Subject: Looking for God or Morshed?
Date: 14 Dec 2002
From: Peyman Noorbakhsh
i'm Iranian. i live in Tehran, a student of the end course of licence of civil eng. in polytechnic of Tehran.& I'm guitar teacher.
But i'm looking for a thing in my life.looking for God or Morshed ... . i don't know what, but i know that i need, please guide me.
Piya's reply
The natural or ultimate purpose of life is to grow. We can only grow from ignorance to knowledge to freedom; not from ignorance to dogma to bondage. Originally, the great religions started this way, but after the founders died, others turn these spiritual paths into religious power to dominate over others. This has happened to all the major religions.
Yet in every human being, in his silent aloneness, there is a wish to grow. This wish is forgotten when greed, hate or delusion clouds one's mind. As such, one has to be circumspect of one's deeds (actions, speech, thought) to remove as much of these three unwholesome roots of pain as possible.
We can only begin our search for truth and inner peace by overcoming ignorance with wisdom. This can only lead to spiritual liberation, that is, freedom from greed, hate and delusion. In their place, one has generosity, love and wisdom.
It is difficult to make this journey alone, but it is even more difficult when one is surrounded by a pathological crowd, when one is not allowed to think freely. One has to seek spiritual friends, that is, those who similarly seek this spiritual enlightenment in a happy and compassionate way.
The first truth of the universe is life, for without it there is no world not existence. As such we should not destroy life. Every living being seeks happiness: this is the second universal truth. As such we should not deprive others of deserving happiness. The third truth is that of freedom: we should respect others for what they think, even if it is against our own. The fourth truth is truth itself, for without it, nothing is reliable nor worthwhile. The fifth truth, the most important, is personal wisdom itself, the liberating knowledge that bring peace and joy to oneself and others.
You might like to try reading the literature of peace, wisdom and personal liberation from such websites as http://www.accesstoinsight.org from which you will discover a network of other similar websites. When reading the Buddhist texts in translation, please note that ours is a seeker's tradition. So if you are not happy with a translation, there are many others: read until you understand, reflect and accept them when you feel happy and liberated with them. The ultimate scripture is the deep peace of mind.
