11 hours ago
Damien Echols
2d
@damienechols
Substack
"Most forms of spirituality are built around accumulation. You memorize scriptures, collect initiations, learn new systems, read more books, or acquire more terminology. You can become someone who knows a great deal about Buddhism, magick, alchemy, Christianity, or whatever path you happen to follow. Because accumulation feels like progress, the ego loves it. Every new piece of information gives it something else to possess or another identity to build: “I know this. I’ve received that initiation. I understand what other people don’t.”
The Way moves in the opposite direction. It is not about how much you can acquire, it’s about how much you can put down. Beliefs, concepts, identities, explanations, and even the need to understand what is happening. The deeper you go, the less there is to carry. Eventually even the teachings themselves have to be released, because the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. The purpose of the path is not to make you into someone who knows more. It is to strip away everything standing between you and direct experience of what is here."
2d
@damienechols
Substack
"Most forms of spirituality are built around accumulation. You memorize scriptures, collect initiations, learn new systems, read more books, or acquire more terminology. You can become someone who knows a great deal about Buddhism, magick, alchemy, Christianity, or whatever path you happen to follow. Because accumulation feels like progress, the ego loves it. Every new piece of information gives it something else to possess or another identity to build: “I know this. I’ve received that initiation. I understand what other people don’t.”
The Way moves in the opposite direction. It is not about how much you can acquire, it’s about how much you can put down. Beliefs, concepts, identities, explanations, and even the need to understand what is happening. The deeper you go, the less there is to carry. Eventually even the teachings themselves have to be released, because the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. The purpose of the path is not to make you into someone who knows more. It is to strip away everything standing between you and direct experience of what is here."
