Pooja Ruprell

In making the ascent from a low-lying mountain to a high mountain, you will inevitably have to pass through valleys in between. Josei Toda

On Dec 31st, I met a friend who shared her excitement with me at completing her goal of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo a million times. She mentioned that as she had approached closure, each day was filled with joyful anticipation. When I called her again a week later, her tone had changed completely. She sounded a little discouraged because she had been unable to regain her momentum and get back into her chanting rhythm.

As I reflected over our conversation, I knew that I had been through it myself many times too. I’d throw myself into preparations for an upcoming Buddhist meeting, and as soon as the event passed I would experience a sense of emptiness and discontent within me. The quality of my prayers would dip for several days before I could pick myself up again and get back on track. I went through these ups and downs as mountains of dreams were fulfilled and valleys of obstacles overcome.

This phase was intense during the initial years of Buddhist practice, but as time passed, and I continued to grow the periods of emptiness shortened and became fewer. It struck me that no matter what philosophy I chose to follow, I would go through valleys and peaks all the time. As long as I recognized what was happening, I could stay in control of my inner void during a valley phase, finding a way to pass through it.

Love, Inspiration and Life happen only when you and I don’t.

For love to happen as it is meant to, we need to come from a place of complete selflessness, which is a serene state we can enjoy when we let go of our ego and sense of separation from the person we love. Ignoring the ego controlled mind and surrendering to the pure call of our heart ensures the free flow of love from within us.

Inspiration, similar to love, can happen when we let go. Here, we need to let go of our repetitive, mediocre thought process. Heart-rending poetry, art, music and all kinds of creative excellence are most accessible when we shut down our brain and delve into our hearts.

And, both love and inspiration can exist only in sync with the state of freedom. We cannot love but restrict the person we love – bind, condition or demand in a way that takes away their free will. Inspiration too gets activated when we release ourselves from the clutter of meaningless, negative and incessant chatter that we luxuriously indulge in.

When we are soaring on the wings of love and inspiration, that’s when life really begins. We then ally with other love-filled, gloriously inspired and unstoppable human beings, joining hands with them to merge into the generous, creative and all-encompassing Universe, all our hearts beating in the celestial rhythm of peace, purity and passion. So let go of yourself to become love and inspiration, and let the magic of life manifest.

Love respects, raises the other to their ultimate glory, makes the other divine, makes the other feel worthy, loved, respected – not used as a means, but worshipped as an end unto himself. Love is ready to sacrifice, but love never sacrifices the other. Osho.

Love as described by Osho doesn’t happen to everybody. It is a rare and precious phenomenon that touches the lives of only a handful of people. And, should you be the fortunate one to encounter this intricate tapestry of intense emotion, make every effort to surrender to it unconditionally, unashamedly and unreservedly.

Forget about receiving and focus instead on giving, no holds barred. Trust so much so that you allow yourself to be fully vulnerable, open and transparent. Go as far as you humanly can, bringing it to the point that the other person knows you even better that you now know yourself. Thoughts don’t need to be shared, they just get communicated heart to heart.

True love doesn’t know the meaning of words like expectation, fear and control. Throwing caution to the winds, it enables one to ride on the waves of surrender, inspiration and passion. It forces the “I” in u to dissolve, simultaneously consuming the ego, the greed and the loneliness.

Often, it does happen that love brings with it deep, searing and unimaginable pain, and then the head may scream at us to stop, but forsaking is not a choice for the heart. Instead, love invites us to become the channel of selflessness, purity and gratitude. And the most amazingly, beautiful aspect of true love is that it delivers us in to the arms of the same relationship life time after lifetime once we encounter our soul mate.

“Rely on the Law and not upon persons” should be your guideline. Nichiren Daishonin

If I have to comment on the one teaching of Nichiren’s that I hold close to my heart, it would be the above passage. This advice of his resonates with me, and is also in complete sync with last week’s blog about living from the heart. For when we live from the heart we base ourselves on a life philosophy we are convinced about instead of allowing a handful of people to push us towards their beliefs.

All great leaders endeavour to make their people more capable than themselves. They attempt to leave behind a message and a means that far surpasses their existence, ensuring the continuity of their teachings. However, many a time a messenger comes along who distorts or dilutes the original message reducing its efficacy. And that is what Nichiren is cautioning against.

If we choose not to rely upon persons, then we must research and investigate for ourselves. We need to think, evaluate and consider our options independently. It requires studying, discussion and introspection – the path of minimal effort is not an option we can consider.

I am reminded of 1998, when a family member invited me to my first Buddhist meeting and I accepted to go for lack of anything better to do. My initial days passed by connecting to other members and soaking up all they had to say about Buddhism. While that aspect was something I cherished, I do believe that it was my personal forays into different books on the subject that helped me clarify, understand and deepen my faith in the philosophy. Of course ‘The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin’ (a consolidation of letters that he wrote to his disciples) was on top of the list and became my guiding light.

While connections to others matter and help us to grow, nothing surpasses our direct connection to the life philosophy of our choice.

It is the heart that is important. Nichiren Daishonin.

In several letters to his disciples, Nichiren uses the above phrase, and I have been pondering on his intent each time I come across the phrase. What is it that he is trying to encourage them to do / be ?

My belief is that he is teaching them a way of life.

Living from the heart forces us to be true to ourselves, which means that we cannot feel anger within and show compassion on the outside, claim to love but seek to win an argument.

Living from the heart demands that we focus our attention on our intent at all times. We introspect and check ourselves on a daily basis, keeping a close watch on our ego.

Living from the heart also requires that while we are respectful at all times, we do not base our thoughts, words and deeds conditioned by the people within our environment. We listen, we respond, and we discuss but in the end we follow only one voice – our heart’s inner call.

Living from the heart is definitely not a coward’s option. When we have a desire, we do not ignore it or suppress it, unless it harms another in some way. We gather our courage and go after what we want.

For some of us it may take conscious effort and lots of practice, but it is well worth it because when we go against our heart life takes just too much work.

So, until we master the art, let’s affirm every morning and night, confidently and clearly – I LIVE FROM MY HEART, ALWAYS AND FOREVER!

I was reading the Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin this morning and came across the below quoted passage that provoked some thought.

New Year’s Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of the year, and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will accumulate virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, moving from west to east,2 and as the sun shines more brightly, traveling from east to west.

While New Year’s day is significant and most of us look at it as an opportunity to start afresh, why is it that we cannot celebrate every day with the spirit of making a new beginning? If a person who celebrates this day accumulates virtue and is loved by all, imagine the great fortune and tremendous love we will gain if we spare no efforts to live it up each day.

It should be on all our goal lists to be the kind of person who lives life joyously, beginning anew as the sun rises, letting bygones be bygones. Forget the mistakes, the arguments, the frustrations and the worries from the previous day. Determine instead to learn from the mistakes, be the first one to say sorry, practice more patience and stop worrying.

Then, surely and inevitably we will receive love, love and more love…

The year that rushed past me
Was a year of learning, love and laughter
Interspersed with some serenity, sadness and splendour

Undoubtedly love was the most overwhelming experience
It was amazing to give it without reason and unasked for
The more I gave of love, the more I received too

Many an anxious moment, a few tears
Renewing family bonds and dormant relationships
Were all a treasure I deeply cherish

Tons of heartfelt appreciation I received
Lots of ingratitude too came my way
Each in its own way transformed me

Most days I threw myself excitedly at life
But sometimes I resisted everything it brought my way
Now it matters not at all for each day was precious

A few deadlocks and several creative outbursts
Dancing, music and songs galore
It all made me feel like part of a glorious rainbow

One thing is for sure
Though all the ups and downs
I felt myself grow stronger yet softer

Nothing more left to say
Except a sincere thank you
The year that was definitely rocked!

As I do every year, I have written down my goals for the New Year and stuck them on my Buddhist altar, and am sharing them with all of you. In case you have not made your goal card, I hope this serves as a reminder to make one now. Happy New Year and may all your dreams come true. That’s my prayer for you.

I promise to be like the morning sun
That lights up the universe
After a dark and stormy night

Stop loving to become love
Experiencing a serene inner journey
Every day of this year

For changes to be of any true value, they have got to be lasting and consistent. A prime example of this is someone who needs to begin dieting, but finds himself putting it off, primarily because he knows unconsciously knows that whatever pain he endures in order to create the change will bring him only a short term reward. Anthony Robbins.

Change is never easy for anyone and requires effort, time and patience. In the above paragraph Anthony Robbins gives the example of a man endeavoring to lose weight, but lacks the confidence that he will be able to sustain his weight loss for a long period of time. He doesn’t trust himself to stick to his diet because it requires him to change his eating habits forever since a brief change will bear results that will last for a couple of months at best, before he gains his weight back again.

Changing a habit, whether it is diet related, attitudinal or any other needs focused effort to become a way of life. Focused effort is a manifestation of our inner determination and courage, which we have to forge for ourselves. No one else can make it happen for us.

P.S : Apologies for the delay in updating this blog. I have been experiencing internet issues. This blog takes a break for the rest of this year. See you in the new year on Jan 3rd.

Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers;
powers that would astonish him,
that he never dreamed of possessing;
forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused
and put into action.
-Orison Swett Marden

Each of us is beautiful, brilliant, beautiful, balanced, perceptive and pure beyond compare. Our folly lies in the fact that we are unaware of our inner power and go through life living a mediocre existence.

However, that was not the Universe’s intention when we were conceived. It invested tremendous creative energy to create us, with the faith that we would transform the face of this planet, each in our own unique ways.

That is why it ensured that everyone of us is a masterpiece with different yet complementing strengths, so that when we unite we bring about an explosion of vibrant colour, spirited laughter, electrifying prosperity, zesty peace and meaningful exploration.

We were never meant as instruments of violence, anger, greed or pain.