Enlightenment In Words

  " The more things change, the more they stay the same." - Jean Baptiste Karr Credit    Imagine a ship docked in the city. It is the ship of a mighty warrior and his crew who have fought the fiercest of armies and the most fearsome of monsters. They have finally arrived home, leaving the ship at the harbour, and securing their place in history. Now, the boat is the pride and joy of the city, attracting many tourists from all over the world. It is a mighty vessel, made of the finest wood and decorated to the brim. Over the next thousand years, the fine wood starts to deteriorate and the townspeople decide to replace each piece of wood on the ship with a new one. Each plank and board on the ship is replaced until one day when the entire ship is replaced by different planks of wood than the ship that was sailed on by the warriors. Are the two ships different? It can be argued that they are the same ship, as it gradually changed over the years, and in principle, they starte

 "A pen isn't mightier than a sword. Pens do not do battle, nor swords poetry...     Mighty is the hand that knows when to pick up the pen, or pick up the sword."          Think up about that for a second, just let it really sink in. How beautiful yet powerful, isn't it? Have you ever thought about the original quote "The pen is mightier than the sword"? What did you feel when you read it? If you're like me, you would have felt annoyed. How can that quote be true, my dear friends? If that was true, then I, who am sitting here writing this, should be more powerful than a world-class fighter right? Why has no one handed me my championship belt yet? All jokes aside, you probably recognized the deeper meaning of the saying. When I tried to interpret the deeper meaning, I found many answers. Maybe brains over brawn? Peace over violence? Words over actions? A desk job at a 9 to 5 workplace over a ninja? Ha, you know who would win the last one. But hey, don

  “…It is possible that you dislike something and there is good in it for you, and it is possible that you like something and it has evil in it for you, and God knows and you know not.”    Quran (2:216)           Good and bad, right and wrong, we believe there to be a very clear distinction between these two pairs of words. If I ask you, what is a wrong action, you might answer, "Stealing is clearly a wrong action". However, the border between right and wrong becomes blurry when we introduce ethical scenarios. Is a hungry, starving child who steals bread to sustain himself and his family, a thief? Does he deserve punishment for securing his basic human right to food and nutrition? In Buddhism, actions have harmful or beneficial consequences, yet there is no steadfast path indicating good and bad actions. It only speaks of them as kusala (skilful) and akusala (unskillful). A person may be virtuous and benevolent to one person or community but harmful and evil to another. There

" Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it. "  - Gautama Buddha      Spirituality is an important part of many people's lives, yet we do not understand it completely. It guides our ethical way of life and gives us profound hope to do good and help others. However, I experienced doubt recently, but I welcomed it as I find feeling doubtful healthy. I believe spirituality is not just our belief in God, it is also the search for the reason of existence and purpose. The questions are healthy and I gladly took up the challenge to understand my path. God exists in all of us, as a sort of moral compass if you will. That tiny voice in your head, giving gentle advice to do good today, is as I believe, God. This recent awareness that I acquired is my personal sign from Him to learn and, if I am lucky, to teach. New answers to unanswered questions and even more questions await me, which I am willing to share as I go.       The quote given a