TRUE KNOWING

Life is a continuum of one moment and remains so. This is the secret of the eternal present. The path to true knowing inevitably involves bewilderment and suffering and remarkably always ends in gratitude.

Each day, I stand palm to palm, with head bowed to my teacher for he showed me the Way of Life. From the time that he guided me to the profound realization that nothing in this world matters other than the moment I breathe, I have been free to face each encounter with my entire being, gratefully. True knowing transforms experience, instantly, rendering the progression of wealth, celebrity and achievement to a transient and meaningless end. Compassion is all that survives the realization of impermanence and then as one moves through life, the expression of compassion is inextricably aligned with self-development.

The compassion resulting from true knowing carries an unyielding weight of honesty and self-responsibility, which brings profound, overwhelming moments of wondering whether or not one has lived genuinely enough-such as, expressing sufficient gratitude to those who have been kind. To these caring souls, I say, thank you again and again. Similarly, adversarial encounters require intense self-examination, seeking a means to self-correct. To souls who appeared heartless to me, I say, all is forgiven and forgotten. It may have been I who faltered. In the same way, if I have caused pain or unhappiness to anyone unknowingly or unintentionally, I ask their souls for forgiveness.

After all, it is not the life of each person that inspires compassion; it is the life in each person. Life is life. At what point does one stop, and another begin? Since in Truth, there is no other, compassion is inevitable.

~Hidy Ochiai (2011)