The Abbot's Guide

The Abbot’s Guide I. Perhaps it would not be too extreme to imagine oneself ensconced in an abbey for the purpose of spiritual instruction and practice. And, from there, imagine that there are present the guides along the Path--the Abbot and teachers. As the path is traversed there are many byways and difficult situations. And, although these teachers are valuable in so far as they have gone farther on that spiritual journey, still are kept the guidebooks for travelers. Among the most valuable of these are those describing the Destination and the steps along the way from start to finish. This includes vital information for overcoming obstacles along the way. These give us confidence, and, also, serve to remind us, as souvenirs of the journey. Now, I have in mind just such an Abbot’s Guide based on my own journey. There are many of these accounts extant in the spiritual literature of the world. This is the true purpose of the Magical Diary. In mine there will be very little biography. Instead, it hopes to approach the path as, almost, a science with its own formulae, theorems, and experimental results. Yet, the theological arguments will be noted only as proof, and, for systematic completeness. We want to leave no terra incognitos on our map, nor to leave out any essential steps. In a sense, the Abbot’s Guide moves beyond a personal account to examine, by backward glance, the hidden structures; as a survey upon completion reveals the overall contours of a landscape. It is in this way that the Keys can serve as the mental landmarks, much as an ever repeated Cosmic Rosary. Also, after ones own success, it is incumbent on one to sketch such a memoir so as to refresh the impulse in the world. This, thereby, gives new hope for the seekers of ones age--and of those to come. As it has been realized and told to oneself, so, a rephrasing or reiteration is thy duty. Nay, it is to find a new truth for the race, as we progress together, oh, bold seeker. There will be found, then, my own formulations as well as ancient ones that I have inherited. Let me say that I have found it sufficiently satisfying to follow in the footsteps of the Masters. In fact, I believe I can only repeat, not invent, the truths found by the great, saintly adepts who have previously surveyed and accomplished the Divine Mysteries of our existence. It may be well to point out my position here. There is a God; and human beings are from that One as direct descendants like children, like chords of the One Circle, or, drops in an Ocean. The peculiar geography of the realms of Nature remains my highest endeavor to discover and reveal. The divine extends to encompass all being, all times; and all humanity in one manifestation. One that shares, in potential, the powers truly god-like. That, in itself, is a proof of the divine. Call this potency Omnipotence, and give persons a share of power subject, of course, to limitations, of which the Path, as such, intends to overcome. Let me say in keeping with the values of our quest that powers are not our Aim. We aim beyond them. In fact, our goal and destination is one wherein humanity shall attain a desireless and eternal happiness. But, not stopping there, with that Great Salvation attained, we can choose--shall choose--to serve in the Universal Attainment of all sentient beings. In this, powers can be useful; but it must be a principle of our journey that they are not the Goal. That they are a barrier if sought for their own sake as the Goal. Desire in the end, and as a bondage, is what keeps one in Samsara, so that, to inflate one’s desires is to head away from Journey’s End--for one and all.