What's with the bowl and the moon?

I have been thinking about changing my tag-line, the saying just beneath my web blog's title, but for a while now it has read:

"I placed an empty bowl beneath the moon. Only after it rained did I have illumination."

No one has asked about it, so maybe everyone understands what it means. But in case anyone does not, here is the explanation.

In our modern, so-called 'enlightened' age it seems to me there are many who have the well-intentioned but mistaken idea that emptiness is the goal. The thinking goes that if we empty ourselves of any shred of ego, and if we let go of any expectations, if we release our grip on not only material possessions but also favorite concepts, and 'live and let live' with our neighbor, that we then have no differences and there can be no offense given or taken.

This sounds good, in theory. As far as it goes, I can see some truth in it. But it is like shaving the head and issuing the same uniform to every new recruit as they enter military boot camp. Yes, it puts everyone on the same dehumanized and ready to be reprogrammed level. But ask yourself, "Do all military personnel stay at this level, or even equal?" No, they do not. At the end of boot camp, according to strengths and weaknesses, they are differentiated by their different assignments.

I read a wise little story of some Zen or Taoist master that pointed out that we cannot capture the moon. We cannot keep it to ourselves. But we can have a near perfect reflection of the moon in a bowl of water as long as we are still. This is not alien to other faiths, like Christianity. Christians know that we cannot BE God any more than we can lasso the moon, but we can REFLECT God, in following Christ.

All in all, it IS good to abolish or try to kill off the immature ego (and they are all immature). Some trees must be pruned to the point where you think there is no way that the tree can survive! But it does, and so does the ego. No matter what you do, it is wild as a weed and grows back no matter how harshly you prune it.

Similarly, it IS good to renounce materialism, and every other thing that binds you to this world.

It is also very good to subject concepts to the harsh light of truth. Be ready to throw them away at a moments notice, and then you can examine them without bias.

Our ego tries to bias everything, and that is why you need to be ready to toss it, in order to examine it objectively.

So, why mention the rain (...Only after it rained did I have illumination...)? Because our own individual experience of life, whether happiness or suffering, is how we can best reflect our creator. The Bible says we were made in the image of God. I think we are constantly refined into a clearer image of God all the time. Our creation is an on-going process of which we are still participants, with our creator.

Step out of the way. Stop trying to fill the bowl on your own with egoism and materialistic trinkets, yes. But also stop trying to empty out everything in order to be emotionally and relationally detached from the rest of the human race. These are both extremes of ego!

The doctor does not heal, he only aligns the body so that nature can do the healing. If we come into alignment, we will reflect our creator.

(Philippians 1:6 NIV) "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

More to come!