MY LIFE & TIME
MY STATEMENT OF CONCEPT
& OBJECTIVES
At its broadest level, life
is essentially existence: Being here and keeping everything around you in order
as you navigate the road ahead.
But for us human beings,
life is more than just living or existing. Because of our so-called
consciousness and awareness of ourselves and our surroundings, life for us has
become a journey of self-understanding, a voyage to find out who we are, what
we are here for, what distinguishes us from others and where we fit into this
great scheme of things. It is a trip that gives us maturity and from which we
derive fulfillment and at the end of it all hope to find peace. Peace that we
have done all we can to make good use of the time we were given and peace that
all’s well as we depart.
In essence, this broad
concept can be further defined as:
MY APPLICATORY PRINCIPLES
With the above concept as a
guide, the principles on which I should base my actions are as follows:
FIRST PRINCIPLE: AWARENESS & GROWTH
Such
aspects include a) personal growth in terms of character, attitude and behaviour; b) family growth in terms of producing and
raising good off-springs; c) societal growth in terms of status and leadership
in society; d) financial growth in terms of commanding an empire of assets to
secure a sound future; and e) overall growth in terms of pride and respect
earned for oneself and one’s environment and society.
Apart
from the personal aspects of growth, you should include a utilitarian aspect of
growth and this includes f) contributing in all ways to the betterment of
society; g) spending the time and effort to genuinely enhance your
relationships with the people around you, your family members, relatives and
friends; h) help the less fortunate and think of ways to contribute in a bigger
ways; and i) imparting or teaching all your
hard-earned knowledge or skills to those willing and capable for them to spread
your ambitions and improve society in a wider way.
The
key things is to find out who you are and with this
knowledge, understand why you are here for. Everything else falls into place
thereafter. If you can be or are you envisage yourself to be, provided nothing
further comes to perturb, you would have found peace. Leading the way and
acknowledging and accepting responsibility for your gifts and the duty you owe
to society and the world / universe because of these gifts will complete your
graduation into the hallowed ranks of the individuals who have found their
calling and their peace. These individuals I would term, avatars
SECOND PRINCIPLE: PURSUIT & DISCOVERY
In
respect of the above principles, I shall continue my practice of journalising my thoughts and experiences of my life
whenever possible.
In my journals, I shall categorise my thoughts into two broad areas. The awareness
category is simply the general thoughts and ideas I have conceived about my
life and living it including successful or motivational tales for the next
generation. These would include most of the topics I have a general interest
in: success, leadership, creativity, science, education, social sciences,
theories, economics, strategy, gaming, art and philosophy.
The pursuit / discovery category is the
subjects that I have chosen, out of the many above that interest me, to dwell
more into for some particular reason. These would include, business ideas,
writing fantasy tales, developing new business ideas, finance, and family
education.
THIRD (BASE) PRINCIPLE: STABILITY & MAINTENANCE
AVATAR is a word that is commonly heard but rarely
understood. In English, the word has come to mean "an embodiment, a bodily
manifestation of the Divine." However, the Sanskrit word Avatara means "the descent of God" or simply
"incarnation." Here is the definition based on
The Avatara, or incarnation of
Godhead,
descends from
the
and maintaining
the] material manifestation.
And the particular form of the
Personality of
Godhead who so descends is called an
incarnation, or
Avatara. Such incarnations
are
situated in the
spiritual world, the kingdom of
God. When They descend
to the material
creation, They
assume the name Avatara.
( Chaitanya-caritamrita
2.20.263 -264)
An Avatara is a
personal form of the Supreme Being and innumerable such divine forms reside in
an eternal spiritual realm. When a personal form of God descends from that
higher dimensional realm to the material world, He (or She) is known as an
incarnation, or Avatara.
By referring to the form of God as an
"incarnation," one invokes a Western conception describing a physical
symbol which represents or embodies an abstraction. In fact, the Latin root carnis means "flesh." However, in this context,
this may be somewhat misleading, since the divine forms of God do not
"become flesh" or "take on a material body." An ordinary
soul may take on a gross material body, but in the case of God, His 'soul' and
His 'body' refer to the same spiritual essence.
In fact, the Avataras exhibit God's
essential features: They are eternally existent and free from the laws of the
matter, time and space. Although They have no
obligation to come into contact with the material energy, the Avataras descend into this world for our own protection,
instruction and redemption. Although They may potray human weaknesses such as grief and anger, They are
never to be considered ordinary people. Human beings act out of earthly desire,
fear and anger. The Avatar, however, acts
out of His own blissfully divine nature performing exhuberant
pastimes for the pleasure of His pure devotees.
God is one, yet He manifests Himself in innumerable forms
within this world. There is the Darling Krishna
Avatar whose beauty enchants the hearts of
all; and the awesome Narasimha (the Man- Lion Avatar) who outwitted an ingenious demonic
tyrant; and the regal form of Lord Rama Avatar whose
example of truth and virtue is emulated even today. Each and every one of those
forms has a particular mission; each Avatar
being a unique revelation of the Absolute Truth.
Although the Avatars
appear in different forms at different times, places and circumstances, They
are the Selfsame Supreme Lord and Their purpose is one: to reveal the Absolute
Truth in this world and remind its inhabitants of their eternal lives of
blissful service to God in their original homeland, the spiritual world. This
divine purpose is eloquently expressed by Lord Krsna
in the world-famous Bhagavad-gita (4.7-8):
Whenever there is a decline in
religious practice
and a
predominant rise of irreligion--at that
time I
descend Myself. To deliver the pious and
to
annihilate the miscreants, as well as to
establish
the principles of religion, I Myself
appear,
millennium after millennium.
The ultimate mission of incarnations is to arouse love of
God everywhere.
In fact, a very systematic analysis of the Avatars based on thse
Vedic texts was expounded in the early sixteenth century by the devotional
saint Shri Chaitanya,
Himself an Avatara. In 1528, He went to
Explore the Philosophy of the Avatars at Avatara.Org
and any or all of the following Vedic Classics of India:
Bhagavad-Gita As It Is: The Song of God
http://www.webcom.com/ara/col/books/BG/gita/
Shrimad Bhagavatam: The Beautiful Book of God (Lord Krishna)
http://www.webcom.com/ara/col/books/CLAS/bhag/
Chaitanya-charitamrta: The Adventures of the Golden Avatar
http://www.webcom.com/ara/col/books/CLAS/
Back to Avatara Site
ON BECOMING AN ARAHAT
PRESENTED BY
the Wanderling
During the Life of the
Lord Buddha, many of His disciples became Arahats
(also sometimes spelled Arhat, Arahant,
Arhant). Among them were the
first Five monks, Shariputra,
Maudgalyayana and the Buddha's own father, Shuddhodana, to name only a few.
The Arahat is the "Perfected One" who has overcome The
Three Poisons of Desire, Hatred and Ignorance. At the end of the
present life, he is no longer reborn. In other words, he is finally freed from
the suffering of existence in the cycle of birth and death, and attains
Nirvana.
When a person
realizes that there is no lasting happiness and freedom whenever he may be reborn
within the cycle of birth and death, he will strive to attain the goal of
Nirvana. The way of the Arhat is the path leading to
this goal. The Arahat attains the goal of Nirvana by
following strictly the three ways of practice, that is, Good Conduct, Mental
Development and Wisdom.
Good Conduct:
Purifying Body, Speech and Mind
The would be Arahat achieves perfect purity of the three types of Action
of Body, Action of Speech and Action of Mind (Karma) by strict
observance of The
Five Precepts (Avoiding killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, telling
lies and taking of intoxicants) and by avoiding the Ten
Unwholesome Actions, also known as the Ten Grave Precepts (killing,
stealing , sexual misconduct, telling lies, tale bearing, harsh speech, idle
talk, greed, anger and wrong views).
By avoiding the
first three unwholesome actions of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct, he
purifies his body. By avoiding the four unwholesome actions of telling lies,
tale-bearing, harsh speech and idle talk, he purifies his speech. Finally, by
avoiding greed, anger and wrong views, he purifies his mind.
However, Good
Conduct through perfect discipline of body, speech and mind only lays the
foundation for the path leading to Nirvana. It prepares the way for the
cultivation of Mental Development and Wisdom. According to the teaching of the
Noble Eightfold Path, Mental Development comprises right effort, right
mindfulness and right meditation.
Mental
Development: Practising Mindfulness and Meditation
There are various
methods by which would-be Arahat gradually
disciplines and controls his mind so that it remains calm, undistracted and
aware. Two of the best known methods are Concentration Leading to Absorption
and Mindfulness Leading to Insight.
Concentration
Leading to Absorption
(click)
The purpose of
meditation is to develop the power of concentration. Like a sharpened knife
that can cut easily through a solid object, the concentrated mind is able to
see things as they really are. At that point, the meditator
gains insight into the three characteristics of existence. He understands
perfectly that all things are impermanent, involved in suffering and
impersonal. For the first time, he gets a glimpse of Nirvana and is on the
threshold of becoming an Arahat.
Mindfulness
Leading to Insight
(click)
The development
of Mindfulness Leading to Insight doesn't always come all at once, but in a
series of flashes. With gradual progress on the path, these flashes of insight
come more frequently and are more sustained. Eventually, one is able to
experience continuously the light of Wisdom.
This gradual
progress towards achieving Wisdom is like the progress a child makes when
learning a skill such as riding a bicycle. When he first begins to ride, he can
only maintain his balance for a short distance. Gradually, as he becomes more
accustomed to the new experience, he can travel longer distances until eventually
he is able to ride a bicycle naturally and almost without effort.
The Four Stages of Becoming an Arahat
Progress on the
path of an Arahat is measured by the person's ability
to weaken or eliminate The
Ten Fetters which bind him to the cycle of birth and death, and which
keep him from attaining Nirvana. there are four
recognizable stages which mark his progress along the path. These are explained
in relation to the Ten Fetters below.
The First
Stage:
At the first
stage is the Stream-winner (Sotapanna), that is, one who has entered the
"stream" that eventually leads to the "
(1) the belief in the existence of permanent self;
(2) doubt in the
ability of the Triple Gem to lead him towards the goals;
(3) the mistaken belief that moral rules and ascetic rites alone
are sufficient to lead a person to Enlightenment. (Silabbata Paramasa)
On attaining this
first stage, the would be Arahat
will no longer be reborn in any of the lower realms of existence. He will be
reborn no more than seven times in the human or heavenly plans of existence
before he attains Nirvana.
The Second
Stage:
As he makes
further progress and perfects his insight still more, he reaches the second
stage of the Once-Returner (Sakadagami).
After this life, he will be reborn only once more as a human being. In that
rebirth, he would attain Nirvana. At this stage, he has also succeeded in
weakening the fourth and fifth fetters. These are:
(4) attachment to sensual desire;
(5) ill will.
The Third
Stage:
The third stage
is that of the Once-returner, the Anăgămi. At
this stage, he completely removes the fourth and fifth fetters of attachment to
sensual desire and ill will. The Non-Returner will no
longer be reborn in the human realm; he will be reborn in one of the Pure
Abodes in the heavens where he will attain Nirvana. At this stage, the first
five fetters have been totally removed.
The Fourth
Stage:
At the fourth
stage, he makes the final advance towards becoming a Perfect One (Arahat) who attains Nirvana because he has
broken all the Ten Fetters, the last five of which are:
(6) desire for existence in the worlds of Form;
(7) desire for existence in the Formless Worlds;
(8) conceit;
(9) restlessness;
(10) ignorance.
The career of the
Arahat is like the career of a student in that
development is measured by the highest stage or level he has achieved so far. When a secondary school student progress in stages from secondary
One to Secondary Four, his knowledge and mastery of skill increase with each
higher level achieved. Eventually, he graduates from school when he
passes his final year examinations. In the same way, the
would be Arahat overcomes more and more of the
fetters at each higher stage of his development. When he successfully passes
the fourth stage, he reaches the end of his career and is no longer subject to Rebirth.
However, even in
light of all of the above, The Ten Fetters and other various offerings, it
should be remembered true Enlightenment, as experienced by the Buddha and
transmitted through the patriarchs, is independent of verbal explanations,
including the record of the Buddha's teachings (i.e., scriptures) and later
doctrinal elaborations. (source)
IN OTHER WORDS:
A
special transmission outside the scriptures;
No dependence upon words and letters;
Direct pointing to the soul of man:
Seeing into one's own nature and attainment of Buddhahood
The Sixth Patriarch of
Chinese Zen Hui Neng
Remember, as
well, underscoring in essence What The Buddha
Said, Dr. Walpola Rahula
writes in his book "What the Buddha Taught" (pp. 2-3),
extrapolating from the Kalama Sutra how far the Buddha went: "He told the bhikkhus that a disciple should examine even the Tathagata (Buddha) himself, so that he (the disciple) might
be fully convinced of the true value of the teacher whom he followed."
"Do not go upon
what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor;
nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon
specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered
over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration that 'The
monk is your teacher.' " (source)
SEE:
THE
AWAKENING EXPERIENCE IN THE MODERN ERA
SMASHING THE
BLACK LACQUER BARREL
SEE AS WELL:
THE
ENLIGHTENMENT SUTRA