Modern man has a taste for comfort, and all he does not want are experiences that shake him up and force him to move. And when we analyze his days, his years, we see how regrettable the effects of mediocrity, convenience and idleness are. It is curious to note the frequency of extreme experiences in great souls, whose character seems to be consolidated precisely by them. Sublime or harsh, they mark less by nature than by intensity, representing the transformative essence that modern custom wants to avoid.
More Impressive Than the Deeds Described…
More impressive than the deeds described in Milarepa’s biography is the perfect characterization of madness as a necessary constituent of holiness. Just imagining him as he is portrayed, a “skeleton” with greenish skin, a “ghost”, a miserable weakling, dressed in rags… And yet we notice his stubborn will, his total self-denial and the resolution that does not give in to the most intense and basic needs. What is most impressive is that, after assimilating the reasonableness of madness, one ends up realizing that mad, in fact, was everyone else.
In Fact, Life Would Be Impossible…
In fact, life would be impossible without the certainty of impermanence, which happens every day under the expectation that something can change. If change is possible, action is also possible. And even if awareness sometimes fails, reality soon tries to restore it, shattering what seemed stable and prompting movement once again. No matter how long a man lives, he is always granted the condition to change.
The Best Way for the Student to Retain…
The best way for the student to retain the content he has just learned is to explain it, however partially or imperfectly. Teachers and students know this, which is why it is common practice. However, it is also clear that in doing so, if one doesn’t see it as a mere exercise, one risks arbitrating on knowledge that has not yet been consolidated, and naturally one makes mistakes, and a lot of them. The curious thing is that this seems to be a necessary process, and we often come across the connoisseur who, years before, had wandered far from where knowledge had taken him. Mastering a subject is perhaps no more than intimately gathering the arsenal of errors that surround it.