A Test · 14 February 2009

How Enlightened Are You? A Test

If you can live without caffeine or nicotine

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains

If you can resist complaining

If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you any time

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment

If you can ignore friends' limited educations and never correct them

If you can treat the rich and poor alike

If you can face the world without lies or deceit

If you can conquer tension without medical help

If you can relax without liquor

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs

If you can have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender, sexual preference, or politics ——

then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog.

*Via the incomparable Guruphiliac

Posted by (0v0)        
Categories: evolution , spirituality

Comment

1. Hilarious! I think i scored 4 1/2 of these.

   Posted by: patrick · Feb 14, 08:27 PM · #

2. I know this sounds like a comment on either (1) the nature of enlightenment or (2) the modesty of what is asked of us as practitioners.

   I take it as (2) but not (1). But really ... I was just missing my dog.

   Posted by: (0v0) · Feb 15, 12:54 PM · #

3. LOL! You know, a really famous koan goes: “Does a dog have Buddha nature?”

   Posted by: karen · Feb 15, 01:51 PM · #

4. I was reading the list, getting more and more nervous, and then found complete relief that the high spiritual standard was the natural enlightenment of a dog. Of course I can’t compete with that!!
   Thanks- this was hilarious and cute. (and oddly thought- provoking)

   Posted by: Liz · Feb 15, 08:32 PM · #

5. I miss my dog very much :-(, although she was not totally enlightened as the poor thing needed sedatives pretty badly around New Year’s time when fire crackers and fireworks got very loud in our neighbourhood.
   I got into yoga only after she died as I could no longer handle the stress in my life. In a way she was my yoga.

   Posted by: Fatou · Feb 15, 10:36 PM · #

6. But dogs complain!!! They whine! Some of them are very cute about it, but still – I would never say that dogs do not complain. :)

   Posted by: katie · Feb 17, 11:14 AM · #

7. I have one dog who complains and one who doesn’t. Strangely, it’s the one who doesn’t complain that I call ‘Little Buddha’. Mostly because he’s FAT.

   Posted by: LI Ashtangini · Feb 18, 09:17 AM · #

8. i was thinking recently that i could learn from dogs in adjusting the first few days in a different culture where i don’t speak the language. so i have been going with the flow and being cheerful and grateful, like a dog.
   cheers,
   Arturo

   Posted by: arturo · Feb 19, 04:56 AM · #

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