Insights

Flipping through the recent edition of the ODJ, I had a flash of inspiration: add quotes sourced from religions across the world (if not the minor ones, then at least the major ones will do) in my posts. Well, depending on the context I intend to use it with.

I don't know. Personally, if one can find inspiration from their respective religious scriptures, then surely it should be shared. Rather than waste our time fighting each other we should be doing more good in the name of our respective gods. Tolerance is a better solution than confrontation.

On to today's topic:

There is a story in Buddhist circles, when the Buddha held up a flower in front of an audience of 1250 monks. He did not say anything for quite a while. Suddenly, he smiled. He smiled because someone in the audience, a monk named Mahakashyapa, smiled at him and the flower he was holding. The monk was the only person who smiled, and the Buddha then said, "I have a treasure of insight and I have transmitted it to Mahakashyapa."

Indeed, many Buddhists continue to wonder what was the meaning behind the story. But, according to the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, the meaning is simple: when you are given a flower to admire, the person offering it to you wants you to see it - not think about it, not ponder about it, but just to see it. If you kept on thinking about it, you miss the flower. 'The person who is not thinking,' Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh says, 'but just being himself, will be able to encounter the flower in depth.'

Does that ring a bell? In conclusion: the more we're not living in the present, the more we will miss. We shouldn't keep ourselves so preoccupied in our problems and worries; sometimes, we should just let them slide. Then we will realize life is truly a beautiful experience. Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh also has this to add:

"Living in peace is something we all want. But I would like to ask: Do we have the capacity of enjoying peace? If peace were here would you be able to enjoy it... or would you find it boring? To me, peace, happiness, joy and life all go together, and we can experience them right in the present moment. It is always available to us but if we are not able to experience it, how can we make peace grow?

"When I have a toothache, I discover that not having a toothache is a wonderful experience. That is peace. I had to have a toothache in order to be enlightened, to know that not having it is wonderful. My non-toothache is peace, is joy. But when I do not have a toothache, I do not seem to be happy. So if I look deeply into the present moment, I will understand and appreciate that if I don't have a toothache, it should indeed make me very happy. 

"I know a doctor who lost her eyesight... To her, to be able to see again would be a miracle. She says that she would be in paradise if she could recover her eyesight. Based on this incident, most of us would already be in paradise because we have eyes capable of seeing. When we open our eyes, we can see the blue sky... lovely flowers, and beautiful children. But are we happy with ourselves? So we need to remind ourselves to be mindful that we have eyes to appreciate the beauty of life."

Think about it. Cheers, all.