Not A God

In a dream, the wind stirs across my skin, whispering in my ears and the servant is asked to share the Dhamma: Because you are haughty of heart, you say, “A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!”— And yet you are a man, and not a god, however you may think yourself like a god. Oh yes, you are wiser than so many prophets, so many saints, and there is no secret that is beyond you. By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself; You have put gold and silver into your treasuries. By your great wisdom applied to your trading you have heaped up your riches; your heart has grown haughty from your riches–  you cling, you fear, you exclude the poor, the sick, your every brother.

In a dream, the wind is cool in the fierce sun and I hear its call for me to speak the Dhamma: Because you think yourself to have the mind of a god, this and in an eon of lifetimes you will come against foreigners, the most barbarous of nations. They shall draw their swords against your beauteous wisdom, they shall run them through your splendid apparel. They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea. Will you then say, “I am a god!” when you face your murderers? No, you are man, not a god, handed over to those who will slay you. You shall die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners.

Know that you have cast your own destiny with each selfish act, again and again and again until with a contrite heart the sins which entwine you are unraveled and the Truth be revealed in the fullest light of freedom, joy, grace and loving-kindness, then my son, you shall know I AM.

Adapted from Ezekiel 28:2-10