CUTTING THE FAT OFF THE LEG OF HAM

Once you have really decided to stop it (and it is sincere) then do not make the mistake of making resolutions. That never works. All that it does is awaken the Identities' will to resist.

What you have to do is start cutting the unwanted fat off the leg of ham...

The fat, however, developed before the pig was slaughtered.

That means that after your adolescence your true pig mind just didn't grow except in developing more Confusion, more Greed for possessions and more Aversion. The base for these, the fat, was set in place during your early development.

Your demand for the easy way in procuring what the Identities desired was set in place by the Acquisitive self and the Visceral self of Confusion.

The Aversive mind's loathing demands that you cut the fat off and get on with meditation, because that is what you SHOULD DO.

The Visceral self just looks on, waiting for something good to happen, and the Acquisitive self, a hungry ghost, starts grooving on the fat.

Now remember that the ham, which is really your mind, with all the fat still upon it, has been hanging up to cure for a long time and that outer skin will be tough.

What you need is a sharp knife with a keen cutting edge.

Then you need to know where and how to cut, understanding that as you get closer to the meat of the true and natural mind you will have to be more careful.

                          CUTTING THROUGH THE OUTER SKIN

That outer skin is your Identity. It is the "I" that thinks itself more important than any other human creature and is the great generator of "me" and "mine."

It wants the "I" to be meditating, for the benefit of "me" in oder to make the results all "mine."

Now, unlike a leg of ham, the Identity skin that is visible resists being cut off and actually gets tougher the more you insist. What the Identity does not like, however, is being put in that cutting skewer.

So what you must do is be conscious of that presence of "I," "me" and "mine" every moment of the day. It is there in your dreams; it is there when you wake; it never actually sleeps. You simply have to know its unwanted presence and, shaking your head, calmly see that while its illusory presence was useful sometime in past evolution, now it is assuming an importance it does not merit.

Do you remember Lady Macbeth and the trouble she had washing the blood off her hands that was not really there? Identity is like that. It exists only in your mind.

Once you realize that then it becomes the tool it is supposed to be and not the master.

                                CUTTING OFF THE WHITE FAT

Now that white fat is plentiful and is unhealthy when consumed, although it certainly kept the pig warm. But it has to go if you want to get down to the tasty lean ham below.

Even if you are a Dharma vegetarian that leg of ham is still hanging in there in your mind, for it was there long before you put on the social mantle of anti-meat virtue, and is still there.

When Buddha was around he recommended being constantly alert and using restraint.

What is it that you have to restrain?

Restrain your lousy attitude towards things.

Restrain those intentions that are a great deal less than noble.

Restrain that busy tongue that keeps mouthing off, either dominating everything, bringing everyone else down and lifting yourself up where you certainly don't belong, purveying terminological inexactitudes (which is commonly termed lying) and in general making trouble for yourself and others when you should remain silent.

Restrain the actions which bring even the slightest harm to others or yourself.

Restrain from any work that is not in keeping with the Dharma and forget the emphasis on working for fame and fortune.

Restrain all physical and mental effort (which includes all intentions) directed in a manner that is not correct in a Dharma sense.

Restrain from the mindlessness that generally accompanies you, being more aware of all the effects of how you act.

Restrain from putting the foolish brakes upon meditation that you have been using.

              Buddha presented this in the form of the Noble Eightfold Path.

The problem is that it is you who have to fill in the gaps in your personal contract of restraints and this is not easy, for your foolish but strong subconscious Identities are already protesting and throwing the spanner into the slowly turning Dharma wheel.

Perhaps you are doing reasonably well finally in cutting off the white fat, but then you come to the fat near the healthy meat, which is an attractive pink.

                                     CUTTING OFF THE PINK FAT

That pink fat is actually the dwelling place of Mara's daughters.

They are seductive, charming and possess more venom in the tip of each nail and their fangs than the Black Mamba, so we can call them Dharma Death Incarnate, the Death Adder and the Diamondback Rattler combined.

The problem is that you can't discern the nails or fangs until they are entwined with you in an embrace which you are enjoying and have always enjoyed.

You see, that pink fat has always brought you pleasure and even delight before and the suffering has been minimal. It seems so harmless and there are those that say it is even good for you.

You see, long ago we were healthy human creatures living correcty in harmony with other human creatures with a natural respect for nature, but all that has long gone. Unity has disappeared and each human creature feels alone... and they seek company and since sexuality has taken over from natural sensitivity as a prime factor in male-female relationships then that is where the Black Mamba dwells.

You have a pretty useless life really, if you look at it. Who are you? You have a name and that is all. When you die what will you have accomplished as a human creature?

Nothing! But you want that permanence that is fugitive, so you want to be "somebody" to attach the "name" to... A seductive idea and you can't hear that rattling of the Diamondback Rattler.

You believe that you are intelligent or, at the very least, if not that then a sensitive human creature. So your cognitive intelligence or your visceral sensitivity will guide all your way of being. What a great deception that is. The Death Adder is there waiting for you.

                                 What is the solution then?

You have to come to grips with meditation in a sensible way and whatever you do, don't allow the Black Mamba, the Diamondback or the Death Adder dwelling in others who live in the Darkness of their own minds, teaching others and filling their own Identity dreams, to get their grip upon you.