Santa Clara Meditation Column – One World, Coexisting With The Universe
Whenever I look at the world, the only word that comes to mind is “beautiful.” That is the perfect description of the world because it is, indeed, simply beautiful. Beyond the window, you gaze upon the blue sky, green mountains, roses blossoming in the garden, and can even imagine the wind brushing your cheeks… It is truly a beautiful world where everything lives in perfect harmony with each other, where all creatures silently coexist in one space. It is as beautiful as can be.
But pain and ordeal also exist in this world we belong to. Why do we taste such bitterness from life in this beautiful world? I’m sure it must not have been God’s intention for human beings to suffer. We call ourselves the lords of creation, and live as though we are the most supreme and greatest existence. We are so arrogant and absorbed in ourselves. We only care for ourselves and live for our own sakes, thinking, ‘If I’m fine, nothing else matters.’ We merely live with the perception that it’s all about our lives, while disregarding everything else that coexists in the world. Maybe, we are paying the price for this sort of attitude. We tend to think to ourselves, ‘Well, it would be fine if I could make enough money to live a life of satisfaction and then pass away peacefully.’ We say with resignation that happiness and peace exist in another world. ‘No… I don’t think it’s possible in this life… It wouldn’t be the reason why we came to this world.’
If we care for others first, if we live for the sake of others’ wellbeing, if we wholeheartedly devote ourselves to work for the world, and if we become one mind with the world, we will also live blissfully as one with all, coexisting in the world. Well, actually, we are already in coexistence with all life in the bosom of the universe. But we neither see nor feel this because we are too busy spending time struggling.
Stop being a slave to the transient human life that will inevitably vanish after seventy or eightyyears and stop limiting yourself to that. Lay down everything you are so tightly holding onto. Turn your focus from something that eventually vanishes to something that will never vanish.
When you greedily try to maintain what you have, endless pain and stress follow. You have all experienced it, haven’t you? But did anything remain with you? Unfortunately, no, nothing remained but stress. Put a comma on everything you are doing for a moment, well, actually make a full stop. Then, truly lay those thoughts down from your mind. Lay down even the existence that you believe in. Right at this moment you feel that everything in the world, including you, is taking every breath together. Not only that, but you’ll keenly feel that where you are at this very moment is the infinite universe, not in your own mind world.
The best-selling author Woo Myung said, “Know the greatness of a fallen leaf.” Those leaves we unconsciously walk over that we didn’t even give a moment’s thought. ‘Why is it great?’ I once thought about it. A fallen leaf, without the self, lives in the world as it is; it is the world itself. Although it’s walked over, it’s ok. Although it’s dripping wet with rain, it’s ok. Although it hangs from a tree branch, it’s ok. Although it falls, it’s ok. So then, I thought how I would be if I were a leaf. If I were walked over, I would have complained that I was abandoned. If I were dripping wet, I would have complained that I was wet. If I were hanging from a branch, I would have complained that I was exhausted. If I fell, I would have complained that I was thrown out… No matter which situation I was in, it would’ve been just pain and stress to me. A fallen leaf, which is the world itself, just lives following nature’s flow. Sublimity of a leave is what we truly have to learn.
Step outside right now, close your eyes and feel the world; disregard yourself. Our origin, the universe, which infinitely spreads… Feel that only the universe exists, that the universe created the world, and that the universe is the existence that allows your existence, one that coexists in this universe. If you are given the chance, why don’t you grab it and immediately embark on the journey to find your real self?
