“Whatever joy there is in this world all comes from desiring others to be happy [compassion], and whatever suffering there is in this world, all comes from desiring myself to be happy [lust]. But what need is there to say much more? The childish work for their own benefit, the Buddhas work for the benefit of others. Just look at the difference between them!” —Shantideva
The origin of all suffering, the “original sin,” is lust. By simple axiom, the origin of all happiness is love (compassion). These are opposed to each other. That is why love and lust and 100% incompatible. They cannot be mixed, ever. If lust is present, love is expelled. That is how Adam and Eve fell from Eden (Hebrew, “bliss.”)
“In the region of Light live the beings who adore each other. In the region of darkness live the souls who become inebriated with the chalice of lust, and who after getting drunk spill the cup. Those souls are consumed in the fire of their own lust.” – Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony
As soon as there is an atom of lust, there is imperfection, thus perfection is gone. It is that simple. That is why Christ said:
“Lust is insatiable and is a great devil, know this as the enemy. As the fire is covered by smoke, as the mirror by dust, and as the embryo by the amnion, similarly, self-knowledge gets covered by the different degrees of this insatiable lust, the eternal enemy of the wise.”
That is the purpose of alchemy or tantra: to conquer lust and liberate our capacity for genuine love (compassion, bodhichitta).
“The origin of the sinful “I” lies in lust. The Ego, Satan, is subject to the Law of the Eternal Return of all things. It returns to new wombs in order to satisfy desires. In each one of its lives, the “I” repeats the same dramas, the same errors. The “I” complicates itself over time, each time becoming more and more perverse.” – Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony
Recorded live at the 2019 Meditation Retreat.
Read the lecture transcription: Compassion
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