 The Parable of the Selfish Monk Long ago in ancient Japan lived a devout Shinto monk. He lived a simple life but was often distracted in his prayers by the hustle and bustle of the city. He felt as if his neighbors and friends were polluting his soul. One day he decided to undergo a harai, a purification ritual that would cleanse his body and mind. He set off on a long and dangerous journey to a mountain shrine, which took many days, but he was glad for the peace and solitude that it gave him. After returning home, the peace he found was so great that he wanted to hold on to it for as long as possible, and so continued to do the pilgrimage another 99 times. He would walk alone on his journey to the mountains, ignoring every distraction in his quest for balance. Come rain, storm or shine, he made the long journey. Eventually his devotion and practices began to reveal the world of the kami, and the man was able to see and understand the spirits and spiritual essence of all things, like the wind and the rocks which existed alongside our own world. But still, he spoke to no one, and he was determined to avoid anyone who he saw as corrupt, materialistic, or who had strayed from the path of non-attachment. Of all the threats to his spiritual purity, corruption and disease were the worst, and so he avoided these most of all. After visiting the shrine for the 80th time, he set out for home as he always did, but as twilight swallowed the sun, he heard a strange sobbing in the night air. The monk tried ignoring the wailing and pushed onwards, but eventually it became too great, so he strayed from his path in search of its source. By the roadside he came across an old cottage with a crying woman lamenting the death of her mother and the fact that no one would help her to bury her. Upon hearing the woman's plea, the monk's heart sank, as he knew that touching a dead body would defile his purity. But as he listened to the woman's cries, his empathy soared like a crane in the early morning breeze. And so they buried the old woman together to ensure her safe passage into the world of the kami. The burial was done, but the taboo of death weighed heavy on the monk's heart. How could he have been so foolish as to defile his body by touching the dead? That night he could not sleep and so resolved to return to the shrine and try and cleanse himself. To his surprise, the usually quiet shrine was filled with people, all gathering round a blind soothsayer who was communicating directly with the kami. The man hid himself, fearing to be seen and judged by the spirits, but the soothsayer had other ways of seeing and called him forward. The monk approached the holy woman fearfully, but she merely smiled and took his hand. She whispered a blessing only he could hear, thanking him for his kindness. In that moment he understood a great spiritual secret. Contamination and corruption are two very different things. Filled with insight, the monk set off on his journey again, but this time helped all those who he met as he began to see the beauty of the spirit world in all things, even the city that he had previously shunned. And even though the other monks cautioned him against corruption, he simply smiled because he knew that true spiritual purity could only come from one's own journey. This old folk tale from Japan has it all, a lonely monk, a blind soothsayer and elemental spirits. You don't get much better than this. The ultimate lesson of this parable, however, is twofold. Many times we take authoritative statements as fact, because they are ingrained in our cultural belief and memory, as with the parable of the ritual cat. However, the truest authority for us is ourselves. We cannot hope to achieve fulfillment by following other people's views on spirituality. We need every self-help book and Buddhist sutra, but unless you put those practices into motion yourself in your own life and form your own view, they will simply stay words on a page. The other aspect of this parable speaks to the importance of compassion in our daily life. It echoes the sentiments that perhaps the first step to true peace lies in lessening the suffering of others and being in service to both yourself and your community. It doesn't really matter what your belief is. What others in need is always the best deed you can do in your life, with both humility and philanthropy being almost universally agreed upon, spiritual traits. In fact, even when Jesus was asked why he sat and ate with sinners, he simply replied, A physician goes to the sick, not to the well, but come back when you understand, for I desire mercy, not sacrifice. In the end, the soothsayer gave the monk the wisdom that purifying oneself doesn't only lie in going on a pilgrimage and honoring someone or meditating, but in helping and caring for someone and living from the heart, regardless of other people's views or opinions.