Khatoon, Humaira World Religions_ East Prof.

Keller

A Guide to Using the Meditations

Complementing Buddhism, Shinto is Japans worship tradition that celebrates the human relation to the natural world. The spirits are said to animate all nature, including trees, rivers, oceans, mountains, and waterfalls. In Shinto, nature is not separate from humanity, but within and without everything in existence. The seven stages of awareness organized within the four seasons is a guide to interaction with the divine being and to know the true self. The first step observation is the gateway to understand the Kami. The observation leads to invocation that brings us awareness of Kami in the nature. The Japanese way of honoring the spirits of nature lies in the seven stages. Once the Kami is observed, the invocation leads us to the inspiration. This inspiration gives the feeling of being a part of this cosmos. Once the Kami is found within ourselves, it purifies our soul as we see the divine surrounding us. When the mind and senses are pure, everything seems beautiful. The experience of Kami once achieved, one can feel the enlightenment and spiritual link. This merger with the divine can be healing for the rest of the life. Our communion with the Great nature and our inner true self is related. This bonding needs understanding of our origin, that where we belong to and who we are. This spiritual relation becomes stronger with love, care and reverence. The union with the divine calls for the stage of celebration, which gives the true purpose of life. It is the cycle of Great nature that is surrounded by us and is present within ourselves.

Khatoon, Humaira World Religions_ East Prof. Keller

IMMORTAL SISTERS (Extra Credit) The Sun Bu-er (immortal sisters) focuses on Taoist practice of inner alchemy. Though precise, yet highly metaphoric languages in her poetries are used in reference to sacred energies, calling to mind the devoutly technical works of Tantra. Gathering the Mind:

The poem gives us the understanding of transformation from a sole energy into every being. It even gets one into the insight of the yin and yang, which is the continuous cycle of life and death. Our spirits are a sole energy that needs to be polished and refined to get awareness of what they really are. There is only one divine and we all are its essence. Such as a tree is cut down, polished and transform into the wooden chair its origin is the single seed. Likewise, immortality results when we discover our origins and enlightenment lies in this. Sun Bu-er ( poem 2)

Sun Bu-er has referred to the existence of life in yin and yang. During this circle of life, to know the sacred reality leads one to go limitless. As the divine is great and this greatness has no limit. Its all about the clarity of wisdom and mind; the mind should be free of all the rigidness and obstacles to get bliss and enlightenment. The universe is within us, and once the true self is known it may impact spiritually in every span of life and death.

Khatoon, Humaira World Religions_ East Prof. Keller