Awareness from Within

A gust of wind blows across the cold sea;

White clouds from above mask the land;

The monsoons take away every grain of sand.

The ever-changing warm and cold seasons...

What a vibrant life...

with withered traces, slowly dissipating...

No forewarning, the tears of the clouds fall again.

The light of a match burns in the dark.

Maybe the unknown fate is unpredictable.

It flies like a meteor without knowing its purpose.

But I am willing to believe.

The smallest, weakest, softest and most fearless you.

I tried my best to respond.

No limit, no end, no solution!

There is still a thin line of hope!

Light up yourself!

Don't listen to the restless, bustling leaves hollering in the forest.

A smoky fog reappears.

This is the final story as I sit calmly in the lush pavilion.

Six hundred years have passed,

yet a grain of hope in the vast sea still remains!

An endless "wheel” spins tirelessly;

To rise above all illusions.

The Cloud Never Dies

 

Lesson

The "open awareness" in our state of mind is the sky that never changes.  The changing clouds in the sky -- coming, going, dissolving-- is our emotions.  The cloud never dies. Sometimes, there are beautiful clouds. Sometimes, there are ugly clouds.  Even when there is a thunderstorm or tornado or even beautiful sunshine, the nature of the sky does not change. The sky is always free--pure--the very existence of awareness.  Building a strong sense of awareness that supersedes emotions can help us subdue aimless thoughts and maintain clarity. 

In essence, there is no need to focus on building good emotions or stopping bad emotions. Embrace positive and negative emotions with equanimity and composure. 

Universal Loving Kindness

Lesson

In this life, we will meet many kinds of sentient beings -- people dear to us and enemies that will bring troubled thoughts to our minds obscuring us from seeing clearly. To liberate all attachments to what we see, hear, and feel about the unending karmic cycle, we need to practice and cultivate the "universal loving kindness" of not discriminating the difference between kind acts that bring us joy and hostile, ignorant acts of humans that cause disturbing and unending negative emotions. These emotions can range from temporary happiness, anger, and sadness acquired from external attachments. Our greed, desire, and dissatisfaction are the poisons that may result from such emotions. Therefore, when we free and devoid ourselves from these karmic obscurations, we can see everything more clearly from our inner-self and, eventually, our outer-self.

Reflection

The most challenging part of this lesson is protecting our minds and hearts from these disturbing emotions caused by our inner selves who wish the external world to satisfy our wishes. We need to build a strong mind and heart to help ourselves from within and not depend on or expect the outer world to help us. Therefore, it is important to change our views by examining our own actions when we cannot change others' views. As every thought and feeling is ephemeral, there is no need to let negative emotions disturb us for a very long time. All further speculations will only cloud our minds and heart, preventing us from maintaining physical and mental stability. If we cherish all celebrations and forgive any unexpected human act that caused disappointment, anger, or sadness, our mind and heart can find peace and refuge.