My Preparation For The Meditation Course In Nebal

  

“Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them.”

I haven’t been writing for a while so I thought now would be good to write something down.

 I will write about my time here in Africa but also my preparation for my trip to Nepal.

Will I find enlightenment?  Will I learn to meditate? Will I find the inner peace?

Those are big questions and you might get some answers between the lines.

 

Kopan Monastery



So what has been happening since last blog…I have been working on cruise ships, mainly in Mediterranean, and while doing that I haven’t really had time to concentrate on any other things!

Work makes by happy but it's just part of my happiness. I had a good period of work and now is time to concentrate on other stuff. I have two major happenings this year. One of them is what I am currently doing, serving on the Africa Mercy in West Africa and the another one is studying meditation in a monastery in Nepal.

Big part of my happiness is my family and specially my kids. I just had amazing weekend with them before I came here in Africa. My children are part of me. It is a challenge to have all these adventures and still have the time with your family, but at the moments it feels like we are all happy how things are, we are in balance.

MY HAPPINESS

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.  ~James Openheim

I have been thinking my happiness and there is a one thing which has been on my mind for months now. I will share it with you all.

All these travels around the world has given me a view, it has opened my eyes. What I mean about that is that I have started to see and feel what I have back home. I have started to appreciate my family and friends more than ever. The longer I have been travelling the more I have been feeling their importance to me. The point is that I had to go far, far away to see what was close to me. So all this time searching for happiness the best things in my life have been where I started my adventures, home. I really love my family and friends.

We really shouldn’t go so far to realize what we have around us but sometimes it helps. Sometimes we need to go far away to see the big picture, to see what really matters to us. If you are a better person than I am you should be able to appreciate to things you have without being away.

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.  ~Frederick Keonig

MY SEARCH FOR TRUE HAPPINESS

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.  Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.  ~H. Jackson Brown

My time here in Africa is part of my happiness but at the same time I am exploring myself and my happiness. I am living here in a Christian community and feeling people’s energy and thoughts. I feel that I am finding my own religion. I come from a Christian background but I am never felt really close to it. My time here in Africa has brought me closer but I still feel I need something else, something which makes me feel me. I don’t want to pretend to be a Christian because it just not who I am, I can’t follow Jesus because I don’t want that life, it’s just not for me.

I am finding something that makes me feel complete by reading books about Buddhism. People have attendance to seek someone to believe, I don’t have that. I don’t need a God to tell me what is right and what is wrong, I can feel it in my heart. I believe my heart is my guide which guides me through life.

MEDITATION COURSE IN NEBAL

Objective: Ultimate happiness

(http://kopanmonastery.com/program_november.html)

Kopan Monastery

As my journey continues I have booked a course in Nepal. The course is called “November course” and it is a one month long and held in a monastery in Kathmandu. I have received a daily schedule for that month and this is how it’s look like.

Daily schedule

5.30 am - Prostration
6.00 am - Morning tea in the dining room
6.30 am - Morning Meditation
7.30 am - Breakfast
9.00 am - Teachings
11.30 am - Lunch
2.00 PM - Discussion groups
3.00 PM - Break for 1/2 hour
3.30 PM - Teaching
5.00 PM - Tea
6.00 PM - Guided Meditation
7.00 PM - Dinner
8.00 PM - Guided meditation, question/answer

On that month I will be isolated from the outside world. I will have no access to phones or computers. I am not allowed to consume alcohol, have sex, listen music, watch TV or eat meat in that whole time I am there in the Monastery. I am not allowed to read any other books rather than the ones related to the course. Sounds really challenging!! J

MY PREAPARATION FOR THE COURSE

I have been started to read books recommended by the monastery and I have found them really interesting. I also been meditating, I find it a bit difficult but with time I think I can master it in some level.  I have discovered some amazing things about meditation and Buddhism.

Did you know meditation is not just calming your mind and sit in silence? I didn’t.

 

There are three things related to meditation to get to the final stage. You should meditate with compassion which is the most important. What it means? It means that you should first find compassion before you even think going further. How I understand this is that I should first learn the way to help other people with compassion which I feel I am already doing. I know already that the true happiness can only be found through compassion.

If you wonder what compassion is, well this is what I found in the dictionary:  a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate.

Another one is the actual self-meditation also called single pointed meditation where you focus on an object and calm your mind. The idea is disciplinary or controls your mind and your thoughts.

The third one is wisdom. We should mediate with wisdom. How I understand it we should question all the teachings and accept only the ones which make sense to us. We should all the time pursue for wisdom as knowledge is power.

Dalai Lama in his teachings encourages people to keep their faith and not to change it to Buddhism which I found fascinating. I like the idea that he don’t try to convert people, he just like to help them. He is saying the people from different religions can found some good things about Buddhism without changing their religion and that I find really important to me. I don’t like people telling me what I should be; I like to find my own path which is good for me. I don’t have to put name to it, I analyze different religions and I learn good things about them and I create my own path.      

I am not looking for religion to follow; I am just looking for to be happy.  I have lived and opened my mind to Christian world and I have learnt a lot but now it is time to explore the world of Buddhism to see and learn what lay on the “other side”.  

 For my family and friends who are wondering what is happening here in Africa:

  

CONAKRY, GUINEA

This is a poor country and there is some restlessness. People are protesting on the streets and some people have died during the protests so our movements are restricted. We can’t go certain areas but it does not really affect anything. People have been still going out enjoying life. People seem very friendly but there are soldiers and police forces everywhere which is good thing, it makes us feel safer. There is not lot of white people which is little bit different than in Sierra Leone. Feels like things are better here compare to my time in Sierra Leone. The city is quite big and there are some nice looking buildings but in general the landscape is pretty poor.

I came here 2 weeks ago and the arrival was easier than last time, I wasn’t so nervous!! J When I arrived in the airport there wasn’t anyone to pick me up and that point I felt I bit “strange”. I was in a country where nobody understands me. People speak France here!! I called the office asking what is happening; luckily I managed to find a phone number to call!!! So there I was waiting in the airport, scared and confused, but in an hour a guy from the ship came  to pick me up and everything was good. I got on the ship safe and sound!! J

I was really excited to come back to the ship!! Last time was a blast and this time it is the same, except, I do miss some of my friends who were here last time. L

 

I feel I need this, I think that is why I am back here. I have learnt that true happiness can only be found by helping other people so at the end I am here for myself, sounds selfish but is not. I am helping the people here and they are helping me, it is two way street. All wins. There are so many good things about this ship; the patients are just one of the reasons. People makes this ship and being part of this amazing mission makes me feel really good.

People are asking what I am doing here!! Work!! J Ship stuff!! If you are interested to know I put something down what I am actually doing here this time.

I am now here as Second Officer but as an extra. I am working on special projects which do not make ME special!! J Last year together with a Finnish company called NAPA we started a project to get a stability program and finally I am here to finish the work. I am training people to use the program and I am setting up the program. NAPA made the program for free (price 25.000 euros) YES, FOR FREE!!!!!! AMAZING!!! So it has been a privilege to work on this cool project!! J I met the guys in Finland when I visited the NAPA office and I it was just super cool.

I am also working on other stuff like risk assessments and planned maintenance program (AMOS) and couple times a week I have been on duty as a duty officer.

I have also been helping the security when they did eye-screening for over 200 people. That was a cool day. The eye-screening site is about an hour drive and it is in an old hospital.

I worked as a security personnel to help smooth operations. Sometimes the screening events can get out of the hand because the ship can’t treat all the people.

The guys did their first dives couple days ago!! Divers need to keep the intakes clean and the ship divers have to dive from time to time to make sure the intakes are clean. I didn’t dive this time but I helped the guys with the communication on the boat.

We have been playing football and ultimate Frisbee but I have been also on a zumba class and we have had a barn dance night which was good fun!! J I have also been out few times just for a few drinks.  Most of the time I have been reading and trying to meditate but I will get to that little bit later.

I also been spending some time with the patients, there are some really cool kids onboard.  

I still have two weeks left and I am hoping to visit our hope center, some local churches and maybe the near islands. I was planning to go to the islands today but the weather is crap!! L

That is Africa so far.

“External circumstances can contribute the one's happiness and well-being but ultimately happiness and suffering depends on the mind.” - Dalai Lama