Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Watch Out!

Burnaby, British Columbia

"PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE COYOTES!" reads the sign which I daily pass on foot when visiting our Vancouver centre. The sign further says of the wild dogs that roam in this Byrne Creek area, "THEY ARE OBSERVED AND APPRECIATED FROM A DISTANCE!"

The point is if you feed them, you spoil them.

One of my walking companions informed me that cats don't survive at the devotee community nearby because of the canine creatures. And the hairy remains of a squirrel alongside our trail was evidence of coyote hunger.

The topic came up several times in the last few days on why some monks will leave the order. It does become disturbing news when you hear of an apparent dedicated and loyal person who 1) weakens and 2) strays from the mission. There are several reasons for these happenings. One cause for departing from principles or disciplines is isolation. A sannyasi or monk may be busy in the mission in some part of the world with not much peer association and hence he may find himself starting to eventually weaken and cater to some hidden desires and then take to some bad habits.

Another cause for swaying from self-discipline is the adulation or over-praise that oftentimes goes along with the territory. When you are in a position of spiritual authority, people will offer a great amount of reverence. It can be intoxicating.

Other culprits are over-endeavouring, over-eating, associating with the opposite gender. To be more detailed on this, one scenario could be the following: You are a monk in a man's body. You just gave a fabulous talk to a group of people. They were inspired and one particular woman in the group was as well. She wanted to talk to you about something personal and you agree to meet her at a place and time. You meet in a private office, and then there is a second meeting, and a third... The writing is on the wall.

Those of us in a position of spiritual influence must carefully guard against those things that weaken us. One way that people can help the monk to remain strong is to allow us to carry a sign that reads "PLEASE DON'T OVERFEED THIS MONK!"

7 KM