We as a Nation needs a Spiritual Awakening, this I believe being born and raised in this country among the best and the worse of my fellow citizens of a multi - racial, multi-religious and multi-culture community. Not any form of religious awakening but one of a spiritual nature. After more that seventy years of observing and experiencing all walks of life within and outside of this country I feel deep within me that that if we can transcend beyond our personal and national identities of who we think we are or conditioned to become who we believe ourselves to be, we can become the role model for the rest of humanity what living a Multi-Ethnic, religious and cultural i=of the possibility to coexist despite our differences. There is no other choice if we are to excel as a nation or suffer the consequences of failing to pursue a strong spiritual connections among ourselves as Malaysians. This is not a Western or an Eastern thought or philosophy, this is pure common sense, this is the Art of a collective projection of humanity, the collective Spirit.
Every religion albeit Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity or the beliefs of the those of our brothers living in the forest and along rivers in this country, has some form of common believe in the effectiveness of our spiritual consciousness. Most religions and faiths has some form or practice to raise this spiritual consciousness through prayers, meditations, zikr or chants, auto-suggestion, singing or drumbeating in order to awaken the spirit within us, we seek to become one, collective spirit, with one aim and one goal, to find Peace and Harmony. We can attain to this goals without loosing our personal identity, our religious faith or pride and dignity. We can achieve a formidable force that can change the course of our National history if we can harness this Art of Collective consciousness and its potential. Religions are the stepping stones that can lead the way for us and steps that can take us to the summit of the Mystic Mountain Human Consciousness, the Crown of Achievement for a multi-racial country; it is for us to make it happen or suffer that consequences like that of the May 13th. incident of1969, History has a way of repeating itself if allowed to do so.
Ignorance is bliss, some say,, but ignorance to the Buddha is the cause of human suffering or one them. it is wise to be awakened to what is going on in and around our selves, we are more that capable of doing so cause have it in us, it is inherent in our nature to seek what is right and discard the wrong, what is real and discard that which is not. It is inherent in our human nature to be sympathetic and compassionate towards others in their suffering, even a smile is more than can be asked. Assalamualaikum, Namaste, Hello! or even just the nod of the head as an acknowledgement of each other's presence; like the ants. If we cannot be forced to greet each other in the elevators at least I can ask you to treat each other as a threat of one kind or another. Greed, Hate and Ignorance are the three fatal illnesses that man is inflicted with and is in dire need of being exposed off for what they are. They are the virus cancer of the Soul of Humanity. Each and every faith and religions in this country of Malaysia has its 'skillful means' in dealing with these matters,
I am rambling as usual when running out of things to do and stuff to chew on, in short when I feel the setting in of boredom in my mind. The News in and around the country has very little to offer in terms of safety, security and harmony ; we are slowly but surely sliding in to a Nuclear War, a war no one can walk out a victor. We are dancing with the devil of our own future and that of the Planet but do we care? Half of us on this planet are struggling to stay alive with some sort of pride and dignity while the other half are trying to squeeze every dime and penny from the Nation's coffer. Corruption is rampant or should I say was as the present ruling government is bound and determine to make it His Jihad in ruling the country. Corruption is the household word spoken ion any of the fifteen languages spoken in the country. Corruption has become a major weakness- a product of Greed, the first of the three illnesses the Buddha was talking about. If anything I cling on to out of the Teachings of Gautama, The Historical Buddha, is that inherent illnesses that humanity is inflicted with before he was even evolved and sent into this realm.. The Nirmanakaya of Shakyamuni Buddha,
The Soul had made a covenant with Allah collectively to the profess of "Laillaaha illalah" No God or Gods only Allah, which 8in Arabic simply mean "The God." and that Muhammad is His Messenger the last of Messengers of the Religion of the Book, or the Religion of Abraham, Moses and the rest of the Prophets. The Quran is brought to earth so as to confirm and clarify the differences in the interpretations of the three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We all pray and worship the same One God and we also kill, pillage and plunder in the very same name. We, the people of the Book, are lost souls that has forgotten our true "Dharma position." With the lack of faith and understanding in the laws of Manu and Karma {The laws of cause and Effect} and its with its ramifications towards our daily life, we as a humanity has slowly eroded ourselves of the Right Understanding of Life itself while in this realm of the Nirmanakaya or realm of thought formations and physical manifestations of the Mind. Our very ignorance of who or what we truly are is leading us as a humanity towards a collective self destruction.
I was born and raised for the first twelve years of my life as I keep saying in this Blog since its inception which is sometime in the year 2005 when in Terengganu. Hence my understanding of the teachings of Gautama is inherent within my psyche, my genetic makeup my subconscious mind, I faced religious bullying from other Muslim children at school when they found out that I was not like them, that I did not go to the mosque on Fridays. I grew up hanging out the Chinese boys in school and outside of we hung out at the Anson Road Buddhist Temple, I grew up familiar with the sights and smell of the Buddhist temples from a very early age. Hence I can say I have a little sense of familiarity when it comes to the Buddha's teachings especially after having spent two years of intensive Buddhist practice in the Bay Area of San Francisco and several retreats to the Bid Sur Zen Mountain Center of Tassajara in Carmel Valley Area, I had seen glimpses of the truths in the Buddha's Wisdom. I have turned anger and frustration and guilt and shame into wisdom and compassion, while in the process of getting to know who or what my Original Buddha Nature is, Sometimes I feel I know the answers in my heart of hearts, often times I keep slip sliding into the gutter to be swept away in ignorance and forgetfulness and I now tall myself this is fine and its alright to be ignorant every no9w and then, its being human; I am not God. I cease to exist when God is present. Insha'Allah, God willing.
I am like the flute of Krishna that entertained the Gopis { women cattle herders} and the cattle herd, the flute was asked one day what makes it so important that the God Head would put it to His lips and blow his Divine breath through it. The Flute answered, "I am but a hollow reed and i and deeply honored that the breath of the Lord passes through me to entertain the Universe." Every man and child on this Planet are empty hollow reeds, we are the channels through which the Lord expresses Himself, The Love and devotion that the Gopis had for the Lord is called Bhakti. or Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of Love and Devotion and Servitude. It is one of the four main branch of Yoga practices, the other three being Jnana Yoga or the Path of Knowledge and Wisdom, Karma Yoga, the Yoga of Action and The Raja Yoga or the meditational and contemplative practice of Yoga. In this day and age it would be a shame if not a sin to not take some interest into these ancient wisdoms and practices as a guide for one's own journey in this life. Not a soul is free from the bonds of Greed, Hate and Ignorance, hence they are the prime concern in our effort to understand who we truly are, what it is to be human and what it takes to become divine. It is with this realization that we can transcend the present predicament that we find ourselves in.
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