The Buddha. Jesus. Ramana Maharshi. Lao Tzu. It is difficult to imagine these eminences running. Two of them favoured donkeys. For reasons more suggestive than explicit, Lao Tzu is depicted sitting backwards on his humble beast. All these sages demonstrated high levels of lowness.
“I take my vows seriously.” Well, harrumph! Is there an aggrandizement more ponderous and self-justifying than this one? It’s frequently employed to deny fear, avoid responsibility, rationalize inaction, and rally support for the status quo. Perhaps that’s why Jesus’ instruction was so categorical and explicit: “Take no vows.” Hidden agendas aside, why do we take life so seriously? It’s a lila, after all.
We often hear it said that relationships require work. And maybe they do. And maybe the worst relationships require the most work. But love is not work. Not at all. Love is easy.
Moderate men don’t try to control what happens. Why? They don’t mind what happens. They’re imbued with a beneficial indifference to life on the outside. They welcome what comes. They release what goes. They accept what is. “The poor you will always have with you,” Jesus said, “but you will not always have me.”
I love myself when I stop thinking about myself. When I’m emptied out and spacious. Love is self-forgetting. In the biblical sense, I love myself when I deny myself. When selfless love hits the headlines, it’s called heroism.
Men's Work 