Nectar of Peace

Some friends whose life are very complicated asked this question: "where should I take refuge?". Similar to young generation who have problems with their computer, whenever they are no longer able to fix it, then they stand up from the chair, and let the older brother fix the computer.

In the same way, whenever life appear to be very complicated, all the way out seem like hitting the wall, learn to step aside from the chair of mind, then let the Buddha (by which read: clarity) within who take over the issue.

Quoting research in neuroscience which deeply study the human brain. The weigh of brain only two percent of the entire weight of the body, but the brain consumes about twenty percent of all energy that is needed by the body. This happens under the normal circumstances. When life is very complicated, people tend to think too much, then the brain consumes the body's energy even more.

This finding can be justified in meditation sessions. Whenever meeting friends with severe disease, it is so obvious that they think too much. The harder they think, the more energy that is consumed by the brain, and the less energy that can be allocated to the other parts of the body. The result then is very predictable, the more they think the worse their health condition.

Being inspired by this finding, in the time when life appears to be very complicated, learn to step aside from the chair of mind, then let the clarity within resolve the issue. In the language of meditation, whatever the blessing of the present, simply be a witness. It is similar to standing in the bank of river. Simply let the stream of thoughts and emotions flow. The only thing to do is to be a witness. This is often called as the practice of awareness.

To put it simply, there are three forms of awareness which is awareness of senses (seeing, hearing, smelling), awareness of thought complete with it's wrong-right, bad-good dichotomy, as well as the hidden awareness. Sigmund Freud called it the unconsciousness. Carl G. Jung called it the shadow.

Through the deep practice of witnessing, someone leave behind the superficial awareness of senses and thought, then slowly enter the hidden consciousness. Initially both senses and thought fight against this practice of awareness. Fear, doubt, ignorance are parts of their resistance. But there is no other choice, let them flow in their own river, the task of meditation is simply to be a witness.

One who deeply practice like this for a long time, one day they will meet the inner clarity. In the depth of clarity, everything looks bright and clear. The great physicist Stephen Hawking write: "quiet people have the loudest mind".

At the times when clarity take over the hassle, suddenly way out, solution, the other's help come from many directions. More than that, it is the deep experience of clarity can make someone experience manasa tirtha (the holy water which is sprinkled in the depth of the deep).

While some people go very far to find the holy water (tirtha), some even have to sell the land and rice fields, people who have found deep clarity within will smile reading this message: "heart is temple. Love is holy water". This is the nectar of peace.

Author: Gede Prama
Photo Courtesy: Twitter @Viken_shrestha

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