Buddhism has been around for quite some time, its origin mainly attributed to the great Gautama Buddha, who reached enlightenment under a Bodhi tree in ancient India, later sharing his realizations with his followers. The story of Gautama was one of the first Buddhist books I’ve read while finishing up high school, and it spoke to me like no other religious text I’ve previously encountered. It was simple to understand, and I related greatly to his quest for higher knowledge, his desire to benefit others by finding answers to life’s most complicated and elusive questions. His inspiration was fueled after closely encountering the suffering of others, his lack of ability to explain why some are blessed with pleasant lifetimes, while others must suffer through great pains. What was even more puzzling to him is that everyone, regardless of their fortunes, still had to go through the process of aging and dying. It is this very mystery around death that sparked my initial curiosity, and completely absorbed my attention within a few years, with long lasting affects up till this very day.
Over the years, I’ve immersed myself into different Buddhist practices, mostly searching for answers to the mystery of my own existence. I always felt different from many others while growing up, having abilities to think and feel somewhat deeper about daily problems. My soul was searching for connections to anything that would enrich my abilities to expand my understanding about the world around me. I was like a child hungry for spiritual knowledge, something that my school teachers or parents couldn’t give me. It was a difficult time for me, I lacked the language to explain my bubbling emotions, having to pretend being normal while entertaining a narrative within my head and a feeling within my soul that didn’t agree with the reality I was witnessing.
Buddhism immediately helped by offering an opportunity to learn the language and the mindset necessary to express some of my emotional needs to others. Many didn’t understand this communication, which prompted me to search for those who do. The more I got involved in the Buddhist traditions, the more I gravitated towards silence and isolation, realizing that the world around me doesn’t necessarily agree with my newly developing point of view. Regardless, I pressed on with my spiritual quest, leaving my home and friends behind, embarking on a lifelong spiritual journey, that would eventually take me to amazing places and deep realizations, which is still happening this very day.
Apart from participating in Buddhist rituals and daily practices, I started reading books by renowned spiritual masters, which greatly propelled my understanding forward as I deeply connected to the various aspects of wisdom being channeled there. Unable to return to my previous ignorant self, I pressed on with my studies, for many years reading nothing else but accounts of yogis meditating in caves high in the Tibetan mountains. Such simple yet spiritually productive life inspired me, quickly becoming a role model for my own livelihood. I wondered how I can align with these amazing stories without having to immerse myself in a purely ascetic way of life, to merge them with my present reality, to find a solution that would allow me to expand my spiritual understanding while still serving the needs dictated by being a member of this society.
Having gone through much trial and error, and my share of often humorous and awkward situations, I’ve somehow found a way for these two seemingly very different realities to coexist with each other. On one hand, I was just like everyone else, a working professional, a husband, a father, and an abiding citizen. I worked in an office, paid mortgage, celebrated the holidays, and chatted on mundane subjects with my neighbors. On the other hand, in my mind I was a yogi, constantly pushing myself into new spiritual challenges and heightened states of mind, enjoying the benefits of going deeper into my subconscious, gaining transcendental wisdom from often ordinary life situations. I figured out that combining these two realities is possible if one accepts the mundane and ordinary as magical and extraordinary, and relates to it in such a way constantly without losing hope or perseverance.
It wasn’t uncommon for me to wonder if I possibly lost touch with reality, looking at the world around me and seeing how much I disagreed with it, carefully evaluating reasoning behind my thoughts, validity of conclusions and ultimately actions, constantly having to justify my behavior to the toughest judge of all, my higher self. When I look back at how far I’ve come, I recognize that it was a process of rewiring my mind circuits into an aware state, where actions are based on realizations, which come from meditation on stillness, rooted into the very essence of the Buddhist teachings, the ever present emptiness within everything that is also the nature of my own mind. It is the same emptiness that yogis proclaimed to be the source of ultimate realization, the marvelous mahamudra, which I so fortunately found within my daily and mundane urban life.
The Buddhist books often talked about adapting the ancient teachings to the new way of life, applying the timeless lessons to the relative reality, not clinging to the means, but focusing on the essence of the path itself, which has always been about gaining in ultimate wisdom and sharing the fruits of that understanding by practicing boundless compassion towards other beings. The expression of my compassion has been the source of much internal debate for me over the years, resulting in somewhat of a balance where taking care of myself enables me to assist others. I tried forcing this balance in either direction without much long term success, as reality would most certainly force me back into my place, reminding me once again that effortlessness is the best way to sustain long term efforts. Eventually I found myself somewhere in the middle, aligning with the middle path talked about in the books which points to the balance of all things, being the only true way to reach realized and sustainable states of mind.
Such balance didn’t come to me easily, and it is certainly still work in progress. I’ve made many mistakes over the years, which served me greatly to move one step closer to a better and more loving version of myself. I often look back as to how far I’ve come, which brings me great joy and inspiration to keep going. I am certainly not an exemplary Buddhist nor a monk, nor do I believe in a perfect way to practice these teachings. For me, this path is a guideline, a collection of wisdom passed along from realized masters hoping to reach out to beings such as myself, providing timely advice for hard times and difficult situations. I rejoice every time when my own realizations confirm the wisdom in the ancient texts, proving to myself once more that these teachings are noble and authentic. They have always complemented my common sense, enhancing my realizations by pinpointing potential flaws in my thinking. Fully accepting the idea of gradual improvement, I’ve learned to pace myself in a way where the path becomes joyful and the progress sustainable, thus allowing for incremental spiritual growth over time.
When combining this approach with the view of ascension, it is not difficult to see that they align perfectly, allowing practitioners to have a common base of understanding which they can build upon using today’s methods and practices. Technology, for example, offers many interesting opportunities for improvement not readily available hundreds of years ago. Cultural diversity is another prominent distinction of our times allowing access to knowledge accumulated by many different cultural backgrounds, enriching one’s understanding about life while teaching flexibility and gracefulness in one’s methods. I’ve also greatly enjoyed travelling to different parts of the world, enriching my own cultural heritage to the point of becoming a citizen of the planet without being locked into a particular culture, which is often limited by obsolete ways of thinking about various issues.
Allowing these experiences to occur, I firmly understood that common sense has no culture, it is simply a graceful and wise way to solve everyday problems. Firmly rooting myself in this understanding, I walk this path without fear, allowing emotions and mistakes to take place as they normally would, being open and present to all possibilities where love for others and basic common sense are the two magical keys that open doors to the future.