I’ve been ruminating on the spiritual path a lot of late. In particular I’ve been reflecting on the maps various teachers have offered. One of my favorites is from the Zen master Dosho Port:
The Zen development theory I offer follows these major stages:
1) idealization
2) covert clinging to hopes for magical gain
3) extreme crabbiness at self and others
4) steadily walking without getting anywhere
5) experiencing fruition
6) falling into a well
And then, of course, the spiral stages repeat.
From Dosho Port’s Keep Me in Your Heart A While
Me, I love some of the details like seeking magical gain, and crabbiness, and very, very much our falling into that well; all so true. And. Those noted, I find it’s the spiral of it all that is most important of these pointers…