The Gay Friend, The Religion, and The Acceptance

It’s not about bragging how I’ve been meeting various people and they happen to give me tons of life questions to which “42” cannot be the answer (if you’ve ever seen ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy,’ you’ll get the reference).

But it’s still true after all, that most of stories begin when people meet and make a life out of it.

They deliver statements, ultimatums; pose questions and push each other until eventually, a new journey springs forth. And you’ll never know what kind of people you’ve just passed on a road or bridge; what stories lie at the soles of those worn shoes; what hides behind that glimpse of a smile.

The Chance of Happiness

“But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much. My experience tells me that we get no more than two or three such chances in a life time, and if we let them go, we regret it for the rest of our lives.”

—Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami

Oft times, we complaint for the unhappiness we have in life, for the misfortune we believe keep being bestowed upon us. Life at that rate seems unfair and annoying. We of course wish to have joy and beauteous smiles like everyone else we aspire to be like. We just can't understand why it seemingly is our fate to be the unlucky ones overtime.

Happiness, might be something very expensive to have. It's like a wild rare flower that is hunted by everyone but available in a very limited stock. You don't know where and when it may bloom and sprout, and how long of time you have so that you can grasp it. Before you know it, the flower has withered and turned rot already, and you lose your moment of lifetime.

Divine Forgiveness In The Eyes of Karma

Becoming a non-perfect human being, performing mistake after mistake, and presenting vulnerable traits, we are seemingly bound to commit sins and various crimes. We may not be red-handed for doing so, but the guilt and the imprint of the deeds remain, carved in our memories that regulate conscience. When the destined time comes upon us, we fall into the abyss of regret and impossible wish to turn back time.

This is where exactly religion plays its role. Beside begging for material possession, there is another form of prayer that people usually do: asking for forgiveness. By gaining the thought of being forgiven by the Supreme Being, people possess the sense of security and thus peace. Not to mention what is the purpose of prayer if it's not for self-salvation?

We Come Alone, We Leave Alone

The time we were created after the fertilization, we were one single cell. Trying to survive from the loneliness, the tiny little cell then multiplied into many, hoping it would have a company. Unfortunately, things never work the way we wish them to be, so instead of having friends, the myriad cells formed one single being called human, in our case. Once again, the single entity feels lonely.

The human cries right after the birth. They biologists say, it's physiologically because the baby is shocked to be exposed to the cold temperature outside the womb; anyhow, the cry is a good sign because it means the initially collapsed lung can work properly after the birth. But maybe, the cry is also a sign of the sorrow that a human will start: the cold lonely path in life.

A Farewell

          FAREWELL, thou little Nook of mountain-ground,
          Thou rocky corner in the lowest stair
          Of that magnificent temple which doth bound
          One side of our whole vale with grandeur rare;
          Sweet garden-orchard, eminently fair,
          The loveliest spot that man hath ever found,
          Farewell!--we leave thee to Heaven's peaceful care,
          Thee, and the Cottage which thou dost surround.

          Our boat is safely anchored by the shore,
          And there will safely ride when we are gone;                10
          The flowering shrubs that deck our humble door
          Will prosper, though untended and alone:
          Fields, goods, and far-off chattels we have none:
          These narrow bounds contain our private store
          Of things earth makes, and sun doth shine upon;
          Here are they in our sight--we have no more.

They Ask "How To Be a Buddhist?"

There are questions in life that may never be fated to meet their own answers, like "What is God?" or "What is Love?" or "What is Self?", and many more of them. No matter how we try to label some definitions upon those matters, it feels like we're fooling ourselves, pretending that we understand despite the honest fact within our mind. Dewi Lestari (Dee) in her book "Madre" said that God and Love are experience instead of explanation, journey instead of destination, expressing she didn't know the real answer when being asked about.

And as I've been learning Buddhism for some couple of years, it turns out there are "Buddhist-curious" out there who happen to be questioning some phenomenons in their lives and they've found it within Buddhism instead of the religion marked on their ID Card. My action has been inviting them to come and see me, and they ask me why I choose to learn Buddhism, and in the end they want to be "more Buddhist".