What did the Dalai Lama say to the New York hot dog vendor?
“Make me one with everything.”
In a world where every second counts in order to either make money, consume something or stare at your phone, you find yourself wondering what is all of this for? Is this true happiness or am I just painting a rotten wall for the time being?
How many of you have ever wondered what does it take to attain a certain state which grants you constant and deep happiness, makes you less prone to outside suffering and allows you to realise we are all part of something bigger?
Many dwell on the perfect situation where they can start living the life the way it was meant to. The life which follows the spiritual path.
However, we all live in a perpetual active world around us where things always poke at us and take all of our time.
This would surely make one beg the question:
“When could I find the time to meditate and have that Interview with my consciousness, with myself and understand what is up with me?
If you are going to wait for that perfect occasion to meditate and have a chat with yourself, you will realise that it may never happen.
You have to understand that disappointment, success, happiness, buying food or going to a business meeting is all on our life’s path.
Cultivating a spiritual philosophy in one-self has to take place within your current context. A context of a secular life here in our “developed countries”.
For you, the seeker, what matters is how you attend to the present moment. This includes motivation, intention, aspiration, desire, hope and expectation.
This is not just about what you do but how you do it.
The present moment is where the rubber actually meets the road.
Your traction on the spiritual path depends on how you apply your heart and soul.
You see, it is all about living this moment. The present. Yesterday you said tomorrow. Stop searching for that special point in time to do something. This can apply to any goal or desire that you wish to achieve.
The following thoughts come to mind:
“The Past is gone and the Future is uncertain. All I have is the Present.
Do you really need to take off 6 months and travel to Tibet?
Everything you have been searching for is inside of yourself.
Through the honest self-inquiry and free meditative introspection over a good period of time, one can take part and demolish his ego.
By deconstructing your self-imposed limitations, you can then enter the mansion of authentic being.
You don’t need to travel and do exotic things.
You don’t need to see different things. You need to see things differently.
Even if you did visit spiritual lands, temples and talked with lamas, it is important to realise that it can be done even during your day to day life.
It is not important what you have seen because “one has seen nothing until one has come face to face with oneself.” – Buddhist saying.
Truth and love are in the palms of our hands. For when we are illuminated, the whole universe is illuminated.
Intrinsic awareness, is the common factor of all sentient beings.
Conscious living, contemplative self-awareness – are all means to becoming all that we are and that who we were meant to be.
Awareness is curative. Knowing ourselves and learning to let go is the way. It is the most skillful means to spiritual enlightenment.
Spirituality is a matter of self-discovery, rather than becoming something else.
You become a better version of yourself, rather than changing yourself.
True transformation is like legendary alchemical transmutation, in which the base metal of our limited, finite selves is, as if by magic, transformed into the spiritual gold of our transcendent original nature.
Self-transformation implies self-transcendence.
Therefore, inner transformation is a spiritual affair of cosmic significance, including all, animate and inanimate, everywhere.
Authentic self-transformation is definitely not for oneself alone. It is for all beings – for aren’t we all inseparably interconnected?
Whatever befalls us, befalls one and all.
In the following articles concerning spirituality and how to open ourselves to the universe, I will present to you a list of essential practices that you can incorporate into your day to day life with ease. These elements from the “to-do” list will help you build a spiritual life even if there is none at the moment.
What is this Spiritual Path if it is not a way of life which brings only benefits. And the best part is that you can follow your way to enlightenment without giving up your day to day activities. You just need to see your life differently.
And don’t forget: it is not the destination that is important but the journey on this Spiritual Path and with each step that you make, you become healed and more complete.
It is fitting to end this presentation with a saying by an old African tribe called The Xhosa, which transmits the following message:
“I am because we are”.
Peace be with you,
Vlad
photo credit: buddhajeans.com
references: Awakening the Buddha Within
