Naš pravi dom je unutrašnji mir

Na šta se odnosi reč "dhamma"? Sve je dhamma. Ne postoji ništa što nije dhamma. A šta je sa "svijetom"? Svijet je upravo to mentalno stanje koje te uznemiruje u ovom trenutku. "Što će ova osoba napraviti? Što će ona osoba napraviti? Kada ja umrem, tko će se o njima brinuti? Kako će preživjeti?" Sve to je samo "svijet". Čak i puko javljanje misli o strahu od smrti ili bola je taj svijet.
Odbaci taj svijet što dalje! Svijet je onakav kakav jeste. Ako mu dozvoliš da nastaje u umu i gospodari tvojom svješću, onda um postaje zamračen i ne može da vidi samoga sebe. Zato, što god da se javi u umu, jednostavno reci: "To me se ne tiče. To je prolazno, ne može me zadovoljiti i bez trajne je suštine."
Ako misliš o tome kako bi voljela da još dugo živiš, to će ti donijeti samo patnju. Ali i ako misliš kako bi voljela da ovog trena umreš, ili u skoroj budućnosti, to također nije u redu, i to je patnja, zar ne? Stanja ne pripadaju nama, ona slijede svoje prirodne zakone. Ništa ne možeš učiniti oko situacije u kojoj je tjelo sada. Ne možeš ga malo uljepšati, učiniti ga privlačnim, kao što to rade djevojke kad stavljaju karmin i puštaju nokte. Kad starost stigne, svatko je u istom čamcu. Tjelo je takvo, ne možeš ga učiniti drugačijim. Ali ono što možeš popraviti i uljepšati je um. Svatko može da sagradi kuću od drva ili cigle, ali Buda je učio da takva vrsta doma nije naš pravi dom, da je to samo privremeno naš. To je dom u ovom svijetu i on slijedi puteve ovoga svijeta. Naš pravi dom je unutrašnji mir. Vanjski, materijalni dom može lijepo izgledati, ali on nije baš miran. Tu je jedna briga, pa druga briga, ova strepnja, pa ona strepnja. Zato i kažemo da to nije naš pravi dom, on je izvan nas, i prije ili kasnije morat ćemo ga napustiti. To nije mjesto na kojem možemo živjeti zauvjek, zato što istinski ne pripada nama, on je dio ovoga svijeta. Isto je i sa našim tjelom; smatramo da je ono "ja" i "moja", ali zapravo ono uopće to nije, ono je još jedan dom ovoga svijeta. Tvoje tjelo slijedilo je prirodni kurs od rođenja sve dok sada nije postalo staro i bolesno, a ti mu nisi to mogla zabraniti; stvari tako stoje. Željeti da bude drugačije bilo bi budalasto kao da želimo da pače postane pilić. Kada uvidiš da je to nemoguće, da pače mora da bude pače, a pilić mora da bude pilić, kao i da tjelo mora da ostari i umre, pronaći ćeš snagu i energiju. Međutim, koliko god priželjkivala da tjelo nastavi i da još dugo traje, ono to neće učiniti.

Naš pravi dom
(Govor održan nezarjeđenoj sljedbenici kraj samrtne postelje)
Ajahn Chah
Prijevod Branislav Kovačević Samo za besplatnu distribuciju, kao dar Dhamme

People don't want to lose their individuality

Because people are no longer ignorant.
Right. I see the evolution of humans from hunter/gatherers to the age of agriculture to the age of industry to the age of information to a knowledge-based society and then a wisdom-based society. Maybe. But we're definitely in the information age now and that's making a big difference. People are aware in China and they're aware in Saudi Arabia and, you know, you do a program on CNN International, you get calls from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and Indonesia. And you do see that all the so-called totalitarian regimes where people have tried to control [the people] are very fragile because of information. The Internet is unstoppable. In Iraq they have all these rules about satellite dishes but people still put them up at night so they can watch international programs. Unstoppable in a way, but it'll take a long time. Because, you know, even if it's unstoppable, what are they seeing? They're seeing American trash. They're seeing Hollywood soap operas. So it's not that it's becoming a global culture, it's all becoming one tribe. The tribe is America and everybody resists that, because it's nothing to be proud of anyway.
So they don't see Americans or any other cultures as a collective of individuals as a big group that they shy away from?
Or embrace. What's happening is the totalitarian leaders, rightfully, are afraid of it. And the others are attracted to it. Not because they think it's great, but because it's attractive because of its seductiveness.
But isn't that a fear of losing the tribe?
It's all becoming the American tribe: McDonald's tribe.
I was thinking that when you talked about putting up the satellite dishes at night: They're putting them up to watch Ally McBeal.
Absolutely. There's data now that actually confirms that the Soviet Union came down and the Iron Curtain came down as a result of Dallas, the soap opera. There were more people watching Dallas in the Soviet Union and East Germany who were attracted to the car, to the woman's dress and the house and J.R. and all of that.
Easy access to food and education and all of that?
More than that, consumerism.
Freedom to consume?
Yeah. So maybe it's a step in the right direction. It's unpredictable.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
I don't know. Technology is neutral. What we do with it is up to us.
How did you come up with the seven responses?
They're actually representative of the seven chakras and so they're a biological explanation of the seven chakras.
What are people asking you about the most on this tour?
One of the most difficult things to convince people of on the tour is either they haven't read the book very carefully, or they've read it and they don't want to face certain ideas in the book because the essential idea in the book, ultimately, is that there's no such thing as a person or an individual. There's only the universal that expresses itself as a person. That ultimate spiritual freedom comes only from relinquishing the person and recognizing that the individual is just a pattern in the [universe] and unless we can exponentially know that, there is no coming out of the prison.People don't want to lose their individuality. What will happen to me after I die? I say: Which you? The old one? Or the young one? Or the adolescent one? Or the child? I mean, people have such primitive ideas, you know: I'm going to die and then I'm going to meet my relatives. And they visualize their relatives the way they saw them last time. And, of course, the relatives visualize their ancestors the way they saw them last time. And if you're going to survive as a soul, which one are you going to survive as? If supposing you're senile when you die, are you going to be doomed to eternal senility? The image of Christ we have as a 33-year-old man, is he still 33 years, or is he 2033 years old today? What is time? There's lots of concepts there that you've got to get rid of if you want to really embrace the spirituality that I'm trying to articulate there, but it's difficult. It's fearful too, for people.

Deepak Chopra - interview

Saberi svoj um i dovedi ga do smirenja

Razumijevanje Dhamme, puta k oslobađanju iz kruga rađanja i umiranja, je posao koji svatko od nas mora da obavi sam za sebe. Zato nastavi da se oslobađaš, i da razumiješ učenje. Zaista uloži napor u svoju kontemplaciju. Ne brini za porodicu. Za sada su oni tu gde jesu, u budućnosti biće isti kao i ti. Ne postoji nitko na svijetu tko bi mogao izbjeći toj sudbini. Buda nam je savjetovao da odložimo sve što ne posjeduje stvarnu, trajnu suštinu. Ako sve odložiš uvidjećeš istinu, ako ne, onda nećeš. Stvari su takve i to je isto za sve, zato ne brini i ne poseži za bilo čim.
Čak i ako uhvatiš sebe da razmišljaš, i to je u redu, sve dok razmišljaš mudro. Ne razmišljaj glupo. Ako misliš o svojoj djeci, razmišljaj o njima sa mudrošću, ne glupo. K čemu god da usmjeriš svoj um, razmišljaj i znaj tu stvar sa mudrošću, svjesna njezine prirode. Ako nešto znaš sa mudrošću, onda ga napuštaš i nema patnje. Um je vedar, radostan i spokojan, a okrećući se od onoga što ga uznemirava, ostaje nepodijeljen. Ovog trenutka ono što možeš uzeti kao pomoć i podršku je tvoj dah.
To je tvoje djelo, ničije više. Ostavi druge da rade svoj posao. Ti imaš svoju dužnost i odgovornost, ne treba da preuzimaš drugu koja pripada tvojoj porodici. Ne uzimaj ništa drugo, pusti sve drugo. To napuštanje će tvoj um učiniti smirenim. Jedina ti je odgovornost da sabereš svoj um i dovedeš ga do smirenja. Sve ostalo ostavi drugima. Oblici, zvukovi, mirisi, ukusi -- neka drugi o njima vode računa. Ostavi sve za sobom i radi svoj posao, izvrši svoju dužnost. Šta god da se javi u tvom umu, bilo da je strah od bola, strah od smrti, nespokojstvo zbog drugih ili nešto drugo, samo mu reci: "Ne uznemiravaj me. Ti me se više ne tičeš." Uporno govori to samoj sebi kad god vidiš da se te dhamme javljaju.

Naš pravi dom
(Govor održan nezarjeđenoj sljedbenici kraj samrtne postelje)
Ajahn Chah
Prijevod Branislav Kovačević Samo za besplatnu distribuciju, kao dar Dhamme

How to Know God

How to Know God is quite different than some of your earlier works [which are largely health-related]. I can see the connections, but you're really moving.
Firstly, I'm going to go back to do some other stuff in the area of health.
But how did that journey happen for you? What took you in this direction?
I think that everything I've done is consciousness-based. So, ultimately, this is a book about consciousness itself. So, all the other books are based on consciousness and this is a book about consciousness. It's just an extension, I think.
They're tied in?
Absolutely. "Health" and "holy" are the same words.
How could this book approach someone that may not be a spiritual person? Someone who may not believe in God? How do you think it would speak to them?
They probably won't read it, so it won't be speaking to them. I think this is a book for people who are curious and at the same time want to feel that there's a higher form of intelligence. That there is a lot that you need to look for if you want to answer questions like: Who am I? Where did I come from? What's the meaning and purpose of my existence? What happens to me after I die? Do I have a soul? What is God? And, even if God exists, does God care about who I am? So this a book for those people.
I think if you're wedded to the idea that there is nothing like that -- nothing like higher intelligence -- then you're not going to look at it. And if you're already programmed into believing that God is a dead white male in the sky, then also you're not going to look at it. So I think this is a book for those who are looking and are curious and are on a spiritual search. I don't think it's for anybody who is not on a spiritual search.
And a lot of people are looking right now. That's part of what you're talking about.
A lot of people are looking because they're not satisfied with the old answers. I mean, if you're really honest, all our religions come from a period of history when we were tribal. They're all tribal religions: they're about the tribe. All of them. It's not just Judaism, but the Eastern religions as well. They evolved from a tribal culture. The fact is that they were meant to nurture and make the tribe feel secure and that's why we've had religious conflict: tribal war. Today also, all the conflict in the world is still the same thing: It's tribal and it's religious. So as we move into a more global culture I think people are slowly and hopefully going to go beyond their tribal nature. It's going to take a while, because it's so programmed in our genes. We don't call it tribalism, we call it nationalism, it's the same thing. If you're Canadian or from the U.S., Indian or Chinese and the whole thing about whose fault was it and: You have to say sorry. No, you have to say sorry. It's all a very male, adolescent thing.
How do we move beyond that?
It'll happen. Slowly maybe. A couple of generations.
Is How to Know God a start?
A very small start.
Will people ever get to the point where their individual spiritualism is more important than their tribal spiritualism?
It's not going to happen soon. It's not going to happen for a couple of generations, if that. Ultimately it's only going to happen -- if it happens -- because of technology.
You think technology will bring us closer to individual spirituality?
Yeah. The Internet and all the other technology. What will happen -- maybe, it depends on which way the critical mass moves -- technology makes it easy for everyone to share information. And when there are no secrets left, it's very difficult to create separation.

Deepak Chopra - interview

Oslobodi se svega vanjskog

Buda je govorio da se bogat ili siromašan, mlad ili star, čovjek ili životinja, da se nijedno biće na ovom svijetu ne može zadržati dugo u jednom stanju, da je sve podložno promjeni i propadanju. To je činjenica života koju ništa ne može izmjeniti. Ali je Buda rekao i da nešto možemo učiniti -- da promatramo tjelo i um, vidimo da u njima nema neke trajne suštine, vidimo da nijedno od ta dva nije "ja" i "moje". Oni imaju samo privid suštine. Poput ove kuće, koja je samo na papiru tvoja, ali je ne možeš nigdje ponijeti sa sobom. Isto je sa tvojim bogatstvom, tvojim posjedom i porodicom -- oni su svi tvoji samo po formi, oni ti ne pripadaju istinski, oni ti ne pripadaju po prirodi stvari. Ova se istina naravno ne odnosi samo na tebe; svi su u istom položaju, čak i poštovani Buda i njegovi prosvjetljeni učenici. Oni se od nas razlikuju samo u jednoj stvari, a to je u svom prihvaćanju stvari kakve jesu; oni vide da ne može biti drugačije.Zato nas je Buda učio da promatramo i ispitujemo ovo naše tjelo, od glave do pete i natrag. Samo pogledaj to tjelo. Što vidiš? Ima li bilo čega istinski čistog tu? Možeš li naći neku srž? Čitavo to tjelo postupno propada i Buda nas je poučavao da ono nama ne pripada. Prirodno je za tjelo da tako bude, jer su svi uslovljeni fenomeni podložni promjeni. Kako bi drugačije i moglo biti? Zapravo nema ničeg pogrešnog u načinu na koji tjelo jeste. Ne patiš ti zbog tjela, već zbog pogrešne misli. Kada ono što je ispravno vidiš kao pogrešno, tada si osuđen na patnju.To je poput vode u rjeci. Ona prirodno teče nizbrdo, nikada ne teče uzbrdo, jer je takva njena priroda. Ako neki čovjek ode do obale rijeke i u njemu se, dok promatra vodu kako brzo teče niz padinu, javi šašava želja da ona krene uz padinu, on će patiti. I što god da napravi, pogrešna misao neće dati mira njegovom umu. Biće nesrećan zbog svog pogrešnog stava, razmišljanja protiv struje. Ako bi imao ispravan stav, uvidio bi da voda neizbežno teče niz padinu i sve dok ne shvati i prihvati tu činjenicu taj čovjek će biti razdražljiv i uznemiren. >
Ta rijeka što mora teći niz padinu je poput tvoga tijela. Nekada mlado, tvoje tijelo sada je staro i ono sada meandrira prema smrti. Ne opterećuj se željom da bude drugačije, jer nemaš moć da to izmijeniš. Buda nam je govorio da uvidimo stvari onakve kakve one jesu i onda napustimo svoju vezanost za njih. Taj osjećaj napuštanja uzmi kao svoje utočište.
Nastavi da meditiraš čak i onda kada se osjećaš umorna i iscrpljena. Neka tvoj um prati disanje. Napravi nekoliko dubokih udaha i onda čvrsto veži svoj um uz dah koristeći mantru "Buddho". Neka ti ta vježba pređe u naviku. Što se iscrpljenija osjećaš, to suptilnija i usredsređenija tvoja koncentracija mora biti, kako bi se mogla nositi sa osjećajem bola koji se javlja. Kada počneš da osjećaš umor, tada potpuno zaustavi svoje misli, neka se um sabere i onda se okreni ka dahu. Ne prekidaj recitovanje u sebi: "Bud-dho, Bud-dho."
Oslobodi se svega vanjskog. Ne hvataj se za misli o svojoj djeci ili rođacima, ne hvataj se za bilo šta. Napusti ga. Neka se um ujedini u jednu točku i neka tako sabran počiva na dahu. Neka dah bude jedini objekat znanja. Koncentriraj se sve dok um ne postane izuzetno suptilan, sve dok osjećanja ne postanu beznačajna i postoji samo velika unutrašnja jasnoća i budnost. Kada se u takvom stanju javi osjećaj bola , on će postepeno sam od sebe i proći. Na kraju, gledaćeš na dah kao na rođaka koji ti je došao u posjetu.
Kada nas rođak napušta, izlazimo sa njim i ispraćamo ga. Posmatramo ga sve dok se ne izgubi s vidika i onda ulazimo u kuću. Na isti način promatramo dah. Ako je dah grub, znamo da je grub, ako je suptilan, znamo da je suptilan. Kako postaje sve finiji, tako ga pratimo, dok nam istovremeno um postaje sve budniji. Na kraju dah sasvim iščezava i sve što ostaje je osjećaj budnosti. To se zove sresti Budu. Posjedujemo tu jasnu budnost koja se naziva "Buddho", onaj koji zna, onaj koji je budan, koji zrači. Srećemo Budu i boravimo sa njim, sa znanjem i jasnoćom. Jer onaj koji je ušao u parinibbanu bio je samo historijski Buda od krvi i mesa. Istinskog Budu, onog koji je jasno blistajuće znanje, možemo još uvek doživjeti i dostići danas i kada to postignemo srce je jedinstveno.
Zato ostavi sve, odloži, sve osim znanja. Neka te ne zavedu prizori i zvuci koji se jave u tvome umu tokom meditacije. Sve ih ostavi na stranu. Ne hvataj se ni za jedno od njih. Samo ostani sa tom ne-dvojnom svesnošću. Ne brini zbog prošlosti ili budućnosti, samo budi mirna i stići ćeš do mjesta sa kojeg više nema napredovanja, ni nazadovanja, niti zaustavljanja, gde nema ničeg za čime bi posegla ili za šta bi se vezala. Zašto? Zato što nema sopstva, nema "mene" ili "mojeg". Sve je otišlo. Buda nas je podučavao da se na taj način ispraznimo od svega, da ništa ne vučemo za sobom. Da znamo i da se, znajući, ni za šta ne vezujemo.

Naš pravi dom
(Govor održan nezarjeđenoj sljedbenici kraj samrtne postelje)
Ajahn Chah
Prijevod Branislav Kovačević Samo za besplatnu distribuciju, kao dar Dhamme

Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra looks relaxed. A few hours after he leaves our meeting -- seven, to be exact -- he'll be speaking to a crowd of about 4000 people who will all have paid between $45 and $125 to be brought towards enlightenment by his sonorous voice. And, when he delivers his message, he will be electric and compelling. Right now, however, on the last day of a 21 city tour, he's almost not even here. "And I feel more comfortable," in the experience of meditation, "than I feel in, you know, every day [life]."
It's difficult to reconcile this Deepak with the one seen booming from podiums and illuminating from videos. Firstly, he's not as tall as expected. The bestselling author who is shaping up to be an international spiritual leader is of average height or slightly less. His speaking voice -- when not enunciating for a crowd -- is soft and you find yourself leaning in close to make sure you catch each delicately accented syllable. Despite the fact that he's written 30 books which have collectively sold in excess of 10 million copies and who is read by people as far ranging yet influential as the Dalai Lama and Oprah, Chopra is modest enough to irritate an interviewer. His accomplishments are brain-numbingly impressive but he goes out of his way to show that, even if everyone else is impressed, he is not. In person, Chopra's magnetism and brilliance are not unexpected. What surprises, however, are his flashes of ironic humor. When asked about his ultimate goal, for instance, Chopra responds with a laugh that he hasn't decided what he wants to do when he grows up.
During our conversation, only one thing brings him to the point of high animation. On the day of our interview, the local morning newspaper has run a story on him that includes a quote by someone who thinks Chopra's latest theories are hooey. Victor J. Stenger, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii is quoted as having written that, "no compelling argument or evidence requires that quantum mechanics plays a central role in human consciousness or provides instantaneous, holistic connections across the universe."
"I'd love to do a public debate with people like that, you know?" responds Chopra. "The fact is, to me it's shocking that some quantum physicists don't know their quantum physics."
If Chopra is as game for a public debate as he seems, one would think some reality television producers are missing the boat. Survivors on an island? How passé. Chopra is offering to show you the face of God while practically guaranteeing it won't be the face you expected. It's a tough game to beat.
His most recent book, How to Know God: The Soul's Journey Into the Mystery of Mysteries, has been described as his most ambitious and important to date. And while it also seems to be the book most inviting controversy, Chopra seems a little surprised and almost disappointed when he reports the controversy around How to Know God has been practically nil. At worst, Chopra feels that the quiet might just indicate that some people are trying hard not to pay attention. "A lot of people ignore things when they don't know how to deal with it."
In How to Know God Chopra proposes that the human nervous system has seven biological responses that correspond to seven levels of divine experience. He weaves his theories with input from the fields of psychology, neurology and quantum physics to tell us that, not only is God not dead, but all of us have been hardwired to find him.
While all of this sounds esoteric enough to send all but the New Age rabble running, How to Know God, recently released in paperback, has been Chopra's bestselling work to date. No small feat, considering that each of his books -- from Ageless Body, Timeless Mind to The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success -- have seemed to outsell the next and collectively they have created a trail to spiritual awareness unsurpassed by any writer or spiritualist in recent memory.
Born in India, Chopra, now "chronologically" 53, lives in San Diego with his wife, Rita. An M.D. and neuro-endocrinologist, he is the founder and present CEO of the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California.

January Magazine: How long have you lived in the United States?
Deepak Chopra: Since 1970. So 31 years.
I know you were educated partly in India and partly in the United States.
Yes. I went to medical school in India and I did my training in Boston in internal medicine and endocrinology -- neuro-endocrinology -- I did my residencies and fellowships and teaching at [Boston University] Medical School and Harvard Medical School. I had a practice in Boston. I was in Boston from 1970 to 1993. I moved to California eight years ago.
What year did your first book come out?
1985.
And 26 books since?
I think it's 28 now. And 30 at the end of the year.
How do you keep finding the inspiration?
Well, I have a lot of time on airplanes. That's enough to do a book. I've written several books on flights.
Do you work on a laptop or in longhand?
Both. I do all kinds of things. I work on a laptop. I write longhand. I tape record.
In 1999, Time magazine named you one of the top 100 icons and heroes of the 20th century. That's got to be kind of scary.
No. I think what happens is, 10 people get together and throw around some names and then they make a list. There are so many lists. People magazine has their own and everyone does their own.
It's true. But they didn't pick me: they picked you.
But I'm just in the public eye.
How does that feel, though?
It's neither here nor there.
I would think it would have a positive influence on your practice. It certainly makes you able to convey your message to more people.
You know, a lot of people don't pay attention to it.
To your message or to the fact that you're an icon?
The fact that Time magazine did that. It's just a magazine, you know? A lot people don't look at that. Ignore it.
It never influences the directions that you take?
No. I think a lot of people wonder whether it's true. A lot of people think: Time magazine isn't as good as it used to be. [Laughs] It really doesn't influence anything.
How to Know God has widely been called your most important to date. Do you agree?
Yeah, probably. It's the latest, so...
Has there been controversy [with this book]?
Surprisingly, no. But, as you've seen in the book itself, there are endorsements from Catholic priests and nuns and rabbis, the Dalai Lama and the head of the Sufi movement. I've got, basically, all the major religious leaders endorsing the book. And they're internationally known: all of them. So there hasn't been controversy. Maybe a little bit from fundamentalists in the U.S. But, by and large, no. I'm actually surprised.
That is surprising. What is that about, do you think? Is it the right message at the right time? Are you the right messenger?Or they're ignoring it. A lot of people ignore things when they don't know how to deal with it. I think the fundamentalists, some of them, attack it and the rest ignore it. I was on Larry King with, what's his name? The son of Billy Graham? And he was waving his Bible throughout the show: That's the only book that counts. A lot of people believe that and fine. We're not going to fight against the Bible, right?