email reply from master.

Wow!

Now that one, I will have to answer in installments. It feels like a book assignment. :)
Let's begin with a tiny piece. :)

45F1 - Part One of The Answers to Ah-San Collected Works on Bringing Questions to the Masters.

> I have so many questions! I don't even know where to begin! It seems that it is just as difficult to ask questions as to know the answers.

Didn't I tell you the answers are easy, it's the questions that are hard. ;)
Actually, the very basis of seeking (anything) is the ability to question.
Let me quote some guy here, who seems to have got it on this point: "Inquisitiveness & Radical Honesty -- Develop the ability to question everything. Bring every motive and avoidance of reality to the light of truth in a radically honest way. Learn to face life with open arms and open eyes. This will rapidly change your perception of the world and yourself. Deep contemplative inquiry allows us to discover and dismantle our story [i.e., personal history] and our programs or patterns. Questioning works especially well on belief systems that we have adopted through our cultural & social conditioning."

> I am so glad that answering questions is your line of business, as you claim.

Perhaps making books out of it will even pay the rent. Someday... ;)

> I only hope my questions are not too naive and a waste of your time, and your answers will lead not only to more questions but also a state where questions and answers truly merge into one.

As I see it, no genuine question can be too naive. See the quote above. ;)

> So, where to begin?

Good question! ;)

> Me. I am truly a novice in this pursuit. I was not even aware I was on any path.

Some are of the opinions that in a way, this could be the mark of the true Seeker. :)

> I was just going my way in the dark, doing my own "seeking" and did not know there could be any directions that I wanted to trust in my going. I questions everything and never want to subscribe to anyone's teaching or wisdom.

Now, *that* is the mark of Wisdom. ;) Any Any teaching frozen or gelified by the twin onslaught of time and respectability becomes questionable. As Jefferson said, even in politics we'd need another Revolution every 20 years or so. Chairman Mao certainly agreed, although his revolutions were not always best-chosen.

> True, I have very low self-esteem and I seek approval among even the least learned men, and I tend to swing and shift, violently.

Laugh about it, and ignore that little voice when it talks. Just pretend you listen The same way children pretend to listen to their parents, yet usually do what they want. ;)

> But I know deep down inside I have never yielded. And to that I am proud of myself. I know I am brave, and not afraid of myself. I have never found enough answers that can satisfy all me, and I am not content with the reality in saying, "I shall never find all
the answers so I will stop here."

Isn't that the mark of the genuine Seeker?

> The fact that I still seek *your* wisdom shows that somehow I feel that you have the answers closest to what might satisfy me. So even though I felt bitter and disillusioned, I go back to you. And, yes, I am curious too.

Curiosity is the doom of the cat. ;) A good thing cats have 9 lives. :)
As for my wisdom, I am just parotting what greater men once found to be true, and which myself I found valuable or useful.

And this will be the end of Part One of The Answers to Ah-San Collected Works on Bringing Questions to the Masters. ;)