The monk is passionate, passionate in ascetic seeking. The zealot is also passionate, passionate in persecution. Some believe the monk is trained to forget his physical humanity, and to focus on the mind and that is not passion but doctrine. I would disagree. There are surfaces and there are depths. Monks live in their own “chosen” world and we all do. The world you complain about arose from your choices. Live with toxic people? You didn’t choose to leave. Have a sucky job? You must like the idea you will still get paid, or perhaps you wouldn’t choose to stay.  People think they don’t have those choices, but people create their world from their values. I have few choices. I’m disabled. I can’t even retain decent employment. My living conditions are humbled and I live at the mercy of the state, but in fact I can abandon this.

There are consequences for every choice, and there are things more important. Some see an ascetic as forgoing physical health for supposed mental/spiritual clarity. But physical health is compromised by a lack of inner peace also. There are those who go to extremes on any path.  In a sense it can be argued they don’t go far enough, and thus imbalance arises. You don’t learn from a path by recognizing its faults.

I am not advocating one path, but that to pursue in depth takes passion. If you do not see the worth you will not endure. Choice is in how you deal with things, and you can choose how you deal with things at every turn. It’s not the event you choose, but your response to it. And in fact there are those who make imbalanced choice, which eventually lead to their own self destruction. Thus in that sense good and evil are not relative. We do control our destiny.

Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.

Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~