A Spiritual Slam Dunk

My friend Srivats shared this experience with me recently.  One of Srivats' favorite books is "I am That" by Nisargadatta Maharaj, that famous (in some circles) exponent of Advaita or non-dualism. Some days back, Srivats was on the treadmill at the gym pondering Nisargadatta's advice to be a detached observer or witness of one's own mind, and by extension of all worldy phenomena. 

As you watch your mind, you discover your self as the watcher. When you stand motionless, only watching, you discover your self as the light behind the watcher. The source of light is dark, unknown is the source of knowledge. That source alone is. Go back to that source and abide there.  - pg 188, "I Am That" 

As he wrestled with this thought, and in the very act of doing so disregarding Nisargadatta's sage advice, in walked a dude wearing a Nike t-shirt that proclaimed in large, bold font "WITNESS".  Srivats was suitably impressed with the uncanny timing of this.  He and I remarked on the incongruity of the word "Witness" on a Nike t-shirt, the company being better known for their exhortation to "Just Do It".   

Nike WIITNESS t-shirt commemorating King James' second NBA championship

Some searching online revealed that Nike launched this line of apparel in June of this year to commemorate the fact that a very large number of basketball fans were witness to LeBron James' second NBA championship.  

King James in action

I learned something else - LeBron is known to fans as King James, a name he shares with King James I of England, to whom we owe the King James Bible.  As I read on, the following line from the King James Bible immediately popped to mind.  It is a line that has frequently served as an inspiration to me when I sit in meditation and attempt to still my mind.

On this occasion, the Bible, Basketball and Brahmavidya (Self-knowledge) all came together improbably yet inevitably to deliver a message imbued with meaning for both Srivats and me.  

Post Script: Noted for its "majesty of style" and as a fine example of Jacobean prose, the King James Bible has been described as one of the most important books in English culture and a driving force in the shaping of the English-speaking world (wikipedia)

If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Her!

Meghna and I were driving back from the store.  For lack of anything better to say, I asked her "So, what do you think you were in your past life?  A teacher, a scientist, or a musician?"  She pondered for a minute and answered "I think I was a Buddhist monk".  

That was quite unexpected, since she has never really talked about Buddhism or monks before. "What makes you say that?" I asked.  "I like Buddhism's emphasis on the middle path between extremes...", she responded, sounding rather wise for a twelve year old.  We turned up the hill towards our home.  As we drove up our street, we saw three people standing outside the house five doors down from us - an Asian couple, and....a shaven headed female buddhist monk in maroon robes!  

Female Tibetan Buddhist Monk Ani Choying Drolma, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to Nepal

The Ling Shen Ching Tze Buddhist temple is about 1-2 miles from our home, so there is a mundane explanation for the female monk's appearance in our neighborhood.  Having said that, I'd never seen monks from that temple in the vicinty of our home in the 6+ years we have lived here, until this day.  Needless to say, both Meghna and I were rather tickled by this coincidence, or synchronicity as Carl Jung calls it.

Lama Shenpen Hookham has this to say about concidences "It seems to happen more and more as one embarks on a spiritual path. I have noticed it throughout my life but especially since I seriously embarked on the path to Awakening. It happens at University where someone hands you the exact book you need, significant meetings of people on street corners where the chances of that happening are so remote it does make the hairs on the back of your neck tingle."

Post Script: The title of this post is adapted from the famous Zen koan "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!" that, when contemplated upon, is supposed to result in deeper insight for the student