Transforming Suffering Into the Ultimate Healing

8/13/2019 Transforming Suffering Into the Ultimate Healing

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be silent and take a solemn journey inward. Itis in this serenity that the center is going to befound, and the deepest core of the center isalso the very heart of presence.

The beauty perceived by those ever steppedinto this realm is beyond thought. First,dualities of suffering-happiness are passedthrough and then tranquility is perceived. Apparently, this tranquility is the one thatescorts souls in finding their center. And themost wonderful is that the center is also thevery heart of existence. Many zen followersrefers to this kind of life as silent illumination .It is the silence that enlightens. A life which is

soundless and wordless, yet filled withilluminating brightness. I am no more, ishow souls in this stage are filling their daily lifeand prayer. Thank you, I am sufficient, arewords frequently whispered in the prayers ofthose who ever went this far.

This is similar to what is being called by somefellow friends in the West as cosmic


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friendship. ) People with this kind ofachievement never feel lonely even when theyare staying in remote places as forest, sea, ordesert. It seems as the whole universe is theircompanion. Sometimes, a butterfly mightcome and perch the persons body whereas abee may touch without stinging, for butterflyand bee suppose the body as a flower. Isnt it a

very lovely thing for a human body to be asbeautiful as flower in cosmic sense? In Englandthere is a nursery rhyme that opens the gateinto blissfulness with the following beautifulstanzas:

Thank you for the world so sweet

Thank you for the food we eatThank you for the birds can singThank you God for everything

This is the nature of souls that have enteredblissfulness; expressing gratitude to everything(good-bad, success-failure, prosperity-poverty,

true-untrue) they encounter in life.

) An outstanding work on cosmic friendship was written byBucke under the title of Cosmic Consciousness (1901). Thoughthis book is an aged one, yet it is still one of the prominentsources in this topic. Other works those are more applicative areSynchronicity: the Inner Path of Leadership (Berret-KoehlerPublisher, 1998) by Joseph Jaworski and Joseph Murphys TheAmazing Laws of Cosmic Mind Power (Reward Book, 2001).


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ChapterChapterChapterChapter FOURFOURFOURFOUR

Contemplative Materials


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Planet that

Beautify the Soul

Following the rapid emerge of disasters (suchas tsunami, erupting volcano, terrorist bomb,hot-mud, flood and land slide ) along with theircountless victims, a lot of people then wonderif God is in fury. A query that, though simple,has become the major quest in manycircumstances. And, as usual, there are alsotwo kinds attitude of the answers: positive and

negative.Since the ancient time people in the easternpart of the world have recognized an idea that,suppose God is a dancer, than the universe isHis dance. If that was so, does the angrynature reflect the wrath of God? No oneknows Nevertheless the question reminds toa Catholic priests story of a mother whosecandy was stolen by her son. Upon discoveringthis incident, the mother questioned the boy:Didnt you see God when you stole mycandy? Innocently, the boy replied, I did


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mommy! The mother, even angrier with theanswer, then delivered a more emotionalquery: And what did God say to you at thattime? Being innocent, the boy replied frankly:He told me that I may take two.

This story indeed provides rooms forinterpretations. Nevertheless, from a certainpoint of view we might notice that our imageof God greatly depends on the purity of ourown mind. In the mind of an innocence andhonest boy in the story, God has a forgivingand merciful expression. On the other hand, inthe emotional and suspicious mind of hismother Gods expression is that of anger and

punishment. The matter is the same in theways people perceive disasters.

Without using the frames of good or bad, rightor wrong, pure or impure, and high or low, alot of teachers taught that every soul hashis/her own level of evolution. In all of thelevels, every soul has the same task, which is toevolve! It is not suggested for high schoolpupils to deride those in the elementary class,whereas students in the junior high class arenot supposed to feel too inferior to those in thecollege as well. All are growing. There is no


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guarantee that the present high school studentsmight reach the higher level quickly than thosewho are now still in the elementary class.

With this kind of spirit, please permit thispiece of writing to classify the souls evolutioninto four steps. The first is the stage for themerchants of life and prayer. This kind ofpeople does business with anyone, especiallywith God. When their prayer is being grantedthey think that God is kindhearted. On thecontrary, when their demand is not beingfulfilled (or even worse, being obstructed bymisfortune) then they think that God is furious.Furthermore, they perceive disaster merely as

a form of Gods anger toward humans deeds.Nevertheless, this is not a fault for it is but apart of the evolution process.

The second kind is the teenage lovers stage.The nature of the people in this step is thatthey are highly possessive. There should be nothird party, only he/she alone might be closeto and loved by God. Love, according to thisgroup, does not have other manifestation thanto care, forgive, and liberate. Hence, thereshould be no other expression for Gods love


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Being in love is more beautifulthan being loved. Therefore, ratherthan placing disaster as a punishment,a seer recognizing it as a reminder

on some elements within his/her selfthat need to be mended


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than caring, forgiving, and liberating. Oncethey experience other kind materialization ofGods love (moreover the one with miserablenature), then it is easy to presume thedirection to which their life is going to ahead:the collision of hatred and longing! This is whysome friends those are wounded by tragedy question, Do Thee still love me God?

The third is the group of the mature lovers. Forthem, love is no longer accompanied withhatred. Love is love. It is not in opposition todetestation. Moreover, differ than the previousteenagers who perceive being loved as morebeautiful than to love, for souls in this level

falling in love is more beautiful than beingloved. Therefore, rather than placing disasteras a punishment, they are now recognizing itas a reminder on some parts within their selvesthat need to be mended. In other words,disaster is a vitamin for the souls evolution.

The fourth group belongs to souls that seeknothing more. Not because of irritation or,moreover, frustration. Absolutely not! Theyattain this state through the deep sense ofcontentment, sincerity, gratefulness, andguidance that all are already perfect as they


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Disaster is unknown for those whoseek no more. Whatever things happen

are given the same title: perfect!


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are. Being healthy is perfect, as well as beingsick. Is sickness not the one teaches how to begrateful for health? Being success is just asperfect as being failed for what guides us to asummit of life termed as self-knowing save thefailure? Life is perfect, and so is death. Is notdeath the spouse of life that unveils greatlydeeper understanding toward the meaning oflife? Being rich and being poor are bothperfect for poverty is the teaching not to bearrogant and to always be humble instead.Therefore, disaster is unknown for souls in thisstep. Whatever things happen are given thesame title: perfect! Buddhists term this asNirvana, some of our Moslem and Christian

brothers refer to it as heaven on earth , andsome Hindus mention the state as mahasamadhi . In Confucius words: In meeting agood person, follow him. In meeting a wickedperson, examine thy own mind.

Back to the preliminary discussion aboutdisaster and the angry God, the choice ofattitude is indeed reflecting the evolution ofeach individual soul. As have been mentionedearlier, all are evolving. Judging others ismerely delaying our own evolution. Referringour self as better and judging others as


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inferior are merely the affairs of ego thatpoison the future development of our soul.

For whoever has become a mature lover,moreover a soul that seek no more, then theEarths expression is no longer a disastrousone. For him/her Earth is a planet thatbeautifies the soul. Without trial andtemptation, isnt life only looping outside thecircle and easily becomes dreary? Isnt it intrial, temptation, and turmoil, that all souls arebeing guided inward into the very center of thecircle? Isnt it true that the core of the circle isthe only place where the soul might becomebeautiful and lovely? In an analogy of a girl

who becomes hale and hearty in a gymnastic,isnt it the willingness to undertake a momentof exhaustion by the exercise (willingness toendure a brief moment of tragedy) that makesher even more beautiful? Therein, may thecontemplations conclude this section.


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As Determined as

Gandhi, As Touchingas Rumi

Following the burst of violence in a number ofwestern countries (U.S.s attack to Afghanistanand Iraq, to name one of them) that used to bethe worlds role models in many things, somefellow friends begin to ask on who will becomethe future role figure in determining thecivilization of humanity. A question that isindeed hard to be answered. Quoting a holyscripture, it is easier for the tangled thread to

be pulled from the needles hole than to findfigure able to set good examples forcivilization in this era.

For the optimists, there is always an openwindow of opportunity in every era. If the lightof the role figure is still unseen then it mightbecause the time has not come yet for thecovering cloud to pass. In other words, thelight does exist; it is but still unveiled.Analogically, there are two kinds of archerwhose target is concealed by the cloud. Thefirst archer waits for the cloud to pass while


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the other insists to shoot and takes the risk tomiss the target.

Both are having their own advantage anddetriment. The first attitude is safer, but whenthe cloud disappears the target might hasalready occupied by other archers arrows. Thesecond is risky yet it is more likely to besuccessful compared to the first.

With this kind of risk, some of us then start topredict the future determinants of civilization.Some nominate China for its population andeconomic development. Some mention Indiabecause of its impressive mastership in IT.

Some refer to South Africa, particularly for thefirm foundation of development built byNelson Mandela, and you readers may as welladd the list with personal opinions.

Whatever the country is, it is hard to beimagined as a role model of civilizationwithout the role of an astonishing leader.Therefore, the exploration of ideas on thissubject is going to be focused on thecharacters of leadership.


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In dealing with the present challenges, there isno other word more suitable than hard.When even leaders who have performedgreatly (as Thaksin in Thailand) were coupdetated, what will become of those whoperform less? Let alone those who govern for afew years, even those who have held thepower for decades have to fall.

Therein emerges the importance ofperseverance in leadership, and MahatmaGandhi was one among the leaders possessinggreat determination. Challenges that he hadencountered are countless. From beingtortured when he was a lawyer in South Africa,

facing the British colonial with both power andweapon in their hands, to being tempted withauthority upon the independence of India.Nevertheless, under whatever kind oftemptation Gandhi kept on persisting with histwo principals: non-violence and integrity notto intermix personal matters with the struggleaffairs.

In this century, it is hard to find someonecomparable to Gandhi in the matter of non-violence. His physical body tortured andwounded for many times in both South Africa


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One of the leaders with outstandingdetermination ever born was Mahatma

Gandhi. Under whatever kind oftemptation Gandhi kept on persistingwith his two principals: non-violence

and integrity not to intermix personalmatters with the struggle affairs


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and India, Gandhi was still consistent to thecreed of non-violence. Before his passing awayhe even still asked mercy for the one who shothim.

Gandhis innermost quality in determinationnot to intermingling personal matters andstruggle affairs was revealed during the earlydays of Indias independency. Numerousfigures from both Hindu and Moslem partiesagreed that Gandhi is the most qualifiedperson to be the first Prime Minister.Nevertheless, as written by the quill of history,Gandhi sheltered the purity of his struggle byletting Nehru been elected as the Prime

Minister. Hence, Gandhi was truly a characterwho knitted the beauty of life with twodeterminations: non-violence and the purity ofstruggle.

However, as have been recorded by time,there are too many leaders practicing blinddetermination (determination withoutguidance/guideless determination). In analogy,those leaders are similar to a boatman whorows vigorously (determinedly) withoutrealizing that he is notthe only person in the


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Ascending the divine stairways meansdescending the ladders of ego


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boat. Hence, the determination is thenassociated with repression.

Furthermore, an era frenzied with opinions,struggles, conflicts, and clashes of interests, isno longer the time to persuade people withstick, fist, threat, and especially by killing. Nomatter how strong ones personality is, howgloomy his/her experiences are, howsentimental he/she toward life is, mortals arestill longing for the touches.

The matter is more or less similar to Cleopatrawho became the first to conquer Europe. TajMahal, a non-Hindu who was not the consort

of the king as well, yet she left remarkablememory of being a charm in a kingdom wheremost of its people were Hindus. Like MotherTheresa who touched the heart of the world.This is then the point where humankind needsa Rumi.

If Gandhi is astounding with his determination,Rumi is with his touches. In most of his worksone may sense dignity, charisma, vibration,and touch. There was once a day when Rumiwas deep in a profound prayer. Upon finishinghis pray, he knocked on the door of The Lover


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who Loves Most. A voice behind the doorasked: Who is that? Serenely Rumianswered: It is me. Almost instantly, thevoice replied: Please go, for there is no roommay contain the two of us in this house. Beingrejected, Rumi resumed his insightful prayer.When he felt the sufficiency, he once moreknocked at the very door. The same voice washeard: Who is that? Rumi, now tremblingwas he, answered, It is Thee and the doorwas immediately opened. Anyone who

journeys his/her own within will understandhow distant Rumi has wandered.

The Door in Rumis account has been knocked

in many ways both during prayer and work.However, for those who are still busy with theword I (occupied with ego, arrogance, boast,anger and hatred) the Door remains closed.The Door will naturally open for seekers upontheir lost of self.

In the words of the wise: When you step up inthe path of God means you step down in thepath of ego. Ascending the divine stairwaysmeans descending the ladders of ego. And bothGandhi and Rumis life are full with


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inspirations by their stepping down the laddersof their ego.

Hereby, in the end of this discussion let us tryto dispose a perspective on what nation will bethe future role model of civilization. It is anyland borne leaders as determined as Gandhiand as stirring as Rumi, for there the light ofcivilization may rise to guide those who arestill seized by the darkness.


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Religion of Love

Paradox. It is the title given to nowadaystendency in life. John Naisbitt is one of thefigures greatly contributed to the popularity of

the paradox terminology. It is fundamentalthat, in the mind of people like Naisbitt anytendency that slips out of the common logicwill be easily put into the box of paradox.Some people who keep a lot of paradox intheir mind are disappointed. Meanwhile, onthe contrary, some others were developed bythe paradox. In this respect, this writing wishesthat most of the readers are going to progressby contemplating the following paradoxes.There is no slightest intention in this writing toturn them into the beginning of anotherhostility and suspicion.

Some paradoxes worth to be studied are thosehappened in Bali, India, Tibet and Middle East.Bali, as have been announced years ago bytourism industries, is an island of peace.However, Bali was also the place where


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thousands of human, being accused ascommunists, were slain in 1965.

India is about the same. It is the birth land oftwo major religions (Hinduism and Buddhism)as well as numerous great and astonishingspiritual figures from Mahatma Gandhi,Ramakrishna, Svami Vivekananda, Osho,Ramana Maharsi, to Buddha Gautama, Atisha,and Acharya Shantidewa. Yet in the very landhatred continuously compelling conflicts, thusour Hindu and Moslem brothers are stillunable yet to relinquish their enmity. Theargument about the borderline is still gettingmore intense, and a number of places of

worship are still guarded by military forces.

Tibet is the roof of the world, as if it is thehead/crown of the Earth. Therefore, it isnatural that Tibet borne many remarkableliteratures about life (as The Tibetan Book ofthe Dead). However, in Tibet suffering seemsto be everlasting as well. The country is stillmourning for the exclusion of its leader, DalaiLama, which has been happening for decades.Lamentation is reigning the destiny of theTibetan people, whereas the positive indicationof change in the sacred land is yet unseen.


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The case is also similar for the Middle East. It isthe origin of two worlds religions (Islam andChristian), yet killing machines are stillhowling and taking innocent human beings astheir victims. Israel and Palestine have notrevealed any sign for an everlasting peace. Theconflict is even getting worse lately.

In general, it is understandable that Naisbittonce recognized a globally expandingtendency in which people say no to religionbut yes to spirituality. This is similar to ayouths experience during his/her college yearsin Melbourne. One day, in a class attended bya lot of students, the lecturer asked: Any one

of you who have religion? Only a few raisedtheir hand. However, those who kept theirhand on the table never forget to return thepencil they borrowed. They are immediate givehelp upon seeing female lecturers carryingheavy books. Their discipline is wellmaintained during lining up in a queue. Asmile is always on their face as they greet afriend. They do not have any slightesthesitation to help those in need. In enteringan elevator or a train, they always let theelders to come in first.


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The most essential gate connectingspiritual knowledge and spiritual

achievement is practice


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A question then raised; what is their religion?This query is quite similar to the one deliveredto some foreign tourists in Bali. Being askedwhether they are Christian, their answer wassimply a wordless smile yet what anexcellent courtesy they have! They alwaysknock on the door first before getting intosomeones house. When the host forgot toshare them a chair, they would ask permissionto sit. Their expression of disagreement startedwith Pardon me for my different opinion. Andthere are still many more examples of touchingcourtesies.

This is also the one advancing a number of

friends in inner path from spiritual knowledgeto spiritual achievement. It is absolutelyvirtuous to learn Buddhism together with itsteaching of compassion. ComprehendingSufism poetries that tell about nothing but loveis indeed beneficial. Astonishment aroused bythe Saint Fransiscus of Asisis prayer iscertainly a meaningful matter. Falling in loveto Bhagavad Gita is obviously a sign of a soulsdevelopment, whereas studying Confuciuswisdoms is evidently advantageous as well.However, actualizing them into daily spiritual


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Loving ones spouse and parents,educating ones children, respecting

ones neighbor and superior,appreciating different

opinion/attitude and governmentsservices, being grateful to ones

servants, and, if capable, loving onesenemy, are amazing dailyspiritual achievements


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development, whereas studying Confuciuswisdoms is evidently advantageous as well.However, actualizing them into daily spiritualachievement undeniably demands even greaterefforts.

Numerous masters agree that the mostsignificant gate connecting spiritual knowledgeand spiritual achievement is practice. Similarto someone who is in search for balance incycling, it is only practice that help him/herbest. The time and place for the practice areavailable abundantly. From ones house,working place, school, street, place of worship,to even a football field, all might become

places to gain spiritual achievement. In otherwords, it is as the following beautifulexpression of Kahlil Gibran: Our daily life isour true temple.

Loving ones spouse and parents, educatingones children, respecting ones neighbor andsuperior, appreciating differentopinion/attitude and governments services,being grateful to ones servants, and, ifcapable, loving ones enemy, are amazing dailyspiritual achievements. Spiritual knowledge


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splendorous with words, whereas spiritualachievement ornate with practice.

Amazed by Dalai Lamas spiritualachievement, Richard Gere once asked himabout his true religion in daily life. With agenuine smile, Dalai Lama answered: My truereligion is kindness.

This is alike to the previous story of thosecollege students in Melbourne that did notraise their hand, yet their daily life is filledwith the desire to help others and not to hurtothers. In case where an answer is persistentlyrequested, some of them might whisper: My

religion is love .


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Expelling Darkness

With a Broom

One day Nasrudin put a question before TheAlmighty, O God, why did You give me sucha beautiful wife? Calmly, God answered,Because it was her beauty that made you fallfor her. In the need to inquire more, Nasrudincontinued, She is both beautiful and kind.That is why you love her, was the Godsresponse. Still feel insufficient, Nasrudin, nowwith sense of uneasiness, meekly asked, But,

oh God, why is she so unintelligent? Godreplied patiently, That was why she choosesyou.

Please excuse jokes, for jokes are kind of wittyseed that bring merriment and laughter intolife. Nevertheless, Nasrudins attitude in thestory above represents the nature of personswandering their life from a dark zone to theeven darker ones. They are always praisingother peoples belongings and grumbling ontheir own possessions, and they constantly


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have reasons in making the best gifts lifebestows into their hands seem flawed.

Another character of darkness is a daily lifewhich is easily distressed and irritated.Observing the opinions in the media, one mayrecognize that the more the public get angry,the more important is the news. Study thereaders letters published in the media and beaware that more than half of them areexpressions of anger. The issue is the samewith the leaders writings and comments thathave less chance on arresting public or mediasattention when they are not filled with anger.

In the language of the heart, this indicates thatthere are still many people who care about thefate of humanity. Some people still havewillingness to serve as guardians of history sothe past evil is not going to be repeated.Therefore, anger does not always have anawful intention.

In the language of clarity, dissatisfaction, angerand irritation are signs that our emotional stateis too easy to be stolen. Even the unimportantmatters may trigger the emotion, moreover thesignificant ones. Therefore, humans life is


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generally similar to a huge residence which isdaily invaded by a thief. Anger, annoyance,dissatisfaction, and objection are merely somesymptoms of the stolen emotions.

A Thief in an Empty Mansion

An ancient logic said that darkness isimpossible to be expelled by a broom, for itmight only be disposed with light. This raises acuriosity on the kind of light useful inbanishing darkness.

If we reconsider the house broke-in analogy,the thief could only do his stealing if the house

is both unguarded and filled with things. Thereare some matters/items in our selves thatcause the emotion to be easily stolen; those arethe over pride, the intelligence that is full ofattachment, and the stubborn logics.

Having self-esteem is indeed a sign ofdevelopment, yet expecting to be highlypraised all the time easily makes ones emotionstolen. Even those with good position (in thegovernment, corporation, etc.) and high


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Whereas intelligence is full ofmeasurement and then rejects many oflifes expressions, wisdom is more to

learn accepting all as they are. This ismainly caused by a profound

understanding that perfection hasalready existed in life right from the

beginning up until the end


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reputation are unable to make themselves bepraised constantly, moreover common people.Therefore, a lot of masters counter self esteemwith humble manner. Praise is a source formotivation, whereas being derided is a usefulinput informing that there are some aspects inour selves that need to be mended.

Intelligence has a unique attitude which isunrecognized by some people. At first, itcreates measurement. Then, it evaluates and

judges everything according to themeasurement. If life goes along with thestandard, the measurement will result inpleasure, happiness and agreement. However,

since life has far more diverse, complex anddeeper expression than any measurement,hence the standardizations based uponintelligence easily cause life to makesdisappointment its estuary.

In this case, wisdom might be the balancingelement for intelligence. Whereas intelligenceis full of measurement and then rejects manyof lifes expressions, wisdom is more to learnaccepting all as they are. This is mainly causedby a profound understanding that perfectionhas already existed in life right from the


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Employee might often get crash ofinterests with the employer,

democracy turns into demo like

crazy, but there is nothing inside theself to be stolen. In Tibet thiscondition is termed as rigpa (pure

presence), which is a brightlyilluminated inner state achieved

through the long practice of alertmindfulness resulting in a soulsability to enlighten itself


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beginning up until the end. It is desire thatviolates the perfection with demands and turnshappiness into something rare. In the languageof wisdom, acceptance is the beginning ofliberation.

The stubborn logics, which is a trend in themodern civilization, has other unique natures.As what happens when a stone encounterswith its kind, it always get crashed.Government versus legislative, employeeversus employer, NGOs versus media crash,crashes, and even more crashes. Onefundamental matter in the stubborn logic is theidea that truth is to be found through

opposition. The greater the resistance is, themore credits gained in life.

However, when terrorists with their inflexibleview meet the U.S. government that is usingthe same stubborn logic, they are just loopingfrom one complexity to the others. Nowadays,more people are longing for the waterlogics. Like the Lao Tzus idea that, The

people who cultivate the Way should be morelike water .


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Observe how water flows in the river mightpass through obstacles by its flexibility.Compare a dead persons body to the livingone, stem of a living tree to the decayed one.In all of the cases, we might distinguish thatthe living one is more flexible than thedeceased. Hereby one could learn that life iscloser to flexibility. Moreover, flexibility ismore likely to bring happiness.

Realizing the crashes generated by the overpride, the intelligence that is filled withattachments, and the inflexible point of view,numerous peace lovers learn to enlightendarkness with silence. No matter how great the

pride, intelligence, and stubborn logic are,they will be gone by time. Stillness makes allpass in silence.

Generosity, as well as cruelty, is going to goby. Divinity and impurity, as well as successand failure are also going to over. If this is theorientation of life, then ones soul will start toflow. The souls dwelling will become that ofan empty house, and it is what the thief willfind upon the attempt to breaking in. It isharder to be invaded for the mansion isguarded by alertness and awareness.


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Moreover, it is empty and therefore the thiefwill find that there is nothing to be stolen.

Executive might be seldom in agreement withlegislative, employee often get crash ofinterests with the employer, democracy turnsinto demo like crazy , but there is nothinginside the self to be stolen. In Tibet, thiscondition is termed as rigpa (pure presence),which is a brightly illuminated inner stateachieved through the long practice of alertmindfulness. Hence, soul will enlighten itselfcausing all paths of life seem to be pervadedwith the illuminating light.


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The Light of Bali

On October 12 th 2002, for the first time abomb was exploded in Kuta, Bali, with

hundreds of victims. Sad, grief, touched, andconcerned are suitable words expressing thefeelings of many souls at that moment. As ifcommanded by an unknown force, a lot ofparties from Indonesia and abroad respondedto the incident as indication of sympathy andempathy. Funds, efforts, medicines and newswere streaming vastly.

However, there was something even moretouching. Kuta citizens those were stricken bythe uncertainty of their future, put upon a trialof patience, those whose birthplace and

hometown was devastated by the bombing andstained with human blood, surprisingly carriedout a touching response.

We have witnessed countless pages in the bookof time where anger was counteracted withanger, blood compensated with blood, hatred


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followed by hatred, and destructionaccompanied with nothing than anotherdestruction. Hence, is a moment where humanblood responded by calmness, destructionbrings friendship instead of animosity,suspicion to other party replaced withempathies to share, not a rare one inhumanity? In addition, there was no singleplace of worship been violated, moreover beendestroyed.

It is even more exceptional for, whereas thesuspect was Al Qaeda and the incident washappened in a place where majorities are non-Moslems, the particular episode astoundingly

established a Hajj Bambang as one of themessengers in conveying Kuta citizens deepestfeelings. It was not only that the fact reportedin the media, numerous humanityacknowledgements were as well awarded toHajj Bambang.

Together with Nyoman Bagiana Karang andother Kuta citizens, Hajj Bambang took actionimmediately. From transporting humanremains, carrying the bleeding ones on theirback, saving those who might be saved, tocalming their publics emotion. As the result,


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though it has been four years since theincident and the court has determined theguilty ones together with their sentence, thereis no change in the expression of Kuta. Hatredis not always has to be followed by hatred,destruction does not always has to beaccompanied by grudge, human blood doesnot always has to be compensated by humanblood, and Hajj Bambang is still an honoredand respected citizen of Kuta.

For whoever owns sensitivity and lets thisevent to make a dwelling in his/her heart, thisoccurrence might open doors ofcontemplation. Most people are very devoted

and deeply in love to God that they greet inMosque, Church, Monastery, Konco, and Pura.Our Moslem friends do their prayer five timesa day, our Christian fellows have countlessadoring songs for God, our Buddhistacquaintances even prostrate to Buddhastatue, and our Hindu comrades havehundreds and even thousands rituals toworship God in Pura.

The question then is: if the devotion to God inplaces of worship could be that sincere, is


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If the devotion to God in the placesof worship could be that sincere, isthere anyone who conducts similardevotion to the God within oneshusband/wife, parents, children,

neighbor, superior/inferior, government, other human beings,animals, plants, and other Gods

expressions/manifestations?


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there anyone who conducts similar devotion tothe God within ones husband/wife, parents,children, neighbor, superior/inferior,government, other human beings, animals,plants, and other Gods expressions/manifestations?

Many religions agree that God is everywhere.In Buddhist language, all possess Buddhanature. All of us might be proud with the greatamount of donation to build a house ofworship, the high intensity of praying in onessite of worshipping, still the question whispers:Is humans devotion to the God they findoutside the place of worship is as sincere?

Quoting Dalai Lamas opinion, God is aboundless compassion/love. In thisunderstanding then Hajj Bambang, NyomanBagiana Karang, together with their associatesin Bali restoration, have found God (theboundless love) and become living proofs thatlove is the one may perfectly exorcise hatred,blood spilled by war and fight, anger, andgrudge. This is the Light of Bali.

As a comparison, the September 11 th terroristsattack on the World Trade Center has been


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Love is the one may perfectly exorcisehatred, blood spilled by war and fight,

anger, and grudge. This isthe Light of Bali


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followed by aggressive act upon Afghanistanand Iraq. How many bullets that have beenshot, bombs that have been dropped, militaryaircrafts that have been let loose, warships andtanks that roamed behind grudge and revenge.However, as has been recorded by history,there is not a single indication that the terroristwill stop spreading death and tragedy, as wellas there is no clue that U.S. and its allies aresatisfied with their grudge and attacks. Inparticular, human beings fear on theimminent/latent terrorist attack is notsubsided.

Bali is not a superpower country; it is only a

small island. Bali is frequently accused ofpawning culture for tourism. Nevertheless,both of the 12 th October 2002 incident and thesecond bombing in Bali were monuments oflife that Bali has provided a comparison abouthow humanity affairs/problems/conflictsshould be solved.

Moreover, it has escorted Hajj Bambang,Nyoman Bagiana Karang and their associatesbefore God. Therefore, upon an issue of whatname should be given to the monument of Balibombing, a friend suggested it to be The


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Bali has provided a comparisonabout how humanityaffairs/problems/conflicts

should be solved


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Monument of the Victory of Dharma(Dharma: the Law of Nature). Dharma is aliketo get wet upon touching water and get burnedupon touching fire. Whoever fills his/her lifewith compassion shall gain happiness.Whoever fills his/her life with anger, sadnessshall he/she obtains.

Hajj Bambang was not only saved from thebombing, he was even acknowledged with anumber of international awards. More thanbeing regarded as a successful leader of theInstitution of the Management of KutaCitizens, Nyoman Bagiana Karang is now amember of local legislative. We also know that

the terrorists caught were given death penaltyby the court, as well as we recognize thetroubles of U.S. government and its allies.

From all of these stories, Bali bombing indeedtook priceless sacrifices. Isnt it a great waste ifsuch event then merely flies by the time andvanishes? Is there any fellow touched tocomprehend that the Bali way of resolution isas well the manner of reconciliation forhumanity?


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Blasting the

Attachments,Generating theBeauty

The truth is awesome. This might be the

dominant nature of interaction betweenhumans in the beginning of the 21 st century.Being sure of his/her righteousness, someonemight even do a killing. America and its alliesfelt certain of their righteousness thus theyattacked Afghanistan and Iraq, and so were theterrorists with heir bombings. India Pakistan,Palestine Israel, and North Korea SouthKorea are merely several examples on how thesense of righteousness might be followed byhostility.

Hence, the expression of truth in general is

fearful. If we care to scrutinize this matterfurther, we might notice that ideologies,particularly religions, frequently manipulatedas the masks of attachments (such asattachments to pride, unfairness, and grudge).And this is the one resulting the fearful life.


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Blasting the Attachments

The eastern sages have understood since longtime ago that attachments are the origins ofmoral deficiency. Hence numerous easternwisdoms claim attachments as one of thetargets to be demolished. Among the wisdomsthat have great concern in this matter, Zen isone that is going to be briefly exposed here.

Historically, the seed of Zen was originated inIndia, grew in China, to be flourished in Japan.Some relate Zen to Buddhism whereas someothers associate it to nothing. Nevertheless, towhatever it is been associated to, Zen always

come up with a single theme, that is to blastattachments. Perhaps because it was flourishedin Japan, most of its exploding targets arerelated to Buddhism.

In fact Zen is more suitable for matured souls.However, because maturity is the one easilyslipped into attachments, then the demolishingis needed. In the chronicle of Zen, there werenumerous masters attained enlightenment bythe following explosive Zen stories.


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It is virtuous indeed to considerreligious attributes as sacred.Nevertheless, it is worthy to

contemplate that the clinging to theconcept of divinity might generate

defilements. Moreover, divinity wasnot made to bring anger and hostility


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The second story tells about a king who wentto meet Boddhidharma. Proudly, the kingspoke to Boddhidharma that that he had builda great number of monasteries and he wouldlike to know the amount of merit that he hadgain. Without any interest Boddhidharmaanswered, None!

This is a problem people face nowadays. Theydo their actions with being attached to theresults. Merit is indeed exists for it is a part ofthe natures law. However, this kind ofattachment makes the doer imprisoned andstained with ego. This is the attachmentexploded by Boddhidharma by the principle of

act, let go, flow.

In the third Zen story, it is said that there weretwo Zen monks journeying in the middle of aforest. Suddenly the elder felt the urgent needto urinate and without any conscience he didhis business beside a poor Buddha statue thatwas happened to be there. The junior one washorrified and shout angrily. Without evenmanaged to turn his head the elder asked, Oh,then I suppose that you can show me a placewhere Buddha is not present? The juniornaturally provided a custom remark that


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An uncomprehendable thing might meanthat whether it is too far beyond thecapability of mind, or instead it istoo simple to satisfy the complexity

of mind. Over-judgment prevents the growths process, hence it is blasted

by the understanding to let suchmatters unanswered so one may step

beyond the gate of liberation


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Buddha is presence in every beings. Calmly theelder asked further, So where shall I take aleak then?

It is virtuous indeed to consider religiousattributes as sacred. Nevertheless, it is worthyto contemplate that the clinging to the conceptof divinity might generate defilements.Moreover, divinity was not made to bringanger and hostility.

It is even worse when the concept of divinitycauses killing for it turns divinity into ahorrible thing. This is the kind of attachmentblasted by the previous story by the

understanding that purity is present becausethere is impurity. Without impurity, the purityvanishes. It is the unity/totality of both purityand impurity that provides liberation.

The fourth story is one of the most famousones in its kind. Since long time ago Zendisciples have been asked to explain the soundof a single hand clapping. The riddle remainsunanswered for hundreds of years, as ifpresenting a wisdom that there are somematters that can not be solved by human mind.


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An uncomprehendable thing might mean thatwhether it is too far beyond the capability ofmind, or instead it is too simple to satisfy thecomplexity of mind. Over-judgment preventsthe growths process, hence it is blasted by theunderstanding to let such matters unansweredso one may step beyond the gate of liberation.

Generating the Beauty

The freedom from attachment possibly is thecause for some Sufi sages coloring their lifewith beauty. A Sufism practitioner, HazratHinayat Khan, in The Heart of Sufism wrotethat Indifference and independence are two

wings which enable the soul to fly.

Wayne W. Dyer in Spiritual Solutions exposedthe immensely beautiful prayer of SantoFranciscus as follow: Lord, make me aninstrument of Thy peace where there ishatred, let me sow love where there issadness, joy. Life is going to be unimaginablybeautiful for those practicing the essence ofthis prayer.

Disciples in Advaita Vedanta way have beentaught since long time ago to focus only on sat


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cit ananda (truth, awareness/consciousness,and eternal beauty) as the heart of their

journey. To be simple, beauty is a result upondiscovering truth and practicing awareness.Besides that, beauty is the origin of unity.

Thousand years ago Buddha Gautama hasnoted to spread the Dhamma that is beautifulin its beginning, beautiful in its middle, and yetbeautiful in its ending. Buddhadasa oncetaught that the very heart of Buddhism is toperceive everything as they are. Furthermore,if everything are already perfect as they are, islife not a beauty?

In the end of this chapter on blastingattachments and generating beauty, it is wouldbe valuable to re-contemplate the horribleexpressions of truth and divinity/purity. Zenhas already detonated the core of them, that isthe attachment. After banishing attachment,sincerity unveils beauty. Thus, souls in thispath whisper: God is beautiful, that is why Heloves beauty. This is the one frequentlyreferred to as the religion of beauty . Hopefully,beauty would not turned into a brand newattachment.


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Unfolding the

Beauty of Suffering

Take a look at my blossoming garden,The flowers, some are white and some are red,

Watered are they everyday by me,Roses and jasmines, all are beautiful.

Suffering and more sufferings are the mists oflife taking turn in covering the world in recentyears. The world has not recovered yet fromthe cold war when the terrorist suddenlydevastated the twin buildings of the WorldTrade Center, followed by Americas attack onIraq and Afghanistan. Earthquake, tsunami,storm, bomb, war, and conflict destroyedbillions of life here and there. It is as ifdisasters never give up in plaguing mortals

soul. A psychiatrist once quoted an ancientsaying of crazy world upon witnessing amother who, strained by lifes dilemmas, setfire on herself and her children.

Mourning, lamenting and being stirred byothers grief indisputably are indications of a


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souls evolution. Since early time the easternsages have been teaching to restrain oneselffrom causing suffering to other beings,particularly because all of the harms weperform to other creations will reverse andconsume our self. It is even instructed not towalk on grass in entering sacred sites. Hence,we have to be immensely grateful that theworld still has many people with empathy intheir heart.

The Light of Disasters

Still in respect to those whose hearts are filledwith empathy, numerous masters agree that

there is no path of beauty, moreover divinity,which is perfectly straight and smooth/easy.The more beautiful the destination is, harderare the paths that the wanderer has to gothrough. With this point of view, the worldmight be able to be calm for a moment,gathering energy to pass a lot of sloping andwinding road ahead.

Within this kind of souls recess, it might besignificant to take a moment of contemplationon the light of disasters. For numerous of souls,disasters are identical to death, separation,


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sorrow, and grief. And this is so humaneindeed.

Not many souls are willing to dig deeper andfind out that there are some secrets of the lifeshorizons that might be unveiled behind thecurtain of disasters. Fear and sadness areuseful reflections on the seizing desires. Thestronger the grip, the more frightening theappearance of disaster is. When there is a kindof wish that life should only has a peacefulexpression and that a family must be happy,then separation will be a punishment andpoverty a curse.

Through the poundings of disasters, humansare reminded that the cycle of life has to go onrotating no matter how great the grip ofdesires is. The sun has to set to welcome thetwilight. When the cycle of earth has to bemarked by a tremble, then earthquake will bethe companion of life. If the time has arrivedfor death to visit, there he will visit andbecome the associate of life. Therefore, afather once told his offspring that death comenot because of disease, hex,nor disasters.Deaths arrival is because the time of the


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Not many souls are willing to digdeeper and find out that there aresome secrets of the lifes horizonsthat might be unveiled behind the

curtain of disasters


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appointment has come. Diseases and disastersare merely the opening doors for death.

By this perspective, not only desires will lowertheir seize, the lights of disasters is going toshine as well. It will be recognized thatdisasters are more than just sources of grief,melancholy and curse, for they unmask theknowledge on the fuller expression of life.

Similar to the nursery rhyme quoted in thebeginning of this section, life is akin togardening. Though you are planting finedecorative grass, some weeds do grow as well.Even though you have done many good deeds,

said a lot of prayers, went to worshipping places frequently, still disasters plague whentheir time has come. If we grow a hundredmeters of decorative grass then the wild weedsonly take very small portion of the land. Thematter is the same with life. We often forget tobe grateful for our years of good health and wefrequently grumble for only a few days ofsickness.

A garden is made lovely by flowers and colors,and so is life. Happiness is more beautiful afterpassing through sorrows. Life is so meaningful


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A garden is made lovely by flowersand colors, and so is life. Happiness

is more beautiful after passingthrough sorrows. Life is so meaningful

because of death


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because of death. An achievement rooted withdeep gratitude once being shattered by failure.

A garden keeps on growing when it iscontinuously watered, and so is the soul. It isnot only happiness that waters life for sorrowdoes too, particularly because grief is theeducator of humbleness and self-reflection.Peacefulness is not the only one whostrengthens life since disasters, once they havepassed through successfully, do the same.Peacefulness reinforces soul in the same waywith water to wanderers in a desert, whereasdisasters bring strength like a hard and roughsand paper that makes a diamond shines. As a

note for contemplation, Japan and Germany,two of the worlds leading countries in this era,suffered miserable lost decades ago.

On the summit of all this journeys a beautifulstanza of life remains: Roses and jasmines, allare beautiful . Roses, together with theirthorns, are beautiful as well as the fragrant

jasmines. Whoever may perceive beauty inevery element of dualities (happiness disaster, profit loss, divinity impurity,praised scorned) is but a step from the gate


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of enlightenment and his/her soul shall chant,All are beautiful!

In the beautiful language of poets, profit is alesson from numerous losses, impurity isdivinity preparing to reveal its mysteries, andwealth is but the backside of poverty in thecoin of life. In the evolving souls, dualitiesnever cease to sway from one extreme to theother. Sorrow visits after happiness, loss afterprofit, and so on. The nursery rhyme quotedabove teaches that, being able to love, nurse,and accept the entire traits of life, somethinginside will sing, All are beautiful!

This might be the one inspired Robert Fulghumto point out that Everything we need to knowin life are taught in the kindergarten .Childhood is when everything seems beautiful.A master, Dzogchen Chogyal Namkai Norbu referred to this as primordial state (a bothstarting and concluding point in the inward

journey). The nature of this state is simple:nothing positive to accept, nothing negative toreject.


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Silent Illumination

Once a disciple asked a master about thehuman souls evolution over the last centuries.The particular master was happened to be

silent for a moment and then answered as hefixed his eyes on the disciples, It is fromdarkness to darkness . From one dissatisfactionto another discontentment, from one conflictto another clash.

Observing this way in which life flows, someinnocent/nave suburban people questioningthe reason of science and technology forbringing such impact. In this matter pleasespare the naivety. If this is answered by data,numbers and logics, perhaps the symptom offrom darkness to darkness will become even

longer. Number is opposed to number. Logic iscountered to logic.

Hence in this occasion let the question to beanswered not by number or logic, but bysilence instead. However, please notice that


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this does not mean to propose that silence isthe only truth. Similar to humans mouth thathas hard teeth because their function is to cutand chew food, and also soft and flexibletongue for its task is not to gnaw but to taste.Both have different duty. In this kind of spirit,the silence in this writing asks the permissionto speak.

Since the ancient time, not many people fondof silence. Those who dwell in silence are lessthan those who seek in crowd. And yet bothare evolving. People in the crowd do like togrow outward (by other peoples amazementand praising as the measurement criterion)

whereas the devotees of silence prefer to growinward. They evade amazement and praise forthose are full with egos temptations.

Gazing the moon with a lamp

One account that is greatly illuminating thepath of silence is the life of the holy asceticRamana Maharshi. There was not a sign that hewas going to be an ascetic until he was in theage of sixteen. Even so, it was happened thathe felt a sudden heat in his body upon


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A calm and balance mind is the originof beauty


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introduced to the inward journey. Therefore,he ran to the Arunachala hill where not onlyhe got rid of the heat, but he greatly enjoyedthe stillness of the site. And then he remainedin complete silence for decades.

When finally he ended his silence, Ramanaanswered a lot of peoples answersastoundingly with only a few words. And therean ashram was built by his many of followersaround his hermitage. Every time someoneasked who his teacher was, he always shookhis head and spoke indistinctively that TheUltimate consciousness is the only teacher.

Similarly, in numerous contemplations underdifferent religious titles, disciples are asked tobe silence. Initially, the outward dialogueextinguished to be replaced by the innerconversation. Finally, even this innerconversation vanishes and there is nothing leftbut awareness. Souls those have beenenlightened by the illumination of awarenessshall whisper that one does not need a lamp togaze at the moon!


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Whoever practices perfect silencebecomes a Buddha


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Words, logics, and numbers are similar to alamp that people need upon the time ofdarkness. One of the Bali spiritualismsfounding fathers, Dang Hyang Dwijendra,wrote kekawin Dharma Sunya where hementioned that a calm and balance mind is theorigin of beauty. Thereafter, when the sourceof beauty is already inside do human still needan outer lamp? In Oshos provocativelanguage, it is: When you still have someonewho can make you happy or sad, you are not amaster, you are a slave!

Appreciation on the silence is not only in Bali.Lama Surya Das (in Awakening the Buddha

Within ) stated that the summit of the journeyin finding the right speech is silence. EckhartTolle (Stillness Speaks ) is more or less thesame: Wisdom comes from the ability to bestill. Just look around and listen let stillnessdirect your words and actions. ThomasMerton ( Thoughts in Solitude ) added that: Myknowledge of myself in silence opens outinto the silence of God. J. Krishnamurti ( TheLight in Oneself ) suggested that: Meditation isabsolute silence of the mind . Dainin Katagiri(Returning to Silence ) wrote: Shakyamuni issomeone who practice tranquil silence .


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Words and logics are similar to astick, which is useful for those whohave problem with their legs.

Nevertheless, it is a burden for peoplewith healthy legs. Moreover, for thesouls who are able to fly, stick is

indeed a heavy burden


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Whoever practices the perfect silence becomesa Buddha. Advanced Zen disciples are fond ofconscientious silent illumination practice.Sufism poet, Rumi, greatly developed himselfin the silence. One of his poems (from TheRumi Collections ) spoke: When you knowyour own definition, flee from it, that you mayattain to the One who cannot be defined .

In all of these descriptions one might see thatthere are numerous human beings illuminatedby silence. They are not bordered bytraditions. From Sufism, Christianity,Buddhism, and Hinduism. This kind of peoplehave the same evolution pattern. Logics and

words are like coconuts skin and shell thoseare initially needed by human. However, uponbeing stripped and opened, the fruit is eaten,the essence is drank, then both the skin andshell are thrown away.

Mikhail Naimy ( The Book of Mirdad ) is morestraightforward. He stated that words andlogics are similar to stick, which is useful forthose who have problem with their legs.Nevertheless, it is burden for people withhealthy legs. Moreover, for the souls who areable to fly, stick is indeed a heavy burden.


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Messages of Beauty

in Borobudur

Borobudur is an unfolded ancient scripture.Many people have managed to comprehend it,yet, like the other scriptures, its truth becomesprobabilistic upon human minds cultivation.Enlightened by this kind of understanding,there is no slightest intention to suggest thatthere is no other beauty than the substances ofthis book . Therefore, please permit this writing

to serve its probabilistic task.

As if beautifully designed by its creators, thethree temples Mendut, Pawon and Borobudurare standing in a straight line. Most all kinds ofvisitors, both tourists as well as spiritualpilgrims, start their visit from Mendut temple.At the least, they usually pass by the Menduttemple first.

Though relatively small in size, Mendut templekeeps a number of messages. In the outer wall,one might find a relief portraying a turtle


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doing hang-gliding by biting the middle pointof a piece of wood which is flown by twobirds, each biting one end of the wood. Seeingsuch a rare occasion, some children shoutedcheerfully: O birds, how wonderful your ideais! Hastily the turtle intended to declare thatthe idea is his, not the birds. However, upongaping his mouth (and so losing his grip), theturtle fell and died with its body broken intopieces.

Though everyone is free to makeinterpretation, yet in a sacred journey toBorobudur one is warned right from the veryfirst gate to be careful with ego. Making

utterance in the name of ego has such anoverwhelming risk.

Gentleness meets Perseverance

Inside of the Mendut temple stand three grandstatues: the Lord Buddha in the middle, alongwith the compassionate Avalokiteshvara (onHis right side) and the determined Vajrapani(on His left side). This is as if whispering amessage that, upon realizing the threat of ego,one shall discover the Buddhahood in


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Borobudur with the two spirits: compassion toothers and determination to self.

Kitchen ( pawon , in Javanese language) is aplace to do the cooking. The ingredients areobvious: to be careful in speaking under thename of ego, to do nothing but compassion toothers, and to keep nothing for the self butperseverance. These substances are wellcultivated in Pawon temple.

The food referred to in Pawon temple isdifferent to the ordinary food that is onlyprocessed once in a certain place. The cuisineof soul is cultivated every time in every place.

Consequently, Zen disciples refer tomeditation as having meal upon hunger andsleeping upon sleepiness. In other words, dailylife is the meditation itself. Daily life is thewhen and where we cultivate the ingredientsof souls cuisine.

Referring to some masters, both when youreyes are closed and opened be acompassionate witness to whatever happenedduring meditation. Goodness-wickedness,divinity impurity, accomplishment


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It is indeed a worthy thing to studythe life of the holy persons, moreoverto embody them into the daily life.However, being aware that holinessmight as well befall into the root of defilements is a meditation practicethat purifies and clarifies daily life


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disappointment, all are observedcompassionately.

Souls who survived long relentless practice,become compassionate witnesses, and arefilling their life with kindness, will sense thatBorobudur is more than merely a massivemountain of carved stones.

As a composition of meanings, Borobudur iscommonly interpreted as a mountain of lifeconsisting the realm of lustful passion on thebase level, the realm of forms in the middle,and the formless realm on its summit. This issurely a point of view that deserves to be

appreciated.

Even so, once a soul comprehends thepreliminary signs in Mendut and cultivatesthem in a compassionate and determined life,he/she shall behold an alternativeinterpretation that Borobudur is a pilgrimagein which a soul is being purified from all kindsof defilement (as greed, hatred and ignorance).

At the base level we can see an exposure of thesouls low desires as the bodily lust. It is truethat the upper relief illustrates beautiful


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Any soul succeed in renouncingdefilements will gain protection onlyfrom the virtues within him/her self


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stories of Siddharta Gautama, still the lifeaccounts of the divines might turn into sourcesof defilement, particularly when they are usedto judge life.

When people conclude things like This masteris untrue, or That order is deceptive, thenthe chronicles of the saints become resourcesof anger and hostility. It is indeed a good thingto study the life of the holy, moreover toembody them in the daily life. However, beingaware that holiness might as well befall intothe root of defilements is a meditation practicethat purifies and clarifies daily life.

This divinity guarded by awareness is the onewhich then unlock the gate into the realm ofwordless knowledge, alike the upper level ofBorobudur which is sufficient without anyrelief. It is only a perfect cycle, filled withstupas containing Buddha statue in the mudra (hand gesture) of rolling the Dharma wheel.Without word, devoid of judgment. Only dailylife activities perform the excellence of theteaching.


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The greatest fortune is gained when generosity makes everything seems

good. Upon being virtuous person ourselves, for us even the bad personsare going to appear as kind as the

good ones


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It is then easily understandable when Dr.Rabindranath Tagore (the first non-EuropeanNobel winner), who visited Borobudur onSeptember 23 rd 1927 wrote Borobudur-likecomposition of perfection in Visva BharatiNews.

All of Tagores wonderful lines aboutBorobudur are concluded with let Buddha bemy refuge , which means that any soul succeedin renouncing defilements will gain protectiononly from the virtues within him/her self.

Notice Tagores final step in referring toBorobudur as follow: Man today has no peace,

his heart arid with pride, he clamours for anever-increasing speed in a fury of chase, forobjects that ceaselessly run but never reach ameaning, and now is the time when he mustcome, groping at last to the sacred silence,which stands still in the midst of surgingcenturies of noise, till he feels assured, that inan immensurable, dwells the final meaning offreedom, whose prayer is: Let Buddha be myrefuge .

The reputation of Tagores life has providedfacts on his personality, perseverance and


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The Rising Sun of

Enlightenment

A fellow friend who is commonly mentioned inSufism is Nasrudin. For some people, he is asymbol of comical and amusing matterswhereas for some others Nasrudin represents agenius life for he frequently procreatesamazing wisdoms of life.

One day, Nasrudin ran frantically to hismaster. As soon as he met the sage, without

taking trouble to ask for permission Nasrudinhastily implored an aid. Help me master, myhouse is turned into a living hell. A fussy wife,demanding parents in law, my children andtheir cousins running noisily here and thereOh I will do whatever you say to get rid of thishell and create a heaven.

Assured that Nasrudin would keep his promise,the master asked: Are you in possession of anyanimal? Nasrudin nimbly quacked that he had four geese, six chickens, seven goats, eightrabbits, and a number of birds. His master then


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told Nasrudin to bring all of his animals intothe house, together with the entire humaninhabitants. Afterward, Nasrudin was to shutall doors and windows tightly. Not a singlecreature, whether human nor animal, mightsneak out from the house for eleven days.

But but, responded Nasrudin in anervous tone. Firmly his master said, Dontforget what you have promised me! And sothere was Nasrudin, reluctantly went homeobeying his masters instruction.

Eleven days later Nasrudin returned, his stepsmuch more muddled than ever before. O

master help me pleaseee not to mentionthe humans, even the goats are going insaneeleven days in that house His master, with asagacious smile, said, Now you may release allof the animals. You and your kin shall worktogether cleaning the house in cheerfulness. Amoment later Nasrudin revisited his masterwith a happy face. Thank you very muchmaster, my house is now indeed a heaven!

This is the story of humanity from the ancientto the present time. There are a lot ofhouseholds changed into hell by hating and


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rebuking one another. When this is put to anend, the very house with the same residentsand animals becomes heaven. And, eventually,finding heaven is merely a matter of choosingthe suitable comparison. If one succeed indoing so (in Nasrudins story the comparison ishis house crowded with animals), the gate ofheaven is opened. When the comparison isalways in a more condition (richer, prettier,more famous, wiser, etc.), then the gate isforever closed. Finally, life is actually a matterof attitude. Both heaven and hell areconsequences of the attitude. If the mannersare of grumblings and shortcomings, then hellis what will be seen. On the other hand, upon

an attitude of patience and gratitude heavenshall be revealed.

The Sun of Enlightenment

The conclusion that life is a matter of attitudemight be the reason for some masters to maketheir life perfect with a kind of manner that isfull of beauty. In the beginning, it is donereluctantly under compulsion. What is thebeauty in being derided and humiliated?Which side of disaster is beautiful? Brushing


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Dzogchens disciples only have a singletask: to observe! To be more precise,it is to observe with awareness, not

with judgment. To perceive when

happiness comes. To notice the sorrowin time of despair. To witness theapproaching success, and to realize the

visit of failure. For anyoneconscientious in the practice of

observation, a day will come whenhis/her life is enlightened by the lightof awareness


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teeth is initially an activity one doesreluctantly, yet upon noticing clean andhealthy teeth it becomes a daily habit. Thesame thing works to happiness as well.

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu ( Dzogchen: The SelfPerfected State ) is among masters stepped intothe realm of beauty. According to this Tibetanmaster, there is nothing need to be changed.One does not even need to do anyrenouncement. Dzogchens disciples only havea single task: to observe! To be more precise, itis to observe with awareness, not with

judgment. To perceive when happiness comes.To notice the sorrow in time of despair. To

witness the approaching success, and to realizethe visit of failure. For anyone conscientious inthe practice of observation, a day will comewhen his/her life is enlightened by the light ofawareness. Deepak Chopra ( How to KnowGod: The Souls Journey into the Mystery ofMysteries ), even wrote: The only clear path toGod is a path of constant awareness . In otherwords, awareness is the enlightened path toGod.

Lex Hixon (Coming Home: the Experience ofEnlightenment in Sacred Traditions ) is another


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To tell that all religions are the sameis just as difficult as to say that allrivers are the same. On the otherhand, once souls reach enlightenment

then there will be one alikeness:beauty!


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example of masters who found the beauty.Most people are easily tempted to exaggeratethe beauty of their own culture andunderestimate others. Nevertheless, Hixon isdifferent. He reflects the same degree ofbeauty when he wrote about Heidegger,Krishnamurti, Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi,Zen, I Ching, advaita vedanta, and also theSufism master Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.

Like how water flows into the ocean alongseveral river-paths, yet it shares the sameexpressions upon finding their finaldestination. It is bluish, wavy, salty, and turnswhite when reaches the shore. To tell that all

religions are the same is just as hard as to saythat all rivers are the same. On the other hand,once souls reach enlightenment (which Hixontermed as coming home ) then there will beone alikeness: beauty! Adopting the experienceof Zen enlightenment, Hixon mentioned thatEnlightenment is simply the blue lake and the

green mountain . Enlightenment is simple,inexpensive, merry, and it is beautiful!


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It is similar to the mountain climbersin an early morning. Being asked thedirection of the sunrise, those fromthe west reply that its in front of

them whereas those from the east point to their backward. Thoughinitially they are contradicting eachother, at the summit they will laugh

together on the disagreement. It is in

this kind of friendly laughter that animmense beauty might be sensed


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The similar account was also experienced byStephen Mitchell ( The Enlightened Heart: anAnthology of Sacred Poetry ) who composedthe great diversity of traditions (fromUpanishad, Lao-Tzu, Izumi Shikibu, SantoFranciscus, Rumi, Kabir, William Shakespeare,Bibi Hayati to Robinson Jeffers) into a storyoriginated from beauty to the beauty itself.

This is the reason for the enlightened mastersto suggest the critical, skeptical, aggressive,and apathy students to simply continue theirgrowth and journey. Like the flowing riversthose are going to become one in an oceanwhere they will share the same expression,

wave, taste and color.

It is similar to the mountain climbers in anearly morning. Being asked the direction of thesunrise, those from the west reply that its infront of them whereas those from the eastpoint to their backward. Though initially theyare contradicting each other, at the summitthey will laugh together on the disagreement.

It is in this kind of friendly laughter that animmense beauty might be sensed and life willthen enter the realm of an everlasting beauty


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as words of Lex Hixons words: Onceenlightenment has dawned, we are at homeevery where .


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TransformingSuffering into theUltimate Healing

Once upon a time, there was a mother with

one son and a daughter. The son was an icecream peddler, therefore the mother lamentedfor him during the rainy days for almost noone buy from him. The daughter was happenedto be an umbrella seller and so the mothergrieved for her on the sunny days for she couldonly sell a few of her goods. And there wentthe mother, filled her life with nothing butsorrow.

This story is indeed an analogy, about howmany recent lives are characterized by misery.There is always a reason or two to slip life into

grief as disaster, disease, old age and death.Hence suffering becomes an upper stream in ariver of life which contained by stress,complaint, sickness and conflict. A psychiatristonce said that numerous mental asylums arelacking of accommodation. Some of them even


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send patients those are not fully recovered yetto their family to be replaced by severe

Only a few of us dare to say that, inneed to cry, do not cry upon death but

on birth instead for every birthbrings sickness, old age and finally

death


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patients who need more assistance and healingtreatment.

Most people detest suffering. Perhaps becausehe was addressing his particular speak topublic, Dalai Lama once mentioned that,There is something in common for all of us:evading suffering and longing for happiness .And this is indeed so human. Only a few of usdare to say that, in need to cry, do not cryupon death but on birth instead for every birthbrings sickness, old age and finally death.

In other words, birth as well as life is incapable

to escape suffering. Sorrow is the faithfulcompanion in the every steps of life. No matterhow hard people manage, how strong theyfortify their selves, the devoted companion willalways find his way.

Like the swaying of a pendulum, the harderand the more passionate one swing thependulum of happiness, the greater is thetemptation of suffering will become. This is theexplanation for a number of over-excitementseekers are being greatly tempted by


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overabundance sufferings as well. This is alsothe one behind the WHO data that the United

Like the swaying of a pendulum, theharder and the more passionate oneswing the pendulum of happiness, the

greater is the temptation of sufferingwill become


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States (as one of the biggest countries wherethe pursuit of happiness is greatly intense) isthe biggest consumers of sleeping pills in theworld. A researcher once compared Japan andMyanmar, two countries that both haveBuddhism as their major religion (so that thecomparison will be fairer). Japan is indeed amiraculously rare case in material achievementand far beyond compare to Burma in thisrespect. Nevertheless, Japan also has fargreater number of social dilemmas such assuicide, divorce and depression than Burma.This fact is as if whispering the assurance thatwherever lays abundant material wealth, there

will be found plentiful suffering as well.

In the excellent realization of this pendulumreality, numerous ascetics, meditators, yogis,Sufis and other kinds of inner wanderer permittheir pendulum of emotion to sway in a limitedspace. During happiness they fully understandthat it is going to be replaced by sufferinghence the over excitement of the celebrationmight be restrained. Therefore, when sufferingindeed comes it is not so tempting.


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In the excellent realization of this pendulum reality, numerous ascetics,meditators, yogis, Sufis and otherkinds of inner wanderer permit their pendulum of emotion to sway in a

limited space


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In Kahlil Gibrans beautiful verses ( TheProphet ) it is stated that, while we areconversing merrily with happiness in thelounge, suffering is waiting in our bed. In amore common sense, we share our dwellingwith both happiness and s

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Transforming Suffering Into the Ultimate Healing