Latest / Educational Library / Out from the Heart - James Allen

Transcript

Out from the Heart - James Allen · Educational Library

0:00
Speaker 1: The heart and the life. As the heart, so is
0:05
Speaker 1: the life. The within is ceaselessly becoming the without. Nothing
0:10
Speaker 1: remains unrevealed. That which is hidden is but for a time,
0:15
Speaker 1: it ripens and comes forth at last, seed, tree, blossom,
0:20
Speaker 1: and fruit are the fourfold order of the universe. From
0:24
Speaker 1: the state of a man's heart precede the conditions of
0:28
Speaker 1: his life. His thoughts blossom into deeds, and his deeds
0:33
Speaker 1: bear the fruitage of character and destiny. Life is ever
0:37
Speaker 1: unfolding from within and revealing itself to the light, and
0:41
Speaker 1: thoughts engendered in the heart at last reveal themselves in words, actions,
0:47
Speaker 1: and things accomplished. As the fountain from the hidden spring,
0:52
Speaker 1: so flows forth a man's life from the secret recesses
0:56
Speaker 1: of his heart. All that he is and does is
1:00
Speaker 1: generated there. All that he will be and do will
1:04
Speaker 1: take its rise from there. Sorrow and happiness, suffering and enjoyment,
1:10
Speaker 1: fear and hope, hatred and love, ignorance and enlightenment are
1:16
Speaker 1: nowhere but in the heart. They are solely mental conditions.
1:21
Speaker 1: Man is the keeper of his heart, the watcher of
1:24
Speaker 1: his mind, the solitary guard of his citadel of life.
1:29
Speaker 1: As such, he can be diligent or negligent, He can
1:33
Speaker 1: keep his heart more and more carefully. He can strenuously
1:37
Speaker 1: watch and purify his mind, and he can guard against
1:41
Speaker 1: the thinking of unrighteous thoughts. This is the way of
1:44
Speaker 1: enlightenment and bliss. On the other hand, he can live
1:49
Speaker 1: loosely and carelessly, neglecting the supreme task of rightfully ordering
1:54
Speaker 1: his life. This is the way of self, delusion and suffering.
2:00
Speaker 1: Man realize that life, in its totality proceeds from the mind,
2:04
Speaker 1: and lo the way of blessedness is opened up for him,
2:08
Speaker 1: For he will then discover that he possesses the power
2:11
Speaker 1: to rule his mind and to fashion it in accordance
2:15
Speaker 1: with his ideal. So he will elect to strongly, insteadfastly,
2:20
Speaker 1: walk those pathways of thought and action which are altogether
2:24
Speaker 1: excellent to him. Life will become beautiful and sacred, and
2:30
Speaker 1: sooner or later he will put to flight all evil, confusion,
2:34
Speaker 1: and suffering. For it is impossible for a man to
2:38
Speaker 1: fall short of liberation, enlightenment, and peace who guards with
2:43
Speaker 1: unwearying diligence the gateway of his heart, the nature and
2:48
Speaker 1: power of mind. Mind is the arbiter of life. It
2:53
Speaker 1: is the creator and shaper of conditions and the recipient
2:57
Speaker 1: of its own results. It can taians within itself both
3:02
Speaker 1: the power to create illusion and to perceive reality. Mind
3:06
Speaker 1: is the infallible weaver of destiny. Thought is the thread
3:11
Speaker 1: good and evil deeds are the warp and woof or foundation,
3:16
Speaker 1: and the web woven upon the loom of life is character.
3:21
Speaker 1: Mind close itself in garments of its own making. Man
3:25
Speaker 1: as a mental being possesses all the powers of mind
3:29
Speaker 1: and is furnished with unlimited choice. He learns by experience,
3:34
Speaker 1: and he can accelerate or retard his experience. He is
3:38
Speaker 1: not arbitrarily bound at any point, but he has bound
3:42
Speaker 1: himself at many points, and having bound himself, he can,
3:47
Speaker 1: when he chooses, liberate himself. He can become beastial or pure, ignorant,
3:54
Speaker 1: or noble, foolish, or wise, just as he chooses. He can,
4:00
Speaker 1: by reoccurring practice, form habits, and he can, by renewed effort,
4:06
Speaker 1: break them off. He can surround himself with illusions until
4:10
Speaker 1: truth is completely lost, and he can destroy each of
4:14
Speaker 1: those illusions until truth is entirely recovered. His possibilities are endless,
4:21
Speaker 1: his freedom is complete. It is the nature of the
4:25
Speaker 1: mind to create its own conditions, and it chooses the
4:28
Speaker 1: states in which it shall dwell. It also has the
4:32
Speaker 1: power to alter any condition, to abandon any state that
4:36
Speaker 1: it is continually doing, as it gathers knowledge of state
4:40
Speaker 1: after state by repeated choice and exhaustive experience. Inward processes
4:47
Speaker 1: of thought make up the sum of character and life.
4:50
Speaker 1: Man can modify and alter these processes by bringing will
4:55
Speaker 1: and effort to bear upon them. The bonds of habit, impotence,
5:00
Speaker 1: and sin are self made and can only be destroyed
5:04
Speaker 1: by one's self. They exist nowhere but in one's mind,
5:08
Speaker 1: and although they are directly related to outward things, they
5:12
Speaker 1: have no real existence in those things. The outer is
5:16
Speaker 1: molded and animated by the inner, and never the inner
5:20
Speaker 1: by the outer. Temptation does not arise in the outer object,
5:24
Speaker 1: but in the lust of the mind for that object.
5:28
Speaker 1: Nor do sorrow and suffering belong by nature to the
5:31
Speaker 1: external things and happenings of life, but in an undisciplined
5:35
Speaker 1: attitude of mind towards those things and happenings. The mind
5:40
Speaker 1: that is disciplined by purity and fortified by wisdom avoids
5:45
Speaker 1: all those lusts and desires which are inseparably bound up
5:49
Speaker 1: with affliction, and so arrives at enlightenment and peace to
5:54
Speaker 1: condemn others as evil and to curse at outside conditions.
5:59
Speaker 1: As the source of earth, evil increases and does not
6:02
Speaker 1: lessen the world's suffering and unrest. The outer is but
6:07
Speaker 1: the shadow and effect of the inner, And when the
6:10
Speaker 1: heart is pure, all outward things are pure. All growth
6:15
Speaker 1: in life is from within outward. All decay and death
6:19
Speaker 1: is from without inward. This is the universal law. All
6:25
Speaker 1: evolution proceeds from within, All adjustment must take place within.
6:31
Speaker 1: He who ceases to strive against others and employs his
6:35
Speaker 1: powers and transformation, regeneration and development of his own mind
6:41
Speaker 1: conserves his energies and preserves himself. And as he succeeds
6:46
Speaker 1: in harmonizing his own mind, he leads others, by consideration
6:51
Speaker 1: and charity, into a like blessed state. The way of
6:55
Speaker 1: enlightenment and peace is not gained by assuming authority in
6:59
Speaker 1: god guidance over other minds, but by exercising a lawful
7:04
Speaker 1: authority over one's own mind, and by guiding one's self
7:08
Speaker 1: in pathways of steadfast and lofty virtue. A man's life
7:14
Speaker 1: proceeds from his heart and his mind. He has compounded
7:18
Speaker 1: that mind by his own thoughts and deeds. It is
7:22
Speaker 1: within his power to refashion that mind by his choice
7:26
Speaker 1: of thought. In this manner he can transform his life.
7:32
Speaker 1: Let us see how this is to be done. Formation
7:36
Speaker 1: of habit. Every establishmental condition is an acquired habit, and
7:42
Speaker 1: has become such by continuous repetition of thought. Despondency and cheerfulness,
7:49
Speaker 1: anger and calmness, covetuousness and generosity. Indeed, all states of
7:56
Speaker 1: mind are habits, built up by choice, until they have
8:00
Speaker 1: become automatic. A thought constantly repeated, at last becomes a
8:06
Speaker 1: fixed habit of the mind, and from such habits precedes
8:11
Speaker 1: one's life. It is in the nature of the mind
8:14
Speaker 1: to acquire knowledge by the repetition of its experiences. A thought,
8:19
Speaker 1: which is very difficult at first to hold and dwell upon,
8:24
Speaker 1: at last becomes, by constantly being held in the mind,
8:28
Speaker 1: a natural and habitual practice. A boy, when commencing to
8:34
Speaker 1: learn a trade, cannot even handle his tools right, much
8:38
Speaker 1: less use them correctly. But after long repetition in practice,
8:43
Speaker 1: he applies them with perfect ease and consummate skill. Likewise,
8:49
Speaker 1: a state of mind, at first apparently incapable of realization,
8:54
Speaker 1: is by perseverance in practice, at last acquired and built
8:59
Speaker 1: into the care character as a natural and spontaneous condition.
9:04
Speaker 1: In this power of the mind to form and reform
9:06
Speaker 1: its habits its conditions is contained the basis of a
9:11
Speaker 1: man's salvation. It is the open door to perfect liberty
9:15
Speaker 1: by the mastery of self. For as a man has
9:19
Speaker 1: the power to form harmful habits, so he equally has
9:23
Speaker 1: the same power to create habits that are essentially good.
9:28
Speaker 1: And here we come to a point which needs some clarifying,
9:31
Speaker 1: and which calls for deep and earnest thought on the
9:34
Speaker 1: part of my reader. It is commonly said to be
9:38
Speaker 1: easier to do wrong than right, to sin, than to
9:41
Speaker 1: be holy. Such a condition has come to be regarded
9:46
Speaker 1: almost universally as a self evident truth. No less a
9:51
Speaker 1: teacher than the Buddha has said, bad deeds and deeds
9:55
Speaker 1: hurtful to ourselves are easy to do. What is benefit
10:00
Speaker 1: official and good that is very difficult to do. And
10:04
Speaker 1: with regards to humanity generally this is true. But it
10:09
Speaker 1: is only true as a passing experience, a fleeting factor
10:13
Speaker 1: in human evolution. It is not a fixed condition of things.
10:18
Speaker 1: It is not the nature of an eternal truth. It
10:21
Speaker 1: is easier for men to do wrong than right because
10:24
Speaker 1: of the prevalence of ignorance, because the true nature of
10:28
Speaker 1: things and the essence and meaning of life are not understood.
10:33
Speaker 1: When a child is learning to write, it is extremely
10:37
Speaker 1: easy to hold the pen wrongly and to form his
10:40
Speaker 1: letters incorrectly, but it is painfully difficult to hold the
10:44
Speaker 1: pen and to write properly. This is because of the
10:48
Speaker 1: child's ignorance of the art of writing, which can only
10:52
Speaker 1: be dispelled by persistent effort and practice, until at last
10:57
Speaker 1: it becomes natural and easy to hold the pen correctly,
11:00
Speaker 1: and difficult as well as altogether unnecessary to do the
11:05
Speaker 1: wrong thing. It is the same in the vital things
11:08
Speaker 1: of mind and life. To think and do rightly requires
11:12
Speaker 1: much practice and renewed effort. But the time comes at
11:16
Speaker 1: last when it becomes habitual and easy to think and
11:20
Speaker 1: do rightly, and difficult, as it is then seen to
11:24
Speaker 1: be altogether unnecessary to do that which is wrong. Just
11:29
Speaker 1: as an artisan becomes by practice accomplished in his craft,
11:34
Speaker 1: so you can become by practice accomplished in goodness. It
11:40
Speaker 1: is entirely a matter of forming new habits of thought,
11:44
Speaker 1: and he to whom right thoughts have become easy and natural,
11:48
Speaker 1: and wrong thoughts and acts difficult to do, has attained
11:52
Speaker 1: to the highest virtue, to pure spiritual knowledge. It is
11:57
Speaker 1: easy and natural for men to sin because they have formed,
12:01
Speaker 1: by incessant repetition, harmful and unenlightened habits of thought. It
12:06
Speaker 1: is very difficult for the thief to refrain from stealing
12:10
Speaker 1: when the opportunity occurs, because he has lived so long
12:14
Speaker 1: in covetuous and greedy thoughts. But such difficulty does not
12:19
Speaker 1: exist for the honest man, who has lived so long
12:22
Speaker 1: with upright and honest thoughts. He has thereby become so
12:26
Speaker 1: enlightened as to the wrong, folly, and fruitlessness of theft,
12:31
Speaker 1: that even the remotest idea of stealing does not enter
12:34
Speaker 1: his mind. The sin of theft is a very extreme one,
12:39
Speaker 1: and I have introduced it in order to more clearly
12:42
Speaker 1: illustrate the force and formation of habit. But all sins
12:47
Speaker 1: and virtues are formed in the same way. Anger and
12:51
Speaker 1: impatience are natural and easy to thousands of people because
12:55
Speaker 1: they are constantly repeating anger and impatient thoughts and acts,
13:00
Speaker 1: and with each repetition the habit is more firmly established
13:04
Speaker 1: and more deeply rooted. Calmness and patience can become habitual
13:10
Speaker 1: in the same way by first grasping through effort a
13:14
Speaker 1: calm and patient thought, and then continuously thinking it and
13:19
Speaker 1: living in it, until use becomes second nature, and anger
13:23
Speaker 1: and impatience pass away forever. It is in this manner
13:28
Speaker 1: that every wrong thought may be expelled from the mind,
13:32
Speaker 1: that every untrue act may be destroyed, and that every
13:36
Speaker 1: sin may be overcome doing and knowing. Let a man
13:42
Speaker 1: realize that his life, in its totality, proceeds from his mind.
13:48
Speaker 1: Let him realize that the mind is a combination of habits,
13:52
Speaker 1: which he can, by patient effort, modify to any extent,
13:57
Speaker 1: and over which he can thus gain complete ascendency, mastery,
14:02
Speaker 1: and control. At once he will have obtained possession of
14:06
Speaker 1: the key which shall open the door to his complete emancipation.
14:11
Speaker 1: But freedom from the ills of life, which are the
14:13
Speaker 1: ills of one's mind, is a matter of steady growth
14:17
Speaker 1: from within, and not a sudden acquisition from without. Hourly
14:22
Speaker 1: and daily must the mind be trained to think stainless
14:26
Speaker 1: thoughts and adapt right in dispassionate attitudes. Under those circumstances
14:32
Speaker 1: in which it is prone to fall into wrong and passion.
14:36
Speaker 1: Like the patient's sculptor upon his marble, the aspirant to
14:40
Speaker 1: the right life must gradually work upon the crude material
14:44
Speaker 1: of his mind until he is wrought out of it
14:47
Speaker 1: the ideal of his holiest dreams. In working towards such
14:51
Speaker 1: supreme accomplishment, it is necessary to begin at the lowest
14:56
Speaker 1: and easiest steps, and proceed by natural, aggressive stages to
15:01
Speaker 1: the higher and more difficult. The law of growth, progress, evolution,
15:07
Speaker 1: and unfoldment by gradual and ever ascending stages is absolute
15:12
Speaker 1: in every department of life and in every human accomplishment.
15:17
Speaker 1: Where it is ignored, total failure will result. In acquiring education,
15:23
Speaker 1: in learning a trade, or in pursuing a business, this
15:27
Speaker 1: law is fully recognized and minutely obeyed by all, But
15:32
Speaker 1: in acquiring virtue, in learning truth, and in pursuing the
15:37
Speaker 1: right conduct and knowledge of life, it is unrecognized and
15:41
Speaker 1: disobeyed by nearly all. Hence virtue, truth, and the perfect
15:47
Speaker 1: life remain unpracticed, unacquired, and unknown. It is a common
15:53
Speaker 1: error to suppose that the higher life is a matter
15:56
Speaker 1: of reading and the adoption of theological or menis meta
16:00
Speaker 1: physical hypotheses, and that the spiritual principles can be understood
16:05
Speaker 1: by this method. The higher life is higher living in
16:10
Speaker 1: thought word. Indeed, and the knowledge of those spiritual principles
16:15
Speaker 1: which are imminent in man and in the universe, can
16:18
Speaker 1: only be acquired after long discipline. In the pursuit and
16:22
Speaker 1: practice of virtue. The lesser must be thoroughly grasped and
16:27
Speaker 1: understood before the greater can be known. Practice always proceedes
16:32
Speaker 1: real knowledge. The schoolmaster never attempts to teach his pupils
16:37
Speaker 1: the abstract principles of mathematics. At the start, he knows
16:42
Speaker 1: that such a method of teaching would be in vain
16:44
Speaker 1: and learning impossible. He first places before them a simple sum, and,
16:50
Speaker 1: having explained it, leaves them to do it. When, after
16:54
Speaker 1: repeated failures and ever renewed effort, they have succeeded in
16:59
Speaker 1: doing it correctly, a more difficult task is set before them,
17:03
Speaker 1: and then another and another. It is not until the
17:07
Speaker 1: pupils have, through many years of diligent application, mastered all
17:12
Speaker 1: the lessons in arithmetic that he attempts to unfold to
17:16
Speaker 1: them the underlying mathematical principles. In learning a trade, say
17:21
Speaker 1: that of a mechanic. A boy is not at first
17:24
Speaker 1: taught the principles of mechanics, but a simple tool is
17:28
Speaker 1: put in his hand and he is told how to
17:31
Speaker 1: rightly use it. He is then left to do it
17:34
Speaker 1: by effort and practice. As he succeeds implying his tools correctly,
17:39
Speaker 1: more and more difficult tasks are set before him, until
17:43
Speaker 1: after years of successful practice, he is prepared to study
17:47
Speaker 1: and grasp the principles of mechanics. In a properly governed household,
17:53
Speaker 1: the child is first taught to be obedient and to
17:56
Speaker 1: conduct himself properly under all circumstances. The child is not
18:01
Speaker 1: even told why he must do this, but is commanded
18:05
Speaker 1: to do it. Only after he has far succeeded in
18:08
Speaker 1: doing what is right and proper is he told why
18:11
Speaker 1: he should do it. No father would attempt to teach
18:15
Speaker 1: his child the principles of ethics before extracting from him
18:19
Speaker 1: the practice of family duty and social virtue. Thus, practice
18:24
Speaker 1: ever precedes knowledge, even in the ordinary things of the
18:27
Speaker 1: world and in spiritual things. In the living of the
18:31
Speaker 1: higher life, this law is rigid in its demands. Virtue
18:36
Speaker 1: can only be known by doing, and the knowledge of
18:40
Speaker 1: truth can only be arrived at by perfecting oneself in
18:43
Speaker 1: the practice of virtue. To be complete in the practice
18:48
Speaker 1: and acquisition of virtue is to be complete in the
18:51
Speaker 1: knowledge of truth. Truth can only be arrived at by
18:56
Speaker 1: daily and hourly doing the lessons of virtue, beginning with
19:00
Speaker 1: the simplest and passing on to the more difficult. A
19:05
Speaker 1: child patiently and obediently learns his lessons at school by
19:09
Speaker 1: constantly practicing and ever exerting himself, until all failures and
19:15
Speaker 1: difficulties are surmounted. Likewise does the child of truth, undaunted
19:21
Speaker 1: by failure and made stronger by difficulties, apply himself to
19:26
Speaker 1: right doing and thought and action. As he succeeds in
19:30
Speaker 1: acquiring virtue, his mind unfolds itself in the knowledge of truth,
19:35
Speaker 1: and it is a knowledge in which he can securely
19:38
Speaker 1: rest first steps in the higher life, Seeing that the
19:44
Speaker 1: path of virtue is the path of knowledge, and that
19:47
Speaker 1: before the all embracing principles of truth can be comprehended,
19:51
Speaker 1: perfection in the more lowly steps must be acquired. How then,
19:56
Speaker 1: shall a disciple of truth begin, Show one who aspires
20:01
Speaker 1: to the writing of his mind and the purification of
20:04
Speaker 1: his heart that heart, which is the fountain and repository
20:08
Speaker 1: of all the issues of life. Learn the lessons of virtue.
20:13
Speaker 1: How does he thus build himself up in the strength
20:15
Speaker 1: of knowledge, destroying ignorance and the ills of life? What
20:20
Speaker 1: are the lessons the first steps? How are they learned?
20:25
Speaker 1: How are they practiced? How are they mastered and understood?
20:30
Speaker 1: The first lessons consist in overcoming those wrong mental conditions
20:34
Speaker 1: which are most easily eradicated, and which are the common
20:38
Speaker 1: barriers to spiritual progress, as well as in practicing the
20:42
Speaker 1: simple domestic and social virtues. The reader will be better
20:47
Speaker 1: aided if I group and classify the first ten steps
20:51
Speaker 1: in three lessons as follows. Vices of the body to
20:55
Speaker 1: be overcome and eradicated. First lesson discipline of the body.
21:02
Speaker 1: First step idleness, laziness or indolence. Second step self indulgence
21:11
Speaker 1: or gluttony. Second lesson discipline of speech. Third step slander.
21:19
Speaker 1: Fourth step gossip and idle conversation. Fifth step abusive and
21:26
Speaker 1: unkind speech. Sixth step frivolity or irreverent speech. Seventh step critical,
21:37
Speaker 1: captious or fault finding speech. Third lesson discipline of tendencies.
21:44
Speaker 1: Eighth step unselfish performance of duty, ninth step unswerving rectitude
21:52
Speaker 1: or moral integrity. Tenth step unlimited forgiveness. Two vices of
22:00
Speaker 1: the body and the five of the tongue are so
22:04
Speaker 1: called because they are manifested in the body and tongue. Also,
22:09
Speaker 1: by so definitely classifying them, the mind of the reader
22:13
Speaker 1: will be better helped. But it must be clearly understood
22:16
Speaker 1: that these vices arise primarily in the mind and are
22:20
Speaker 1: wrong conditions of the heart worked out in the body
22:24
Speaker 1: and the tongue. The existence of such chaotic conditions is
22:29
Speaker 1: an indication that the mind is altogether unenlightened as to
22:32
Speaker 1: the real meaning and purpose of life, and their eradication
22:36
Speaker 1: is the beginning of a virtuous, steadfast, and enlightened life.
22:42
Speaker 1: But how shall these vices be overcome and eradicated? By
22:46
Speaker 1: first and at once checking and controlling their outward manifestations,
22:52
Speaker 1: and by suppressing the wrong act. This will stimulate the
22:56
Speaker 1: mind to watchfulness and reflection, until by repeated practice it
23:01
Speaker 1: will come to perceive and understand the dark, wrong and
23:04
Speaker 1: erroneous conditions of mind out of which such acts spring.
23:09
Speaker 1: It will then abandon them entirely. It will be seen
23:13
Speaker 1: that the first step in The discipline of the mind
23:16
Speaker 1: is the overcoming of indolence or laziness. This is the
23:20
Speaker 1: easiest step, and until it is perfectly accomplished, the other
23:24
Speaker 1: steps cannot be taken. The clinging to indolence constitutes a
23:29
Speaker 1: complete barrier to the path of truth. Indolence consists in
23:33
Speaker 1: giving the body more ease and sleep than it requires,
23:37
Speaker 1: in procrastinating, and in shirking and neglecting those things which
23:41
Speaker 1: should receive immediate attention. This condition of laziness must be
23:46
Speaker 1: overcome by rousing up the body at an early hour,
23:50
Speaker 1: giving it just the amount of sleep it requires for
23:52
Speaker 1: complete recuperation, and by doing promptly and vigorously every task,
23:58
Speaker 1: every duty, no matter matter how small, as it comes along.
24:03
Speaker 1: On no account should food or drink be taken in bed,
24:07
Speaker 1: and to lie in bed after one has awakened. Indulging
24:10
Speaker 1: in ease and reverie is a habit fatal to promptness
24:14
Speaker 1: and resolution of character and of purity of mind. Nor
24:19
Speaker 1: should one attempt to do his thinking at such a time. Strong,
24:23
Speaker 1: pure and true thinking is impossible under such circumstances. A
24:28
Speaker 1: man should go to bed to sleep, not to think.
24:32
Speaker 1: He should get up to think and work not to sleep.
24:36
Speaker 1: The next step is the overcoming of self indulgence or gluttony.
24:41
Speaker 1: The gluttoness he who eats for animal gratification only without
24:45
Speaker 1: considering the true end and object of eating. He eats
24:49
Speaker 1: more than his body requires, and is greedy after sweet
24:53
Speaker 1: things and rich dishes. Such undisciplined desire can only be
24:59
Speaker 1: overcome by reduce using the quantity of food eaten and
25:02
Speaker 1: the number of meals per day, and by resorting to
25:05
Speaker 1: a simple and uninvolved diet. Regular hours should be set
25:10
Speaker 1: apart for meals, and eating at other times should be
25:13
Speaker 1: rigidly avoided. Supper should be abolished, as they are altogether
25:18
Speaker 1: unnecessary and promote heavy sleep and cloudiness of mind. The
25:24
Speaker 1: pursuit of such a method of discipline will rapidly bring
25:28
Speaker 1: the once ungoverned appetite under control, and as the sensual
25:32
Speaker 1: sin of self indulgence is taken out of the mind,
25:35
Speaker 1: the right selection of foods will be instinctively and infallibly
25:39
Speaker 1: adapted to the purified mental condition. It should be well
25:44
Speaker 1: borne in the mind that a change of heart is
25:47
Speaker 1: the needful thing, and that any change of diet which
25:50
Speaker 1: does not promote this end is futile. When one eats
25:54
Speaker 1: for enjoyment, he is gluttonous. The heart must be purified
25:58
Speaker 1: of sensual crave and glustatory lust. When the body is
26:03
Speaker 1: well controlled and firmly guided, When that which is to
26:07
Speaker 1: be done is done vigorously, when no task or duty
26:11
Speaker 1: is delayed, when early rising has become a delight, When frugality, simplicity, temperance,
26:19
Speaker 1: and abstinence are firmly established. When one is contented with
26:24
Speaker 1: the food which is put before him, no matter how
26:27
Speaker 1: scanty and plain, and the craving for gustatory pleasure is
26:31
Speaker 1: at an end, then the first two steps in the
26:34
Speaker 1: higher life are accomplished. Then is the first great lesson
26:39
Speaker 1: in truth learned thus is established in the heart, the
26:43
Speaker 1: foundation of a poised, self governed, virtuous life. The next
26:48
Speaker 1: lesson is the lesson of virtuous speech, in which there
26:52
Speaker 1: are five orderly steps. The first of these is overcoming
26:56
Speaker 1: the habit of slanderous speech. Slander consists of inventing or
27:01
Speaker 1: repeating unkind and evil reports about others, in exposing and
27:06
Speaker 1: magnifying the faults of others or of absent friends, and
27:10
Speaker 1: in introducing unworthy insinuations. The elements of thoughtlessness, cruelty, insincerity,
27:19
Speaker 1: and untruthfulness enter into every slanderous act. He who aims
27:25
Speaker 1: at the living of the right life will commence to
27:28
Speaker 1: check the cruel word of slander before it has gone
27:31
Speaker 1: forth from his lips. He will then check and eliminate
27:35
Speaker 1: the insincere thought which gave rise to it. He will
27:39
Speaker 1: watch that he does not vilify or defame anyone. He
27:43
Speaker 1: will refrain from disparaging, defaming, and condemning the absent friend
27:49
Speaker 1: whose face he has so recently smiled into or kissed,
27:53
Speaker 1: or whose hand he has shaken. He will not say
27:56
Speaker 1: of another that which he dare not say to his face. Thus,
28:01
Speaker 1: coming at last to think sacredly of the character and
28:04
Speaker 1: reputation of others, he will destroy those wrong conditions of
28:08
Speaker 1: mind which gave rise to slander. The next step is
28:13
Speaker 1: the overcoming of gossip and idle conversation. Idle speech consists
28:18
Speaker 1: in talking about the private affairs of others, in talking
28:22
Speaker 1: merely to pass away the time, and engaging an aimless
28:26
Speaker 1: and irrelevant conversation. Such an ungoverned condition of speech is
28:31
Speaker 1: the outcome of an irregulated mind. The man of virtue
28:36
Speaker 1: will bridle his tongue and thus learn how rightly to
28:39
Speaker 1: govern the mind. He will not let his tongue run
28:43
Speaker 1: idly and foolishly, but will make his speech strong and pure,
28:48
Speaker 1: and will either talk with a purpose or remain silent.
28:52
Speaker 1: Abusive and unkind speech is the next vice to be overcome.
28:57
Speaker 1: The man who abuses and accuses others has himself wandered
29:01
Speaker 1: far from the right. Way To hurl hard words and
29:05
Speaker 1: names at others is to sink deeply into folly. When
29:09
Speaker 1: a man is inclined to abuse, curse, and condemn others,
29:14
Speaker 1: let him restrain his tongue and look within himself. The
29:18
Speaker 1: virtuous man refrains from all abusive language and quarreling. He
29:22
Speaker 1: employs only words that are useful, necessary, pure, and true.
29:28
Speaker 1: The sixth step is the overcoming of levity or a
29:32
Speaker 1: revelant speech, light and frivolous talking, The repeating of crude jokes,
29:38
Speaker 1: the telling of vulgar's stories having no other purpose than
29:42
Speaker 1: to raise an empty laugh, offensive familiarity, and the employment
29:47
Speaker 1: of contemptuous and disrespectful words when speaking to or of others,
29:53
Speaker 1: and particularly of one's elders and those who rank as
29:57
Speaker 1: one's teachers, guardians, or superior All of this will be
30:01
Speaker 1: put away by the lover of virtue and truth upon
30:05
Speaker 1: the altar of irreverence. Absent friends and companions are immolated
30:10
Speaker 1: for the passing excitement of a momentary laugh, and all
30:14
Speaker 1: the sanctity of life is sacrificed to the zest for ridicule.
30:20
Speaker 1: When the respect towards others and the giving of reverence
30:23
Speaker 1: where reverence is due are abandoned. Virtue is abandoned when modesty, significance,
30:30
Speaker 1: and dignity are eliminated from speech and behavior. Truth is
30:35
Speaker 1: lost yea, even its entrance gate is hidden away and forgotten.
30:41
Speaker 1: Irreverence is degrading even in the young. But when it
30:45
Speaker 1: accompanies gray hairs and appears in the demeanor of the preacher,
30:50
Speaker 1: this is indeed a piteous spectacle. And when this can
30:54
Speaker 1: be imitated and followed after, then are the blind leading
30:58
Speaker 1: the blind? Then have ells preachers and people lost their way.
31:04
Speaker 1: The virtuous will be of earnest and reverent speech. He
31:08
Speaker 1: will think and speak of the absence as he thinks
31:10
Speaker 1: and speaks of the dead, tenderly and sacredly. He will
31:15
Speaker 1: put away all thoughtlessness, and watch that he does not
31:18
Speaker 1: sacrifice his dignity to gratify a passing impulse of frivolity
31:23
Speaker 1: and superficiality. His humor will be pure and innocent, his
31:28
Speaker 1: voice will be subdued and musical, and his soul will
31:32
Speaker 1: be filled with grace and sweetness as he succeeds in
31:35
Speaker 1: conducting himself as becomes a man of truth. The last
31:40
Speaker 1: step in the second lesson is the overcoming of criticism
31:45
Speaker 1: or fault finding speech. This vice of the tongue consists
31:49
Speaker 1: in magnifying and harping on small or apparent faults, in
31:54
Speaker 1: foolish quibbling and hair splitting, and in pursuing vain arguments
31:59
Speaker 1: based upon on groundless suppositions, beliefs, and opinions. Life is
32:05
Speaker 1: short and real, and sins, sorrow, and pain are not
32:09
Speaker 1: remedied by carping and contention. The man who is ever
32:13
Speaker 1: on the watch to catch at the words of others
32:17
Speaker 1: in order to contradict and dispute them has yet to
32:20
Speaker 1: reach the higher way of holiness, the truer life of
32:24
Speaker 1: self surrender. The man who is ever on the alert
32:28
Speaker 1: to check his own words in order to soften and
32:32
Speaker 1: purify them will find the higher way. In the truer life.
32:36
Speaker 1: He will conserve his energies, maintain his composure of mind,
32:41
Speaker 1: and preserve within himself the spirit of truth. When the
32:46
Speaker 1: tongue is well controlled and wisely subdued, when selfish impulses
32:51
Speaker 1: and unworthy thoughts no longer rush to the tongue demanding utterance.
32:56
Speaker 1: When the speech has become harmless, pure genie, gracious and purposeful,
33:03
Speaker 1: and no word is uttered but in sincerity and honesty,
33:07
Speaker 1: then are the five steps to virtuous speech accomplished. Then
33:11
Speaker 1: is the second great lesson in truth learned and mastered.
33:16
Speaker 1: And now some will ask, but why all this discipline
33:20
Speaker 1: of the body and restraint of the tongue. Surely the
33:23
Speaker 1: higher life can be realized and known without such strenuous labor,
33:27
Speaker 1: such incessant effort and watchfulness. No, it cannot. In the
33:33
Speaker 1: spiritual as the material nothing is done without labor, and
33:37
Speaker 1: the higher cannot be known until the lower is fulfilled.
33:41
Speaker 1: Can a man make a table before he has learned
33:44
Speaker 1: to handle a tool and drive a nail? And can
33:47
Speaker 1: a man fashion his mind in accordance with truth before
33:51
Speaker 1: he has overcome the slavery of his body? As the
33:54
Speaker 1: intricate subtleties of language cannot be understood, and wielded before
33:59
Speaker 1: the alphabet and the simplest words are mastered. Neither can
34:03
Speaker 1: the deep subtleties of the mind be understood and purified
34:07
Speaker 1: before the abc of rite conduct is perfectly acquired. As
34:12
Speaker 1: for the labour involved, does not the youth joyfully and
34:15
Speaker 1: patiently submit himself to seven years apprenticeship in order to
34:20
Speaker 1: master a craft? And does he not day by day
34:24
Speaker 1: carefully and faithfully carry out every detail of his master's instructions,
34:29
Speaker 1: looking forward to a time when perfected through obedience and practice,
34:34
Speaker 1: he shall himself become a master. Where is the man
34:39
Speaker 1: who sincerely aims at excellence in music, painting, literature, or
34:44
Speaker 1: any trade, business, or profession, who is not willing to
34:48
Speaker 1: give his whole life to the acquirement of that particular perfection.
34:53
Speaker 1: Shall labour then be considered where the very highest excellence
34:57
Speaker 1: is concerned, the excellence of truth. He who says the
35:02
Speaker 1: path which you have pointed out is too difficult, I
35:05
Speaker 1: must have truth without labour, salvation without effort. That man
35:10
Speaker 1: will not find his way out of the confusions and
35:13
Speaker 1: sufferings of selfhood. He will not find the calm, well
35:16
Speaker 1: fortified mind, and wisely ordered life. His love is for
35:21
Speaker 1: ease and enjoyment, and not for truth. He who deep
35:25
Speaker 1: in his heart adores truth and aspires to know it,
35:30
Speaker 1: will consider no labor too great to be undertaken, but
35:34
Speaker 1: will adopt it joyfully and pursue it patiently. By perseverance
35:39
Speaker 1: in practice, he will come to the knowledge of truth.
35:43
Speaker 1: The necessity for this preliminary discipline of the body and
35:46
Speaker 1: tongue will be more clearly perceived when it is fully
35:50
Speaker 1: understood that all these wrong outward conditions are merely the
35:54
Speaker 1: expressions of the wrong conditions of the heart. An indolent
35:58
Speaker 1: body means an indolent mind mind, an ill regulated tongue
36:02
Speaker 1: reveals an ill regulated mind, and the process of remedying
36:07
Speaker 1: the manifested condition is really a method of rectifying the
36:10
Speaker 1: inward state. Moreover, the overcoming of these conditions is only
36:17
Speaker 1: a small part of what is really involved in the process.
36:21
Speaker 1: The ceasing from evil leads to and is inseparably connected
36:25
Speaker 1: with the practice of good. While a man is overcoming
36:29
Speaker 1: laziness and self indulgence, he is really cultivating and developing
36:34
Speaker 1: the virtues of abstinence, temperance, punctuality, and self denial. He
36:40
Speaker 1: is acquiring the strength, energy, and resolve, which are indispensable
36:45
Speaker 1: to the successful accomplishment of the higher tasks. While he
36:49
Speaker 1: is overcoming the vices of speech, he is developing the
36:53
Speaker 1: virtues of truthfulness, sincerity, reverence, kindliness, and self control, and
37:00
Speaker 1: is gaining that mental steadiness and fixedness of purpose, without
37:05
Speaker 1: which the more remote subtleties of the mind cannot be regulated,
37:09
Speaker 1: and the higher stages of conduct and enlightenment cannot be reached. Also,
37:15
Speaker 1: as he has to do right, his knowledge deepens and
37:19
Speaker 1: his insight is intensified. Just as a child's heart is
37:24
Speaker 1: glad when a school task is mastered, so with each
37:27
Speaker 1: victory achieved, the man of virtue experiences a bliss which
37:32
Speaker 1: the seeker after pleasure and excitement can never know. And
37:37
Speaker 1: now we come to the third lesson in the higher life,
37:40
Speaker 1: which consists of practicing and mastering in one's daily life
37:45
Speaker 1: three great fundamental virtues. One unselfish performance of duty, two
37:53
Speaker 1: unswerving rectitude, moral integrity, three unlimit forgiveness. Having prepared the
38:03
Speaker 1: mind by overcoming the more surface and chaotic conditions mentioned
38:07
Speaker 1: in the first two lessons, the striver, after virtue and
38:11
Speaker 1: truth is now ready to enter upon greater and more
38:14
Speaker 1: difficult tasks and to control and purify the deeper motives
38:18
Speaker 1: of the heart. Without the right performance of duty, the
38:22
Speaker 1: higher virtues cannot be known, and truth cannot be apprehended.
38:27
Speaker 1: Duty is generally regarded as an irksome labor, a compulsory
38:31
Speaker 1: something which must be toiled through or in some way avoided.
38:36
Speaker 1: This way of regarding duty proceeds from a selfish condition
38:39
Speaker 1: of mind and a wrong understanding of life. All duty
38:44
Speaker 1: should be regarded as sacred in its faithful and unselfish performance.
38:48
Speaker 1: One of the leading rules of conduct. All personal and
38:52
Speaker 1: selfish considerations should be extracted and cast away from the
38:56
Speaker 1: doing of one's duty, and when this is done, duty
39:00
Speaker 1: ceases to be irksome and becomes joyful. Duty is only
39:05
Speaker 1: irksome to him who craves some selfish enjoyment or benefit
39:09
Speaker 1: for himself. Let the man who is chafing under the
39:12
Speaker 1: irksomeness of his duty look to himself, and he will
39:16
Speaker 1: find that his wearisomeness proceeds not from the duty itself,
39:21
Speaker 1: but from his selfish desire to escape it. He who
39:25
Speaker 1: neglects duty, be a great or small, or of a
39:28
Speaker 1: public or private nature, neglects virtue. When duty becomes a
39:33
Speaker 1: thing of love, and when every particular duty is done accurately, faithfully,
39:38
Speaker 1: and dispassionately, there is much subtle selfishness removed from the heart,
39:44
Speaker 1: and a great step is taken toward the heights of truth.
39:47
Speaker 1: The virtuous man concentrates his mind on the perfect doing
39:51
Speaker 1: of his own duty and does not interfere with the
39:54
Speaker 1: duty of another. The ninth step is the practice of
39:58
Speaker 1: unswerving rectitute, dude, or moral integrity. This virtue must be
40:04
Speaker 1: firmly established in the mind, and so enter into every
40:07
Speaker 1: detail of a man's life. All dishonesty, deception, trickery, and
40:14
Speaker 1: misrepresentation must be forever put away, and the heart purged
40:19
Speaker 1: of every vestige of insincerity and deception. The least digression
40:24
Speaker 1: from the path of rectitude or righteousness is a deviation
40:28
Speaker 1: from virtue. There must be no extravagance and exaggeration of speech,
40:34
Speaker 1: but the simple truth should be stated. Engaging in deception,
40:39
Speaker 1: no matter how apparently insignificant, for boastful pride or with
40:44
Speaker 1: the hope of personal advantage, is a state of delusion
40:48
Speaker 1: which one should make efforts to dispel. It is demanded
40:52
Speaker 1: of the man of virtue that he shall not only
40:55
Speaker 1: practice the most rigid honesty in thought word indeed, but
41:00
Speaker 1: that he shall be exact in his statements, omitting and
41:03
Speaker 1: adding nothing to the actual truth. In thus shaping his
41:07
Speaker 1: mind to the principle of rectitude or moral integrity, he
41:12
Speaker 1: will gradually come to deal with people and things in
41:15
Speaker 1: a just and impartial spirit, considering equity before himself, and
41:20
Speaker 1: viewing all things with freedom from personal bias, passion, and prejudice.
41:26
Speaker 1: When the virtue of rectitude is fully practiced and comprehended,
41:30
Speaker 1: so that all temptation to untruthfulness and insincerity has ceased,
41:36
Speaker 1: then is the heart made purer and nobler than is.
41:39
Speaker 1: Character strengthened and knowledge enlarged, and life takes on a
41:44
Speaker 1: new meaning and a new power. Thus is the ninth
41:48
Speaker 1: step accomplished. The tenth step is the practice of unlimited forgiveness.
41:55
Speaker 1: This consists in overcoming the sense of injury which springs
41:59
Speaker 1: from vanity, selfishness, and pride, and in exercising disinterested charity
42:05
Speaker 1: and large heartedness towards all spite, retaliation, and revenge are
42:12
Speaker 1: so utterly ignoble, so base, so small and foolish, as
42:17
Speaker 1: to be altogether unworthy of being noticed or harbored. No
42:21
Speaker 1: one who fosters such conditions in his heart can lift
42:25
Speaker 1: himself above folly and suffering and guide his life aright.
42:31
Speaker 1: Only by casting them away and ceasing to be moved
42:34
Speaker 1: by them can a man's eyes be open to the
42:37
Speaker 1: true way of life. Only by developing a forgiving and
42:41
Speaker 1: charitable spirit can he hope to approach and perceive the
42:45
Speaker 1: strength and beauty of a well ordered life. In the
42:49
Speaker 1: heart of the strongly virtuous man, no feeling of personal
42:53
Speaker 1: injury can arise. He has put away all retaliation and
42:58
Speaker 1: has no enemies. If other men should regard themselves as
43:02
Speaker 1: his enemies, he will regard them kindly, understanding their ignorance
43:07
Speaker 1: and making full allowance for it. When this state of
43:11
Speaker 1: heart is arrived at, then the tenth step in the
43:15
Speaker 1: discipline of one's self seeking inclinations is accomplished. Then the
43:20
Speaker 1: third great lesson in virtue and knowledge is learned and mastered.
43:24
Speaker 1: Having thus laid down the first ten steps and three
43:27
Speaker 1: lessons in right doing and right knowing, I leave those
43:31
Speaker 1: of my readers who are prepared for them to learn
43:34
Speaker 1: and master them in their everyday life. There is, of
43:37
Speaker 1: course a still higher discipline of the body, a more
43:41
Speaker 1: far reaching discipline of the tongue, and greater and more
43:45
Speaker 1: all embracing virtues to acquire and understand before the highest
43:49
Speaker 1: state of bliss and knowledge can be grasped. But it
43:53
Speaker 1: is not my purpose to deal with them. Here. I
43:56
Speaker 1: have expounded only the first and easiest lessons on them
44:00
Speaker 1: higher path, And by the time these are thoroughly mastered,
44:04
Speaker 1: the reader will have become so purified, strengthened, and enlightened
44:09
Speaker 1: that he will not be left in the dark as
44:11
Speaker 1: to his future progress. Those of my readers who have
44:15
Speaker 1: completed these three lessons will already have perceived beyond and
44:20
Speaker 1: above the high altitudes of truth and the narrow, imprecipitous
44:25
Speaker 1: tract which leads to them, and will choose whether they
44:28
Speaker 1: shall proceed. The straight path which I have laid down
44:32
Speaker 1: can be pursued by all with greater profit to themselves
44:36
Speaker 1: and to the world. And even those who do not
44:39
Speaker 1: aspire to the attainment of truth will develop greater intellectual
44:43
Speaker 1: and moral strength, finer judgment, and deeper peace of mind
44:48
Speaker 1: by perfecting themselves in this path. Nor will their material
44:52
Speaker 1: prosperity suffer by this change of heart. Nay, it will
44:57
Speaker 1: be rendered truer, purer, and more. For if there is
45:02
Speaker 1: one who is capable of succeeding and fitted to achieve,
45:05
Speaker 1: it is the man who has abandoned the petty weaknesses
45:09
Speaker 1: and everyday vices of his kind, who is strong enough
45:12
Speaker 1: to rule his body and mind, and who pursues with
45:16
Speaker 1: fixed resolve the path of unswerving integrity and sterling virtue.
45:22
Speaker 1: Mental conditions and their effects. Without going into the details
45:28
Speaker 1: of the greater steps and lessons in the right life
45:31
Speaker 1: a task outside the scope of this small work, a
45:35
Speaker 1: few hints concerning those mental conditions from which life, in
45:39
Speaker 1: its totality springs, seem in order. These hints will prove
45:44
Speaker 1: helpful to those who are ready and willing to penetrate
45:47
Speaker 1: further into the inner realm of heart and mind, where love, peace,
45:52
Speaker 1: and wisdom await the rapidly progressing student of life. All
45:57
Speaker 1: sin is ignorance. It is a condition of darkness and undevelopment.
46:02
Speaker 1: The wrong thinker and the wrongdoer is in the same
46:05
Speaker 1: position in the school of life as the ignorant pupil
46:09
Speaker 1: is in the school of learning. He has yet to
46:12
Speaker 1: learn how to think and act correctly. That is, in
46:16
Speaker 1: accordance with law. The pupil in learning is not happy
46:21
Speaker 1: so long as he does his lessons wrongly. Likewise, unhappiness
46:26
Speaker 1: cannot be escaped, while sin remains unconquered. Life is a
46:31
Speaker 1: series of lessons. Some are diligent in learning them, and
46:35
Speaker 1: they become pure, wise, and altogether happy. Others are negligent
46:41
Speaker 1: and do not apply themselves. They remain impure, foolish, and unhappy.
46:48
Speaker 1: Every form of unhappiness springs from a wrong condition of mind.
46:53
Speaker 1: Happiness is inherent in right conditions of mind. Happiness is
46:58
Speaker 1: mental harmony on us. Happiness is mental in harmony. While
47:03
Speaker 1: a man lives in wrong conditions of mind, he will
47:06
Speaker 1: live a wrong life and will suffer continually. Suffering is
47:11
Speaker 1: rooted in error. Bliss is inherent in enlightenment. There is
47:16
Speaker 1: salvation for man only in the destruction of his own ignorance, error,
47:22
Speaker 1: and self delusion. Where there are wrong conditions of mind,
47:26
Speaker 1: there is bondage and unrest. Where there are right conditions
47:30
Speaker 1: of mind, there is freedom and peace. Here are some
47:35
Speaker 1: of the leading wrong mental conditions and their disastrous effects
47:39
Speaker 1: upon one's life. One hatred, which leads to injury, violence, disaster,
47:47
Speaker 1: and suffering. Two lust which leads to confusion of intellect, remorse, shame,
47:56
Speaker 1: and wretchedness. Three of virtuousness, which leads to fear, unrest, unhappiness,
48:06
Speaker 1: and loss. Four pride which leads to disappointment, humiliation, and
48:14
Speaker 1: lack of self knowledge. Five vanity, which leads to distress
48:21
Speaker 1: and mortification of spirit. Six condemnation which leads to persecution
48:28
Speaker 1: and hatred from others. Seven ill will which leads to
48:34
Speaker 1: failures and troubles. Eight self indulgence which leads to misery,
48:42
Speaker 1: loss of judgment, grossness, disease, and neglect. Nine anger which
48:51
Speaker 1: leads to the loss of power and influence. Ten desire
48:57
Speaker 1: or self slavery, which leads to grief, folly, sorrow, uncertainty,
49:04
Speaker 1: and loneliness. The above wrong conditions of mind are merely negations.
49:11
Speaker 1: They are states of darkness and deprivation, and not of
49:14
Speaker 1: positive power. Evil is not a power, It is ignorance
49:19
Speaker 1: and misuse of good. The hater is he who has
49:23
Speaker 1: failed to do the lesson of love correctly, and he
49:26
Speaker 1: suffers in consequence. When he succeeds in doing it rightly,
49:31
Speaker 1: the hatred will have disappeared, and he will see and
49:35
Speaker 1: understand the darkness and impotence of hatred. This is so
49:39
Speaker 1: with every wrong condition. The following are some of the
49:43
Speaker 1: more important right mental conditions and their beneficial effects upon
49:48
Speaker 1: one's life. One love, which leads to gentle conditions, bliss
49:55
Speaker 1: and blessedness. Two purity, which leads to intellectual clearness, joy,
50:04
Speaker 1: invincible confidence. Three selflessness, which leads to courage, satisfaction, happiness,
50:13
Speaker 1: and abundance. Four humility, which leads to calmness, restfulness, knowledge
50:22
Speaker 1: of truth. Five gentleness, which leads to emotional equilibrium, contentment
50:30
Speaker 1: under all circumstances. Six compassion, which leads to protection, love,
50:38
Speaker 1: and reverence from others. Seven good will which leads to gladness, success.
50:48
Speaker 1: Eight self control, which leads to peace of mind, true judgment, refinement, health,
50:57
Speaker 1: and honor. Nine patience, which leads to mental power, far
51:03
Speaker 1: reaching influence. Ten self conquest which leads to enlightenment, wisdom, insight,
51:13
Speaker 1: and profound peace. The above right conditions of mind are
51:18
Speaker 1: states of positive power, light, joyful possession, and knowledge. The
51:24
Speaker 1: good man knows he has learned to do his lessons correctly,
51:29
Speaker 1: and thereby understands the exact proportions which make up the
51:33
Speaker 1: sum of life. He is enlightened, and he knows good
51:38
Speaker 1: and evil. He is supremely happy, doing only which is
51:43
Speaker 1: divinely right. The man who is involved in the wrong
51:46
Speaker 1: conditions of mind does not know. He is ignorant of
51:50
Speaker 1: good and evil, of himself, of the inward causes which
51:55
Speaker 1: make his life. He is unhappy and believes other people
51:59
Speaker 1: are in entirely the cause of his unhappiness. He works
52:03
Speaker 1: blindly and lives in darkness, seeing no central purpose in existence,
52:10
Speaker 1: and no orderly and lawful sequence in the course of things.
52:15
Speaker 1: He who aspires to the attainment of the higher life
52:17
Speaker 1: in its completion, who would perceive with unveiled vision the
52:22
Speaker 1: true order of things and the meaning of life. Let
52:26
Speaker 1: him abandon all the wrong conditions of the heart and
52:29
Speaker 1: persevere unceasingly in the practice of good. If he suffers,
52:35
Speaker 1: or doubts, or is unhappy, let him search within until
52:39
Speaker 1: he finds the cause, and having found it, let him
52:43
Speaker 1: cast it away. Let him so guard and purify his heart,
52:48
Speaker 1: that every day less of evil and more of good
52:51
Speaker 1: shall issue therefrom so he will daily become stronger, nobler,
52:57
Speaker 1: and wiser. So will his blessedness increase, and the light
53:02
Speaker 1: of truth growing ever brighter and brighter within him will
53:06
Speaker 1: dispel all gloom and illuminate his pathway. Exhortation, Disciples of truth,
53:15
Speaker 1: lovers of virtue, seekers of wisdom, You also, who are
53:20
Speaker 1: sorrow stricken, knowing the emptiness of the self life, and
53:25
Speaker 1: who aspire to the life that is supremely beautiful and
53:29
Speaker 1: serenely joyful, Take now yourselves in hand, Enter the door
53:34
Speaker 1: of discipline and know the better life. Put away self delusion,
53:40
Speaker 1: behold yourself as you are, and see the path of
53:43
Speaker 1: virtue as it is. There is no lazy way to truth.
53:48
Speaker 1: He who would stand upon the mountain's summit must strenuously climb,
53:53
Speaker 1: and must rest only to gather strength. But if the
53:57
Speaker 1: climbing is less glorious than the cloudless sund it is
54:01
Speaker 1: still glorious. Discipline in itself is beautiful, and the end
54:06
Speaker 1: result of discipline is sweet. Rise early and meditate. Begin
54:12
Speaker 1: each day with a conquered body and a mind fortified
54:15
Speaker 1: against error and weakness. Temptation will never be overcome by
54:20
Speaker 1: unprepared fighting. The mind must be armed and arrayed in
54:25
Speaker 1: the silent hour. It must be trained to perceive, to know,
54:30
Speaker 1: to understand sin and temptation, disappear when right understanding is developed.
54:37
Speaker 1: Right understanding is reached through unabated discipline. Truth cannot be reached,
54:43
Speaker 1: but through discipline. Patience will increase by effort and practice,
54:48
Speaker 1: and patience will make discipline beautiful. Discipline is irksome to
54:53
Speaker 1: the impatient man and the lover of self, so he
54:56
Speaker 1: avoids it and continues to live loosely and confusedly. Discipline
55:02
Speaker 1: is not irksome to the lover of truth, and he
55:05
Speaker 1: will find the infinite patience which can wait, work and overcome.
55:11
Speaker 1: Just as the joy of the gardener who sees his
55:13
Speaker 1: or her flowers develop day by day, so is the
55:17
Speaker 1: joy of the man of discipline, who sees the divine
55:21
Speaker 1: flowers of purity, wisdom, compassion, and love grow within his heart.
55:28
Speaker 1: The loose liver cannot escape sorrow and pain. The undisciplined
55:33
Speaker 1: mind falls weak and helpless before the fierce onslaught of passion.
55:39
Speaker 1: Array your mind, then, lover of truth, Be watchful, thoughtful,
55:44
Speaker 1: and resolute. Your salvation is at hand. Your readiness and
55:50
Speaker 1: effort are all that are needed. If you fail ten times,
55:54
Speaker 1: do not be disheartened. If you should fail a hundred times,
55:59
Speaker 1: rise up and per sue your way. If you should
56:02
Speaker 1: fail a thousand times, do not despair. When the path
56:07
Speaker 1: is entered, success is sure if the path is not
56:11
Speaker 1: utterly abandoned. First strife and then victory, First labor and
56:17
Speaker 1: then rest, First weakness and then strength. In the beginning
56:22
Speaker 1: the lower life, and the glare and confusion of battle,
56:26
Speaker 1: and at the end the life beautiful, the silence and
56:31
Speaker 1: the peace, all common things each day's events, that with
56:37
Speaker 1: the hour begin an end. Our pleasures and our discontents
56:42
Speaker 1: are rounds by which we may ascend. We have not wings,
56:47
Speaker 1: we cannot soar, but we have feet to scale and climb, longfellow,