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About the author
Experienced as a clinical
meditation teacher with more than 30 years experience in the field, having
conducted workshops and courses in centres from Maryborough to Mackay. Some of
these have been with TAFE, others with various health, drug and alcohol
dependence groups. Months spent at Ashrams and Monasteries in SE Asia where Alan
studied Eastern meditation systems. The adaptation of some systems to treatment of stress, mental disorders and
substance abuse has been successful. Accreditation as a meditation teacher
received in Thailand in 1996 at Wat
Dhammakaya. Since retirement in 1989 Alan has conducted courses and seminars for groups seeking improved health and quality of life through meditation and relaxation, The University of Third Age (U3A), High Schools, College of Technical And Further Education (TAFE), Bundaberg Base Hospital (drug and alcohol addiction), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community (drug & alcohol withdrawal), Queensland Mental Health Assn, Gawler foundation (Bundaberg branch) ***** Articles published for 26 consecutive months in INSIGHT
magazine. Self-published as course handouts: STRESS (A Layman's Approach) MEDITATION PRINCIPLES . An anthology of Insight submissions: TALES FROM THE TEMPLE . PREFACE
Buddha considered that all men who cling to their
personal beliefs and views and do not enlarge their minds are blind and he
recounted a parable, now recorded as the Jaccandha
Üdana; 'It is told that there was a ruler of Sävatthi who instructed a servant
to gather together all men whom he could find throughout the kingdom who were
without sight from birth, and were not familiar with an Elephant. The servant
was to take them, one by one, into the Elephant house and allow each to feel a
different part of the Elephant. As he did this he must say to each, ‘This is
an Elephant.’ The servant did as told, allowing one man to feel the trunk, another to
feel the tail and others a leg, an ear, or the back. When each blind man had felt the part of the Elephant presented to him,
and considered himself well versed in his knowledge of the Elephant, the King
came and asked, ‘Blind men, please tell me, what is an Elephant?’ As each man gave his impression of the Elephant, an argument broke out.
One said that an Elephant was long and thin with an end like a mop — he had
felt the tail. Another who had felt the tusk agreed that an Elephant was long
and thin, but was smooth and curved and came to a point. The man who had felt
the ear said that an Elephant was like a winnowing basket. The
argument soon developed into a confrontation as each man claimed that he alone
was right. As far as each man was concerned the feature introduced to him as an
Elephant was the complete Elephant. None could know the Elephant by sight
because of his disability. All could have known the complete Elephant by
accepting each other's view and not being so dogmatic in their own view.' *
*
* A belief develops as the result of an experience. Some people believe in a god form, others in a god force. They believe in a god of their own creation; created within their own minds and supported by their own experiences, their own logistics and anecdotal accounts of the god experience of others. A belief can be a paradox whereby the atheist believes in the non-existence of a god and the agnostic believes that it is not possible to gain knowledge of the existence of a god of an abstruse form. When each blind man had experienced the part of the Elephant presented to him as an Elephant and become familiar with that part, he believed he knew the complete Elephant but he knew only the trunk, the tail, or some other part of the Elephant that was presented to him as an Elephant. This reasoning is applicable to beliefs in various god concepts. Some religions, some beliefs, claim that theirs is the only true belief, and that theirs is the only true concept of god; they think they are right but their views are narrow. Does
this mean that there are as many gods and as many beliefs as there are people?
No, although there are as many personal opinions as there are people, there can
be only one God; just as there was only one Elephant presented to the men and
knowledge of a part of one Elephant does not constitute knowledge of the entire
Elephant. People believe in the part of God that they know, and consider that as
being the complete God. They believe their god to be the only god when they know
only a portion of the complete God; each becomes blind to the beliefs of others. When
all people accept the views of others, while recognizing their own concept as
merely a part of God, they will know the true God: the aggregate of all beliefs;
even though some are in direct conflict with others in their way of thinking.
When we speak of a god, we speak of something that has many parts and no part
can ever be greater than the aggregate of those parts. Whether known as Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh; a special purpose God
of some Eastern belief or the Gods of Mount Olympus; the Great Spirit of
American Indians or the humble Ancestor Spirits of the Shamans, the numbers are
infinite. However, put all of the god concepts and their achievements together
and there you have the God of this existence. *
*
* We form our own concept of these gods. They did not exist for us until we were told of them. Is it better to have statues of Gods such as Brahma, various Saints or Vishnu to help people strengthen their beliefs by visualizing a familiar form of their Deity when they pray? Some may regard this as idolatry but the abstruse form promotes the creation of as many god concepts as there are people, resulting in individual interpretations and applications of the word of god. Buddha
did not teach us to pray to any statue. He taught us to seek refuge within
ourselves, to find contentment by following the middle path and to overcome
desire and discontent. Praying to a god for help, then waiting for a favourable
result: that is not the way. Many people make a request of their God but few
show the courtesy of waiting in meditation for a reply. Continually repeating
the same prayer or request shows a lack of faith in granting of the original
request. *****
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