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Essential Peace
Bunya International Seminar, Part II
Hiroshima, Japan
Prem Rawat:
There are three things in your existence: Birth. You’re alive. And one day you have to go—death. I’m simplifying, okay? I know there are a lot more things, but so I’m simplifying: you were born; you are alive, and one day you have to go, (“ptschou”).
You had no control over when you were born. You really don’t have much control over when you’re going to go. But between those two, (the coming and the going), you do have control. Question is, “Are you?” No, but it—and the only reason why I say this is because if you are not, you should be.
Because that’s the only way you’re going to be able to say, “Ah, excuse me; I don’t want frustration in my life. Excuse me; I don’t want anger in my life. Excuse me; I want joy in my life. Excuse me; I want peace in my life. Excuse me; I want to feel good every day.”
Because if it is incumbent on other people, then I am at their mercy. Their approval makes me feel good—then I am at their mercy. And I have to do what I have to do to please them.... So that, so that they can say, “You’re doing good; you’re doing good.”
What’s really difficult about life? What’s really difficult about life? Do you know? Like a tape recorder, it doesn’t have buttons: “Pause. Stop. Rewind.”
I mean, if I missed yesterday, then I would like to pause, rewind: “Let me try this again. Please, let me try this again.” If in a moment I feel really angry, really angry, really angry—I know what’s going to happen after my anger; I’m going to feel bad. I could just pause, rewind: “Let me try this again.”
So, because there are no buttons, you are forced to live your life consciously every day—and that’s really difficult. That is really, really, really difficult. And the reason why it’s difficult—because you’re not set up for it.
Two minutes you live from your heart; two minutes and you live from here. Two minutes here; two minutes here. Two minutes here; two minutes here. Two minutes here; two minutes here. Two minutes here; two minutes here.
One minute, you have to be practical. One minute, “Ah....” One minute, “Oh my God; I’m late.” One minute, “I am so happy I’m alive.” Third minute, “Am I happy I’m late...?”
Confusion. Confusion, confusion.... And then that’s where everybody goes; everybody goes, “Oh yes, we cannot be confused. So, let’s go to a training; let’s—let’s go and read a book and let’s find one of these people like me.”
But what I will tell you is straight. I will tell you, “You don’t need to be looking at me for peace; you should be looking at you for peace.” Because your peace resides in you. My peace resides in me. I cannot give you my peace; you cannot give me your peace.
I cannot give you my breath; you cannot give me your breath. And from that time, from that one wall to the other wall, not one moment can be exchanged. It’s yours. It’s mine.
You understanding you. You understanding you! This is what Socrates said, “Know thyself,” understanding the self.
So, what I have to say is very simple: “What you are looking for is within you.” The question is, you say, “How do I look inside?” Same way you see your face. How do you see your face? If you want to see yourself, how do you see? With your eyes, you see the world. You see everybody’s face, right, with these eyes? You see everybody’s face except?—yours.
Now, if you want to see your face, what do you need? [Audience: You need a mirror.] (You got that one right.) You need a mirror! Not dependence; independence.
I am about freedom! I’m talking about independence. That’s where my message is so different. It so happens, I do come sit down in a chair, (or sometimes I’m standing by a podium); I do talk in a microphone. And that’s it—the message is entirely different. Message is about freedom. Message is about “Know thyself!” Message is, “You have the power to free you.”
When I say, “You know your world; now, know your breath,” why do I say that? Because in that life, there’s something so beautiful.
I will leave you with one last thought. And, (hmm), wisdom doesn’t all come at the same time—believe me, it sometimes comes in little pieces. So, one day I have this thought—and I’ll share it with you.
If I’m looking for Buddha.... Now, I have seen pictures of Buddha; I have seen statues of Buddha. And if I’m looking for Buddha in this world today, how should I do it? How should I do it?
Because should I be looking for somebody that looks like the statues that I have seen, the pictures that I have seen? Because if I am, I won’t find a Buddha.
But if I am looking for someone who carries the wisdom, who carries the benevolence, who carries the kindness, who carries the caring, then do you have any idea how many Buddhas I will find? Millions. Millions—because Buddha wasn’t about this; Buddha was about this. What made Buddha Buddha was not his face, but his benevolence, his caring, his sharing, his wisdom.
And that always lives. It never dies. It always lives.
A lot of people—somebody very close to them passes away; they feel sorrow—they should. But because you’ve seen that person you would know, you’re attached to a face. Stop looking for the face. Start looking for the kindness; start looking for the joy of that person; start looking for the caring of that person—and you will realize they’re still here.
Not in one, but in many—and many and many and many. This is the wisdom of life—not the wisdom of the world but the wisdom of life.
