The father found the son reading an account of one man’s time in a faraway monastic school, identified historically with the notion that through certain methods a man can improve his state of consciousness, (achieve, “Enlightenment”). He sat down with him and said, “The initial impulse is to think that giving up a normal life, moving to the other side of the world, living in harsh, silent conditions while trying to sit motionless for most of the day, then reading revered texts far into the night, while waiting for the mind to become sufficiently settled and prepared to allow for the arrival of the Great Awakening would be the strongest possible sign of a person’s dedication to that goal. But, in all ways does this Curious Human Activity remain a universal singularity. If we were speaking of a man’s interest in any other area known and named by man, except for the altering of one’s consciousness – the immersion in its study as total as possible – would be the superior approach.
If a man wanted to become a mechanic, the most efficient procedure would be for him to be in an environment wherein automotive mechanics was the only topic discussed, and only reading material on the subject was available. It would be beneficial for the students to engage in exercises, and hold poses reflective of the kinds of physical demands they would eventually face in the real world of mechanic-ing. The same would be true in any other activity, save the strange one always on our tongue.”
The elder got up and moved to another chair, then continued, “From any minimally sane perspective, a man has no choice in the beginning but to believe and to operate-on-the-basis-that the reading of books by past achievers, the listening to lectures of present experts, and the exercise of accepted rituals all dedicated to the goal of Waking Up, is the course – the only reasonable course to follow. Due to certain innate qualities of our inner construction, there is simply no way that such an entrée into this life can be avoided. It is the only door in, but, Ohhhhhhh, it is a trick door indeed for it opens up into the absolute trickiest area in the whole universe.”
The father then left his chair and sat on the floor, “Consciousness – that is what the door stands before; that is what it opens into, and that is what the door is made of. Thus the trickiness not only has you, coming-and-going, but is also the sole medium for your coming-and- going. It is tripartite trickster-ism. It is your present location; your destination, and your only means of getting there all rolled into one.”
J.