Won Buddhism of Manhattan

“We live in this dualistic manner,” said Rev. Lee, boldly and clearly, speaking of how we falsely construe the world in terms of “You” and “Me,” and how our impressions disguise the TRUTH,  that there is only ONE.  ILWON

I experienced her entire discourse as burning something inside me -- cleansing, eliminating debris, and distinctly prophetic. Thinking about it still sends shivers through my spine. And her manner struck me as that of an old prophet
– John the Baptist.

Instinctively my mind went back to my spiritual path: SUFISM. Yes, the truth is ONE, my consciousness confirmed it.

Every spiritual path tries to break down the idea of the One and the Many. What we see as distinctions are only illusion. There is no “you” and there is no “me” -- it’s Me everywhere, and it’s You everywhere. Surely, I thought, all my spiritual teachers have emphasized that we need to look at ourselves in others, and that separation is a false perception.

Thinking of my spiritual teacher, I felt a light rain throughout my consciousness: “It’s easy to love those who are lovable.” But my mind explores further. I know when those I love frustrate me, it’s as if a blade severs our connection – we become separated, thrust back into a world of dualities. My loved one is no longer One with me, she is she and I am I. How can I help to repair this severance?

I can hear another Teacher in my mind: “What do we do with those we don’t like, or who are simply indifferent to us?” Shamefully I often think ‘they are they, while I am me.’ That’s the dualistic mentality I sometimes live by and what Rev. Lee was pointing out so piercingly in her talk.

I need to find a path that teaches me it is not too late for disciplined Meditation. I am afraid of oversimplifying here with a torrent of words,  Words are so vastly insufficient. With meditation I will be still and silent. And in stillness and silence, non-duality manifests. The Silence, the great Silence, the space between infinitesimal particles, the space between stars, the emptiness that exists alone, undivided, the only thing that is real is where non-duality exists.

How can I achieve this transformation of consciousness? Is it possible to achieve it?  Mystics have followed that road throughout their lives, and we believe in their  transformations. Scientists, philosophers and other practitioners are searching through their own mediums for that connection as well.

Yet there is a great resistance from the mind, it never wants to cease. The disciple of Meditation can experience Oneness. Though extremely simplistic in my elaborations, experience is what counts and what I am after.

My mind and my consciousness have experienced both Duality and Oneness. Both exist but only one is real. I want Oneness, and so I am taking one step at a time on the road of transformation.  I know it is possible to have it. My consciousness tells me that it is so. My heart is unfailing. My mind recalls the countless illustrations I have seen and experienced through spiritual teachers, dreams and life.

What I need is discipline and perseverance.

I must remember instances when I have experienced grace and felt as one with everyone.  It was easy for me as a child, after a spiritual retreat. The same nuns I disliked on ordinary days were able to help transform my young consciousness into the consciousness of LOVE during those retreats.

And when I fell in love for the first time, I felt an overwhelming, oceanic Love in which all life was included.

Again as an adult, when seeking contact with the Source, I was eventually routed mysteriously to Sufism where I learned and experienced Oneness in the form of immense generosity, love, and compassion. I experienced HU, the essence of the essence. HAQ: Truth; HAY: Life; AHAD: Oneness. I learned to trust the Spirit, that Divine Guidance that leads one’s life to where we need to be.

It is this Guidance that has brought me to Won Buddhist temple, where the characteristics I experience as the Living Truth exist in quiet splendor: Generosity, gentle guidance, acceptance, luminous teachings, and love.

I thank Reverend Grace for her bold reminder that non-duality exists, that it is the only Reality that offers and delivers Liberation, Love, and Oneness. I am thankful to Reverend Lee, Minju and Sungin. They are bright stars shinning on his earth, cultivating non-duality.

As a new disciple, I am attempting to learn step-by-step discipline. Discipline, that’s a big one for me. I know that in due time my Guides will help me to persevere and to extend discipline to all areas of my life, so as to stay true to my Buddha nature.

With love to all,

August. 2006