The Fruits of the Tao

The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress.
Ramana Maharshi

It is Friday night and you stand in front of the liquor cabinet after a long work day and you experience that desire to have a glass of wine or two. Of course you have seen the movie before so you didn't buy any, and you also knew that you would feel way too lazy to go out at this hour and buy some. Then you think about food and you recall your promise to eat with the kids, and only to eat the portion that is on your plate and you are definitely not having any snacks beforehand.

I have often talked about a spiritual path as a staircase; once you are starting to move down it is hard to turn the ship around, whereas once you are moving up, it is not that hard to keep the momentum. The Tao encourages to cut impurities out of the system until there are none left, and if you happen to walk downstairs, away from your Self, the voice of the Tao will become more and more shrill and will encourage you every step of the way to turn the car around.

This liquor experience is just one little step along the Tao. You hear the two voices in your head and you know what you have to do; just accept the negative energy of the day that needs to be digested, there is no need to drown it with the help of alcohol or otherwise the work tomorrow will be twice as hard. Value the homework of the kids that need to get done despite your sagging energy level - doing homework with your kids will allow you to literally work off the bad energy and a couple of hours later the well-deserved sleep will replenish your energy when you fall into bed completely exhausted.

A Tao master has to work hard, as hard as everyone else, but there is never a moment of regret. You know that everything that comes your way helps you in setting yourself free. It is always the same movie, you put your best foot forward no matter what it is that you have to do; you are also never daunted by anything that comes your way, no matter how much of an uphill struggle something appears to be. In the end everything turns out to be easy because there are no sacrifices along the Tao, but a little resistance, a little pushing, is always there. Yet, at the end there is always a present waiting for you, and given that you know that, it would never occur to you to slack off beforehand.

You also discover with every step backwards that your bondage increases. The glass of wine or two which sets a robot in motion, the screaming at the annoying kids that lets your anger rise with it. The pornographic movie that makes you lust after attractive bodies twice as intensely the next day, the shopping spree that raises your guilt and defensiveness, the worry attack that weakens your immune system. A spiritual path is a journey in the opposite direction of all that. A cleanup process that cuts all impurities out of the system. And it is very much as spring cleaning, once you have polished the counter space, you suddenly see the dust on the lamp, so you continue cleaning there as well.

If what I am describing sounds dogmatic, religious or boring to you, I would encourage you to give my hypothesis a shot and see for yourself what beneficial consequences it has. The peace of mind of your simple-minded, spiritual life-style is indescribable, as is the joy of experiencing the oneness of everyone and everything. Let the Tao be your life coach, you will see for yourself whatever it is that holds you back and you will find it in your self-interest to remove it. Hard work yes, but there is no dogma, faith or religion required, just common sense. The fruits of the Tao will speak for themselves.