As two men were arguing about the flag flapping in the wind, one said it was the wind that was moving. The other contended that it was the flag that was moving. Then came the Zen master who was the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, who said with assertiveness that it was the mind that moved. The monks were left dumbfounded.
With the way that we are wired, humans have a natural tendency to be captivated by the outside world. It is easy to understand conceptually the saying: "As within so without, as above so below." But we are still easily trapped by what our senses are telling us. The origin of this saying goes back to ancient times with reference to the Hermetic principals and it will always remain a universal truth. Simply put, our inner thoughts and feelings create what we see, hear and experience. The circumstances of our lives are like mirror images of what is within and above us. Precisely because we all possess such power of the mind, we are all co-creators whether we are consciously creating or not. Look back, look now and look ahead, not even one single individual or collective human experience can deviate from this rule. Only when we become aware of this inner power and use it for the betterment for ourselves can we start to talk about the true meaning of world peace.
Most of us yearn for an intimate and profound relationship with our love partners, one in which both parties can be interdependent to each other and grow together emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Yet not everyone succeeds. Unconsciously, we as human beings are also inclined to search for love that is familiar to us. This is the kind of love experienced by us when we are nurtured by our parents or caregivers. Growing up, we might perceive it being associated with their positive or negative traits based on our emotional response to their behaviours. Whether it is a parent or caregiver, the wounds inflicted on us might not be intentional, but rather a consequence of the parent's or caregiver's own wounds. Moreover, they are often our perceptions and may not be backed by any logical reasoning. By searching for this familiarity, we may not realise how it has affected our choice of partners. To heal from our wounds, we need to see where the psychological wounding stems from and develop the validation and empathy for our partners by mirroring their feelings. If we truly believe that we are born whole and complete to begin with, our connection with our partners can provide the deepest insight for us to heal from our own trauma and be kinder to ourselves.
When someone is labelled as stoic, it may not be the most flattering description. It may suggest someone being emotionless and with a stony kind of calm. Or someone who suppresses his feelings and endures silently. But is it what stoicism suggest? Stoicism has been around for thousand of years and is an ancient school of philosophy popularised by the Greeks and Romans. Although the contemporary study of it may not be institutionalised like the way it was millennia ago, there is nonetheless a lot of relevance to the way of life in any era. In fact, it deserves even more weight in the modern world given the stress that comes with evolution and advancement. As the Stoic philosopher Seneca succinctly put it, "it does not matter what you bear but how you bear it." In other words, embracing emotions is one thing but building fortitude and self-control in overcoming destructive emotions is another. Adversity is part of being a human, yet we can choose to suffer or not. We can gain our power back by realising that it is our reactions to situations that pain us and not the situations themselves. After all, there are many things in life that are not within our control. Having clarity and unbiased thinking allow us to understand the intricate web of cause and effect and the rational structure of the universe. If we can harness our willpower and courage to fill our lives with meaning, we can rise above our predicament even in the bleakest days.
Imagine if there is no concept of time, how would life be? To experience spatio-temporal unity maybe something very remote and even unimaginable. But on the contrary, could the reality that we are living in an imagined bubble? Could it be the case that the Hopi people know something we do not?
The Hopi are a Native American tribe who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. Although the current population is probably less than 19,000, their beliefs in spirituality are ancient. They have long adopted a holistic way to wellness and see humans composing of mind, body and spirit. Harmony is achieved through connecting with all creations and having goodness in your heart. While this may not be that much of a difference to any older civilisation, one intriguing discovery is that the Hopi language has no reference to the past and future, in any words or grammatical expression. Being a tenseless language and having no words that correspond to the English word “time”, it makes people wonder if the Hopi people have any concept of it. I do choose to believe that the wisdom of Hopi people allows them to realise that time is indeed a mental construct. They have made a choice a long while back not to be bounded by language which will perpetually use words to limit us by time and space, and hence memories. The derivatives of which can only be regrets, worries, separation and judgement.
Some psychological findings have reported that approximately 25-30% of the general population are perfectionists. No surprise. Given the rapid pace of modern times and cultural changes, perfectionism among young people is rampant. This has a significant impact on their mental health as they strain compulsively towards unrealistic goals. Failing to meet their own expectations, the immense pressure often make themselves critical of themselves and others. Since perfectionists will always be chasing after something unattainable, they often live in fear and stress as they are vulnerable to their own perceived weaknesss and frailty. Loneliness is a natural by product as they are constantly comparing themselves with themselves and others.
That said, there are always two sides to the coin. Perfectionism itself is more a personality trait than a disorder. When not over consumed by self-defeating thoughts, perfectionism can also be a drive for success and a motivation for continuous improvement. The expression of perfectionism is indeed a reflection of what is deep inside our core. When we can contemplate on the root cause of perfectionism, we will see that whatever form it takes and whether it is inborn or socially prescribed, it has all to do with the acceptance of ourselves. And the full acceptance of ourselves should never be conditional. Life is not a dichotomy of idealisation and denigration, both towards ourselves or others. Imperfectionism, rather, is the truth of all phenomenon. Through such understanding, we can finally live a free and fearless life -- our birthright.
Most of us believe that we are separate individuals all experiencing a division between our bodies and spirit. Divided oneness becomes an oxymoron when human beings are advocating world peace when inner peace cannot be attained. The deep conditioning that mankind has experienced throughout our civilisation and culture have ensured that we identify with our rational minds. While the body and the mind interact in an intricate and complex manner to constitute an illusion of self, they are all born out of ONE consciousness. The idea of a self is an imaginary, but our senses and external world strengthen our belief of separation and solidity continuously. This has produced harmful thoughts of "me" and "mine" as well as "you" and "yours". All our deluded thoughts, afflictions, defilements and destructive emotions then follow.
Though they may not be applied by all, there is light at the end of the tunnel if we can adopt ancient teachings from the wise ones. The solution is where the root of the human problem is. By reversing this false conception and coming into full awareness of our divine nature, we can reside in true peace.
It is unimportant whether we can complete our karma in this life or not, as it has nothing to do with our awakening. A simpler definition of karma will be activities arising from mental formations, and they must involve intentions and thought patterns. But why are we motivated to have such intentions? Well, our innate greed, aversion and ignorance give rise to impulses that drive us to perform deeds through our body, speech and mind. And this further provides the fuel to generate more greed, aversion and ignorance, and needless to say, stronger feelings to things we like and dislike. While karma can be the consequences of our past actions or the causes of our future consequences, they must also be supported with the right conditions for phenomenon to manifest . Hence the ultimate way to destroy our potential karmic fruits is to eliminate the conditions for them to ripen, or at least lessen the effect. This can be done through deep self-inquiry when you are aware of your thoughts and intentions and your true motivations behind them. Healing takes place upon the first inklings of what the interrelations of the human psyche, behaviour and suffering are.