You Don't Want Dharma

A letter to a student.

Thanks for our conversation yesterday. Glad we got to talk. I realized later that I'd been neglectful of an obligation and hope I can correct that here.

You want something, so you don't want Dharma. When that is so, there's something between your eyes and what's in front of you. Then you don't see it, because at base, you want something else. While you know this only creates endless suffering, you want something else, so you suffer. Your intellect is very strong but is not always on your side. Just at the point of really seeing, you analyze, and then you lose the point and find yourself in the same fog endlessly. Mustn't there be another way? If you don't resolve this, then housing, money, relationships and work will not fall in line. You asked what to do. Go do something simple, like working on a farm for a year. You'll have a place to live, food to eat and something to do. People who are seeking a thing to do can find that kind of work almost always. My son did it for a couple of summers during college. People who walk thousands of miles in search of a better life also find a way to do that. Why not you? If you want to allow yourself to taste the simplicity of the matter, do something simple for a long time.