January 14, 2011

I will not accept an answer on faith, only on direct experience. Faith, hope, inference, even knowledge, are passports, but I must make the journey myself. Honesty, open-mindedness and willingness are the "how" of this journey. I must honestly admit to myself that I do not have all the answers, particularly to the big questions of life, death, suffering, meaning. I must remain completely open, devoid of preconceptions, empty, completely surrendered. I must be earnest, prepared to do whatever it takes for however long it takes. I must always be cognizant of Swami Vivekananda's instruction: "realization is real religion, all the rest is only preparation - hearing lectures, or reading books, or reasoning is merely preparing the ground; it is not religion. Intellectual assent and intellectual dissent are not religion." Christopher Isherwood goes on to say, "religion is, in fact, a severely practical and empirical kind of research. You take nothing on trust. You accept nothing but your own experience. You go forward alone, step by step, like an explorer in a virgin jungle, to see what you will find. All that any of the great sages, or anyone else, can do for you is to urge you to attempt the exploration and to offer certain general hints and warnings which may be of help to you on your way."