Meeting with Grandpa

I met with grandpa, unexpectedly.

I never get lost. I went there, I reached there and then, I met with grandpa.

Grandpa greeted me and smiled and said

“THOSE WHO SEEK WILL FIND.”

I never believed that he really exists.

Yes, he does. He does exist. (I THINK SO.)

But he is not like something people portrays,

not at all like something people are talking about.

He is so kind. He is loving-kindness.

In fact he is really like our beloved grandpa

Who love his grandchildren unconditionally

Who forgive whatever his grandchildren (innocently) do wrong

Who always find good things in his grandchildren

All of us always love our grandpa.

And our grandpa always love us

No matter how naughty we are.

No matter how ignorant we are.

No matter how arrogant we are.

No matter how disobedient we are.

He always loves us.

He always forgives us.

He always finds good things in us, even it might be very tiny.

OUR GRANDPA!

He is great. He is supportive He is everything

He is always very powerful in his grandchildren’s eyes

Whenever his grandchildren find themselves in great difficult or deadly danger,

He always there for their rescue.

All of our problems are always completely sorted out if grandpa is with us.

I LOVE GRANDPA.

Grandpa, or Absolute Intelligence

Our beginning, Our root, or our originality

Our grandpa, whom most of us mistakenly scare of.

Somebody whom most of us misinterpreted and distributed misinformation about him.

Some of us pretended to be good persons just because of Grandpa

Some of us were always in constant pressure of preaching to love him

When I told Grandpa how we are talking about him

He burst into great laugh

till his tears come out from his very wise, gentle and soft eyes,

As all of our beloved grandpa frequently do.

When I told Grandpa how we wage great wars for the sake of his name,

He was shocked. He was dismayed. He was upset. He was really sad.

When I told Grandpa how believers of him treat non-believers of him,

He reprimanded, He wept, He cried

Then, he prayed for non-believers of him

He apologized for believers of him have done.

He is powerful, but at the same time he is also soft.

Very soft like a new born baby.

In fact he is our grandpa.

Our beloved Grandpa

Then he assure that

“we will reap what we sow”

NO MATTER believing him or not.

He affirmed that

He does not really care we believe him or not.

What really matter to him is

“how we live our life” “GOOD LIFE OR BAD LIFE?”

“how we treat our fellow creatures” (HONESTLY OR DISHONESTLY?)

(WITH RESPECT OR WITH DISRESPECT?)

What important is, he said,

How we improve ourselves, not how great we are

How we try to become good people, not how successful we are

How we contributed to the world, not how rich we are

How we take care of our fellow creature, not how powerful we are

Then grandpa hugged me said goodbye

also wished us all the best

He disappeared to big bang

(at least I think it was a big bang)

I suddenly waked up.

I felt fulfilness with

full of non-violent energy,

altruistic power,

genuine loving-kindness, and

selfless wisdom.

I SAW GRANDPA, I met with him.

He talked to me and I heard him.

My new days commenced.

Our beginning is started

Lights come out for us.

(To be rewritten, reword, edited and continued)

MYO

08 April 2009, Wednesday

Note: Early this morning, I got some ideas about God and I wrote something about it. It is my version of God. It is just a draft, I will modify it later. When Einstein was asked about God, he said he believed in Spinoza's God. I am still studying God of Spinoza's version. The following is my version. It will be so nice if we have a God who is like our beloved grandfather. Have a cute, funny and sweet God, Myo

Take my life and spare theirs

"Take my life and spare theirs". I looked at to the eyes of the universe and said."Take my life, instead of theirs. I am ready to die, but they are not." I was shouting, asking, begging, demanding, and commanding. I was so sad, hurt and perplexed. Why? Why? Why? Why did these things happen to them? Why to these babies and children? I wish I can die for them. I want to die on behalf of them. I want to save them from these terrible disasters.

Although I am absolutely sure that it is impossible for most of us to fully understand the nature and its functions, I also knew very well that there must be enough legitimate reasons for whatever happens here. Nothing happens without reason. It must be because of law of Karma. (Sorry Prof Dawkins, I know you will religiously disagreed with me. I fully understand you. And I am sorry I don't have enough proofs at the moment to convince you. One day I am going to be able to prove my theory.)

Life is mysterious. Nature is sometime very brutal, unpredictable and un-understandable. There are a few historical events of which I always contemplate and try to understand whenever I feel confused and perplexed. The following is one of these events.

During one of the Burmese palace rebellion about 250 years ago, one group, very brutal and silly one while trying to take control of the throne, attempted to kill almost all possible heirs to the throne. One lady asked her executioners to allow her to see her monk as the last time before she die. She was allowed and she went to her monk and pay homage to him as the last time, solemnly, respectfully, soulfully.

"You have to pay back what you owe!" said the monk, calmly, gracefully, mercifully. How much do we owe to one another and to the nature? Not all of us can understand the way the nature works. However, it is still possible that a few of us can fully understand it. What we can see now is only a few dots of the un-seeable, un-connectable, complex matrix. It is impossible for most of us to see the whole complete picture and to comprehend each and every event of nature and lives. It is said that ignorance is the main reason for our confusion and perplexity. The cure for ignorance is to acquire right wisdom. If so, how can we get wisdom? There must be ways for it.

History has been showing us many clues, but we are still unaware of them, we are still failing to correctly interpret them. We are still misunderstanding them.

As soon as Buddha became enlightened, he claimed that "Hey, life-carpenter, I found you. I knew you tricks. You can never create me again. I am liberated from the life-circle to which you trapped us. I have just broken the chain of this trap".

Although I don't have enough proofs to justify my theory, I intuitively understand that life-carpenter is the creator of us. It must be something that others call Father or Lord or Creator. I will prove that theory one day.

I still want to die for them (babies and children and tens of thousand of innocent people), on behalf of them, in order to save them. Let me die for them. I am really ready to die. I have been carefully, meticulously, scrupulously, painstakingly and punctiliously trying not to attach anyone, nor anything.

I have nothing to attach. I have no family. I have nothing to lose. My wisdom and virtue will always go with me and will always serve, defend and save me.

Honey, don't mourn when I die.

Baby, don't cry. Don't weep. Don't be so sad.

I will be all-right even after I die. I will always be fine no matter what happens to me.

Death means just a promotion for higher life for me. It is just a noble transition to a more virtuous and enlightened life. I will return to this earth as a more wiser, kinder, richer and more powerful person and do this again and again and again.

Myo

20 March 2011, Sunday

Note: Just a short note from writing and thinking exercise. Don't take serious, guys. These writing notes are just my writing and thinking exercise. However, I will continue it, rewrite and edit it. These short writing notes will be one day corner stones to prove my theory of life :-). I felt really sad for the people (especially babies and children) unfairly affected by various natural and human-made disasters. I am always thinking about them, praying for them and wishing all the very best to them. I am really willing to die for them, if my death can save their lives and solve all different kinds of problems of our world.

Easter, Home, Non-attachment and I

"Will you go home this Easter", people asked
No, why should I?
I am at home all the time.
I am with my family.

I belong to everywhere.
I am too big to confine myself to one place, one region, one country.
The world is my place and I make everywhere my home
And I do enjoy living in every place.

I belong to everybody.
I am too big to confine myself to one family, one ethnic, one nationality.
Every person I meet is my family member.
Every kid is my child; my son or my daughter.
Every animal is my pet.

I don’t need to go home.
I am with my family.
I am at home.


Myo
20 April 2011, Wednesday

Note: Most of my friends are going home in this Easter. I am very glad for them; they need to be with their family. But for me, attaching to the family or the nation is a burden. I have already dropped that burden; in fact it is illusion for me. Illusion, delusion, hallucination! We have to free ourselves from such kinds of attachments. We belong to everybody, and at the same time we belong to no one. We belong to everywhere; also we belong to nowhere. Yes, it is so absurd, but you will understand it when you are ready. I also know that most of us are not ready to understand

I was there and with them

I was there, I've been there, am still there, and will be there until the last time.

I was with them, am still with them and will be with them.

I went there and with them, not because I need something.

I don't need anything at all.

I have disciplined my mind and I have tamed my desires too.

I still have to travel hard and long but I have already found the paths.

I am ready to leave and disappear, but I delay my liberation.

I'm not going to get anything from this task,

except pains, troubles and more hardships,

but just to share and show the paths to them.

I am all right, I am okay, I am happy.

But I cannot go alone. I cannot leave them behind.

I will be still with them.

Myo

31 December 2011, Saturday (6:14 PM)

Note: Just trying to write a short note at the very last day of 2011.

What is true? What is the test of it? How can we know it?

We are in a great swirling spiritual fair. Amid lots of claims on whose belief (religion) is right and whose wrong and many of us, necessarily and naturally, get lost and confused (Rosenberg, 2003). Then, what is true? What is the test of truth? How can we know it?

A simple, (but very scientific) formula was offered more than 2,500 years ago, through “Kalama Sutta”: Testing things in terms of cause and effect (Rosenberg, 2003).

The Kalama Sutta is justly famous for its encouragement of free inquiry; it signifies a teaching that is exempt from fanaticism, bigotry, dogmatism, and intolerance. It welcomes careful examination at all stages of the path to enlightenment. It actively rejects the bad, but adopts the good way. It clarifies the basis of knowledge of conditionality and arhatship. Its methods of examination are to know things as they are and its tenor are implied in all straight thinking. As penetration and comprehension, its constituents of wisdom, the place of critical examination and analysis in the development of right vision are obvious (Thera, 1981)

The Kalama Sutta arrives to us to rescue us from the oceans of confusion and perplexity because of people in Kalama who were religious seekers themselves, and, very much like us, also confused, perplexed and bewildered by the plethora of divergent philosophies and teachers vying for their attention.

When the Buddha, in his wanderings, came upon the village of the Kalamas, they went to the Buddha to hear his perspective. They proceeded to ask the Buddha a series of questions.



The Kesariya Stupa is believed to be at the place where the Buddha delivered the discourse

So the Kalamas of Kesaputta approached the Buddha. On arrival, some of them bowed down to him and sat to one side. Some of them exchanged courteous greetings with him and sat to one side. Some, raising their joined palms, sat down to one side. Some, announcing their name and clan, sat to one side. Some of them sat to one side in silence. As they were sitting there, they said to the Buddha:

"Lord, some teachers come to Kesaputta, expounding and glorifying their own doctrines. But as for the doctrine of others, they abuse them, disparage them, deprecate them, and pull them to pieces. Other teachers, on coming to Kesaputta, do the same thing. When we listen to them, we feel doubt and uncertainty as to which of these teachers are speaking truth and which are lying."[1]

The Buddha answered:

           

 "Yes, Kalamas, it is proper that you have doubt, that you have perplexity, for a doubt has arisen in a matter which is doubtful.

Now, look you Kalamas, do not be led by reports, or tradition, or hearsay.

Be not led by the authority of religious texts, not by mere logic or inference, nor by considering appearances, nor by the delight in speculative opinions, nor by seeming possibilities, nor by the idea: 'this is our teacher'.

But O Kalamas, when you know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome (akusala), and wrong, and bad, then give them up...And when you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome (kusala) and good, then accept them and follow them."[2]

Ten sources which knowledge we should not simply view as truth without further investigation

1.         Oral history

2.         Traditional

3.         News sources

4.         Scriptures or other official texts

5.         Suppositional reasoning

6.         Philosophical dogmatism

7.         Common sense

8.         One's own opinions

9.         Experts

10.        Authorities or one's own teacher

References

Rosenberg, Larry (2003) The Right to Ask Questions. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/rosenberg/righttoask.html

Thera, Soma (1981) Translator’s note on Kalama Sutta: The Buddha’s Charter of Free Inquiry. (Translated from the Pali by Soma Thera). Retrieved April 20, 2012, from http://www.sobhana.net/meditation/english/reading/med003.pdf

Verhoeven, Martin J. (2001) Buddhism and Science: Probing the Boundaries of Faith and Reason. In Religion East and West, Issue 1, June 2001, pp. 77-97. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/VerhoevenBuddhismScience.htm

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[1] Larry Rosenberg’s translation (2003)

[2] Martin J. Verhoeven’s translation (2001)