WARNING: This will be an unusually short post for me \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
I already talked about this particular issue, so I don’t need to rehash it. But I ran across the PERFECT example of it, so I had to bring it up again.<\/p>\n
So… There’s a new movie called Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint <\/strong>directed by a big-deal Tibetan Buddhist (who was actually born in Bhutan), named Netan Chockling Rinpoche.<\/p>\n (By the way, I’m not trying to be facetious when I say “big-deal”… he is an well known and respected teacher\/practioner.)<\/p>\n In an interview that appeared in my local newspaper, Rinpoche described the story:<\/p>\n Milarepa’s mother was so tempted by revenge that she sent her son to sorcery school so he could punish his greedy aunt and uncle by conjuring up an epic storm that flattened their village.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Later, though:<\/p>\n Milarepa lears that revenge isn’t the answer and becomes one of the great sages of Tibetan Buddhism.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Now, here’s the fun part. Get ready:<\/p>\n “Milarepa is really a normal guy — nothing special,” Rinpoche says. “If he can do it [become a Saint], anybody can do it.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Okay, hit the pause button.<\/strong><\/p>\n He’s a normal guy?<\/p>\n Hel-lo-o?<\/p>\n When’s the last time you developed the skill to create a storm out of thin air, point it an a village, and turn it into something that looks like the floor of Spring Break bar at 5:00 am?<\/p>\n In fact, in the Tibetan tradition Milarepa is not just a conjurer, but one of the GREATEST conjurers. He isn’t just a murderer, but a… well, if one wants to murder and is successful at that mission, does that make them a GREAT murderer?<\/p>\n Does that sound like a “normal guy” to you?<\/p>\n When someone gives us one of these Horatio-Alger-pull-yourself-up-from-the-gutter-anyone-can-be-president-(or-enlightened) stories. We just nod our heads like bobble-head dolls. We love<\/strong> these stories. They confirm our greatest hopes. They play right into our desire to ensure our happiness by controlling the the universe in some way.<\/p>\n But come on. Seriously. If someone said, “Tiger Woods was just a kid with parents; if he could become one of the greatest golfers of all time, so can you!” or “Really, Bill Gates dropped out of college; if he can become the richest man in the world, so can you!” or “George Bush… he was a C student, alcoholic, coke snorting…” okay well maybe that’s not a good example. But you get my point.<\/p>\n You wouldn’t use thes rare examples as proof that YOU can be that… they’re RARE… that’s WHY we find them fascinating! They’re proof that humans<\/strong> can do amazing things sometimes, but not that YOU can do it simply because it’s possible.<\/p>\n