Reflections

WAVES: Our thoughts, feelings, pain, happiness and our ultimate selves are like the waves, arising and passing, coming and going. And so, we ride the wave while it lasts and celebrate the wonderful temporality.  As I watch the ocean waves I am reminded of the natural law of passing and perishing ---it brought in me the inner command of gratitude, equanimity and surrender. To be free of desire and free of aversion, to fathom the beauty and wisdom of impermanence.

In quantum physics, we learn that we are actually like light particles. We are made of tiny particles waves, there is no real solidity and permanence of objects. Even the ego, that which we refer to as 'I' is illusory. It is asked: How can one be miserable if this is the case of the world? Seems easy to understand in the intellectual level but we can't help but be lulled into the daily affairs of the world to take this in as a different perspective. After all, we experience the world beyond the physical plane and we are born and raised to the conditions we are in.

There is so much to learn in this world and life, but in our lifetime, we experience and witness deep suffering. But as I learned from the ocean waves, so long as one observes, remain aware with equanimity and wisdom of surrender, one will be capable of overcoming suffering.

My Insight: One moment of equanimity to the next is liberation moment to moment. The path of liberation is not in the past nor future. It is always in the present. Liberation is thought by thought, non-thought to non-thought, breath by breath, moment to moment.

Post Meditation Retreat

The year ended right when I finally got the slot in Vipassana Meditation Philippines. I'm very grateful to all the people volunteering and investing to help people with their spiritual practice for free! The 10-day retreat (with no contact with the external world, and even to other students) made me realize a number of things...from the mundane to the deep spiritual ones haha. Sharing with you some random thoughts, reflections and ideas when all I did was talk to myself 24/7 for 10 days:

here you go:

Kahit na damihan mo ng palaman, ang sunog na tinapay, mapait parin siya

Kahit nasa pusod ka ng kabundukan, may nagpapatugtog parin ng napalakas na speakers habang nag mediate ka (at emo playlist pa)

Be tidy in eating fruits (I eat like a child haha), kasi kapag nangamoy orange o ponkan ka, pagpipiyestahan ka ng insekto while you are meditating (bawal ka pa naman galaw ng galaw haha)

How much you put in the meditation practice is how much you can take from it

When you randomly smile without a reason, you know you are healing and getting better

A monk/nun's way of life is very humbling