“Evening in Corfu” by Bô Yin Râ. Reprinted with permission from the German Bô Yin Râ Foundation from their website.

Those with knowledge of the last things have always despised the ‘holy man’ in his vanity and false modesty with a smile. But they also know how to tell apart pompous prigs from true great souls who have at times been called ‘holy’…

They seek proud men who live with their heads held high, – not wretched beggars at the gates of divine majesty, – not miserable penitents!

They seek men who know how to sculpt life into a work of art, – – not those who submit themselves to life like a beast of burden does to his yoke. – –

Whoever can be thrown off track by guilt and sin is not worthy of seizing the victor’s prize! –

Whoever wants to fight for the great victory must not torment himself with the worry that the dust of daily life will besmirch his garments…

Whoever is always striving to clean the stains from his cloak will very quickly lose sight of his ultimate goal…

Surely I do not counsel anyone to wallow in the filth, – yet anyone seeking his goal must disregard the dust of everyday life and the small stains that dirty his clothing on his journey.

Your feet will always be glued to the same spot, and you will never trust your steps if you allow the mistakes that can never be totally avoided to disturb you on your way. –

The ‘holy man’, however, is as one who has cut through his own tendons and lies by the wayside like a lame man dreaming with his eyes open: – that he can fly. –

I would rather you waded up to your shoulders in sin and guilt than have to see you in danger of becoming such a ‘holy man’! – –

You will lose your greatest powers if you set out to be like this ‘holy man’ and were to seek above all to keep yourself ‘free of error’…

You cannot make use of your powers if you are continually concerned with avoiding every error, for whenever you are truly active you will at the same time unintentionally fall into error and sin. – –

Just as the value of the sculptor’s work is not diminished by the marble dust in his workshop, so too will your ‘I’, which you are seeking to form from ‘rough stone’, not lose any of its value because of the ‘dust’ and ‘rubble’ scattered around you until finally your clear shape has been chiseled out.

Forget the ‘dust’ and ‘rubble’ in your workshop and always think only of the ‘work’ you shall form from your existence into sublime beauty and everlasting permanence! – –

And if you have fallen into depths where you had no wish to be, raise yourself upwards swiftly and forget that you had ever fallen!

Even if your will caused you to fall, you should have no other care than to raise yourself again immediately. – –

Your ‘regret’ after falling is of no use to you, – but rising up with vigor can help you gain the lasting certainty which teaches you to avoid another fall…

Truly, he who has the strength to rise again after a fall will make more progress on his path than those who are constantly anxious as to how they might avoid any stumble! – –

Nothing can harm you on your path more than fear of the inhibiting powers of guilt, – and these inhibiting powers in turn originate from your fear. – –

Walk forwards in love and free from fear; – but may your love never undermine the powers you need for resistance!

Always show kindness to all living things; yet – ‘kindness’ towards the tiger is a well-aimed shot, for you should not make suffer the things you have to kill!

– – –

Your goodness and love must also be free; otherwise they will become burdens to you! – –

Free are only those who have freed themselves!

No external ‘God’ beyond the stars dreamt up by you can ever make you free!

– –

However: – if you help yourself, your God will help you, – – your God who will ‘beget’ himself one day in you! – – –

You have created your own specters, and only you can destroy them!

Still you see many things as ‘guilt’ and ‘sin’ which really do not merit such slanderous talk, – and you take many things lightly, considering them even as your ‘virtue’, although they are temptations leading you to destruction…

You should never seek ‘temptation’, yet you should not, like the ‘holy man’, bewitch your eyes into seeing ‘temptations’ all around you. – –

Walk upon your path with head held high. Know that you are always best protected when you have confidence in yourself! – – –

‘Falling’ or ‘erring’ cannot hinder your progress, until one day, strengthened by sublime power, you will attain the goal which is within yourself!

But I warn and counsel you: –

Better suffer “sin” and “guilt,” but guard against the vain ambition to be “holy.”

The Book On the Living God is Book 2 of the Hortus Conclusus: the standard-translation© of the Hortus Conclusus (The Enclosed Garden), encompassing the spiritual teachings in thirty-two books by Bô Yin Râ. (Bô Yin Râ is the spiritual name of Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken 1876-1943.)

All rights, copyrights included, reserved by Posthumus Projects Amsterdam, 2014. Posthumus Projects Amsterdam is responsible for this standard-translation©. Posthumus Projects Amsterdam has provided general permission for reprinting and transmission of its publications with attribution.