PRELUDE

 

Sin is in us.

​

From the moment we see outside ourselves, we sin. Striving for greatness, professing humility, our backs turned to the suffering of others, we wallow in hedonism, great and small. It calls us into ease, time and again. It is the natural state of the human animal to seek out pleasure and once revealed it is our driving force to hold on to it with all we have. Because of this call, this animal call, we need not wonder how we fail to secure a truthful peace, for only when deprived of all that is pleasure can we proceed along that truly virtuous path. Only when we learn purpose without will we begin to perceive those sacred signs along that truly virtuous path. Only this one true path can teach us the virtue of life and allow us to reap those rewards of right prosperity embodied in the One Eternal Light.

​

​

​

THE FIRST CONSTRAINT

​

Abandon all possessions, they distract from the path.

​

Release all you have collected to the bonfires rather than continue to be enthralled in a soothing choke hold. These things with which you mark the time, filling up space around you are as a barrier between you and your truthful identity. Cast away the shell of life and remain in possession of naught but your will to be free and you may yet be reborn in the One Eternal Light.

 

​

 

THE SECOND CONSTRAINT

​

Cast off relationships, they steer us off the path.

​

Those who say you are wrong, and those who praise you are but distraction. You cannot be free of temptation so long as you remain encumbered by those who would have you follow a path of their choosing. Leave behind those who would feed you. Trust only in the provision of the One Eternal Light.

​

​

 

THE THIRD CONSTRAINT

​

Silence thoughts, they lead off the path.

​

If you listen to your own voice, you are not hearing truth. Silence your thoughts. Quiet your concerns. End all debate within. True peace within is the only way to ever be still enough to hear the persistent call of the One Eternal Light.

 

​

 

THE FOURTH CONSTRAINT

​

Tame the flesh, flesh is not the path.

​

When hunger strikes you, beat it into submission. When thirst attacks you, take it in your unforgiving grasp. When lust calls, banish it by force. When heat or cold burn, welcome them. Dispel temptation by embracing pain. Flesh will heal, temptation scars. When flesh fails, turn toward the truthful peace of the One Eternal Light.