inner demons

[Guest guest]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

On our spiritual journey, even after many years or especially after

many years, we may have to face our own inner demons which were

safely tucked away in the subconscious until we became strong enough

to deal with them.

 

So, this is why we need to learn not to overreact to things outside

of us. For the more serious demons are still inside of us. I read

that the disciples of St. Francis would walk naked through a village

and see if they could take the abuse of the villagers without leaving

the love and peace in their hearts. I don't know if this is 100%

factual but the story makes the point.

 

So, here is another interesting SYMBOLIC story that illustrates one

way this can be handled ~ www.whitemountainsangha.org ~

THE LAZY ZEN MASTER AND THE DEMONS by Norman Scrimshaw

 

There was a Zen Master who was very, very lazy.

 

It was said he was so lazy that for him even to raise one eyelid was

almost more effort than he was willing to muster.

 

Many of the people who lived in the village near the Zen Master's

home were very critical of this lazy Zen Master. They said he is sooo

lazy. But those whose vision could open deeper, could see that the

Zen Master was in a state of very, very deep relaxation. He had

given up all struggle and effort. Even to say he had given up

anything is inaccurate.

 

Giving up is a doing that wasn't present. He was in a state of no

struggle, no effort to change himself, to get better, to get more

enlightened, to have more bliss. There was no fight to change the

circumstances of his life. He was much too lazy for any of this.

For him everything was fine as it was. Everything was included and

welcomed into the home of his heart. Indeed as there was no

opposition to the way his life unfolded, there was no division. He

was the unfoldment of life itself.

 

There was a time demons came to visit him. The lazy Zen Master was

much too lazy to fight demons, so instead he welcomed them into the

home of his heart. The demons were used to being subjected to

vicious attacks in an attempt to exterminate them. Although

suspicious at first, they were grateful to find a refuge. Word got

out among the demons: there is a place of rest where we are welcome.

There is a lazy Zen Master who is not afraid of us, who doesn't want

to kill us, who welcomes us into his home.

 

Each time a demon came into his heart, the lazy Zen master felt the

pain and alienation, the suffering, the rejection the demon had

experienced. He felt it so strongly it became his own. Indeed, he

recognized that the demon was himself, an aspect of himself that at

one time was rejected from the home of his heart and sent into the

wilderness alone. This had happened in the foolishness of his youth

when he was a warrior and not lazy at all. As each demon came home,

he was often reduced to tears. A mixture of pain and sweetness would

overcome him. Although the lazy Zen Master embraced each demon with

love, he was much too lazy to try to change them. Mysteriously in

the very environment of deep acceptance into this heart and his very

being, the demons' faces began to change and become more and more

beautiful. Their forms changed into a radiance as the demons

recognized themselves as the beauty of the lazy Zen Master's heart.

Demons seldom come to visit the lazy Zen Master anymore, but if they

do, they are always welcome into the home of his heart.

 

May every event of your life bring you to a closer recognition of the

magnificence that you are.

~~~~~~~~end of story ~~

 

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS STORY is symbolic and don't become lazy.

I don't think Amma wants us to be lazy.

 

Amma's Blessings,

amarnath