Cattāri Brahmavihārā

What is my excuse? How do I justify the slackness of my effort and the failure to rouse my energy when, at any moment, the abyss could open up beneath me and swallow me whole for endless eons? Why am I satisfied with a respite that send to do little more than weaken my resolve?

As I stood in the kitchen this morning, the cat looked up and meowed at me, unable to formulate an expression of her craving. How often have I been imprisoned in an animal’s form? How many times have I begged her for food?

Without entering the stream, there is no guarantee of emerging from this flood and, yet, how can I be of benefit to all of my mother beings if I seem only to escape myself? Regardless of lofty goals, however, I need to rouse and activate energy so that this up opportunity is not completely wasted.