metonymy4u

The idea that the truth will set you free is nothing more than a slogan that has been chanted here in the west for the past 2500 years. This idea often takes the form of the quest story. A noble quest is undertaken to discover that which we need but do not have. Often those who are chosen for the quest must be ritually pure to merit God’s endless bounty, rumored to lie at the end of the spiritual rainbow. Indeed, the quest often becomes a test of that purity and upon its success or failure depend both the immortal souls of the adherents and humanity’s eternal redemption.

Another perspective would propose the notion that, in fact, the quest came to an end on the day of your birth.

I remember a story of a monk who was assigned to sit on a platform at the top of a 100 foot pole for a period of time. When the assignment came to an end the monk felt proud of his accomplishment and asked his teacher what reward he would receive for his success. The teacher replied simply, “proceed.”