The words of Dhamma
Akkodhena jine kodham (conquer anger by love)
Asādhum sāhunā jine (conquer the wicked by goodness)
Jine kadariyam dānena (conquer the stingy by generosity)
Saccenālikavādinam (conquer the liar by truth)
- Dhammapada 223
The Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture that's ascribed to Buddha himself. My vipassanā practice urged me towards reading and studying Buddhist scripture. As I read on, I realised that all holy scriptures (The Bible, The Torah, The Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada) have a common message from God - live life with love. Love. God is universal, it's us, humans who choose to give him a name. I believe in the universal God and I am in the process of reading all the holy scriptures above.
Being the product of a Roman Catholic mother and Jewish father, a lot of people have questions regarding my diverse interest in all holy scriptures, love of mediation, vegetarianism and passion for Eastern philosophy. All I can say is that God is one, God is universal, God is love and Eastern philosophy and meditation bring us closer to God in ways that we cannot even imagine. All the scriptures above help us realise that life is about one thing - love; and all the good things come out of love - faith, caring, sharing, giving, generosity, purity, peace and of course the truth.
Today, I began my day with the above paragraph from The Dhammapada. As I read it over and over, I realised that Jesus too preached the same words. The Bhagavad Gita and The Torah too have examples of living life with equanimity (a state of mental and emotional stability that arises from a sense of temporal detachment from a reality we believe to be true), no matter what the situation.
So, how do we do this successfully? Especially, when we live in a world that is centered around 'I, me, myself'? Vipassanā helps us meet our mind, understand it and help it work with our heart and soul. Once our heart, mind and soul work together, it's easy to live with equanimity. Vipassanā started out as a quest for peace of mind, and has now transformed into a journey that shows me so very many layers to my spiritual self, that there is only one way for me now and that's the next step - the next step towards discovering another facet of my soul.
I woke up this morning, gave God, the universe, my guardian angels (my nana and papa) a big, sunny 'Good Morning' and read the above paragraph. So simple and sometimes, it's so difficult to follow, isn't it? But, vipassanā simplified it for me. You see, vipassanā helps us see things as they really are. When we do that, we realise at a deeper level, that we are just a part of a larger universe. We're here to fulfill our roles in accordance with God's will and leave when he knows that it's time. Life is about knowing oneself enough to realise that we're all children of God. Life is about another person more than it is about ourselves. That is how God lived, that is how he wants us, his children to live.
Think about it - a simple argument with a loved one or friend can turn very ugly if both parties argue. It's normal to have disagreements (human nature remember), but what's more important is to realise that an argument, any argument is not about anyone being right or wrong; it's about two or more people with different perceptions and understandings of a situation. Sometimes, mum and me argue. We hear each other out and try and understand the other. In case we don't, we let it rest for a while and when our minds are clearer, we decide to give communication another go. An argument isn't about the 'I, me, myself' being right - it's about accepting another's point-of-view and being able to move on from there. Of course, throw in a hug, kiss and/or a friendly handshake depending on who the person is. :) To me, this is a practical example of conquering anger with love. This can work in professional life too. Accepting an argument for the sake of peace is okay. Sometimes, sorting out a situation when both people are cool, helps.
Anger shouldn't give rise to more anger, instead it must give birth to a lot of love and understanding, just as wickedness must be answered with goodness, stinginess with generosity and lies with truth. Indeed, the paragraph above is so simple, but the priceless lessons it helps us understand come straight from God. Religious scriptures are not something we may read and put away; they are God's lessons, God talking to us through his word. No matter what we may read, all scriptures teach us the same thing. I believe our universal God has given us different languages to help understand him better. His lesson though are all the same - all of them begin with love and truth.
If we truly contemplate and understand what he's telling us, we realise that different words mean the same thing - when we do things with love, we're able to look beyond ourselves and feel and understand another. Prayer and meditation are ways that bring us closer to him in a way that a blessed soul knows.
The universal language of love awaits us, our universal God loves us, prayer and meditation will take us closer and closer to him. Here's to all of us rediscovering him in each other and in ourselves.
Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)
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