Who Am I? (June 1993)

Justin Stone, Climb the Joyous Mountain

Meditation enables one to know the mind, and knowing it, to shape the mind, leading to a freeing of the mind. When habit patterns are broken and even the tendencies burned to ashes, there is Freedom and Stillness, but not before. Until this is done, we have a state of mind…where there are questions and, frustratingly, no answers. When the mind is mastered, whether through the self-discipline of a Buddha or the complete surrender of a Shinran, all doubts vanish and there are no more questions.

The mastering of the mind means mastery of the body. When the body is mastered, said the Buddha, the mind is mastered. The psycho-physical mechanism is one. Enlightenment can be approached through the “physical” side (Hatha Yoga or T’ai Chi Ch’uan) or through the “Mental” (as in Meditation, Japa, etc.)-both are valid. Each time there is a spiritual change, we have a physical change. A man is literally what his Intrinsic Energy (Prana) is. This Life Force changes as we cultivate “ourselves” -and as we cultivate ourselves, the Life Force changes.