Letting Go

THE BURDEN

Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening. It had rained and there were puddles of water on the road sides. At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk across because of a puddle of water. The elder of the two monks went up to a her lifted her in his alms and left her on the other side of the road, and continued his way to the monastery.
In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and said, "Sir, as monks, we cannot touch a woman ?"
The elder monk answered "yes, brother".
Then the younger monk asks again, " but then Sir, how is that you lifted that woman on the roadside ?"
The elder monk smiled at him and told him " I left her on the other side of the road, but you are still carrying her "

This story illustrates an important topic, letting go of the past. How often do we cling to the misdeeds and hurtful things that have happened to us in our pasts? If your like most people I'd wager to say a lot. It seems almost hollow to say "just leave it in the past," we hear phrases like this all the time, and yet some of us still have a hard time with letting go. Words and phrases are catchy and nice, but in order to truly leave something in the past we must accept it first. Acceptance and forgiveness go hand in hand. They both require the individual to look deeply at the event that occurred, and see it for what it was. All things in life are inherently empty The Buddha taught. This simply means that nothing, not you, me, a tree, a bear, or even emotions, have any inherent qualities or nature. All things in life are a matter of perception, a perception honed over many years of different experiences. Take for example the idea of death. In our culture, as in many, death is seen as a tragic and sad event. An event where loved ones grieve for the loss of the deceased. As a result of our collective experience as a society, we associate death with grief, sadness, and feelings of loss. Yet even death lacks inherent qualities. In some cultures, such as in South East Asia, death is a celebrated event that involves much fan fare and no grieving. The family and friends do not grieve, cry, or become sad, they see death as not an end but merely the completion of another chapter in the cosmic book of the soul. People in these cultures, because of the way death is viewed, do not feel sadness at a death of loved one. Or take for example if you were to hear news of a death of a criminal. Most people would not feel much remorse for the death of someone who had spend their whole life causing others pain. The fact that our sadness is subjective demonstrates that death, like all things in life, lacks inherent reality. Knowing this fact, we can now take a look more deeply at the things that have happened to us in our lives, and ask ourselves "was this really a bad thing?" and "is this really something worth holding onto?" When one truly and objectively looks at an event or emotion, and we see that others may have differing experiences during the same event, then we can conclude that there does not exist a universal or inherent reaction. Knowing this, we can begin to free ourselves from things like anger when someone cuts us off on the road or sadness at the ending of a relationship. This can only be done when one excepts the event that has occured or the emotions being felt, and then forgives those that may have caused the event or emotion to arise. We hold onto emotions and events, and we say "its hard to let go" or "its hard not to be angry/sad," and while it may be hard at first to overcome the pattern of programing we've been taught by the world, IT IS POSSIBLE! With mindfulness of thought, and the right foundation of views, we can begin to further see past the haze which blinds us from the Truth, and begin to live lives completely free from emotions like anger, jealousy, sadness, loss, and frustration. All these feelings are rooted in a disease of the mind, and that disease is the thought that those emotions even exist in the first place. With proper control of the mind one can overcome all, and develop and find a state of constant and utter peace of mind and happiness.

Faith and Experience

Ive come to believe that faith alone is not enough to free us from the human condition and empower us with hope. Faith alone relies too much on what others have said or written about life and the Spirit, and less on personal experience. It is personal experience that not only gives strength to our faith, but in fact legitimizes and galvanizes faith as a spiritual tool. Experience is the strongest form of communication that God has with us. Spoken words can be misinterpreted, feelings are at times confusing and convoluted, but experience is clear. The only hindrance to experience comes from a mind clinging to itself and to the material world around it. My spiritual journey started off over a decade ago, and over the last year and a half its has begun to accelerate to new depths. To be honest, ever since i was young, i questioned the beliefs i was being taught in school and by my family. I felt as if what i was being taught did not match up to the reality of what i was seeing and experiencing. I began to explore at a young age many different religions, and ways of thinking. Yet each time i thought i had found something that fit me, i found that it didn't. Time and time again i searched to no avail. It wasn't until recently that i began to see that no measure of knowledge could bring me the understanding i sought. It was through my personal experiences i have undergone, and the true power of God i have felt in my life, that has brought me closer to realizing Truth. I don't see myself as wise man, or a a religious man, i see myself as a seeker of Truth. My religion is Truth, and my holy book is all holy books. My teacher is every great prophet and teacher who has ever taught a path to the Truth, regardless of their religion. Its a journey who's end may not come in this lifetime or in a hundred lifetimes, but the end is never in question, we all will become awakened and return back to the Spirit. I remember growing up and always feeling a nagging sense of confusion and emptiness in my life. I foolishly thought that the way to fill this void was through women. Yet no matter how many women showed me affection, it was never enough. I remember even feeling empty even during what was supposed to be a happy relationship. Often times in life we are meant to learn a lesson, but we fail to see the purpose of the experience and continue making the same choices and maintaining the same states of mind in spite of the experience. And this was the case with me, God had been telling me time and time again that my current state of mind and actions would only lead to further suffering and confusion. In spite of what most people think, God talks to us all, we just rarely listen. Whenever just the right song pops up on your ipod when your feeling sad, and brightens your day and gives you strength, that's God talking. Whenever a friend who you haven't heard from in awhile suddenly comes back into your life in a time of need and provides much needed support, that's God talking. These are just two out of the infinite number of ways that God talks to us through experience. Even during what we perceive as bad times, God is there talking straight to us. How many times have you undergone a major tragedy or suffered deeply thinking how could this happen to you, and yet when months or years go by and you look back, you realize the importance the event played in shaping who you are now. That's God talking. We forget that to God there is no such thing as tragedy or triumph, God uses all means of experience to get his point across to us. At times that point may be a lesson to be learned for growth, and at others it may be mearly a hand to comfort you in a difficult time. There are those that would read this and claim that they never have had these experiences. There are those that would say how could a kind God allow so much evil and sorrow in this world. Yet they forget that in order to see God and hear God, one must quite the mind and heart. Truth is ever present and unchanging, only ignorance to the Truth keeps us from seeing and experiencing it. To quote the great Sufi mystic Rumi, “Everyone sees the unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart, and that depends upon how much he has polished it. Whoever has polished it more sees more - more unseen forms become manifest to him.” Before you can see the Truth in your heart, you must prepare it. The Buddhist call it Right View, one cannot know Truth or the nature of God, without having set the basic mindset necessary as a foundation to see them. Yet none should be dismayed, for it does not matter whether your heart and mind may or may not be ready to receive God and the Truth, God does not stop trying and even if you deny him, he still works through experiences in your life. We cant run away from experience, for it is God talking, and his message for us will follow us into every life until we stop and say, "I'm ready to listen," and the best part is eventually we all will.

The Lost Son

"A young widower, who loved his five year old son very much, was away on business when bandits came who burned down the whole village and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins and panicked. The took the burnt corpse of an infant to be his son and cried uncontrollably. He organised a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a beautiful little bag which he always kept with him.
Soon afterwards, his real son escaped from the bandits and found his way home. He arrived at his father's new cottage at midnight and knocked at the door. The father, still grieving asked: "Who is it?" The child answered, it is me papa, open the door!" But in his agitated state of mind, convinced his son was dead, the father thought that some young boy was making fun of him. He shouted: "Go away" and continued to cry. After some time, the child left.
Father and son never saw each other again."
After this story, the Buddha said: "Sometime, somewhere, you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it." - Buddha

Keep your mind empty and free from attachment and desire; this is the only way to overcome the ignorance of this life.

Avatar the Movie and Depression

As i was cruising the net today i came across this story about the new James Cameron movie Avatar, and how many people are falling into depression after watching it (http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20100112/en_huffpost/420605). People claim that after leaving the theater and returning home they feel a deep sense of sadness and longing for a world like Pandora (the fictional planet in the movie). People claim to feel a sense of disillusionment with this world and see a surreal peace and tranquility on Pandora that they long for. What struck me as strange was not only the article, but also that a friend I had gone to watch the film with expressed similar views upon walking out of the film. Most people, including the psychologist in the CNN news clip attached to the article, say the phenomenon is an extension of a longing for something in these individuals lives. I tend to agree, with one caveat, the reason for the longing. When I spoke with my friend after watching the film he told me how he longed for the feeling of connectedness with the world and peace that the native creatures in the film, the Na'vi, felt. This made me think about a very important topic, the soul. Within us all, behind the facade that we call our personality and who we perceive ourselves to be, exists the soul. The soul is unchanging and perfect. It does not lack, or hate, or feel sorrow. The soul stands as the foundation for each individual. Each soul, while perfect, varies in how far along it is in the path back to the source. Yet each soul, no matter how clouded by this world, understands its purpose. The longing some feel when watching the movie is the same longing people have felt since humanity first appeared. The longing is the soul remembering itself. Its "you" remembering your true nature. The reason some of us don't feel the same way has to do in large part with how far a particular individual has come his their path to self realization, and how much an individual has become immersed in the material world. Our mind is like a clear blue sky, its a perfect and clear reflection of our perfect soul. As we age that sky begins to get cloudier and cloudier. It becomes filled with all the things we perceive and experience in life. We soon forget what blue sky even looks like, having been under cloudy sky's most of our lives. Some of our minds are so darkened by the clouds of this world, that we commit horrible and vile acts upon each other. Yet regardless of how dark and heavy the clouds may be in your mind, and how much u may not believe that there exists clear blue sky, one day it will all clear up. The clouds cannot last forever. Whether it be in this life or if it takes many lives, you will see blue and clear sky again, and you will once again know the peaceful and everlasting happiness that is our true nature.

Call Me by My True Names

Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.
Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to
Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea
pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
loving.
I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my
hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his "debt of blood" to, my
people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.
My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all
walks of life.
My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.

-Thich Nhat Hahn

Peace of Mind

Peace, we all try and cultivate it and seek it in our lives. Even the most hardened individual seeks nothing more than the two universal desires in life: peace and happiness. Now mind you, some of us become so lost in the dream of life that we seek these goals in things that are in deep conflict to our true nature. There are even those who have given up on peace and happiness, and have given their lives up to the stormy seas of what they perceive as chance. Its always good to start with a solid definition of what it means to be peaceful and happy. Each on of us can name experiences, objects, people, and places that bring us peace and happiness. For some happiness is found in those we care for, some find happiness in finding love, and still for others money and material possessions bring happiness. Each one of these examples, along with the infinite number of other examples of what makes each of us happy, has one deep and fundamental flaw...they're all IMPERMANENT. Impermanence is the one unchanging law of the material world we call home. Impermanence can be seen in the tree who's leaves die and fall to the ground. It can be seen in the song that just finished on the radio. It can be seen in the passing of the seasons, and the passing of human life from this life. We are bound in this life by impermanence. It is this crucial point that prevents us from finding true happiness. For all the ways that we seek happiness, not a single one will last forever. This is no surprise for most people when things like money and material wealth are named, for most of us know the happiness they bring is short lived. Yet few think about how even things such as family, friends, and romantic love, are just as fleeting. Death is our constant companion in this life. No one knows when he'll decide the ride is over, and it is this point that shows the true impermanence of all things. Family, friends, and those we develop romantic love for, will one day leave us in this life, and if they don't go first then we shall. Its in acceptance of this crucial point (that all we know in this life is fleeting) that we begin to find true peace of mind and happiness. True peace of mind can only be found when one begins to accept life for how it is, and begins to see the nature of our actions and the effect they have on our life and those of others. Acceptance does not mean defeat, rather it is liberation. When one begins to accept life's impermanent nature, then one begins to realize the importance of each action and thought. It is when one begins to become truly mindful of this deep realization that one can really begin to live life. Living a life of purpose, and with fierce compassion, this is how one finds peace of mind.

What is the Truth in life?

Its often times so easy to get lost while traveling down this material world we call life. Distractions from truth abound the moment we're born. When I go off on one of my philosophical ramblings with a friend, and i bring about the inevitable subject of Truth, two questions are asked: what is Truth? and how do i find Truth? To understand these questions better, its best to understand the framework in which most people attempt to answer them. In the material world (the all encompassing world around us) we discern things through our 5 senses. Using all, some, or combinations of the 5, we interpret the world. Its through this process, and in combination with the ego, that we begin to develop what we perceive the world to be. Imagine life, as the Matrix, your plugged in and dialed up. From the moment you perceive your existence into the dream, u begin to grow immediately fond of it. This is continually reinforced by the interpretations that you make using your senses. You begin to give things value, and begin to judge what is good and what is bad. By the time we exit childhood we have set the foundation for the basis of the dream. If at first we weren't entirely sure about this life, we quickly at a young age, became sure through our interpretations of what was around us. As we age we continue to have our initial interpretations of this life reinforced by the events and people in our lives. These events and people are devoid of any inherent reality, but by this point most people have bought so much into the dream that we begin to assign value and judgment to these people and events. We begin to identify certain people as friends, others as neutral, and still others as enemies. This is the beginning of our blindness to Truth and the start of our path down a difficult and tumultuous life. A life marked with highs and lows, good times and bad. As we progress in life and become adults we start to assign value not only to the people we meet, but to the things we undergo in life. Things and people become good and bad, right and wrong, and soon we develop a convenient box to fit our framework in. This is the problem when trying to see truth. The reason why truth is so difficult to see is because Truth is obscured by our interpretations of all that is around us. In fact it is our very mind that keeps us from seeing Truth, and this is why wisdom alone, knowledge, cannot bring about Truth. You cant learn Truth, or find Truth. Truth is. Truth always has been and always will be.