Our subjectivity
Is a mirrored,
Spiked casket.
We surround ourselves with the reflections of our own identities. We think only of ourselves, not of Tao. All we care about is survival and gratification. When will we see that all we have done is to surround ourselves with our own illusions? We do not see the world as it truly is. We ignore the dilemma of our existence. We are like preening idiots inside a mirrored casket. As we build upon our illusions, the box gets smaller. Soon it develops spikes -- the spears of our own egotism -- only we are so self-absorbed that we do not notice the points. We are too in love with ourselves. We prance around, we fluff our hair. And still the casket gets smaller and smaller.
Some succeed in getting out of this trap, but they are so attached that they drag their casket behind them for a long time. Those who drag their illusions with them are only a step better than those who are trapped in them. Only when we realize our true nature does the casket disappear.
Personal Interpretation
Most of us live selfishly. We do not pause to reflect on nature or on the needs of others. We live to gratify ourselves. We seek glory in all that we do. With time we become mired in our identities. In a way it is like being inside a spiked coffin that grows smaller all the time. We must awaken to our true natures if we are to escape the fate of vanity. The road to self-realization is not an easy one to walk, but it is the only way to save ourselves from ourselves. Our day to day selves cannot see beyond our own subjectivity. And so we must trust in that deeply buried aspect of ourselves which can.
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