Studying and researching for my Thesis I came across this tidbit, which I felt was a great allegory for inward work. It uses the most coarse element, earth (stone) as an example for steadfastness in inner work. The following was stated and discussed by Meister Eckhart:
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Without falling, and without realizing its weight in an act of falling, a stone remains yet heavy, and at rest at all times. The stones activity in time arises from its being, which it possesses quite apart from time.
"The stone performs its work day and night without ceasing."
Such inner work, which is being, has real value, independent of all appearance in outward works.This value is neither increased nor changed by the "accident "of external works.
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This allegory is very powerful, it denotes that "there is no escape!" when attempting to "take a break" from spiritual work. There is only to continue to work on oneself, this work extends beyond space and time and is done consistently, knowingly or not at times, within one’s own being.
This emphasizes the value of inner work over the inconsistency of outward appearance and validation. Many people acquire problems which stem from this tendency to feel that to fulfill the outward requisite of someone important to you, or an authority figure (whether they consider themselves one or not) means that you have created some sort of value for yourself (which often people feel must be paid off as if they had placed someone in debt). This value is meaningless if it didn't come from a genuine source of being, because it implies that the action or act was forced, pre meditated, or generally not genuine. It is not an act from character and truth, but from deception and reluctance. Inner work leaves a signature of itself on the external that is more wholesome and pure; hence, the most consistent way of being is to act from that center. As Eckhart States:
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"The work that is outward does not love God, for time and place limit it, it is narrow; man can prevent and force it; it becomes tired and old with time and exercise."
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This is what they mean when they say that man does not go to heaven on works alone. It is the development of this inner being that creates a genuine goodness in mankind. We can leave behind the choice of evil or wrong. There is only the right thing to do, and it is to be done with ones whole being, not acted out and regretted and forced internally.
Often times we try to "maintain a relationship" through force and prevention. We pettily play toward what we think others would like us to be and act in order to appease them out of fear of loss of their presence. These are often fruitless and dangerous to the growth of true relationship between man, society and nature. Why do we cling to so many relationships that are full of conditions? It is impossible to maintain the energy needed to keep that up. It becomes worn, as does any endeavor that does not come from one’s own source. As Eckhart says, "it becomes tired and old with time and exercise." The human body is finite, hence works done in the external are the same, they are passing. Internal work remains with a person throughout life and death, waking moments, and sleep. There is no necessity for dependency upon the external frame. The internal fire, or soul, that dwells within, can function at the same level at all times, from childhood to the elderly years, as the lowliest creature to the most ascended being. It is only possible to maintain indefinitely, what is generated by one’s own being within since this is within the realm of our own control. What results on the outside is merely a reflection, not a focus.
