I've written several posts on the truth that I heard many years ago from a traveling monk: things are the way they are because it's just the way it is. The last post explained why I can say that that's all ok - I will be safe, spiritually, regardless.
I have recently added another element to this truth, which I received from a spiritual video (Sister Sharon Johnson, I believe) – that it is meant to be. I have discussed this elsewhere, but I think it's important enough to have its own post.
What does it mean to say, "It's meant to be?" First, what it does not mean. It does not mean that God or some force decided that this is how things should be. There is no master puppeteer who controls what happens to us or to the world at large. It also does not mean that this is the way things should be. There is no value judgment in the statement.
What it does mean is that there are laws of nature that result in things happening. Everything that happens in nature, whether it's a catastrophe or something welcomed, whether it's clouds or rain, happens because of the way the laws of nature work, how one thing or state interacts with another.
There are also "laws" that result from the way that man has developed. It is a given that most men and women, from the time they are children through adulthood, will be controlled by various neuroses which impact how they feel about themselves and how they interact with those around them, from family to strangers. This is not a volitional choice that people make; it is how they have been programmed by their life experiences.
As a result, man suffers psychologically and makes others suffer much of the time. All of the violence, hatred, self-loathing, fear – and the list goes on – in the world that we experience or observe every day is thus "meant to be" in the sense that it results from the laws of man's developed nature.
As the monk who first imparted the wisdom of "it's just the way it is" to me said, "It's like the laws of thermodynamics." Only when you realize this and understand that this is something you cannot change – except how you react to it – will you be able to experience peace and happiness.
This is the essence of the first part of the Serenity Prayer – "Lord, grant me the serenity to understand the things I cannot change and the serenity to just be." This, together with the second part of that prayer – "And the courage to change the things I can, which is how I relate to myself and others: the thoughts I think, the words I speak, and the actions I take," is what this blog is all about. (The italicized words are my take on what "change the things I can" means.)
The courage and discipline this requires is huge. And that power is only accessible with consistency if you have unshakeable faith in your higher power, whether you call it the Buddha nature within you, your divinity, or the child of the universe within you. Even then it can be a struggle, but you will always come back to your faith and the truth of the Buddha dharma.
May you experience peace and happiness.
I have recently added another element to this truth, which I received from a spiritual video (Sister Sharon Johnson, I believe) – that it is meant to be. I have discussed this elsewhere, but I think it's important enough to have its own post.
What does it mean to say, "It's meant to be?" First, what it does not mean. It does not mean that God or some force decided that this is how things should be. There is no master puppeteer who controls what happens to us or to the world at large. It also does not mean that this is the way things should be. There is no value judgment in the statement.
What it does mean is that there are laws of nature that result in things happening. Everything that happens in nature, whether it's a catastrophe or something welcomed, whether it's clouds or rain, happens because of the way the laws of nature work, how one thing or state interacts with another.
There are also "laws" that result from the way that man has developed. It is a given that most men and women, from the time they are children through adulthood, will be controlled by various neuroses which impact how they feel about themselves and how they interact with those around them, from family to strangers. This is not a volitional choice that people make; it is how they have been programmed by their life experiences.
As a result, man suffers psychologically and makes others suffer much of the time. All of the violence, hatred, self-loathing, fear – and the list goes on – in the world that we experience or observe every day is thus "meant to be" in the sense that it results from the laws of man's developed nature.
As the monk who first imparted the wisdom of "it's just the way it is" to me said, "It's like the laws of thermodynamics." Only when you realize this and understand that this is something you cannot change – except how you react to it – will you be able to experience peace and happiness.
This is the essence of the first part of the Serenity Prayer – "Lord, grant me the serenity to understand the things I cannot change and the serenity to just be." This, together with the second part of that prayer – "And the courage to change the things I can, which is how I relate to myself and others: the thoughts I think, the words I speak, and the actions I take," is what this blog is all about. (The italicized words are my take on what "change the things I can" means.)
The courage and discipline this requires is huge. And that power is only accessible with consistency if you have unshakeable faith in your higher power, whether you call it the Buddha nature within you, your divinity, or the child of the universe within you. Even then it can be a struggle, but you will always come back to your faith and the truth of the Buddha dharma.
May you experience peace and happiness.
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