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Main Index
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| | | Book Name: The Dhammapada - The Way of the Buddha, Vol 3 | Previous Next | |
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will disappear.
AT THE END OF THE WAY, THE MASTER FINDS FREEDOM. The goal is to find freedom, but one has to start becoming a master of oneself, master of one's consciousness. That is the beginning, the first step. You are not master of your own consciousness. You are a slave of a thousand and one desires, thoughts, imaginations. You are pulled into this direction and that. You don't know who you are and where you are going. You don't know why you are existing at all. You don't know the purpose of your life, you don't have any sense of direction. How can you be a master of yourself?
The first thing to becoming a master of oneself is to become more conscious of your acts and your thoughts. Unconsciousness is slavery, consciousness is mastery.
I call my sannyasins swamis; the word 'swami' means the master. It simply means one who is trying to become centered in his being, rooted in his consciousness, who is trying not to be pulled by desires against his wishes. But desires are very cunning and the ego plays such games that unless you are constantly alert you will remain a slave.
Rabinowitz, hiding with his wife from the Nazis in a secluded Berlin attic, decided to get a breath of fresh air. While out walking he came face-to-face with Adolf Hitler.
The German leader pulled out a gun and pointed to a pile of horse manure in the street. "Alright, Jew," he shouted, "eat that or I will kill you!" Trembling, Rabinowitz did as he was ordered.
Hitler began laughing so hard he dropped the weapon. Rabinowitz snatched it up and said, "Now, you eat the manure or I will shoot!" The Fuhrer got down on his hands and knees and began eating.
While he was occupied, Rabinowitz sneaked away, ran through an alley, climbed over a fence, and dashed up the stairs to the attic. He slammed the door shut, bolted and locked it securely. "Bessie! Bessie!" he shouted to his wife. "Guess who I had lunch with today!"
The ego is very subtle. It can find opportunities where they don't exist at all; it can make the impossible possible. And you have to be very alert, because the mind is always rationalizing. The mind can go on rationalizing everything
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