Organized religion always has a way of twisting spirituality into some set of rigid rules, supposedly handed down from a "Creator." This has become my polar opposite. I truly feel as if Veganism led me to Buddhism and Buddhism led me to Raw and Living Foods. What an exciting and enlightening time it's been, and I'm just getting started!
Insight Meditation is not what most people think it is. Meditation in general has the stigma of "sitting down to relax and escaping into yourself for relief." I think Insight Meditation is just the opposite. While you may be still and focused, it's anything but a leisurely escape. You guide yourself into confronting all the illusion and deception of the heart and mind. You ponder The Four Noble Truths and gain a deeper understanding of Dukhha, Impermanence, and Not-Self. Learning to strive for the least amount of harm I can cause without struggling to achieve it has become my most humbling attribute. The Earth and the Universe have opened up to me because I've opened up to them. We're all atoms belonging to the same body of energy.
The karmic stains of my past are being cleansed by the merit I'm trying to cultivate. There's a great saying in Buddhism about the fact that we've all been each other's mother in one of our infinite past lives, so respect and love everyone as you would your own mother. I've taken this concept and applied it to the food I eat and the Earth in which it grew. That's the essence of where I am today, right now, in this moment.
My wish is for us all, non-vegans, non-raw foodists alike, to take this step towards liberation. In doing so, we no longer need to quarrel about all the injustices of the world. The first step towards this liberation is also the first step away from our destructive culture that forces us to live outside of the community of life. It's within our grasp and we've already taken that first step.
No comments:
Post a Comment