THE SUDDEN REALIZATION

A few weeks ago, I decided to tell the other monks, nuns and villagers that I was going to leave the village. I also wrote a letter to my family, explaining the situation that I was in, and that I was eager to experience the greatness of studying alone. A few days after that, I left the village and travelled to a remote place. The entrance of the cave was very narrow and dark, and the inside was slightly chilly. I had to be careful and extra cautious while I was in the cave because there were many puddles that were forming from the melting snow.

After spending many days in deep contemplation, I decided to meditate, and started to reflect on the teachings of the Buddha that I had learned from the beginning of my life. Since I was the only one in the cave, it was easier for me to meditate. I decided to focus on my dream that I had dreamt of several weeks ago. I dreamt that an old man had suddenly died, and the village was concerned of what they were supposed to do with his body. In my dream, this man appeared to be an enlightened individual who had been studying alone for many years. After having dreamt this dream, I started questioning myself with many questions. Who was this man? Why did he appear in my dream? Was he my teacher? He taught me many things… but why did I appear as a child in this dream?

During a state of deep meditation, a vivid memory suddenly hit me. A few days after having dreamt this mysterious dream, I went to the library and read a book about dreams, which was called, Dream Yoga and The Practice of Natural Light. When I first opened this book, I believed that it was going to guide me and help me understand my dream more deeply. As I read through the different chapters of the book, I found that the explanations of dreams were described in a thoroughly significant manner. I learned that dreams assisted people when they went hunting, inspired sacred patterns for art and crafts, and provided guidance in times of war, crisis, or illness (Norbu 13). Surprisingly, Mendelev, Elias Howe and Albert Einstein were inspired by their dreams and “took action” afterwards. The Russian chemist Mendelev discovered the periodic table method of classifying elements according to atomic weight while dreaming (15). Elias Howe completed his invention of the sewing machine while dreaming (15). Albert Einstein’s theory of relatively came to him partly in a dream (15). Furthermore, I learned that approximately twenty-five percent of sleep was dream time (15). Dreams were crucial for mental health, dreaming was a right brain activity, and virtually all dreams were accompanied by rapid eye movements (15). I started to believe that my dream would somehow, act as a source of guidance in leading me towards a virtuous path and possibly, towards nirvana. I started to imagine that Crazy Uncle was going to support me, just like how he did when I was a child.

After meditating deeply on the topic of dreams, I went for a short walk in the remote area near the cave. Back in the village, I read many books about the Dalai Lama and his teachings. One of these books was called, The Wisdom of Compassion. After a quick shower, the Dalai Lama was accustomed to settling down into a well-ordered routine of prayers and meditation that lasted for five hours (Chan xi). He used some of this time to “shape his motivation” for the rest of the day (xi). He was grateful that he was alive, and he saw each moment as a precious opportunity to open his heart and to do everything within his power to be of service to others (xi). And he reminded himself that he would hold only kind thoughts to all (xi). I learned that the Dalai Lama spent much of his time meditating on altruistic love and compassion. The Dalai Lama noted that everyone needed to generate a sense of caring, and had to develop warmhearted feelings towards everyone they met (xi).

After reading some paragraphs about compassion, I decided to delve deeper into this topic and learn more. I started to realize that compassion was what I needed to work harder on, and consequently, that I would live a healthy life and that it would benefit many individuals. In that same book, I read about the neurochemistry and experimental psychology aspects when one acted compassionately. The latest research in neuroscience showed that when compassion suffused one’s mind, the left prefrontal cortex of their brain became noticeably more active (xii). This was a clear sign that positive emotions, such as, well-being, enthusiasm, contentment were working in that individual (xii). I believed that this research did not surprise the Dalai Lama. The reason for this assertion was because the Dalai Lama always said that, if you wanted others to be happy, you needed to practice compassion; if you wanted to be happy, you needed to practice compassion (xiii). Furthermore, the Dalai Lama stated that it wasn’t enough to be compassionate. An individual had to act, and there were two aspects to action (185). One was to overcome the distortions and afflictions of their own mind, which was, in terms of calming and eventually dispelling anger (185). This was action out of compassion (185). The other was more social, more public (185). When something needed to be done in the world to rectify the wrongs, if one was really concerned with benefiting others, one needed to be engaged and thus, involved (185).

After my short walk, I went back into the cave and sat by the entrance. There were many things circling my mind and so, I decided to watch the birds, whom to me, seemed to be happy. I started to question myself about the satisfaction and happiness that the birds experienced, which led me to think about the concepts of dukkha, karma, samsara and nirvana. Dukkha was usually translated as “suffering” and it did indeed refer to the various pains of life, mental and physical (Bowker 232). But it also embraced the grief, pain and suffering which arose from the fact that everything was transient, that nothing lasted forever (232). However, dukkha did not have to last forever. The “cure” was to follow the Noble Eightfold Path. I wanted to escape dukkha… At that moment, the words of the Dalai Lama entered my mind. He explained that today’s unfortunate things occurred because of one’s own previous wrongdoings (Chan 34).

After watching the birds play, I got up and walked over to the rock that I was sitting on before. I knew that karma involved intentional action, which was either a desire to do good, or to either, cause harm. The Dalai Lama said that there were three different types of action that produced three different types of effects (35). Actions that produced suffering and pain were generally considered negative actions, but actions that lead to desirable consequences, such as experiences of joy and happiness, were considered positive actions (36). The third category included actions that led to experiences of neutral feelings, which were neither virtuous nor non-virtuous (36). Furthermore, I also learned that the karmic results of our actions were not immediately obvious (36). They often showed up after a long gestation period, which made it very difficult, even impossible, to tell which action caused which result (36). After contemplating on the concepts of dukkha, karma and samsara, I realized that nirvana was not a place like heaven, but rather was a condition of perfect stability where there could not be any cause and effect (Bowker 234).

A sudden big whoosh of air entered the cave, which gave me goose bumps on my arms. It was getting darker and colder, and the birds started to fly away. I reached over for my robe and at the same time, I grabbed my loaded bag. I untied the knot and took out my vintage notebook. I opened my notebook and flipped through the pages until I reached the section that talked about the Six Realms of Rebirth. There were different modes of existence, and some of these modes were more pleasant than others. There were six domains or “realms” into which an individual could be reborn (Prebish 12). Some of these realms were visible to us here and now, while others were not (12). The ones we could see were the human and animal realms, and the ones we couldn’t see were those of the gods, the asuras, and hell (12). On the borderline was the realm of the ghosts (12). As the wheel of samsara moved around, beings migrated through the various realms of rebirth (14). The scheme of the six realms was commonly depicted in the form of a wheel, known as the “wheel of life” (bhavacakra) (14). I made a simple sketch in my notebook that resembled the bhavacakra. If one looked at the circular diagram of the wheel of life, they would see three realms below the line and three above. This simple division reflected a qualitative difference in that the three realms below the middle line (hell, the ghosts, and animals) were unfortunate places to be reborn, while those above the line (heaven, the asuras, and the human world) were more pleasant (14). The wheel was a symbolic representation of the process of samsara, and was sometimes depicted as showing the six realms of rebirth in the grasp of the demon Yama, the Lord of Death, who was also known as Mara (14). Skulls in Yama’s head-dress showed that he represented death, time and impermanence (14). The centre of this wheel often showed three animals, which were a cock, a pig and a snake (14). These animals represented the “three poisons” of greed, hatred and delusion (14). It was these forces, that created bad karma and fueled the endless cycle of rebirth (Introducing Buddhism, p. 14). Placing these mental forces at the centre of the diagram revealed the important place that Buddhism accorded to psychology, and the profound influence it had on our experience of the world by causing us to be reborn in one realm or another (14). Karma was the mechanism that moved people around from one realm of rebirth to another (17). One could picture it as a kind of elevator that took people up and down inside a building. Good deeds resulted in an upward movement and bad deeds in a downward one.

In Buddhism, The First Millennium, Dr. Hiromoto Mizuno offered a list of six points of difference between the Mahayana and Hinayana Schools. However, I focused on two of these points. The first point was that the bodhisattva did not strive to benefit oneself alone. Rather, the bodhisattva sought the Buddha Way in order to save all other beings. In this respect, the bodhisattva differed essentially from the Hinayana ideals of the voice-hearer or cause-awakened one, both of whom were interested primarily in their own benefit and salvation (Ikeda 85). The second way in which, according to Dr. Mizuno, the Hinayana differed from early Mahayana Buddhism concerned the relationship to karmic law. The Hinayana took an essentially negative attitude toward karmic law by seeking to escape from suffering and flee to another realm (86). The Mahayana took a positive approach, which deliberately sought to encounter suffering in order to fulfill the vow and practice of the bodhisattva and thereby attain Buddhahood (86).

I wanted to become a bodhisattva… I was eager to help people escape the state of dukkha… I flipped through my notebook and AHH HAA! I came upon a wrinkled page and read it carefully… I wrote these notes when I was a child… when I was with Crazy Uncle. The title of the page brought tears to my eyes. It was this… this was what I was supposed to understand and truly acknowledge. The Three Refuges, which was also known as the Three Jewels or the Triple Jewel was something that I had to wrap my mind around. I had to take refuge in the Buddha, I had to take refuge in the Dharma, and I had to take refuge in the Sangha… Taking refuge in the Buddha meant accepting the Buddha’s teachings as the correct diagnosis of the human predicament and as the only cure (Bowker 239). To take refuge in the Sangha meant entering into a positive relationship with the organized community set up by the Buddha (242). Lastly, taking refuge in the Dharma was to accept the teachings of the Buddha with complete commitment and confidence (246). At that moment, I felt enlightened. I knew what I was supposed to do! After contemplating about the Three Jewels, I finally decided to go back to the village and help the others understand what I had encountered while meditating. But before I could journey back to the village, I decided to go and visit my family. My parents and wife told me that I had changed a lot, and that they believed that I was a wiser person than before. I told them what I did when I was at the cave, and they thanked me for understanding and following the teachings of the Buddha. My daughters asked me many questions about my pilgrimages, and they told me that they were interested in going on one. After spending some precious time with my family, I promised them that I would write them more letters and finally left the house. The weather was getting warmer, and there were many birds chirping and singing everywhere. I was thankful that I didn’t have to journey back to the village alone.

Works Cited

Bowker, John. The Message and The Book. New Haven: Yale UP, 2012. 1–406. Print.

Chan, Victor. The Wisdom of Compassion. New York: Riverhead, 2012. 1–255. Print.

Ikeda, Daisaku. Buddhism, The First Millennium. 1st ed. Santa Monica: Middleway, 1977. 1-184. Print.

Norbu, Namkhai. Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light. 1st ed. New York: Snow Lion Publications, 1992. Print.

Prebish, Charles S., and Damien Keown. Introducing Buddhism. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2010. 1–322. Print.