The Tao of Dark Sages - Chapter 23

The Tao of Dark Sages
by Scott Bradley

And so...things resolved as Gabi foresaw. But I won’t be burdening you with an account of my time with Sue-tzu, as much as I’d like to — I have to stop somewhere and I’ve already promised that this episode would be the last. Of more interest to you, perhaps, would be Mark-tzu’s and Gabi’s experiences together, but that, of course, is completely beyond my ability to report.

It was more than a week before we left together for Katmandu (and California and beyond) and there were more discussions of which I think you might be interested in parts of one or two.

Scott-tzu: I’ve been spending time following my aversion to Grasshopper’s methods and think I’ve found the root. Nothing profound or surprising, of course.

Gabi: And?

And it’s simply a manifestation of ego-identity. I have beliefs that are an important support to this identity and they are threatened by the other. What makes this ‘other’ so threatening is its proximity to my own beliefs. And I also have a strong emotional response to all forms of bondage — having been myself so completely deceived.

It’s the New Age stuff that most affects me, because it uses all the right words and believes itself at the cutting edge of spirituality. Traditional beliefs are not threatening because they are so obviously religious. It’s the New Age beliefs that snare and bind those recently released from other forms of bondage. And it raises in me the fear that I too am snared and bound. That I am one of them. My identity is threatened.

Mark-tzu: You have certainly moved beyond the superficial reasons for your aversion: that it’s ‘wrong’ or ‘harmful’. The problem, if we can call it that, is not in Grasshopper, his methods, or his teachings, but in your response to them. But I believe you said that before.

Sue-tzu: So, we know the symptoms and their cause. What’s the cure?

Gabi: Could someone explain again what those are — simply?

Scott-tzu: The symptom is my aversion — my disliking. The opposite of aversion is attachment — liking. But both liking and disliking are essentially the same — they are just part of the vicious circle of emotional bondage. The cause is, most simply, that I am living in my ego-self. This self is illusory and needs its beliefs and conflict with other beliefs in order to give itself a sense of true substance. And the cure . . . what’s the cure, Gabi?

Gabi: It always comes back to letting be and letting go. Accept that things are as they are with you and let go of this ego-self-identity and its beliefs. They are not you.

Scott-tzu: Does it ever end, this process, Mark-tzu?

Mark-tzu: If you mean does this continual need to deal with the ego-self ever end in this life, well, yes, it can. That’s what ‘la-la land’ is all about. It’s about being no one. And if you are no one, nothing affects you.

Sue-tzu: But if you are enjoying the process, why act like it’s a burden? If you are fighting a battle, then you are expressing an aversion to your aversion. Embrace it all in thankfulness and acceptance, Scott-tzu. That’s transcendence and where transcendence arises. I can’t help but repeat my maxims: If it isn’t fun, it isn’t awaken-ing. Nothing really matters. You are free; be free now. Let the end be the means. Harmony is the way to harmony.

If you're interested in reading more from this series by Scott Bradley, go here.