The Lotus out of Muddy Waters.

" May we exist with the purity of lotuses in muddy waters."

A Zen Buddhist chant at every end of a ritual ceremony, like that of the Full Moon ceremony where the Bhodisattvas took and reaffirm their vows to the Seven Buddhas before Buddha. To Shakya Muni Buddha, before the Bodhi Mahaattvas Manjushri, the personification of Infinite Wisdom and clarity of knowledge, before The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, The personification of Ultimate Compassion, Love and Care. Better known as the Goddess of Mercy or Kuan Yin as the Chinese knows  in most Far Eastern Asian countries, and Kanon Daibosatsu to the Japanese who have heard of Buddhism or Zen in this present era of our evolution. In a way I would say the human mind collectively is getting too lazy to think deeper or farther than simply what is needed to survive; we have become myopic in our collective vision as it has been in our personal level. God, Gods, Angels and Demons, those are for the rich  with time on their hand and nothing else better to do.

I started to look into my practice, my ways, my actions, my thoughts, my imaginations, my pride and prejudices, I started to look within. What I find is my God and Gods, Angels and Demons, lurking in every corner of my closets, yes it was and still is a tedious and back breaking trip it has been. Mountains climbed and rivers crossed, but the journey is not over yet for so long as there is Breathing in and breathing out, the journey is in motion...yes, the Show Must Go On! Then there is is third Bodhisattva Mahasattva -Samathabadra, The manifestation of the Infinite Strength and fortitude, in performing his duties, The Practice of the perfection of the act Practicing. In islam I would call it 'Amalan'. In the monastic schools i would call it discipline, like meditation, chopping wood or cooking in the kitchen or simply writing about nothing in particular.

May we exist with the Purity of a Lotus on Muddy Waters. This line i stumbled upon while rummaging around the Green Gulch Zen Center Library registered like a flash of thunder-less lightning, it was photo etched into my consciousness and it keeps on popping in and out every now and then and so this is why I am spending more time with trying to fully comprehend it meaning on far deeper levels of the unconscious. The stem and roots of the lotus reaches downwards to the bottom of the pond where all the dead waste have settled down and despite this state stagnation of death and decay, the lotus planted its roots into the primordial muck and sustain itself to produce the most perfect flower that symbolizes beauty, purity and wisdom. 

In a way I see my life has been somewhat similar to that of the lotus flower as I practically was born in a mangrove swamp home mud skippers and water snakes, monitor lizards, siput lokan, ikan tembakoi, and the belangkas or century crabs. I grew up swimming among flotsam or garbage and human waste almost every time it was a high tide and the sea brought into  the village anything and everything that was not tied down or nailed to the floors. One got use to the stench of dead animals and whatever else that was left behind when the tide receded. I was born like the lotus in virtual muddy waters and thrived on it as a blessing for it was a childhood experience like no other and can never be easily forgotten. Today this environment does not exist anymore and some of the species that thrived back then are probably extinct today. 
A good image of how bad it was is to find a turd sitting on top of your head when you emerge from the depths, but you might not know it as you cannot see or feel it, but others will point it out to you. Then what do you do? In a way it was a great test of wisdom in the Zen tradition, how does one get rid a piece of turd sitting on top of the head while swimming in the water?

The I was forced to move to the East Coast to live with my immediate family due to minor complications in the religious department. But I do not need to go into details anymore about these, God know how often i have written about them. Living on the East Coast as a teenager was an upgrade in my lifestyle in more that one way and I dealt with the challenges accordingly. I found the benefits of change and of adaptability and about being stubborn in not giving in to all kinds of bullying and humiliation; I graduated from High School with no flying colors but an independent spirit free to choose my ways.

My move to the US with a wife and child was the next phase in my growth as a man. It was hell in the beginning, however gradually grew into a very life fulfilling experience. I was free to choose and free to become who or what I wanted, right and wrong was a choice i seldom made but went along with the flow of what life had to offer. I lived life to the best and worse it had to offer, I discovered my true calling and took upon myself to discover the true meaning of my existence, who am I? While living for three years in Japan, I learned many lessons about relationships and cultural differences that has made me more tolerant of others and their ways. While living with my son, the Pilot in Dubai, i tasted the best that life had to offer in terms of material comfort, the life of the rich and famous. I could not have asked for more in terms of how i wanted my life to be as I grew from muddy waters of Kampung Selut to the peak of the Burj Khalifah in Dubai. I grew like a lotus out of muddy waters, so to speak.