The Buddhist path

On my transit flight back from Bangkok, I bump into a former colleague. She has retired about a year ago and she expressed her surprise to see me as we have never in contact with each other since she left the Company,  We exchange greetings and update each other on our friends , colleagues and our Company.

She was on her way back from India with a group of 28 people, lead by a Sri Lankan Buddist Monk , who is residing in the US.  She told me that it was spiritually very fulfilling as the Monk lead them through the birth place and the foot steps of the Buddha,  It was a pity that Buddhism have died in the place of its birth and the missionary jobs have been taken over by the Tibetan , Sri Lankan , Chinese  and Thai Buddhist monks.

She also knew my adopted Guru, Ajahn Brahm and she finds him lively, frank  and progressive. I shared the same opinion and it was reported that Buddhism is the fastest rising religion in Australia as there are a lot of monastery and highly enlighten monks in Australia. Ajahn Brahm was expel from the Thai monastery as he broke tradition by promoting a female monk in his monastery without consulting his Thai counterparts. This is one of the changes which is needed in today's Buddhism.  Everybody is created equal and every person is entitle to their choice of religion and be responsible for their own attainment in enlightenment. There is a good saying " We can provide you the knowledge but we cannot make you learn".

I must admit that a lot of my friends who have slowed down or since retirement have actually gone on such retreat in search of spiritual fulfillment  and have  gradually entered into the 2nd and 3rd rank of Buddha's  life cycle : Birth, old age, sickness and death. When you reach a certain age, this consciousness is getting more vivid and it is a path to the end. But, I must maintain that life is still a journey and not a destination but the facts remain and we have to learn to gradually prepare our self.  This may sound passive but it is real. To think or not to think is one's choice and decision. There is never a right or wrong  and all of us is responsible for our own actions.  Just open and follow your heart and control your mind.

There is a Chinese saying " We can eat at the same table but our path to enlightenment is through our own way".

Namaste