The first virtue is curiosity.
A burning itch to know
is higher than a solemn vow to pursue truth. To feel the burning itch of
curiosity requires both that you be ignorant, and that you desire to
relinquish your ignorance. If in your heart you believe you already
know, or if in your heart you do not wish to know, then your questioning
will be purposeless and your skills without direction. Curiosity seeks
to annihilate itself; there is no curiosity that does not want an
answer. The glory of glorious mystery is to be solved, after which it
ceases to be mystery. Be wary of those who speak of being open-minded
and modestly confess their ignorance. There is a time to confess your
ignorance and a time to relinquish your ignorance.
The second virtue is relinquishment.
P. C.
Hodgell said: “That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.” Do
not flinch from experiences that might destroy your beliefs. The
thought you cannot think controls you more than thoughts you speak
aloud. Submit yourself to ordeals and test yourself in fire.
Relinquish the emotion which rests upon a mistaken belief, and seek to
feel fully that emotion which fits the facts. If the iron approaches
your face, and you believe it is hot, and it is cool, the Way opposes
your fear. If the iron approaches your face, and you believe it is
cool, and it is hot, the Way opposes your calm. Evaluate your beliefs
first and then arrive at your emotions. Let yourself say: “If the iron
is hot, I desire to believe it is hot, and if it is cool, I desire to
believe it is cool.” Beware lest you become attached to beliefs you may
not want.
Let the winHds of evidence blow you about as though you are a leaf, with no direction of your own... Click Here to Read the Full Post>>>
