No 134 of Living Life Series 1
We have mentioned repeatively on the need for inner peace through having good grasp of inner truth. Inner truth is the common tread behind all religions and sects. True realisation brings about inner peace. Inner truth profound as it appears to be is simple and yet diifficult to perceive. Likewise, inner peace appears profound. It is also simple in principle but yet difficult to realise. No doubt we will face difficulty to put concept into words and to quantify or qualify what is inner peace. Two persons may speak of inner peace but they may perceive it and experience it somewhat differently. No two persons are alike not even twins. Nevertheless, let us try to qualify what it is. Sometimes, easier to say what it is not.
Let us refer to the M.O.R.E.s of life namely Mindfulness, Obsession, Rapture and Emptiness. Let us dwell on when and how mindfulness will lead to inner peace and why it is not rapture, obsession, emptiness.
Mindfulness is not obsession. To be obsessed is to cling and to be tormented by the thought in a repeatitive way. There is that unmistakable restlessness and mental storm. There is no inner peace and calm. Person is swept in circles by his waves of obssession. To be mindful is to be aware of a thought, emotion, action or speech either of ourselves or of others. When mindfulness is well cultivated as abiding characteristics of person, inner peace will come about. When being mindful, person is not distancing or ignoring the thought, feeling, action or speech. He is also not clinging to them and not suffering as a consequence. He is not swept off his feet as a result. He is serenely aware and at peace.
With inner peace, awareness has that quality of equaninmity or divine balance, that quality of life which is inner peace. We sometimes call this mindfulness. But when this mindfulness is cultivated to be associated with serenity and restfulness of spirit and body, the person has inner peace which is heavenly.
Inner peace is beyond rapture and not rapture. In rapture or ecstasy, there is strong clinging to that wonderful feeling of being high with joy. There is obvious upheavel of spirit which will inevitably be followed by sense of being down, dejected and empty thereafter (something akin to drug withdrawal). With inner peace comes restfulness and quietness of spirit.
No void or emptiness and no clinging as well. Obsession described earlier has to do with clinging. Person does not feel empty. He is not burried by avalanche of preoccupations. Awareness is there with inner peace. Person has first hand experience but not clinging. No avoidance and no craving. Person feels light and not empty. He is at peace in body and in spirit - not empty and not rushed or crushed with heart rate near resting rate even when going about daily life. He is collected, calm, cool and in control of his life. He is clear headed and sees things as they are. He has clarity of vision with insight, foresight and hindsight.
No wonder Snr Bro Philip had this to tell us. "Only the wise seek the wisdom of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is so simple but yet difficult to perceive." We may add that "Only the wise seek the inner peace of the ancient sages. Yet the profound inner peace is simple but yet difficult to realise."
Perception of inner truth and realising inner peace are two separate milestones. Be aware of the MOREs of life. Then it would be easier for us to be on our way to having more of inner peace than the constant battle of huff and puff that we have to live with in world of yin and yang. Let us not stray wee bit too much into the brouhaha of life and handle truth as though it is an intellectual subject to be debated on. We should not just admire the raft and sing songs in its praise. Worse still, we should not compare whose raft is more superior or more majestic. We should use our rafts to cross the sea of life to reach the shore of inner peace.
We should do so here, now and in this very life and not day dream about having it in next life. Dreams and promises however good and grand will remain as dreams and promises. We must go for the realisation and reality in this very life. Better to do so today if we can than wait for tomorrow for there will always be another tomorrow. Today well loved and lived is better than tomorrow well dreamt. Taking care of today must however be done with view to taking care of tomorrow. Learn now from our life and not wait till next life. All these did the sages of religions and sects say. Lord Bo Tien as a heavenly messenger is here to remind us of the common beautitudes and values of religions so that one and all will see the inner truth and harvest the inner peace irrespective of our creed, and religious inclinations. He is definitely not the only messenger.
Brethren, it is important to grow the attribute of wanting to be at peace with life and let this inner peace be an ingrained characteristic of our personality or spirit. We will want to be at peace when we realise the true nature of life (the inner truth), that life is always a roller coaster of ups and downs at every turn or corner of life. We will realise that we have to live with the ups and downs, the coming and going, the too and fro, the passing and rising, the wax and wane and the high tides and low tides. There is no way we can run or hide from them. We do need to manage in a way that we will remain peaceful and not be pushed or pulled and not to be tossed all over the place . Habit of being peaceful comes in handy for us to ride the storms and value the calm seas of life. We will not be overtly reliant, dependent and expectant with our friends, blood and kin. We can cultivate our mind to be peaceful by training it to be calm in daily sessions such as meditation and prayer. This makes us even when not in training sessions to be automatically aware (what others refer to as subconsciously aware) of events and nature around us. We learn how to be calm and at peace with all situations even during sleep.. Some have shared that they become aware and somewhat alert with what goes around them even during sleep. Yet the sleep is restful and initially they might think they are not sleeping! This phase of experience in cultivation of inner peace may not be experienced by all who cultivate inner peace and you should not be upset if you do not undergo this phase.
Cheers and be on way to inner peace. Truely, many seek the wisdom of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is simple and yet difficult to perceive --- when we are sucked and blinded by the yin and yang of life. See the true nature of life, be aware that we can neither run or hide from it nor do we need to be carried away by it. Learn to love yourself and be steady and be at peace with yourself and the world you are in. Manage your world and not let world manage you. Just be at peace --- inner peace that is... You do not even need to belong to any religion or sect to do this. You can have this even with any religion or sect. Cheers once again and be at peace. This surely is the magnanimity of God (the Jade Emperor to the Chinese) and the heavenly saints.
Let us refer to the M.O.R.E.s of life namely Mindfulness, Obsession, Rapture and Emptiness. Let us dwell on when and how mindfulness will lead to inner peace and why it is not rapture, obsession, emptiness.
Mindfulness is not obsession. To be obsessed is to cling and to be tormented by the thought in a repeatitive way. There is that unmistakable restlessness and mental storm. There is no inner peace and calm. Person is swept in circles by his waves of obssession. To be mindful is to be aware of a thought, emotion, action or speech either of ourselves or of others. When mindfulness is well cultivated as abiding characteristics of person, inner peace will come about. When being mindful, person is not distancing or ignoring the thought, feeling, action or speech. He is also not clinging to them and not suffering as a consequence. He is not swept off his feet as a result. He is serenely aware and at peace.
With inner peace, awareness has that quality of equaninmity or divine balance, that quality of life which is inner peace. We sometimes call this mindfulness. But when this mindfulness is cultivated to be associated with serenity and restfulness of spirit and body, the person has inner peace which is heavenly.
Inner peace is beyond rapture and not rapture. In rapture or ecstasy, there is strong clinging to that wonderful feeling of being high with joy. There is obvious upheavel of spirit which will inevitably be followed by sense of being down, dejected and empty thereafter (something akin to drug withdrawal). With inner peace comes restfulness and quietness of spirit.
No void or emptiness and no clinging as well. Obsession described earlier has to do with clinging. Person does not feel empty. He is not burried by avalanche of preoccupations. Awareness is there with inner peace. Person has first hand experience but not clinging. No avoidance and no craving. Person feels light and not empty. He is at peace in body and in spirit - not empty and not rushed or crushed with heart rate near resting rate even when going about daily life. He is collected, calm, cool and in control of his life. He is clear headed and sees things as they are. He has clarity of vision with insight, foresight and hindsight.
No wonder Snr Bro Philip had this to tell us. "Only the wise seek the wisdom of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is so simple but yet difficult to perceive." We may add that "Only the wise seek the inner peace of the ancient sages. Yet the profound inner peace is simple but yet difficult to realise."
Perception of inner truth and realising inner peace are two separate milestones. Be aware of the MOREs of life. Then it would be easier for us to be on our way to having more of inner peace than the constant battle of huff and puff that we have to live with in world of yin and yang. Let us not stray wee bit too much into the brouhaha of life and handle truth as though it is an intellectual subject to be debated on. We should not just admire the raft and sing songs in its praise. Worse still, we should not compare whose raft is more superior or more majestic. We should use our rafts to cross the sea of life to reach the shore of inner peace.
We should do so here, now and in this very life and not day dream about having it in next life. Dreams and promises however good and grand will remain as dreams and promises. We must go for the realisation and reality in this very life. Better to do so today if we can than wait for tomorrow for there will always be another tomorrow. Today well loved and lived is better than tomorrow well dreamt. Taking care of today must however be done with view to taking care of tomorrow. Learn now from our life and not wait till next life. All these did the sages of religions and sects say. Lord Bo Tien as a heavenly messenger is here to remind us of the common beautitudes and values of religions so that one and all will see the inner truth and harvest the inner peace irrespective of our creed, and religious inclinations. He is definitely not the only messenger.
Brethren, it is important to grow the attribute of wanting to be at peace with life and let this inner peace be an ingrained characteristic of our personality or spirit. We will want to be at peace when we realise the true nature of life (the inner truth), that life is always a roller coaster of ups and downs at every turn or corner of life. We will realise that we have to live with the ups and downs, the coming and going, the too and fro, the passing and rising, the wax and wane and the high tides and low tides. There is no way we can run or hide from them. We do need to manage in a way that we will remain peaceful and not be pushed or pulled and not to be tossed all over the place . Habit of being peaceful comes in handy for us to ride the storms and value the calm seas of life. We will not be overtly reliant, dependent and expectant with our friends, blood and kin. We can cultivate our mind to be peaceful by training it to be calm in daily sessions such as meditation and prayer. This makes us even when not in training sessions to be automatically aware (what others refer to as subconsciously aware) of events and nature around us. We learn how to be calm and at peace with all situations even during sleep.. Some have shared that they become aware and somewhat alert with what goes around them even during sleep. Yet the sleep is restful and initially they might think they are not sleeping! This phase of experience in cultivation of inner peace may not be experienced by all who cultivate inner peace and you should not be upset if you do not undergo this phase.
Cheers and be on way to inner peace. Truely, many seek the wisdom of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is simple and yet difficult to perceive --- when we are sucked and blinded by the yin and yang of life. See the true nature of life, be aware that we can neither run or hide from it nor do we need to be carried away by it. Learn to love yourself and be steady and be at peace with yourself and the world you are in. Manage your world and not let world manage you. Just be at peace --- inner peace that is... You do not even need to belong to any religion or sect to do this. You can have this even with any religion or sect. Cheers once again and be at peace. This surely is the magnanimity of God (the Jade Emperor to the Chinese) and the heavenly saints.
