Dialogues with the Master � Looking at the past

I was never one to dwell on the past; I think that the present is the result of
all that we have lived, and seeing how we act at this very moment suffices for us
to understand our blessings and correct our curses.

But now that my life is being turned upside down by journalist-biographer Fernando
Morais, I have also decided to look at some notes on my apprenticeship with J., my
friend and master in the Regnus Agnus Mundi (RAM) tradition. Most of these notes
were written between 1982 and 1986. Many years ago I published some of these
dialogues in this column, and although the reaction from the readers was
excellent, I felt it was enough. Nevertheless, on re-reading some dust-covered
notebooks (I no longer take notes or keep diaries), I discovered some very special
things. In the next four columns I shall transcribe those that strike me as most
interesting.

One afternoon, sitting in a caf� in Copacabana after a week of long spiritual

exercises that resulted in nothing, I asked: �I often feel that I am ignored by
God, although I know that He is here by my side. Why is it so hard to establish a
dialogue with the Divine?�

�On one hand we know that it is important to seek God. On the other hand, life
distances us from Him � because we feel ignored by the Divine, or else because we
are busy with our daily life. This makes us feel very guilty: either we feel that
we are renouncing life too much because of God, or else we feel that we are
renouncing God too much because of life. This apparent double law is a fantasy:
God is in life, and life is in God. If we manage to penetrate the sacred harmony
of our daily existence, we shall always be on the right road, because our daily
tasks are also our divine tasks.�

�But what kind of exercise can I practice that will make me really believe what
you are telling me?�

�Relax. When we start our spiritual journey, we want so very hard to speak to God
� and we end up not hearing what He has to tell us. That is why it is always
advisable to relax a little. It is not easy: we have the natural tendency always
to do the right thing, and we feel that we are going to improve our spirit is we
work at it non-stop.�

�Are you saying that I ought to be passive and not try to improve myself?�

�That depends on how you see your work. We may feel that all that life can offer
us tomorrow is to repeat what we did yesterday and today. But if we pay attention
we can see that no day is like another. Each and every morning brings a hidden
blessing, a blessing that is only good for that particular day, for it cannot be
kept or re-used. If we don�t take advantage of this miracle today, it will be
lost.�

�But isn�t there some sure way of establishing this dialogue with the Divine, like
meditation, for instance? Or endeavoring to make myself better every day?�

�Your question reveals a man committed to an idea, and if that question can always
be kept present, everything will fit together. The ideal conditions that you are
looking for don�t exist. We shall never be able to get rid of certain defects. The
trick lies in knowing that despite all your flaws you have a reason for being
here, and you have to honor that reason.

�Try to go beyond the limits that you are used to. For ten minutes a day, be that
person you have always wanted to be. If the problem is shyness, stimulate
conversation. If the problem is guilt, feel approved. If you think that the world
ignores you, try consciously to attract everyone�s looks. You will experience the
occasional difficult situation, but it�s worth it. If for ten minutes a day you
can manage to be what you dreamed, you are already making great progress.�

I decided to provoke him by quoting a Buddhist scripture on the six difficulties

of living in a house: the work involved in building it, more work still to pay for
it, the work of always having to repair it, the risk of having it confiscated by
the government, the house constantly full of visitors and undesirable guests, and
the house being used as a hiding place for condemnable activities.

According to the same Buddhist text, there are six advantages of living under a
bridge: you can easily be found, the river shows us that life is a passage, we are
rid of the feeling of covetousness, we need no fences, someone new is always
passing by to have a chat, and we don�t have to pay rent.

I ended by saying that it was a beautiful philosophy, but that at least in my

country, when we see people living under bridges and viaducts, we know for sure
that this text is wrong.

J. answered: �The text is beautiful, but in our context it is certainly wrong.

However, that should not serve to feed our sense of guilt. We feel guilty for all
that is authentic in ourselves � our salary, our opinions, our experiences, our
hidden desires, the way we speak � we even feel guilty for our parents and our
brothers.

�And what is the result? Paralysis. We grow ashamed of doing anything different
from what the others are expecting. We do not expose our ideas, we don�t ask for
help. We justify this by saying: �Jesus suffered, and suffering is necessary�.
Jesus experienced many situations of suffering, but he never advocated staying
still in those circumstances. Cowardice cannot be concealed with this type of
excuse, otherwise the entire world fails to move ahead. That is why, if you see
someone under a viaduct, you go to help them, because they are part of your
world.�

�And how can that be changed?�

�Have faith. Believe that it is possible, and all the reality around you will
begin to change.�

�Nobody can perform that task all alone. What I see is that most people don�t have
enough faith.�

�Sometimes we criticize lack of faith in others. We aren�t capable of

understanding the circumstances in which this faith has been lost, nor do we try
to alleviate our brother�s misery � and this causes revolt and incredulity in the
divine power.

�Humanist Robert Owen traveled all over England talking of God. In the 19th
century it was common to use child labor in heavy work, and one afternoon Owen
stopped at a coal mine where an undernourished twelve-year-old boy was lugging a
heavy sack of bricks. �I am here to help you talk to God�, said Owen. �Thanks very
much, but I don�t know him. He must work in another mine�, answered the boy. How
can you expect a boy in those conditions to be able to believe in God?�

�Let me return the question. How could that be made possible?�

In the tavern
Rabbi Wolf entered a bar by chance. Some people were drinking, others were
playing cards, and the atmosphere seemed heavy. The rabbi left without saying a
word.
A young man followed him out: �I know that you didn�t like what you saw in
there,� he said. �That�s a place for sinners.�
�No, I liked what I saw,� Wolf answered. �Those are men learning to lose
everything. When they have lived the experience of losing, all that will remain is
for them is to return to God. And from that moment on, what excellent servants
they will make!�

Ten percent
�To be like me is very simple,� said the richest man in Babylonia. �All you
have to understand is that a tenth of what you earn is yours.�
�That makes no sense,� answered the young man. �All that I earn is mine.�
�Don�t you pay the tailor? Don�t you pay the baker every day? You can�t live
even for a day without spending. You pay everybody except yourself. From now on,
pay yourself a tenth of your salary. Don�t forget that the paths of wealth are
magical and strange; if you take good care of that tenth, one day it will reward
all your efforts.�

Beyond the port

A hermit from the monastery of Sceta came up to Abbot Theodore:
�I know exactly what the objective of life is. I know what God asks of man,
and I know the best way to serve Him. And even so, I am unable to do all that I
should be doing to serve the Lord.�
�You know that there exists a city on the other side of the ocean,� replied
Theodore. �But you haven�t found the ship yet, you still haven't packed your bags
on board, and you haven�t crossed the sea. Why keep talking about what it is like
and how we should walk down the streets? Put into practice what you�re saying and
the path will reveal itself to you.�

At heaven�s door
When Don Enrique died he went straight to heaven. He knocked hard on the door
and a voice asked: �Who�s there?�
�It�s Don Enrique Fernandez of Valdivieso.�
�Well go away, there�s no room here for two,� said the voice. And so Don
Enrique was sent to Purgatory. Some time later, he very timidly returned to
heaven.
�Who is it?� asked the voice. �It�s me,� answered Don Enrique.
�There�s no room here for two,� repeated the voice.
Don Enrique went back to Purgatory. One day he went back to knock on heaven�s
door.
�Who is it?� asked the voice. �A small part of God,� he answered.
And heaven�s door opened to him.

Rigor and compassion

In the heart of winter the samurai presented himself to the Zen master.
�I am dying of cold and hunger and I have no way of supporting myself.�
Filled with pity, the master went to the statue of Yakushi-Buda, removed the
gold chain that adorned the neck and handed it to the samurai.
The other pupils complained: "sacrilege!"
"Why sacrilege?" asked the master. "You have heard tell of David, who ate the
bread from the tabernacle when he was hungry. Christ cured on the Sabbath whenever
that was necessary. All I did was put the spirit of Buddha into action: now love
and compassion can do their work."
Wrong questions
What is wisdom
A Sufi story tells us of a man who lived in Turkey who heard of a great
master who lived in Persia who held the secret of wisdom.
Without hesitating, he sold his things, took leave of his family and went
off in search of this secret. After years of traveling he managed to arrive at a
cabin where the great master lived. Filled with awe, he drew closer and waited for
the wise man to return from his morning stroll.
�I come from Turkey,� he said as soon as the wise man turned up. �I have made
this long journey just to ask one question.�
�That�s fine. You can ask just one question.�
�I have to be clear in what I am going to ask; may I ask you in Turkish?�
�You may, � said the wise man. �And I have already asked your only question.
Anything else you want to know, you ask your heart. You don�t have to travel so
far to discover that it is the best counselor of all.�
And he shut the door.

Why God did not help us

Master and disciple are walking through the deserts of Arabia. The Master
uses each moment of the journey to teach his disciple about faith.
�Entrust your things to God,� he said. �Because He never abandons His
children.�
When they camped down at night, the Master asked the disciple to tie the
horses to a nearby rock. The disciple went over to the rock, but then remembered
what he had learned that afternoon. �The Master must be testing me. The truth is
that I should entrust the horses to God." And he left the horses loose.
In the morning he discovered that the animals had run off. Indignant, he
sought out the Master.
�You know nothing about God! Yesterday I learned that I should trust blindly
in Providence, so I gave the horses to Him to guard, and the animals have
disappeared!�
�God wanted to look after the horses,� answered the Master. �But at that
moment he needed your hands to tie them up and you did not lend them to Him.�

It�s raining and can I go out?

An old Buddhist story goes like this: a man is passing through a village
under a heavy storm when all of a sudden he sees a house catching fire. Drawing
closer, he sees another man � (the fable uses the beautiful image "with fire to
the eyelashes ") � crying in his direction: �Is it raining?�
The traveler is surprised.
�Your house is catching fire!� he says.
�I need to know if it�s raining or not. My mother told me that the rain can
give us pneumonia.�
Zao Chi comments on the fable: "wise is the man who manages to change the
situation when he is forced to do so. Foolish is the man who does not trust the
hand of God, only the answers of his fellow humans."

What is the first step?

A man decided to visit a hermit who lived near the monastery of Sceta.
�What is the first step of one who aims to follow the spiritual path?� he
asked.
The hermit took him to a well and asked him to look at his reflection in the
water. The man obeyed, but the hermit began to throw small stones, making ripples
on the surface.
�I won�t be able to see my face right if you keep throwing stones.�
�Just as it is impossible to see your face in troubled waters, so it is
impossible to seek God if your mind is anxious about the search,� said the monk.
�Don�t ask questions, just move forward with faith. This will always be the first
and most important step of all.

�Besides faith, have patience. Understand that you are not alone when you want
Divine Justice to make itself manifest on this Earth. In the Middle Ages the
Gothic cathedrals were built by several generations. This prolonged effort helped
the participants to organize their thoughts, to give thanks and to dream. Today
that Romanticism is ended, and yet the desire to build remains in our hearts, it�s
just a question of being open to meet the right people.�