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.
Everyone wants to feel good. We naturally develop attachment to people and situations that we desire and aversion to those that we resist. This natural disposition, if not skilfully investigated, gives rise to afflictions when the feel-good-factor is not sustainable. Precisely because of the vital role that feelings play in our suffering, it is the means by which we can deepen our spiritual practice. It is thus through relating to our feelings in an unconditioned manner that we can seek revelation. Through connecting with our feelings without any trace of resistance, we will realise that feelings, like thoughts, are entirely neutral in nature. They are accompanied by our thoughts and thus are also passersby. Thus we can leave them alone as they are; as after all, they are nothing but energy running in us that we have put concrete labels on. Fundamentally, we need to understand that the protagonist of the tragic story can only be "I" -- our self-centredness. The real culprit is then not our feelings. It is the egoistic mind which we identify so strongly with and leads us to produce all the judgements we have on ourselves and others, thus further strengthening the "I" -- my body and mind.
Trace back your memory to your elementary English grammar class when we learned the verb “to be”. Have you ever imagined that it contains the wisdom of ancient teachings waiting to be revealed? In present tense, the words “I am” implies being. The profound meaning might lie clandestinely, holding the key to our primordial presence; but this being-ness is never away from all our experiences. All experiences that are subsequently derived from “I am” also make us believe that we are the experiencers who know and are aware. In fact, everything (and literally everything) is derived from this awareness before we objectify our world through expression and manifestation. Awareness is the essence of consciousness and consciousness is all there is in the entire universe and beyond, both form and formless. It follows to say that when we can stay and abide in the root of our being, we can go into a deeper state of consciousness and return to the Source, the “I AM” -- a promise to peace and happiness.
Are we at the mercy of our minds? Our thoughts seem to pop up from nowhere every moment and arise of their own accord. So is it really the case that we have no control over them? Although the mind is running its own course with all its contents illusory in nature, we can nevertheless cultivate a different relationship with our thoughts. With understanding we can see where our thoughts come from and learn not to chase after them when they are desirable and push them away when they are unpleasant. Thoughts are just products of our minds which are no different from those derived from all other senses we have as a human being. Just as we will not deny the seeing or hearing function of our eyes and ears, we do not need to subdue our thoughts. They are neutral by nature, and in fact a gateway to great wisdom. The wisdom is cultivated when we no longer identify with the thoughts and can observe them from a distance. With practice, they are simply objects who are also transient with no staying power if we no longer cling onto them.
Impermanence is not a convenient term you say with a sigh when things go south, nor is it a way to console yourself when a desired situation come to an end. If you think that impermanence simply suggests a termination of a relationship or a conclusion of an event, this understanding is also incomplete. In the first place, why does impermanence exist? There is impermanence because of the empty nature of all phenomena. Everything, literally everything, that exists is empty of intrinsic existence and is therefore non-singular, dependent and impermanent. And yet everything is also in the process of creation moment by moment and changing every second, albeit so subtle that you may not realise. The "you" five minutes ago is already different from the "you" at this very minute, physiologically and mentally. Thus we are all living in the perpetual cycles of arising and ceasing.
We do not need to breakthrough this cycle though. Rather, we can see through the nature of such and know that we can leverage on the time and physical space between ceasing and arising to make the changes we want for our highest good and the expansion of self. What is really arising is only our mental formations or simply put, our thought forms. There is no need to annihilate our thoughts, but we can at least take on different thoughts and perspectives and go for those that align with our heart and soul. Let us enjoy the infinite possibilities that impermanence brings us.
Quantum physics is finally catching up with spirituality. We now have a glimpse of the reality of all phenomenon and may be able to satisfy this who crave for a more clinical line of reasoning. In quantum physics, the observer effect is the theory that the mere observation of a phenomenon changes the phenomenon or reality. And if the outcome of an event has not been observed, it exists in a state of superposition, which is being in all possible states at once. The most puzzling fact about quantum mechanics is that the outcome one obtains is dependent on how and whether one observes the individual quanta (the smallest indivisible chunk that matter is made of) that is part of the experiment. Depending on the type of equipment and measurement used to detect, particles have the capacity to display either “particle” or "wave" features. This is the famous wave-particle duality where the true reality of a quantum system is neither a pure particle nor a pure wave.
In spirituality, we know that all phenomenon is fundamentally empty of any intrinsic existence, and is impermanent, non-singular and dependent arising. Like in an experiment, when we observe something (whether it is a person, event or object), we first put our focus and attention onto it. Then through our conscious awareness, we put our own labels and interpretation on them. A natural corollary to such definition and perception will be the birth of feelings and sensation. Whether they are positive or negative, it then gives rise to craving, attachment or resistance. The final product? Suffering.
Not all of us are science-minded, but the understanding of the mechanics that constitute the fabrics of the universe does provide some understanding for us to make the right choice for ourselves; and knowing that the right choice will create a more desirable outcome and potential happiness.
Since it is the ego which has brought us here to have this human experience, it may appear to be an inescapable fact that we will identify with our body, mind and thoughts. This is, of course, only true if we are referring to the attachment to our dreamy existence prior to waking up to the realisation of our true nature -- the non-dualistic oneness.
It thus makes sense for us to understand how the ego behaves in order to recognise that we are acting out of it so that we can be the kind observer. It is predominant to know that the ego always leads us to a sense of separation the very moment we start to see “me” as the subject and an individual entity. This naturally gives rise to “others” from which all the suffering comes. There will be comparison and differentiation, and hence judgement and the need for validation. There will be an urge to be superior and important, and hence inadequacy and the feeling of vulnerability. Let us look at the ego with courage, see through it and embrace it with space and open-heartedness. With practices to stabilise in our true Self where stillness is in the background, the ego will naturally dissolve by itself.Most people have a negative connotation of ego. It implies a sense of self-importance that most often come at the expense of others. When you describe someone being egoistic, there is even a suggestion of someone being selfish and preoccupied by oneself. Though the word ego plays the most important in the human psyche and is widely studied in spirituality studies, there is an irony. When we are asked to examine our ego, a lot of us will shy away from the word fearing that we will be perceived as self-centred people who do not care about the well-being of others.
This is because we do not have the right understanding of the word ego in spirituality. Here ego means our innate identification with our self and our thoughts. With its roots in Latin, ego literally means "I". We are all susceptible to this identification as we believe that we are the "I" in this body with this mind. The letting go of this ego can only happen when we can give up such identification. This is not to say that we need to vanish form the surface of the Earth before we can transcend our ego. But we need to develop a deeper understanding that we are beyond just "me" and "my thoughts". With attachment to "me" and "my thoughts", there will always be separation and judgement which bind us to this dualistic world. Being humans, this is a phenomenon that we cannot escape. But is this really a Catch 22? It will not be when we go deeper into our awareness and can see there is a much bigger "I" beyond this human body, in which there is only infinite wisdom, light and abundance.
Overwhelmed by incessant thoughts, we seldom notice the space in between our thoughts. As if put into an automatic gear, our minds are too used to filling any space up with yet another thought. Even when we are asleep, activities still take place as dreams when we try to come to terms with experiences in our waking lives through our unconscious minds. Yet magic happens when we can rest in this tiny space in between where there is nothing but stillness. It may last only for a nano second, but when we can just be aware of it we are led to our awakened Self where there is a promise of peace, wisdom and compassion.
The interesting thing is, whether we focus on it or not, this stillness is hovering in the background. If you cannot capture that space in between thoughts, try to notice the gap in between your inhale and exhale. When you really investigate, you will find quietude that opens the door to pure awareness.