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THROUGH THE SIX WORLDS
IS THAT WE ARE ON THE DARK PATHS OF IGNORANCE.
DARK PATH UPON DARK PATH TREADING,
WHEN SHALL WE ESCAPE FROM BIRTH-AND-DEATH?
What is the dark path of ignorance? Looking outward. The farther you look, the more darkness. Because the light burns inside you. Looking closer and closer, and there is more light. That's why we call a Buddha 'enlightened' -- he has come to know and realize his light. It is a perpetual light -- without Al y fuel it is there, it cannot be exhausted. Suns will be exhausted and the moons will be exhausted and the stars will be exhausted. But the light that burns inside you as consciousness is inexhaustible. It is eternal.
Once upon a time there dwelt an old king in a palace. In the center of a golden table in the main hall, there shone a large and magnificent jewel. Each day of the king's life, the stone sparkled more resplendently.
One day a thief stole the jewel and ran from the palace, hiding in the forest. As he stared with deep joy at the stone, to his amazement the image of the king appeared in it.
'I have come to thank you,' said the king. 'You have released me from my attachment to Earth. I thought I was freed when I acquired this jewel, but then I learned that I would be released only when I passed it on, with a pure heart, to another.
'Each day of my life I polished that stone, until finally this day arrived when the jewel became so beautiful that you stole it, and I have passed it on, and am released.
'The jewel you hold is Understanding. You cannot add to its beauty by hiding it and hinting that you have it, nor yet by wearing it with vanity. Its beauty comes of the consciousness that others have of it. Honour that which gives it beauty.'
That's why Buddhas go on giving you whatsoever they have attained, go on shaking. Because the beauty of it is in sharing. That's why Hakuin has sung this song. That's why I am here, sharing my being with you, my joy with you, my celebration with you. It is something that has to be shared to keep it alive. It is something that has to be given. The more you give it, the more you have of it.
Never be
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