There’s a Chinese proverb that claims that with patience an
orchard can be turned into jam!
I wonder if the idea
of making men peaceful, one at a time and then adding it all together to create
a race opposed to self-destruction is even possible?
Whether its possible or not, in truth there is no available
alternative other than individual inner transformation.
Years back, tormented by severe anxiety and a racing mind
that just would not shut up, I was suffering deeply. I decided to take up
meditation to help calm myself and slow down. Unfamiliar and alien to the
concept of a quiet mind, I sat pretending upon my cushion day in and day out,
simply following the guidance I had received in my classes. I really wasn’t
sure of what I was doing.
Overtime I learnt to quiet my racing mind and control my anxiety
in most circumstances. I still suffer, sometimes deeply, from time to time but
I recognize what is happening and I’m able to change my course.
I have to admit that
the work that I have put in is far from over and it will probably take a few
lifetimes before I’m enlightened J
However, as a result of meditation, the most surprising
revelation to me has been, that with concentrated effort the hardest to shake
off beliefs and counter productive conceptions that I had about my self and my
life can be changed forever.
To those who are
skeptical I would ask that you simply observe your mind for a few moments
without judgment or interference. You are likely to find a stream of thoughts
and emotions that flow through. You will notice that though internally things
are constantly changing you might be holding onto the belief in the existence
of a self that is definitive and stable.
This clinging is what causes us to often react in short
sighted and selfish ways that can also be very harmful.
Cultivation of contemplative sciences enables one to let go
of the most stubbornly held destructive ideas and notions. A sieve like mind
that simply allows concepts to flow through improves the quality of life and
our interactions with others.
As a result, the
angry aunt, the cynical cousin, the critical elder, the racist bus driver will
continue to bother you but compassion can be extended quiet easily as you
recognize their clogged and clustered mind states that blocks the renewing
experiences of peace and love.
Unfortunately contemplative practices cannot be externally
enforced. Internal transformation is slow, hard and challenging work that takes
decades to bear fruit.
Science while improving life has proved insufficient in enlarging
our sense of wellbeing. Force and violence can keep the dark and unexamined
aspects of our lives contained only for a while. Detailed recording of history,
its instruction, religions, advancement in technology have not been successful in
establishing structural changes in our psyche.
Be it the heartless extermination of the Jewish people
during the World War, the senseless slaughter that plagued the varied
communities in Bosnia, the still hard to comprehend extermination forces that acted
out in Rwanda or the atrocities in modern day Syria, what we encounter time and
again is everyday humans who have simply lost all points of references.
It is perhaps time to give the softer arts of contemplation
and inner transformation a place and a fair chance in civilized worlds
before we run amok destroying each other.
