The Secret Is . . .

. . . there is no secret.

The latest phony guru is Rhonda Byrne. She is, of course, one in a long line of writers who have found their niche in regurgitating and repackaging ideas from others. She takes her place in a panoply of people who claim to have the "truth."

The "success" of the real guru is not in imparting some "secret" knowledge, but rather in helping, coaching each person to find their own path. Real gurus do not claim special secrets of life; every mentor, every true guru, begins by acknowledging that he or she really has no special knowledge.

In seventy years of spiritual seeking, my real teachers have come from many different backgrounds. Some were homeless, others called themselves Wiccan, Christian, Buddhist, and a wide variety of other appellations. What they all had in common was their certainty that they did not have the answer for my life; that I had to find any answers for myself. They could only give me the answers that worked for them. Most of my gurus have been most helpful as coaches helping me realize when I was looking in the wrong directions or recognize when I have missed answers that were in front of my eyes.

In fact, it is a value in Zen Buddhism that every master is really a beginner, a student. There is no quick answer. Every person has to be an adventurer and search for his or her own. The answer is not in the Bible, the Koran, the Sutras or "The Secret." At least the traditional texts are somewhat original and provide hints. Modern regurgitations claim to have the answer for all people.

Is there a secret? No. But there are some common paths that have worked for those who have diligently tried them. Mindfulness, being in the present, letting go of desire, compassion for others, pursuit of satisfying the needs of others, commitment to communal good; these are some.

The common features of all these are the acceptance of self, and a focus on others. True teachers don't offer new ways to be selfish, they give help in letting go of desire and in finding the path of compassion. This is the true spirituality. It is no secret.

We really don't need more phony gurus who preach self-centered desire.