You can't be a hero without a heart open to all beings, including all insects, scavengers, and suffering ghosts.
No matter how magnanimous your strength is or how imposing your discipline is, you cannot be a hero without a heart that gives itself every moment to the entire world.
Because this open wound in all directions is heroism itself. This self-sacrifice continually offered to the cosmos is the immortal courage of all ages.
It is the same courage with which a lioness abandons her cubs to search, kill, and bring them fresh meat.
It is the same bravery of a fighting bull that does not stop charging to survive, even if that accelerates its death.
It is the same coldness of the doctor who makes decisions in seconds to save the lives of seriously injured bodies.
This bleeding heart is the very death of the meditator who gradually submerges into the unconditioned reality of the universe.
May you become an ascetic beast through the alchemy of heavy iron, through the purifying fire of the war arts.
But if you forget to set your heart on fire and use it as a torch to illuminate the world, you will condemn yourself to the most harmful stubbornness of all.
You will be just another brute inventing kingdoms without substance in your head. An accumulator of power intoxicated with disgusting arrogance.
Because at the end of the day, that's what we're here for. To overcome being slaves to ignorance by opening our hearts and bleeding total freedom. Make the incision in your chest and let everyone drink from you. Do it without fear.
Cut your flesh with the willingness to be food for whatever. Give away your eyes, your guts, your longings, and all your triumphs. The key that opens the Kingdom of Heaven is this generosity that does not fear death.
Take your awareness and sharpen it with subtle and deep surrender until it becomes an extremely thin, lethal, and transparent sheet. Then, let it cut through every phenomenon it touches.
Allow it to take the life of the lost and sick intentions of your being so that the Pure Land of your body, speech, and mind flourishes.
Transform the world into a wounded heart that bleeds reefs, steppes, icebergs, and deserts. Then, mix your awareness with the sun's light and allow the luminous rays to carry it to every corner of the Earth and thus consecrate the blood shed in all directions.
You will be exhausted, totally defeated, without provisions to have another second of life. It’s alright. That's what it's about. If you're unwilling to give yourself away, what's the point of so much life?
Open Heart Warriorship