the still point

Manorama has a beautiful article about the OM cycle -- the beginning, middle and ending of every feeling, event, perception, etc. OM, which is really made of the letters A-U-M, represents so many things, but here it represents the circle of our existence -- the birth, life, death, re-birth, and so on. For those of us who still have a storehouse of karma, it is never-ending and can seem pointless -- like the caucus race in Alice and Wonderland, or running on a hamster's wheel. We race around and around the circle, which represents the roller-coaster-like rise and fall of our existence. We whirl from experience to experience, from ups to downs and back again. We think that how we perceive our world is how it really exists. We are constantly thrown when things change or do not last, because we keep making mistakes about how things work. At the center of the circle is stillness and emptiness. If we can just step off the circle, we can get to that place; we can see ourselves as we really are, and our world as really is. But the only way to get there is through meditation. We have to still the mind, develop a single pointed focus, so that we can see things clearly enough to step off the OM cycle.

But we can't still the mind if we hurt each other. If we violate our codes of ethics -- if we hurt other beings, or lie to ourselves or others, or gossip and cause others to be ill-thought of, or ruin other people's relationships, the mind is too embroiled in negative emotions like anger, ignorance, jealousy, clinging and grasping to ever get still. So the first step towards stillness is to embrace a spiritual path -- e.g., Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Secular Humanism, etc., -- and follow its code of ethics faithfully. And follow the code ALL THE TIME. You can't be selective. It can't be o.k. to harm one person but not o.k. to harm another. It can't be o.k. to lie sometimes. All ancient spiritual traditions embrace the same values of non-harming, non-stealing, truthfulness, etc. While great violence has been done in the name of many of these traditions, at their core, they create beautiful frameworks for peace and happiness. Follow the framework and the mind can be still. Still the mind, and see clearly. See clearly, and step off the OM cycle.