A Great Mentor
One of the most significant people in my life is my dear friend, Jenny Hoang. Although our paths have parted over time, I remain deeply enriched by her friendship. I took the time to read some of her blog stories (under Jenny’s Writings in English), and would like to share some of her wise words:
One day it just dawned on me that what really matters was the intensity and truthfulness of the experiences at the moment. Time has nothing to say about it.
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The quote pales when taken out of the context of the wonderful story, so please read of her remarkable life, but how powerful is that momentary dawning when we realize the fetters of what we perceive as time and aging and distance, are revealed to be ephemeral. That voice of “I” that speaks of time only clouds what little we know of the depth of our individual timelessness.
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One thing I know for sure at this very moment is that I have plenty of love and sympathy for everyone on this earth. The seed of this wonderful feeling has been with me all the time but I, being overwhelmed by the ups and downs of survival, did not pay attention to it, let alone nurturing it. Hardships of different kinds inside and outside have taken turn to conceal it and have tried to damage it. Half a century has passed by, now that I look back, the love has never been concealed or damaged. On the contrary, it fed on itself and grew and grew and waited and waited…for me to be ready.
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Ready to have both feet on the ground and smile and be proud. Be proud of what I am and of what I am not.
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Jenny’s words affirm how life can be a struggle, and I find such hope in that faith and insight into self that is able to look deeper.
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She was very sad and had no hope in a turning around from…wars. I myself maintained that Humanity never dies, and nobody has ever to die because of it. For Humanity is the expression of the Universal Truth, like the Sun or the water at the bottom of the sea. The clouds may seem to chase the sun away sometimes, but *it* is always there. The hurricane may cause the waves to ravage the sea at times but hurricanes and winds are part of ephemeral happenings; When they leave, the ocean will be calm again. That is water in its natural and genuine state.
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I love this imagery - it brings it down to earth, so I can understand it. True genius isn’t the ability to conceive of higher truth, but rather the ability to explain it to children. I am reading How to See Yourself As You Really Are by the Dalai Lama, and he explains this teaching as well, that all that changes in the world is ephemeral, and to free oneself from pleasure and pain is to see things as “dependent arisings,” in the context of all other changing, and not to mistake it for real existence.