Content Shelter

What I love about the notion of the world as my temple? It means that I, as a human being, don’t have to go anywhere, and I don’t have to get away from the world to do my spiritual work. I don’t have to escape. I don’t have to be secluded. I find that so refreshing; not to be a monk, is my path. It’s a very curious thing, because there is a time in your day maybe when you’re sitting on the pot when you are naturally secluded. That’s a wonderful time to pull out the piece of paper with the circle drawn on it, and set it on your legs in front of you, and just kind of gaze at that for a while. If, in your mind, you want to have a sense of yourself created as the Deity in the center of that circle, fine, great, go for it. If you want to do a little chant, that’s really great to do. Basically, you’re right. You don’t have to be a recluse. You don’t have to wall yourself off. In fact, the teachings of The Everyday Sanyasin very strongly say, “Don’t wall yourself off.”

Yet there are opportunities not just in the bathroom, but also in the shower, or just sitting alone in a room by myself, even if I have a large family. There’s also taking a walk by myself, going off and taking a nice stroll. Even in town, I could be alone with myself, walking down the street. There are many opportunities to have the sense of seclusion without saying to yourself, “No, I can’t do my work here, I’m with my family; I’m at work; it’s Saturday and I’m supposed to be mowing the yard.” None of those restrictions apply to the Everyday Sanyasin.