tuk sat-sat-na dee, mee hai jai dee

[Guest guest]

I am sure that we all have had experiences in our lives that have

changed them in major ways...When the experience is

happening, we may not realize the significance of what we are

doing and how it will affect us in the future...........These may lead,

unfortunaley, to much pain and regret for some......It could have

been a relationship, a marraige, an action.......Perhaps those

experiences which are long term and lead to dissapointments and

confused feelings about oneself are more difficult to deal

with...........One of the reasons for group therapy sessions is to

make individuals more aware of the suffering of others, to put our

own experiences and feelings in a wider perspective...maybe

even teach us some compassion for others......People who feel

lost can have such poor self-esteem and self-confidence, not

able to see their own positive characteristics or gifts, which we all

do have..........

 

Songkhla, Thailand is a lovely city on The Gulf of Thailand........It

is on a peninsula, with a lake on one side and the Gulf of Thailand

on the other side...There is a nice beach, nice people and the

city is economically strong from an offshore oil industry,

numerous schools and colleges, a fishing and shipping trade and

government offices..Recently, a considerable number of

Westerners have retired there...In the evening, the beach is full

with people, Thais and Westerners enjoying the sea........

 

For me, it was an experience in Songkhla that brought about a

major change in my life........

 

In 1988, after travelling for about two years I decided to stay a

couple of weeks in Songkhla.....One night, while I was out of my

room, someone broke into it and took all my money..I got a train

to Bangkok the following day and arrived here with 4 dollars in my

pocket (I always tell my students that I have 5 dollars now, but

that it is another story).........

 

I still visit Songkhla and have been there about 40 times over the

last 12 years.............It is still pretty much the same and the beach

is always great.......I was just there this last weekend and stayed

in a hotel that I have stayed at many times recently.....The women

who runs it is very nice and has always been very nice to

me...She is getting older now, age 81, and a little more feeble, but

is still aware..We chat at times, and I listen to what she has to

say......She said the above to me during my recent visit

there.......... " tuk sat-sat-na-dee, mee hai jai dee " ..It means all

religions are good, if the heart is good " .

 

During my travels this was something I started to see more

often..the religion being practiced or espoused, was not as

important as much as the understanding and devoutness of the

practitioner or follower of the religion or path........Perhaps this is

something that many of us start to realize in our life..that we can

all be good and skillful and compassionate in out life and actions

without being fanatical or legalistic or judgemental.....

 

I have found, in Yoga, that the accessing and cultivation of the

Sattva Guna brings a real degree of insight and peace........we

can appreciate the peace and wisdom of the moment and learn

great things from it.....Outside aspects of life are not so important,

though it is always lovely to share with others in a mutually

respectful way...........

 

It makes me think of a scripture from the Old Testament........ " A

clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit "

(Psalms 51:12)......This to me says alot about what the practice of

Yoga and spirituality can bring us.................Accessing the heart

and its purity, beyond the mental modifications (Citta vrtti)and

defilements (Citta Klesha) and with that, a new enthusiasm and

appreciation for what life can bring us............

 

Yoga is a path of Purification that brings good things to those who

practice it diligently..............We develop a joyful awareness of

ourselves, life and others.........

 

It is well worth the study, time, changes in our attitudes and

behavior and any physical discomfort and effort that we put into

it......