God Emperor of Dune – Entry #4

It was in reading the following chapter starter that I finally thought I understood the Golden Path.  And somehow, I had not understood on my first reading of this book.

When I set out to lead humankind along my Golden Path, I promised them a lesson their bones would remember.  I know a profound pattern which humans deny with their words even while their actions affirm it.  They say they seek security and quiet, the condition they call piece.  Even as they speak, they create the seeds of turmoil and violence.  If they find their quiet security, they squirm in it.  How boring they find it.  Look at them now.  Look at what they do while I record these words.  Hah!  I give them enduring eons of enforced tranquility which plods on and on despite their every effort to escape into chaos.  Believe me, the memory of Leto’s Peace shall abide with them forever.  They will seek their quiet security thereafter only with extreme caution and steadfast preparation.

-- The Stolen Journals

(God Emperor of Dune, p. 185)

Maybe I just needed to be more mature to understand the message.  It does not oppose a Buddhist way of thinking, to live in the moment.  Peace and tranquility seen through Buddhist eyes is living in the moment, recognizing each moment is precious.