Shopping with a monk

I went shopping with a Nepalese monk the other day (with another friend of mine). He was leaving Sydney to go visit his teacher back in Nepal, so we were shopping for ‘presents’ for his teacher. It was a surreal experience really; there were families with nagging kids, and darting shoppers hurrying down their shopping list. And then you have this monk walking at an incredibly peaceful speed, taking his time to marvel at everything. It had been a long time since he had been in a supermarket, and things seemed so foreign to him.

It really made me rethink my own shopping list – how many of these things we buy do we really need? How many things do we want that we really can do away with? How many times do we rush through life doing doing doing? How many of us have forgotten what it feels like to just “be”?

Finding that perfect place

Just got back from the Kathina Celebration in Sunnataram Forest Monastery. As usual, another successful and enriching event. As usual, i bought home some self-discovery. Nothing new, things i already knew – but re-emphasised in different ways. I saw the frenzy of my mind, and its continuously grasping nature. I saw again the imperfection in all conditional things, and paradoxically, its prefection because of its imperfection. For imperfection is the state of being, the realism, and therefore, the perfection of its existence.

A simple example i observed. One morning I woke early to do chanting and meditation. Usually i would join the others in the main shrine room, but that morning i wanted to do some sitting meditation and chanting (and chatting to the Buddha) in the Pagoda.

I have observed my own meditation practice: I usually become peaceful within three breaths, but sustaining that peace is what fluctuates (it too is impermanent and beyond my control).

So there i was sitting in meditation and within a short time, i felt a great peace. But not long, my mind begins to wonder. It wants action and activity. So it conjures images and belief that something else is better – in this case, it thinks that walking meditation around the pagoda would be better. I start to believe it, and soon give in. I get up and start doing walking meditation around the pagoda.

Again, it felt great…for a while. Then my mind got restless (again) and wanted to do sitting meditation on the fields that overlook the monastery’s forest. This is one of my favourite meditation spots, so I give in quite willingly to that one.

And as you may have guessed, i sit, feel great, but very soon discomfort sets in – FLIES. That’s right, those pesky flies. But so many of them! I had about 10-15 on me! They were attacking me!

I had to laugh at the irony as i crawled back to the Pagoda to continue meditation. I had ended up where i had begun. Right there, that morning, I had acted out samsara and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination (Paticcasamuppāda).

But this time around, things were different. I sat, content, without disturbance. I wasn’t wishing, wasn’t chasing, wasn’t grasping, wasn’t looking for the perfect spot. I was just there, completely there in that moment that place, and – without expecting or looking for it – peace came naturally as if it had been there all along just waiting for the right opportunity to be embraced.

Perfection and imperfection are just views. But reality is an experience with that which exists in that moment and in that place that is most immediate and intimate with you. And that is where the knowing happens, not in habitual intellectualisation.

The Road To Success

Another inspirational email
When you imagine the ‘road to success’, what sort of picture do you ee in your mind?
Do you imagine a long road that eventually leads you to your desired estination? Today I’d like to share with you a slightly different icture of the road to success. When you understand this picture, you’ll be much better prepared for your journey.

When you first set out on the road to success, it looks something like this:

You can see your goal glistening in the distance and it almost seems ithin your reach. You are excited about heading down the road and making your dream a reality. However, a strange thing happens as soon as you take your first step own the road to success.

Suddenly, a brick wall appears out of nowhere and blocks your
progress. Where these brick walls come from nobody knows, but for some reason they always appear. One of the main reasons people fail to reach their goals in life is that no one has ever told them about the brick walls! Many people are so surprised by the appearance of the wall that they simply stop and give up on their dream.

When you are faced with a brick wall on the road to success, you have two options:
(1) You can sit down and give up.
(2) You can find a way over, around, under or through the wall.

If you make it past the first wall, you may catch a glimpse of your goal and realize that it is a little closer, but then inevitably, another brick wall appears out of nowhere. No matter what your goal is, it is important to realize that as soon
as you begin your journey down the road to success, you will encounter a series of brick walls.

The trick is to be prepared for the walls to appear and realize that getting past these obstacles is just part of the journey. This will help you see the brick walls for what they really are – just temporary obstacles that you need to deal with in order to reach your objective.

So then – here is what the road to success really looks like.
Remember this picture and never let an obstacle stop you from moving forward.

Always remember that for every problem you encounter, there is a solution – and on the other side of that final wall, your goal is waiting for you.

Tina’s two cents: then there are those who like to hit walls. Some even deliberately put them up!

Types of Friendship

Here’s an email blessing i received –

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person..

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life,
whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.

EasyPeasy Art

For art lovers, but without talent or time (like me!), you’d love this automatic Mosiac creator. Download the free software here!

You can create something like this:

5555

From Phra Mick:

i visited your website, and saw that you got 5,555 hits!

in Japan, 5 is “go” – so that’s go go go go!
in Thailand, 5 is “ha” – so that’s hahahaha!

Thanks everyone for your visits and supporting this site. Who knew this would be so popular. Know what this means?  It shows me that truly everyone has a story – everyone has something to share. So share your experiences and wisdom with others, and feel connected with those around you!

Sadhu. 

Group Karma

Karma = whatever seeds you plant, so you shall you sow.

I believe in group karma. I can’t say i “know” it, the way i “know” individual karma. I know individual karma becauase i have seen it for myself, but for group karma, i am still exploring it. One way to explore it is through observing patterns, for when patterns reform themselves so many times, it is no longer coincidence.

Recently i have observed two karmic trends. The first is theft; the other is relationship problems. And it has happened in triplets: I, a friend, and one place (making three) has had their belongings stolen from them, and i have three friends who are facing relationship crisis (no, actually more!). Coincidence? Or just facts of life?

How English good are you?

Or more like, how good are you at English? Whoever can answer this question will be rewarded with a notable mention on this blog (whoopie dooo…). Here goes:

What is the difference between “exclude” and “preclude”?

Technological Monks

For more information: www.phramick.wordpress.com or contact the man himself at: phramick@gmail.com

Dots.in.space.

       

I know what earth looks like from space. I’ve seen the pictures and the satellite shots. But they seem so surreal. Is that really where i stand? Where am I in this picture anyway? Which dot is me? Do i even constitute a dot? Then i see pictures of our Milky Way and it takes my breath away. Now earth is a dot. We are the universe’s ants.

In such vastness, what place has ego, arrogance, selfishness, and self-centredness? How can you not be humble? How can you not feel that the problems that you are facing at this moment in time is but a miniscule event in the whole scheme of things. Sometimes when we are in a situation, we get so caught up.

In arrogance, we feel the world is revolving around, and because of, us. In depression, we feel the world is turning against us.

How many times have we woken up and thought the world is going to end because we have an exam or deadline or problems with our family, relationship, career, finance? And how many times has the world continued on, oblivious to your concerns? Observe your place in the world once in a while – if not in terms of the universe, at least where you are. To be able to read this blog means you are literate – you are already better than more than half of the world’s population. To be able to access this site, it means you have internet access – you are already top 10% of the world’s population. This doesn’t make me proud, but it puts my worries into perspective, my life into place, and i realise i have a whole lot to be grateful for. I’ve stopped complaining and being unhappy with my life, and learnt to live life with appreciation and grateful humility.