A good man also feels joy, in addition to all the troubles that an evil man suffers: his joy is the joy of an ego that says he is nonviolent, pure, honest, truthful. The “I” that is hidden behind this joy comes from darkness; it is a product of unconsciousness. Without the existence of darkness, the joy also could not exist. Hence, this man has a double problem: he is nourished by what he fights against, and the thing that he believes to be his enemy is the very thing that supports his ego. He will find it twice as difficult to leave the valley. The valley itself is very seductive, so he has created yet one more difficulty that will keep him stuck in the valley. His darkness has become golden. He is getting the joy of a spiritual ego from his unconscious behavior.

This is why a bad man can simply jump out of the valley sometimes, while a good man finds it very difficult to leave it. It may look very strange to you, but it is so. But both the good and bad will have to go beyond the valley. And the way to go beyond the valley is to take no interest either in indulging in it or in suppressing it. Take no interest at all, just keep your focus on the peak. Have the attitude that if it is necessary for you to pass through the valley, you will, but you will not get stuck there and you will not create any kind of relationship with the valley. The valley is an intrinsic part of the peak, so you will have to pass through it. Whether it is a question of good and bad, of sin and virtue, of wisdom and ignorance, you will have to pass through the same obstacles.

Your ignorance surrounds you from everywhere, especially when you are near the peak called wisdom. So you can do either of two things: you can pass through it and you will reach to the peak; or if you start fighting with it, then you will only acquire an intellectual understanding. If you fight with ignorance you will come to knowledge, dogma, scriptures. Then you will have to pitch a tent in the valley and live there. And scriptures are very heavy things – you can’t carry them to the peak.

Sometimes ignorant people can reach to the peak, but the so-called wise people never reach. An ignorant man is at least free of the burden; he has no load of knowledge to carry with him to the peak. All that he has is the valley of his ignorance which he can renounce and leave at any moment. But the scholar, the so-called wise man, not only has his darkness with him, he also carries a heavy load of scriptures, words and dogma on his head. The valley cannot hinder you as much as this load can – he is crushed under its weight. And he cannot leave it and escape because the load he is carrying is his own ego, his treasure.

Remember, the valley never holds on to anybody: it is the ego that keeps you stuck and living in the valley. Then it becomes very difficult to move away from there. One thing is certain: one who keeps moving silently through the valley, who knows himself to be a sinner, an ignorant person, will soon reach to the peak. But the so-called virtuous person or the scholar will find it difficult to accept that he is a sinner, an ignorant person. This is the reason why he is stuck. Only those who are weightless will reach the peak. Don’t gather more weight as you cross the valley – but if you are fighting, you will create weight.