"Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love."
~Rumi
A lot of people have expressed their views on love. I do like a few of them (refer to Valentine's post with quotes from William Shakespeare and the Bible). However, recently, I came across a quote from a source I haven't read much of - Rumi. He wrote about love in a way that I can feel at this point in my life. And what I like most is that he doesn't try to analyze love, he simply tells you to let love guide you. So simple - yet so deep!
I have grown to realize the various forms of love. Of course we all initially think of relationships - what love has come to represent in our society. But love is so much more than that. Love goes beyond our human race, beyond anything materialistic, beyond the world we know. Love is this emotion, this feeling, this thought, this perception that is drenched in spirituality. Since the time I began exploring Buddhism I realized that it was love for which I live. That pure, innocent feeling that causes the lamp in my heart to stay alight. Sounds Romantic and poetisized doesn't it? But it really is not, how do I find the words to explain?
Remember the allegory of the cave? (See previous post) It feels something like that. The understanding of the nature of love, knowing how or what or why - it is impossible to go back to not knowing - it is so difficult to make the others see what causes that shadow! Love makes this world go round, and of this I am thoroughly convinced. Look at the qualities that are generally valued in people of our society today: kindness, generosity, patience, hard-working, trustworthy, etc. etc. Where do you think these qualities stem from? You guessed it, Love. How?? This is what I think:
Kindness is our sensitivity to the world around us - our intuition of how others are feeling and what would help them the most; but what produces this sensitivity, what allows us to be open in this way? Love - for ourself. We learn to love ourself, respect ourself, and be sensitive towards our own emotions. That is the path that leads to kindness towards others. You can't expect someone to be sensitive and kind to others without being kind to themselves first - and that can only happen with a respecting sort of love for oneself.
I could go into how the other qualities stem from love - different types of love. But I won't. This Blog was made with Soul Searching in mind - and somewhere I wandered from that path. But somehow, at every turn, at every point, I find my way back. Now, you make think this is unstable or troublesome - but in reality it's love that pulls me back. Stop. Think. Let it sink in. It is the love for spirituality, finding myself, knowing the intricacies of the world and life in general, and my path using Buddhism that always pulls me back towards it. What does Rumi say? "Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love."
Trust yourself. Listen to your inner voice.
It will never guide you wrong. It is what you really love. IT will pull you, no matter how much you wander, you are connected, I am connected, we are all connected. So, there is no need to fret, no need to stress, no need to be a busy person running around with no head, because what we love, what we really, truly love, is always there. That's right. We don't have to go looking for it, it pulls us towards it - it is always in our life, we just have to let it pull.. and stop resisting of course!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Allegory of the Cave
Plato had an idea many, many centuries ago (several really, but let's just focus on one). This concept is referred to as the "allegory of the cave." The allegory is as follows:
There is a cave, with a high wall in it (partitioning the cave into two), on the inner part of the wall there are prisoners chained to the wall - and all they can see is shadows on the cave walls; these shadows are caused by the small fire that guards of the prisoners have on the open side of the wall. The prisoners are seeing shadows of the guards and people passing by in the cave due to the fire light, but they cannot actually see anything or anyone. Now, if one of those prisoners is taken out of the enclosed part of the cave and brought to the fire side of the cave, he will be shocked by the light at first, but once he has adjusted, he will be able to see the things that made the shadows. If this same prisoner is next taken out of the cave into the real world with the sun shining - he will at first be blinded by the sunshine, however, once he gets over it, he will begin to realize that the sun is the source of what created the things that made the shadow, and is hence the creator of all things. Here comes the twist - if this prisoner is then taken back to his prison and placed back with the prisoners who only see shadows, he is in a bind. He is no longer satisfied by the shadows - he knows what causes them and what creates the cause - so how can he simply accept the shadow? the illusion? At the same time, if he tries to explains it to his fellow prisoners, it is pointless, because since they haven't seen it, it is hard for them to understand it.
What is the connection of the cave and some prisoner and shadows and light? Us. We are the prisoners, our world the cave.. we see shadows and feel satisfied with it - simply because we don't know or have not experienced anything beyond it. And once we do, it is hard to be satisfied with just this, especially since it can't even be explained to someone else. So, does this prevent us from exploring what is beyond our immediate, materialistic world? I don't think so. But then wouldn't knowing the "beyond" and knowing what exists beyond materialism prevent us from living peacefully within the material world? What a conundrum, eh?
Here is what I think, or my "solution" to this allegory is:
Plato was a smart man - he came up with several notions, one which explained knowledge as something that cannot be taught or learned explicitly, but something that must be discovered or guided towards. The teacher is not there to give all the answers, but to guide the student with a series of questions and situations in order for the student to discover and learn for themselves. If we connect both of Plato's concepts we can find a semi-ok solution - which I would like to think is in play in our world today.
IF someone believes they have been to the sunshine, and have found their way back to the dark cave - our material world - they become our spiritual teachers. Take a look at the Buddha - he is one of the greatest spiritual teachers known to us. Reiki, yoga, meditation, ayurveda - all modes that lead to some form of "beyond." Many people mistaken sprirituality for religion - a fine line does exist, and must be put into play if this allegory has a solution. Religion is organized by us - lead by us - practiced by us - how is that outside of our world then? The sages of ancient India who roamed the forests in search of spiritual nirvana practiced a simple life - a nonmaterialistic life - BINGO!
Nonmaterialism is a stepping stone towards leaving the darkness of the cave. That is the step many of these spriritual teachers have taken. And a true teacher will never give us the answer and force/insist on us following them. Spirituality must be discovered by oneself - guided by the teachers, but learned individually. Look at what the Buddha says to us in so many of the scriptures written by his disciples; he says that in his search he found certain simple ways of living and being that can free us from the mundane, material world - but he also asks us to not follow him blindly - he wants us to explore for ourself, test out those ways and theories and see for ourself if the truth can be reached.
So, if we pause and think, what is it that we haven't experienced, whose shadow is all we ever see and be satisfied with, because we don't know its true form? All I can come up with is: Inner Peace. Think about it - we see materialistic, "shadows" of peace that is temporary at the best. We don't know what causes the shadow, or what creates the cause. We all strive to know the shadow, to know the cause - to obtain inner peace, but how many of us truly know the form, the reality of inner peace? How many of us have felt it? A lot of us might think we have, but if it is fleeting, then it is simply a shadow. Those who attain inner peace - true, sustaining inner peace - tend to stay that way for as long as they live. They cannot come back and embrace the shadows of inner peace, they have found the everlasting version. They try their best to explain it - but can't because those who don't have it don't know what it feels like. Keep the Buddha in mind - his history - and all of this makes a whole lot of sense.
What can we make out of all of this? Now we are aware that we live in a cave, that there is something else out there. How will we find our way there? Well, a lot of people will not. They will always be content with the mundane, the materialistic, cave world of darkness. They will live and strive for homes and jobs and society. Those who attain that, or are aware of the beyond will always strive for the beyond. An ultimate goal comes from this allegory - to find our way out of the cave, to find the source of the shadows - to obtain that knowledge of what it is that causes the source. It is a difficult path - because once we know what we know, believe what we believe - it will be near impossible to not know it anymore, to not believe it anymore. But then again, isn't that what soul searching is all about?
There is a cave, with a high wall in it (partitioning the cave into two), on the inner part of the wall there are prisoners chained to the wall - and all they can see is shadows on the cave walls; these shadows are caused by the small fire that guards of the prisoners have on the open side of the wall. The prisoners are seeing shadows of the guards and people passing by in the cave due to the fire light, but they cannot actually see anything or anyone. Now, if one of those prisoners is taken out of the enclosed part of the cave and brought to the fire side of the cave, he will be shocked by the light at first, but once he has adjusted, he will be able to see the things that made the shadows. If this same prisoner is next taken out of the cave into the real world with the sun shining - he will at first be blinded by the sunshine, however, once he gets over it, he will begin to realize that the sun is the source of what created the things that made the shadow, and is hence the creator of all things. Here comes the twist - if this prisoner is then taken back to his prison and placed back with the prisoners who only see shadows, he is in a bind. He is no longer satisfied by the shadows - he knows what causes them and what creates the cause - so how can he simply accept the shadow? the illusion? At the same time, if he tries to explains it to his fellow prisoners, it is pointless, because since they haven't seen it, it is hard for them to understand it.
What is the connection of the cave and some prisoner and shadows and light? Us. We are the prisoners, our world the cave.. we see shadows and feel satisfied with it - simply because we don't know or have not experienced anything beyond it. And once we do, it is hard to be satisfied with just this, especially since it can't even be explained to someone else. So, does this prevent us from exploring what is beyond our immediate, materialistic world? I don't think so. But then wouldn't knowing the "beyond" and knowing what exists beyond materialism prevent us from living peacefully within the material world? What a conundrum, eh?
Here is what I think, or my "solution" to this allegory is:
Plato was a smart man - he came up with several notions, one which explained knowledge as something that cannot be taught or learned explicitly, but something that must be discovered or guided towards. The teacher is not there to give all the answers, but to guide the student with a series of questions and situations in order for the student to discover and learn for themselves. If we connect both of Plato's concepts we can find a semi-ok solution - which I would like to think is in play in our world today.
IF someone believes they have been to the sunshine, and have found their way back to the dark cave - our material world - they become our spiritual teachers. Take a look at the Buddha - he is one of the greatest spiritual teachers known to us. Reiki, yoga, meditation, ayurveda - all modes that lead to some form of "beyond." Many people mistaken sprirituality for religion - a fine line does exist, and must be put into play if this allegory has a solution. Religion is organized by us - lead by us - practiced by us - how is that outside of our world then? The sages of ancient India who roamed the forests in search of spiritual nirvana practiced a simple life - a nonmaterialistic life - BINGO!
Nonmaterialism is a stepping stone towards leaving the darkness of the cave. That is the step many of these spriritual teachers have taken. And a true teacher will never give us the answer and force/insist on us following them. Spirituality must be discovered by oneself - guided by the teachers, but learned individually. Look at what the Buddha says to us in so many of the scriptures written by his disciples; he says that in his search he found certain simple ways of living and being that can free us from the mundane, material world - but he also asks us to not follow him blindly - he wants us to explore for ourself, test out those ways and theories and see for ourself if the truth can be reached.
So, if we pause and think, what is it that we haven't experienced, whose shadow is all we ever see and be satisfied with, because we don't know its true form? All I can come up with is: Inner Peace. Think about it - we see materialistic, "shadows" of peace that is temporary at the best. We don't know what causes the shadow, or what creates the cause. We all strive to know the shadow, to know the cause - to obtain inner peace, but how many of us truly know the form, the reality of inner peace? How many of us have felt it? A lot of us might think we have, but if it is fleeting, then it is simply a shadow. Those who attain inner peace - true, sustaining inner peace - tend to stay that way for as long as they live. They cannot come back and embrace the shadows of inner peace, they have found the everlasting version. They try their best to explain it - but can't because those who don't have it don't know what it feels like. Keep the Buddha in mind - his history - and all of this makes a whole lot of sense.
What can we make out of all of this? Now we are aware that we live in a cave, that there is something else out there. How will we find our way there? Well, a lot of people will not. They will always be content with the mundane, the materialistic, cave world of darkness. They will live and strive for homes and jobs and society. Those who attain that, or are aware of the beyond will always strive for the beyond. An ultimate goal comes from this allegory - to find our way out of the cave, to find the source of the shadows - to obtain that knowledge of what it is that causes the source. It is a difficult path - because once we know what we know, believe what we believe - it will be near impossible to not know it anymore, to not believe it anymore. But then again, isn't that what soul searching is all about?
Saturday, October 17, 2009
An incomplete completeness
A feeling of syncness I relish,
the complementing habits of our nature,
it all fits into each other so well,
almost like this was the way it was made.
The dark and light complete the color spectrum,
the tall and short the height range,
soul searching they both do,
and stay independent of attachments external too.
His love comes from the Bible,
hers from Sir Shakespeare,
yet she loves him more than he does,
and he feels for her more than she knows.
The way he forgets most everything,
but remembers the littlest things of her,
and the way she does not show emotion,
except when she is filled with love's passion.
Their togetherness is so complete,
and yet on some level incomplete,
in that too it is an ideal blend,
of separate lives and a life joined.
the complementing habits of our nature,
it all fits into each other so well,
almost like this was the way it was made.
The dark and light complete the color spectrum,
the tall and short the height range,
soul searching they both do,
and stay independent of attachments external too.
His love comes from the Bible,
hers from Sir Shakespeare,
yet she loves him more than he does,
and he feels for her more than she knows.
The way he forgets most everything,
but remembers the littlest things of her,
and the way she does not show emotion,
except when she is filled with love's passion.
Their togetherness is so complete,
and yet on some level incomplete,
in that too it is an ideal blend,
of separate lives and a life joined.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
An Act of Love
A patient, kind love
Like the soft, gentle dove.
His warmth fills her soul
And makes her feel whole.
Desire seeps through to the heart
Now it is time for her part.
A love, passionate and deep
Like the deer in the meadow that leap.
Her heart is his whether he is far or near
And that lets him have no fear.
Let both of their loves make them one
After much intimacy, the act is now done.
Like the soft, gentle dove.
His warmth fills her soul
And makes her feel whole.
Desire seeps through to the heart
Now it is time for her part.
A love, passionate and deep
Like the deer in the meadow that leap.
Her heart is his whether he is far or near
And that lets him have no fear.
Let both of their loves make them one
After much intimacy, the act is now done.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
True Love "defined"
A wise person long time ago had said to me:
"Always be with a person who loves you more than you love him"
This idea made sense to me, but always made me a little sad. It would be wonderful to be loved that much of course, but I felt incredibly sad that then the other person wouldn't get to feel as loved as I did - and that to me is quite unfair. Until one day I realized - true love is the solution.
A love so different from the other's, that both are loved more than they love each other. How?! It's so simple I never saw or knew it until now. One filled with a patient, kind love; the other with a passionate love. Each filled more with their kind of love - each loving the other in their own way - and consequently both loving each other more than the other loves. A paradox that actually works.
Lovely, isn't it?
The mystery of love. Who knew it could be this simple, and yet so special.
"Always be with a person who loves you more than you love him"
This idea made sense to me, but always made me a little sad. It would be wonderful to be loved that much of course, but I felt incredibly sad that then the other person wouldn't get to feel as loved as I did - and that to me is quite unfair. Until one day I realized - true love is the solution.
A love so different from the other's, that both are loved more than they love each other. How?! It's so simple I never saw or knew it until now. One filled with a patient, kind love; the other with a passionate love. Each filled more with their kind of love - each loving the other in their own way - and consequently both loving each other more than the other loves. A paradox that actually works.
Lovely, isn't it?
The mystery of love. Who knew it could be this simple, and yet so special.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A Year Ago This Day
His eyes caught hers across the street. She immediately knew it was him. She whispered his name in her mind. As he approached her, she froze - the nervousness had bubbled in her all day and she couldn't feel a thing!
As they awkwardly shuffled into the cafe, he handed her a birthday present. Her mind finally decided to kick in and she began to analyze the gift as he continually apologized for not wrapping it. She brushed him off by saying it was the thought that counts, all while she puzzled over the puzzles he had brought her. Almost as if he had heard her thoughts, he asked her if she liked crosswords. Feeling like a deer caught in headlights, she quickly responded with a polite smile and explained how she had never really done crosswords, but this was a good chance to try it..
He seemed pleased with her answer and turned to order tea. She was lost in her thoughts of how he hadn't held the door open for her, had rushed ahead to order first, and now had his back to her while ordering. As she was getting entangled in this web she herself had woven, he turned to her to see what would like have. She fell deeper into the web in an effort to avoid the "paying" issue by telling him she was a tad bit undecisive and didn't know what to get yet.
Now that his wallet was put away, she safely ordered a hot coffee and pulled out her own wallet. He murmured something about "you should have told me" and inadvertently caused her to fall even further into that awful web. That's when the awkward set in; they stoof watchin the coffee being made and decided to head out once she picker up her steaming cup from the counter.
Together they started walking up the street towards the university. They were making small talk and all of five seconds had elapsed when she realized the web was gone! An odd sensation came over - she was comfortable. This stranger next to her didn't feel like much of a stranger; she was actually enjoying the walk next to this tall man and found a small smile slowly form across her face. That's all it had taken : five seconds walking next to him. The feeling she felt - it was an unknown one - but she knew it was good.
The evening moved along as they found a nice outdoor spot on campus to sit and indulge in conversation. She found him glancing her way even when the conversation took a pause. Everything felt so nice. It wasn't exciting, not creepy, nor awkward.. simply nice. A wave of calm streamed through her as she sat there with him. And when they walked side by side, as the end of the evening came near, she knew that there was a connection. He had come into her life on her twentieth birthday, and she knew he was here to stay.
As they awkwardly shuffled into the cafe, he handed her a birthday present. Her mind finally decided to kick in and she began to analyze the gift as he continually apologized for not wrapping it. She brushed him off by saying it was the thought that counts, all while she puzzled over the puzzles he had brought her. Almost as if he had heard her thoughts, he asked her if she liked crosswords. Feeling like a deer caught in headlights, she quickly responded with a polite smile and explained how she had never really done crosswords, but this was a good chance to try it..
He seemed pleased with her answer and turned to order tea. She was lost in her thoughts of how he hadn't held the door open for her, had rushed ahead to order first, and now had his back to her while ordering. As she was getting entangled in this web she herself had woven, he turned to her to see what would like have. She fell deeper into the web in an effort to avoid the "paying" issue by telling him she was a tad bit undecisive and didn't know what to get yet.
Now that his wallet was put away, she safely ordered a hot coffee and pulled out her own wallet. He murmured something about "you should have told me" and inadvertently caused her to fall even further into that awful web. That's when the awkward set in; they stoof watchin the coffee being made and decided to head out once she picker up her steaming cup from the counter.
Together they started walking up the street towards the university. They were making small talk and all of five seconds had elapsed when she realized the web was gone! An odd sensation came over - she was comfortable. This stranger next to her didn't feel like much of a stranger; she was actually enjoying the walk next to this tall man and found a small smile slowly form across her face. That's all it had taken : five seconds walking next to him. The feeling she felt - it was an unknown one - but she knew it was good.
The evening moved along as they found a nice outdoor spot on campus to sit and indulge in conversation. She found him glancing her way even when the conversation took a pause. Everything felt so nice. It wasn't exciting, not creepy, nor awkward.. simply nice. A wave of calm streamed through her as she sat there with him. And when they walked side by side, as the end of the evening came near, she knew that there was a connection. He had come into her life on her twentieth birthday, and she knew he was here to stay.
Monday, July 20, 2009
A Path to Happiness
1. Live in the present.
2. Find inner peace.
3. Successful happiness.
So, number 1 seems to be self-explanatory - and number 3 the result.. so let's focus on number 2, and my latest topic of soul searching: Inner peace.
I have known for a while now that inner peace is not a temporary state. And if lasts temporarily, then it's not really inner peace. I've been told by some that they attain inner peace for a little while and at the slight provocation of others they fly into a rage and are pushed into leaving their inner peace. Honestly, that's not inner peace then. Peace is not some bug you are going to get for a while that others can drive away. Peace is a sort of permanence that you found and develop and grow into something stable. Inner peace cannot be obtained so easily as to be lost almost instantaneously. It is a lasting feeling, a lasting perception, that takes us straight to nirvana - to enlightenment.
I recently read a short book, "A Path to Happiness" by Thubten Chodron. It is a series of talks given by a Buddhist nun. And boy does she do a good job of explaining herself! However, most of what she says is what I've always felt or believed in. Reading the book felt like reassurance for my thoughts, and urged me to delve a bit deeper to try and understand the other side - the folks who this book is geared towards - those who have constantly told me they "lose" their inner peace. Don't they see? It's so clear, and yet they seem entrapped.
Chodron puts one particular aspect of all of this very nicely:
"When we're outrageously angry or burning with jealousy or when attachment is eating away at us, we can't deny that we have these negative emotions. Of course, we try to say that it's the other person's fault, that we have these horrible emotions only because they made us have them. But after we've listened to the Buddha's teachings, this rationale doesn't work any more. We know in our hearts that our happiness and suffering come from our own minds. Then, even though we try to blame our difficulties on other people, we know we can't. We are forced to look at them ourselves. And when we do, we also see that they are incredible opportunities to grow and learn."
There are so many things explained in this simple paragraph that I don't even know where to begin. For example, the simple fact that negative emotions blind us to the point where we ignore the reality of the situation and simply look to blame others. This notion seems to be within human nature so deeply, that it feels hard to get rid of. But the truth is so blatant, that someone has got to be truly, heavily ignorant to not realize that blaming is probably one of the worst actions we can do. I particularly come away from Chodron's paragraph with the sensibility that no one can hinder our path to enlightenment, except ourselves - our mind. It is we who decide our happiness and suffering. Others come along on the path and are there only on the sideline - even those who we feel hinder us from our path, are really there to teach us some lesson. From everything good, and everything bad, comes something for us to learn - and to grow!
The people who harm us end up pushing us towards our Dharma in search of answers we wouldn't seek if things were always good. Take a look at the soul searching I am doing right now - it all started a long time ago out of a very bad experience. That situation left me asking many questions, and with no answers. And today I'm in a place where I can not only look at the answers, but actually see them carefully. Out of all of this, I've realized, Karma, Dharma, Life only helps those who help themselves. Inner peace is easier then a lot of people seem to think. A lot more permanent then others want to believe. All it takes is living in the present - forgetting the past, not worrying about what's next. The true task is staying calm. It's easy being a monk in a monastery - try being a monk in bustling society.
Impermanence is the other name of life. People are born, people die - every second of the day. Situations are great and some are dire - they change with the seasons. Time seems the only continuity and even that never ceases to change. And from all of this stems peace. It is permanent, and it is the only relief from impermanence. At the end of the day - at the end of life - it is the peace that will deliver, no one, no thing, else. We must end suffering, and it will only end with our minds, our senses being in check and control. I was once asked how I could be a Hindu and believe in Buddhism? And this is exactly how; as I sit here and write this I realize I am simultaneously thinking of the Buddha and Krishna. The Buddha preached about enlightenment and nirvana, and showed us how peace and bringing our mind into a firm meditation will help us achieve that. And Krishna - embarked on a chariot - represents the virtue of self, the right path that we must follow. His horses, the reign he holds as he drives Arjuna's chariot represent Krishna reigning his senses - holding a firm mind, and not letting the situation deter him.
They are all telling us the same thing. The Buddha, Krishna, Ms. Chodron. Inner peace is our path to happiness - our path to a higher sense - something away from worldly things. All we have to do is listen. Is to be aware, to live in the moment, to be conscious of every moment - to let our minds meditate. We need not fear others, we have no enemies, our biggest challenge is our self. I am a 100% sure that what our ancestors messages say, we understand - accepting it for what it is.. there is the difficulty, and the challenge, that we must overcome, and before long it will all fall into place..
Hence, the path to happiness therein lies.
2. Find inner peace.
3. Successful happiness.
So, number 1 seems to be self-explanatory - and number 3 the result.. so let's focus on number 2, and my latest topic of soul searching: Inner peace.
I have known for a while now that inner peace is not a temporary state. And if lasts temporarily, then it's not really inner peace. I've been told by some that they attain inner peace for a little while and at the slight provocation of others they fly into a rage and are pushed into leaving their inner peace. Honestly, that's not inner peace then. Peace is not some bug you are going to get for a while that others can drive away. Peace is a sort of permanence that you found and develop and grow into something stable. Inner peace cannot be obtained so easily as to be lost almost instantaneously. It is a lasting feeling, a lasting perception, that takes us straight to nirvana - to enlightenment.
I recently read a short book, "A Path to Happiness" by Thubten Chodron. It is a series of talks given by a Buddhist nun. And boy does she do a good job of explaining herself! However, most of what she says is what I've always felt or believed in. Reading the book felt like reassurance for my thoughts, and urged me to delve a bit deeper to try and understand the other side - the folks who this book is geared towards - those who have constantly told me they "lose" their inner peace. Don't they see? It's so clear, and yet they seem entrapped.
Chodron puts one particular aspect of all of this very nicely:
"When we're outrageously angry or burning with jealousy or when attachment is eating away at us, we can't deny that we have these negative emotions. Of course, we try to say that it's the other person's fault, that we have these horrible emotions only because they made us have them. But after we've listened to the Buddha's teachings, this rationale doesn't work any more. We know in our hearts that our happiness and suffering come from our own minds. Then, even though we try to blame our difficulties on other people, we know we can't. We are forced to look at them ourselves. And when we do, we also see that they are incredible opportunities to grow and learn."
There are so many things explained in this simple paragraph that I don't even know where to begin. For example, the simple fact that negative emotions blind us to the point where we ignore the reality of the situation and simply look to blame others. This notion seems to be within human nature so deeply, that it feels hard to get rid of. But the truth is so blatant, that someone has got to be truly, heavily ignorant to not realize that blaming is probably one of the worst actions we can do. I particularly come away from Chodron's paragraph with the sensibility that no one can hinder our path to enlightenment, except ourselves - our mind. It is we who decide our happiness and suffering. Others come along on the path and are there only on the sideline - even those who we feel hinder us from our path, are really there to teach us some lesson. From everything good, and everything bad, comes something for us to learn - and to grow!
The people who harm us end up pushing us towards our Dharma in search of answers we wouldn't seek if things were always good. Take a look at the soul searching I am doing right now - it all started a long time ago out of a very bad experience. That situation left me asking many questions, and with no answers. And today I'm in a place where I can not only look at the answers, but actually see them carefully. Out of all of this, I've realized, Karma, Dharma, Life only helps those who help themselves. Inner peace is easier then a lot of people seem to think. A lot more permanent then others want to believe. All it takes is living in the present - forgetting the past, not worrying about what's next. The true task is staying calm. It's easy being a monk in a monastery - try being a monk in bustling society.
Impermanence is the other name of life. People are born, people die - every second of the day. Situations are great and some are dire - they change with the seasons. Time seems the only continuity and even that never ceases to change. And from all of this stems peace. It is permanent, and it is the only relief from impermanence. At the end of the day - at the end of life - it is the peace that will deliver, no one, no thing, else. We must end suffering, and it will only end with our minds, our senses being in check and control. I was once asked how I could be a Hindu and believe in Buddhism? And this is exactly how; as I sit here and write this I realize I am simultaneously thinking of the Buddha and Krishna. The Buddha preached about enlightenment and nirvana, and showed us how peace and bringing our mind into a firm meditation will help us achieve that. And Krishna - embarked on a chariot - represents the virtue of self, the right path that we must follow. His horses, the reign he holds as he drives Arjuna's chariot represent Krishna reigning his senses - holding a firm mind, and not letting the situation deter him.
They are all telling us the same thing. The Buddha, Krishna, Ms. Chodron. Inner peace is our path to happiness - our path to a higher sense - something away from worldly things. All we have to do is listen. Is to be aware, to live in the moment, to be conscious of every moment - to let our minds meditate. We need not fear others, we have no enemies, our biggest challenge is our self. I am a 100% sure that what our ancestors messages say, we understand - accepting it for what it is.. there is the difficulty, and the challenge, that we must overcome, and before long it will all fall into place..
Hence, the path to happiness therein lies.
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