This posting is based on what I have learned from the "105 Universal Laws" seminar on the 28th Jan 2007 in Singapore by Dr Aaron Lim. This seminar comprises a series of lectures conducted one Sunday a month, stretching 6 months. This is the fifth lecture of the series. .
Warning: This posting contains opinions that may be considered unacceptable by some people. If you are easily offended by unconventional views about religion and spiritualism, then DO NOT READ FURTHER THAN HERE. If you do, then do it at your own risk! If you do not agree with the views expressed below, it does not mean that you have not 'arrived', rather it just mean that you 'do not agree'. Meanwhile, try to be open. There are lots to discover about ourselves when we are open. Do feel free to leave comments. BELIEVING IS NOT NECESSARY!
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Universal Laws are there. Some like to call it 'God' and feel more comfortable about it. We like to put things into a 'box' so that we feel comfortable and secure about it. We look at God from our own understanding and behaviour. If one is loving, one has a loving God. If one is angry, one has an angry God. In other words, we create God in our own image, rather than vice versa.
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Putting Life on 'HOLD'
Some people put their life on 'hold'. Putting on 'hold' until they make a million dollars, until the children grow up, until they have finished paying the mortgage for the house...etc. This is living life miserably. Putting life on hold means having no life after the threshold or cross-over line is breached. Once the children grows up, they will leave the house and the parent having put life on 'hold' will find that he/she has no life of his/her own. This is called the Day of Reckoning.
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We plant seeds in our lives unconsciously and reap the fruits unconsciously. When the fruits are sour, then we ask why God doesn't like us. Why did God give me this result? However, it is not that God doesn't like us, it is just the Universal Laws in action. There is nothing personal. Hence those who don't understand seek refuge in religion. However, unless they change, converting to another religion will not change the result. So some go from being an angry Buddhist to being an angry Christian.
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Many people forget that we have a nature that is Love and that Love recognises itself.
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Short Story:
There was an elderly Chinese lady who was once converted to Islam when she was young, for reasons other than belief in the religion. However, that happened long ago, and since she was already 98 years old, those who knew about her conversion to Islam had died and were no longer around to make any difference by then. So literally, nobody living knew she was a Muslim once upon a time.
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This Chinese lady grew up as a practising and pious Buddhist, living a simple life. She did not have much of a formal education and most of her Buddhist knowledge came from other people and hearsay. However, she was one whom most will consider as a good Buddhist.
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Then one day, she suffered a stroke and become bedridden and paralysed. She felt that God was punishing her. There was no way to console her. She felt miserable as now she could not move her body and had to be fully reliant on her children to feed her and wash her. Her Buddhist friends didn't come to help her. She felt lonely.
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Then one of her daughters whom was given away as child to a Catholic family and converted to the religion came to visit her. Her daughter told her mother that she will not go to heaven because she is not 'saved' by Christ, and Buddha and Kuan Yin couldn't help her. She was devastated! After spending her life believing in Kuan Yin and Buddha and doing all the right things, she was now paralysed and was told that she could not go to heaven. It was an awful thought. At that instance, she converted to Catholicism. Besides, the church workers were with her most days to help her. She felt the love, was happy to be saved and that she would go to heaven.
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Then at 98 years old, she had to learn English, as all the prayers were in English. Which makes one wonder because Jesus didn't speak any English. She was also given a new name called 'Maria'. All went reasonably well until when she died, she couldn't be buried next to her family, as she had to be buried in a Christian cemetry.
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So why did she convert to the Catholic religion?
She did it because there was more love amongst the Catholics who took care of her. After being a converted Muslim, then practising Buddhist, she converted to Catholicism because she went to where love is.
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Her husband was a Buddhist/Taoist, but had always admired the simplicity of a Muslim burial, without the loud chimes and gongs of the Chinese traditions. However, he had also wanted to be buried next to his wife (who was a practising Buddhist at that time) and remained a Buddhist.
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So when the wife got buried in a Catholic cemetry, he realised he could not be buried next to his wife, since he was a Buddhist. Still, he resisted converting to Catholicism, but in the end yielded as he wanted to be buried next to his wife. In other words, he too went where love is. He converted to Catholicism because of love.
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The moral of the story is that eventually we are all attracted to where love is (regardless of religion), because love recognises itself.
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Tussle over a dead body
In Malaysia, there was an incident where there was a tussle over a dead body. The dead man was brought up a Hindu. When he died, the family wanted to bury him the Hindu way, but it was claimed that the dead man converted to Islam before his death and the state insisted on burying him the Muslim way. Isn't this silly?
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After 'Death'
It is said that a dead person wouldn't know that he is dead! After death, the dead person's spirit lives and he felt like being in a dream. Similarly, none of us know when exactly we fall asleep every night and when that we are in a state of dream. Just after death, the dead does not know and might wonder why nobody pay heed to his presence. It usually takes about seven days for him to realise that his physical body is dead.
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Then if the dead man's spirit is still attached to the physical world he may choose to hang around the places he is attached to when he was human. If the spirit lingers due to attachment then it will not progress to the next stages where it is supposed to go to.
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The Kingdom of Heaven
It is said that the "Kingdom of Heaven is in Me". How true! But better said, it would be, "The Kingdom of Heaven is ME". Isn't it so, if we stop thinking in Duality. That there is no 'inside me' or 'outside me', but all is ONE?
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Kindness vs Compassion
Kindness reacts to the moment and can't see beyond form. It does not see the spirit and the long term effects on the help he is giving. An act of kindness can sometimes be a result of making someone else happy. It can be due to a co-dependent relationship.
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Compassion sees beyond form. Compassion may even stop to let the person(s) learn his own lesson, which sometimes can be painful. Compassion considers the dignity of a person when it helps that person. For instance, is it good to give two dollars to old people who digs into garbage bins for coke cans at the food courts? Is that an act of kindness (due to pity) or compassion (where we presereve the person's pride of earning his own living)? Taking away the dignity of a person is not compassionate. Compassion looks deeper and further into a person, into his spirit and beyond its form.
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Love Expressed
It is better to live a life that cherishes love than one that is just knowing love. Expressing love is important. There are some who expressed love 100% with no love withheld. Examples are Mother Teresa, Master Chen Yun and an unknown Master in Pakistan. These enlightened beings love everyone beyond their own religion. No love withheld.
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100% Love = God
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Money
It is said that "Money is like manure. If it is not spreaded, it stinks."
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Many people don't trust they will have money, or enough money. However, many of us trust that we will have clean water and rice to eat the next day. All of us trust the process of pregnancy, as we do not cut the womb open to check. We trust that nature will grow the baby in the womb.
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In other words, we have selective trust of nature.
In Asia, most Chinese people are migrants of poor peasants. There is fear of not having enough money and they believe in sheer hard work.
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Care Taker vs Care Giver
Care Givers are people like Mother Teresa. She just cared about the people she served.
Care Taker is a passive controller of other people's life, though with the noble intention of helping other people.
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We must remove ourselves from the dramas of life and let other people figure out their own life, unless they seek us for help.
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When we are stuck in a 'situation', ask ourselves, "What would Love do? What would Jesus, Buddha,...etc) do?
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Think about the stories we repeat in our minds with emotions everyday. Our life is our message. Therefore focus on what makes your life sing!
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Pureland
In the aftermath of a war or global destruction, there will be no more religion, sacred places, etc.
Pureland would be pure if the person has a pure mind. An unpure mind will not feel comfortable in Pureland. In a spiritual mind, all places will be spiritual.
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27. The Law of Faith
Jesus said, "If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains."
The Law of Faith is well demonstrated in nature. Our ears, hair, skin...etc doesn't know the existence of each other. Yet they work together in good faith and the Whole becomes bigger than the sum of its parts.
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Similarly, we are all part of God. God wants to glorify itself through us. Much like we glorify ourselves through our hair, skin, eyes...etc. So if we are not living our lives in a glorious way, then we are not glorifying God.
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Be still and I know I am God. We know that. It is intuition. Intuition is natural to us. It happens before even thinking. So, we can't question intuition. It is there!
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Life without Faith is stressful. Faith and passion propels a person into action without fear.
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We start by:
1. Asking (not begging)
2. Whatever you have asked has already been given!!! It is already there!
3. Receive.
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Funnily, perhaps due to poor backgrounds, some people find it difficult to 'receive'. I remember when I was a kid, my parents will be very hesistant to receive gifts from other people as they knew the givers were poor. As a result, it has become a reflex in us not to accept gifts easily.
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If we don't know how to receive gracefully, we cannot get what we asked for.
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28. The Law of Fixation
Once we fix a point in the Universe (our minds) about something everything will happen in that direction.
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29. The Law of Flexibility
This law involves a pragmatic acceptance of the present moment.
- There is no permancy in this Universe. It is always in a flux.
- Anyyone who is living in the moment is a happy person.
We accept ourselves, others and the current circumstances rather than a rigid resistance of the moment. It requires an alert and expansive state of awareness, and embracing and making constructive use of the moment. Stumbling blocks become stepping stones and problems become opportunities. Everything serves our highest good if we make good use of it.
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30. The Law of Forgiveness
This law works with the energy of allowingness, and seeing all as love, so one may dispense with the unnatural feeling of getting even. The old energy of an eye for an eye keeps the vibrations of a person very low. To forgive, to release old energy, allows the law of grace to intercede and dispense with amounts of karma an individual has stored in his or her akasha. Non-violence is the natural outgrowth of the law of forgiveness and love. All good comes from forgiveness. It is a truth that the continuation of the human species is due to man's being forgiving. Forgivness is holiness (as in one-ness and everything is part of the whole). By forgiveness, the universe is held together. Forgiveness is the might of the mighty; forgiveness is quiet of mind. Forgiveness and gentleness are the qualities of the self possessed and represent eternal virtue.
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We ended the seminar with the song "Amazing Grace", written by John Newton (1725–1807) who was a slave trader. The lyrics are powerful:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear,
And Grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that Grace appear,
The hour I first believed!
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Through many dangers, toils and pares,
We have already some;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And Grace will lead me home.(Lead me home!)
We have already some;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And Grace will lead me home.(Lead me home!)
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The Lord hast promised good to me,
His word my hope secures!
He will my shield and portion be,
as long as life endures.
His word my hope secures!
He will my shield and portion be,
as long as life endures.
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When we've been here ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.
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Previous posts on "105 Universal Laws":
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Next seminar
Date: 25 Feb 2007
Time: 9.30am to 5pm
Place: Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Lecture Theatre 1, Singapore
Fee: $30, for meals and drinks
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All Welcome!
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All financial surpluses from the seminar go to the orphanages that Dr Aaron Lim supports.
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1 comment:
"Kindness vs Compassion" set me thinking lots; for I've done similar acts of kindness over and over without previously thinking deeper about the receiver's dignity.
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