reflections

A passenger tapped the cab driver to ask a question.

The cab driver lost control of the cab, nearly hit another car,

missed another truck, went off the road, into a kerb and stopped inches from a shop.

For a minute there was silence.

'You scared me to death,' the driver screamed.

The passenger apologized

and said, 'I did not know that gently tapping your back could create such a panic.

'The driver replied, 'Sorry.

It is not your mistake.

Today is my first day as a cab driver.

For the last ten years I have been ferrying dead bodies in a van.

'Can you see how his past shaped the present?

Our experiences are influenced by the past.

So one has to be conscious and aware.

One has to be present in 'what is' and

not allow the past to shape the present.

To be present in every moment is very important.

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One day a man came to Mullah Nazarudin

and said, 'Do something but rid me of my stomach ache.

' Mullah took a stone and smashed the man's leg.

The man yelled in pain and screamed, 'Why did you do that?

'Mullah replied, 'Now you don't have stomach ache, do you?

'What a foolish way to escape from pain.

To get rid of one problem we enter into another.

Similarly, to get rid of the burden of a noisy mind

people get into drugs and suffer.

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Buddha was once asked,

'Are you from heaven?

''No,' replied Buddha.

'Are you a celestial being?

''No,' said Buddha.

'Are you a human being?

''No,' was his reply.

'Then who are you?' asked the man.

'I am a mirror of consciousness reflecting

whatever is,' was Buddha's message.

This is a wonderful message.

Can our mind be like a mirror

just reflecting whatever is?

Most often, our mind is like a camera;

it goes on storing images.

Then at the time of death,

our soul cannot easily leave the body

as our memories create attachments.

Just practice being a mirror,

reflect what is in the present,

do not unnecessarily burden your mind,

by carrying memories of the past.

Just be a pure mirror.

Practice this and see the miracle

happening in your life.

You will be as light as a feather.

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Swami sukhbodhanand