Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 11:11:04 -0500
From: Unka Bart <mendicant-AT-buddhist.com>


> >  What I just said.  That I recognize that a path exists
> > that will lead me where I want to go, is sufficient for
> > me.  And while I have not taken the vow of a boddhisatva
> > (to reject liberation for myself until all sentient
> > beings have achieved it), I still find myself with a
> > flashlight in hand to aid the occassional searcher who
> > crosses my path, to find the way for herself...
>
> 	the prollem with religions (for me anyways) is
> that experience has taught me that aint nobody gonna
> walk the walk for me--no matter what the Christers say.

Yea, verily.  You speak the truth here.  And I was refering to
that same truth when I mentioned holding the flashlight, so
that the seeker could see the path, to walk it for her/himself.

Everyone must walk the path alone, but not everyone can see it
at first.  Sometimes shining a flashlight on the path for another
can help them get started, or help them remain on it when the
night gets dark and the clouds overshadow it...

> the spiritual experience gotta be mine if it gonna do
> me any good.  nor can i do it for others.  hell, i can't
> even tell 'em how it be done.  if any aks me i can only
> say, "just do it.  dont try, just do it."  aint got a
> map; aint got a blueprint; aint got no wrote down
> directions; aint about to say "follow me."

We are in complete agreement for the most part.  Especially
about the "follow me" bit.  No one can get there by "following"
anyone; as you said, you got to walk it by yourself.

But as I mentioned earlier, there *is* a blueprint, a map.
The great contribution of Gautauma Siddhartha is just that.
The Dharma, the "Four Noble Truths" is, indeed, just such, a
complete set of do-it-yourself instructions for finding and
following the path that leads to emancipation, to "enlightenment."

Not, by any means, the only path; but definitely one that leads
to the destination.  One that fits your own credo, "just do it."

And I believe that if one follows the instructions that the
Christ laid out, one will be following a similar path to the
same destination.  Where the "Christers" go astray is where they
get into mistaking the myth for the message, and for believing that
*belief*, rather than (and as opposed to) *Practice*, will get the
job done.

But I don't think that you and I are really arguing about this...

> y just do it.
> y gotta be willing to step off solid ground into the dark
> unknown.  without knowing where y'll land.  and try not to
> try too hard, 'cuz it's a loverly ride.  i dont worry about
> a end, for to have a end y gotta have a beginning and i
> remember not a beginning.

Funny thing.  I had an experience, many years ago, where I
faced an enraged man with a gun in his hand, intent on
killing me.  When I realized what was happening, I was
terrified beyond description.  I was trapped in a tiny room
with no escape, he was between me and the only door out.

He was less than 2 meters away from me, and the hole in the
end of that gun, just as in fable, looked for all the world
to be as large as railroad tunnel.  And then he started
shooting at me...

My terror shot up, going completely off-scale; when suddenly
I realized that my death was at hand.  I *Knew* then, with
absolute certainty, that I had reached the end of my string,
and there was no scintilla of hope for avoiding it.  This was
*IT*

As I said, "Funny thing."  I don't know if I can successfully
explain this, but suddenly, I had a revelation that
there was nothing to be afraid of and I was flooded with a peace
that cannot be described.

Fear always involves the possibility, however small and
insignificant, that the worst outcome might somehow be avoided.
When all possibility of any other outcome is gone, the fear also
evaporates.  That, in any case, was my experience.

And there's no way to describe the sense of peace that enveloped
me when I realized that I was at the moment of my death.  There
was nothing to worry about, *NOTHING!*

I don't know if I can convey this, but this was an ecsastic state
of utter bliss.  It was a true moment of Satori, and it remains today,
the fuel and the impetus that led me, several years later to search
for the path that I tread today.

As you and Marius (and countless others) have noted, my footsteps
sometimes miss the path, but I don't wonder anymore whether the path
exists, or where it leads; or whether the destination is worth the
effort.  i know for I have glimpsed it.

As a postscript to this, he did hit me (four times) and the wounds
should have been fatal.  I suspect it was the fact that I can be
such an ornery asshole that proved me wrong and left me alive.  Too
damn ornery to die.  Now that I'm so much more mellow in my dotage,
I don't test that theory any more...

Besides, gettin' shot's no sweat.  Recovering, on the other hand,
is a bitch.  Trust me on that one.

> 	i had a aunt who had the power.  she really did.
> she lived to be very old, altho that wasnt her want.  she
> was always restless to go on, but she said it wouldnt
> happen before she was done here.  her power was to heal
> and comfort, not bodies, necessarily, but souls, always.
> 	she left it for me 'cuz she had no daughters and
> none o her sons (that survived her) was so inclined.
> occasional i accept the gift, but it aint my sole path, yet.
> it may yet be, before i go on.  there be much peace there.

Aye!  I, unfortunately, have no such power.  All that I have is
a flashlight and the ability to shine it on the path for *some*
folkx; those who, in any event, are looking for it and *want* the
light to help them see where to put their feet.  I don't have
any ability to *lead* anyone down the path, and I damn sure can't
walk it for anyone, either.  Nor can I put anyone's feet on the
path for them.  As you so astutely noted, it's entirely a "Do it
yourself" kinda thing.

> it be the energy o the universe and all that is that y
> open the door and let in, but y gotta get past the fear. y
> gotta take that step out into the dark.  the onliest thing
> to fear is being afraid.  just do it.
> 	thank y for yr time.

And you, Oh Font of Wisdom (and that you are), for sharing that!

Yer Kindly Ol' Unka Bart