The notion of dragons guarding treasure goes back through Norse, Greek, Egyptian and Sumerian mythology, at least as far as ancient China, where dragons guarded bodies of water. These tales may have evolved from a common ancestral story, though more likely their similarities arise from our shared human experience: anything worth getting has to be fought for, and no worthy prize comes easily.
If the treasure of life is all that we value most – love, peace, light, aspiration and joy – then the dragons guarding this treasure are the tendencies standing in our way – pride, fear, doubt, hesitation, desire, attachment, distraction and delusion. While life’s real treasure is all in our spiritual heart, the dragons are undisputed bosses of our minds.
Meditation is the treasure-seeker’s most powerful, reliable weapon to charm and disarm all our inner dragons, enabling us to discover, claim, enjoy and share our inner treasure with the world.
Just as the dragons of mythology retreated and disappeared in the light of reason and understanding – no-one actually believes they are real any more – so the dragons of fear, doubt and illusion, which appear so real in the living nightmare of our mental perception, dissolve and evaporate in the light, peace and bliss of meditation. The more one meditates, the more one grows in the inner light, courage and conviction that exposes these dragons as illusory and ephemeral, unreal.
As long as we do not come near or actively seek any treasure, dragons don’t threaten us; they leave idle people well alone. So whatever dragon appears in life, take heart – for its menace is the sure sign that true treasure is near at hand, and you are close on its trail.
To slay each dragon –
– meditate –
– to claim and become the treasure of treasures.