Life is like a game of snakes and ladders

Come to think of it, life is certainly like a game of Snakes and Ladders. I remember well when I was a kid we used to play a board game called "Snakes and Ladders". The goal of this game was to get to the top of the tallest ladder without being swalloed by the snake. The problem was that after you have been lucky enough to climb the tallest ladder, there was a bigger snake waiting at the top of this tallest ladder waiting to swallow you and back to the bottom you would go.

So what has this game got to do with life. The way I see it, humans and I would venture to say all beings are facing different kinds of temptations every day. We humans are creatures who are being stimulated by the Five Senses. Buddha taught his disciples that there were more than five senses. He said there were six senses. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body made up the five senses. Buddha added a sixth which he said was the "mind". If we look at all our senses as "doors", the mind could be called the "mind door". This was indeed true. Sometimes our mind is putting in a lot of inputs of its own. If I were to use an analogy from the world of computers, all our six senses are "doors" from which various "stimuli" can enter.

As part of their spiritual training, the Buddha and many meditation teachers who went before him taught the importance of concentration of the mind and training of the mind. If we took time to read about the life of Buddha, we would find to our surprise that the Buddha did not emerge as a fully enlightened "Buddha" over night. After he left his queen, son and his father's kingdom, the young prince Siddarhta roamed about in seach of capable teachers. He met the best of the teachers he could find. The two teachers he found were saintly men who lived in the forest and taught meditation and ways of training the mind. My point in re-telling this story is to emphasize the need for concentrating the mind and training the mind and that various techniques were already in existence for training the mind.

At that time there were various schools of thought. Some believed that the Five Senses were the cause of the problem for humans. So these meditation masters taught their students to control their senses and to stay away from anything or anyone that would detract them from their object of meditation. The meditation practitioner had to sit down, preferably in a cross-legged position, close his or her eyes and concentate on a certain meditation object.

Some meditation teachers taught that the "eye" was the problem and that it was from seeing beautiful things that a person gets attached to such a beautfiful object. They tried to solve this problem by "taking out" the eye. The eye was literally taken out from its socket.

The young price Siddarhta finally left these teachers who were teaching extreme paths. He later found out that there was nothing wrong with having the six senses. The main thing was to be able to control our mind when we "see" or "hear" or "touch" or "smell" or "taste" or "imagine".

Thus, when he found the "Middle Path" which was called the "Majima Padipada" in Pali, he taught his disciples to follow the middle path and to seek "knowledge" and "wisdom" through insight meditation.

He emphasized to his disciples that the object of doing meditation was not to torture oneself by sitting in one place for a long time. In fact he said it was necessary to balance the various postures while we did meditation. Thus he said the meditation practitioner could assume all the postures of sitting, standing, walking or lying down. The main thing, he said was to "purify" the mind gradually without any anxiety or eagerness to get to "this level" or "that level".

The main thing, he said, again and again was to get to the root of attachment to sensual objects.

The peace of nivarna happens when the meditation practitioner realizes " a thought moment of detachment".

Nivarna in other words is "the absence of clinging". Clinging in other words is "attachment".

So the thing I wish to say in this posting is this. We can train ourselves to resist temptation if we do insight meditation on a regular basis. Enlightenment does not come with a "big bang" one fine morning. Instead, the small "ah ha" moments that we encounter lead us to our spiritual goal every time we gain an insight of various aspects of our human existence.

Four thought vibrations

According to the Buddha's teachings there are four emotions used by the higher celestial beings called "Brahmas" to do meditation every day. They are able to live very long lives because of their pure thought forms. There are twenty planes of Brahmas and they meditate on the following four emotions or thought vibrations:

1. Loving kindness (Metta)
2. Compassion (Karuna)
3. Sympathetic joy (Mudita)
4. Equanimity (Upekka)

The words on the right in brackets are in the Pali language. Pali is an ancient language of India used during the time of Gautama Buddha.

There are 40 methods of concentration meditation according to the Buddhist tradition. Concentration meditation on the "Four Brama Viharas" was the name given in the Buddhist scriptures for this type on meditation on the Four Thought Vibrations.

The name Four Thought Vibrations is a modern term that I have coined to teach this form of meditation to modern western audiences.

With the advance of science, it is now possible in modern developed countries to monitor the thought patters of the brain and also see the brain wave patterns on a monitoring device such as a computer screen or TV monitor.

In the normal state, the brain is full of normal every day thoughts such as worries, planning to do something, feeling hunger, doing mundane things like eating, taking a shower or even negative emotions such as greed, anger, hatred or lust. All of these thought activities can now be seen on the monitoring device.

However, when a person is doing meditation on pure and positive emotions such as loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy or equanimity, the thought patters take a different form as the mind becomes quiet and settles down by concentrating on one thought such as "loving kindness".

Western science has now discovered and there are numerous studies out there that can prove the fact that a healthy thought form or a thought vibration can result in a healthier body. This is one of the main things that the Buddha's teachings talk about over and over again. During his time, Buddha asked his disciples to control their thoughts by doing meditation on certain meditation objects. Thus the meditation on the "Four Brahma Viharas" is one way of creating positive emotions or positive thought vibrations.

Here I wish to explain a bit about the word "Brahma vihara". Vihara in the Pali language means a place to stay. So when we say "Brahma vihara" we mean to say that these are the emotions that the Brahma celestial beings are always thinking about.

To explain this in another way, when a person is angry, his face will become distorted, he will start to tremble and he will start to shout abusive words. In a sense, the emotion of anger is accompanied by very violent vibrations in the heart and in the whole body and also in the voice.
On the other hand, when a person is thinking about loving kindness or doing a meditation on loving kindness as a meditation object, that persons heart rate will become slower until you cannot even hear the heart beating any more. The face will change and look as though that person is smiling within, he or she will look very calm and satisfied at the emotion of peacefulness. This sort of calmness and serenity can be achieved by doing 'loving kindness meditation" or 'Metta meditation".

This is the meditation method that I teach to western audiences when I have a mixed group of people coming from different religious traditions. This way, we do not go into any arguments about the merits or demerits of any belief system but just enjoy the positive energy of the meditation practitioners.

Let me explain a little bit about "Sympathetic joy" or "Mudita". This emotion is the opposite of jealousy. When we do meditation on "Mudita" we generate in our minds a feeling of being happy at the success of others. We don't feel jealous. If someone is richer than us we feel glad and we feel happy for them. If some one is prettier or more handsome than us, we feel glad and we feel happy for them. This is the emotion that we meditate upon when we are doing meditation on "Mudita" or "Sympathetic joy".

Kyaw Myaing

What is the meaning of being spiritual anyway!

Let me share what I think being spiritual is. From the religious point of view, the spirit is something we cannot see but something we can feel nevertheless. All major religious belief systems agree on this point.

In Christianity, they believe about the existence of "the spirit of God". Here God is the creator god.
Christianity believes in the existence of God and angels and other beings who are the inhabitants of heaven.

In Hinduism, they believe in the existence of Brahm, who is believed to be the Ultimate being who comes before any other living being.Hindus believe that the spirit of Brahm exiists every where.

I could go on and on, of course.

The spirit that I am talking about is from the scientific point of view. In science they believe in the existence of the electro-magnetic force. This force is believed to be the reason why we have the North pole and the South pole on this earth. This force is believed to be the force that keeps all the planets moving in this universe and in all other solar systems and galaxies.

(to be continued)

A sermon fit for the devas

Are you intrigued by the title of this blog. I'm sure you would be. The story goes like this and it is a true story, by the way. 2500 years ago when Gautama Buddha was alive, it was said that he went up to heaven with his supernormal powers to repay a debt to his mother. His mother died after giving birth to the Bodhisatta and became reborn in Tusita heaven (the second plane of devas).

According to our Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha stayed for his whole lent months giving a sermon about the Abhidhamma - a sermon about how the mind works and how the mental processes interact with the human body. Not only did he give a detailed description about every human thought or emotion but he analyzed all the thought processes of all living beings. According to Buddhist cosmology there are 31 planes of existence - four woeful planes, six planes of devas and twenty planes of Brahma gods. (by the way the Brahma gods are celestial beings who live for a long, long time. Their lives are counted in world cycles.)

The Buddha explained in his Abhidhamma sermon (Abhi means profound, and dhamma means law), that there are only four ultimate truths in this and all other universes: mind, mind modifiers, matter and nivarna.

He went on to explain in detail that there are 89 types of human consciousness (or emotions).

How does the knowledge of Abhidhamma help us in our daily lives, you might ask.

Good question.

Well, I go back to what an ancient British poet said:

"Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man."

Food for thought.

Spiritual not religious

Just an observation I wish to make. I am finding a lot of people who say they are spiritual but not religious. I think some people get disenchanted with their respective religious institutions. In my own opinion, the most important thing for a person is to follow the basic rules of humanity and to follow the basic rules of human conduct.

Take "not telling the truth" for example. What does this mean? It may mean different things to different people.

Then there are "white lies".

When a person does not tell the truth on a consistent basis, people will not believe him or her anymore and then this sort of person cannot have the love and confidence of those around him. Even the family members will look upon that person with disdain.

However, a person who tells the truth and "walks the talk" will be respected by all.

The three step method

Let me explain in detail what the "three step method" is all about.

Of course, when the Guatama Buddha was alive he said this in a different way. He talked about the "Middle Path". I think most of you know that he lived on what is now known as the Indian subcontinent. In the olden days it was called "Mijima Desa" or in English "the middle region".

He called his path the "Mijima Padipada". Literally it means "the middle path".

Now why is it called "the middle path". Buddha said that we need to avoid the two extremes and follow the middle path.

One extreme was self mortification and following extreme austerities. Torturing one's body or not eating enough or not sleeping enough. Buddha followed this extreme path for six years and he became a living skeleton. It did not get him anywhere. In the end he left this path.

The other extreme was the path of seeking excessive sensual pleasures. What is known as "the way of the world". When we become too attached to the sensual pleasures that human existence offers, we lose our balance and become unable to concentrate and get any knowledge or wisdom.

The fist step is what I will call "conduct".

By conduct I do not mean that you need to live like a saint. We are not saints, we all know that. But of course that does not mean that saints do not exist. They may be doing meditation deep in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas. Who knows?

The "conduct" that I am talking about is the basic concept of living as a good person.

- not to kill
- not to steal
- not to tell lies
- not to take drugs and intoxicating drinks
- not to engage in sexual misconduct.

Well, you might ask me, "what if I don't follow the above rules".

All I can say is that it is necessary to follow these simple rules if you wish to walk the path of "spiritual development".

Of course you can choose another path. That is your choice.

Life is full of choices anyway. Right.

What you choose to do or not do will determine your future. That much I can tell you and I think you will agree with me on that point.

How to change the way you live and think!

Spiritual development is a long journey but begins with a single step. You have to make that decision. No one else can do it for you. It is YOUR life and you have to make this important decision.

Let me make one thing clear right from the beginning.

I am not here to convert you to become a Buddhist or make you think the way I do, or believe the things I believe. It does not matter what you believe or what religious tradition you believe in or follow.

I have seen in my lifetime many types of people who have benefited from a meditation practice while keeping their faiths. They may be jews, hindus, christians or animists. It does not matter. The practice of meditation can benefit anyone.

Why do I say this. I say this because when we are on the path of spiritual development, we are trying to improve the way we think, the way we speak and the way we do things. We are trying to learn more about ourselves and the people around us.

So the first step in the spiritual development path is to make the important decision to do meditation, not just because it sounds "cool" or "fashionable" but really because it is a very cost effective method of changing our lives from the very core of our being.

Unless we understand ourselves, we cannot change our life for the better.

Many people have benefited in the past by making this important decision to make the first step.

You can make that decision today and you are well on your path.

There are many who can help you and you need to find the right teacher and the right support system.

It is up to you. You can change your life for the better.

The three step method

How do we begin, this spiritual journey that can transform our life and those that we love. It begins with the following three little steps.

1. Change your life style - improve your conduct, reinvent yourself.
2. Change the way you think - think positive and vibrate loving-kindness as much as possible. Learn to focus. Weed out the negative thoughts.
2. Seek wisdom - we have too much information. What we need is wisdom. Wisdom comes from practice not from book learning or repeating what others have said. Seek out the true spiritual teachers - those who exude humility, compassion and loving-kindness in thought, word and deed.

We are human computers writing our own programs every second

Think about this. "We are human computers writing our own programs every second".

Or what about this: "we are living our own favorite movie. The only thing to note is that we are the main actor or actress, the director, the script director and the principal stake holder whether this movie become a box office hit or a flop".

What is the most important time for you. It is the present "moment". As some wise man said, "the past is history, the present is reality and the future is yet to come", or something to that effect.

The spiritual development path that I have chosen was given to me by my parents. They lived in Burma/Myanmar and therefore followed the Theravada Buddhist tradition. This is not to say that this is the only path. In fact, many paths lead to the summit of a mountain and we have the right and the opportunity to choose the path that suits us most.

So the technique is very simple when you come to think of it.

Think good, do good and speak good.

"We are based on our thoughts, we are founded on our thoughts and our words and deeds follow from our thoughts." (some insights from the Buddhist book of Abhidhamma - detailed lectures on the mind-body connection).

Throughout history, mankind has asked many profund questions regarding the nature of God, spiritual beings, the nature of the universe, the nature of time and the mind-body connection.

I believe that the spiritual development path is up to the individual and should not be imposed on any man or woman by society, family even parents and teacher. It is a matter of individual choice.

I believe in the concept that "we reap what we sow" or that "the results of our good and bad deeds or words or thoughts wherever we go and no matter where we might be".

I believe that the great spiritual teachers of all ages and all traditions speak to us of universal principles and universal truths that can be verified and tested by each one of us as we move along the path of spiritual development.

I believe that we are responsible for our own thoughts, words or deeds and we should never for a moment shirk away from this responsibility.

I believe that although we can get guidance from higher spiritual powers seen or unseen, it is up to us to make the first step.

I believe that the present moment is the ultimate reality and that if we take care of the present moment, the future will certainly take care of itself.

Kyaw Myaing

What is spiritual development? This is something that transcends all religions and all belief systems. Spiritual development is something that anyone can start, right here, right now.

You are not competing against anyone. You are going on this journey on your own. You set your own goal and your own parameters. You are your own monitor, you are your own boss, what you do beginning from today will influence your well-being and your life as a human being. In short, you are Master of your ship and captain of your soul. If you plant good seeds that have a positive impact on your spiritual development path, you are sure to reap them soon.