Chapter 20 Indonesian Stories (19)

I always remember my mentor's teachings about being happy.She said that people generally think that happiness is all about luck, that if you are lucky, happiness will come to you like good weather.But that's not how happiness works, happiness is the result of personal effort.You go for it, pursue it, hold on to it, and sometimes even travel the world to find it.You must actively participate in your various blessings. Once you reach the state of happiness, you must never slack off. You must stick to it and always try to swim towards this happiness, floating on the top of happiness, otherwise you will lose your inner satisfaction.Praying in times of adversity is not difficult, but continuing to pray after a crisis is over is a sequestering process that helps the soul hold on to its accomplishments.

I was riding my bike freely in the sunset in Bali, thinking about these teachings, praying (actually swearing), and presenting my state of harmony to God, saying, "I want to hold on to this. Help me to remember this A sense of fulfillment that helps me sustain it forever." I store this joy, guarded and protected by my four brothers, for later use.I call this practice "indefatigable joy."As I worked on "Untiring Joy," I kept thinking about a simple idea my friend Darcy told me—all the sorrow and trouble in the world are caused by unhappy people.Not only at the level of global upheavals like Hitler, but also at the smallest individual level.Even in my own life, I do see the pain, annoyance, or inconvenience I cause to those around me when I am unhappy.Therefore, the pursuit of fulfillment is not only an act of self-preservation and self-interest, but also a gift to the world.Abandon all suffering, let you get out of the wrong way, so that you are no longer an obstacle to yourself or others. At this time, you can serve and enjoy others as you like.

At present, the person I admire most is Lai Ye.The old man--indeed one of the happiest men I have ever met--allowed me complete freedom to ask him any question that haunted my mind, both divine and human.I like the meditation he taught me, the simple and funny "make the liver smile", and the reassuring "four brothers method".One day the pharmacist told me that he knew sixteen different meditation techniques and various mantras to suit different needs.Some were meant to bring peace or happiness, some were aimed at health, but some were simply mystical spells - sending him to other realms of consciousness.For example, he said he knew a meditation method that took him "up there".

"Above?" I asked, "What is above?" "Go up seven floors," he said, "to heaven." Hearing the familiar idea of ​​the "seven levels," I asked him if he meant that meditation took him through what yoga calls the divine sevenfold wheel in the body. "It's not the seven-fold wheel," he said, "it's the places. This meditation takes me to seven places in the universe, step by step, until I reach heaven." I asked, "Have you ever been to heaven, Lord?" he smiles.Of course he has been to heaven.He said it was not difficult to go to heaven.

"What does heaven look like?" "It's beautiful. Everything is beautiful there. Beautiful people. Beautiful food. Everything there is love. Heaven is love." Lai Ye went on to say that he knew another kind of meditation. "Go down." This kind of meditation of going down, taking him to the seventh floor underground, is a dangerous way of meditation.Not suitable for beginners, only for experts. I asked, "So, the first kind of meditation takes you to heaven, then the second kind of meditation will definitely take you..." "Go to hell." He finished the sentence.

It's interesting.I don't often hear Hinduism discuss the idea of ​​heaven and hell.Indians view the universe from the point of view of karma, an eternal cyclical process, which means that when you come to the end of your life, your final resting place is not somewhere - neither heaven nor hell - but in another This form is cycled again, returning to the world to resolve the unfinished relationship or mistakes of the previous life.When perfection is finally attained, you are completely out of the loop and into the realm of infinity.The idea of ​​karma implies that heaven and hell are only visible on earth; because according to our own destiny and character, we can do good and bad deeds, thereby creating heaven and hell.

I've always liked the concept of causal loops.Not literally, not necessarily because I believe I used to be Cleopatra's bartender - but figuratively.The philosophy of karma, on a metaphorical level, is what I favor because, even in this lifetime, we apparently repeat the same mistakes, cling to the same addictions and urges, and create the same tragic consequences over and over again, until we are finally able to Stop it and fix it.This is the crowning lesson of karma (and Western psychology at the same time) - fix the problem now or screw everything up next time and suffer all over again.Repeated pain, that is hell.Get out of the state of endless repetition and enter into a new level of closure -- only to find heaven.