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Dark Night of the Soul (also called the desert or wilderness phase) The bodhisattva Gautama de-relativising
If the Split Man is ready to go but doesn’t have a goal, that
is to say, a problem to solve, then the ascetic has decided on a goal but
doesn’t know how to get there. Sinking ever deeper into confusion, into
darkness, into despair he eventually utters a cry for help, and is rewarded
with a tiny glimmer of light at the end of his dark tunnel. He grasps that
light and, holding on because his life depends on it, increases that light so
that it becomes the bright dawn of awakening, called enlightenment. The sculpture
represents the most intense phase of problem solving. Some people experience
this phase as a dreadful emptiness, others, the religious, as the dark night
of the soul. Everyone has to go through this trough phase to reach the white
or golden light peak experience of goal achievement. Many refuse to
enter the dark tunnel because they fear the pain and hopelessness encountered
there. But if they don’t enter the ‘dark night’, they cannot enjoy the
rapture of the brilliant dawn (of a new life). This unique
14ft 6ins bronze is a copy of a 2ft stone sculpture carved in the 1st
century AD in what is now Pakistan. It represents the future Buddha
practicing severest austerity in order to resolve his problem of human
suffering. His simple
solution was: “Whatever is subject to arising is subject to cessation.” To wit|:
“Nothing lasts.” Therefore, ‘If you attach to something that doesn’t last
you’re going to suffer’. So, ‘Detach! Back off!’ and stay happy. |
