..."knowledge" produces detachment only in the case of a particular race of spirit, of that which in a special sense we have called "heroic" and which is not unconnected with the theory of the bodhisattva. Only in those in whom this race survives and who wish it, can the spectacle of universal contingency be the principle of awakening, can it determine the choice of the vocations, can it arouse the reaction that follows from "No, I want no more of it," from "This does not belong to me, I am not this, this is not my self" extended to all states of samsaric existence. The work, then, has one single justification: it must be done, that is to say, for the noble and heroic spirit there is no other alternative. KATAM KARANIYAM - "that which has to be done has been done" - this is the universally recurring formula that refers to the Ariya who have destroyed the asava and achieved awakening...
This is the scheme. The Buddha repeatedly makes his questioner recognize that the bases of common personality-materiality, feeling, perception, the formations, consciousness - are changeable, impermanent, and nonsubstantial be considered thus: "This is mine, this am I, this is my self?" The answer is always the same - as if it were perfectly natural and obvious - "Certainly not, Lord." The conclusion is more or less of this type: "All matter, all feeling, all perception, all formations, all consciousness, past, present, or future, internal or external, gross or subtle, low or high, far or near, all should be considered, in conformity with reality and with perfect wisdom, thus: "This is not mine, this am I not, this is not my self.' Thus considering, the wise, noble disciple does not identify himself with materiality, does not identify himself with feeling, does not identify himself with the formations, does not identify himself with consciousness. Not identifying himself, he is detached. Being detached, he is freed."
The Aryan "renunciation" is fundamentally based on a will for the unconditioned considered also as liberty and power.
Renounce what does not belong to you.
One of the more common descriptions of an ascetic is that he is a man who, having broken each and every bond, is free. The ascetic is one who avoids the snare, as does a wild beast, and so does not fall into the power of the hunter, but "can go where he will" - while the others, those who are subject to craving, "can be called lost, ruined, fallen into the power of harm." The ascetic is one who has gained mastery over himself, who "has his heart in his power, and is not himself in the power of his heart." He is the master of his thoughts. "Whatever he thought he desires, that thought will he think, whatever thought he does not desire, that thought will he not think." As a perfectly tamed elephant, led by his mahout, will go in any direction; as an expert charioteer, with a chariot ready on good ground at a crossroad and harnessed to a thoroughbred tema, can guide the chariot where he wishes; or as a king or a prince with a chest full of clothes, may freely choose the garment that most pleases him for the morning, the afternoon, or the evening - so the ascetic can direct his mind and his being toward one state or another with perfect freedom.
Here are a few more similes: the ascetic is like a man burdened with debts, yet he not only pays them off but manages to gain a surplus on which to build his own life; or he is like a man enfeebled by disease, his body without strength, but who succeeds in removing the disease and regaining his strength; or, he is like a slave, dependent on others, but who is able to free himself from his slavery and feel master of himself, independent of others, a free man who can go where he will; or, again, he is like a man travelling through desert places, full of snares and dangers, who yet arrives safe and sound at his destination without losing anything.
To complete the list of what a noble spirit regards as valuable, let us remember these other epithets of the Awakened One: "he who has laid down the burden," "the unshackled one," "the unhooked one," "the escaped one," "the unhinger," "the remover of the arrow," "the leveller of the trench," "he who escapes from the whirlwind,"
It is thus that "the noble sons moved by confidence" recognize their vocation and come to apprehend the "Aryan quest": "Thus, O disciples, a man, himself subject to birth, observing the misery of this law of nature, seeks that which is without birth, the incomparable safety, extinction; himself subject to decay, observing the misery of this law of nature, seeks that which is without decay, the incomparable saftey, extinction; himself subject to death, observing the misery of this law of nature, seeks that which is without death, the incomparable safety, extinction; himself subject to pain and to agitation, observing the misery of this law of nature, seeks that which is without pain the without-agitation, the incomparable safety, extinction; himself subject to stain, observing the misery of this law of nature, seeks that which is without stain, the incomparable safety, extinction. This, O disciples, is the Aryan quest.'(80)
-Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakening
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