Tao Haiku - Verse 9
Dissolve all ego.
The superior man gains
virtue with small steps.
Commentary
On the spiritual journey, it is not uncommon to hear that we must "destroy our ego" as a pre-requisite to reaching our goal.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche states: "Enlightenment is ego's ultimate disappointment."
In and of itself, ego is neither good nor bad. Psychologists tell us emphatically that we need an ego to interact with and survive daily life in the world. The problem is, on the spiritual journey, the ego also acts to separate us from each other by reinforcing the concept of duality. As long as we participate in duality, we are living in the world of yin and yang; we haven't arrived at Tao.
Master Sha teaches that Tao creates a "blurred" oneness condition (Hun Dun) from which all duality, Heaven and Earth, yin and yang, is created. By practicing Xiu Lian (purification) continuously, or as much as we can, our karma is cleared, our ego dissolves, and our souls will return to oneness, to Tao.
Many students have great difficulty with the concept of ego and its overwhelming desire and focus on what "I" need and want!
There is no fixed spiritual recipe or practice for eliminating or minimizing the ego in a fixed timeframe. Therefore, the superior man gains virtue walking the path in small steps, in no rush to reach the goal.
As Lao Tzu teaches:
The human being follows the earth.
Earth follows heaven.
Heaven follows the Tao.
Tao follows what is natural.
© Stephen Colwell, 2017 All Rights Reserved