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Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does life seem so unfair at times? Is there any rhyme or reason to life or is everything just random? This story suggests a new way of thinking about our minor or major problems. It provide an effective & constructive idea that could potentially help individuals in overcoming those life challenges. Take a look…
Why is life so difficult sometimes?
By Rafael Tomik
In the high and remote mountains of Himalayas there is a Buddhist monetary where many monks come to study, meditate and be enlightened. Most come at a very young age and spend the rest of their lives there.
The tradition says that when monks reach the highest level of conscious perfection & becomes enlightened they simply disappear. One day as they are sitting there praying and meditating, they simply… “poof” … disappear. It is said that God has decided that they have fully matured as a human being and ready to move on to the next level; whatever or wherever that may be. Reaching this level of transcendence could take a few or hundreds and thousands of life times. Keep in mind that the Buddhist tradition believes that a human being (or a life from in general) continues to be reborn in this world until he/she has fully matured and having learned all the necessary lessons “graduate” to the next levels of existence / consciousness.
Loa fan, an eighty year old monk has spent most of his life in this monastery. He’s was brought there at the age of 5 and has spent almost 75 years following the tradition and strict ways of a Buddhist monk in hopes of passing on to the next level in this current life time. He has endured many difficulties such as war, hunger, loneliness & disease. One day a 6 year old boy is brought to the monastery for training and education. This boy seems to be very active and distracted all the time. He likes to play all the time just like a kid normally does. However; when it comes time for meditation and prayer he seems to be able to sit quietly and immerse himself deeply in meditation for a few hours without a hitch.
Two months later as all the monks including Loa fan are sitting in the main hall meditating the little boy simply disappears. One moment he’s there & the next…. “Poof!” he is gone. Most people smile quietly knowing that God has taken him away from this world for he has felt that the little boy was ready to move on to the next level.
Loa fan however was not very happy with this site and angrily leaves the hall. A few days later he packs his belongings and the few monies that he has and leaves the monastery. Up on his exit he angrily explains to the head monk that how dare does God choose this little boy who was there for only two months while he himself had spend his entire life meditation and living in harsh & strict conditions in order to move on to the next level. He feels that there is no law and order to this whole thing called “life” and things happen just randomly with no rhyme or reason and God must be busy doing something else. So he chooses to spend the last few months of his life drinking alcohol, eating whatever he wants and misbehaving as much as he can in order to enjoy his last few remaining years.
The day of his passing at he age of eighty one he demands a meeting with God to give him a piece of his mind to tell him how unreasonable and unfair his life has been. Indeed God grants him this wish and meets with Loa fan few hour later. Upon meeting God Loa fan angrily expresses his disappointment in seeing the young lad “graduate” to the next level after only two months of mediocre training & minimal meditation while he himself had spent almost seventy five years meditating and following the strict rituals of the monastery. He explained that it sure seems that there’s no rhyme or reason to this thing called “life” and things happen for no good reason. Good people suffer while bad people thrive.
God looks at Loa fan with understanding eyes & a warming smile. He given Loa fan a big hug and asks him to follow him. God walks over to a door and opens it. Behind this door is an endless valley surrounded with tall mountains and flowing rivers. Down on the valley floor there seem to be millions & millions of little mounts. As they walk down to the valley Loa fan notices that these mounts are made up of skulls both human and animal skulls. Some mounts are small and made up of just a few skulls; five, ten or twenty, and some larger mounts are made up of thousands of skulls. And there are an endless number of these mounts as far as the eyes can see. Loa fan is very surprised to see this site and curiously asks got what are these skull mounts and why are they so many of them.
God explains to him that each of these mounts represent an individual and the number of times that specific soul has lived and died here on earth as a human being or even an animal. So the small mount of skulls represent a new soul that has just started its long journey and has come and gone only a few times. The larger mount represents an old soul which has come and gone hundreds or thousands of times which is necessary in order for a soul to learn everything it has to learn and pass all the test in order to move on to the next level; just like school passage has to be earned.
“So you see Loa fan” says God, “ this small mount here consisting of twenty two skulls is your mount. The large mount over there which has over 6000 skulls belongs to the kid who came to the monastery a few months ago. He has come and gone 6000 times and had passed all the tests and at that moment in time was ready to move on to the next level. You on the other hand have come & gone only twenty two times. Although you have come and gone relatively few times you were a great student and were doing fantastic before you decided to give up. If you had kept your determination and focus for only a few more hours you would have been ready to move to the next level in only twenty two life times. Unfortunately, right after our conversation ends you will go back to continue your education. You have to complete your education, pass your remaining tests and earn your passage to the higher levels. That is a universal law for everything & everyone”.
Loa fan contemplates on this information for a few moments and asks God: “I understand the concept now but you just mentioned that I could have graduated in only twenty two life times while someone else may have to do it with thousands of life time. How was it that I was able to speed up my education?”.
God answered him: “Everyone starts out fresh without any understanding and only a few necessary instructions. Everyone starts at the lowest level for their first life time. At the end of each life time however; everyone gets to review their previous life and decide for themselves what kinds of tests they want to be subjected to in their next life time. Naturally, the memories of the previous life & the disisions are wiped out when the soul takes on a new body but, the conscious patterns & energies are printed onto the soul permanently. The soul knows what the body & mind do not understand”.
God continues: “So you see, the more difficult the tests the more learning occurs and the faster an individual soul moves forward. It is just like taking the more difficult and advanced course in school. You are free to choose your tests for every life. Some souls choose to be subjected to easier tests in their life times and postpone the more difficult tests to later & therefore take many lives to finally graduate to higher levels. Other souls on the other hand choose to subject themselves to more difficult tests sooner in order to graduate faster to the higher and better levels. Upon choosing your tests you are reborn in a new body which has no recollection or memory of the decisions that you yourself made. Everything is fresh, every thing is new. Only your soul knows what is it in for. Your body & your mind do not know & do not remember. They are only a tool to be used by the soul to learn those lessons.”
“You are one of those students who chose to subject your self to more difficult tests. Before you were born last, you chose to be tested on single mindedness, unconditional love, physical & mental endurance, patience, self reliance, trust & finally jealousy. You passed all your tests except the last one…jealousy. The experienced soul of the 6 year old boy who was ready to move to the next level after his final test – unimaginable loss; after loosing his parents at the age of 5, generously and kindly chose to stay behind a few more month in order to help you pass your “jealousy” test as well, helping you pass as soon as possible. But you failed. You got jealous of the boy and decided to give up. So after a brief period of rest & reflection you will need to go back and try again having chosen your final test.
So you see my some son, the worst that can happen in life is not the body’s hunger, disease and even death or the minds lack of peace and satisfaction, it is the failure of the soul to pass the tests that it has chosen for itself.”
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Your soul already knows that which your body & mind don’t comprehend.
I hope that you pass your tests with flying colors no matter how difficult or unfair they may seem.
“We dance in a circle and suppose, while the secret sits in the middle and knows.”
- Robert Frost
© 2005-2008 Life’s Best Education Corp. - Rafael Tomik – Granada Hills CA. (818) 832 - 9305
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