Just as I thought I had got it, I realised I hadn’t. My composure was severely knocked by crypto fraud and an unpleasant and unhealthy dispute with Oswald the Tory War Criminal.

For days I became obsessed with getting my money back – reporting the crime to the FBI, the SEC and Uncle Tom Cobbly, posting on various forums to build a victim’s registe, and starting a class action in the US.

Then came my Tory friend. I was knocked sideways by the sheer bestial inhumanity of someone I have known for 40 years.  I would never have believed he harboured such terrible beliefs.

Finally, thank the non existent deity, years of Buddhist practice kicked in.  There had been quite a few days when my distress was such that I had failed in my daily meditation.  Mercifully, I soon realised I had to retreat right back to the stance that it was all an illusion, and the ten thousand things simply had to be ignored.

It became a breakthrough.  Out of the shambles, my efforts took a significant turn for the better. For a while I had to make a conscious effort to shrug off the annoyance and to concentrate with renewed effort on my daily routine.

By now I’m meditating for three hours each morning, from 7 to about 10. And usually for an hour or so in the evening. Suddenly, on a few occasions, I found that I had simply disappeared.  I was conscious but wholly absent. I imagine this is what others have described as non dual awareness.  The scientists claim it results from the quietening of the Default Mode Network.

The point is I thought I had arrived, and yet these two upsets proved that I had not.  That there was a way to go, more layers to the onion, more baby dolls inside big mama.

I don’t suppose I’m there yet. The meditation will probably become deeper, even more strange.  But the important point is it was there when I needed it.  It restored balance, enabled me to return from a place of obsession and foolishness to clarity and serenity.

So thank heavens for practice. And the tubby little chap in the loincloth.

There is nothing sacred or holy about meditation. But it does make you see the world and your own behaviour in a very clear light. That if you are not very guarded, you contribute to world misery rather than solve it.

Equally you see in ever clearer terms how wholly wrong our species is and how vile it’s behaviour.

The real trick is learning how to avoid humanity and to ignore it. There is absolutely nothing you can do except try to “do unto others”.  Which at times is far from easy.