Truth is like an aquifer, residing always beneath the earth’s surface, perpetually replenishing itself. And awakening is the process of digging a well, completely alone, by hand. Digging down, ever deeper into the earth, through soil and bedrock, ever further into darkness.
And the further down you go, the more impossible it becomes to go back. But the thirst for Truth is as natural as the thirst for water, so you keep digging—slowly, painstakingly. Unearthing and discarding every part of your self on your way to Truth’s wellspring. You wonder: can I really do this alone? But you persist, digging, further, deeper.
When you have been completely defeated, and then defeated a thousand times more, that aquifer of Truth is finally tapped. Its sweetness flows from you like a river, and you will never again be thirsty.
In your defeat lives humility, and you realize: if you hadn’t dug the well completely alone, what would Truth really be worth?
And then, after you have dug your well, you look down beside you and realize there was already a well there all along.
