumption of it.  I suggest you do the same.









                           <- STAGES OF THE WAY ->




          I am reticent to discuss "stages of the way", for I know how
      easily categories become insurmountable barriers.

          Furthermore, I am reticent to devise new words and
      categories to describe these stages.  I am not the first to
      attempt to set out the graduated path to enlightenment, so ample
      words are already available.  Unfortunately, those words have
      become soiled through gross misinterpretation and misuse.  If I
      now try to use those same words, but with their <original> and
      <intended> meaning, rather than the popular or traditional
      meaning, then I will be battling against the unyielding
      preconceptions of millions.  Even so, it is better to understand
      the words we already have than to create new ones, which
      inevitably meet the same fate as the old, adding further to the
      jumble of superfluous noises confusing mankind.

          While I have chosen to borrow some words and concepts from
      Buddhism, it is not to be taken that I associate myself in any
      way with traditional Buddhism.  The meaning I hope to convey by
      the use of these words and concepts is presented in its own
      right, and is unrelated to anything that passes for Buddhism
      today.  I doubt if a single living Buddhist would understand the
      true meaning of what follows, despite their possible familiarity
      with the words.  For this reason, I ask you to ignore all you
      have heard before, and judge this as it stands.

          No doubt Buddhists have an understanding, but "an
      understanding" is far from being a <correct> understanding.  And
      quite honestly, no understanding at all is better than an
      <incorrect understanding> where God is concerned.



      <The realms of existence>

          These realms are categories of psychological experience
      describing different perceived realities.  Each of us see the
      world differently and therefore effectively live in different
      worlds, or realms of existence within the mind.

      A. - The realms of desire

           - The hell realms
           - The preta realms
           - The animal realms
           - The human realms
           - The realms of the warring gods
           - The deva realms


      B. - The form realms

      C. - The formless realms



      Let us look at each of these mind states in detail:


      A. <The Realms of Desire>

          The realms of desire are characterized by the presence of a
      strong wish to better one's circumstances - to escape suffering.


       - The Hell realms

            These can range from occasional hells to hells of constant
         torment.  The suffering of the hells can be experienced for
         what seems like a thousand lifetimes.  Time drags on without
         end.

            In this state of existence all thought has to be directed
         towards mere survival; there is no striving for perfection.
         Serious intellectual thought is impractical for one in such
         poor mental condition.  You cannot speak to a person about
         lofty ideals while their head is on fire; they are too busy
         frantically seeking a bucket of water.



       - The Preta realms

            "Pretas" tend to feel empty, insubstantial, ignored, and
         barely alive.  No matter what beauty surrounds them, they see
         only ugliness.  No matter what gains they may make,
         satisfaction eludes.  For this reason they are known as
         "Craving ghosts".  As in the hell realms, there is no arduous
         striving for ideals, only a wretched scratching for survival.



       - The Animal realms

            Those who are termed "animals" do not suffer greatly, for
         they do not use their brains enough to suffer.  They are
         experts in submission and in the creation of authorities
         which they proudly worship.  They are like sheep, content to
         follow, and to be led, rather than to think and take control
         of their own lives.  They are beasts of burden, ruled by the
         whip of duty and guilt.  Or they are like cows contentedly
         grazing in a field, unaware that the cold steel of the
         abattoir awaits them.  Again, there is some desire, but no
         burning passion for truth and perfection.



       - The Human Realms

            A "human birth" is exceedingly rare, numbering perhaps
         only one in every several thousand people.  Such a mind has
         learned to value reason in earnest, and can therefore be
         reasoned with!  This human mind has room for <doubt>, and for
         the knowledge that something new is possible, which is the
         ground for learning.  Humans possess ideals and their
         accompanying passions, which is in sharp contrast to the
         passionless, content and unchanging animal people.

            Reason dilutes pain, so the suffering of humans is not
         crushing, and therefore does not keep them from deep and
         penetrating thought.  Reason also dilutes joy, preventing the
         blissful happiness which would make one content with pleasing
         illusions.



       - The Realms of the Warring gods

            The remaining realms of desire are called the god realms.
         We call the people in these realms "gods" because their
         behaviour seems miraculous or magical.  They have far greater
         concentration, clarity of mind, intelligence, intuition,
         memory, confidence, and happiness than those in any of the
         previous realms.

            The warring gods consist of the suras and asuras.  The
         asuras are known as the "jealous gods" because of their
         jealousy of the material achievements of the suras.  They are
         in constant battle against the suras, but are always badly
         defeated by the superior mental and material strength of the
         suras.

            This warring nature is often exhibited in businessmen,
         politicians, and academics.  Some have "got it", while
         others, for all their talent, simply don't have required
         winning magic.



       - The Deva Realms

            The devas, who "inhabit" the deva realms, remain within
         the realm of desire as they still undergo subtle sufferings,
         and possess small seeds of idealistic desire.  Consequently
         they have some potential for learning, and may later attain
         human rebirth.  That is, they may become more rational,
         losing their blissful, yet ignorant mind.

            Devas are rare indeed, even more so than humans.  They
         often appear as exceptional musicians, novelists and the
         like.








      B. <The form realms>

         Desire makes itself scarce in these realms, and as the name
      suggests one still experiences reality as form.  Concepts of the
      formless are yet to develop to any notable degree.  These
      heavenly realms are only attained in the deepest of one-pointed
      concentrations.  It is possible to occasionally find oneself in
      these realms without conscious effort.  When every trace of
      worry and anxiety are lost, or eliminated from the mind, one
      enters the realms of form.

         In this state, one feels as though one can stare at a wall
      and see all its constituent atoms.  One feels as though one has
      complete and direct control over the operation of every muscle
      fibre in one's body.  One may generate this mind for five
      minutes, yet experience a thousand blissful years - such is the
      power of this timeless consciousness.



      C. <The formless realms>

         You may attain these highest of heavens only with a complete
      one-pointed concentration on a virtually perfect intellectual
      understanding of the nature of Reality.  However, for all one's
      great achievement in meditation, and vast knowledge of
      philosophy, one remains firmly rooted in ignorance, and will not
      escape eventual suffering.  This is because an unchallenged love
      of existence and ego remain.  One must drop <everything> to
      escape the cycle of birth and death, even one's visions of the
      Infinite.




         Those in different realms will see the same object
      differently.  A preta will see a glass of water as putrid filth,
      which he is forced to drink out of thirst.  A deva will perceive
      the most heavenly nectar, while a human will see a glass of
      water - neither too beautiful nor ugly.





      <Different scopes for spiritual progress>


      No scope:

         To have any scope at all for spiritual progress one must be
      in the human realm.  Some devas have potential, but it is much
      more difficult for they who know little of pain.


      Low scope:

         Here one knows the direction in which one should head, but
      lacks the strength to proceed.  Realizing one's weakness in this
      life, one determines to invest in the future, working for the
      benefit of "future lives".

         For example, a mother may know that Truth is attained through
      reason, but may lack the strength to practice reason in earnest
      herself.  By way of compensation she can invest in the minds of
      her children by cultivating in their minds a genuine love of
      truth.  She may well guide them towards the sciences, and
      towards an open-minded and questioning approach to life.  Thus
      through her children she may redeem the past.


      Medium scope:

         Here there is the strength and conviction of mind to want to
      relate to God on a truly personal level.  But there is not the
      will to renounce the ego entirely.  One wishes to retain some
      delusion, some ego, in order to enjoy life.  Although there is a
      good comprehension of God, the clarity of mind to see God in His
      full glory is absent, so one is not privy to His powers.


      High scope:

         The one of high scope has developed a deep disgust for all
      things worldly, and now has a clear vision of the Goal.  He is
      determined to attain perfection quickly and <at all costs>.
      Such a one does not compromise.  Nor does he fear pain, for he
      does not have enough faith in his own existence to be able to
      act in self-preservation.  He holds nothing back; he sees all.

         The difference between the high and medium scopes is
      infinite.  It is like the difference between a person going to
      an auction prepared to bid his entire life's savings, and a
      person who upon entering the auction hall immediately bids his
      entire life's savings.




      <The essential mind (samadhi based on bodhicitta)>


          The realization of God rests upon two things, a powerful
      concentration (samadhi), and intellectual insight into the
      nature of Reality (vipashyana).  Attainment of deepest samadhi
      is accompanied by mental and physical ecstasy, and enormous
      power of mind.  When this powerful mind is turned towards a
      reasoned analysis of reality, enlightenment is near.

          Importantly, in deepest samadhi the mind is fearless, and at
      last able to have faith in what it reasons, which at other times
      it is loathe to do.  However, be warned that if one uses samadhi
      without the relentless will to strive for absolute perfection,
      <at any cost>, then great harm results.  The ego will bask in
      the heavens of samadhi and become empowered thereby.  Stagnation
      and contentedness will follow, and the potential for learning
      lost, not only in yourself, but in others also.

          Therefore, samadhi is harmful to those not of high scope.
      It is safe only for those who, firstly, are in the human realm,
      and secondly, have accumulated enough reason to desire truth
      above all else - even above happiness.  The mind of such a
      precious one is a "mind of enlightenment", called "bodhicitta".
      It is the mind that aspires to perfection, at all costs, and
      without compromise.

          Without bodhicitta, and without complete faith in the
      ability of reason to carry one beyond this world, there will be
      continued striving for ego security.  Without bodhicitta, no
      matter how great one's mental attainments and knowledge of
      Reality, a portion of the ego, the core, will remain fixed.
      Great happiness, even Nirvana may ultimately be experienced, but
      the long-term consequences are horrible to contemplate, because
      each and every action of one who lacks bodhicitta is tainted
      with a solid and unchallenged faith in the very core of the ego.

          One with bodhicitta may initially try to save himself, but
      reason soon gets the better of him, and will push him
      relentlessly onwards, into the arms of the Infinite.




      <The attainment of samadhi>

      < - The place of samadhi>

          The difference between thinking with and without samadhi is
      like the difference between the footprints of an elephant and
      that of a mouse.  Only with samadhi is there the penetration,
      the open-mindedness and the clarity of memory necessary for
      great mental attainment.

          The attainment of samadhi comes in degrees.  Anyone who has
      experienced "altered states of consciousness" has experienced
      some degree of samadhi.  Samadhi can be attained by
      concentrating on any object at all, provided you have enough
      <desire> or <need> of samadhi.  If you are already happy and
      content with your life there is little hope you will generate
      the deep longing necessary to achieve samadhi.

          Religious people of many faiths wrongly interpret the
      experience of samadhi in prayer or meditation as "God presence",
      or "religious experience", when it is merely the bliss of a
      still mind.  Their lack of wisdom guarantees their spiritual
      bankruptcy.  Without wisdom, samadhi is useless.  Faith alone
      can still a racing mind, but only faith in Reality will
      Enlighten it.

          So, samadhi is essential, yet the object of samadhi can so
      easily be a pitfall.  Then what is a safe object for samadhi?
      The wise direct their minds towards Truth itself.  The beginner
      experiments with his mind in preparation for greater things.
      The fool merely directs his mind away from his problems.


      < - The obstacles to samadhi>

          The first step towards defeating an enemy is to know exactly
      who the enemy is.  So, what are the obstacles to the attainment
      of samadhi?

          If one has a strong enough motivation to want to definitely
      attain samadhi, then one's mind will be directed to its object
      with real force.  The first obstacle is then overcome - the
      obstacle of <motivation>.  Mental agitation and mental dullness
      are now the main obstacles to further progress.

          Agitation is when the mind wanders to objects of
      attachment:- worries, fears, and pleasures.  With coarse
      agitation the mind becomes so occupied with some distraction
      that the original course of thinking is entirely forgotten.  The
      subtle form is more difficult to identify, and occurs when only
      a small part of the mind is directed elsewhere.  Whenever
      happiness suddenly arises during meditation, it is a result of
      subtle agitation.

          Mental dullness also has coarse and subtle forms.  Coarse
      dullness occurs when the mind is disabled due to worries and
      obsessive concerns.  The mind is sluggish and unwieldy due to
      its preoccupation with itself.  Your attention may be placed
      squarely on an object, but there will be no clarity or
      distinctiveness.  The subtle form of dullness is so difficult to
      understand and recognize, that it is often mistaken for perfect
      samadhi.  Such a mistake firmly blocks further progress.

          Coarse dullness is easily recognized but is difficult to
      overcome, while subtle dullness is difficult to recognize, but
      easily overcome.  Subtle dullness is like an enemy who pretends
      to be a friend.  One has both memory and clarity of mind, but
      the full force of attention is lacking, and the mind will lack
      complete power.  This is something a person must recognize for
      himself.

          The remedy for both agitation and dullness is mental
      alertness.  Alertness is a portion of the mind that can stand
      back and observe the workings of the mind, and then take
      appropriate action.  It observes the progress of thought, and
      checks backward slipping.  When one recognizes agitation and
      dullness one must quickly recall one's deep need of samadhi and
      regain confidence and certainty.




      <The path to enlightenment>


          Having developed a burning love of reason and truth, there
      are two possible paths.  Those with bodhicitta go one way, while
      those without it go another.  I will call these paths
      respectively, "Mahayana" (lit "the greater path", not to be
      confused with Tibetan Buddhism or Zen Buddhism) and "Hinayana"
      (lit "the lesser path", not to be confused with Theravada
      Buddhism).  Those whose faith in reason is relatively poor, and
      whose ego correspondingly strong, will take the Hinayana path,
      but may take to the Mahayana path at a later time.  If one has a
      choice whether to cross a river once or twice, one prefers to
      cross it only the once.  Yet for some there is no choice.

          I will here attempt a brief description of the Mahayana
      path.  My aim is to provide the equivalent of a map, showing the
      various levels of mental development in perspective, and giving
      some idea of scale.  Words and categories can do little more
      than this!

          The stages of the Hinayana and Mahayana are similar only in
      the sense that both lead to a direct understanding of Reality,
      or God.  This understanding is known as Nirvana.  In all other
      respects the two paths are vastly different.  For the
      Hinayanist, important delusions remain unchallenged, development
      is arrested, and they stagnate with a distorted perspective of
      the world.  The Hinayanist has faith in the core of his ego,
      whereas the Mahayanist hates it with all his being.  The
      Hinayanist says "I don't want to <be> sugar; I want to eat it!"
      while the Mahayanist says "I want Truth alone."

          What is it that motivates the Mahayanist to strive for such
      a lofty Goal?  His empowerment is a passionate love of reason
      and truth.  His desire to never be in error provides motivation
      enough to carry him to his ideal.  He may also regard it as his
      duty to ensure the survival of wisdom in the Universe, seeing
      wisdom as a lifeform of even greater importance than that of the
      human species.  Such a duty provides no small impetus.




      <The Five Stages of the Mahayana>


          I have chosen to describe the Mahayana path in five stages,
      rather than ten, or twenty, for convenience alone.  Each stage
      lays the foundation of wisdom needed for the following stage,
      into which there is a smooth gradation.

          To embark on the five stages one must have the prerequisites
      of a human form (a genuine love of reason), along with a desire
      to attain absolute perfection (bodhicitta), and therefore be of
      high scope.


      1.  The stage of the accumulation of merit

             One can only truly enter the first stage if one has pure
          renunciation, or bodhicitta.  During this stage, reason,
          concentration, and bodhicitta are further developed, and
          continue to increase through all the following stages.  This
          is the "merit" which accumulates, qualifying one to proceed
          to the next stage.  Here one abandons gross intellectually
          formed delusions, and the accompanying attachment to the
          samsaric pleasures they fuel.

            The four noble truths are realized, that is:

            1.  That our world is in the nature of suffering,
                discontentment and imperfection.

            2.  That the causes of suffering and discontentment are
                our own delusions, or false concepts of reality.

            3.  That freedom and perfection are possible by abandoning
                false thoughts.

            4.  That a path can be followed to be systematically rid
                of false thoughts.


             During this first stage one becomes strongly acquainted
          with causes and consequences, and one's actions become
          correspondingly skillful.  One's concentration develops to
          the level where the full power of mind is available for use
          whenever one wishes to examine anything.


      2.  The stage of preparation

             This stage is a continuation from the last.  Even greater
          powers of reason and concentration are attained.  Much
          deeper insight into the nature of Reality is developed and
          an ever improving mental picture of it.  The extremes of
          positivism (things exist) and nihilism (nothing exists) are
          discarded, and with them the seeds of wrong views.

             Towards the end of this stage one's powers of
          concentration and patience are so strong there is no chance
          of ever being "reborn" in any of the three lower realms
          (hells, pretas, animals).  Such patience gives one enormous
          capacity to take-on suffering and to face one's fears.
          People who have little knowledge of suffering, like those in
          the deva realms, cannot attain the final part of this stage
          as it is too painful for them.  They do not have the strong
          renunciation of a "human", who has less happiness to lose,
          and is more used to living with suffering and bearing-up
          under it.

             With armour-like perseverance, great faith, and knowledge
          of Reality, a strong foundation is layed and one now feels
          competent to attain full realization of Reality.  The
          highest has been understood - but the highest is not to only
          understand it, but to <realize> it.


      3.  The stage of Insight

             Here one attains direct insight into Reality (God,
          Shunyata, or the Infinite), and there is fantastic joy.
          Before this, one confuses Reality with the mental image, or
          concept of it.  With the power of this realization all
          remaining intellectually formed delusions are abandoned.
          However, habitual delusions remain, as well as the more
          subtle instinctive delusions.

             One now has even more control over one's mind, and one's
          future "rebirths".  One becomes relatively free from the
          fears of starvation, suffering, and physical pain.

             One who has bodhicitta is called a bodhisattva.  During
          the first two stages (above) a person is known as an
          ordinary bodhisattva, but with the attainment of this third
          stage he becomes known as an Arya-bodhisattva, or a "noble
          one".  This stage is the first of the ten bodhisattvabhumis,
          or foundations for Final Enlightenment.


      4.  The stage of meditation

             This stage is composed of the remaining nine of the ten
          bodhisattvabhumis.  During this stage, one develops a closer
          acquaintance with God, which is like living with a person so
          as to come to know him well enough to be benefited by him.

             In the beginning the grossest remaining delusions are
          combatted by the weakest mental force.  Then, as one
          progresses during this stage the more subtle delusions are
          dispelled by an ever stronger force of mind.  Step-by-step
          one abandons the delusions of the realms of desire, the
          realms of form, and the formless realms.

             By the time one reaches the seventh of the ten bhumis,
          all habitual delusions have been abandoned, and one begins
          to tackle the instinctive, or subtle delusions.  At this
          stage one moves far from the Hinayana motivation as one
          directly assaults the innermost core of the ego.  One
          becomes skilled in means, and by the eighth bhumi one is
          unshakable.  This is the level of irreversibility, and
          backwards slipping becomes impossible.  During the ninth and
          tenth bhumis one becomes nearly perfect in all ways,
          including one's ability to teach others.


      5.  Buddhahood

              Full Enlightenment is now attained.

             Bodhisattvas cannot maintain direct realization at all
          times, though their thoughts at other times are empowered by
          their realizations.  Upon reaching Buddhahood however, one
          can realize God fully in every moment of every day without
          effort.




      <A final remark>

          Do not let all these complicated stages put you off.
      Reality is right in front of you.  Open your eyes, and it is
      there.  The five stages can be summarized in the one stage - the
      stage of opening one's eyes.  Can you do it?  These writings
      will at least help you to determine whether you are still
      dreaming.




      <An alternative to the five stages of enlightenment - The five
      stages of marriage>

      1.  The stage of fantasy (0 - 5 years)

             There is the dream that one's partner will fulfill all
          one's wishes.  The is the "immature" stage.

      2.  The stage of dissatisfaction (5 - 10 years)

             There is the realization that one's partner is not going
          to change into the perfect partner.  One's dream is not
          being supported by reality.

      3.  The separative stage (10 - 15 years)

             There are serious thoughts about separation while there
          is still time.  One feels that one will have to fulfill
          one's dreams elsewhere.

      4.  The stage of preparation (15 - 20 years)

             There is a gradual acceptance of the other's faults as
          one is ground into conformity.  One realizes that one has to
          change one's own values if one is to live harmoniously with
          others.  Maturity is near.

      5.  The stage of acceptance (20 years and more)

             This is the "mature" stage, when there is an acceptance
          of the other's faults.  One succumbs once and for all to
          contentedness with mediocrity.



      <<The two Buddhisms>>

          What are the two types of Buddhism?  The Mahayanist is an
      utter rarity, a clash, a conflict, a thoroughly new species of
      life forever at odds with the world.  He does not spare himself
      - he goes all the way.  In him, the terror of reality is most
      concentrated: he appears as a nightmare to the weak and the
      compassionate.  Outrage is the response to his truths: "Away
      with that man, he does not deserve to live!"

          The Hinayanist, on the other hand, is one who <understands>
      the implications of the Mahayanist life, but is too weak or
      cowardly to live it himself.  However, he is honest about his
      weaknesses, and knows his limitations, thus he has potential for
      Mahayana in future.  Let this be emphasized: if Mahayana is not
      understood, then one is <neither> a Mahayanist <nor> a
      Hinayanist.

          And for the rest?  I mean the "two paths" of Buddhism, with
      all its gurus and initiations and meditation techniques.  These
      numerous clear-eyed smiling people are so infinitely <below> the
      level of the Hinayanist, and, hence, are not on any path at all.



      <<Paths to enlightenment>>

      Q:   Are there several paths to enlightenment?

      A:   It is said there are different paths to enlightenment for
         people with different potentials for spiritual growth.  But I
         tell you, there are many paths to <hell>, but only one path
         to Truth - <the path of the renunciation of delusions.>

           I ask you, how many ways are there to abandon delusions?
         If you have picked up a burning ember, how many ways are
         there to drop it to the ground?  As light travels on one path
         only from the sun to the earth, so is there only one way to
         God.  Nor are there "short-cuts", against such false words
         shall you close your ears!

           Can I then point you towards this path?  Certainly: when
         you discover either/or, turn never again to "somewhat" and
         "also".

           Too many people waste their lives debating which is the
         "true path" or the "fastest path".  If only they would set
         themselves on the path of using their brains!  They argue
         about whether the true path is the path of reasoning (jnana)
         or devotion (bhakti).  This nonsensical argumentation is
         probably the only thing all religions have in common.  Do you
         suppose one can discover falsehood and uncover truth without
         <reason>?  Do you suppose one can live in accordance with
         reason without <devotion> to it?

           In Zen Buddhism, Bankei's devotional Unborn/do-nothing Zen
         was a reaction against the prevalent attachment to
         intellectual methods.  Hakuin's revival of the difficult and
         more intellectual koan Zen was a reaction against the
         prevalent attachment to Bankei's do-nothing Zen.

           Without bodhicitta, you are bound to become impaled on one
         of the deadly horns.  Bodhicitta is a restlessness that will
         not settle for the slightest imperfection.  Bodhicitta will
         not accept doing nothing if it means not doing.  Bodhicitta
         will not accept doing if it means work.

           The Way of abandoning delusions involves both intellectual
         reasoning <and> a heartfelt devotion.  Such a path has no
         name until you try to give it one.

      Q:   But isn't the Truth beyond reason?

      A:   Is that what you've read?  Or have you arrived at that
         notion yourself?  If you've merely heard it said, then it is
         of no consequence.  However, if you have applied your own
         reasoning mind to the problem, and discovered Truth to be
         beyond reason, then have you not arrived at the Truth through
         the power of reason?

      Q:   Very good, but it seems to me that reason only takes you so
         far.  It is as though reason delivers you to the doorstep,
         but doesn't carry you across the threshold.

      A:   What if your reasoning tells you to step effortlessly
         across the "threshold"?  To the one who passionately strives
         for truth, reason reveals the unreality of any such
         threshold, at which point the threshold is crossed!  And once
         across this threshold do you imagine reason ceases to exist?
         Is the enlightened man incapable of rational thought?

           Truth is not beyond reason by any means.  It is only beyond
         the ignorant person's comprehension of reason.

           As far as the paths of "knowledge" and "devotion" go, if a
         thinker is not devoted to the truth he discovers, then he is
         no thinker.  And if a devoted person is devoted to something
         that is not truth, they can hardly be devoted to God!  How
         can one determine whether the object of one's devotion is
         real or not, if not through reason?



      <<Jnani/vijnani>>

          The difference between a jnani and a vijnani is the small
      matter of a leap of faith.  The jnani has knowledge of God, but
      will not believe in his knowledge.

          A jnani is like one who knows beyond doubt that a log of
      wood contains fire.  But a vijnani is he who lights the log,
      cooks over the fire, and is nourished by the food.

          A jnani will not talk about spiritual things without being
      asked.  He will enquire, at first, about such things as your
      health and your family.  The vijnani is different.  He is
      unconcerned about anything.

          The jnani says "This world is a framework of illusion."  But
      he who is beyond both knowledge and ignorance describes it as "a
      mansion of mirth."



      <<Changing attitudes>>

          In the beginning one may say, quite industriously,
      "Something worth doing is worth doing properly."  Later, when
      one starts questioning human motivation, one begins to say
      "Something not worth doing is not worth doing properly."  But
      the one with real wisdom, who hasn't a care for the opinion of
      others, says "Something not worth doing is <not worth doing!>"



      <<The infinite mind>>

          The infinite mind is attained through a combination of great
      bliss and the wisdom that knows Reality.

          With complete single pointed concentration great bliss is
      attained.  When the power of this mind is used to generate
      complete faith in the nature of Reality, enlightenment is
      attained.

          All too often the bliss of complete single pointed
      concentration is mistaken for enlightenment itself, when it is
      merely an altered state of consciousness.  Similarly, an
      intellectual understanding of Reality is often mistaken for true
      wisdom.  Even more surprising is when a mere intellectual
      understanding of the structure of philosophical arguments is
      mistaken for true knowledge.

          Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?  Who can remain
      still until the moment of action?



      <<First things first>>

          No one can immediately see the final goal of the spiritual
      quest.  So follow your nose.  Face the breeze and capture the
      fragrance of truth as it wafts past you.  Acquaint yourself with
      the sons, and they will direct you towards the Mother.  Begin
      with small truths and large truths will follow of themselves.

          How can you hope to see the brilliance of Truth while you
      still have planks in your eye!  Remove first the planks, then
      the splinters, and seeing will arise without effort.



      <<Three stages>>

          The stages of mental development can also be conceived of in
      this way:

      The first stage: Concentration

          The power of focusing the mind is developed and enjoyed.
      One begins to learn what is possible with such a mind and begins
      to look beyond accepted ways of thinking.  This stage roughly
      coincides with the realms of form.

      The second stage: Contemplation

          Reason is developed and the ways of Nature are more
      thoroughly understood.  This stage coincides with the realms of
      the formless.

      The third stage: Meditation

          When intellectual understanding of Reality is perfect and
      Faith is lion-like one proceeds beyond the finite.  Now at last,
      true meditation is possible.



      <<Nietzsche's three metamorphoses of the spirit>>

          How the spirit shall become a camel, and the camel a lion,
      and the lion at length a child.

      The camel:
         Loads itself with great burdens and hurries into the desert.
      Mocks itself, injures its own pride, loves its enemies.

      The lion:
         Captures freedom, struggles against the demon of values,
      devours the subtlest of prides.

      The child:
         A self-propelling wheel.  A sacred "Yes".

          The camel overcomes gross delusions.  The lion overcomes the
      subtle, difficult to remove delusions.  The child is what we
      should all be.



      <<Progressive pitfalls>>

      One:  Complete attachment to name and form.

                     1 + 2 = 3

      Two:  The belief that things do not exist.

                     0 = 1
                     1 = 0

      Three: The belief that something exists, but there are no
             defined boundaries.

                     1 x 0 = 0
                     100 x 0 = 0

      Four:  The belief that boundaries do exist, but that these are
             completely arbitrary and up to the individual.

                     1 + 2 = 3000
                     100 x 1000 = 4

      Beyond all these: Complete non-attachment

                     1 = 1
                     0 = 0
                     3 x 3 = 9




      <<The process of becoming>>

          Importance - Confidence - Enlightenment

          Initially one is struck by the sheer importance of being
      truthful rather than sociable.  Then, as one draws closer to
      Truth and learns more of Her secrets one becomes brimming with
      confidence in Her.  Then follows a reward for the whole of
      humanity.



      <<Achieving great things>>

          If you feel like you're working, you're doing it wrong.
      Develop your mind gradually.  That which is forced is bound to
      fail.  Don't ask of yourself improbabilities.  Lay the
      foundations before you begin the building proper.  Before you
      can fly you must first learn to crawl and to walk and to run and
      to dance.



      <<A major misconception>>

          It is quite true that you cannot teach beginners about
      Ultimate Truth.  But this does not mean you should then fill
      them with lies!  All religions are guilty of this most terrible
      of crimes.

          A person may not have a strong intellect, but this does not
      justify swamping them with a million categories and ritual
      practices, which only creates in them the kind of mind that
      <hates> truth.  Instead one must encourage and awaken their
      enquiring mind, their intelligence and their reason.

          How then, does one awaken reason in another?  One gives them
      the tools to <take apart> all their categories; one doesn't give
      them more of the same!  One stimulates, teases, coaxes, and
      rewards.  It is not as simple as giving people a set of rules to
      live by, or a script to follow.



      <<Push On!>>

          Don't side step, push-on!  Don't stop for a rest, push-on!

          A marathon runner knows it is better to decrease the tempo,
      yet maintain a steady pace and momentum, than to be stopping and
      starting.  Never refrain from the battle for a moment: be a
      foe-destroyer.  Begin by cutting down the forest of desires
      (gross delusions), and then the undergrowth (the subtle
      delusions) . . .  then! . . .

          "Consecrate yourselves earnestly to your work, for even
      little drops of water, falling ceaselessly will finally make a
      hole, even in a rock."
                                                        Buddha








                              <- SUBMISSION ->




      <<The difference between submitting and submitting the ego>>

          Once in a while Nature proffers us a kiss.  It might happen
      on a vast plain, or in a towering forest, or on a beach at
      sunset, with the stars turning on overhead and the waves
      crashing against the shore.  As if for the first time, we see
      the splendour of Nature, its wonder, magnificence, and infinite
      complexity.  Overawed by the sheer power and scale, we perceive
      our own insignificance.  We collapse, thankfully, under its
      weight, following the age-old dictum: if you can't beat them,
      join them.

          This particular submission is empowering, as Nature is a
      powerful thing.  We are temporarily relieved of our
      insufficiency through an emptying out and a subsequent refilling
      to the brim.  The resultant joy is described as coming from
      "within", conveniently ignoring the fact that Nature fast
      becomes a drug, which one grows to depend on, and suffer for, as
      we would with any drug.  Such peace comes from <without>, and is
      as fleeting and unstable as all such peace can be.

          Because of the relative rarity and power of this experience
      with Nature, it is often described as "God".  In this way God
      can be reconciled with the drug-taking mentality in an attempt
      to make the ego impregnable.  Conveniently, one does not require
      any wisdom to know this God: any fool can lose themselves in the
      beauty of a sunset!

          In contrast, the sage, having penetrated to the truth of
      things, sees neither complexity nor simplicity.  Nor does he see
      power or weakness, great or small, beauty or ugliness.  He has
      seen to the heart of Nature, and is no longer in awe.  Never
      again can he feel wonder in Her company.  Now, rather than
      merely submitting to Her, he submits <his ego> to Her - his own
      self.  This is called dying the Great Death.

          The fool is intelligent enough to see the immensity of
      Nature, but not enough to see that he is a part of it, and <is>
      it.

          Only the courageous can know the meaning of the profound
      teaching: "You are that".  Only they can fathom the meaning of
      Jesus's words: "Cleave the wood and I am there, raise the stone,
      and you will find me." (The gospel of Thomas)



      <<Mystery>>

          We truly love our "mysteries": there are so many of them!

              The mystery of love
              The mystery of sexual pleasure
              The mystery of life and death
              The mystery of the Universe
              The mystery of "religious experience"
              The mystery of music, art, feelings, and intuitions.

          I tell you, you create these mysteries only to escape them
      again with supernatural explanations.  These mysteries of yours
      make you believe in superior powers, which conveniently provides
      you with an excuse to submit your wills, and forego any personal
      responsibility in this world.  You are like the child who was
      caught eating chocolate: the mother said "Where did you get that
      chocolate?," and the child replied "I don't know, it's a mystery
      to me!"

          It disgusts me to think that all of your mysteries are so
      only because <you don't want to understand them>.  Your hatred
      of truth must indeed be immense.

          The wise, however, are truly mysterious: they neither
      perceive mystery nor escape it.



      <<How big?>>

          I hear people say: "We are too big to see the small things."
      They make themselves smaller.  But I say to you: we are <too
      small> to see the big things!



      <<Power>>

          We don't mind <being> used - it's <feeling> used we object
      to.  A worker doesn't mind being the slave of the company, as
      long as he gets paid enough.  A prostitute or a model doesn't
      feel "used" by her paying clients.  In relationships, "sharing"
      means letting people use you as much as you use them - yet we do
      not feel "used".  On the contrary, we gain power by serving
      another.

          Submission doesn't make one weaker, but <stronger>.  It is
      not a passive giving-in or giving-up, but an <active> decision
      to follow a different course - the course of another.  This is
      why it is useless to criticize people for being submissive: they
      experience only the winning of power.

          Positive thinking is the evil spirit behind it all.  It
      renders us unaware of the contradictory nature of our lives, and
      makes slaves believe they are gods.  An heroic soldier imagines
      he has personal freedom and control over his life, yet his whole
      life is spent following somebody elses orders.  This is because
      he feels he has <chosen> to submit his will.  Such a pitiful
      state of affairs!

          A soul has been lost when a slave no longer feels he is a
      slave.  A soul has been lost when a follower doesn't realize
      that he follows.  Sheep do not know they are sheep.  A
      non-intellect cannot intellectualize.

          Not only dominance is a will to power, but submission too.
      If we are to undermine the power of the ego we must confront
      submission also.  No, we must confront submission <first!>



      <<Flattery>>

          You do not need to actively compliment another to effect
      flattery.  Passive acceptance can also be flattery.  Going along
      with the crowd is flattery.  Not questioning authority and
      tradition is flattery.



      <<Dependence>>

          The Japanese see dependence as a virtue, and it is strongly
      enforced by culture.  If you are dependent on others you are
      allowed freedom to do whatever you please - as long as you don't
      break that dependence.

          Japanese Zen Masters are indulged their eccentricities
      because of their extreme dependence on the support of their
      followers.  Thus, such teachers make compromises and concessions
      to maintain their following.  They are not to be trusted.



      <<Submission>>

          Submission is not satisfying when the object to which one
      submits is weak and powerless: this would reflect on oneself.
      Thus we create all-powerful objects of worship for ourselves,
      Gods, to represent and give evidence of our supposed strength
      and dignity.









                               <- SUFFERING ->




      <<Dissatisfaction and hope>>

          People claim "spiritual dissatisfaction" when material
      wealth fails to satisfy.  Correctly, it is <emotional>
      dissatisfaction; why drag the word "spiritual" into the the ugly
      affair?  How often heart is mistaken for spirit!

          Such "spirituality" can always be traced back to the need
      for <hope> - a need for a satisfying dream of the future.  As
      long as there is the slightest hope of happiness, there is fuel
      for fantasy.  Fantasy is called "spiritual" because it is
      altogether beyond this world.  Being purely imaginary it is
      naturally beyond this world.

          Hope is the psychological remedy to every disease.  One sick
      with cancer is encouraged to remain hopeful of remission.  The
      abandoned lover is told to remain hopeful that such a special
      love will come again.  The ironic thing is, the more hope we
      have, the more hopeless our situation becomes.



      <<The illusion of suffering>>

          Our suffering is like water crying out pitifully for thirst.
      When suffering is understood, there is no suffering.  A thief
      will flee as soon as he is found out.

          How long will it take us to learn that boredom is not cast
      off by "doing things".  On the contrary, boredom can only be
      escaped by doing precisely nothing.  If only we could sit
      quietly in our rooms with our true thoughts; then boredom would
      find no place to establish.

          Don't look for a way out of suffering, and you won't fall
      into it.



      <<Life>>

          Life is suffering.  Then we die.

          What suffering?  I mean the emotional growing pains of early
      adolescence, the separation of middle adolescence, the growth
      crisis of the thirty year old, the mid-life crises at forty,
      agonizing reflection at fifty, then the torment of approaching
      death.  These are to name only a few.

          The wise face all these at once, so do not experience them.



      <<The agony of knowledge>>

          The agony of realizing that your loved one will leave you as
      soon as they meet someone better able to provide for their
      needs.

          The agony of learning that one holds a belief because of
      being weak enough to need a belief, and not because the belief
      is true.

          The agony of hearing your children condemn all you ever
      believed in and tried to teach them.

          The agony of learning that you have lost your ability to
      actually see, enjoy, and learn from Nature, and that for all
      your life's work and experience, children possess greater
      wealth.



      <<A story>>

          I once heard a story from a character, though I'm not sure
      whether he was real or fictional.

          He said: "Why did I resign my job as a schoolteacher?
      Because I considered myself to be absolutely fitted for the
      post.  Had I retained it, I should have had everything to lose
      and nothing to gain.  Hence I thought it best to resign, and to
      seek employment with a travelling troupe of players, since I had
      no talent for theatricals, and therefore had everything to
      gain."



      <<Help yourself>>

          Locate yourself where you are bound to fail.  Aim for
      perfection!  Thus be guaranteed never to be satisfied in this
      world.  If one falls to the ground, one has to negotiate with it
      to get-up.  In this way do we become aware of the ground.  Get
      your head out of the clouds and see where your feet are walking!

          The sooner you become disgusted with this world, the sooner
      you will reach for the unfailing.  Reason never fails.

          It is not necessary to learn the hard way, making every
      mistake for yourself.  Make others aware of this also!  With
      your ship of knowledge, transport others through the realms of
      human experience.  Make them disgusted!  Teach them to learn
      from the experience of others, making the experience of others
      their own.  This is called giving people the gift of their past
      lives.



      <<Stirring up the mud>>

          When the mud settles, the water becomes clear, and the
      people think it is pure.  But after a storm the water again
      becomes mud.  I am that storm, and I will muddy your crystal
      waters.

          As long as you remain at a distance from suffering you will
      think yourselves pure.  You must suffer if you are to realize
      the reality of suffering.  It is necessary to realize the
      reality of suffering if you are to extinguish the causes of
      suffering.

          Without thorough tempering in the fire, faults do not become
      apparent.  Therefore, I rub your noses in the your own dirt.

          Jesus was a suffering servant not in order to save us from
      suffering, but to encourage us to suffer as he did.  Greatness
      demands suffering.  Genius always suffers, for it is an acorn
      planted in a flowerpot - a disproportion, without the strength
      to carry it.

          The one who never suffers is either the wisest of the wise
      or the dullest of the dull.



      <<The suffering servant>>

          The spiritual man suffers, because his ego is only a shell,
      without real substance.  And he doesn't hide his suffering.  He
      doesn't have sufficient self-respect to put on a brave face for
      the world.

          He is hated and ignored by many, yet the impact of his
      virtue is felt across the Universe.  He rejoices in difficulty:
      the more difficult his task, and the more he suffers, the better
      the result.  You see, the more one has, the more one prevents
      others from having.  Whereas the more one loses, the more others
      can have.

          Man without a woman suffers for this life, but is rewarded
      in eternity.



      <<Initiations>>

          Religions are full of "initiations".  Initiations into
      <what> I wonder?  A stronger ego?

          True initiations come only through the sufferings of
      spiritual trial.  Only in this way can one truly learn, and make
      the enduring vows to embark on a life of reason.



      <<Ill-health>>

          Ill-health can make a spiritual man, in that it can break
      him for the world.

          A strong "human rebirth" often comes out of a difficult
      childhood.  The child turns inward, developing the powers of
      reason and analysis as tools to help him weather a hostile world
      through <understanding>.  But reason brings its own burden, so
      he learns to find his joy under the same roof as suffering.  As
      an adult, he fears little.

          Suffering and austerities are not necessary to attain
      enlightenment.  However, for some it can help to shape the mind
      in such a way as to make it more receptive to higher thought.
      If one has survived the very worst the world has to offer, one
      becomes fearless.  Also, if one suffers much, then one has
      nothing to lose - in thoughts of dying to the world.



      <<Suicide>>

          Life is crying.  When we are tired of crying we die.

          Life is self-pity and submission.  When we are bored even of
      these despicable pleasures, we want to die.

          Suicide is not the will to die, but the will to <live>.  We
      want to be without suffering because, to us, suffering is death.



      <<Suffering>>

          Only through the window of suffering can Truth be seen.
      Only through suffering will one even be bothered to look for
      Truth!

          Though the man of knowledge suffers much, suicide is never
      an option for him; for reason deems suicide irrational.  He
      experiences suffering as only as suffering, while the ignorant
      experience it as torture.

          The wise do not believe in the use of palliatives like
      "conflict resolution" because the desire to resolve conflicts is
      the engine of rebirth.  As such, the wise are inhuman.



      <<When the chick is ready>>

          The hen must often peck the shell to help the chick out.  If
      this is done too early or too late, the chick dies.

          Children demand equal care.  If they are confronted with the
      terror of the Infinite too soon, they will be unable to cope.
      But if it is left too late they will be unable to hear.



      <<Spiritual trial>>

          Do not wait for the world to test your spiritual attainment
      - that time is <too late>.  With meditation one can experience
      tests <before they happen>, and therefore not have to experience
      them.

          Simply envision possible scenarios whereby your ego will be
      aroused, and how you will respond to them.  This is not
      difficult to do - there are no shortage of upsetting
      possibilities in life.  What will be the state of your mind if
      you learn that you have cancer, and will die within six months?
      What will your thoughts be doing if a mad gunman enters your
      home and holds a gun to your head?

          You refrain from such activity, believing you have enough on
      your plate already.  Are you so weak?  Strive on!  You suffer
      through yourselves, and not through God!  You carry nothing but
      your own flesh, yet claim to be overburdened!

          Search out karmic seeds and destroy them <before> they
      germinate.



      <<The poor of spirit>>

          <"He who has much shall be given more.  He who has little,
      even what he has shall be taken away.">

          A strong ego will be rewarded with happiness, a weak ego
      will lose all - if it is weak because of God.

          A strong spirit will be rewarded with Heaven, a weak spirit
      will lose all - if it is weak because of the ego.



      <<A loss>>

          A loss is more of a spiritual test than death, for it is
      harder to submit to.



      <<Selling of the soul>>

          To compromise a scruple is painful in the beginning.  You
      really do give up a part of yourself.  But once it is gone, the
      pain is over, and one has, after all, achieved a greater good -
      hasn't one?

          "Mature" people tell us they are fully satisfied in life;
      that they truly enjoy their work, and are happy in marriage.
      These pure ones have a clear conscience - which is <necessarily>
      the case when there is <no conscience>!.  And when there is no
      conscience there is no soul, because soul is conscience.








                                 <- TRUTH ->




      <<To conserve religion>>

          The Truth does not become more evident when religion
      flourishes; on the contrary, it becomes even more scarce.
      Giving people what they want does not spread the Truth, but
      makes it even harder to find.

          When the Truth is presented in its raw power, many will cry
      out, their eyes blinded by its brilliance.  But at least Truth
      will have a place among men, no longer smothered and suffocated
      behind the robes and rituals of sweet talking preachers.  Truth
      is a concentrate, a deadly solid; if we try to dilute it down to
      suit the common taste we simply wash it down the drain.  To
      enjoy Truth, one requires <teeth>.

          Truth cannot and will not change to suit the needs of the
      ignorant masses, despite our efforts to adapt it.  The Truth
      does not need to pander to the world for its survival.  It is
      <we the people> who need to start bowing down respectfully to
      the supremacy of Truth.  It is the hundred thousand foolish
      gurus who need to start opening their eyes.  They mistake the
      vehicle of the Truth for the Truth itself and cling to it with
      all their might, even making their home of it.  But this vehicle
      is expendable, and in most cases <is expended>, while the Truth
      can never be touched.



      <<Questions>>

      Q:   I'm not sure it is possible for one to ever know the
         absolute truth, for our thinking is dependent on causes and
         conditions and can therefore be biased.  That is, we may be
         <caused> to mistakenly believe we have arrived at the truth.

      A:   Not all thought resulting from causes and conditions is
         faulty.  The causes of a true mind will result in a true mind
         and true thoughts.  The true mind recognizes Ultimate Reality
         by the fact that it accords with its perfect reasoning.

      Q:   If the wise man knows the Truth, then why can't he explain
         it?

      A:   He could say "Truth is Everything" or "What is not the
         Truth?" or "The Truth is Nature," but what would be the use
         of it?  He probably wouldn't bother, knowing that you would
         grasp at his words and misunderstand them.



      <<Truth>>

          Truth lies at the end of reasoning, not before it!  However,
      the "end" of reasoning does not mean you must seek to destroy
      reasoning!  Rather, go through it, past it, beyond it.  Truth is
      immediacy or spontaneity <after> reflection.

          If you have to choose between your understanding of the
      world and the Truth, then choose the Truth - your understanding
      of the world will soon catch up.



      <<Truth and organizations>>

          It is near impossible for truth to exist in any
      organization.  Where large groups of people gather, and large
      sums of money, there are rules and regulations.  Rules and
      regulations are based on tradition.  Where tradition is upheld,
      truth finds no foothold.

          Occasionally one hears a lofty word from a rebel priest; but
      as long as these few remain part of their tradition their lives
      will be immaterial.  They spout high words for God, but precious
      few <low words> for tradition.

          There is no excuse for feeding the superstitions of the
      masses.  Yes, tradition is invariably superstition.



      <<Truth and the media>>

          To make a mark in this society one must be able to perform
      well in the electric media.  Whether for radio or television it
      is necessary to speak quickly, fluently, and coherently.  When
      air time can be worth hundreds of dollars per second, and the
      audience is greeding for continual stimulation, you are <not
      allowed> time to think.  Silent pauses of even a second go down
      very badly, especially on radio where there is nothing to look
      at to fill the gaps.  You must be able to open your mouth and
      have a deluge of words stream forth.  The audience are not
      paying for time to think; their only request is <entertainment>.

          When I speak it is shortly and sharply.  I dole out my
      poison in small but deadly packages.  But all good things take
      time . . .  I administer my poison in crystalline form, which I
      make on the spot to meet the particular demand.  The
      crystallizing process necessarily takes time, as fine elements
      must be drawn from every reach of the mind.  For the poison to
      take effect also takes time, and for this I will wait.

          In the world of spirit, more words count less.  In the world
      of the media, more words count more.  The media does not lend
      itself to the conveyance of Truth.



      <<To get moving>>

      Q:   Why is it that you strive for the perfection of Ultimate
         Truth, when most people are content with the ups and downs of
         normal life?

      A:   The reason I strive for the perfection beyond happiness and
         suffering is because I see that such a thing is possible.  I
         suspected its possibility from an early age.  The fact that I
         always had perfection dangling in front of my eyes as a lure
         made it impossible for me to be content with anything less.
         For me to settle for less would be to <feel> less.  To make
         myself the slave of my desires would mean <being> a slave.

           Most people do not suspect the existence of Truth.  They
         are content with their pitiful games, their loves and their
         fears, because there is nothing to show them up.  Only light
         can reveal them grovelling in the dirt: but they live in
         darkness.

      Q:   How did you come to suspect the existence of Truth?  And
         why did this happen to <you>, out of so many?

      A:   I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and
         Nature gifted me with a fearless thought.

           I suspected I saw the smallest dot of light.  I moved
         closer, and my deepest fears and hopes were confirmed.  At
         once I felt terrified as of cold empty space, and excited of
         heart as though joyously bathing in the clear bright sunlight
         of a spring day.  At once alienated, yet also refound.  At
         once set afloat on a dark and strange ocean, yet given an
         anchor the size of the Universe.

           I began to burrow towards the light, but dirt kept falling
         down into my eyes.  After brushing myself off I continued my
         digging.  Very soon I made a big opening!

      Q:   How did Nature gift you with that initial fearless thought?

      A:   Nature encouraged my reason by rewarding me for my mental
         efforts and punishing me for my emotional ventures.  Thus I
         had nothing to lose emotionally, and all to gain mentally.

      Q:   Then your philosophical pursuit was triggered by some bad
         experiences and failures.  Was your extreme action not itself
         an emotional reaction against failure?

      A:   Yes and no.  Yes, to some degree my rejection of normal
         human values was emotional, for I was hurt and degraded by
         the wretchedness of it all.  On the other hand, my action was
         totally rational.  From this rational perspective I did not
         so much experience any failures, but the inevitable
         consequences of a normal egotistical life.

           I was sensitive to these consequences, and I did not avoid
         them.  I even <let> then come to fruition; for I was
         perceptive enough to see that one could not avoid the
         eventual fruition of failure.  My reason was too proud to let
         me avoid the inevitable, so I experienced it.  Yet my reason
         was too proud even to experience the inevitable!  So I sought
         to go beyond all - my pride too, would have to go.  Such is
         my story.



      <<Modesty>>

          Nietzsche displayed a wonderful modesty when he wrote two
      pieces entitled "Why I am so clever" and "Why I write such
      excellent books."

          In the same tradition I have considered having a tee-shirt
      made for me displaying the word "SAGE" in large block letters.

          What is modesty?  Modesty is <truth>!









                               <- VIOLENCE ->




      <<Madness>>

          If a criminal pleads insanity he will probably avoid the
      wrath of the public: he frees them from their guilty conscience.
      The people can then say: he is not our problem, we are not the
      cause, he is simply insane.  With such a designation they
      distance themselves from him, treat him as an independent
      existence, and therefore avoid responsibility for him.  To
      accept the responsibility for such ones would mean having to see
      the madness in themselves.

          Criminals are in fact quite normal, because crimes are
      committed with the goal of happiness in mind, which is, after
      all, a normal human motivation - isn't it?

          We sane people of the world live in a country called "sane"
      and are therefore in-sane.



      <<Our violence>>

          Where there is ego, there is violence.  The two always exist
      together because they are actually one and the same.

          Violence is usually kept below the surface where it
      manifests as hatred and fear.  It surfaces as physical violence
      and war.

          Our violent forms of entertainment act as a safety valve,
      releasing pent-up tension and stress, helping us to work off our
      inner violence and hatred in the relative safety of the
      imagination.  If the stress is not released in this way the
      pressure of it will build up to a level where it can no longer
      be contained, and will burst forth destructively.

          Thus, violent forms of entertainment help to keep ugliness
      from reaching the surface.  But meanwhile, inside, the seething
      mass of delusion we call "the soul" is being perpetually
      exercised and strengthened.  Through such entertainment the
      seeds of physical violence are sown, and the fruit is sure to
      follow.  When that time comes the release valves of wit and
      distraction will not be enough to cope.

          There is only a hairsbreadth between the imagination and
      physical reality.  It doesn't take much to push one into a
      mental state of no longer wishing to draw-up the line that
      separates the two.  When the going gets tough, we do not
      hesitate to make our own reality.  When desperate, we cannot
      afford to stop to consider the niceties of social behaviour and
      the rights of others.  Happiness is a matter of life and death!

          Do not think you can avoid the violent end.  Your time will
      come when things change - and change is the way of Nature.  Your
      happiness will come and go as Nature breathes in and out.

          We are all murderers.  Perhaps you have not yet murdered.
      Does this make you exempt?  You may not have murdered, but have
      you been pressured to do so?  Only when we are pushed to our
      limits do we reveal ourselves for who we really are.

          Violence is very easy to understand.  The ego feels it has a
      fundamental <right> to happiness, and will destroy anything that
      stands in its way.  This may mean killing a mosquito - or a
      person.  Yes, to kill even a mosquito out of anger reveals the
      mind of a murderer.  So I say, where there is ego, and the
      hatred of suffering, there is violence.



      <<Blaming the church>>

          Some say it is not fair to blame the whole of Christianity
      for the few bad eggs within it.  But I tell you, these few "bad
      eggs" are the ripened fruit, and all the others have yet to
      ripen if they have not already done so.  A good tree does not
      produce bad fruit.  Only a bad tree is to blame for bad fruit.

          If you see many happy drug addicts, with only a few
      miserable "bad eggs" among them, I hope you do not reach the
      conclusion that drugs are the true way to salvation!



      <<Man/Woman>>

          What is the cause of domestic violence?  The male is usually
      the perpetrator, so it is surely he who is to blame.  There is
      no excuse for his <ever> harming another human being, no matter
      how great his burden of stress and pain.

          Simply, violence is the natural manifestation of the
      dominant emotions, and will continue for as long as the emotions
      which fuel it.  Now hear me: if men and women stopped playing
      the games of submissiveness and dominance <I guarantee you>
      there would be no more violence.  Mind you, neither would there
      be any love, for love is precisely a game of dominance and
      submission.

          If a woman submits her will to a man, even in the slightest,
      just for fun, then she fuels his dominant emotions.  This is
      truly playing with fire.









                                <- THE WAY ->




      <<The good blade>>

          The egotist is at one time sharp and cutting swiftly, and
      the next he is dull, tired, and useless.  He is like the one who
      excitedly over-sharpens his knife, which then quickly blunts.

          But the wise man is calm and steady.  He has nothing in the
      balance, so nothing to lose.  He never needs to sharpen his
      blade, as it is always perfect.  His is the blade of the
      Infinite.  He doesn't hack when he cuts.  He works without
      effort, letting the blade glide unhindered about its work.  No
      material is too tough for such a man, and such a blade.

          The egotist, no matter how skilled, forces the blade on
      occasion through anxiety.  It is now the blade fails and he
      makes a mess.



      <<Explanations>>

          The sage does not try to explain away mysteries, as he knows
      nothing can be explained.  Neither does he escape anxiety about
      the world by saying things are "caused" or "natural".  He knows
      that even causation is void of any reality.  All things are void
      of self existence, and this is neither because of their
      causation nor their non-causation.

          He rests in what is left.



      <<Life>>

        - The irony is, that when you have evolved spiritually to the
      level where you can preserve your physical life, you no longer
      need a physical life.

        - From the instant you are conceived you begin to die.  In
      fact, death occurs each moment, and with it, new life.

        - The body is to the spirit what the shadow is to the body.
      Do not be concerned where it falls.

        - Coming to terms with death is like putting a band-aid on a
      broken leg: completely useless.  If you seriously want to
      overcome death, you must first overcome life!

        -  Let go in front
           Let go behind
           Let go in the middle
           With a mind freed everywhere
           You will be free from life and death.



      <<The bound mind: one that believes in boundaries>>

          Destroying all boundaries, you eliminate the need for
      <things>.  Things having disappeared, <change> is seen to be
      unreal.  Once change is gone you are rid of <movement>.
      Unmoving, there ceases to be <time>.  Gone is time; - and
      purpose is now eliminated.  No purpose means no <enlightenment>,
      and thus all things are free to follow their natural course.



      <<Running out of ideas>>

          If one lacks the faith to dissolve oneself in a sea of
      wisdom, one can still occupy oneself in a relatively noble
      fashion with <ideas> of truth.  The problem is, ideas run out.
      It is not long before you have thought all thoughts, and perhaps
      written all ideas, and they cease to thrill.  One's ink runs
      dry.

          The temptation is to now fall back into the immediacy of
      common worldliness, where there is at least some pleasure, some
      colour, however shallow.

          The wise never run short of ideas, because they seek no joy
      in them, and thus find no pain.  Their strength arises from
      their having sacrificed knowledge, and having <become>
      all-knowledge.



                       <This Life>


               When there is absolutely nothing
               What can get in the way of Doing?

               There is no self to observe all things
               It is only deluded thought that clings.

               Motionless and deep I make nothing at all.
               If I should falter, I will definitely fall.

               In oceans of poison I willingly swim.
               Only by Dying can I see Him.

               I do not live in this small crowded world.
               In my heart the infinite has unfurled.

               Things once beautiful are now only a reflection.
               Seeing nothing, being nothing, my redemption.



                      <The Barrier>


                 To know the truth is one thing,
                 To understand it, another.
                 So go through intellect to Love,
                 And avoid a lot of bother.

                 To see the truth is no attainment
                 But to have faith is the goal.
                 Having climbed to the very top,
                 You must now let go of the pole.

                 To plunge into the inky blackness.
                 To apply the truth to oneself.
                 To enter oneself into the equation,
                 Is to cross the infinite gulf.

                 This cannot be learnt from words
                 Nor teachers, gurus, and priests.
                 Friends and family cannot help you here,
                 It is time to attack the beast.

                 Then one becomes an individual,
                 Never again to share.
                 Alone in the world, without friend or foe,
                 This is indeed hard to bear.

                 But have faith and believe
                 In the earth, and the sea.
                 Be confident, ruthless, and strong.
                 If you want to be free then make everything "Me".

                 Penetrating that tiny space between heaven and earth,
                 With the strength of a mind that is sure.
                 One by one, all things will fall quietly away,
                 And you will pass through that door.










                                <- WISDOM ->




      <<Knowledge>>

          We people build our castles with the bricks of knowledge -
      placing them one on top of another.  Take away one brick, and
      the whole structure comes tumbling down.

           Where is the information within data?
           Where is the knowledge within information?
           And where is the wisdom within knowledge?



      <<Wisdom>>

          Wisdom is learning to look at things from a larger and
      larger perspective.  If you look at something from close-up it
      looks big; but get farther away, and it becomes smaller and
      smaller.

          Remove the dust of the mind with the water of wisdom.
      Wisdom is when one sees the Infinite . . . <and realizes its>
      <significance.>



      <<Gospel>>

          I don't say the bible is gospel!

          Spiritual writings are maps and guide books, they do not
      give you the thrill of the actual visit, or the knowledge and
      the joy of that land.  It is better to hear little and to
      understand the meaning, than to hear much and misunderstand.

          When you read, seek savour, not science; for in the physical
      world everything is symbolic.  The <meaning> is the valuable
      item, not the words.  Use words only as tools or instruments.
      They are a means of serving God, they must not become an
      obstacle or an impediment.



      <<Knowing>>

          When you have destroyed yourself, you have not lost
      yourself, but <found> yourself.  If you do not understand your
      own existence, how can you hope to understand the world?  I am
      speaking of the knowledge of <what> your self is, not <about>
      yourself.  The latter is merely psychology.

          You worry about the future, but you don't even know the
      present!  I tell you, take care of the present and the future
      will take care of itself.



      <<Buddhism>>

          Buddhism is like a thorn used to remove another thorn.  When
      the thorn is out, there is no more use for Buddhism.  You can
      throw it away.  Similarly, spiritual teachers are useful to
      point one towards the Truth and to stimulate one's mind; but
      when one has found the Truth, they are no longer needed.  The
      traveller who finds his road blocked by a river will use a raft
      to cross it.  Upon reaching the other shore he will not carry
      the raft on his shoulders to continue his journey; he will
      abandon it as something which has become useless.

          Concepts can destroy concepts, words can destroy words,
      tools can dismantle tools.  By using them in this way we can end
      all untruth.  That which is left we call Truth.  Meanings
      destroy meanings, leaving us with the Almighty Meaning.

          Before contact with Buddhism, a bowl is a bowl and tea is
      tea.  While studying Buddhism, a bowl is no longer a bowl and
      tea is no longer tea.  In the end, one becomes enlightened, and
      once again a bowl is a bowl, and tea is once again tea.  The
      dismantling is all done, and one can forget Buddhism.

          This is why it is said: "There is a Buddha for those who do
      not know what He really is.  There is no Buddha for those who
      know what He really is."  The millions upon millions have
      mistaken the tool for the reality, the finger pointing at the
      moon for the moon itself.



      <<Silence>>

          Silence is often the best manifestation of wisdom.  The wise
      do not try to convince others and win arguments.  They speak
      only where there is benefit, and not out of self-protection or
      self-promotion.  They believes it is better to lose in debate,
      than lose integrity.

          The ability to argue convincingly, with impressive
      articulation and captivating delivery skills, does not make one
      wise.  A skillful debater may be very entertaining, much as a
      champion boxer - but does this make him right?



      <<Understanding>>

          "I have an understanding of the scriptures" say all those
      priestly men.  If only they had a <correct> understanding!
      Understanding is not hard to come by.  The human mind has
      unlimited capacity to make sense out of absolutely anything - we
      call it "creativity".  But the Truth is deeply hidden.  It
      presents itself only to those who are brave enough to abandon
      their creativity and finite intelligence.



      <<Better or worse>>

      Q:   You say all things are equal, but surely humans are the
         highest form of life on this planet.

      A:   Are you better than a tree?

      Q:   Certainly, I can think.

      A:   What about during unconsciousness sleep, are you better
         than a tree at that time?

      Q:   I don't know.

      A:   Do you not "sleep like a log"?  If you are no different to
         a tree while sleeping, how can you be any different upon
         waking?  Does your basic nature change?



      <<Questions>>

      Q:   Self delusion is so easy.  We have all made so many
         mistakes in the past.  How can a person possibly know with
         certainty that he is not mistaken?

      A:   When knowledge and wisdom is acquired, truth is seen.

      Q:   It is all very well you telling me this, but how do I know
         whether you possess such wisdom as to be able to help me on
         this matter?

      A:   You yourself must attain wisdom before you can judge the
         wisdom of others.  There is no other way.

      Q:   How do I become wise?

      A:   Wisdom is acquired through thinking and finding answers.
         Pursue the enquiry "What am I?" by fathoming the questions
         "What is life?" and "What is death?".  Nobody can do this for
         you.  There are no short-cuts.  Books and teachers can at
         best serve as catalysts.

      Q:   I must confess to being disheartened by books.  How on
         earth am <I> supposed to understand and be helped by the
         teachings of Jesus for example?

      A:   Don't try to understand what he means.  You would do well
         to just occupy yourself with penetrating to the truth of the
         matter of life and death.  Spend what small time you have on
         this earth investigating the things of vital concern.  You
         haven't the time to distract yourself trying to understand
         what every Jesus, Buddha, or Muhammed has supposedly said.
         What if Jesus was completely wrong!  Wouldn't that make your
         efforts a horrible waste?  When you know the Truth, then you
         will understand all things.  Then you will know whether Jesus
         is worth trying to understand.

           Most spiritual scriptures are devotional.  That is, they
         are intended for those who have already transcended the
         words.  If you read these scriptures while you're still after
         the meaning contained in them, you'll only blind yourself.

           Of what use are scriptures anyway?  They are just words on
         what is essentially no better than toilet paper.  One doesn't
         even need to be able to read to know the Truth.  More often
         than not reading is a hindrance to the understanding of the
         essential.  You will only become wise through your own
         courageous thinking.  There is no other way!  Go and ask a
         tree the meaning of the scriptures; it will give you a good
         answer.

      Q:   What qualification do you have to say what you do?

      A:   My life is my qualification.

      Q:   What if <you> are wrong?  Why should I believe in what you
         say?

      A:   Who ever asked you to believe?  Of what use is belief?  I
         don't ask you to believe, but to investigate, and then to
         know.  The only belief I ask of you is belief in reason.  Is
         this too much to ask?  Enlightenment is not attained through
         belief.



      <<Concentrate on what is real>>

          Each moment, do just this: ask yourself "What is real?"

          Then, knowing what is real, and what is not real, have
      Faith.

          Concentrate on what is real and forever remain separate from
      this transient world.

          And should you ever have the slightest tendency to see
      beauty in anything, then turn your back on the lie as something
      you reject in order to save your life.  Don't even consider
      entertaining it for a moment.  It is something you rejected long
      ago to make your life what it is.  To again accept lies
      willingly will be to lose your life.  It will be to have wasted
      all your efforts towards truth.



      <<Points to remember>>

         - The man who has recognized the illusory nature of things
           will not take poison as a food.

         - Would a blind man who has recovered his sight desire to be
           blind again?

         - Shall we quench a fire by heaping fuel upon it?

         - Does a fish who has escaped from the net desire to be
           caught again?

         - Give no more thought to things in existence!  Who would
           take back what they had once vomited.



      <<Mystic States>>

          It is exceedingly foolish to think that one's ability to
      achieve altered states of consciousness or meditational mystic
      states is in any way related to wisdom and spirituality.

          The only measure of spirituality is wisdom, and wisdom
      manifests as non-attachment to everything.  Wisdom is not
      tranquillity, nor is it eloquence, or the ability to read minds,
      or to transfix people with masterful words and knowledge.  Do
      not be not deceived by false values!



      <<Simplification>>

          We seek security through simplification, categorization and
      abstraction; the aim being to freeze all change.  Ironically
      this always leads to yet more complication and suffering.  The
      more categories there are, the less easily they live together.

          Simple people have a simple faith.  The more complex we
      become, the less faith is possible.  Through my well-chosen
      complications I hope a Great ball of doubt will be raised, so
      simplicity and complexity can be transcended once and for all.



      <<Establishing the non-existence of an inherent self>>

          When a cart is taken apart into all of its pieces, where is
      the cart?  Obviously the "cart" is merely an adventitious
      designation that depends on all the parts being in the
      appropriate place.

          To disprove the self-existence of the cart, as we just did,
      we had to know precisely what it was we were disproving - the
      cart.  If you can come to grips with what you think something
      is, it is then an easy enough task to disprove its
      self-existence.

          And this is the problem, for while we humans have no trouble
      defining what a cart is, we baulk at having to define what <we>
      are.  Until we are brave enough to at least admit we are a
      <thing>, we will be unable to convincingly disprove ourselves to
      ourselves.  It is not enough to realize that all the things
      around us lack real existence, if we cannot extend the reasoning
      to ourselves.  If we lack the love and courage to do this, then
      the generative core of delusion will remain untouched, to wreak
      its usual havoc upon both ourselves and others.



      <<Wisdom>>

          Your species has entrusted you with an enormously valuable
      treasure, upon which the species depends for its survival.  Do
      not take your eyes from it for even a moment!  Do not leave it
      unguarded!  Treasure these words!



      <<Reject all>>

          Freedom is being able to squarely face the very worst, and
      the very best that can possibly happen to one, without a single
      care.  How my heart goes out to such freedom!



      <<Jesus expresses his love>>

      - "Any of you who does not give-up everything he has cannot be
         my disciple."

      - "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it
         were already kindled!"

      - "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
         I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come
         to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her
         mother - a man's enemies will be the members of his own
         household."

      - "How can ye believe, who receive honour from one another."



      <<Nihilism>>

          When people say to me "You are preaching nihilism," I reply
      "My dear friend, nihilism does not exist!"



      <<The right sound>>

          If the guitar string is too tight, it snaps.  If it is too
      loose, there is no sound.  Tuning guitars is so much effort.  I
      advise you to remove all the strings and just take life easy.
      This sounds best of all!  Stop the sound of that distant bell!



      <<Temporality>>

          It is said "All our attachments and joys are temporal," and
      "you can't take anything with you when you die."  Such advice
      achieves little, as we do not understand the meaning of
      temporality.  We understand it to mean "existing for a limited
      time," so we redouble our efforts to enjoy what we have, while
      we have it.

          But temporality concerns the nature of things to be <always
      changing>.  Things do not exist for even a moment before they
      have changed: so it is impossible to possess anything at all.
      You see, temporal means <not real>.






 


                                 <- WOMAN/MAN ->



            <Understand woman, and you will understand the highest.>
            <Transcend woman, and you will transcend the highest.>
            <Reject woman, and you will reject the highest - the <ego>!>



      <What is Sexism?>

          Is it "sexist" to be realistic about the immense psychological
      differences between man and woman?

          Is it "sexist" to recognize that some qualities of
      personality are superior to others, and that these qualities are
      not equally distributed between the sexes?  If so, then I am
      proud to be known as sexist, for my aim is to be honest and not
      popular.

          I've had enough of the lies spoken about women.  I've had
      enough of what has become "female worship", not only among
      women, but also among men whose adoration of woman has proceeded
      far beyond mere gallantry.  I am certainly not in favour of
      unfair discrimination against women.  And I am not in favour of
      the lesser role that Nature (and man) has inflicted upon women
      throughout the evolution of our species.  I'm all for equality
      . . . that is, I'm all for changing the way women are brought up
      in our society.  I'm all for making women more equal to men.
      But I will never <pretend> equality of the sexes, whether that
      be equality of psychology (and values) or equality of rights,
      when it is unrealistic and dishonest to do so.

          We could classify man and woman as different species, were
      it not that the combination of the two seem to produce offspring
      - so little is there in common between us.  We are mentally
      distinct, if not genetically.  Though I hasten to add that we
      differ mainly because of our upbringing, which can be changed,
      and not because of any genetic or God-ordained determinism.

          Yet what use is talking about sexism until we have at least
      determined what it actually is to be a man, or a woman.
      Therefore, I will do here what very few would dare: I will
      outline the major differences between man and woman.  In the
      process I will hopefully impress upon you that if things are not
      the same they cannot hope to be automatically equal and demand
      equal rights.

          Kierkegaard, the great Christian philosopher, says that
      "Woman is personified egotism," but that she can never know it
      because of her lack of penetrating thought.  Nietzsche observes
      that "woman is first and foremost an actress.", and describes an
      actor as "a person who is skilled at combining falseness with a
      good conscience."  Schopenhauer, in his renowned essay "On
      Woman" states that women . . . "are their whole life - grown-up
      children . . . She is an intellectual myope whose intuitive
      understanding sees distinctly what is near, but has a narrow
      range of vision, which does not embrace the distant."
      Schopenhauer finds that her basic tools of trade are a
      subconscious and automatic tendency towards "cunning and
      deception," and that the woman's basic failing lies in her
      injustice.  Others agree on this point.  Freud says that "the
      poor sense of justice in women is connected to the preponderance
      of envy in their mental life."  And Plato makes his view clearly
      known when he says that "Woman's nature is inferior to that of
      men in capacity for virtue."

          Women are singled out for special attention in the
      philosophic religions.  In Hinduism, women are known as the
      embodiment of maya (illusion), and avidya (the power of
      delusion).  Buddhism regards women to be so far away from the
      requirements for spirituality that the task is especially
      difficult for them.  One famous Buddhist leader, Nichiren, said
      that "women can no more attain Buddhahood than can a dried-up
      seed sprout."  And finally, Carl Jung points out that "Nature
      has created an extreme difference between man and woman, so that
      he finds his opposite in her, and she in him."  Is all this
      pointing towards equality of the sexes?  I say not.

          Are all the men referred to above ordinary and ignorant
      cloddish males?  Are they so insecure that they cannot think
      clearly, and are disparaging women to reinforce their own
      possibly fragile male egos?  I think it would be naive to
      conclude such, no matter how inviting.  They are simply facing
      reality.

          But let us put things back in perspective before you get too
      angry.  Ultimately, woman and man are equal, in that we have
      evolved in Nature together and to be dependent on one another.
      We are equal in the eyes of God if you please, but we are
      certainly not equal in everyday things.  For example, woman does
      not have the physical strength of man, due to her genetic
      inheritance.  In the same way she is less qualified for the
      rigours of life as an independently thinking person, though as a
      result of her upbringing.

          While women are brought-up in our society to be submissive
      and emotional, men are reared to be competitive, more
      courageous, and to be risk-takers.  While submissiveness and
      emotionality are ideal skills for avoiding suffering, they are
      useless for living in reality.  They prevent women from having
      any stomach at all for hardship.  In contrast, man is constantly
      exposed to hardship, worry, and stress, as they are an integral
      part of the competitive male world.  Therefore, woman's strength
      is that she is expert at avoiding suffering, while the strength
      of man is that he can bear-up under it.  It is not of his own
      doing, but man thereby gains what qualifies him for a life of
      thinking, and for a life of spirit.  He has the ability to
      withstand the mental hardship necessary for real thought.

          In this respect then, man and woman are worlds apart.  A
      woman is severely restricted in her thinking.  She has no mind
      for irony, contradictions and paradoxes.  She has no mind for
      the dialectic.  There is no use in forcing a woman into a good
      that hurts - it would break her.  Only men, true men at least,
      have the toughness, born out of their egotistic competitiveness,
      to endure the intense agonies of the true philosophic life.  A
      life of honesty.

          "Now she loves him, and looks ahead with quiet confidence -
      like a cow" reflects Nietzsche.  Woman's greatest love is when
      she possesses one man, or when she possesses a child.
      Relationship is her basic need.  This is why women are so very
      much under the control of such vanities as fashion, fun, and
      friends.  Willingness is woman, she lives only for the crowd,
      and finds her identity only with them.  For her, to be alone,
      without a man, without child, without family, is the most
      terrible plight imaginable.  She would perhaps rather be dead
      than live in this wretched condition.  But one must be alone if
      one is to follow the path of reason.  Only alone can one truly
      live.

          When a man becomes entangled with a woman he immediately
      becomes like her, and lives through her - childhood revisited.
      He becomes possessed by her, completely and utterly bewitched.
      She embodies the most powerful cunning and deception - but it is
      subtle, and herein lies her strength.  She is a startling effect
      that hypnotizes the man before devouring him.  Then he loses
      that precious thing which qualified him for life as an
      individual, and he becomes like a sheep.  He is lost forever.

          A great fighter can kill many in battle with his bare hands,
      but a woman can slay a hundred men with her eyes.  Yet in
      conquering her man she not only destroys him, but hammers the
      final nail in her own coffin.

          Do I hate women?  I can excuse you for thinking I do.  But I
      cannot hate women.  I know far too much about women to be able
      to hate them.  Rather, I hate what they embody.  I hate the way
      they make life soft and easy, distracting attention away from
      the important, cold, hard realities of life.  I hate the way
      they give the appearance of being selfless and kind, concealing
      their true nature.  No, I do not hate woman, but I hate the
      society that created the monster that is "womanliness".  And I
      hate myself for being a part of that misguided society and
      unable to correct it.

          I do not want women to feel discouraged.  My intention is
      only to make clear our situation as it stands, and the task that
      stretches out before us.  If we do not learn to see clearly the
      difference between what I call "female values" (most common in
      genetic females) and "male values" (most common in genetic
      males) then we will never know where we stand in relation to
      these extreme opposite sets of values.  If we are unaware of
      where we stand in relation to these extremes then we will be
      disorientated, and in no position to judge between good and bad
      values.  Thus we will be in no position to improve ourselves,
      for what is self improvement other than the abandoning of bad or
      false values and the cultivation of good ones?

          Only male objectivity enables one to stand back from the
      closeness of the world and find perspective and orientation.
      Woman needs encouragement here.  It is essential that she break
      away from the conditioning of society.  She must learn to be
      alone, and seek the truth.  Indeed, it is a rare man who can
      stand alone with his thought, but fewer women even attempt it.

          While some men are more "womanly" than others, and some
      women more "masculine" than other women, the traditional male
      and female roles are so deeply entrenched in our society, that
      even in these modern times they remain at the core of our being.
      When Nature divided the human race into two, She did not simply
      draw the line through the middle - the divisions are polar and
      opposed to each other, and the difference between them is not
      merely qualitative, it is also quantitative.

          Despite occasional and fanciful forays into "equality of the
      sexes" and the like, our conditioning stands firm.  Our
      conditioning is very deeply rooted.  We must be more realistic
      in our approach to the problem.  Our goal should not be
      "equality" but <humanity>.  If women become more like men, and
      men more like women, the result will be a society of spineless
      weaklings.  This will only compound the problems for our
      species.  We must go beyond such petty thinking, to a life of
      rationality and truth.  We must become <Supermen>, taking male
      rationality to its ultimate conclusion and not stopping short.
      We must recognize the enormity of the task that lies before us,
      and passionately set to work on it.

          Two creatures as remotely different as man and woman cannot
      realistically expect equal rights.  Thus I heartily join
      Schopenhauer when he says that when women were given equal
      rights, they should have been endowed with male reason also.

          Even so, I doggedly maintain the hope that women will grow
      to deserve the rights they have been given.  If one treats
      children as children, they will remain as children; but treat
      them as adults and they grow up.  When will men learn to treat
      women as adults?  When will men learn to respect a woman's
      independence?  When will men learn to be real men and <leave
      women alone!>

          So, am I then sexist?  No, I am not sexist: I am against
      women of <both sexes>.



      *  See appendix for references used in this essay.




      <<My words against women>>

          I know that my concentrated attention on the faults of the
      feminine persona will be taken badly by women.  This is
      unfortunate, for it is not my intention to hurt and divide.
      These consequences, though undesirable, are inevitable - <for I>
      <must make my point!>

          And my point, while of vital importance to all, must be
      addressed mainly to men: I tell you, <beware female values!>  I
      express this same warning to women, but when there is an
      emergency, with thousands of people seriously ill and only one
      doctor, then the healthiest must receive the best attention, in
      the hope of saving at least a few.



      <<Woman is no mystery>>

          The mystery of woman must be how she is so attractive to
      man.  What is this magic spell she weaves that brings a man to
      his knees?

          Her dominance is the trick.  Her complete and secure
      dominance.  For while she is weak, does she not have dominance
      over suffering?  Unfortunately, man sees only her power, which
      he loves to feel as his own; he doesn't look so far as to see
      the <source> of her power, which lies in her submitting so
      easily.  He is duped.  For her's is not a masculine power, but a
      power that exists only within her sphere of submission.

          Man is not happy with submission, so is under constant
      threat from a world which would love to crush his hopes.  He
      rarely feels the easy-going and open confidence of woman, which
      is so very much like that of a child.  He is a stranger to her
      security, which bows down before all things.  Man has to give
      the appearance of being secure; woman actually <is> secure.  For
      this reason, in his weaker moments, he sees her as a super-male,
      or a god, who is what he desires most deeply.  He projects woman
      in his own image, making himself blind to her true form.

          <" . . . there is a moment in her life when she deceptively>
      <appears to be infinitude itself - and that is when man is>
      <captured.  And as a wife she is quite simply - finitude." >

                                                      Kierkegaard

          Man doesn't see his mistake till it is too late.  Now he
      sees her puttering around in finitude, and all the time he has
      been following her lead.  He has been dreaming, and she has been
      encouraging his dreams.  For woman sees nothing wrong with
      dreaming.  She even pities man because of his fear of fantasy,
      and wants to teach him (who is now her own little child) how it
      is done and how to avoid a bad conscience about it.  Once
      committed he cannot admit to his mistake, having too much to
      lose.  So he buries his thinking, and his spirit with it.

          <"Man has no inkling of the extreme egotism in her>
      <devotedness; he considers himself very lucky and feels highly>
      <flattered to be the object of such fervent devotion; which>
      <always takes the form of submission, perhaps because woman has a>
      <bad conscience about it, wondering if it is not really egotism.">

                                                      Kierkegaard

          Woman lives through man's strength, through his courage and
      ability to bear-up under heavy loads and great thoughts.  She
      cannot tread where he does, so needs him to traverse the land
      for her, the country she needs to experience and feel, but can
      do so only through another.

          So she woos him, and he comes to love, and worship her.  She
      senses that something is wrong here - woman is not stupid -
      though she is powerless to do anything about it, being a slave
      to her own heart.  She has to force herself not to think too
      deeply about this state of affairs for fear of what she might
      find out.  Perhaps out of guilt for her weakness she submits to
      the situation, and to him, who embodies that which she is
      submitting to.  She is saying: "I know this is wrong, but my
      desire is too strong.  All I can do is let-go and submit.  I
      throw myself at your feet to prove to myself that you are the
      stronger."  Thus does she avoid having a conscience about it.
      She merely has to convince herself that all things are too
      difficult to fight.  Bowing and crumbling beneath all things
      serves the purpose admirably.

          But she is not to blame for her weakness.  Woman is <forced>
      into her thoughtlessness and superficiality, not being equipped
      to make a stand for individuality and reason.  When she does
      make a stand she is punished for not fitting the role expected
      of her.  Men will despise her.  On top of this she faces all the
      defeats and pressures involved in the exercise of thought.  For
      her, the exercise of thought is like stepping outside of a cosy
      warm cottage into a cold and icy blizzard.  She's just not used
      to it.  Therefore, rather than fail, and suffer, which she
      cannot stand, cannot enter into and bear-up under, she steps
      back into the restfulness of womanliness.  Even here, she can
      still think a little, a lot more than she appears to.  Though
      she must cover up her thinking, repress it, not let it come to
      the surface - not actually <use> it.

          The human mind is born with the potential to enjoy the
      fruits of analytical thought.  Consequently the will to learn
      and conquer has a seed in <every> human mind.  So we see the
      stronger women becoming men.  Some women, however, were men from
      the start, having failed the difficult transition from the "boy"
      of early childhood into the woman of adolescence.  Unfortunat-
      ely, masculinity in a woman, regardless of its source, is rarely
      of quality; it explodes too easily in the form of rashness.  The
      masculine does not sit easily in a female brain: it tends to
      overcompensate.

          Adding to her so-called mystery, woman has an inbuilt
      bisexuality resulting from her difficult formation.  While a man
      is man all his life, she had to grow from a boy into a woman.
      Thus she seems to alternate between the masculine and the
      feminine.  This leaves man puzzled as to how he is supposed to
      behave towards such a double entity.  For now she is the hard
      and angry feminist, demanding equal rights; and now she dresses
      in pink and frills begging for a man to overwhelm her.

          She claims weakness, yet seems to have no shortage of
      strength.  She achieves this through love, her speciality, nay,
      her <profession>.  For while man has <direct> mastery over
      things, woman can achieve an indirect mastery through her direct
      mastery of man.  Women are united in this goal, and while men
      have countless interests, women all belong to the one trade.
      Thus their whole life is love, its conquests, and the associated
      vanities such as fashion.  Love comes first with woman, while it
      is only second with man.  Thus a woman learns to like the man
      she loves, while a man learns to love the woman he likes.  And
      because love is a woman's life, sexual relations come into
      everything.  The difference is essentially this: man <has>
      sexual thoughts; woman <is> sexual thought.  She knows nothing
      other than the sexual, so is unaware of just how sexual, how
      <animal> she really is.

          Another consequence of her psychology is that women either
      love or they hate.  They know no happy medium.  Their lives are
      love and beauty: from love issues hatred and from beauty springs
      ugliness.

          Further, because her life revolves around love, woman
      regards everything solely as a means to win the man; so their
      interest in anything is usually a simulated one.  A woman will
      study philosophy for months to impress a man, without
      understanding a word of it.  If she truly is interested in
      philosophy, it is only to find an all-powerful doctrine to
      submit herself to, and within which she can enthrone herself.

          There is no doubt that women can sometimes see much more
      than men, who are often blinded by their own abstractions.  But
      when men understand, they have the potential to put it into
      practise, and to make it real, which women do not.  For women,
      knowledge is only useful in how it helps them to avoid pain.
      Women have horizontal knowledge, but not vertical.  They do not
      have the depth of intellect necessary to bore through to the
      real truths.  And only real truths can give one the strength to
      live infinitely, and to make infinite movements.  There can be
      no real and heartfelt faith in reason when that reason fails to
      penetrate to lasting and indisputable truths.  There is no
      confidence in a reason that can only produce truths that stand
      up for as long as the wind doesn't blow.  Such is her reason.

          Women, as they are at present, can at best only see the
      signs of the weight that men carry.  I am speaking of the weight
      of reflection.  Even then, women can only do this if they think
      enough to be granted such a vision; otherwise they will see men
      as helpless little boys.  It is good if women can at least think
      enough to be aware of the strength of men.  Then at least women
      will be able to see that they themselves are not gods.  I regret
      that the women of today are not of this calibre.  Their wisdom
      tells them: "My femininity is itself spirituality.  I am
      complete!".

          Jesus told an applicable story about a farmer and his two
      sons.  The father asked his sons to work the field for him while
      he was away.  The younger son was in no mood to work and said,
      quite honestly, "No".  The elder son said "Yes father, I'd love
      to do it," but had no intention of helping.  The elder son lived
      in selfish dream, wanting only to impress his father, and
      puff-up his own pride.  The younger son later developed the mind
      to work and did his father's bidding.  The elder son never will,
      as he believes he has no work to do.

          So it is with all people, being sons of God.  It is better
      to say "No" to Him, and at least recognize his existence, than
      to say "Yes" and never know of Him at all.  Woman is like the
      elder son.  Man is the more honest of the two, and has
      potential.

          The characteristic jealousy and envy of woman is a result of
      her limited ego.  That is, with its delicate skin, which
      contains security, but is so easily punctured.  The female ego
      is simple, with few dependencies, so when one of these
      dependencies does fail she is plunged into dire trouble.  When
      her armour collapses, it collapses totally.  The many safety
      supports that men have at their disposal are not her's.  Nor
      does she have man's experience at carrying a burden of pain.
      Therefore she is expert at coping with things that fall within
      her sphere of submission, but she fails spectacularly when
      forced "outside".



      <<The modern woman>>

          Men are professional at being men, precisely because they
      have been men all their lives.  They keep an even keel even in
      rough seas.  But the modern masculine woman is new to the game,
      and is often rash, cruel and incounsellable.  Her rawness
      results in her expressing the very worst qualities of the male
      spectrum.  I tell you, she is not masculine enough!

          Buddhism has taught from the very beginning that it is
      impossible for a woman to attain Buddhahood - <in the form of a>
      <woman>.  However, if a woman becomes reborn as a man, that is a
      different matter.  Thus, a woman has to attain the mind of a
      man, for this is what it really means to become a man.  Yet to
      become a man is not easy for a woman.



      <<Gossip>>

          The gossip of women is a submissive pleasure in which
      self-pities can be shared and reinforced.

          Man, however, cannot submit to fear.  He cannot share it
      with himself or others.  He keeps it inside, preferring to live
      with the pain.  For him to recognize the hurt means to be a
      failure as a man.  In contrast, woman sees nothing wrong with
      being fearful; she even deems it a virtue.  She does not know
      "failure" as man does, because she does not compete.  The more
      she submits, the more she can bask in the happiness of
      carefreeness.  She calls it "honest" to recognize and share her
      fears.  She has no bad conscience about it, and sees no fault in
      her argument.

          Yes, it is honest to recognize suffering, but it is
      <dishonest> to submit to it.  Woman only accepts her fear so she
      can submit to it.  Man, with his relative love of reason, is in
      a predicament.  He knows it is wrong to submit to his fear, but
      also knows he hasn't the strength to confront it.  All he can do
      is let his fear settle in his brain and make the best out of a
      bad situation.

          If only man were <more> rational! - then fear would not
      arise in him at all.



      <<The woman's defence>>

          Woman has the strongest of defences.  She can counter any
      argument by claiming to be <unqualified>.  This is called
      "acting dumb", which they always do when it comes to real
      thinking.  She feigns interest and praises the reasoner to the
      skies.  In this way, she not only escapes threat, but also
      pacifies the other, making them softer.  She may even win the
      other for herself, which she deems a valuable prize indeed - her
      very own thinker!

          The only alternative for her is to compete in the reasoning,
      which she cannot do.  She is not skilled or practiced in
      thinking, so whenever she ventures to make as much as a
      suggestion she is comprehensively defeated.  The moment she puts
      her foot through the door it slams painfully shut.  She cannot
      tolerate this pain without submitting, not being familiar with
      real pain.  Even less can she cope with this immense pain,
      arising from her great failure, which in turn arises from her
      lack of competence in reasoning.

          Her defence is <Yes>.  It is a dominant Yes, as are all
      things submissive.  She is a lump of clay, which yields to any
      force rather than fight.  Nobody, no matter how strong, can
      defeat a lump of clay.  So she lets herself be moulded, and
      remains in control.



      <<The Sexes>>

          When I speak of "male" or "female" I am usually referring to
      aspects of the personality.  It is character that counts in all
      important regards, and genetics count for nothing by comparison.

          The female personality is composed of what I naturally
      enough term "female values."  These are expressed in
      submissiveness, weakness of will, a childish innocence,
      spontaneity, and emotionality.  In contrast the male personality
      shows itself as a dominant striving, courage, depth, strength
      under pressure, and a greater degree of rationality.

          We all possess both male and female personalities.  If we
      look closely, we can see the "feminine" in man, and the
      "masculine" in woman - both of which demand satisfaction.  It
      just so happens that the female personality predominates in the
      genetically female, while the male personality predominates in
      the genetically male.

          It is unlikely that genetics determines personality in any
      direct way, so why is there a such a strong correlation between
      genetic and personality types?  This question demands our
      attention, because if we truly wish to make the sexes equal it
      would be useful to know what we are fighting against.

          One contributing factor may be the superior physical
      strength of the male.  His sheer size and strength surely has a
      psychologically intimidating effect on women.  Then add to this
      his aggressive and competitive attitude, which was probably
      required of him in past ages to acquire food and shelter.  Woman
      probably finds the combination of the two overwhelming.

          There is no question that physical and mental strength can
      produce great results.  But why are women so much the opposite
      of man? - why <so much> the "opposite sex"?  Surely physical and
      mental strength in women would have done no harm?

          A <bipolarization> of personality types would aid
      pair-bonding, breeding, and child nurturing, by making men and
      women psychologically dependent on each other.  A couple would
      grow to need each other to complement and fulfill their
      individual personalities.  Woman grew to need man not only for
      his physical and mental strength, not only for his support and
      sex, but also to help in exercising the male part of her own
      personality.  Similarly, man grew to need woman not only for her
      body and her particular mental skills, but also to exercise and
      satisfy the female part of his personality.

          In addition, the segregation of personality types into well
      defined roles simplifies social interactions.  People could then
      specialize in certain tasks, and thereby achieve greater things.
      Everyone would know what was expected of them, and how to behave
      towards others, which would undoubtedly reduces stress in
      society and perhaps increase its efficiency.

          So, in a sense the wish for enlightenment for one and all,
      true equality of the sexes, seems to be going against the stream
      of evolution.  But is not this Great Wish the <result> of
      evolution?

          I seem to write at inordinate length on the subject of the
      sexes, though I am only writing about human values.  It is a
      difficult task, and I have chosen to tackle it from the
      perspective of the two "sex personalities".  I am merely writing
      about the ego, the embodiment of delusion, and how it manifests
      in our lives.



      <<The pleasure of sex>>

          The whole arena of sex-pleasure, from flirting to courting,
      foreplay and copulation, has little to do with our physical and
      genetic nature, but all to do with the pleasure arising from the
      emotional interplay between the different sex-personalities.



      <<Woman and child>>

          A woman cannot resist a man who tells her that his life is a
      shambles, and that he needs her, and her alone, to pull his life
      back together and save him from death.  For now she has a child,
      exactly as if she had her very own baby.  A baby needs her for
      its very life, and it is this need that is love to her.  Now she
      is swept with feelings of importance and power, for a human life
      is now entirely within her hands.  And if it is a man who has
      given himself to her, and who she now possesses, then she also
      feels the power of having the very image of strength crawling at
      her feet, begging for help.

          Man and child are in the same boat, shipwrecked, and
      washed-up on the shore of woman.



      <<How to see>>

          To avoid the sin of lustful desire, a man should see women
      as sisters, or daughters, or mothers, loving whom would be
      incest.  He can also see woman as his own self, falling in love
      with whom would be narcissism.

          Yet this is dishonesty.  You must learn to see women as
      women, and men as men.  Have nothing to do with what is merely
      the skillful use of the imagination and trickery.  The opposite
      sex are <literally> a part of your own Infinite body.  Seeing
      the Infinite, and being the Infinite, how can you ever
      distinguish any such thing as "family", or feel any kind of
      feeling towards others - you who know nothing other than the
      Love of God.  If you are honest you will be hated, for there is
      nothing people hate more than Infinite Love: it is an opposite
      of what they call love.

          If you are a man, then never let a woman catch you looking
      at her; for how can you teach her non-attachment when you are
      attached to physical and emotional beauty yourself?  And don't
      think you can get away with picturing beautiful women in your
      mind, for where the mind wanders the eyes will follow.



      <<Vanity>>

          It was a fool who said that women are attached to their
      appearance.  Anyone can see it is not their appearance they are
      attached to, but what their appearance brings them . . .
      attention, compliments, self-respect, friends, employment, sex,
      men, children . . .  and the list goes on!

          I once heard a woman say "I take a lot of care of my
      appearance, but I don't like to think of myself as shallow"!



      <<Men die ten years sooner than women>>

          Are men unfairly deprived of ten years of enjoyment in this
      world?  Why should that which is incapable of birth be concerned
      with death?



      <<I can't understand . . .>>

          While men joyfully pronounce their inability to understand
      the female mind, women proclaim the mystery of the male mind.
      All this ignorance is because men and women don't understand
      <their own> minds!

          Understand your own mind, and you will understand all, for
      all is within you.



      <<Women and reason>>

          When a man hears a reasoned truth, he sweats out of fear.
      Fortunately, his strength of intellect enables him to live with
      this stress.  Yet when a woman hears some such truth she is not
      even threatened!  Why?  Because her mind snaps.  It hasn't the
      power of resistance, so it simply switches off.  If it is
      strength to avoid suffering, then woman is far stronger than
      man.



      <<The cunning of woman>>

          She does not want to be called "immoral" so covers herself
      with clothing.  Yet the clothing she uses to do this is even
      more suggestive than her bare skin.  Thus she successfully
      manages to avoid guilt and embarrassment through a neat mental
      trick.

          See-through clothing is the perfect solution because she can
      feel "covered" at the same time as appearing more exposed and
      vulnerable than if she were completely naked.  See-through
      clothing enhances her feminine appeal by making her appear
      infinitely weak and helpless - for has she not tried to hide
      herself, yet exposed herself all the more?

          Woman knows hundreds of these tricks, and does not hesitate
      in using them.  She has so few devices in her arsenal to choose
      from, that she becomes a specialist in the multifarious use of a
      single weapon - cunning.



      <<Beware>>

          The spiritual man sees so much more than the normal man.  He
      sees all that happens on a person's face and can read their
      deepest thoughts.  And right here is the danger; for when he
      looks at a woman's face he sees how he has affected her . . .
      she feels intimidated, she feels desire, she is paralyzed, she
      is perplexed.  He can place himself in a woman's shoes, seeing
      her from the inside.  And because he sees more of the woman than
      an ordinary man, more than the woman does herself, there is more
      to tempt him.

          Few can see straight through the woman as he does.  His gaze
      makes her naked, stripped even of her flesh.  This man is a
      mysterious power indeed, and she sets out to make this power her
      own.



      <<Man/woman>>

          Woman is deeply secure and resilient, but beyond a certain
      point she breaks, and is as broken as can be.  In contrast, the
      man is much less secure at any stage, though always retains some
      control.  It is like one person who can fall off a boat and swim
      to safety, and another who cannot swim and will surely drown.

          Therefore a man can come to the conclusion "All is false.
      All I do is selfish," and can still live with the consequences.
      For he has the leisure of being able to abandon the boat and
      still swim.  But the woman must not consider leaving the safety
      of her boat.  She will not consider "all is false", for what
      else will be left for her?  Thus she is severely limited in the
      realm of spirit.



      <<Dialectical redoubling>>

          Women cannot stand a dialectical redoubling, an
      intensification of reason.  The awesome redoubling is nothing
      more than a second thought, against the first, and simultaneous
      with it.  Woman is one dimensional in the sense that she can
      only think the one thing.  If she tries to think the second she
      begins to lose the first - and her mind snaps.  She loses her
      life, because her first thought <is> her life.

          By contrast, man finds his sanity in that second thought,
      which, in a noble man, becomes his life.  He doesn't lose his
      mind because he has a firm grip on that second thing - I am of
      course speaking of <reason>.

          Reason is not unlike a second wind, which sustains, but is
      not reached without considerable pain.



      <<Crime>>

          Woman doesn't have a mind for crime.  She cannot hold things
      within, which would enable her to bear guilt.  She doesn't have
      the ability of man to be two people at once: one person on the
      outside, and another, fully conscious of the duplication,
      within.

          She can certainly lie, but only if she makes herself fully
      <believe> in the lie.  Her talent is her ability to transform
      herself, so that she believes inwardly, while the man can only
      do so outwardly.



      <<The upbringing of men>>

          Children are invariably reared by their mother in the early
      years, regardless of the sex of the child.  As we might expect,
      early on, the boy comes to think he is the same as his mother,
      and therefore that he has a right to be a mother when he grows
      older.  Then the time comes when he is told he is not allowed to
      be a mother . . . because . . . he is a boy.

          So, very early in life the male of our species learns that
      he must stand alone and unsupported.  He cannot afford to get
      attached to anything too closely.  Alienated by the central
      figure of his life, his mother, he learns to formulate a life
      plan based on self-reliance.

          Perhaps this rejection by the mother plays a part in
      creating the vast divergence in personality between men and
      women.



      <<Man, Woman and love>>

          Woman loves the mysterious in man, the hidden, the powerful,
      the deep.  Such a man is deemed by woman a worthy god to submit
      herself to.  With such a man she can make herself the froth on
      the surface of an ocean, listening to the rumblings of the deep.
      She loves the poet in a man, which echoes the noise of those
      depths.

          But if he ever becomes a real poet - a poet of his own soul
      - if he ever discovers his own source - then she has lost him.
      From that moment forth, he goes his own way: the way of the
      spirit.

          Man, if man he is, is drawn to the intelligent and
      self-willed woman.  But she must be so only on the surface; for
      the beauty a woman holds for man is in her weakness.  I remember
      a famous model being asked her advice on how to look glamorous,
      she responded "Just look dumb".  A woman's first word must be
      "No" - but her second, third, and fourth, must all be "Yes".

          Love is just this: man takes and woman gives.  To preserve
      one's sanity one tries not to remind oneself too often how
      harsh, terrible, and immoral this antagonism is.

          You see, a woman's love is not mere devotedness, but is an
      unreserved sacrifice of both mind and body.  She gives up all
      she holds dear, <especially> all she holds dear: her mind and
      her soul.  It must be all or nothing; much as when treating a
      carpet for fleas one wants to be rid of <all> the fleas, not
      merely most of them.  There must be no complicating conditions.

          Thus we get the nauseating reality where a highly
      intelligent and educated woman will fawn to a moronic lug of a
      man, who will pontificate to her on any and every matter of
      life, while she sits with respectful fear, with wide adoring
      eyes, ears pricked and hungry for every word he utters, every
      sound he makes, every breath he takes . . . and all this with
      barely restrained glee.

          Where did her reason go?  Where that suffering for truth?
      Where that preparedness to die for an ideal?  Where that noble
      longing for the immortal?  Feelings, it seems, negate all these
      unnecessaries.

          And what of man?  Surely such devotion on the part of woman
      only encourages his overestimation of himself.

          Yet there is one small consolation, for while woman gives
      herself totally, man never feels in total possession.  The
      possession of a rug does not exactly provide one with a reason
      for living; moreover one wonders whether it is in fact possible
      to possess such a lifeless entity as - a rug - a rug upon which
      anyone can wipe their feet!  Hence a fragment of mind is
      reserved for man, a small fragment perhaps, but a fragment.

          Yes, one never feels fully in possession of a woman's love,
      because while it is vast, it lacks substance.  You see, woman
      does not love the man, nor the goodness or truth in a man, but
      his <lovableness> . . . which has scant little to do with
      goodness and truth, and leaves him feeling cheated.  She on the
      other hand expects to be somewhat cheated by man, as this is the
      man she loves.

          Today her love graces a priest, and tomorrow - a
      professional hit-man.  What knows she?  It feels ludicrous to
      apply ethical standards to her, for she knows nothing of them to
      begin with.  "Stupid as a man" say the women: "cowardly as a
      woman" say the men.  Stupidity is in woman <unwomanly>.  Thus
      Nietzsche has it.  She has no character, no inner constancy,
      because she bases her existence on the whims of feeling.
      Philosophy is beyond her.



                 <The difference>

                 She mirrors,
                 Changing with the light.
                 He is the sun.
                 Strong and steady;
                 But for occasional flares.

                 When he
                 Has a thorn in his side;
                 She
                 Has to have a sword through her heart.

                 He loves trees;
                 She loves flowers.
                 He laughs;
                 She cries.
                 He creates;
                 She preserves.
                 His mind is one-track;
                 Her's is one dimensional.
                 He has the will power;
                 She has the <willingness> power.



      <<The seducer>>

          It is the man who is traditionally seen as the seducer, the
      animal-like "predatory male", hunting down the innocent weak
      female.  Yet this is only because his particular kind of egotism
      make his behaviour look contrived and unnatural, and his
      manipulations conspicuous.

          The passive egotism of woman is subtle.  It is not in her
      nature to force, and make the plays.  She is not the aggressor.
      Her manipulations are imperceptible because she manipulates
      without effort.  She has no problem in flashing a leg, but does
      it in such an innocent fashion as to appear natural.

          She appears to be always acting for her mere survival, while
      the male appears to be acting from the position of one who has
      enough yet wants more.  Furthermore, we have the common feeling
      that it is human to submit, but inhuman to dominate.  We feel
      that submission hurts no-one, while dominance harms many.  How
      false appearances can be!

          Men do not realize how far they are dragged down by women.
      You can travel along what seems to be a level road, only to find
      later that you had been moving gradually downhill!  Most men get
      up and sit down at the bidding of a woman.  All married men
      speak highly of their wives.  Men work, and work like slaves for
      the approval and acceptance of women.

          Women are only after one thing - emotional security.  So
      although men and women are undoubtedly equal, you should fear
      women as you would fear standing beneath a building in an
      earthquake.  All ground is the same, but some standing places
      are safer than others.  Don't let yourself touch the air near a
      woman's body.  Do not sit with a woman.  You may say a couple of
      words to them, standing, and if in the company of others.  Never
      even glance at a woman!  The danger with looking at a woman is
      that she might look back.  Do not challenge her so.  Only when
      you know what woman truly is, will you be safe from her.  You
      will be mad - but nevertheless safe.

          Woman's purpose in life is to capture and hold a man.  Man's
      purpose in life is to remain free.  So I have heard.



      <<My failure>>

          My failure in life is easily explained.  I refuse to be
      respected and loved by fools.  The foremost among the rabble is
      beloved of the Devil.  Never will I water-down my truths to make
      them palatable to the herd.  If one is popular with the Devil
      one cannot at the same time be his mortal enemy.  Never will I
      allow my Truth to be covered over and buried beneath a mountain
      of dirt, which is humanly known as praise.

          My failure with women and in love is even more easily
      explained.  For I refuse to sell myself.  To sell yourself is to
      diminish yourself, and to beg for help from fools and
      intellectual insects, I mean women.  There is little wrong with
      being weak, shamelessly weak, when you know nothing of God.
      Indeed weakness and shamelessness would be expected.  But to
      <know> about God, and to have his infinite strength in your
      grasp, and then to openly flaunt your rejection of Him by
      declaring yourself bankrupt and seeking your salvation in the
      arms of a woman - this is deplorable.

          The wise man seeks life, but woman is suicide.  The man who
      feels responsible for the survival of the species, and sees
      himself as an example to the young, is not proud to shoot
      himself in the head.

          I can fantasize about women.  Even better can I fantasize
      about women with other men.  But the thought of engaging in love
      with a woman in real life, and holding a woman's hand, is a
      little too flagrantly degrading to myself and harmful to the
      world.  If I felt a woman's hand in mine I would be forced to
      think: Why do I need this touch?  Am I yet an animal?  Why do I
      need this creatures approval?  Am I yet a child who needs his
      mothers nod, and his mothers bosom?  Why am I flattering this
      person's ego?  Do I not wish to help them to dismantle their ego
      and become enlightened?  Why have I stopped speaking and
      thinking, and forgotten all my words except for love's
      vocabulary of fifty pre-human words, sighs, grunts and squeals?
      Why have I abandoned my ideals, my future, my fellow man, my
      soul, and returned to the crude, rudimentary mind I had when I
      was nine years old?  Do I prefer painful childhood dependencies?
      Why am I retreating into this dark, dirty, and impulsive recess
      of the brain, sacrificing the rest of my consciousness forever?

          For in holding a woman's hand you are entering into a new
      occupation in which you have to spend all your time thinking
      about creative and constructive lies.  You now have the full
      time job of devising ways to flatter continually, but with
      enough variety to make it interesting.  Covering up your lies is
      also no easy task.  And not only do you have the daunting task
      of lying to yourself, but you have to do so for the other person
      as well.  And they will not always ask when they need your help,
      so you must watch with eagle eyes.  In love you have two
      people's hell to contend with.

          The simple act of asking a woman out, just to talk, to get
      to know her, means that you have accepted falsity and inadequacy
      and rejected Truth.  It means you have accepted the word of the
      ego over the word of God.  For if Truth still occupies one's
      mind, even just a bit, then one would still have some hope for
      God and would not seek to go into cohorts with the ego, the
      Devil, in the form of woman and love.

          I am at a definite advantage here, because it is usually
      left to the man to make the decisive steps in a relationship.  A
      woman will encourage and entice, but will not make steps.  Thus
      it is the man who must debase himself and put himself at a loss.
      For woman encourages evil, but will not create it - she leaves
      this to man.  But to create evil is no small thing, not entirely
      unconscious, and man can more easily choose against it.  Thus I
      choose against it - promoting my own failure.

          I am also in a bind because women love my inner strength -
      but my strength comes from my wisdom.  If I loved women I would
      lose the very thing they loved, and would become unlovable.

          Time and again my ego itself stops itself from being
      satisfied, promoting its own downfall still further.  It is too
      proud in its knowledge to compete with other men for the
      affection of a woman, or to risk rejection by a woman.  So if
      she has, in the past, loved men whom I regard to be inferior to
      myself, then I cannot believe she is qualified to appreciate me.
      Thus, not only does she fail to flatter me, but she is also more
      than likely to reject me, which my pride cannot tolerate.
      Similarly, if I suspect she has the potential to love such
      inferior men (any man) in the future, this too disqualifies her.

          In any case, my selfish pride will not allow me to be seen
      in public with a woman, whispering in ears, caressing fingers,
      empty talk.  I will not be seen begging at the feet of the Devil
      for sustenance.  What kind of an example would I be to others?
      Of what worth would be the remainder of my life?

          My ego (and it is only the ego that can ever love), what
      remains of it, knows full well that love is but a dream, so it
      fights to adapt itself to the dream.  It does not follow love
      through to completion in the real world so as not to spoil the
      fantasy, and the ideal.  The romantic and idealistic spirit
      knows that an unconsummated love is better than a shattered one;
      it allows room for hope, expectation, and dreams.  More than
      this love can never be.  Ultimately, the only way the truly
      romantic spirit can succeed is through death or separation.  In
      other words, failure.

          For example, if I ever do approach a woman, I will not ask
      her for some small favour or concession, but will immediately
      ask for and expect everything.  I do not ask for a date, but for
      the entirety of her love for all time.  This she will never
      grant, and I never ask twice - so I live to fight another day.
      One doesn't wish to get so close as to have to speak of
      something other than love; not close enough to kiss.

          But my biggest failing is not my ego, its rare knowledge,
      prides, and sensitivities; it is my pure wisdom.  For my wisdom
      debars any success at all.



      <<The woman behind the man>>

          It is said that behind every great man there is a woman.
      But I say to you, behind every great ego there is a wife!

          Yes, behind every truly great man there is a woman, but she
      was the one he <didn't> marry.  She existed as a negative factor
      in his life, at just the right time to arouse his ideality, and
      then she promptly vanished from the scene.  Her favour to him
      was to marry another.

          <"It is through woman that ideality is born into the world>
      <and - what were man without her?  Many a man has become a genius>
      <because of a woman, many a man a hero, many a man a poet, many a>
      <man even a saint; but he did not become a genius through the>
      <woman he married, for through her he only became a privy>
      <counsellor; he did not become a hero through the woman he>
      <married, for through her he only became a general; he did not>
      <become a poet through the woman he married, for through her he>
      <only became a father; he did not become a saint through the>
      <woman he married - for he did not marry; and would have married>
      <but one, the one whom he did not marry.">

                                                      Kierkegaard

          In marriage: woman has nothing to lose, while man has
      everything to lose.  She knows who she is, what she wants, and
      how to get it.  He doesn't know who he is, what he wants, or how
      to get it.



      <<Stay low>>

          If a man achieves too much, no woman would be able to
      appreciate him.  So he aims low, to remain in her sight.



      <<Appreciation>>

          In its youth, wisdom can make a man resentful of women,
      because no woman appreciates true wisdom.  She prefers the
      animal-man.  Consequently the lingering animal within a wise man
      feels cheated.  However, in wisdom's maturity there is no need
      for appreciation, and hence no bitterness.



      <<Great achievers>>

          Virtually every great achievement of mankind, whether
      spiritual, scientific, or artistic, has been due to men.  More
      specifically to courageous men.

          If the female role changes, then men begin to lose their
      identity, as men only find their identity when contrasted with
      women.  Men will inevitably become more effeminate, just as
      water falls downhill, following the path of least resistance.
      And even though women may become slightly more masculine in
      their values, the invaluable courage and masculinity of men will
      decline, and their precious poison diluted.  The dilution does
      not have to be much for it to have a devastating effect on the
      number of superior men, for these precious ones only crystallize
      beyond a certain threshold of potency - the threshold of genius.

          Even so, I do not want women to remain feminine.  I welcome
      their becoming more masculine.  Though I wish they would go <all>
      <the way>; and I wish men would help them do so!  To be of any
      real help to women, man himself needs to become supremely
      masculine - masculine enough not to need the emotional services
      of women.  The Supreme Masculine needs nothing.

          As it is, we are facing a shortage of genius and all too
      much talent.  I only hope these few words, in the shape of a
      warning, will inspire a few rare individuals to strive forwards
      and make up the shortfall.



      <<Men again>>

          There are signs that women are becoming more masculine and
      independent.  Yet I fear that their transformation will never be
      more than superficial; the reason being that women will remain
      women for as long as men are attracted to women.



      <<Woman and God>>

          The Tao Te Ching asks the question: "Can you play the role
      of a woman?"  Krishna once dressed as a cow-girl to dance with
      cow-girls in the forest.  All this does <not> mean you must
      become like a woman!  On the contrary, give up your will
      <entirely>.  Make yourself <truly> empty if you wish to be
      filled by God.  Do not be like the common man, a transvestite,
      who while he may not dress in women's clothing, wears woman <in>
      <his mind>.  You must become infinitely more womanly than woman
      herself if you will become a Superman.



      <<The depths of woman>>

          Have you noticed that she never really looks worried?  She
      may look puzzled, perplexed, even shocked . . . but never
      worried.  I do not like to say this, but even the strongest
      women are probably weaker than the dullest of men.  For all the
      intelligence of woman, it only apes the intelligence of man.
      Her manliness is surface.  Her depths are woman.

          I have observed that as woman becomes more educated and
      self-reliant, man sees her differently.   Now she appears as a
      mirror of his own stature, or a lump of clay which he can mould
      into an effigy of himself.  She apes his nature like a trained
      monkey, and to own such a modern woman he finds flattering.

          However, such fantasy is short-lived.  Soon he realizes that
      not only does clay not have any choice about what form it takes,
      but that woman is of a clay that can be reshaped again and
      again.  She mirrors him now, but just as the image changes in a
      mirror as you move it from place to place, so does her image
      change, depending on which man she is with.  Her basic nature is
      without form: only on her surface does form appear.

          What a disappointment it is to a man, to see his lover
      remolded by another man, into <his> shape!



      <<Woman>>

          A woman is always aware of how she looks.  Indeed <she is>
      how she believes she looks.  She is a master of appearances -
      born to act.  She can push an emotional button to switch-on any
      feeling she chooses.

          At a moments notice her face becomes soft, her eyes wide,
      her smile welcoming.  A look of pure early morning sunshine -
      flat, yet warmly alive - and vacant.  But then her face is not
      so much vacant, but <a vacuum> to a man; for it draws him closer
      before sucking him in to oblivion.

          A woman's eyes are big enough for a man to fall into.  And
      when he does, he merges with the essence of woman.  Then he
      becomes like the wind: yielding, free, untouchable.  But like
      the wind he also becomes aimless, changeable, and without
      substance.

          She is like butter about to melt.  How does she stand up?
      She looks so lacking in structure that if one blew against her
      she might vaporize.  But Oh how much pleasure man receives in
      this - for a little while - to be nothing!

          Is it not ridiculous that Nature should feel lacking?  And
      what is more, to desire <itself> in order to feel complete.  So
      it is when a man desires a woman.



      <<A woman's love>>

          Woman loves the man who thinks, but the man who thinks does
      not love woman.

          Yes, woman loves the man who thinks, <but not the man who>
      <lives by his thought>.



      <<Motherhood>>

          No mother loves her child.  To her, a child is a status
      symbol - to prove she is woman.  A child is the ultimate bangle.

          In contrast, man finds his immortality through his children:
      they are his future.  Woman finds only self-flattery through her
      children: they are her <now>.

          Yes, a mother's love is deep - about as deep as a woman's
      mind.



      <<The nature of nurture>>

          Women, nurturing? . . . nurturing of the <ego> perhaps - but
      destructive of the spirit!



      <<Physical/emotional violence>>

          What is worse, the physical violence of man, or the
      emotional violence of woman?

          Woman can only unleash her anger in imagination, and in
      emotion, while man can unleash anger physically, when he cannot
      dissolve it inside his mind with his many reasons.  Consequently
      a woman's imagination is much more dark and vicious than man's.

          In battle, men have a respect for the enemy, if the enemy
      are valiant in their ideals.  Women, however, are brutal in
      their hatred and know no limits.  Woman is incounsellable.  She
      would not have a conscience about hanging anyone she did not
      particularly like.  Yes, she is compassionate, but only to those
      who meet her favour.

          It is interesting how we feel more strongly about a man who
      commits a crime of violence than a woman.  She is the eternally
      innocent.  This is probably because men traditionally act
      <willfully>, while women act <in response>.  Man is action,
      woman is reaction.



      <<The intelligent woman>>

          The woman who values her intellect is one of the greatest
      threats to the spiritual man.  His music attracts, yet is fatal
      to her.  His melodious rhythms conceal powerful thunder.  She is
      strong enough to be aware of his fire.  She even feels its
      warmth.  But instead of using the fire to heat a brew of wisdom
      - she gets burned.

          Now her ego is engaged by this powerful one who has struck
      her so, and who sees through her as through air.  She then seeks
      a powerful ointment in the place where she touched a hot fire.
      So beware, you spiritual men!

          You are, however, safe enough from the ordinary woman: she
      is blind to your light and untouched by your lightning.

          And what of the spiritual woman?  Well, she has much to fear
      from both men and women.  There will be many who try to drag her
      down, claiming that, while a woman's place may not be in the
      home, it is not in the clouds either.



      <<Man/woman>>

          The truly masculine man wants a woman who will make no
      demands on him.  However, if there is a woman who loves such a
      man then she is thus making demands on his demands -
      disqualifying her as a possible partner.  This man is close to
      renouncing women.  I love such men, for they cause their own
      downfall.



      <<The beautiful woman>>

          A beautiful woman will never meet with rational truths, for
      what man in his right mind would dare argue with her?  He might
      argue with an ugly woman, as then he has nothing to lose; but
      with a beautiful woman? - never!

          Thus she remains sheltered, and her self confidence and
      strength correspondingly hollow.



      <<Thus have I heard>>

        Nietzsche:

         - Men look for a woman of deep and strong character, women
        for a being of intelligence, brilliance, and presence of mind.
        It is plain, that men seek the ideal man, and women for the
        ideal woman - consequently not for the compliment but for the
        <completion> of their own excellence.

         - Without knowing it, women act as if they were taking away
        the stones from the path of the wandering mineralogist in
        order that he might not strike his foot against them - when he
        has gone out for the very purpose of striking against them.

         - Did a woman herself ever acknowledge profundity in a
        woman's mind, or justice in a woman's heart?

                 - For that matter, I myself might add, did a woman
                   ever acknowledge profundity in a <man's> mind, or
                   justice in a man's heart?  Men are full of praise
                   for the special talents of women; but does a woman
                   ever truly recognize the talents of a man?


        Kierkegaard:

         - Weakness for this life is part of being strong for
        eternity.  A man without a woman is weak for this life.

         - She is more sensate than man; for were she more spiritual
        she could never find her culmination point in another.  Spirit
        is the true independent.



      <<The problem of language>>

          The English language does not have specific sex-indefinite
      pronouns: "He", "him" and "his" are regarded as being the only
      correct generic pronouns, at least in written use.  Women can so
      easily be made to feel invisible.

          The directions and warnings set down in these writings are
      as applicable to women as to men.  I do not want to give women
      an excuse for passing them over, so I try to avoid terms that
      might provide an excuse.  However, male words signify many
      things; importantly, they imply courage and strength.

          Buddhism teaches that women must first attain a male rebirth
      before enlightenment is possible.  These are interesting and
      useful words, pregnant with meaning, but they are also easily
      misunderstood by those who want to do so.  I will not make it
      easy for them!



      <<Man, Woman, Science and Rationality>>

          Man dreads the feminine because he fears the loss of his own
      individuality and identity.  This is man's classic weakness,
      highlighting a major flaw in his character.  But is he so bad?
      Should a man not fear the loss of his individuality, his reason,
      and his dignity?  Woe is he who does not fear the loss of his
      soul!

          Man's dread of the feminine is said to be the fuel behind
      his repression of women throughout history.  Maybe so, but this
      is no excuse to do away with male reason!  On the contrary, if
      man's rationality and strength were made <perfect> he would feel
      no such threat from woman, as he would have no need of her
      emotional services, and would no longer need to keep her
      subservient to his will.

          The solution is not to make man abandon his identity in
      favour of the feminine, but to encourage both men and women to
      take reason to its completion.  Many believe rationality to have
      reached its limits and become unproductive.  They say reason is
      not enough by itself, and that we must now turn to the heart
      within, using feelings in conjunction with reason.  O ye of
      little faith!  You have not yet <begun> to use reason, yet claim
      to have exhausted it!  You have abandoned reason and the
      "either/or" as though it were a burden!  I beg of you, <either>
      reason <or> feelings, but please, not both!  You choose reason
      only when it suits you, and feelings, or should I say fantasy,
      when it suits you.  Even on those rare occasions when you do
      resort to reason it is only to try to justify your fantasies.

          The women of this world, of both sexes, say that the age of
      men is over because his science has failed to provide us with
      ultimate values.  Yet science is not to blame.  The fault lies
      entirely with the miserable so-called <scientists> who have
      limited themselves to what is physically and demonstrably
      provable.  They have carved out a small niche for themselves and
      <called> it science, yet it is <not> science.  They conveniently
      ignore the fact that many truths are not experimentally and
      physically provable, and that many truths are not demonstrable
      under any circumstances to those who lack sufficient
      intellectual courage to see them.  In the hands of these fools
      has science become a mere tool, one among many, to aid in the
      survival of the ego.  One moment these bumbling scientists
      espouse science, and the next they worshipfully extol emotional
      feelings and religion!

          Scientific truth is the one and only Truth, yet the morons
      who call themselves scientists wouldn't have any idea about such
      a thing.  The truly scientific mind is the mind that seeks
      Ultimate Truth at all costs and without compromise.  Such a mind
      is infinitely remote from the scientists and philosophers of
      today.

          The desire for Truth and the love of reason is indeed an
      emotional passion, but no ordinary passion, for it ends in the
      destruction of passion.  However, if you use reason only
      sparingly and without complete love, as do the scientists, then
      your reason will be no more than ordinary greed, used
      opportunistically and inconsistently.  In such a dilapidated
      state of mind you will have no right to proclaim reason above
      the feminine emotions.  If you do not follow reason <to>
      <completion> your inconsistency will leave you open to a thousand
      criticisms.  You will be told you are suppressing feelings -
      <and you will be> - as you will lack the power to utterly
      destroy feelings as they should be destroyed.  You will be a
      hypocrite, living a double life with double standards.

          Scholars cannot see beyond the emotions.  To them, the
      emotions and feelings are a permanent fixture that can only ever
      be repressed, never extinguished.  They regard those who seek
      the perfection of reason to be unrealistic and egotistical
      idealists, and will laugh at them.  These impostors give science
      a bad name.  Please do not take them as representative of
      science, but rather see them as the parasites they are.

          Man may be the more rational of the sexes, but do not expect
      too much of him: he falls on a regular basis.  His falling,
      however, does not necessarily mean he is on the wrong track.
      Let it be remembered that no matter how good one's intentions,
      until one has achieved absolute perfection, one's activity will
      be not be without fault.  As long as there is striving there is
      lacking.  Man strives, therefore he lacks.  He appears cloddish,
      foolish, unnatural as he moves in unfamiliar ways traversing new
      ground.

          Woman moves differently.  She is consistent, in that <she>
      <does nothing>.  She does not strive, so does not fail.  Her lack
      of embarrassing slips is not so much evidence that she is on the
      right path, as it is proof she is going nowhere.

          Man is substance and therefore has something to lose.
      Understandably he fears woman, who threatens to deny him any
      higher striving.  In contrast, woman has nothing to fear from
      man, as she has no identity to lose.  Man fears re-engulfment by
      the mother, but woman never left the mothers womb -  never
      became a self.  Man is like water trying to flow uphill, and
      woman is the lake below, waiting to catch him should he fall.
      Woman is of the earth, <is> the earth, and extols the earth.
      Man is a homeless wanderer, extols the stars, reaches for the
      stars . .  . and looks foolish when he falls short.

          Only when your consuming passion for truth is so strong that
      passion itself is consumed, only then will you be without fear
      of woman or man.  You will then have made a clean break from the
      womb, and become the Mother of all mothers.  Only then can you
      rightly and deservedly speak of reason as being the superior
      passion.  Only then will your desires be entirely without desire
      and your loves without love.  Until that time you are too much
      of a woman.

          The resurgence of the feminine philosophy of feelings is a
      serious threat to science and reason.  Don't get me wrong, I
      will support any woman who tries to develop her mind, or any
      demand upon men to be more consistent and rational.  I will not,
      however, tolerate the spread of feminine values to the detriment
      of Truth.  Science has failed not because of men, but because
      there is all too much of a woman in man.  Man is not masculine
      <enough>!

          We are told that if we relied more on our feelings than on
      reason, there would not be so much violence in this world.  We
      are led to believe that <reason> is the cause of war and
      violence!  But I tell you, reason is only harmful when it used
      to justify the feminine in us, the emotions and feelings.
      Woman's thought is intuitive and unstructured.  Man's thought is
      lateral and connected.  That is, he is capable of both the
      intuitive <and> the rational.  We must not deny him his reason.

          I am told that rationality makes one uncaring and cold.
      Then I must be truly hateful and icy cold, for there are few
      more rational than I.  Yet I bring the end of the ice-age!



      <<How a man can become a woman>>

          Spiritual pregnancy produces something like a feminine
      character in a man.  And just like a pregnant woman he becomes
      kinder, more patient, and quite beautiful.

          His birthchild is <enlightenment>.



      <<Solitude>>

          Of what use is independence to a woman, if she is - all
      alone?



      <<The psychology of men and women>>

          Good things invariably take time.  Man hardly reaches the
      maturity of his reason and intellectual powers before his
      twenty-eighth year, woman with her eighteenth.  Thus woman's
      reason is very circumscribed and usually remains in a largely
      juvenile condition.  She sees only what is nearest to her, takes
      appearances for reality, and prefers trivialities to the
      important subjects.

          Why is this so?  We have to look to where men and women come
      from.  Man is reared by his mother as an infant, and becomes
      lovingly attached to his mother.  It is acceptable for him to
      remain in love with this mother figure throughout life, and his
      development is thus relatively straightforward.  He can be
      masculine all his life, and has no changes forced upon him.  The
      woman, however, must undergo a redirection of loving feelings
      from the mother towards the father.  As a young girl she is
      effectively a boy, but she <grows> feminine.

          A woman of thirty has long been fully emotionally developed.
      There are no paths open to her for further growth.  By contrast,
      a man retains his boyishness, and at thirty is still searching
      for who he is.  Perhaps woman's early maturity is because the
      difficult development which leads to femininity exhausts all the
      possibilities of the individual.

          It is because the man remains a hungry boy, in need of more
      excitement, that he pushes into the philosophic realms in search
      of ideals.  His reason is his saviour, of which women feel they
      have no need.

          Human beings are distinguished from animals in their ability
      to survey and consider the past and the future.  This mental
      quality gives to men their foresight, caring, and all too many
      depressing worries.  To women it gives nothing, for it must be
      said, women (as they are) are barely human.

          Woman's world is the present.  She is not burdened by the
      complications that come from a perception of a broader
      perspective.  She is free from the knowledge of consequences.
      This innocence bestows upon her a certain cheerfulness; but the
      price of innocence is that you forever remain - a child or an
      animal.



      <<The most intelligent>>

          The most intelligent women in the world are female
      impersonators.



      <<A woman's concerns>>

          A woman I met yesterday typifies the only kind of thinking
      women seem to be capable of.  Her primary concern with religion
      was whether it should be hard-line and dogmatic, or easy-going
      and liberal.  The question of whether religious teachings should
      be <true> or not was of no concern to her.  What she cares about
      is the <experience>.  To her, truth is an irrelevant triviality
      whose only role in life is as a stumbling block for men.

          A child visiting the doctor cares only about the jar of
      sweets on the doctors desk - he cares not about his own health.
      Sweets come first, <and second.>



      <<Talk>>

          Can a man talk with a woman?  Yes, a man will talk with a
      woman . . . until she is his!  He will talk till he knows her,
      and until she knows enough of him.  He gains nothing by further
      talk.  Having fished-out her shallows, she has no depth to hold
      his interest.  There is no respect in the morning.



      <<Radio Priest and the female mind (a transcript)>>

      Woman:   I am confused.  The man I am with now is the best
             friend I ever had, but I think I should go back to the
             man I was with before, even though he used to abuse me
             badly.

      Priest:  But you really feel a lot for the man you're with now
             . . . so I think you should do what your heart tells you!

      Woman:   My heart tells me to go back to the man who abused me.

      Priest:  Then you should do what your mind tells you.



      <<Balancing the masculine and the feminine>>

          When I say "Men should encourage women to become more
      independent, strong, courageous, and rational" the response from
      men is always something like "Do you want to make love to
      masculine women?"

          Fools are concerned only about their own happiness.  The
      plight of truth, intellect, and the human race are of no concern
      to them.

          Men try to suppress women's individuality and growth not to
      maintain power over them, but to preserve their source of beauty
      and joy.  Men do not find joy in their power over women, but in
      the weakness, softness, and innocence of women.  Likewise, women
      do not find their joy in the power and courage of men, but
      rather in the love and worship of men.  Thus both sexes try to
      maintain the ignorance of the other, for therein lies joy.
      Moreover, men want women to remain lovable, so they can love;
      and women want to remain lovable, so they will be loved.  A
      lovable woman is more important to a man than a deeply
      intelligent, uncompromising woman who is masculine to the core.
      And a man's love is more important to a woman than her own
      thought and intellect.

          It is true that men are often attracted to the woman of
      strength and character, but her hardness must be surface only,
      enough to flatter him and fuel his fantasies.  Underneath she
      must be soft, yielding, and feminine - wearing frilly panties.
      This "independent" woman's strength is <not> because of her
      intellectual depth and courage, but because of the strength of
      her feminine delusions, which provide a reliable base to fall
      back on.  Her confidence comes from being strong enough to avoid
      the truth, which a man finds more difficult to do, because
      reason goes right to his heart.  With woman, reason is as
      superficial as the fashions she wears with equal confidence.

          People today speak of the importance of preserving a
      "balance" between the masculine and the feminine, but they do
      not want an <even> balance.  Rather, the balance they refer to
      simply involves being happy in life, love and relationships.
      When they have assembled a happy family of delusions inside
      their skull they <feel> balanced.  This balancing act is often
      presented as tantamount to enlightenment.

          But truly balanced or not, two wrongs will never make a
      right.  Both the masculine and the feminine emotions are firmly
      rooted in the ego, so combining or balancing the two only
      empowers the ego, making it more happy and secure rather than
      getting rid of it.  This happiness is achieved through a
      skillful use of the emotions rather than the courageous use of
      reason.  It is the easy and popular way out, not the brave and
      honest way.

          I want to take away the beauty of woman and give her truth.
      Yes, I want to take away love; the love that is life to so many.
      Little wonder they cry out as I attempt to confiscate their
      precious drugs and their cherished toys.  Few are ready to
      grow-up.



      <<These exhausting words>>

          To turn over thoughts like these for only one hour is more
      exhausting than enormous efforts in the hope of being
      victorious.

          It has not been easy for me to write about the feminine.  I
      have done so to promote my own downfall, as well as yours.

          Life appears overful of beautiful things, yet underneath, it
      is very poor.  Yes, life is a woman.






 


                            <- WORLDLY WISDOM ->




      <<The lie of worldly wisdom uncovered>>
        <<(or what people say . . .  and what it means)>>


      <- Do what works.>  (truth is irrelevant)


      <- Money doesn't mean anything to me.>

          It never does when you have more than you know what to do
      with.  Anyway, we are not attached to money itself, but to what
      it <buys>.  Money can buy inner happiness as well as physical
      health.


      <- I don't fear death.>

          Who does?  Death is the ultimate escape from suffering.  On
      the contrary, it makes more sense to <look forward> to death
      than to fear it.  No, we do not fear death, but dread what
      precedes death - the pain, and the loss of our dreams.


      <- Humility is the greatest of virtues.>

          But the enlightened one is full of light and shines like the
      sun!  He could not mask his brightness if he tried.  Is he then
      lacking in humility and virtue?  If you do not shine with
      wisdom, you are in darkness.  What use has true wisdom of
      humility?


      <- Go with the flow.>

          Be supple, bend like a blade of grass which bends with the
      wind.  Trees may be torn from the ground, but you will be
      unharmed.  Don't fight reality.  It is a delusion to think you
      can change the world.

          Such talk sickens me.  It is yet more in the vein of
      feminine passivity.  This philosophy of the Devil protects
      happiness by avoiding confrontation.

          The truly wise man is like a fish swimming upstream.  The
      farther he proceeds, the faster and more steeply the water
      surges against him.  Yet even though everything goes against him
      increasingly, his effort is unceasing.  Eventually he reaches
      the Dragon Gate.  Here, hundred-metre high waves crash down
      through towering perpendicular gorges, carrying away whole
      hillsides as they go.  Even the mountain spirits are stunned
      into senselessness.  Just a drop of this water breaks the bones
      of a great whale.  Through this maelstrom the wise man dies the
      Great Death, and becomes a Dharma Dragon.


      <- Today is the first day of the rest of your life.>

          Yes indeed, why remember past mistakes?  What is to be
      learned from them?  Don't linger on what has been.  The past is
      history.  Time heals, if you can forget.

          Remain instead in a vision of the future.  Think not whether
      you will have a future, but how it will be.  Maintain a positive
      attitude.  Assume that you will live in good health for as long
      as it takes to achieve all your goals.

          In thus manner will you be protected from reality.


      <- Don't worry, you're going to be alright.>

          The one on the receiving end of this dreadful advice is
      likely to meet their end with raving insanity, followed by a
      protracted and painful death.

          God laughs when the doctor assures the mother her child will
      recover from his illness, when He has decided the child will
      die.


      <- Fools rush in, where wise men fear to tread.>

          The "wise men" of today are becoming effeminate under the
      pretense of becoming more thoughtful and understanding.  In
      doing so they receive no little adoration from women, whom they
      flatter.

          They regard indecision as strength.  But I say to you "Fools
      do nothing and with great effort, while the wise achieve great
      things with ease."


      <- Travel broadens the mind>

          More often than not the mind becomes narrowed.  For travel
      is a running from oneself, a running from boredom, and from
      reason.


      <- The devil finds work for idle hands.>

          It is said that to live a happy and successful life you must
      be rid of all self-consciousness.  Work is the means to this
      end.

          It is so easy to think selfish thoughts.  So, if you want to
      improve your personality, then work yourself so hard that
      thought doesn't have a chance to arise!  It doesn't matter what
      you work at, it's the working that matters.  Use animals as a
      model: they don't think either, and they're not selfish - are
      they?


      <- True love is when you love yourself first, then extend it out>
      <to all others.>

          But I tell you that Love involves <killing> the self: when
      there is no self, there is no lack of Love.


      <- The heart has its reasons, which reason knows nothing of.>

          I think this is meant to suggest that the heart has a higher
      order of reasoning than the mind.  But there is only one kind of
      true reasoning.  Reason knows nothing of the heart's reasons
      because the so-called reasons of the heart are mere emotional
      feelings.


      <- Contentment is the highest virtue.>

          This is similar to "Man is freest when he is most
      unconscious of freedom."

          So don't strive for freedom or Truth.  Be content with what
      Nature has given you.  Don't imagine that you are ignorant or
      that you do harm to others through your ignorance.  Don't
      imagine that others are more wise than yourself.  It will only
      make you discontent, and your unhappiness will spread to others.
      If you create "wisdom" then you will also create "ignorance" -
      and the cause of your own suffering!

          Don't think at all!  If you refrain from thinking then
      nothing can bother you.

          Only fools imagine they are deluded and that their delusions
      must be abandoned.  Don't these people realize that no matter
      how deluded you are, you only have to stop reasoning to be
      happy.  After all, is it not said that Enlightenment is
      happiness? - so happiness must be Enlightenment.


      <- Laughter is the best medicine.>

          Laughter is maliciousness with a good conscience.


      <- You must have faith in people.>

          How so?  People have egos!  The ego is weak and is easily
      tempted.  If people are weak and easily tempted how can they be
      trusted?  How can they realistically be worthy of faith?


      <- He is a well adjusted person.>

          Then by definition the man has been brainwashed!  No man in
      control of his mind would allow himself to "adjust" to a worldly
      life.


      <- People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.>

          People gather from this that they must either fortify
      themselves further against the world, turning their glass houses
      into concrete bunkers, or else cease from doing anything risky,
      and start being nice to everyone.  It wouldn't occur to them
      that one doesn't need any kind of a protective structure at all.

          Sages are creatures of the open air.  They throw stones at
      glass houses.


      <- Don't look for the splinter in the eye of another, when you>
      <have a plank in your own eye.>

          This means it is acceptable to have a plank in your own eye,
      as long as you don't directly give trouble to anyone else.


      <- God called me to the priesthood.>

          This is really saying: "I don't like to think about the real
      reason I became a priest."


      <- It is the small things that bring the greatest happiness.>

          Yes, but these "small things" take on a great magnitude, and
      the resultant problems are in proportion.


      <- The Truth lies within.>

          This is a good way to avoid the Truth that is all around us.


      <- We need hope.>

          I tell you, there is <no hope> for those who live in a
      pleasant dream of the future.


      <- If something works, stick to it.>

          Thus do we avoid failure and suffering.  The wise man has an
      altogether different attitude: he wants to know <why> things
      either work or not.  He avoids those things that work because
      they teach him nothing.  Success cannot stimulate the mind to
      reason like failure does.


      <- You should believe in something if it is reasonable, and if>
      <it makes sense.>

          This is the justification people have for everything they
      do.  To them, something is "reasonable" and "makes sense" if it
      satisfies both their emotional and intellectual being.
      Unsurprisingly, it is not hard to satisfy them, as their
      emotional being is like that of an animal, and their
      intellectual being is the equivalent to that of a six year old
      child.  Such creatures do not believe it "makes sense" to use
      reason if it causes one to suffer.  Their attitude is: why let a
      little thing like reason come between oneself and happiness?


      <- Accept what is true, and reject what is false.>

          "New age" philosophy tells us not to dwell on what is false
      in life, but to accept the benefit from what is true.  That is,
      to seek truth by overlooking untruth.  Ecumenicism is an example
      of this deluded notion.  It involves concentrating on the
      similarities between religions rather than on the differences.

          The problem is, truth is <never> found in association with
      falsity: the one is deadly to the other.  So be careful of
      "truths" you pick up from dirty places - you don't know where
      they've been!  Or worse still, perhaps you do!

          The case is this: our condition is so wretched we do not
      believe it is possible to live without lies.  We have given up
      the fight, if fight there was, and submitted to a lying life.

          We do not seek out lies, for what would we do with them if
      we found them?  They would only make us ashamed.  Thus we dangle
      our lines in the foul broth of our experience, fishing for
      "truths".  But what kind of creature do you think grows out of
      that excrement?  What kind of "truths" will they be?  To call
      those vile worms "virtuous lies" would be too kind, and would
      degrade the word "virtue" by association.


      <- I'm looking for someone to love.>

          This means: "I desperately need to attach myself to someone
      who approves of me.  I want someone who needs me!"


      <- Know thyself.>

          Learn what your weaknesses are so you can hide and protect
      them, or modify them to make them more robust.  The added
      benefit is that you will also know the weaknesses of others, so
      you can manipulate them more easily.


      <- It is good to share your problems with others.>

          Self-pity and gossip are God's gift to the virtuous.


      <- Love your enemies, and do not judge others.>

          Structure your life in such a way that you don't have
      enemies - by refraining from thought.  Ignore all other
      opinions, no matter how rational they may be.  In this way you
      will never see anything that opposes you.  You will then be able
      to treat your enemies with love, because you will no longer have
      the mental capacity to recognize them as enemies.


      <- It is both rational and right to believe in God, because if>
      <one does not believe in God, and God exists, then one is in deep>
      <trouble with God.  However, if one does believe in God, and God>
      <doesn't exist, one loses nothing.>

          Really?  Have I missed something?  Did lying become
      acceptable while I was asleep?


      <- You cannot sin as long as you follow your conscience.>

          This will make everyone happy, because everyone does what
      they think is right anyway!


      <- It is better to vent anger and self-pity throughout the>
      <duration of one's life than to save it all up for death.>

          Unfortunately, as much harm is done either way.


      <- The grieving process is very important for human health.>

          One never feels grief for the departed - but for <oneself>.
      One never feels pity and compassion for the departed - but for
      <oneself>.

          Do not take grief lightly, for not only will it cause you to
      be reborn as an "animal", but you will cause the departed to
      share your plight.  Together as animals you will continually
      fight each other for what you have done to each other.  How do I
      know this?  By looking!

          By no means am I telling you to avoid grief.  Delusion
      cannot be contained or hidden.  Rather, you must seek the causes
      of grief and attachment, and destroy them at the root.  Love has
      much to answer for!


      <- Freedom of speech is essential for a healthy society.>

          Nobody wants <freedom of thought>, so we demand freedom of
      speech as a kind of compensation.

          Freedom of thought increases in proportion to the amount of
      honesty one expresses in one's life.  This is why we have made
      honesty blasphemous.


      <- "For the common good.">

          The expression is a self contradiction, for goodness is more
      rare than gold.  That which is common is necessarily worthless.
      Truth is the only good, and is preserved for the brave.  Who
      among us today is brave?


      <- Better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved.>

          If only we could never have loved!  What joy life would then
      be!  It is through love alone that we suffer.  To be entirely
      without love is to be enlightened.


      <- Through suffering I find an inner strength.>

          But I say unto you, the strength of inner deception is no
      insignificant strength.


      <- We must keep the female and male sides of our personality in>
      <balance.>

          Two wrongs have never made a right.  A skillful balance
      between the drugs of dominance and submission is nothing to be
      proud of.


      <- It would be better if you had a Phd, for then more people>
      <would take notice of you.>

          There is nothing better than a lack of titles to keep one
      free of parasites and other hangers-on.  Anyway, any person of
      worth would never take someone with a Phd seriously.


      <- We feel so clean and pure.  Our minds have been freed from>
      <their shackles.>

          No surprise, what do you expect from brainwashing?




      <<Compassion>>

          Everywhere I go I meet people of vast wisdom.  I have heard
      it from such angels that compassion should not be developed
      without wisdom alongside it.  They <also> say that enlightenment
      can be attained by either of two possible paths: the path of the
      intellect, or the path of compassion.  Not surprisingly, the
      path of compassion is by far the more popular of the two - it
      does not involve having to think.  Yes, wisdom is developed
      "alongside" compassion alright - but <so far> to the side that
      it is not even remotely visible.

          They (and who are not "they") avoid thinking at all costs,
      content with the pleasure they milk from their small and
      skillful compassion.  In their deepest of thoughts they think
      "What need have we of reason?  It is superfluous!"  They
      sincerely believe wisdom to be merely a skillful way of
      performing their commonplace compassion.  Their "wisdom" is
      merely something to prop-up the frail feelers of their
      cowardly compassion.

          The compassion and wisdom of the truly wise are two aspects
      of the same thing, <the Infinite>.  Clearly it is impossible to
      have such compassion without wisdom; thus any talk of having
      wisdom "alongside" is mistaken.  If one does not understand
      one's own nature, and the nature of Reality, then how can one
      hope to do any good at all?  No matter how many virtues you may
      have cultivated, for all your vast compassion and mercy, your
      every action will be in vain.

          It is the One thing that must be developed, and this One can
      only be found through a transcendent use of the intellect.  So
      keep life simple, save yourself a lot of unnecessary mental
      effort, and restrict yourself to one virtue only.  Heed my
      advice: cultivate the wisdom of the Infinite and you will gain
      All.  Compassion, mercy, and the countless other virtues will no
      longer be a concern to you.  No longer will you be bothered with
      examining your personal motives, as you will no longer exist in
      the world of motives.



      <<Positive thinking>>

          80% of Americans believe in heaven, but only 60% of them
      believe in hell.  Could this be a reflection of the infamous
      American "power of positive thinking."

          Even negative thinking, self-criticism, and guilt are forms
      of <positive> thinking, and equally despicable.



      <<A few words tell it all>>

      Old man:  Do you think anyone is truly happy?

      Radio priest:  Well, I've met plenty, haven't you?

      Old man:  . . . I don't know . . .



      <<The cunning of egotism>>

      - The continual outpouring of sex and violence in the media is
        "a serious psychological study into the human condition."

      - The selfish act of marriage is "sharing".

      - Hatred of others is "disapproval".

      - Living in a pleasant dream is "positive thinking".

      - Failure is "a stepping stone to improvement".

      - An indescribable source of happiness is "spiritual".

      - The opposing beliefs of other religions are "challenging".

      - <Earnestness> - as a means to escape <seriousness>.



      <<Getting to know a person>>

          It is said that you may dislike a person at first, but
      respect grows once you get to know them.

          Thus do we learn to avoid conflict, and become skilled at
      turning fear into fondness.  This is the basic survival
      mechanism of the ego which knows no other way to survive.
      Contact or interaction with an object of fear helps us to become
      used to it.  We learn new mental tricks.  With a greater
      understanding of the problem we become aware of its holes and
      the weaknesses in its substance.  With familiarity the unknown
      becomes known, more predictable, and its power diminished.

          Yet in my case, the better people know me, the more they
      hate me.  When people first meet me they are not sure what to
      make of me.  Being uncertain as to which category I belong to
      they slot me into a provisional category until they know me
      better.  They may make me of an "idealist", with the possibility
      of finding me "insane" later on.  Both categories are acceptable
      - as they conveniently sterilize me.

          But the longer they know me, the less I fit, and the more of
      a threat I pose to them.

          Then again, there are always the mules who are so lost
      within their dreams that it wouldn't matter how well they knew
      me.  Such entrenched egotists create their own vision of me, and
      even my thunder does not rouse them from their sleep.



      <<Anxiety>>

          When one approaches a long awaited destination it is common
      to become anxious in anticipation of it.  One may have trekked
      all day with ease, but when the destination is neared fears and
      anxieties surface.  Painfully, time takes twice as long.

          Some have a power of mind that prevents such anxiety.  They
      use mental tricks: such as not thinking of the destination at
      all, or imagining it as in a dream, or even imagining there are
      still several days travel ahead.  Whichever way, reality is put
      at a safe distance.

          The wise are altogether different.  They don't let false
      concepts of "time" and "distance", or "self" and "goal" arise.
      Wisdom cannot be troubled.



      <<All-knowing>>

          Someone once said "Nothing human is alien to me."  They
      should have said "Nothing <egotistical> is alien to me."



      <<Courage>>

          Our wisdom makes us prepared to die for our right to hold
      our beliefs.  Yet we are not willing to die for the beliefs
      <themselves>: we don't believe in them <that much>.



      <<Books>>

      Q:   Why don't you write books?

      A:   My books are already written.  They're just waiting for you
         to understand them.  Nature Herself is one of mine.



      <<Influence>>

          I speak the pure truth, directly and without hesitation.
      People tell me, in all their wisdom, that I shouldn't speak my
      mind as bluntly as I do.  They tell me that people take offense
      at my raw truths, and build protective walls which will create
      an obstruction for all time.  They tell me I should try to get
      skillfully under peoples defences, and win them over slowly.

           There are two alternatives to speaking the pure and simple
      truth:

        1.  Half-truths and compromises:  This is the method of
            filtering or cloaking the glare of truth, to save people
            from a rude shock.  But I tell you, impure truth is not
            any kind of truth, and half-truths are worse than
            full-blown lies!

        2.  Silence:  There is no such thing as silence, for the lack
            of a word is taken as a comment.  Silence also speaks.

           I am not in the game of selling.  My words will by loved by
      the good, and hated by the bad.  It is better to hate the truth
      than to falsely respect it.  Quality is my only concern.
      Blessed is he who does not take offense.



      <<The state we're in>>

          We no longer read books, but listen to brain-pulping music
      and current affairs broadcasts.  We do not study history, so for
      us there is no past.  Our three main sources of recreation are
      sex, hate and a hypocritical brotherly love - a crudely
      disguised form of self love.

          When we do get along together we do so through what is
      called "tolerance".  This means that nobody really believes
      anything anymore.  No longer are there men of substance who
      might be persecuted; nor are there men of substance who might
      persecute them.  People are too occupied with themselves to be
      malicious towards others.

          Our worldly wisdom forbids us compare ourselves with others.
      "You are perfect as you are" we are told, and "We are all
      equal".  But men are <not> equal!  And only by becoming aware of
      your lowness may you ever become high.

          Do not be proud of your tolerance, for there is not much
      courage in tolerating a reality you never face!



      <<Tolerance>>

          The tolerance of today is poorly disguised cowardice.

          A Christian priest says that not only is he tolerant, but
      that he can "learn a lot" from Buddhism, that he finds
      reincarnation "interesting", and that "God must work through
      these other religions in some form."  Piffle!  How such thinking
      disgusts me! - it is no product of any human mind.

          If you bother to tell these creatures of the virtues of
      skepticism and reason, they reply "What is reason?".  It is like
      trying to describe life on land to a fish.



      <<The best are the worst>>

          Only a few ever make it to the top.  At each stage in their
      advancement a sieve was applied to catch the valuable ones and
      let the rubbish escape.  A sieve always catches the gross and
      lets the fine escape.  Thus, after many applications of the
      sieve, only those who most promote worldly values are left -
      the grossest of the gross.

          Nietzsche has no end of praise for these heroes:

          <"Diligent in business - but indolent of spirit, content>
      <with your inadequacy, and with the cloak of duty hung over your>
      <discontentment: that is how you live, that is how you want your>
      <children to live!">



      <<Knowledge>>

      Q:   Why do you sit around doing nothing all day when there is
         so much to experience in life and unlimited knowledge to
         discover and enjoy?

      A:   You are correct when you say that knowledge is unlimited.
         If you are attached to knowledge you will be on a roller
         coaster that you can never get off.  By sitting around "doing
         nothing" one can assimilate and digest the knowledge one
         already has.  One can make knowledge real by realizing the
         unity of knowledge, thereby gaining an understanding of all
         experience.

           The fool experiences one thing after another, and each
         experience seems new to him.  He is ignorant of the fact that
         he is continually repeating the same experience and is going
         around in circles.  Foolish philosophers perpetually
         formulate "new" ideas and systems of thought, which are as
         old as philosophy itself.  Scientists and theologians persist
         in their belief that their work is bringing them ever closer
         to the Truth; and will continue to believe this for evermore.

           These foolish intellectuals need to be <shown> things; they
         do not have the courage to look for themselves.  Science
         fosters cowardice, but inwardness is the domain of the brave,
         and requires a courageous eye.

           The wise know everything.  How could someone inside the
         temple be ignorant of what goes on outside?



      <<Wisdom>>

          What the people call wisdom, I call <worldly wisdom>.
      Worldly wisdom is the science of serving many masters at once.
      It is the wisdom of being able to hold countless contradictory
      beliefs simultaneously, all the while believing them to be
      perfectly compatible.

          The most worldly wise have reached the absolute conviction
      that it is impossible to know the truth.  They consider all
      profound insights to be merely a veil over this "truth" of
      theirs - albeit a dignifying veil.



      <<Deadly words>>

          The words of the great teachers of the past are time bombs,
      meant to destroy us.  The religious people of today, seeing all
      these dangerous things left carelessly lying about, defuse them
      with their sterile intellectual reasoning.  They turn something
      great into something commonplace - wine into water.

          "Tut tut" they say "this will just confuse people.  With my
      special and valued talents I will transform it into something
      useful".  Consequently nobody dies of fatal truths anymore,
      there are too many antidotes available.



      <<The wise of today>>

          Most men stand with both feet firmly planted on the ground,
      while passing judgement on this, that, and the other.  With the
      beginning of wisdom, however, one seems to be forever floating
      above the ground, arms and legs flailing about for something to
      hold on to, while being buffeted about by this, that, and the
      other.



      <<Decency>>

          It is the one who is too cowardly to tread the spiritual
      path who is praised - for his humanity!  The "decent citizen" is
      a reasonable man whose irrationality can be concealed by
      favourable circumstances.



      <<Words>>

          The false wise men of today cultivate a magnificent speaking
      voice and an articulate, poetic expression.  Their words conjure
      up visions of astounding beauty and vast power.  This is all to
      make up for their paucity of understanding.

          O how difficult they make it for the truly wise - they have
      taken all his words from him!  When the man of true wisdom
      speaks, the people say: "He cannot speak as well as that other
      fellow, he doesn't have the same wisdom."

          People are impressed only with words and eloquence.  As far
      as they are concerned only words have the power to protect
      oneself and bludgeon others; actual knowledge is at best a mere
      accessory.  If you stumble over your words you will be judged a
      pauper, even though your wisdom may dwarf the Universe.

          The people see words as tools for dismantling reality - to
      make it harmless.  The greater one's discriminating skills,
      the fewer one's problems in life, as one simply classifies them
      away.

          The wise need no stack of words, as they use few.  One knows
      well enough whether a drink of water is hot or cold, without a
      plethora of words.



      <<The weak>>

          Those who have achieved some understanding, yet have
      stagnated before reaching the final goal, are a million times
      inferior to those who will not settle for anything less than
      perfection.  I include in this sorrowful group the "wise" seers
      and elders of the many ancient cultures, such as the Australian
      aborigines and the American Indians.  While their relationship
      with Nature may be intimate and their awareness of their own
      consciousness intricate, they fall far short of the Absolute.

          These impure ones are at the bidding of their inner fears.
      In relation to the world they are like a seven stone weakling in
      the boxing ring with a heavyweight champion.  Yes, they may be
      knowledgable, confident and eloquent, but they are only so when
      not in the boxing ring!  They avoid confrontation at all costs.

          They will speak forever and with great eloquence about what
      they believe, but not a word will they say of what they
      <reject>.  They can speak lofty words, but not hard, cold and
      crooked words.  It is more than their life is worth to offend
      anyone, so they speak in the eternal positive, a bit like
      smiling at people you hate - to keep the peace.  They uplift,
      but they do not injure and punish.  They pinch and poke into
      action, but do not brandish the stick of Truth.  They are
      revered because they serve the superstitions of the people, or
      at least, do not dismantle them.

          The Man of God is no such beacon of impressive words and
      pleasant wisdom.  He is a solitary Knight of Faith, complete
      with diamond sword and impregnable armour.  He fears nothing.
      Concepts of positive or negative, pleasant or disturbing, do not
      occur to him.  Nor does he consider recognition, fame, or death.
      He simply speaks the truth, and in such a way that he does not
      cloak it with the carnality of finitude.  There is no doubt as
      to what he is saying.  It is always clear where he stands.  He
      does not erect false signposts which point elsewhere, or
      innocently proclaim "Not here".

          Silence and half-truths are worse than complete lies: they
      are deceptive.  If truth does not confront untruth directly,
      then it is not truth.  I've had enough of the soft, now give me
      the hard!  Take your charcoal and give me diamond!  If you don't
      confront lies face to face, then you behave as a buffalo with a
      butcher.



      <<The Devil's greatest love - honesty>>

          The Devil rests easy on hearing an honest word, for now he
      is both seen and accepted.  The small honesty of man is the
      Devil's fodder.  Nowhere is this small honesty found in greater
      abundance than in the comic.  "Lets be honest" he says, "Lets be
      frank about the wretchedness of our lives: lets all laugh!"

          Do you feel uneasy in the company of such wits?  Have you
      ever wondered why people with such obviously talented and
      articulate minds should devote their lives to the entertaining
      of the mindless herds with such trivia?  Are you suspicious?
      Have you noticed how everything must be a joke with them, and
      how their voice changes as they shift from one role to another,
      always one step ahead of reality.

          What are they running from with so much fear?  Why the need
      for such an armoury of humour, insight and imagination?  It is
      enough to arouse fear in any man, when even the strongest
      animals are seen running for cover.

          The enemy is of course - the truth.  The wit has a mind
      which forces many truths upon him, but his vision is all too
      human for such alien things.  He preserves his life with humour,
      by desperately dousing his stinging eyes with the eyedrops of
      wit.

          Humour is a will to power.  It seeks power over all that
      limits it by exposing those very limitations.  Some have even
      gone so far as to call this "self-knowledge"!  But I tell you,
      the humour of this world is a small honesty indeed.  With it
      does man find a temporary freedom from his self-made shackles.
      With it, we become more secure inside our prison by accepting
      our imprisonment.  It is as though, through the help of humour
      and honesty we have managed to get ourselves a more comfortable
      prison cell.

          Small honesty's greatest fear, and death to the Devil, is
      the man of <Great Honesty>.  Such a man is like a sinking ship.
      The more honest he becomes, the faster he sinks.  And just as
      people abandon a sinking ship, women and children first, so do
      people abandon the honest man.  He rapidly becomes a liability
      rather than an asset.






 


                            <- WRITING/READING ->




      <<The dead>>

          Zarathustra said: "No longer will I talk to dead men."

          But when there are no others to talk to, one must even talk
      to dead men; for how else will men to come to life?



      <<The value of science fiction>>

          Things can be said in the genre of science fiction that
      can't be said in others.  There are few rules for science, and
      even fewer for science fiction.

          Science fiction can help you to see yourself, and your
      world, in a much broader perspective.  It can help to shatter
      the ego by immersing it in the vast reaches of space, endless
      time, and placing it among untold numbers of other species of
      intelligent life, all with contrasting and equally plausible
      world views as your own.

          If only you could take just the benefits of science fiction,
      and not be dragged down by the drug it offers in the shape of
      escapism.



      <<The nature of genius is not to write>>

          The genius is <not> the one who breaks all the rules: no
      rules apply to him.

          Rarely does he write for others to read.  The "advancement
      of knowledge" is no concern of his.  He advances his knowledge
      by not advancing it.  Christ did not go in for writing, he wrote
      only in sand.



      <<Objective writing>>

          A talented writer has the ability to stand apart from his
      life and give a relatively unbiased account of it.  The
      spiritual man can stand nowhere, and has no life to account.  He
      has gone beyond both the subjective and the objective.

          A salt doll went to the ocean to see how deep it was; but he
      could never come back to tell us what he found.



      <<Something to say>>

          If only more writers had something to say.  This is all it
      takes to make a real writer.  As it is, you can read a hundred
      books without finding a single genuine idea.

          The writers of today have nothing to say, yet have to
      pretend they do.  They are afraid to touch on matters of truth,
      because it is beyond their sphere of expertise and interest.
      Thus they argue in grand circles, round arguments with clever
      words and flattery.  Their communication is impersonal, and
      despite signing their name to the book, it remains - anonymous.

          The true man of knowledge writes with his blood.  His every
      word is packed with his entire heart and means his life.  His is
      a personal communication that hits hard, and is not forgotten.
      His words outlive civilizations.

          Writers write to try and make sense of life.  The wise write
      because they have made sense of it.



      <<The truly human>>

          The writings of the truly human are an accurate mapping of
      their own minds.  Their words are like diamonds - hard,
      transparent, yet solid throughout.

          The writings of the ingenuine will always disappoint.  Their
      words are like puffed-up balloons: attractive, but lacking in
      substance.  They are also like balloons floated aloft during
      war, to protect against enemy aircraft.



      <<The death of literature>>

          There are countless books offering advice on writing for
      publication.  They deal with fiction, non-fiction, business
      writing, scientific and technical writing, and popular writing.

          But what of <literature>?



      <<On writing>>

          Two comments of Schopenhauer's beg to be repeatedly revived:

          "Every deep-thinking mind necessarily has the impulse, for
      the sake of its own satisfaction, to retain its thoughts and
      reduce them to the greatest possible clarity and definition, and
      consequently to embody them in words.  But this is only
      perfectly attained in writing, for the written delivery is
      essentially different from the verbal, since it alone admits the
      highest precision, concision, and the most pregnant brevity,
      thus becoming a pure ektypos of thought."

          "Thoughts reduced to paper are nothing more than the
      footprint of a wayfarer in the sand; one sees well enough the
      way which he has taken, but in order to know what he saw on the
      way we must use our own eyes."



      <<Good writing>>

         - Cryptic terseness beats verbose and clinical accuracy.
         - An economy with words induces and indeed demands the reader
           to think.
         - A handful of well chosen words carry the power of a punch
           that will not be forgotten.
         - It is easier to remember a few words than many.



      <<Writing>>

          Good writers do not write for good readers, but for good
      learners.  Good learners only read a few pages each day; this
      gives them more than enough to think about.

          Good words are mountain peaks; and the one who reads them
      must likewise be lofty of stature.  He must be accustomed to
      dangerous hights and cold thin air.  He must also be a friend of
      the sun!

          Good words are written slowly and have to be read more
      slowly still.  Even then, the reading of good words is never
      completed, because their meaning is never exhausted.  You can
      read them over and again, and they will bite like the cold dawn
      air every time.  A cool breeze is pleasant, but these words
      <wake you up!>  For breakfast these words are milk and
      cornflakes: no sausages and eggs here.  One flies more easily on
      a light stomach.

          And too, one wishes to avoid gluttons.  I do not wish to be
      swallowed by a whale.  A person can get from a book only what he
      already knows.  Thus my words will appear meaningless to all but
      one or two rare individuals.

          I will not allow bulls in my china shop!



      <<The write>>

          Professional writers prefer you to pay more attention to
      their books than to their own lives.  This is because they have
      no life of any real note.  They spend all their time writing,
      instead of living.  Their words are impressive, but their lives
      are a disappointment.



      <<No water here>>

          A few moments ago I imbibed some of Hakuin's poison.  He
      ripped my heart from my chest with his bare hands!

          Now I look upon these words of mine with suspicion.  I don't
      want to let these writings loose on the world unless they are at
      least as good as anything that has been written before.  What
      would Hakuin, my Dharma Father, think of me if I published a
      work inferior to his!  I want to <augment> his poison, not water
      it down!



      <<Extremes>>

          When I condemn I do not make exceptions.  If I made
      exceptions then everyone would want to be the exception.

          I make broad and sweeping statements, because, broadly
      speaking, truth is broad and sweeping.  My generalizations are
      not <mere> generalizations.  There are no exceptions to what I
      say.  My every word is ultimately true.



      <<Cheating>>

          No idea or expression is "original" - there are no "origins"
      in Nature.  When it suits me I use the expressions of others as
      my own.  Why reinvent the wheel?  None of my words are my own,
      yet they serve well enough to show you the truth.

          I may copy prolifically from the works of others, without
      acknowledgement or accreditation.  How can I have the gall to do
      this?  I can do it because God alone is the author of all true
      words, regardless of from which pen the words issued.  I hereby
      acknowledge the true authorship of this work.  God is the
      ultimate cheat, for he uses everybody and does nothing himself.

          The writer of a hymn to Siva felt proud of his achievement,
      but his pride was dashed to pieces when Siva's bull bared his
      teeth.  He saw that each tooth was a word of the hymn.  Do you
      understand the meaning of this?  The words had existed from the
      beginningless past.  The writer had only discovered them.



      <<Quiet words>>

          The words of the wise are <whispers> - to one another and
      no-one else!  They flutter from one sagely heart to another,
      century to century, as if in joyous ignorance of the clamouring
      chatter of the masses.

          Occasionally though, the masses decide to look up - and they
      catch sight of one of these ghosts.  They prepare the ropes and
      hooks, and catch hold of its sweet flutterings.  They deludedly
      try and hoist themselves off the ground - but alas, they are
      much too heavy for the task, and succeed only in dragging down
      our heavenly friend.  Then, as if in disgust or boredom, the
      masses enjoy crushing the life out of him - to extinction.



      <<Copies of this>>

          Many years ago, before the printing press, readers used to
      make copies of valuable books, so others might benefit from the
      wisdom contained within them.  Think how many would benefit if
      you were to make a copy of <this> book!  Better still, make a
      hundred copies.




 


                               <- CONCLUSION ->




          I am no writer.  I can only blurt out a few crude words, and
      offer them as a sample of my mind.  And while I write these
      words with my blood, and my life is <in> them, I do not however
      live <for> them.  As I say, I am no writer, and do not wish to
      entrust my future to the doubtful fortunes of a few scratches on
      paper.

          You see, if during my life I have suffered for the truth,
      and have relentlessly sought where the wind bites keenest, then
      I will consider this fair compensation for my failings as a
      poet.

          If there is even a single superior seeker, who has broken
      through the Barrier into the secret depths, and he chances to
      get a glance at these lines, he will feel as though he is
      meeting-up with an old friend.  The truly wise, however, will no
      doubt spit upon these words as filth.

          I dedicate these poisonous words to evolution, without whose
      help I would not be here to write them, and you would not be
      poisoned.





 


                              <- APPENDIX ->




      References for essay "What is Sexism?":>

      Freud - "New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-analysis",
               Lecture 23.  Great Books of the Western World,
               Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chicago.
      Jung -  "C.G Jung Speaking",
               Princeton, Princeton University Press. 1977, P244
      Kierkegaard - "Journals and Papers", Vol 4,
               Ontario, Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd. 1976, P572-585
      Nichiren - "Nichiren, Selected Writings",
                  Honolulu, University Press of Hawaii. 1980, P89
      Nietzsche - "The Gay Science",
               New York, Random House. 1974, P125-130, P271, P316-319
      Plato - "Dialogues of Plato", Laws VI, 1985
      Schopenhaeur - Essay "On Women" from "Parerga and Paralipomena".




 


                                  <- GLOSSARY ->




      <Bhakta>:      Loving devotion to Truth, or God.

      <Bodhicitta>:  The "enlightenment mind".  The mind that aspires to
                   absolute perfection without compromise.  See
                   "Hinayana" and "Mahayana".

      <Bodhisattva>: a. One who possesses bodhicitta (see above).
                   b. One who has realized the Truth (the Infinite)
                      intuitively, and also possesses bodhicitta.

      <Buddha>:      a. Siddartha Gottama, called "The Buddha", who
                      lived about 500 B.C.
                   b. Any person who has gone through all the ten
                      stages of the bodhisattva, and can now
                      maintain concentration on the Ultimate
                      Reality effortlessly and at all times.  The
                      Perfect Being.
                   c. Anyone who has realized intuitively the
                      Ultimate Reality.  A bodhisattva can
                      sometimes be called a Buddha.
                   d. The Ultimate Reality, the Infinite, Truth, God.

      <Deva>:           A "god".  Someone who has an extremely powerful
                      concentration, confidence and memory.  They "inhabit"
                      blissful heavens.

      <Dharma/Dhamma>:  a. The teaching of the Buddha.  Can refer to
                         the teaching which is found in words, or
                         that which is unspoken and beyond words.
                      b. Phenomena, things.

      <Dharmakaya>:    The teaching body of the Buddha, which manifests in any
                     form suitable to teach a person ready to be taught.
                     The wise man sees all things as the Dharmakaya.

      <Enlightenment>: a. An intuitive realization of Ultimate
                        Reality, or Truth.
                     b. The attainment of complete Buddhahood -
                        beyond the ten stages of the bodhisattva.
                     c. A quantum leap in understanding taking one
                        closer to a realization of the Infinite.

      <Hinayana>:   The "lesser" vehicle whereby one determines to achieve
                  happiness for oneself through a limited wisdom.  There is
                  no bodhicitta.

      <Jnana>:      Intellectual knowledge of Truth, or God.

      <Jnani>:      Someone who has jnana (see above).  See also vijnani.

      <Mahayana>:   The "greater" vehicle whereby one determines to attain
                  ultimate Enlightenment at all costs.  One possesses
                  bodhicitta.

      <Muni>:       An enlightened one, a bodhisattva or a Buddha.

      <Nagasena>:   A legendary Buddhist sage.

      <Nirvana>:    Liberation from suffering and false dualism.

      <Preta>:      A person who has the consciousness of a "Craving ghost".
                  One who is never satisfied and always feels insubstantial.

      <Samadhi>:    One pointed concentration of the mind which is accompanied
                  by a deep stillness of mind and body, and great power of
                  mind.

      <Samsara>:    Cyclic existence.  The cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
                  The realm of ignorance, as opposed to Nirvana.

      <Shunyata>:   The true nature of reality, Truth, God.

      <Siddhu>:     A monk, one of the renounced order of life, who
                  has given his life to the service of Truth.

      <Sutra>:      A teaching of the Buddha, a discourse.

      <Tao>:        The Way.

      <Tao Te Ching>:  Supposedly written by Lao Tsu in the 6th century.  One
                     translation of the title is "The Way and its
                     Characteristics."

      <Tathagata>:  lit.. "One Thus Gone"
                  a. A fully enlightened Buddha.
                  b. The Ultimate Reality, the Infinite.


      <Vijnani>:    One who has gone beyond jnana to a direct realization of
                  Truth.

      <Zen>:        A form of Buddhism which arose out of Buddhism from India
                  and Chinese Taoist philosophy, and concentrates on "the
                  silent teaching beyond words."




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