Don't miss the finish line because you're too engrossed in staying ahead of the race.

With all this talk I've had about enlightenment and the blurb about the holy grail on the sidebar of my blog, I figured it was time to take a moment off and take a look at where we are and where we're going.

A thought that came over me while I was walking home the other day pondering on the idea the Vin mentioned:

"If the Bhuddist ideal is to achieve enlightenment by transcending temptation [and hence suffering formed by expectations], then aren't you being tempted by the very Enlightenment that you seek?"

It was an interesting question really, and one that I was mulling over on my ride home. As I was staring out into the darkness, watching lights pass me by in the MRT, an image popped into my head.

A knight, in his armor and holding his helmet, walking past the Holy Grail. Along with the image, I heard my own voice state: "Do not be so caught up in the quest, that you forget about the quest."

It's the trap of being too self-righteous. Zealotry and the Taliban lie that way. One can go ahead and exercise what one has learned, but they should never be preoccupied with being "better" than others.

I mean, don't we all hate it when someone who is supposedly moral, upright and more, for lack of a better term, enlightened goes about and starts badmouthing other people? How does that kind of treatment make us feel? Are we not degraded, insulted and angered at such callous treatment?

We should seek to alleviate suffering, not to cause it. By proclaiming ourselves enlightened, or better, then we actually throw ourselves deeper into ignorance, happy to proclaim victory when we have actually lost.

By placing the self above others, you create your own selfishness. The Bhoddisattvas stayed behind to share enightenment, not to mock us with their achievements. This is why true Humility is so valued. Only the truly humble can reach out to help others without taking away sincerity in the act of giving.

Sometimes, the concept of enlightenment is the biggest trap. Those who have achieved a disciplined approach to life, and have learned all other lessons fall to this trap of hubris. It's a fine line to walk, but a line that can be seen, if you keep your eyes on the road.