Saturday, December 31, 2005

The sage and the non-sage

Resistance, frustration, anger, sadness, the sense of ego, the experience of duality all arise in the so called sage, or enlightened master, just like the so called non-sage.

The difference between the so called sage and the so called non-sage is that the sage knows he has no power. The sage knows he cannot change what is. The sage knows he doesn't exist as a separate, controlling entity who can or must exercise his will to avoid 'negative' experiences and grasp onto 'positive' experiences. The sage is powerless, and he knows it.

Therefore, the sage merely witnesses his experience without any attempt to change it because he knows he has no power, and trying to exercise control over his experience is the cause of suffering, not a means to overcoming it.

The so called 'non-sage' believes he has power to control his experience. The non-sage believes it's possible to exercise his will to avoid unpleasant experiences and grasp onto the pleasant ones. So the non-sage suffers by trying to exercise his non-existent will, generating the very suffering he's trying to avoid.

Stephen Wingate