Not only in Bali, in many places around the world full moon is considered to be very important to spiritual growth. A lot of things want to be shared by mother nature through full moon. That’s why some enlightened teachers of the past attained high level of realization in the full moon night.
Full Moon According to Commoner
In the mind of ordinary people, life is understood in terms of black and white. When money, success, praise come, the ordinary will be happy. If debts, failure, insults coming, then they suffer. Even nature is understood in a similar framework. The dark night is identified as the threatening fear. The light is called peace. The consequence then, life is full of wave. Sometimes happy, other times sad.
Full moon in this context is also understood in the same spirit. The journey begins with the dark night without moon which is identified as suffering. That’s why, some increasing people who are interested in deep spirituality, joining spirituality because their life is full of suffering.
In such framework, shocking life is actually a sound (holy bell) that indicating where the Guru and the holy teachings are. As well as a holy invitation to begin a long road of healing and peace. This can happen in human life with sufficient spiritual blessing. Suffering does not make them run to drugs, fights and divorce, but rather the opening door of long journey toward enlightenment.
At the level of spiritual grace like this, find a speck of light to read the holy book, meet friends with similar spiritual interests, begin visiting holy Guru is partly good signs. But with a careful note, be careful with mystical experience. Mainly because mystical experience often tempting people to feel greater or better than others. This ascending ego can lead one into a very dangerous abyss.
For seekers with sufficient spiritual grace, it is more advisable to enter religious experience. If the mystical experience filled with a feeling of better than anyone else, in religious experience there is a hunger to always be humble, thirst to always serve. Borrowing
Kabir’s religious experience: “I glimpsed into that light just a few seconds, but it transformed me into a servant of life”.
The light only appears for few seconds, but it changed Kabir’s life in to a servant of others. For this reason, a number of young people who ask about spiritual life, it is always advised: “to be spiritual is to be kind at the same time to be humble”. Kind-hearted at the same time humble, that’s religious measures that could make a human being slowly leave the dark tunnel of suffering, and then begin to see the light. This is the holy way of returning back home.
Full Moon According to the Enlightened
Without any intention of saying that the dualistic mind is always wrong, because all of us are growing, the enlightened beings do not start the journey from the dark night. Mainly because life is seen as a mandala (the physical form resembling the full moon, the sun or the earth in the form of perfect circle), where the starting point and end point can not be known. Since mandala is a symbol of perfection, then the enlightened learn to “rest” in whatever that happens at the moment.
For those who worship God, everything is God. Pupils of the Buddha see that nothing which is not Buddha, then take good care of all elements of life (including deficiencies and misfortunes) with affection. Here’s exactly how to “take a deep rest”. Resting in compassion.
In the poetic message of Rumi, life is similar to staying in the hotel, guests change every day. But whoever the guest, never tired to smile! That is why most of the enlightened beings continue to be born to carry out the holy calling of service. If all enlightened beings rested him/herself in the enlightened realm, then who will dispel the darkness of suffering here in the suffering realm? As materials of contemplation, the wealth of enlightened beings are not money or seat of power, but the touching service to others. In the spiritual heritage of a teacher: “compassion should be without ambition”. Loving service is performed without the shadow of desire. Including not being followed by the desire to be called as holy.
This could explain why the light of the enlightened beings remain here for a very long time. Jalalludin Rumi died hundreds ago, but his poems still touch many lives until now. Mahatma Gandhi had long passed away, but his teachings will still remain here for hundreds of years. Mother Teresa also passed away already, but her autobiography titled “Come Be My Light” will still illuminate a lot of life.
Not all enlightened beings wearing holy cloth, Mahatma Gandhi even wore simple cloth, but there is a similarity among all touching heart, they keep seeing everything and everyone with the eyes of a mother to the only son, treating all creatures as butterflies approaching the essence of flowers: soft, gentle, full of love.
The frame of mind is very simple: understanding, loving-kindness, compassion. Understanding is the first step. Especially the deep understanding that there is something in common between us that we equally want to be happy. With this common view in the heart, then love blossoms hand in hand with kindness. Finally there is only one thing left, wholehearted service to all.
When the unenlightened beings treat service as a duty, accompanied by the fear of hell, in the hands of the enlightened beings service is as simple as water which is naturally wet. Water does not need to strive to be wet. The same thing happens to the enlightened beings. The nature of the enlightened beings are full of service. It is similar to full moon that does not need to fight in order to glow.
Illuminated by this inspiration, the darkness of duality as heaven-hell, holy-mundane vanished into the light of enlightenment. Quiet different to the ordinary, the enlightened beings have body, mind and heart alike.
The body is called discipline. Because of discipline then the enlightened beings can be perfectly absence of harming. Mind of the awakened is as wide as space. That’s why the awakened mind is totally absence of judgment. The enlightened heart contains only the intention to serve. This is what this humble article called as resting in compassion.
