The Six Worlds of Samsara, Cont.

Samsara is strife, itself. Every segment is a war zone. And the simple cause of the conflict is that the ego, by its very nature, exists in a perpetual state of desire, wanting love, fame and power and, unfortunately for us all, not much caring how it gets them. To succeed in its ambitions it will lie, cheat, steal, betray, kill, and generally manipulate other egos without the smallest mercy. If in the course of its development it has noted how loyalty, gratitude, or generosity are prized, it seeks fame for being grateful, generous or loyal. But when it perceives that such virtues are not to its immediate advantage, it defers to Number One and dispenses with such sentimental notions. Seemingly altruistic acts that are performed because the ego desires the esteem such actions generate are not altruistic at all; on the other hand, altruistic acts which are performed from genuine love and selflessness are acts which have transcended the ego and are not Samsaric at all.

May any man dare to hope that after he has unscrupulously striven half a lifetime to gain an objective he will, upon finally possessing it, enjoy it for more than two weeks? No. The moment an ego gets what it has fought for, it devalues the prize. The goal loses its fascination and the bored, competitive ego quickly sets its sights upon another, more worthy challenge. To live in the Six Worlds of Samsara is to live in constant conflict, winning some battles and losing others, but never being able to secure the peace. The Wheel of desire turns relentlessly, one possession after another, one relationship after another, one conquest after another. Such is life under the ego's tyranny.

Pity the poor Chan master! He has literally vowed never to rest until he has freed all who are in his charge from the bondage of Samsara. In addition, therefore, to leading his bona fide disciples (7th and 8th World Chan) to Nirvanic realization, he must also guide all the Six Worlds' monks and nuns in his monastery safely out of their ego-deluded existence. This is not an easy task.

For so long as a person believes in himself, i.e., in the sufficiency of his own ego to deliver him to an existence of peace, joy and freedom, he cannot be liberated. For so long as a person thinks that his conscious ego is in total control of his life and that he can cope with failure and success, he cannot be freed. The craving ego and the Spirit (Buddha Nature) are mutually exclusive entities. Where there is one the other cannot be.

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