Journey into oneself is quite a challenging process but it can be very rewarding too. Buddhism is a religion which makes a human being journey into oneself. To attain the ultimate one should withdraw from this world of thoughts, ideas, noise, temptations and one's own freedom. We can find the supreme being or at least we can access the supreme being at one point of our life and this is called Enlightenment.
Human beings are complex and limited. Humanity has survived for several thousand years with all his complexity and limitedness. How is it possible? Why are human beings not extinct like dinosaurs or dodo? Why are other species on earth go extinct? I think we have answers to these questions based only on our limited perception of the reality. There is something we cannot grasp because we are limited. Humans can arrive at some consensus because our experience can be through our five (some say 6) senses which are equally deceptive or don't agree with others sensual perception. Each one can perceive his own way. Therefore there is a problem in our understanding of the reality. How do we solve this perpetual and inevitable problem (issue)? Philosophers have tried to distinguish the reality which we perceive and the reality which is beyond our perception.
As I was walking down in healthcare in Wandsworth Prison, I visited an inmate who was bedridden for a long time. He was an Anglican and admired Christianity as a whole. He had suffered a lot in his life but he did not find any meaning in life until at last when he was behind the bars in some country where the condition of the prison was not very appealing. He realized that he had found meaning of his life in his own self not outside. One needs to go to the depth of one's being layer after layer like onion which peeled layer after layer you find the real crust. That is how Mr. X (aforementioned prisoner) found his real meaning in life and now most happy person in life.
Most often we tend to think the real life is outside us; others and other things give me joy and fulfilment in life. This is true to some extent. What if I have all the pomps of life and still I find emptiness within me like Mr. John Pridmore, about who I have posted earlier. I think we are the master of ourselves. No one can steer us but we need to be firm and steer ourselves. It is easier to steer others life, but harder when it come to ourselves. Real meaning of life in ourselves, we just need to peel each layer with utmost care and reach the crust or core of life and there we will find the ultimate meaning in life.
Photo: Jerri Dias SJ, taken in Barbados
Photo: Jerri Dias SJ, taken in Barbados
Hi Br. Jerry,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting to read about that inmate in Wandsworth Prison. It reminds me of St. Francis of Assisi who had a conversion experience when he was in jail. Funny how some of the greatest saints were great sinners before they turned to God!
I heard a phrase recently which I think is so true: we are restless until we find God. Once we find God, we get an inner peace. To find Him, as you say, we need to look deep within ourselves.
I think Buddhism is a good philosophy. My main reservation about it is that you don't have to believe in God. The path to Enlightenment is all done by oneself.