Ego and Grace
“What is the most painful thing?” he asked in the soft light of early evening as our meditation ended. We were a small group of westerners sitting with an orange clad monk on the side of a hill far from lights and civilization.
He had taken us by jeep, miles from nowhere, to enjoy the deep peace of this ancient place. We contemplated his question. Various answers were put forth, but none to his satisfaction.
“The most painful thing,” he explained, “is the ego. All the pain in your life, your burdens and cares, your frustrations and grief, your disappointments and humiliation are the result of this small identity. You must expand this small identity and merge it with the cosmic identity; become one with the infinite consciousness and all pain ceases.”
God’s grace shines equally on all people, whether good or bad, at all times, and in all places. There is no place you have ever been or can ever go where this grace is not present. It is like the sun, shining impartially on all. If you choose to stay in the shelter of your small ego, however, you will not experience its rays.
As you progress in meditation there is a growing sense that your every experience in life is dependent on this grace – that your every breath, thought, and feeling is an expression of cosmic grace.