TEMPTATION: IVORY, APES & PEACOCKS

Ivory: the temptation of attachment and sacred cows. All teachers, books, houses of worship are tools to assist us on the path of enlightenment, but no one can do our spiritual work for us. The path is ours, not the other man’s. To avoid this temptation we must remain open and teachable, unencumbered, everything being a means to an end, the end being our spiritual awakening. Zen teaches: "If you meet the Buddha along the way, kill him!" for we must remain open-minded, learning from everyone, everything, respecting all but attaching our spiritual allegiance to nothing, save God and our personal journey of awakening.

Apes: living for the senses. This represents addictions of all stripes, the most obvious of all temptations. When someone is in their cups, the problem evident, denial merely the handmaiden of postponement. “The first step in recovery is when we can admit to our innermost selves that we are truly addicted.” As with all spiritual awakening, no one can do the work for another, no outside pressure ever has any lasting effect, the desire must come from within and until an admission is made, no real progress can be made. The good news is that from such a simple beginning, a powerful awakening can flower, freedom achieved. To be clear: Addiction is not limited to drugs and alcohol. The workaholic, the miser, the meddler, the hoarder and others require a new basis for living as surely as those suffering from the more easily recognized maladies.

Peacocks: all forms of vanity. Physical beauty, intellectual pride, that air of “better than” looking down on anyone for any reason. To be held hostage by physical beauty is a cruel master, since time is a pitiless enemy. Intelligence as a yardstick, who among us placed an order for their God given level of intelligence before birth? Being learned means nothing if the lessons learned are ignored, degrees become spiritual anchors if they become  pedestals of personal aggrandizement.

      The most deadly of all vanities is that of spiritual pride. Having had some success in spiritual realization, the temptation is to assume that because of this we have in some way been lifted above our fellows, even exalted in some way. This temptation is overcome by visualizing the Presence of God in all and staying humble before God. Be very clear: as our consciousness rises the path narrows. Spiritual law reacts more quickly in direct proportion to our level of awareness. We find that certain activities that used to be acceptable now cause discomfort and this is all for the good; a clear indication that we are on the road less traveled, the one true path, this does not in anyway alter the most basic truth: we are all equal in God‘s eyes and heart. For He does not, would not, canst not favor one child over another.