A Rarefied Perspective

[Shi Da Dao]

It is probably the case that all genuine spiritual traditions are an interface between mind and matter. We can think what we want - but material reality has a habit of interfering. If the material realm is safe, comfortable and conducive to "looking within" - then perhaps the imagination will be limitless. Change a factor in the environment - say a lack of food or danger from enemies or animals - then the imagination recedes and the intellection and survival instincts kick-in. Now, this is from the lay and comfortable monastic (coenobitical) perspective - but what of the iterant hermit? A man or woman living in the mountains with no support requires a certain psychological and physical adaptability beyond the norm. A rarefied perspective may well produce a set of different interpretations.