Wakefulness is the way to life.
The fool sleeps
as if he were already dead,
but the master is awake
and he lives forever.
He watches.
He is clear.
How happy he is!
For he sees that wakefulness is life.
How happy he is,
following the path of the awakened.
With great perseverance
he meditates, seeking
freedom and happiness.
So awake, reflect, watch.
Work with care and attention.
Live in the way
and the light will grow in you.
By watching and working
the master makes for himself an island
which the flood cannot overwhelm.
One of the most important things to be understood about man is that man is asleep. Even while he thinks he is awake, he is not. His wakefulness is very fragile; his wakefulness is so tiny it doesn’t matter at all. His wakefulness is only a beautiful name, but utterly empty.
You sleep in the night, you sleep in the day; from birth to death you go on changing your patterns of sleep, but you are never really awake. Just by opening the eyes, don’t befool yourself that you are awake. Unless..