Or, to take, to steal. What is it that loves? The eyes see, the brain thinks, the fingertips touch. To love is a function of what? The soul, perhaps they might have said. Something loves... the self, the soul, the will... The heart, it's function is to pump blood around the body. Affection is felt, but felt by what?
Passion is the function of what?
Analyse your desires carefully and you can find your true self, your true position. Honest to yourself and therefore full of integrity. What do I want? Away from clichés, separate from prejudiced expectations, I use my desires as a guideline, a rule of thumb.
Desire, flowing from me, is a bulwark of truth, something that can be counted on. The royal road to knowing yourself. Desire leads to unhappiness and pain, says the Buddha. Obvious truth. But what of it?
It can lead also to moments of joy, glimpses of fulfilment. I will not cut myself off therefore from desire, become an ascetic, seek to "transcend" the flesh. It is human to drink in life, seeking fulfilment, not accepting pain but fighting it, using your desire as a weapon, drowning your pain in sweet floods of love, aspects of joy endlessly renewed, eternally renewable. A guarantee of your life: That your desire is inexhaustible, and that your sorrow can be conquered.
