I may not have the popular image of a religious person but definitely I do believe in the existence of God and the many mysteries attached.
This may sound odd to those who only knew me after puberty but half my age I had been an exemplary churchgoer, even seriously considered following the footprints of St. Anne, wear the robe (which I am certain I would look good), and deprive the humanity of the beauty that would only be as good to their eyes alone. I was a member of a Catholic parish choir and became a follower of a certain congregation, El Shaddai. (I’m not making this up and I’m still ok.)
Unorthodox as it may seem I have found peace in my independent relationship with God. I do not like the idea of belonging to a certain religion because I simply believe that when there are two or more that gather together, there is politics. And I simply can not equate faith with that. Barely to mention the extensive hypocrisy and blasphemy often used as a guise to make one look good (and pathetic).
Among the many groups that I have looked into Buddhism appealed to me because of its sincerity to the idea and practice of simplicity and goodness. Personally, I would like to consider Mother Theresa as a Buddhist more than a Catholic. And I like her.
What brought me into thinking about this is the great real-ization that came to me while I was battling between two forces. Not the normal good and bad but the toughest fight in choosing between the me that I’ve known myself to be and the me that wants to become.
Until now no one has ever made me want to meet him personally but the great character in the person of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Even after the disillusionment I have embraced and countered from previous teachers as I journeyed through life myself, this distant-ed mentor that I chose to indefinitely enroll in has continued to inspire me and gained my respect as he is to me an epitome of goodness.
When I heard he was having an Aussie tour in June 2007, I just know exactly that he has something timely to tell me.
Fortunately, a seemingly nice person named Ala was able to quote His holiness during his hour speech though may not so accurately:
After the events of Sept. 11, everyone feels that the world has changed, and that is how the media loves to paint it. But that is not true. The world is still the same. When I look out my window the wind still goes like that -(makes gestures with his hands). It is still the same sun. The only difference is there are more airport regulations now. (laughs)
It’s the same as celebrating New Year’s eve. People like to celebrate and wait for the sun to rise thinking that it’s a new day and a new sun. How childish! It is still the same sun!
The problem with people is that they like to focus on just one event, and then they want to generalize on the whole world. But if you have a holistic view on reality, if you look at a whole picture of the earth, I really see the world is improving, and that humanity is becoming deeper and more interconnected, through information and tourism.
For example, in the past and even earlier in the 20th century, people would willingly fight in wars, as an honor. But at this present day and age, in America for example, there are so many more people now who are against the war, and who advocates non-violent, compassionate means. In the Soviet Union and in the Philippines, dictators and oppressive political structures are toppled through peaceful, non-violent means. This is something very new.
Then there is the growing environmental awareness. Till the beginning of the 20th century, we did not feel we had any sense of duty to care for the earth.
9-11 is just one event. Do not let just one event delude you into thinking humanity is doomed. If you look at the whole picture of the earth, it is improving.
How could one man from miles and sectors away know exactly what to tell me on how I should be thinking at this certain point of my life? Emphasis was given to his last words because it hit me hard and made me real-ize I should liberate myself from the undesirable addiction that I have caught myself into these days.
Three hours after I got the message from His Holiness, I got to know about Mayor Treñas Executive Order No. 20-2007 “prohibiting fixers in all departments of the city government”! Wow! Indeed, something is happening. And this is improvement.
I salute the man for his political will. I have followed his other projects and decisions that could make him undesirable to some prospective voters yet he pursued, albeit unpopular. With this I am making a mental note that I will try to recognize him whenever we meet at the mall or in whatever circumstance.
What connects His Holiness, Dalai Lama, Mayor Treñas, and me is the thought that the world is such a great place to live in, that there is actually hope for humanity, and that living is much much and way way better than not having to experience life’s complexities at all.
The recent event in my life is just one event, though I am not discounting its significance. It has always been believed that everything has its purpose. I am still uncertain of the purpose of this one though. Important thing is I feel good now and grateful that I have been liberated.
On my last note, I would recommend you to watch a 2007 movie, The Holiday. The movie trailer gave me an impression that it is just another feel good movie since it stars among others Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. It turned out, peculiarly, that it has certain depth. A must-see film if a person wants to be liberated from something. I found myself paradoxically in the characters of both Amanda and Iris. Also, I was some of Graham and Miles. The whole movie was about me and all the rest who are not afraid to love and take its consequences, and who loves life enough to continue living with a peaceful smile deep within.
-j
This may sound odd to those who only knew me after puberty but half my age I had been an exemplary churchgoer, even seriously considered following the footprints of St. Anne, wear the robe (which I am certain I would look good), and deprive the humanity of the beauty that would only be as good to their eyes alone. I was a member of a Catholic parish choir and became a follower of a certain congregation, El Shaddai. (I’m not making this up and I’m still ok.)
Unorthodox as it may seem I have found peace in my independent relationship with God. I do not like the idea of belonging to a certain religion because I simply believe that when there are two or more that gather together, there is politics. And I simply can not equate faith with that. Barely to mention the extensive hypocrisy and blasphemy often used as a guise to make one look good (and pathetic).
Among the many groups that I have looked into Buddhism appealed to me because of its sincerity to the idea and practice of simplicity and goodness. Personally, I would like to consider Mother Theresa as a Buddhist more than a Catholic. And I like her.
What brought me into thinking about this is the great real-ization that came to me while I was battling between two forces. Not the normal good and bad but the toughest fight in choosing between the me that I’ve known myself to be and the me that wants to become.
Until now no one has ever made me want to meet him personally but the great character in the person of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Even after the disillusionment I have embraced and countered from previous teachers as I journeyed through life myself, this distant-ed mentor that I chose to indefinitely enroll in has continued to inspire me and gained my respect as he is to me an epitome of goodness.
When I heard he was having an Aussie tour in June 2007, I just know exactly that he has something timely to tell me.
Fortunately, a seemingly nice person named Ala was able to quote His holiness during his hour speech though may not so accurately:
After the events of Sept. 11, everyone feels that the world has changed, and that is how the media loves to paint it. But that is not true. The world is still the same. When I look out my window the wind still goes like that -(makes gestures with his hands). It is still the same sun. The only difference is there are more airport regulations now. (laughs)
It’s the same as celebrating New Year’s eve. People like to celebrate and wait for the sun to rise thinking that it’s a new day and a new sun. How childish! It is still the same sun!
The problem with people is that they like to focus on just one event, and then they want to generalize on the whole world. But if you have a holistic view on reality, if you look at a whole picture of the earth, I really see the world is improving, and that humanity is becoming deeper and more interconnected, through information and tourism.
For example, in the past and even earlier in the 20th century, people would willingly fight in wars, as an honor. But at this present day and age, in America for example, there are so many more people now who are against the war, and who advocates non-violent, compassionate means. In the Soviet Union and in the Philippines, dictators and oppressive political structures are toppled through peaceful, non-violent means. This is something very new.
Then there is the growing environmental awareness. Till the beginning of the 20th century, we did not feel we had any sense of duty to care for the earth.
9-11 is just one event. Do not let just one event delude you into thinking humanity is doomed. If you look at the whole picture of the earth, it is improving.
How could one man from miles and sectors away know exactly what to tell me on how I should be thinking at this certain point of my life? Emphasis was given to his last words because it hit me hard and made me real-ize I should liberate myself from the undesirable addiction that I have caught myself into these days.
Three hours after I got the message from His Holiness, I got to know about Mayor Treñas Executive Order No. 20-2007 “prohibiting fixers in all departments of the city government”! Wow! Indeed, something is happening. And this is improvement.
I salute the man for his political will. I have followed his other projects and decisions that could make him undesirable to some prospective voters yet he pursued, albeit unpopular. With this I am making a mental note that I will try to recognize him whenever we meet at the mall or in whatever circumstance.
What connects His Holiness, Dalai Lama, Mayor Treñas, and me is the thought that the world is such a great place to live in, that there is actually hope for humanity, and that living is much much and way way better than not having to experience life’s complexities at all.
The recent event in my life is just one event, though I am not discounting its significance. It has always been believed that everything has its purpose. I am still uncertain of the purpose of this one though. Important thing is I feel good now and grateful that I have been liberated.
On my last note, I would recommend you to watch a 2007 movie, The Holiday. The movie trailer gave me an impression that it is just another feel good movie since it stars among others Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. It turned out, peculiarly, that it has certain depth. A must-see film if a person wants to be liberated from something. I found myself paradoxically in the characters of both Amanda and Iris. Also, I was some of Graham and Miles. The whole movie was about me and all the rest who are not afraid to love and take its consequences, and who loves life enough to continue living with a peaceful smile deep within.
-j
Posts
Forget about the Dalai Lama or Mr. Trenas. What is important is you opened your blog so that people can read what's on your mind. Hopefully we can read novels that is more than the creation of JK Rowling.
ReplyDeleteVejeon
hahaha.. tenks jobs! this is blog though, not a novel :p it's been here since 2005 but i just did not give it time and didn't bother sharing.. my bad.. but i hope you'll find time to visit me here often kay mas hapos di magvisit kesa sa lapaz! :) miss u, jobs!
ReplyDelete