Against The Stream ~ INTRODUCTION
IN
1984, I wrote my first book, KEYS FOR REFUGEES, mainly
for the refugees of SE Asia, to encourage them to
hold onto and understand their religion in the face
of the concerted efforts of missionaries to convert
them. Years later, I rewrote it under the new title
of DOWN TO EARTH, updating and enlarging it. Now,
almost ten years later still, it incarnates for the
third time, with new name and form. And since I have
also changed, I’ve taken on a new name, too,
a name that I feel suits me more than previous names,
for this is what I am and have been as far back as
I remember: a Beachcomber. I have always enjoyed—
and still do— strolling along the beach looking
at what the tides have cast up: sea-shells, pebbles,
driftwood, and so on. It is just an extension of this
to look at life, open to the unexpected, trying to
extract lessons therefrom, wondering how to use what
others may find useless.
Collectively speaking, we are the most fortunate
people in history, at a stage of evolution that has
never been reached before. It is as if we are on a
mountainside, with people below us for as far as we
can see, until they look like tiny ants or grains
of sand on the plain. We do not and cannot know who
those people were, but we can understand that if they
had not been where they were then, so long ago, we
would not be where we are now. We are here now only
because they were there then; if the chain of continuity
had broken, we simply would not exist.
By ourselves, we accomplish nothing; whatever
we are able to accomplish we do so only because of
the support of countless others, living and dead;
even our languages, which make our lives so very rich
and meaningful, are not ours, but have come from others.
There is nothing we can claim as our own; we exist
only in context, as part of something infinitely bigger
than our individual selves.
Humbled by the view below us and the realization
that we owe so much to so many, turn, and look up:
the mountain-top is so far above us, hidden in the
mist and clouds, and cannot be perceived; we—
you and I— will never reach the top. Like those
before us, we are privileged to take just a few steps
upwards before making way for others to come after
us. We will die, of course, but if we live purposefully,
we will die with the satisfaction of knowing that
our living and striving will help others to climb
higher than we did. For what are our lives otherwise?
It is crucial to see and feel ourselves in perspective,
in context, for if we think of ourselves in isolation,
separate from the rest of existence, there is no meaning.
What we are doing when we embark upon a
spiritual path is to deliberately turn our back on
the ways of the world, and go against the stream,
hence the title of this book. It is a choice we consciously
make, and shouldn’t be half-hearted about it.
But it doesn’t mean that we walk out on it altogether
and retire to a cave as a hermit; it means we have
decided to try to keep the Dharma at the center of
our lives— around which all our activities revolve—
instead of at the circumference; it is not something
part-time.
Some articles herein are little-changed
from DOWN TO EARTH, while others have been modified
and upgraded, some of them considerably. Others are
completely new. I am writing in small print, not just
to economize on paper— though that is one reason,
I admit— but to make it a bit harder for people
to read. And why should I do that, instead of making
it easier? Well, why should we treat people as little
children, always to be spoon-fed? I know some people
will complain about it being ‘too small’,
so I’ll forestall them by asking how they manage
to read newspapers?
If you are sufficiently interested to want
to read it, you will do so, even if you must use a
magnifying-glass. And I guarantee that if you have
the necessary interest, you will get something from
it. It depends upon you; my aim, as always, is to
turn you back to yourself.
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