The Star in the West

THE CUP 177 His , dispersed me , gave me death ." This is pure Buddhism . In death is found release , freedom from desire , which fools alone reject . In the spiritual contemplation of life the slags of existence fall to the bottom of the burning furnace of the human soul ; the power of em pire and glory is shattered , “ The golden image with the feet of clay ,” and the marred vessels of the ( All) mighty potter are cast outside , from the wheel of Fate —why contemplate what is so unprofitable and use less ? Yet in this mysticism which is more intrinsically of the East , we find an intricate web of Egotism tangled with the utilitarianism of the West ; for it seems on reading further that it is not in mere abstraction of the real , but rather in the total absorption of the real , that the Nirvana of bliss is to be arrived at . It is terrible sailing this , Scylla lies to our left , Charybdis to our right , the blood - flecked foam of life is dashed on our lips , it is acrid and intoxicating . XII . No prostitution may be shunned by him Who would achieve this Heaven . No satyr - song , No maniac dance shall ply so fast a thong Of lust's imagining perversely dim That no man's spirit may keep pace , so strong Its pang must pierce ; Nor all the pains of hell may be one tithe as fierce . XIII . All degradation , all sheer infamy , Thou shalt endure . Thy head beneath the mire And dung of worthless women shall desire As in some hateful dream , at last to lie ; Women must trample thee till thou respire That deadliest fume ; The vilest worms must crawl , the loathliest vampires gloom . N