Saturday, July 27, 2013

the monastic life

in the past when the climate was
pure for seeking 
seeking was much honored
and not put aside or taken casually
those that were renunciates took to the 
path in it's traditional way
which was to don the ochre robes 
and wear the ornaments that spoke 
to the monastic life 
which were varied in their nature 
but very much honored and seen
as marks of a heart that was in the 
contemplative order 
when a monk takes to this life 
he is as a person that
has renounced responsibilities
such as rearing family and working 
in the world 
this type of undertaking has as it's base 
great meaning and purpose 
it is to keep the mind focused on God 
the monastic is to be always disciplined 
in the way of putting the eyes 
on the light in terms of scriptural reading 
and contemplation
he lives in a secluded area because he 
is as an island to himself in a way
as he is the sole being that is responsible 
for his journey
and there is no one else that can walk it for him
he is the one that is the keeper of the faith
and he is the one that is the protector of his silence 
he is the one that is the guard of his kingdom
he is the one that lets enter into his paradise 
seeds of untruth or seeds of great blessings 
that grow in the form of quietude and joy
not any one else plants these seeds 
he is the one that waters the blessings 
or destroys them by looking to the impure thought 
the monastic is not a person of the world 
he is as a soul in love with God 
which means he is in love with the SELF 
that is in his own soul
when there is quietude within his mind 
he finds joy in this 
when there is silence that has no personhood in it 
he finds great sustenance in this 
which steadies him to move on into the 
unshakeable stillness in which no experience 
can touch 
he is like a mystic 
as a sadhu that wanders to the light 
he is the same 
the monastic life has it's purpose that is 
good and pure 
but as this path shows when one can be steady
in stillness while in the world 
this stillness will be very solid 
and not easily moved 
as this is much, much harder ...
but can be done 
and will come to those hearty journeyers 
that are true inside and seek pure life 
this will indeed come 

for now onward..

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