Who you are is like a “wise” child. It’s a paradox because a child is not really wise, a child is “innocent”, deeply innocent, but not wise. Who you are is deeply innocent but also highly wise, creative and intelligent. You are love itself, you are joy itself, you are peace itself, these are not states in you but your permanent nature. It’s also your nature to be “creative”, you love creation, you love to express, you are an artist and you use this world as your canvas. These words may seem poetic, but there’s nothing “fictional” about them, they point to the reality, the truth, of who you are.
You are not what your mind tells you, you are. Wake up from this delusion, and come back to your true nature.
It’s an innocent forgetting. Who you are is “invisible” and so you lost yourself in the visible. You take yourself to be the physical form, not knowing that the physical form is your creation, it’s your child. You are before the created, you are the creator. Every being that awoke to this truth realized that the body is the “Son of God”, and who I am is God.
Look around you, at the nature – the clouds, the stars, the flowers, the trees, the river, the breeze, the ocean and the sun. All these are your expressions.
Material possessions have no meaning. When we die, those mere physical objects that we held value to eventually die as well. The only thing that has infinite life is the love and connection we make with one another.
When I was meditating last night, I suddenly felt a change in my environment. I saw myself sitting in my normal meditation position, but I was floating in space and was facing the earth. The planet was huge, and it was so beautiful and peaceful. As I was watching it, I felt as if I was almost 2 “me’s”: one being the physical that was in my room on earth meditating, and the other sitting in space and observing the earth and feeling not only myself down there, but everyone as a whole.
Needless to say it was wonderful!
How beautiful and pure is the act of meditation? It is truly everything that materialism is NOT. Anyone, no matter the amount of money they have, the culture, country, race, or class they are from, can meditate. We all have an outlet to experience a pure form of satisfaction and beauty, and it is simply from ourselves.
That is like poetry to me.
(Source: soulstudy)
and Buddha talked to me. Gave me some good advice
My meditation sessions are increasingly becoming unbelievably beautiful, peaceful, and otherworldly. I feel like I’m exploring the universe. One with Love
(Source: soulstudy)
All living beings deserve to be cherished because of the tremendous kindness they have shown us. All our temporary and ultimate happiness arises through their kindness. Even our body is the result of the kindness of others. We did not bring it with us from our previous life – it developed from the union of our father’s sperm and mother’s ovum. Once we had been conceived our mother kindly allowed us to stay in her womb, nourishing our body with her blood and warmth, putting up with great discomfort, and finally going through the painful ordeal of childbirth for our sake. We came into this world naked and empty-handed and were immediately given a home, food, clothes, and everything else we needed. While we were a helpless baby our mother protected us from danger, fed us, cleaned us, and loved us. Without her kindness we would not be alive today.
The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.
Through receiving a constant supply of food, drink, and care, our body gradually grew from that of a tiny helpless baby to the body we have now. All this nourishment was directly or indirectly provided by countless living beings. Every cell of our body is therefore the result of others’ kindness. Even those who have never known their mother have received nourishment and loving care from other people. The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.
It is because we have this present body with human faculties that we are able to enjoy all the pleasures and opportunities of human life. Even simple pleasures such as going for a walk or watching a beautiful sunset can be seen to be a result of the kindness of innumerable living beings. Our skills and abilities all come from the kindness of others; we had to be taught how to eat, how to walk, how to talk, and how to read and write. Even the language we speak is not our own invention but the product of many generations. Without it we could not communicate with others nor share their ideas. We could not read this book, learn Dharma, nor even think clearly. All the facilities we take for granted, such as houses, cars, roads, shops, schools, hospitals, and cinemas, are produced solely through others’ kindness. When we travel by bus or car we take the roads for granted, but many people worked very hard to build them and make them safe for us to use.
Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude.
The fact that some of the people who help us may have no intention of doing so is irrelevant. We receive benefit from their actions, so from our point of view this is a kindness. Rather than focusing on their motivation, which in any case we do not know, we should focus on the practical benefit we receive. Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude and respect. If we had to give back everything that others have given us, we would have nothing left at all.
We might argue that we are not given things freely but have to work for them. When we go shopping we have to pay, and when we eat in a restaurant we have to pay. We may have the use of a car, but we had to buy the car, and now we have to pay for petrol, tax, and insurance. No one gives us anything for free. But from where do we get this money? It is true that generally we have to work for our money, but it is others who employ us or buy our goods, and so indirectly it is they who provide us with money. Moreover, the reason we are able to do a particular job is that we have received the necessary training or education from other people. Wherever we look, we find only the kindness of others. We are all interconnected in a web of kindness from which it is impossible to separate ourself. Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others’ kindness.
Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings.
Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings. Buddhist centres, Dharma books, and meditation courses do not arise out of thin air but are the result of the hard work and dedication of many people. Our opportunity to read, contemplate, and meditate on Buddha’s teachings depends entirely upon the kindness of others. Moreover, as explained later, without living beings to give to, to test our patience, or to develop compassion for, we could never develop the virtuous qualities needed to attain enlightenment.
In short, we need others for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Without others we are nothing. Our sense that we are an island, an independent, self-sufficient individual, bears no relation to reality. It is closer to the truth to picture ourself as a cell in the vast body of life, distinct yet intimately bound up with all living beings. We cannot exist without others, and they in turn are affected by everything we do. The idea that it is possible to secure our own welfare whilst neglecting that of others, or even at the expense of others, is completely unrealistic.
(Source: how-to-meditate.org)
