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Monks Under the Microscope

August 12, 2006

ph_may_monk.jpg

Orchid Monk ~ Canon 30d

Monks are being studied, probably right now as we speak. It's true. One of the Dalai Lama's great quests in this life has been to blend spirituality and science together. This really should come as no surprise, as Buddhists have a long tradition of inquiry, teaching and learning. The Buddha himself spent 40 some odd years devoting himself to teaching after his enlightenment. Through his example, and a real desire to help mankind discover the nature of reality, he laid a foundation for a spiritual and educational movement which has survived and thrived for over 2500 years.

Today, there are over 15,000 Dharma* Centers dotting the planet, which welcome people of all faiths to learn and study. Buddhism has never set out to irradicate "competing" religions, but to support and work along side them. It is, I believe, the foundational commitment toward enlightenment, or "waking up" that drives the Dalai Lama to find out what reality is. If something is true, it will hold up under scientific evalution. Each new scientific discovery is another baby step toward humanity awakening and finding a path toward peace.

Which leads me back to the teeny weeny microscopic monk hovering over my words today. {Well, in reality he was about half an inch tall, here he looks like a skyscraper.} Science is beginning to confirm what Zen Masters and Christian, Jewish and Muslim mystics have known for centuries ~ meditation, prayer, quieting the mind and listening to spirit, is a powerful practice toward healing and inner peace. When anyone, monk or not, enters into a meditative state ~ quieting the mind and breathing deeply, allowing the dust to settle to the bottom of the snowglobes of confusion in our minds, our brain chemistry actually changes. Our brain activity also changes. Our patterns of thinking slowly but surely miraculously change.

Note the abundant use of the word "change" here. Change is scary, right? Misery loves company, why would I want to give up all my bad habits? Because mental suffering is the worst kind of suffering of all. Buddhists have long believed that if you heal the mind of its suffering, myriads of other maladies will jump onto the caboose of the healing train whose Conductor is the Heart-Mind.

You see, Buddhists do not differentiate between the heart and mind ~ they are one and the same. Way beautiful, eh? Doesn't it seems like us folks in the west are pretty convinced our hearts and minds are separate? At work we use our minds at the expense of our hearts, and in our relationships, we sometimes completely stop thinking... barreling down tunnels of out-of-control emotional influences.

WAKE UP! Heart, body and mind are entwined together! We were never meant to be fractured and fragmented beings wandering aimlessly across the landscape. We were created for wholeness. Study on this. Ponder it. The flowers of enlightenment will begin to take root and eventually flower at our feet if we take these substantial steps toward inner peace.


Need a place to begin studying? Go watch the free online video of Robert Thurman and Sharon Salzberg's lecture at the cathedral, from which I obtained much of the information for this post. CLICK HERE.


*Dharma = teachings of enlightenment.
Image shot at the Cathedral Flower Mart in May.

Posted by vincent at August 12, 2006 12:00 AM

Comments

What a facinating perspective that little monk presents to us. Connect mind and heart and turn your world upside down. I love it. Will listen to Thurman and Salzberg tomorrow. Sounds facinating. No question meditation bring about new perspectives.

Posted by: janet at August 12, 2006 02:05 PM

the wonders of nature, the messages in its seasons, thank you for taking us in for a closer look.

Posted by: tongue in cheek at August 21, 2006 10:29 AM