Mysticisms

[joko]

Dear readers and Forum members,

Did you remember what did you think and what came to your mind when you first read or heard of the word mysticism?

And other words such as spirit, spiritual, enlightenment, meditation, etc? What about our perception about those words? Are they changing in time? (Our perception, not the words)

Yesterday I came across a good book, which I am sure many of us have read it. Why I said so? The book contains stories, many of which I recognized as having read somewhere else before, in books or articles written by other authors.

In my next post, I will write the first two of the stories. Reading those first two stories reminded me of the very first sentence of Tao Te Ching. Relevant also with what we practice: in Shaolin Wahnam, we do not learn Kung Fu; we practice Kung Fu. We practice Chikung, we practice meditation, and we walk our talk.

First, let me quote the Glossary written at the book:

GLOSSARY

Theology: The art of telling stories about the Divine. Also the art of listening to them.

Mysticisms: The art of tasting and feeling in your heart the inner meaning of such
stories to the point that they transform you.

_________________________________________________

Best regards,
Joko

[joko]

--

EAT YOUR OWN FRUIT

A disciple once complained:
“You tell us stories, but you never reveal their meaning to us.”
Said the Master:
“How would you like it if someone offered you fruit and masticated it before giving it
to you?”

A VITAL DIFFERENCE

Uwais, the Sufi, was once asked:
“What has Grace brought you?”
He replied:
“When I wake in the morning I feel like a man who is not sure he will live till
evening.”
Said the questioner:
“But doesn’t everyone know this?”
Said Uwais:
“They certainly do. But not all of them feel it.”

No one ever became drunk on the word wine.
_________________________________________________

[Damian Kissey]

Before , personally ,
Theology implies a priest preaching in the pulpit and Mysticism evokes thoughts of astral travelling / ESP ...

Now they mean more like .....

Theology: The art of telling stories about the Divine. Also the art of listening to them.

Mysticisms: The art of tasting and feeling in your heart the inner meaning of such
stories to the point that they transform you.

.

[Zhang Wuji]

Excellent thread, Joko.

These are great stories, and they enlighten far more than some preacher shouting from a pulpit to a captive audience trapped by illusions of propriety.

I recognise these stories from one of my favourite books of all time: The Prayer of the Frog, which is a collection of stories compiled by a Catholic priest. Will you revealing the title of the mystery book any time soon?

[joko]

Thank you, Dr. Damian and Wuji, for your responses.

I recognise these stories from one of my favourite books of all time: The Prayer of the Frog, which is a collection of stories compiled by a Catholic priest. Will you revealing the title of the mystery book any time soon?

The title of the book is The Song of the Bird, by the same Catholic priest.

Joko

[joko]

These are great stories, and they enlighten far more than some preacher shouting from a pulpit to a captive audience trapped by illusions of propriety.

Indeed.

Dear everyone,

What is your opinion about the above two stories? What about having some discussion here? For example, do you agree with my statement in Post no.1 that the stories are related to the first sentence in Tao Te Ching?

Tao can not be explained; anything that can be explained is not Tao

And, why is it relevant to what we practice?

In my next post, I will submit another story, about Spirituality.

Joko

[Maxime]

Dear Joko,

I enjoyed reading this thread. Thank you very much. I am looking forward reading more

Kindest regards from France,

Your Brother,

[joko]

.
TRUE SPIRITUALITY

The Master was asked, “What is Spirituality?”
He said, “Spirituality is that which succeeds in bringing one to Inner Transformation.”
“But if I apply the traditional methods handed down by the Masters, is that not Spirituality?”
“It is not Spirituality if it does not perform its function for you. A blanket is no longer a blanket if it does not keep you warm.”
“So Spirituality does change?”
“People change and needs change. So what was Spirituality once is Spirituality no more. What generally goes under the name of Spirituality is merely the record of past methods.”

Don’t cut the person to fit the coat.
__________________________________________________ _________

[joko]

Dear everyone,

In my next installment, I will submit five stories, specifically arranged in the order as compiled by the author of the book. Two of them, the first and the third, I have read before. The first time I read those two stories elsewhere, I considered them as anecdotes.
But, in that book, by reading them again in relation with the other stories, the stories gave me another new meaning.

This is what the author wrote at the first page of the book:

Everyone loves stories and you will find plenty of them in this book: Stories that are Buddhist, Christian, Zen, Hasidic, Russian, Chinese, Hindu, Sufi; stories ancient and contemporary.
And they all have a special quality: if read in a certain kind of way, they will produce spiritual growth.

I hope you'll enjoy the stories as well as I enjoyed them, too.

Our gratitude to the late author of the book.

Best regards,
Joko

PS. The book was written more than 25 years ago.

[joko]

.
THE JOB

Enter the first applicant.
“You understand that this is a simple test we are giving you before we offer you the job you have applied for?”
“Yes. “
“Well, what is two plus two?”
“Four.”

Enter the second applicant.
“Are you ready for the test?”
“Yes”
“Well, what is two plus two?”
“Whatever the boss says it is.”
The second applicant got the job.

Which comes first, orthodoxy or the truth?

DIOGENES

The philosopher Diogenes was dining on bread and lentils. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus who lived in considerable comfort by fawning on the king.
Said Aristippus, “Learn subservience to the king and you will not live on lentils.”
Said Diogenes, “Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to cultivate the king.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

When Krushchev pronounced his famous denunciation of Stalin, someone in the Congress Hall is reported to have said, “Where were you, Comrade Krushchev, when all those innocent people were being slaughtered?”
Krushchev paused, looked round the Hall, and said, “Will the person who said that kindly stand up!”
Tension mounted in the Hall. No one moved.
Said Krushchev, “Well, whoever you are, you have your answer now. I was in exactly the same position then as you find yourself in now.

THE TRUTH SHOP

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the name of the shop: THE TRUTH SHOP.
The salesgirl was very polite: What type of truth did I wish to purchase, partial or whole? The whole truth, of course. No deceptions for me, no defences, no rationalizations.
I wanted my truth plain and unadulterated. She waved me on to another side of the store.
The salesman there pointed to the price tag. “The price is very high, sir,” he said.
“What is it?” I asked, determined to get the whole truth, no matter what it cost. “Your security, sir,” he answered.
I came away with a heavy heart. I still need the safety of my unquestioned beliefs.

THE NARROW PATH

God warned the people of an earthquake that would swallow up the waters of the land. The water that replaced them would make everyone insane.
Only the prophet took God seriously. He saved up a supply of water in his mountain cave to last him till he died.
Sure enough, the earthquake came, the water vanished and new water filled the streams and lakes and rivers. A few months later the prophet came down to the plains.
Everyone had indeed gone mad, and attacked him, for they thought it was he who was insane.
So the prophet went back to his mountain cave, glad for the water he had saved. But he could not bear his loneliness so he went down to the plains once more. Again he was rejected by the people for he was so unlike them.
The prophet then succumbed. He threw away the water he had saved, drank the new water with the people and became one with them in their insanity.

The way to Truth is narrow. You always walk alone.
__________________________________________________

[Jeroen]

Cultivating the spirit

Dearest Sisook,
Thank you for you question and beautiful stories

Dear readers and Forum members,
Did you remember what did you think and what came to your mind when you first read or heard of the word mysticism?
And other words such as spirit, spiritual, enlightenment, meditation, etc? What about our perception about those words? Are they changing in time? (Our perception, not the words)
Joko

Here is my change in perception around the word spirituality

First, something vague talked about by vague people. Not related to objective truth, or my own deeper questions like, why are people doing what they are doing?

Later, an category of books an inquiry which offered interesting questions and direction, which I could not find in university. Though still surrounded for me with a feeling of not cohesive integrity. It triggered many diverse emotions and thoughts in me.

Later still, a clear path of inquiry and practice in which I wanted to read more and more books from different disciplines and perspectives. Furthermore, something I wanted to dive in deeper and start to practice. For me, going to zen school.

Now
Spirituality = cultivating the spirit = cultivating the spirit!

Jeroen