Enlightening Thought #11

Last year, I read the book Siddhartha, which is about a little Indian boy who goes on a spiritual journey in search of enlightenment. When he first left his home, he joined a band of ascetics traveling through his village. Asceticism is the act of depriving oneself of life's worldly pleasures, which includes everything from sex and alcohol to food and clothing.



Why would anyone do that to themselves? Imagine yourself in this situation. You would probably be begging for a TV break and pissing and moaning about how you need to check your facebook in case you have some new notifications. Feeling real enlightened by that "which superhero are you" quiz yet?

In reality, asceticism is not about the pain caused by these deprivations, but the obstacles caused by indulgence that are in the way of ultimate spiritual freedom. It is the process of overcoming the material world.

I'm not going to say that this is true all the time, or for all things, but this is what I have concluded:

Only when you have nothing, can you truly appreciate everything.

Pretty good, eh? Someone should quote me.