The Religion Of Love

This post has been moved to:

http://imprints.com.my/2011/12/13/learning-to-love/

10 Things...

I have learned that how things are, may very simply be how we allow ourselves to perceive them. From all accounts, I have had an annus horribilis (no, that’s not a body part) and yet when I look at how my views on certain things have changed simply by being in association with a kind Guru, the past year may yet be annus mirabilis, and if the past 12 months have not been a wonderful year, it definitely has been a year of wonders.

Here are the “10 Things I Would Not Have Done Had I Not Met the Guru”, and they are changes that are here to stay.

1.              For starters, I most definitely would not have stopped eating meat. I didn’t like vegetables and greens and going vegetarian was the last thing on my mind. Until I was shown otherwise, it didn’t occur to me that I was an integral component of the machinery that directly led to the merciless abuse and torture of animals – I was the demand that fuelled the cruelty. I was shown that. And meat lost its appeal;

2.              I definitely would still be suffering from “depression” and paying good money seeking treatment.  I would probably sill be gripped by the feeling of sheer panic when I run out of pills. It would never have occurred to me that “I” am the source and supreme creator of all my woes and unhappiness. No one else. And it would never have occurred to me that depression could be cured. 

Although I am still not immune from the occasional sense of dread, instead of looking for the meds, I learned to try and catch the run-away mind and just by trying, the sense of dread dissipates. On my own, it would have been unlikely for me to realize that I can catch my mind and indeed I am not obliged to obey the monkey which is popping all kinds of things into my mind;

3.              I definitely would still be looking subconsciously at everything in life as if I am the centre of my universe, if not the centre of the entire universe.  If i think that i am the centre of my universe, it follows that the only reason to have anyone around me at all, would be due to them being (knowing or unknowing) willing accomplices to a never- ending series of subtle plots, all designed to make me feel good and happy. Otherwise, there would have been no need to have anyone around. That didn't do me much good at all.

It would not have occurred to me that people who come into my life has a purpose to be there and most bring along precious lessons if not for them to teach, then for me to realize and learn.

As time passes, I see my views change…and the seared conscience, repairs.

4.              If it weren’t for the Guru, I would not have the compassion to see the preciousness of each life in each and every stray animal I pass by daily and every single fish floating helplessly in restaurant tanks. Indeed I would not have noticed the insects that I swat, the worms that I step on and the roaches that I trap and kill. I definitely would not be blowing mantras at them. I won’t know what a mantra sounds like and I won’t any appreciation of how potent the words are;

5.              If I have never met the Guru, I would never have been able to develop a sense of compassion for people who mistreat animals and subject the poor animals to all kinds of torture. I would simply be angry and wish them ill.

6.              I would never have been able to perceive time beyond the span of a human life. I would not have thought beyond the next 12 months, let alone plan for life hereafter. With the shift in my understanding of “lifetime(s)” I change as I realize that I have way much more options beyond the usual. The kind Guru has given me depth, and width and a much greater scope in every aspect of my life, especially my thoughts and ensuing decisions.

 In other words, I don’t have to be angry when something doesn’t go my way. I don’t need to want happiness so badly all the time. I don’t have to be stuck in my usual reactions and responses to things.

7.              I would never on my own, have found that illusive bliss that exists somewhere between the feeling on the one hand, that my life is the bee’s knees and on the other hand, that my life sucks and really there’s no reason being alive for another minute. It would never have occurred to me think of the human life as being so precious and yet not to get so hung up on it.

8.              I would not have thought of living beings as being “sentient” and having “consciousness”. In fact I cannot imagine when I would ever use the word “sentient” let alone be aware of its meaning and significance. Actually, I might have gone a whole life without having used words like “quiescent”, “habituations”, “benighted”, “equanimity”, “dharma” (other than in relation to Greg) and a lot more. I might even have uttered words like “schmetterling” and “zeitgeist” more. And it is much more than just having a wider vocabulary  -  by just having those words in the fore of my mind changes the way I think and decide. They red-flag thoughts that have long influenced me, they sign-posts options I never knew existed and trigger the recollections of lessons and teachings;

9.              I would not have learned to let go. Simply relax my mind’s grip and let that bad thought slip through;

10.          I would never have been able to be truly happy and grateful merely for being alive and having this very moment. Without the Guru's influence "tomorrow" would probably be a chore rather than an opportunity.

I may never have learned to love myself. Quoting Victor Hugo  “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved – loved for ourselves, or rather loved in spite of ourselves”.

This is especially true when we find ourselves being loved by a Buddha.

Fellowship

In the course of a conversation with a friend today, I was asked what I thought was the most important factor when one is starting on a spiritual beginning. Without hesitation, my answer was “Fellowship”. The only reason I could answer without hesitation is because it has been on my mind for quite a bit of time.

The fellowship of dharma brothers and sisters is probably the only safe harbor that can shelter you from the storms of worldly concerns, and this is especially so at the beginning of the journey when your spiritual muscle is still frail.  Yonder, life conspires to distract you from your practice, usually by throwing in “genuinely” important things such as the mortgage repayments, the career-making assignment and the dying friend or family member, as if our own intransigent and habituated mind is not problem enough. I placed the word genuine in parenthesis simply because I suspect that what is genuine and what is real would most likely shift as we mature spiritually.

When you first get into the dharma, it is the fellowship that makes dharma FUN. At first you take it for granted till you try looking for fun things to do, which also happens to be virtuous, with people you like. It is not that easy. Outside the fellowship there is no short of fun things to do but most can hardly be considered dharmic. Most assuredly, there are not bad things per se but it is only within the fellowship that you can practice Guru Devotion and have fun doing it. In fact, just by participating in the fellowship activities, whether you realize it or not, and even as you are having fun, you are more likely than not, “carrying out activities on behalf of the Guru” and also “acting under the Guru’s instructions”. That is the genius of it.

Think of the fellowship with your friends in dharma as a powerful and yet ever so subtle process of rewiring your instincts, your priorities and your automated actions.  In your heart of hearts, you may have longed to do something worthwhile with your life but never thought it possible. Never had the courage to be different. Not daring NOT to want the material and yet transient ambitions the world calls you to submit to. In the fellowship, you see possibilities. You see your potential being lived by others and happily so.

The friendships you make and the values these friendships underscore…they change you. Think of it as re-writing your rules, which now states: “it’s hip to be good…and different” and “it’s cool to be a fool to the world”. In a world where consumer capitalism is the predominant religion, the fellowship is that underground network that shelters you from a world of delusions. It is your Zion.

When you are in that fellowship you burn with the blue flame of spiritual zest and you may be excused for thinking that you are stronger than you are. And for sure, you grow in knowledge, and in spirit and in faith. Yet it is more likely that you are basking in the collective blaze of positive karma of your fellows, which is constantly kindled by the collective merits attained by the practice of devotion, and rekindled masterfully by the Guru himself.

The absolute sacrosanctity of the fellowship is immediately felt when it is not within your immediate vicinity. It then dawns on you that what kept you ablaze in the hitherto said flame wasn’t so much from within you, but more from what was around you. On your own, you may find to your dismay that you are the least of cinder…more ash than coal…and going out faster than you would like.

Surprised By Karma

There is a cosmic phenomenon expressed in phrase as “one’s karma ripening”. Loosely defined it usually means that the seeds of our actions of the past [lives] now mature into effects which is now irreversible.

I must have planted fields of gigantic karmic seeds in the past because a couple of months ago, they blossomed into a series of events and circumstances that swallowed my life. And I mean swallowed literally, not figuratively. Almost overnight I lost friends, I lost money, I lost reputation, I lost favour, I lost acceptance, I lost court cases, I lost jobs and assignments, I lost respect, I lost my liberty and  I lost the love of my life - the only person I ever wanted to marry. With no exaggeration, I lost everything that defined me as the human being and the person that I was up to that point.  Overnight, there was no where I could go, no one I could call and no place that I could safely regard as a home. I literally did not know where and how the next meal was going to materialize.

What happened? The simple answer: Karma happened and even as you read this, your mind may be able to register what I have just said to some degree but if you are like I was, you probably cannot perceive Karma as a real and tangible thing. I couldn't before, and that was why it was never a the guiding core of all my actions and decisions.You know it is there but you don’t EXPECT it. And it is not really "real".

And so, when things happen to us, we fail to recognize it as the workings of our own karma and we react in complete surprise.

What happened to me was not “bad luck” I was not hexed. I was not hard done by. Pure and simple, my karma ripened and all the nasty negative things I did in the past came home to roost and brought friends and relatives as well.

Anyway, my world imploded.  From that point, the days rolled by so reluctantly, and it seemed like each minute lingered on just to mock me and I was well on my way to losing my mind and my will to live. I may have tried to kill myself but for the sheer lack of means. I might have driven over a cliff except for the fact that I didn’t have a car and I doubted very much that my regular taxi- guy would have cooperated in the scheme, using his cab.

Days rolled into weeks and each moment I woke up I would re-live the ordeal and the pain and then my mind would draw a blank for the remaining hours till I fell asleep again out of sheer exhaustion of not being able to figure out what had happened and what was to be done next.

But it was not all bad. You see, by the time my own self-tailored-hell started, I had previously spent a whole year within the merit field of a compassionate Guru, a Boddhisattva. And all that i gained and learned in that one year, became my allies.

You see, it is IMPOSSIBLE to have sat in teachings after teachings of a real and caring Bodhisattva and not have gained some benefits from it even if we weren’t aware of the full potency of the teachings. His voice itself does something to us.  It is IMPOSSIBLE to have participated in Dharma activities created by a Bodhisattva and not have gained some merits from it even if we didn’t participate out of pure altruism. It is IMPOSSIBLE to have read the holy words of the Buddha and not derive a lot of good from it even if we didn’t fully understand what we read.  IMPOSSIBLE! Just like it is impossible to be a fish and not get wet, impossible to be up in the green mountains and not breathe fresh air, even if the fish cannot tell sea from land, and our lungs cannot distinguish clean air from foul air.

And so the one year spent with the Guru became my life raft. I didn’t earn it. Nor did i deserve it.My only qualification was that I turned up to those teachings and events. It was all due to the Guru's immense compassion.

In the deepest and darkest depth of human despair, and with nowhere to go with everything having been annihilated, I look to the only thing left standing. The teachings of the past one year and they began to resonate. Ultimately, the only relevant questions was: “ What have you REALLY lost, my friend”?

One year in pre-school, six in primary, five in secondary school, one year of college and five years in a university. Countless trainings and self- improvement courses followed.  Then, almost 25 years running the rat race and acquiring hard-earned experiences and skills….and what did I learn? What did I accomplish? What did I own that was so precious and was now lost? Nothing!

Over the years, all I managed to do was build a life based on delusions. A life based on "wanting" and "desiring". Desire was my religion. In fact I should have created an offering prayer about it. And it would go something like this…”and in the middle, the King of my Deluded Self, the Mighty Ego and surrounded by the Iron Fence of Razor-like-Pride. In the East is my own Fear of things that I don’t know, in the West is my personal thorny tree of Greed, in the North is my  aversion to undesired things expressed as my Supreme Anger…And here is the Self Cherishing Tree, and here is the uncultivated crops that you took from your neighbor…” and so on.

As I examined my life, i saw that from the very beginning I built a life based on delusions which became a prison that I didn’t know how to get out of. And that remained my lot for the last few decades.  As I examined myself from a very different perspective, I began to understand the source of my depression, my anger and my failures.

But the beauty of life is that every disaster carries with it, its own opportunity.

The ripening of my karma completely shattered the foundation on which I have made every decision in my life. They shattered the pillars that upheld my belief systems which in turn shaped my thoughts and actions. They tore up every ceiling in this house that have long blocked the light from coming in, and suddenly the shadows that long kept me company were no more.

The ripening of my karma forced me into situations I spent my entire life to avoid. All that I was too proud to face up on my own, confronted me instead. All that I was too scared to let go, was wrenched from my grasp. The toxic air that fueled the fires of my lies and delusions were snuffed out completely. The arteries that transmitted the poisonous blood was choked and then ripped out.  I had nowhere to hide. No fellow deluded mind to collude with. No mask to wear. Nothing.

I died and yet when I opened my eyes, I live. There is no need to hide anymore because all was out in the open. It hurt a lot but it didn’t kill me. No delusions to feed and no masks to wear nor is there a need for everyone has seen the real me. No fears to protect for they have fled.  No burden of failures to carry anymore.

 There was nothing left…except for me. All of me intact, minus the rest of me which I invented over the years. Finally I am free from the bondage of my fears, my unfulfilled dreams, my insecurities, my pains…and myself.

So many times in the past I have said “if only I had the benefit of hindsight” and “if I knew then what I know now”. Well, in truth I have that opportunity now. I have this rare chance to move forward using knowledge that I have always sensed but which never made it into my mind to act on.  Things I have learned from a loving Guru, which failed to run the full gauntlet of my unholy habituations.

This "freedom" would never have happened if had to done by my own hands. I was way too weak. And yet by some miracle it did happen. It felt like a painful baptism by fire but the beautiful part of any baptism is the rising again, whole.

I was robbed of a silly life and that has made this new journey now possible. Otherwise I would have died very soon under the weight of all the burdens that were on my shoulders.

I travel light these days which is good because there is so much catching up to do. I am by myself but I am never alone. Never. And these days, I let the lessons navigate.

Karma is real. It is tangible. Expect it. Look forward to it. Never again be surprised by it.

Do You Mind?

It has been a while since I wrote anything. I sat before my notebook time and time again, and nothing came out.  There was a part of me that didn’t know “Me” and my mind anymore and there’s also a significant part of me that didn’t trust the way I have “thought” for so long.

It started with a simple question. Is my life anywhere near to the way I perceived it to be and wanted it to be 10 years or 20 years ago? For me, the answer is a flat ‘No’. In fact, it is the complete antithesis of what I had envisioned for myself.

For reasons that are beyond me now, I, like a lot of people thought that we own our mind. Do we really?  Or does our mind in fact own us and our body and faculties are merely instruments to execute the mind’s instructions.   I wouldn’t get into a taxi if I thought the driver was rash and heedless. No, I wouldn’t place my life in the hands of an irresponsible driver.

And yet, have I not placed my entire life into the hands of a very wild and uncontrolled mind. I don’t know about you, but my mind is full of defects.  That doesn’t mean I have a slow mind and that I am stupid. That would have been alright. A slow mind is slower to trip over the body over the precipice of self- delusion.  It’s worse if you have a rather quick mind that you do not have a handle on. 

You see, we have every skill, knowledge and instrument in the word to measure a person’s physical health but we do not have the slightest inkling as to how to size up the state of our mind’s health, especially when it is slightly defective. I emphasize slightly because in a lot of cases, these slight defects do not necessarily end up with us carving swastikas on our forehead. You learn to socialize these defects and if you package it nicely enough, society accepts it as a “character” or “quirk”. Anyway, that point is moot because there is no yardstick as to what a healthy mind is. There is no scale for Joy.

In my case, the slight defect was insecurity, the feeling that I am just not good enough. A lot of people have it. Some yield and suffer it silently.  Some, like me, express the “conquest” of it by over compensating. Strange because it was only a tiny feeling we developed unconsciously when we were little children that became mighty enough to steer an entire lifetime of decision. Major decisions. ( It’s a bit like a ship’s insignificant rudder that one doesn’t see because it is beneath the water, that steers an entire ship 10,000 times the rudder's size). That tiny seedling sprouted an entire arsenal of defense mechanisms namely Anger (isn’t Attack one of the more subtle and effective forms of Defense?), and also Denial of facts disguised as Will Power, which is so celebrated in the corporate world, and Ego-Centricity which of course goes very nicely with self-centricity or Selfishness. 

So, do I blame a less than perfect childhood, a condition that I probably share with over 6 Billion people around the world? I would love to stick the blame to some unfortunate childhood incident. But the truth is, no one has a perfect life.  Not when they are young and even less when they become adults.  Incidentally, isn’t it strange how our ability to effectively control our lives is inversely proportionate to the number of instruments we work so hard to acquire in order to control our lives, e.g. wealth, decision making ability, knowledge etc. When we were kids, most days ended up being happy ones. These days, we settle for a neutral day. Aren’t we supposed to be able to control our lives a bit more now? Anyway I digress. 

Like I said, no one has a perfect childhood but it was always up to us, whether we let a sad situation go or hang on to it like a carcass until its rot, rots us. Right from the time I refused to let go of the pain, every decision and every move, conscious and unconscious I made was to avert that pain and the threat of more pain like that.  I twisted, forged, cut, shaped, pummeled, squashed and walloped every aspect of my life into a shape that didn’t make me feel insecure.  So desperate to avoid pain, so desperate to be loved, that i put myself and others into such agony. Looking at it again now, that remains the single most abusive thing I have done to myself and those around me for all these years. Along the way I was loved not for those qualities i forced myself unto. I was loved for the very qualities that made me feel exposed, my softness, my vulnerability.

I was the Man In The Iron Mask, too ashamed of his own face and yet crying out silently to be loved for who he really is, ironically a reality i did not want to accept. It was sick.

What a shame. Come to think of it, I could have averted all that pain by just letting go of pain, way back then.

In the Lamrim, it states very clearly that the first quality a student of a Guru must have is an open mind.  We must be open to the possibility that we have been thinking wrongly. Open to the suggestion that we have got everything inside-out and upside-down.  Open to change and transformation. Open to idea that we got the concept of Happiness wrong.

If I had realized this 1 year ago and made the necessary adjustments, I can quite safely bet that I would have been a lot happier now. After all the battle victories, the spoils of war, the celebrations and parties, the accolades, I have concluded in no uncertain terms that there are only 2 things in the entire world that could have provided me with sustained long term happiness. I had the both in hand. Had. I just didn’t know then, that they were all I needed to be insanely happy and contented.

How can I trust myself after that?

One Wish

This post has been moved to:

http://imprints.com.my/2011/12/28/one-wish/

Your Name Is My Mantra.

Ballad For SM
 

 You say you have no wisdom, yet it’s your gentle hand that unfolds
mine-bid me to release ignorance.
You say you are not rich, yet it’s your cup that pours three
endless streams into mine, yours not yet empty
You say you are not strong¸ and yet it is you who carry me on
your back, when worldly legs betray me

I hardly get to hold you, and yet by your devotion, you
ensure the Dharma holds on to me
I hardly have quietness with you, yet by your merits you
command the tempest in me to hush and abide
I hardly get to talk to you, yet the mantras you whisper in
my ears, speak sweetly to me all day long
I hardly get to see you, and yet I see more of my true self
by the honest Love that is You.

I look for you, but you never left my side.

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The poem above was written on April 4th 2011, for Smingle who single-handedly changed my life with her love even as I destroyed hers with my wickedness, delusions and lies. So that her love is not wasted, I shall give up the world and try to be simply a good human being.

There is nothing more precious and delicate than honest love. Thank you Smingle.Your name is my mantra which I shall whisper in my thoughts each minute until my life ends. It is the mantra that will take me home.