Chapter
Five
Humble Yourself
Discipline Number Five: The noble warrior practices humility.
Sun Tzu, the great military strategist, indicates that the general of an army who is too full of pride and uncompromising honor can be defeated in battle because he can be insulted. Because he takes the insult personally, or to heart, he reacts in a foolish manner from a bruised ego, rather than acting from a calm strategic plan. The same is true on a spiritual level. The warrior who is full of pride and uncompromising honor can be defeated by spiritual enemies because trusting in self alone, the warrior cuts off the source of power from the Divine. Thus, the warrior who attributes all glory on the spiritual battlefield to the self becomes weak, because the way to the Source is closed off. The proud warrior becomes confused or deluded, because the source of light and wisdom is made dim from the darkness and illusion of conceit. Without humility, therefore, there is no growth, no integrity, no true spirituality. Humility opens the way, and allows for the Divine to flow in, because in the acknowledgment of powerlessness without the Divine lies a willingness to allow the Divine to enter in to fight the inward battles, and to gain the victory.
This is why, for instance, the first three steps of recovery are about
recognizing one's powerlessness, coming to believe in a power greater
than self which can restore wholeness and sanity, and turning life over
to God to care for the individual and make the necessary changes. This
is the only way genuine life-change can take place on a spiritual level,
because, when it comes to receiving such powers, pride closes the door
while humility opens it. This is why Jesus said that whoever does not
humble the self will be abased. To be abased in the original Greek carries
with it the connotation of being deflated, degraded, demeaned, humiliated,
and even disgraced. Those who have suffered from addiction certainly can
resonate with this description. These consequences which come about from
a lack of humility are not thrust upon an individual from without, but
rather are caused by the individual from within. Pride leads to excess,
which in turn, weighs one down to such a degree that one cannot help but
fall from the psychic weight. Truly, "Pride," as Proverbs 16:18
says, "goes before destruction, and haughtiness before the fall,"
because pride initiates the destruction and haughtiness the fall.
Within humility is the willingness to lower oneself into service. Humility
is a state of mind or disposition, but it is also a practice. Chogyam
Trungpa, the great teacher of Tibetan Shambhala warriorship says, "The
master warrior is very humble, extremely humble. His humbleness comes
from working with others. When you work with others, you realize the need
to be patient, to give space and time to others to develop their own understanding
of goodness and warriorship. . . .You let things assume their own shape
in their own time." This is humility in practice--unselfish, giving,
supporting. It is not self-serving but rather service to others. Thus
the common phrase when joining the military that, "you're in the
service now," rings even more true on a spiritual level. The genuine
warrior lives in service to the higher principles of calling, and to the
happiness and welfare of others, especially ones weaker or less fortunate
than the self. This is the mark of the true warrior, and the chivalry
spoken of about the noble warrior in practically every culture's folklore.
To say that a warrior is ever humble and never proud is not the entire
truth. To be humble is to recognize, with the heart, one's limitations.
However, the warrior carries a certain pride which is recognized and honored
by others. It is not a pride in self, however, and in one's own achievements.
It is rather a pride in the cause for which the warrior fights, and it
is a confidence which comes from faith that the Divine can and does work
through the individual warrior to achieve it's ends. Therefore, the warrior
who fights for the cause of what is just, stands tall in justice. The
warrior who strives for love is not timid in showing it to the world.
The warrior who struggles against oppression is not hesitant to take a
stand in the name of freedom and human dignity. The pride of the warrior
is a pride married to compassion, integrity, humanity. The humility of
the warrior does not shrink into the earth but stands firm with dignity,
confidence, and determination. Therefore, the true warrior, as Carlos
Castaneda indicates, does not bow his head to anyone, but does not allow
anyone to lower their heads to him.
Gems from the Masters
You cannot have humility
When you love only yourself.
Self-love is hard,
And love to the Divine is soft.
Self love must be wholly crushed.
Swedenborg
Do not walk proudly on the earth.
You cannot cleave the earth,
Nor can you rival the mountains in stature.
Koran 17:37
Shall I teach you what knowledge is?
When you know a thing,
to recognize that you know it,
And when you do not know a thing,
to recognize that you do not know it.
That is knowledge.
Confucius
You are young, my son, and,
As the years go by,
Time will change
And even reverse many of your
present opinions.
Refrain therefore awhile
From setting yourself up
as a judge of the highest matters.
Plato
I have seen
That in any great undertaking
It is not enough for a man to depend
Simply upon himself.
Lone Man
He has shown you, O man,
What is good;
And what does the Lord require
of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8
Questions for Personal Reflection and Discussion
Everyone is criticized occasionally. Which criticisms really push your buttons or seem to hurt the most?
What belief about yourself is attacked by these criticisms?
What do you believe you will lose by letting go of those beliefs about yourself?
Meditation
Relax. Take a few deep breaths. Let your shoulders relax. Close your eyes.
Listen to this story. It is a story adapted from an ancient Sumerian fable
with an important message for you. The Sumerians tell us of a goddess
named Inanna. She was the goddess of the heavens. She was beautiful, powerful,
joyful. She was loved by many and she was quite good at getting her way.
After all, she was the goddess of the heavens, what more could one wish
to be? She learned of the death of her brother-in-law, and being filled
with compassion she wished to attend his funeral. However, the funeral
would take place in the Netherworld, and anyone who ever entered the Netherworld
never returned. Being who she was she believed that she could have her
way and enter the Netherworld and attend the funeral and return unharmed.
Have you ever felt that the rules didn't apply to you? Have you felt that
because of your special nature, needs, expectations, that you may pursue
whatever you desire, regardless of the rules? She spoke to the gatekeeper
who treated her with the respect and deference deserving of a queen of
heaven. He explained that she may enter at her own risk, but that the
laws of the Netherworld have been extraordinarily perfected, and that
she would have to pass through seven gates. At each gate a piece of clothing
would be removed from her body. If she could agree to this, she could
surely enter. She agreed, but recognizing that this systematic stripping
of her garments must surely be something to overcome, perhaps the process
by which she would somehow be tricked into remaining in the underworld,
she made provision for herself. She dressed in her finest clothes, with
her finest jewelry decorating her body, her scepter in hand, and all the
trappings of her godliness adorning her and manifesting her majesty. What
garments do you wear to show off your beauty? What badges to do wear to
remind people of your achievements? As she made her descent into the Netherworld,
passing through the first gate, her scepter was taken from her. "What
is this?" she asked in wonder. "Extraordinarily perfected are
the laws of the Netherworld. Oh Inanna, do not question the laws of the
underworld," replied the gatekeeper. She passed through the second
gate and the gems adorning her chest were taken. "What is this?"
asked Inana. ""Extraordinarily perfected are the laws of the
Netherworld. Oh Inana, do not question the laws of the underworld,"
said the gatekeeper." As Inana descended into the darkness of the
Netherworld, passing through each of the seven gates, something was taken
from her--something that reminded her of her godliness, her beauty, her
power, and her majesty. As she passed through the last gate she found
herself stripped of all her clothing, jewelry, royalty. She stood before
the throne of the Netherworld, and the elders fixed their eyes upon her.
They looked upon her with the gaze of death, the look that brings terror
to the soul. And this woman, this naked sickly woman, became a corpse.
They hung the corpse on a stake.
Inana lost all, even her life. As she passed each gate she lost all symbols
of her majesty, her beauty, her deity, her very selfhood. At the end of
the last gate she lost her life. From a goddess to a corpse--she learned
humility the hard way. Thankfully, as in most legends, she eventually
is rescued and revived, changed forever by her experience, transformed
into something far beyond garments and jewels.
But how are you like Inana? What jewels do you wear and what fine clothing?
If you were asked what you are most proud of about yourself, what would
your answer be? Can you let go of your names and titles? Can you lose
your possessions, your identity? When you lose everything, even your life
you become nothing. But in becoming that nothing, can you find peace,
rest? In that nothingness can you find yourself? For from that place of
nothingness you can be reborn. Open your eyes. How do you relate to this
story of Inana?
Process
For an individual. Get a piece of paper and a pencil, and write down the
following sentence twenty times down the page with a space between each:
Who are you? Start at the beginning and answer the question in one sentence.
For example, under the first question you might write, "I am a father."
Then go to the next question, "Who are you?" and write the first
answer that comes to mind. Fill out the entire page with different one
sentence answers to the question, "Who are you?" If you have
more answers, turn over the page and answer the question twenty more times.
What do you learn from this process.
This process is borrowed from Bill Kauth's Warrior-monk training. In a
group. Pair off. Sit facing each other at a fairly close range, so that
you can clearly see into each other's eyes without distraction. One person
will be the questioner, the other will answer. One person asks, "Who
are you?" The other person replies in one sentence. The questioner
says, "Thank you." and then asks the question again, "Who
are you?" The other person answers with a different answer. This
continues for five minutes. Keep going, even if the answers become difficult.
When finished, switch around and let the other person ask the questions.
What do you learn about yourself after this process. Come back together
as a group and share your experience.
What are your closing thoughts about the subject of Humility?
End this lesson with a prayer.