In his How Much Land Does a Man Truly Need?, Tolstoy offers a vivid illustration. Pakhom is promised as much land as he can walk around in a single day, provided he returns to his starting point before sunset. Tempted by every fertile field, he repeatedly extends his route. Realising too late that evening is approaching, he races back at full speed to reach his starting point. Arriving just at sunset, he collapses from exhaustion and dies on the spot. His servant buries him in a grave six feet long. That, Tolstoy concludes, is all the land a man truly needs.

 

Like Pakhom, our desire keeps us extending its boundaries. We acquire experiences, accumulate impressions and assemble them into a makeshift identity. In this way the round of samsara becomes perpetual. Yet the Self remains untouched, obscured but never destroyed. —

 

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