More Positive Thoughts
The Path to Enlightenment
Long ago, in
The Dalai Lama would begin the ceremony by saying,
“This is the ceremony of the Room of 1,000 Demons. It is the ceremony of enlightenment, and it happens only once every hundred years. If you choose not to go through it now, you will have to wait another hundred years. To help you make this decision, we’ll tell you what the ceremony involves.”
“In order to enter the Room of 1,000 Demons, you just open the door and walk in. The Room of 1,000 Demons is not very big. Once you enter, the door will close behind you. There is no door knob on the inside of the door. In order to get out, you will have to walk all the way through the room, find the door on the other side, open the door (which is unlocked) and come out. Then you will be enlightened.”
“The room is called the Room of 1,000 Demons because there are one thousand demons in there. These demons have the ability to take the form of your worst fears. As soon as you walk into the room, these demons will show you your worst fears. “
“If you have a fear of heights, when you walk into the room it will appear as if you are standing on a narrow ledge of a tall building. If you have a fear of spiders, you’ll be surrounded by the most terrifying eight-legged creatures imaginable. Whatever your fears are, the demons take those images from your mind and make them seem very real. In fact, they’ll be so completely real that it will be difficult to remember that they’re not.”
“We can’t come in and rescue you. This is part of the rules. If you go into to Room of 1,000 Demons, you must leave it on your own. Some people never leave. They go into the Room of 1,000 Demons and become paralyzed with fright. They stay trapped in the room until they die. If you want to take the risk of entering the room, that’s fine. If you don’t, if you want to go home, that’s fine. You don’t have to enter the room. You can wait until you are incarnated again, came back, in another hundred years, and try it again.”
“If you want to enter the room, we have two hints for you.
The first hint:
As soon as you enter the Room of 1,000 Demons, remember that what they show you isn’t real. It’s all in your mind. Don’t buy into it; it’s an illusion.
Of course, most of the people who went into the room before you couldn’t remember that. This idea is very difficult to keep in mind.
The second hint has been more helpful for the people who made it to the other side and become enlightened. Once you go into the room, no matter what you see, no matter what you feel, no matter what you hear, no matter what you think, KEEP YOUR FEET MOVING. If you keep your feet moving, you will eventually get to the other side, find the door and come out.
