A TALE OF HAPPINESS
In the midst of crowd in Pudu, I was waiting hopefully for my bus to Penang,
without a good map or plan in hand. There was no other destination for me,
other than Ajahn Brahmavamso’s
meditation retreat. My confidence proved me
right as a kind lady offered me a drive to Mahindarama Temple. Nothing
special, just the right causes and conditionsJ
“GooOOOd morning, welcome to another day in ClubMed, Penang (we were
supposed to have lots of fun), the time is now past now, and the date is
now!” An impeccable way to start a morning and perhaps for true
HAPPINESS to
happen. Sitting cross-legged assuming a relaxed meditative posture, the mind
- not me, took over, silently savoring each beautiful in-breath and
out-breath. Soon, my heavy head started to nod in perfect harmony with the
tune of sleepiness. Are you worried? Definitely not me! Ajahn Brahmavamso
assured us repeatedly that it was a good sign of letting go, and urged us to
sleep as much as possible in the very first few days of the retreat. Our
referee, Lord Buddha himself smiled with approval to a monk ‘fishing’ during
meditation, but shook his head worriedly to another forest monk enduring
hours of sleepless, back-straight meditation. Sure enough, full
enlightenment was obtained by the first monk while sadly, the second one
ended up disrobing. And if a yogi was in urgent need of a way to calm the
monkey mind, because of too much thinking and worrying, stick
to-“shut(in-breath)..up(out-breath)..shut…up…”, in hope he or she would get
the message soonJ
With ‘super-power mindfulness’, you feel like a ‘superman’, or would you
prefer ‘X-men’? Simply, you can see the depth, the refine beauty of things,
so much clearer. We were allowed to just look fixedly at a bamboo tree for
hours, skipping lunches and dinners because the ethereally captivating
details sunk in-vibrant colors, tiled leaves, marvelous. If Ajahn spotted
any yogi hanging up a ‘big smile’ after a nice meditation, he knew he had
followed the instruction, by practicing the third noble truth meditation,
not expecting anything, just stop. Why? The happiness sprung from letting
go. So, why not letting go? For a taste of freedom, a taste of
enlightenment, to experience the joy of a Buddha. Modern people with tight
schedules like us are always tied up with something to do-in action or in
mind-rushing here and there. For those who
love themselves, please stop
picking up a novel or do gardening after work, instead, do nothing. You have
done many great things, now you deserve happiness and rest in peace (RIP),
really.
If one day, one has the opportunity to listen and fortunately understand
Dhamma, because of accumulated good merits in uncountable previous
lifetimes, or is able to find a serene spot, perhaps under a blossoming tree
to meditate, do it, with all your heart. If the brilliant nimitta finally
greets you, to see actually how pure-hearted you are, then you know what is
true bliss. It will forever be in your memory, so that you never could stray
too far off. With grateful tears of joy streaming down one’s cheek, one
eventually comprehends the meaning, “Thank you, Ajahn Brahm” or “Thank you,
Lord Buddha.”
MAY THAT BE YOU!
Come to our meditation class!
It is free, not because it is cheap, but it is priceless.
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