Reflections on Spiritual Practice

 

By Yi Nung (Originally in Chinese)

 

Whenever I worked on farmlands, I always felt full of energy. According to my experience, farmers don’t go to the farmland to work, but to be “recharged.” The energy and smell of vegetation and earth make one feel elevated and oblivious to the world.

From my work on a farm, I had a special experience of Master’s painting, “Simple Joy.” At first sight, I could not understand why a clump of grass in the wind was called “Simple Joy” until I became an organic farmer. One day after work, I leisurely sat down for a rest and subconsciously recited the Holy Names with relaxation. A cool breeze gently blew over me, and my whole body felt ecstatically elated! Deep in my heart, a joyous feeling slowly emerged. Suddenly I felt that I was that clump of grass touched by the gentle breeze, and was filled with silent happiness and contentment.

Master’s painting not only depicts the beauty of the wind’s motion and the restfulness of grass, it also expresses the feelings of the grass as it faces the wind. If one hasn’t reached the state of “all beings are one,” how could one have access to such a technique in painting?

Master once joked in a lecture: “Everything was born from the same source. Everything was born from me. … A butterfly is me. A mosquito is also me. And an ant has also me inside. Flowers and any other thing, none of them are not me, because I want to play!” (Excerpt from MP3 #CR-09 “The Highest Perfection of One’s Self”).

When I had a deeper realization of God, I started to understand that Master’s joke was referring to the experience of the Creator and the creations being one! This was my enlightenment and experience after becoming a farmer.   << Contents >> Refer this page to friends