An Unsung Ancient that Never Was

A gentle reminder it is
of what was ancient brought to Now
of experiences we thought were new
of triggers resulting in retaliations
of pledges prolonging in pain
of expressions living in vain
and of denial repeating again

it may be a hurt
or a so-called love
or an agenda of revenge
or a scheme of lure
a heartache of sort
of unknown cause
yet familiar and yet, unsure

behind the façade
behind the form
away from each storyline
of dramas, comedies and theatricals
of I love you
or I hate you
are merely stage shows, forgotten
figment of imagination,
of perception
brought into reality Now by ignorance

specialness loom from past
of long forgotten feelings
but not forgiven or released
tenaciously clinging-on to be precise
yet unknown of that moment
a link, a bond, created
as strong as anything one has ever seen

coming back one more time
in this life
here in the NOW
meeting, triggering, loving, attracting
a dance of karmic bond
repeating what we have all done in the past
We are all ghosts haunting one another
of storylines yet  to complete
finding our way in the ocean of samsara
simply to fulfill that momentary thirst
of connection
that we have not forgiven or release.

Behold Beloved, behold my dear Enemies
of apparitions
lodged insidiously in perception
churning out projections
which I thought was You

And soon as waking up always does
of dreams disappearing into thin air
of what seems real becomes unreal
unfettered by whatever bondage
the mind finally comes to rest.

A Matter of Opinion, or PERCEPTION

Everyone is a genius – you believe in what the mind perceived and in that reality you can either see yourself or others, as stupid, or, genius. If one knows stupidity is merely a perception of the mind and does not truly defines him, then he is a genius by that token, whereas the other who thinks he is actually a genius without recognizing it was merely perception playing out, is indeed stupidity.

Both stupidity or genius, when the dream is over, is merely a …  perception, personalized only by you. Are you a genius to recognize that?

A fool with a sense of his foolishness
is — at least to that extent — wise.
But a fool who thinks himself wise
really deserves to be called
a fool.

Dhammapada 63

Compromise Uncertainty

I attended the first phase Ascension Workshop last weekend and find their method of addressing defilements, or ‘grooves’ as they put it, interesting and refreshing. Other than the experience of meditation that emphasizes on open and close eyes meditation, not having any particular rigid way of sitting, and yes, also lying down meditation which is much encouraged throughout the day; what etched deeply in my mind is the statement made by the monk at the end of the session which comes in the form of a question – the original question given by the founder, MSI, that inspired many more to take on this journey: Which area in your life have you compromised?

I find the question relevant and profound – in fact, it points towards the direction of human suffering that each of us try to resolve or escape from in our daily basis, if not every moment of our lives, and yet not fully finding a foolproof way of ending suffering that leads to everlasting peace. Normally we tend to relate compromise with sacrifice as in not honouring our hearts but to be subjugated to things we are not happy to do. Yet, strangely, even if there are truly moments of happiness, guilt may appear asunder, throwing us off balance from what we are already enjoying – hence compromising ourselves again. And even if there is no conscious guilt present, the unknowing mind may have compromised in taking on lesser happiness for the higher, simply just to feed the need of what has been repressed or addicted earlier.

It can be a common dilemma of choosing what is good for one’s health over food that we like and making a compromise within not to repeat it again. Or to resign to a situation of conflict that we are not ready to face so as not to stir up the worst in us though we very well know that the best may emerge from it subsequently. There are even situations where we do not have the clarity to choose what is truly best for us, having both equal pros and cons for each possibility, hence bringing us into situations where confusion reigns and regretting later the choices we have made.

What is it that you really, really, want – asked another teacher of mine. And he reiterated further that if one is truly one-minded about it, then guilt or compromise will not surface. But his question is tricky and profound as what we usually want, be it money, relationship, career, health, etc., is constantly about something to cover-up what we do not want – to mean that what we want is to fix what we do not want – though that is not the essence of his question. What I am trying to say is that what we think we really, really want may not be the very root of our want. We only focus on what we don’t want and make demands around it. It is ignorance of what is there and finding ways of not facing it. So a truer question will be – what is it that you are ignoring that makes you compromise on your peace? Do you know?

Just by attending to this one question, or any similar question for that matter that directs one to self-inquiry; the mystery of life’s suffering will see its end – perhaps not when one is not ready on the pursuit for Truth and nothing but the Truth. What is Truth then? Suffering and the end of suffering. Don’t you think compromise is suffering?