Sacred

Hello,

It's me,

Joe,

The Autistic Buddhist.

Recently,

I was listening to a song.

One of the lyrics caught my attention and stuck with me for a while,

And that lyric spoke about how you don't have to look very hard to realize that not much is really sacred.

I thought about that,

And it reminded me of a phrase I have often heard that goes something like this,

Nothing is sacred anymore.

I fixated on that word,

Sacred,

And looked up the definition of it,

And the clearest definition I found was,

Sacred is an adjective used to describe a person or thing worthy of worship or declared holy.

I thought about that for a while,

A person or thing worthy of worship or declared holy.

In the common statement that nothing is sacred anymore,

The message is very powerful in that it says nothing,

Not a thing,

Is worthy of our reference.

I know that the word sacred has historically been used in conjunction with religion,

Meaning that things or people that have been considered sacred were people or items associated with religion or religious figures.

I can say that having been raised a Catholic,

That in Christianity there are many people and items that are considered sacred or holy.

But as the interest in organized religion has declined over time,

And many people have left the religions they were raised in,

The usage of the word has also declined.

I believe that within each one of us there exists a need to seek something greater than ourselves,

To aspire to or to give us a sense of meaning,

Something for us to follow and gain spiritual sustenance from.

I then thought about what I considered sacred in my own life.

I have mentioned this before in a previous session,

But I have this little statue of the Buddha.

It was given to me by a man who had been a previous heroin addict and who had lost a son as well.

Despite his suffering and pain,

He was able to come to a point in his life where he found peace within himself.

To have suffered and endured pain for so long,

And then to find peace,

To the point where he could express generosity and kindness,

Has made that little Buddha statue sacred to me.

One day while meditating I experienced what some may call a vision.

It was a vision of a man,

Pants rolled up with no socks and no shoes,

Entering a stream.

The water came up to his knees and he started walking in the stream and in his hands was my little Buddha statue that my friend gave me.

I did not push the vision aside or try to ignore it,

I let it play itself out in my mind.

Shortly after the meditation bell rang signaling the end of the session,

The vision evaporated.

But the thought of that vision I experienced stayed with me for a while,

And at some point the phrase entering the stream came to my mind,

Which caused me to search through some of my Buddhist books and finally the internet.

I eventually found the word Sotopanna,

Which means the stream enterer,

Or one who enters the stream.

And this notion of entering the stream represents the first level of awakening,

The first step needed to start moving towards liberation.

The water represents purity and clarity.

It also represents calmness,

Which is what the stream enterer seeks.

Entering the stream is the taking of the first step in seeking a path or undertaking a journey to better one's life.

I did not understand how that vision was relevant to me.

I thought of the time where my autistic behavior was so problematic and causing me so much suffering that I had made a decision.

The decision was what I call the two M's,

Meditation and medication.

Both were essential to reducing the suffering in my life,

But for the purpose of this session I want to focus on the meditation,

Which was when I became a Buddhist.

In my Buddhist experience,

Very little happens quickly or overnight.

Things that matter take time,

And my gradual drift away from suffering also took time.

And although I'm not fully there yet,

My journey continues.

What I thought about was the journey itself,

The challenges,

The achievements,

And the times where I stumbled and fell.

And that made me think of my journey as a whole.

That's when I realized that one of the most sacred things in my life was that journey.

All of it.

I saw my journey as a living thing,

Something I valued,

Respected,

And felt reverent about.

Thinking of my past,

I was in awe of how my life,

And myself,

Had changed.

If I could travel back to 20 years ago,

What would I say to myself in reference to what I know now,

In reference to who I am now?

I could not think of anything poetic or profound.

All I could think of is smiling and saying to myself,

This suffering can end.

In the past,

I have met people who had led very difficult lives,

Including people who were suffering from mental illness,

But who managed to reduce their suffering and find a path through it.

Whenever I meet these individuals,

I ask them to tell me their story.

And their stories always leave me in a sense of wonder.

How did they manage to leave that suffering behind and get here,

Where they are now?

They all have had different experiences and assistance along the way,

But what overwhelms me is that they are here now,

Content and calm.

After telling me their story,

I generally make the same statement,

Which goes something like this,

The path that brought you here continues,

And that path is sacred.

And as I think it through,

I discover that the journey I have undertaken is sacred,

And so is yours.

Think of where you were three or six months ago.

Are you suffering less now,

Even a little bit?

Can you look back and see the path that has led you to less suffering?

Has something improved?

Can you reflect on traveling from where you were to where you are now?

That traveling,

That path you took,

Is a sacred path.

And if you feel you are not better off,

Then in your mind,

Can you see the start of a journey before you?

Are you able to start that path?

When?

How?

The vision of taking the first step towards your own liberation is a sacred vision.

What is holy in your life?

Is there an object that has special meaning to you that you revere?

Is it a special place,

Perhaps a person you admire?

All these things represent something greater than yourself,

Something that you have achieved or aspire to.

Continuing or continuing a journey that leads to self-improvement and a reduction of your pain is a quest.

It is a sacred quest towards peace.

Thank you for listening to this session.

I hope you found it beneficial,

And goodbye.