As It Is ~ DRAW NO CONCLUSIONS
IN 1991, I WAS able
to make several visits to the Vietnamese Refugee Camp
at Sungei Besi, just outside Kuala Lumpur, for the
purpose of trying to console and inspire people there
by Dharma talks.
During one such talk, I had already spoken
about how we can, if we wish, change our lives, and
the lives of others, instead of merely sitting down
and waiting for things to change by themselves, which
of course they do and will. I also spoke about how
easy it sometimes is to make people happy; all we
need to do is to show people that we care a little
about them; many people need such an assurance.
Suddenly, an elderly lady got up from her
place in the audience and came out to the front with
a glass of water, which she politely and respectfully
asked me to bless for her. I paused in what I was
saying, and complied with her request, by concentrating
on the water, and suffusing it with my best wishes;
I then gave it back to her, and it was very nice to
see how pleased she was with it. She ceremoniously
drank some of it, and then returned to her seat, where
she shared the remainder with some of her friends,
who were likewise happy.
"You see?" I said. "Just
what I've been talking about: it isn't difficult to
make some people happy! All we need to do is care
a little, and be aware of opportunities!" I feel
sure that, because I complied with the lady's request,
if we ever meet again, she will be predisposed to
listen to anything else that I might say; a rapport
had been established. If I had been formal and inflexible,
and asked her not to interrupt me, but to wait until
afterwards, or worse, that I was there to give a Dharma
talk, and was not concerned with such things as blessing
water, she quite possibly would have felt hurt and
alienated, and then any chance of my communicating
with her would have been lost. (On the other hand,
we must be careful, and know what we are doing and
why, otherwise, we might indirectly increase superstition
instead of decreasing it).
Maybe it is natural for me, as a Westerner,
to be skeptical, and inclined to dismiss things like
'holy water' as 'just Asian superstition,' and I still
think that Buddhism has gathered its fair share of
superstition over the ages. But, early on in my life
as a monk, by trying to keep an open mind about things
that I didn't understand, I came to see that there
really is something behind the popular belief in 'holy
water;' this is how it came about:
Once, while I was residing in a temple in
Malaysia, a young man by the name of Boon Chai came
to me and told me that his friends' baby was crying
almost non stop, day and night and its parents did
not know what to do, since the doctors they had consulted
had been unable to help them. Boon Chai ? who, I should
say, was well educated, and of a scientific bent,
and not the type to incline towards superstitious
belief ? asked me for some 'holy water' for the baby,
so, obligingly, I filled a plastic bag with water,
concentrated over it, and gave it to him.
The next day, he came again, and told me
that the baby had stopped crying. Now, for those people
who are skeptical regarding such things, and claim
that 'it's all in the mind,' I would like to point
out that, in this case, I had not even seen the baby,
and didn't know its parents, and even if I had, it
is highly unlikely that the baby would have understood
anything about what I was doing to the water.
From this, I came to see that by concentrating
and thinking positive thoughts over water, while holding
it, one's energy passes into it; and this was confirmed
by something I later read on the subject, about people
who are so sensitive that they can taste the difference
between water that has been 'magnetized' or 'energized,'
and water that has not, or who can hold an object
that someone has used or worn, without knowing to
whom it belongs, and by concentrating over it and
tuning into the 'vibrations’ thereof, are able
to tell many things about the owner; it is known now
as 'psychometry.' Perhaps this is what lies behind
the 'magic wands' that feature so prominently in some
of the old fairy tales: rods or staffs that have been
used for so long by high powered individuals that
they have become charged with their energy, like batteries;
I think this is quite possible.
Reading through Lyall Watson's book, THE
NATURE OF THINGS just now, I came across a passage
that supports what is written above, and would like
to quote it here. He writes about research done by
Don Robins (himself the author of The Secret Language
of Stone), and says:
"We are, he suggests, tied to our environment,
to our buildings, stones and artifacts, by a feedback
loop that links the energies of both. We are the 'Children
of Stone.' We have the ability not only to imprint
an electronic trace on crystal and stone, but the
capacity to trigger release of this lithic memory
in certain circumstances. Robins believes that the
coupling is most often acoustic, and that recording
takes place as a direct result of structured sound
signals such as those produced by ritual music, chant,
prayer, dance, applause and song. This nicely accounts
for the atmosphere, the sense of something sacred,
common to temples and cathedrals, shrines and standing
stones, extending very often to those long in ruin."
This makes a lot of sense, and countless
millions of people must have felt inspired and thrilled
upon entering holy places, the stones of which ? I
have been convinced for a long time ? must have absorbed
the vibrations and higher aspirations of the pious
for centuries, and retained them as a battery retains
energy. I have felt such power not only at Buddhist
sites, but also at Hindu and Muslim shrines, and when
I went into Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1985,
although it was mid-winter, and crowded with tourists,
I was plunged into instant meditation.
Jesus of Nazareth is probably the most well
known example of someone who used His energy to help
sick people, and He must have been a highly charged
person to be able to heal lepers, restore sight and
sound to the blind and deaf, and so on. (About the
tales of him raising people from the dead, I must
admit some skepticism, for the cases that have been
reported in the Bible of him having done so ? if they
actually happened ? might have been cases of people
in deep coma, whom he awoke; such cases are not unknown
today. And besides, even if he did bring the dead
back to life, what happened to them after that? They
had to die again, and might have been no wiser or
better from the experience of resuscitation. Moreover,
we hear only of His success stories, and nothing of
his failures, which were probably much more numerous
than his successes). But Jesus was by no means unique
in having such powers, and the claim that his performance
of such miracles proves that he was the Son of God
is very shaky, because there have been many people,
over the ages (and still are), who could cure people
of various diseases through transferring their vital
energy into the sufferers; it is, perhaps, something
that we could all learn to do, with practice and the
desire to help others, since we all have energy in
varying degrees.
Now, quite possibly ? even probably ? you
have sometimes had the uncomfortable feeling that
someone was watching you, and, upon turning or looking
up, have indeed discovered someone staring at you.
How can this be explained, since no word was spoken
to indicate that someone was staring at you, and there
was no physical contact? The explanation, I feel,
lies in the power of the mind known as telepathy:
the transmission and reception of mental energy. Modern
psychology, which approaches things mainly on a physical
basis, and with the idea that 'the mind is what the
brain does,' is only beginning to understand the powers
of the mind, and still cannot explain such things
as the yogic feats of levitation, fire walking, psycho-kinesis
(the power of the mind to influence or move objects),
telepathy, hypnosis, etc., but there can be no denying
that such things happen now, as they have been witnessed
and investigated for fraud by skeptical and objective
observers, and have even been filmed. With all our
scientific knowledge and technological expertise,
we dare not say that they are fraudulent, but must
suspend judgement and keep open minds until we are
able to fathom and understand the mechanics of such
things.
My first experience with the transference
of energy encouraged me to try it on other occasions,
and, because of the success I have had ? limited though
it is ? I am convinced it works, and that it's not
a matter of mumbo jumbo.
At least, it works sometimes, when one can
get one's energy flowing, or when it flows, which
doesn't always happen. I should also say that it works
to a certain extent, and not always to the same degree,
because there are probably many other factors involved.
Sometimes, when people ask Sai Baba ? the most famous
of India's living holy men right now ? why he doesn't
use his power to cure all the sick people who come
to him for help, he says that he could help them only
if their karma permits it, and in many cases, their
karma, being heavy, does not permit it.
Undoubtedly, a lot of superstition has grown
up around the ability to transfer energy in this way,
cure sicknesses, and so on, but the superstition does
not negate the thing itself. Some people believe that
it is the preserve of only 'special' people, like
monks or priests; some believe that prayer or chanting
is the power that makes it happen, but personally,
I think it is only necessary to concentrate over the
water (or the object that one wishes to 'charge;'
it can be done with things other than water, like
food, articles of clothing, rings, watches, and so
on), with the desire of helping the person or persons
for whom it is intended, to recover from the sickness
or whatever else that is troubling them, or simply
to 'bless' them (and come on, you who might be doubtful
about blessings: who does not feel happy to receive
good wishes from someone, in the form of a birthday
card, a New Year card, or merely a cheerful "Nice
to see you again"?) Conversely, no one enjoys
being scolded, abused, or cursed. Wishes ? positive
and negative ? do have effects, that vary according
to the intensity of the will of the wisher, and I
sometimes tell people, before I begin a simple blessing
ceremony, that the water I will sprinkle on them is
a token of my best wishes towards them, and that they
shouldn't expect any magical transformation like what
happened to Cinderella to take place, otherwise they
will be disappointed.
Nothing is lost by this practice, and much
might come of it; and it has no harmful side effects,
like some chemical medicines, as it is only water;
it also doesn't ? or shouldn't ? cost anything. The
most important element in it is Compassion, or the
desire to help others. Here is my 'secret formula'
for the preparation of 'holy water:'
Take plain water, preferably boiled or filtered.
Any clean container may be used to hold it. Mindfully,
and perhaps with a little bit of ceremony to create
the right attitude, hold the container with both hands,
and concentrate over it, thinking that we are all
friends in suffering (dukkha), and that other people
are just like yourself in wishing to be well and happy
and free from suffering. If the person or persons
for whom you are doing this are not present try to
visualize them ? or place a photo of them before you
? and wish that they might recover from their sickness
or problem; at the same time visualize and try to
feel your energy rising ? sap like from the tips of
your toes to the crown of your head, and then let
it flow down through your arms, and out from your
finger tips into the object you are holding. You may
chant or pray, if you like, and if you find that it
helps you to concentrate; you might also try to let
your eyes drift out of focus, and then refocus them
again. Take deep breaths to facilitate the upsurge
and release of your energy. And if, while you are
doing all this, you feel a shiver down your spine,
and/or goose bumps on your arms, it is a sign that
your energy is flowing well.
After doing this, you might feel somewhat
tired, particularly if your energy has flowed well;
but don't worry about this; it is also a good sign
that your energy has gone where you wished it to go;
just as, after donating blood, the body soon restores
the blood to its normal level, a short rest will restore
your energy. It is normal to feel a bit tired after
doing this, as there has been some output, but it
was for a good purpose, and so, no regrets.
Needless to say, it helps if you have a
sympathetic rapport with the person you are trying
to help, or if you can establish one, for then the
other person will be more receptive to your efforts.
Some years back, I was able to help somebody with
her migraine, as she was receptive. But another person
who was there at that time, and who was suffering
from I forget what kind of pain, made fun of my attempt
to help her, and there was no effect, as she was not
receptive or serious. The channels of communication
must be open, or at least not closed or blocked.
There is ample and irrefutable evidence
of 'miraculous,' non-medical cures of illnesses of
many kinds, including those diagnosed as 'terminal,'
and Science must stand speechless for lack of explanation.
Many people attribute such 'miracles' to what they
call 'God,' which, to most believers, is a Being or
Person of masculine gender. But this raises a serious
objection, namely: if 'God' does at times 'heal' the
sick, and if, as people also believe, such a 'God'
is good, loving, and omnipotent, then why does 'He/It'
permit suffering and sickness to exist in the first
place? And why, out of all the millions of supplicants
who pray desperately for help, does 'He/It' appear
to help only very few, and leave the vast majority
in their misery? It cannot be ? as mentioned earlier
in this article ? that their karma is too heavy to
permit help, because if 'God' were omnipotent, 'He/It'
would be able to override their karma.
So the personification of what seems to
be a very real force is not a very satisfactory explanation
to people who are reluctant to believe in anything
without sufficient supportive evidence.
Perhaps, at our stage of development, it
would be best to admit our ignorance, instead of pretending
that we know, and say, honestly and humbly: "I
don't know," for this is really so, and would
leave us open to learn; nor would it preclude our
being able to 'tap into' the force as so-called 'miracles'
happen not just to 'Godists,' but to non-believers,
too. And what we call 'miracles' are probably things
that we do not understand the principles or mechanics
of, and, as our horizons get pushed further back,
and we give up our fond superstitions in favor of
clear comprehension, more and more 'miracles' will
no doubt become part of our everyday experience, as
so many already have; are not our lives filled with
miracles? Indeed, is not our life itself a miracle?
We seem to be rapidly coming now to the
realization that the force we occasionally see manifested
is of the mind, or psyche, but as something shared,
that runs through all minds like a thread through
beads, rather than as something individual and separate.
Some people might think of this as 'God' (it is known
as 'Pantheism,' the definition of which, according
to the Oxford English Dictionary, is: "The belief
or theory that God and the universe are identical
[implying a denial of the personality and transcendence
of God]; the doctrine that God is everything and everything
is God"); it is, in my opinion, a much better
alternative to the belief in an anthropomorphic deity,
which gives rise to more problems than it solves.
However, we do not know for sure, we have
not yet arrived, so should not draw any conclusions.
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