I begin with a story to illustrate a simple truth about how our lives become so complicated. We often begin with a straightforward event, but due to our spiritual indifference, our minds transform it into a complex problem. This “solution” then breeds another problem, and so on, until our entire existence becomes a cycle of escalating difficulties.

I’ve witnessed this “weaving” in my own life and in the lives of my students. Unconsciously, most of us spend our lives entangled in this pattern: creating a confusing tapestry of problems by seeking “answers” that are merely echoes of past, unnecessary complications. These weren’t meant to be problems at all, but our conflicted minds turned them into antagonistic issues for us to resolve—either with compassion or, more commonly, willful force.

For many, life is measured by this cycle.

Despite my efforts to help others, few truly recognize the value of what I call the “begat process”—how to live with the constant unfolding of a single, foundational insight. This one insight shapes our entire lives, and until we understand it, it will continue to mold our experiences across countless incarnations.

So, here is the story, as shared by our master many years ago. Read it carefully, and I’ll meet you on the other side.

A great mystic was dying. He called to his chief disciple. The disciple rejoiced that the master was calling him. There was a great crowd and the master was only calling to him; he must be giving some secret “key” that he has not given to anyone else. The disciple thought, “This is the way he is choosing me as his successor!” and he moved very close to master.

The master said, “I have only one thing to tell you. I was a fool and did not listen to what my master told me when he was dying – I didn’t even understand what he meant. But I am telling you now, from my own experience, that although it had looked very absurd when he said it to me, he was right.”

The disciple asked, “What is it? Please tell me. I will try to follow it word by word.”

The master said, “It is a very simple thing: never, never in your life keep a cat in your house!” And before the disciple could ask why, the master died!

Now the disciple was at a loss – what a stupid kind of statement! And now whom to ask? He inquired of some old people in the village, “Is there any clue to this message? There must be something mysterious in this!”

One very old man said, “Yes, I know,” because the master’s master had also told him. “I know the whole story.”

The disciple said, “Please tell me so I can understand. What is the secret hidden behind it? I need it to be decoded for me so I can follow it.”

The old man laughed. He said, “It is a simple thing, it is not absurd. Your master was young when the message was given; he used to live in the forest. He had only two pieces of clothing with him; that was all he possessed. But there were big rats in the house and they would destroy his clothes, and again and again he would have to ask the villagers for new clothes.

The villagers said, “Why don’t you keep a cat? Just keep a cat to eat the rats and there will be no problem. We are poor people who can not go on supplying you new clothes every month.”

So, he got a cat, but then the problems started. The cat certainly saved his clothes, but the cat needed milk because once the rats were all eaten the cat was starving. And the poor man could not meditate because the cat was always there, crying, weeping, and going round and around and around him begging for food.

He went to the villagers and they said, “This is a difficult thing because now we will have to supply milk for you. We can give you a cow and you can drink the milk, and your cat can also survive. That way you need not come everyday for your food either.”

The cow needed grass, and the people said, “We will come during the holidays to clear the forest and prepare the ground so you can start growing a little wheat and other things, and leave a part for grass so the cow can graze.”

And the villagers came according to their promise. They cleared the forest, cleaned the soil and they planted wheat and grass. But now there were new problems: the whole day the poor man was engaged in watering, weeding, and looking after the field. Now there was no time to meditate, no time to read the scriptures!

He again went to the villagers and said, “I am getting deeper and deeper into difficulties. There is so much to be done I have no time to meditate.”

The villagers said, “A woman in the village has just become a widow. She is young and we are afraid that she will tempt the young men in the town. Please take her with you. She is healthy and she will take care of your field, the cow, the cat, and she will prepare food for you. She is very religious, too, so don’t be worried…she will not disturb you.”

That’s how things move to their logical conclusion. Now from the cat, how far the man had moved!

The young woman came and began looking after the him, and he was very happy for a few days. She would massage his feet, prepare his meals, tend to his field…and slowly, slowly the inevitable happened: they got married. And to be married in India meant that at least one dozen children must be produced, one dozen was the minimum!

Many years later, as he lay on his deathbed, the man remembered again that his master had told him, “Beware of cats.” That is why he told you be aware of cats! Just one step in the wrong direction and you have lost the way — your mind is with you wherever you go.”

What is this CAT? It is their own self-inflicted problems that devour their time, leaving no room for meditation. A spiritual practice becomes an obligation rather than a way of life. The mind, constantly manufacturing demands for comfort, creates a cascade of crises and urgencies that most try to ignore or simply gratify away. This endless loop of one problem begetting another ultimately leaves them drowning in their own mental “vomit.”

A Zen master once vividly illustrated this for me. After intense training, I had an agenda for my practice: I was seeking “understanding.” He saw right through it. While others received profound “Zenisms,” he simply looked at me and said, “You know, it is one damn thing after another in this life!” He was revealing the “CAT” within me — my desperate seeking for answers and understandings. Everyone around me laughed, but I finally got it: never underestimate the desperation to fulfill emotional longings that only serve to devolve authentic Love into mere gratification.

It begins so early. We’re shaped by our parents—those Jesus called our greatest enemies. As we reach adolescence, we feel the weight of their influence, becoming enraged by the devastating realization: they had no real clue about life or love. Deeply disillusioned, we often overcorrect, charging into life like a bull in a china shop, desperate to ease the pain.

I regularly counsel individuals about their “occurrences,” which they are convinced are problems. They escalate these into hopeless dramas and/or adopt the convoluted role of a victim, resentful of others’ perceived entitlements while secretly desiring those very things. None of them understand how they arrived at their current predicament.

Let me share some insights that might help you avoid inviting another “CAT” into your home:

THE DESPERATE DESIRE FOR AFFECTION TO FULFILL THE HUMAN HEART
Most people crave love, feeling isolated without a partner. Cultural pressure dictates that being in a relationship signals sexual legitimacy and social success; singleness is for “losers.” This deep emotional pain leads them to entangle others in webs of insecurity through affection (sex, money), hoping to create an idealized family. They see this as an “answer” to being a social “failure,” but fail to recognize the mind-driven emotions creating this “CAT.”

They refuse to see that any partner will perfectly reflect their deepest fears and low self-esteem. People go to absolute extremes, particularly women, to fulfill the biological urge to belong, risking everything to avoid dying alone. They hope love will emerge from time and affection, rather than from letting go of the fear that prevents them from embracing the oneness of Love. These “project” relationships become “ghettos” of lost dreams, stubbornly called love. The true issue isn’t themselves or others, but the “CAT”: the lingering pain of childhood emotional abandonment by parents who lacked authentic Heart Love, simply replicating their own upbringing.

THE DESPERATE DESIRE FOR CONTROL OVER THE EVENTS OF LIFE
Our survival instinct, amplified by demanding living costs, often blinds us to how our lives become a struggle for mere existence. Some might point to politics or natural selection as the cause, but let’s locate the “CAT” within us. Once the need for societal esteem emerges, the fight for respect, admiration, and even idol worship becomes our true survival mechanism, consuming all our energy. We’ll sacrifice our lives for social admiration, ironically mislabeled as “self-love.”

Realizing our essence as Love comes not from societal assessment or ego, but through meditation and deep inner remorse leading to humility, mercy, and compassion. The human mind seeks control, believing it has power by being “better than” others. This desire for superiority over our own and others’ survival is the true “CAT” within us. This is why people seek power, like the presidency – not out of service, but for seeming control. The control “CAT” is massive because few want to face the humiliation of losing what “esteems” them. So, survival becomes all about maintaining our self-image, spinning narratives to appear as either victor or victim.

THE DESPERATE DESIRE FOR SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
This “CAT”— the human ego’s architect of the pain body — drives everything we do. It’s the core of the human experience, and its worst manifestation is the humiliation that leads to deep guilt and shame. Our physical diseases stem from this “CAT.” I’ve seen this desire for self-righteousness kill many people, including my own parents.

Self-righteousness is the absolute conviction that everything we do is “RIGHT,” regardless of its cruelty or karmic consequences. It is our unwavering certainty, even in our hatred. I’ve seen students initiate sensitive, risky activities, then deny involvement, twisting everything to appear as victims and sustain their “CAT’s” need for blamelessness through utter hatred. As Buddha said, “Hate never yet dispelled hate; only Love dispels hate.” Most people ignore this truth because it is too humbling. Those with “CATs” don’t believe Love exists so they continually pursue emotional gratification, which they mislabel as “love.” Life, however, often proves them wrong.

We are not helpless, just willfully foolish. This is why the world is the way it is – humankind NEVER LEARNS because we insist upon fear as our motivator. Most of us see the “CAT” within our being as essential to living, which is why we have so many experiences that begin and end the same over and over.

No matter what you do, as long as the “CAT” is in your house you will never venture out of the living you currently have. What is happening to you in your life right now is the only thing that can happen to you – it is your eventuality based on the begat of your “CAT.” If you look at your life, you will see your own pattern. Find your “CAT” – then you will know what to do with your life.