Dear all, I hope my email finds you well.

I hereby forward a Very interesting article about Vipasana and Muslim. Please read and give me some of your thoughts. Kind regards, Anurut Subject:

Omar Rahman, Dhamma Brother

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(1953-2009)

Dear Jonathan, There was a period in my life [when] I learned more about myself from Buddhist writers than I did from Islamic writers, specifically in regards to the emotional interior. I wanted a map of that place. Although Islamic thought places a major emphasis on human compassion, human kindness and love, this emphasis among the writers has appeared more doctrinal and intellectual. However, Buddhist writings on the same subject matter were more experiential in tone and substance in that, instead of just defining what compassion, kindness or forgiveness is, those writings describe what they feel like. When talking about the emotional well being of a person, from Islamic writers I get a table of contents and from the Buddhist writers I learn what those contents feel like. Although Islam has given me a positive in terms of how I perceive reality and how I perceive myself, yet there were emotional issues that were not being resolved that I wanted information about. I wanted to know where all my anger was coming from. Why was I so irritated? Why were there long periods of emotional emptiness in my life? Why am I so hung up on this or crave that, obsessed with this or stuck on that? I wanted information that

would show me where I was on the interior landscape, how I got there and how to navigate that landscape. Islam does light a path through the interior landscape of the human experience; however, I have not encountered Islamic writers who illuminate the details of that landscape as [have] Buddhist writers. One other quality of Buddhist writers that

has been a benefit to me is the inclusion of feeling as a faculty of how one can know and understand ones experience. This was important to me because
knowing through rational thought alone had not taken me the final mile to where my issues were. But learning how to feel where I was, then learning how to identify what I was feeling and why I was feeling as I did paved the way for me being able to manage my life in a much more skillful way. Heretofore I was without these bearings, markers, directions and insights. Most of my emotional sufferings have diminished or I know more about why I was suffering because of what I have learned through Buddhist teachings and practices.

Because of Vipassana I now see dimensions of Islam in ways I hadnt before. One example is metta. I was blown away by the practice of feeling
others, of caring about the suffering of others, and caring about the happiness of others. The idea of being able to enlarge this capacity within myself through practice had eluded me. What was so startling about it to me was that Id been reading year in year out the same thing in my Quranic studies and studies on the teachings and practices of Prophet Muhammad. Case in point, there is a verse in the Quran that describes a sincere Muslim. It includes all the required religious practices, however these practices are mentioned after it is stated how important it is to care about the orphan, the indigent or the homeless people who are suffering. Throughout the Quran caring about those who are suffering is tied to identity. So while being taught metta I said to myself, Whoa, your book has been telling you this for years, Omar, but you are just now getting it. Then there is the statement by Prophet Muhammad that a good Muslim desires for others what he desires for himself which echoed in my mind when I was sharing my love, my peace and my happiness with all beings. There was another time when a man asked Prophet Muhammad who among them was the best Muslim. He answered, The best of you are those who are most kind to their wives. Not most knowledgeable mind you, nor most perfect in prayers or other religious acts, but who expressed the most kindness. What he was saying didnt fully touch me until Vipassana increased my awareness of the value of loving kindness. One night during the Vipassana course, before I fell asleep, I said to myself, Omar, Buddha has made you a better Muslim. During the Vipassana course, I was fortunate to be able to develop strong determination in my sitting meditation. As a consequence, I was able to develop strong determination in my observance of my prayers. I must admit that at the close of the Vipassana course, my observance in my meditation was keener than what my observance had been in my prayers. Realizing this, I began to bring that same quality of mindfulness and determination to my prayers.

As an Imam and having taken the Vipassana course, I began to emphasize the importance of being observant and attentive. For instance, the Quran constantly mentions the importance of being mindful and observant of what is in the heart. Prior to the Vipassana course, these were words of wisdom. After Vipassana these words became a practice. Also I constantly remind those I talk to how valuable and important it is to be able to direct our attention to what others are feeling and experiencing. I try to instill a sense of value on caring about others. Now, I am a much more tolerant, patient, and forgiving person in my relationships. I have shared what I have experienced in Vipassana with other Muslims. I have related how meaningful the experience is to me and how grateful I am for being able to have taken the course. I try to give other Muslims a feel of my experience and what I have learned so that they may have a reference to base their decision of whether they would like to take the course. My devotion to Islam grew out of how Islam helped me to become conscious of how valuable I am as a person. I come out of a family and community that were beset with the mental and emotional conditionings and patterns of behavior that accompany low personal esteem and low personal worth. Vipassana directed my attention to the

sense of basic goodness of all human beings and this resonated with the sense of value [that] Islam enlightened.
I believe there is a psycho-emotional state underlying the African-American experience that manifests a something is wrong with me condition. The Dhamma can be a source of healing for this condition. Dhamma teachers who are aware of this existing condition can be very effective by emphasizing those aspects of Dhamma that relate to personal worth. Metta, Omar