THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWING THE PATH, AND WALKING THE PATH...

I was reading my little book about the Dhamma on my way to university today and there was a page in it which hit home. This is the wonderful thing about the Dhamma, you can learn the basic concepts in a short space of time but every so often a new concept blows up your view and you see with clarity for a few moments at least.

My last post, the attitude expressed in the majority of it is now being swept away. I hope for the best.

The page spoke of how people get trapped on their path to enlightenment by an image of what they think it means to be a yogi or a meditator or a spiritual person, creating for themselves a struggle to live up to a certain preconcieved way of behaviour. I have been judging myself against some God-like figure. A spiritual master who walks with the grace of angels and sees with unswerving clarity. A man who can aid everyone, no matter what their problem is and who always knows what to say.

Who could possibly live up to that? Not I, and I shouldn't have even been trying. Yet again I come back to thoughts that the true friends I have accept me as I am. They don't want me to be their saint or saviour, they just want me to be their friend. How glorious is that!?! :)

Of course, in a way this doesn't change much, I will still try to better myself, I still care about my friends, more than they perhaps know and I will still fight to better the world. The difference is in my mind and as buddha says:

"We are what we think,
With our thoughts we shape the world."

It seems at the moment we are walking our own paths, John, Chris, Matt, Russ, Ryan and I. As if we have to face our own problems at the moment and overcome them. But as Matt put so well on his blog. We are also a 'support crew' for one another. I like that term.

Ram.