Birthing The Fifth Dimension
Rev. Sadharma (Helen Jandamit)
Note: Although the article was written specifically for Asian readers with a Buddhist background, you will find that true wisdom translates well into any language or circumstance. So much of what is being published about Earth Healing has a Western bias- but in fact, there is much being done in all parts of the world. In the Far East - as this article demonstrates - there is deep understanding, and much is being accomplished. In the very few spots which may present a little difficulty for Western readers, we have, with the authors assistance and permission, clarified some of the terminology within [brackets] so that all may learn equally from this informative and inspiring work.
Birthing The Fifth Dimension
Rev. Sadharma (Helen Jandamit)
Only months ago, nobody really believed that
the value of the baht [a unit of money] could depreciate to 50
to one US dollar. Not only the baht but all the currencies of
Southeast Asia have been adversely affected by the financial
situation in the region.
The causes are manifold and
difficult to define but the effects are evident. The old
economic and political systems no longer work, they are
collapsing around us.
People are being shaken awake.
Sometimes it takes a kick in the pants to wake us up. The kick
in the pants here has so far been the loss of jobs, salary cuts,
closure of finance companies and less crowded shopping malls.
Unlike in Indonesia where there has been rioting, Thai tolerance
and adaptability have served us well. What happens here and in
South-east Asia generally will be the model for a new way of
life. Thai people have vast agricultural resources and a deeply
ingrained sense of community spirit together with a healthy
regard for the sovereignty of each person. Add to this a
centuries-old tradition of accessing the inner wealth of the
spirit and you have the elements necessary to generate a new way
of being.
Looked at from a wider perspective, what we are
experiencing are the birth pangs of the fifth dimensional
consciousness. The three spacial dimensions of length, breadth
and height together with the fourth dimension of time are
familiar concepts. But what is the "fifth dimensionï"?
The fifth dimensional consciousness is a way of living in
the world that perceives and understands the physical universe
both within and beyond the limitations of linear time and is
also fired by compassion and the sense of being one with all.
While it accepts the right of each to determine his or her own
destiny, it also sees how we are all interdependent in terms of
natural resources and in terms of the deep empathic mind link
between beings.
What we think and what we believe
determine how we live and ultimately affects our environment.
Each person sets his or her own energy resonator in motion
whenever he or she thinks, speaks or acts. Groups working
together magnify those energies to many times the sum of the
individual contributors.
At present we are undergoing
profound changes and each of us is trying to survive. The
existing power groups are also trying to survive.
Looking
at the not-too-distant past, Somdej Phra Phuttajan [A
descriptive combination of title and name displaying vereration
to the second highest rank of monks in the Thai Theravadan
tradition] Arj Asokmahaten, who later became the acting
Sangharaja, [the highest rank for a monk] was jailed from the
April 20, 2503 [1959 in the Gregorian calendar] to August 30,
2509 [1965] for helping people to discover the truth within
themselves. He sent monks all over the country and abroad to
promote Vipassana meditation. That was one of the most
subversive things he could do, because it enabled people to go
within and find the deepest truth within themselves. When people
can centre like this they are not easily manipulated by the
powers that be. Their votes cannot be bought. Their hearts
cannot be bought. They are not swayed by media manipulation or
peer pressure because they have recourse to inner peace. A mind
that is centred and peaceful has a spontaneous uprising of joy
and compassion.
Such people will not react to adversity
with fear or panic. Inner wisdom is their guide. When many
people countrywide started to practise in this way, it was seen
to be a threat to the status quo. Somdej Phra Phuttajan was
accused of being a communist and was sent to jail. When I met
him years later, his radiance filled the Viharn of Wat Mahadhatu
[the ceremonial hall of the temple Mahadhatu in Bangkok] The
incredible power of the peace radiating out from the then Acting
Sangharaja was palpable. The power of the truth cannot be
stopped. And the power of the transformation that is arising
within the hearts of the Thai people cannot be stopped.
When jobs in the factories disappear how do the young Thai
people from the provinces react? Here is an observation from
Canadian sociologist and long-time resident of Bangkok, Andre
McNicoll on a recent visit to the northeast:
"The next
day I set off to visit my friend's family. They live in a tiny
hamlet 25 kilometers from Khorat. It was fascinating to see all
the nephews and nieces who had returned from lost jobs in
factories now building simple shelters around the parents' home.
The place was teeming with children and the sound of laughter.
Everyone was also pitching in bringing in the rice harvest.
Thailand's rural diaspora appears to have gone into reverse."
People are being laid off. Many who have been too busy to
take any time out for themselves can think about what is really
important in their lives. They do not have to force themselves
to follow a pattern dictated by others. They have time to
breathe.
Educationalists are seeing a difference in the
way that would-be university students are applying for courses.
Students are no longer applying for fashionable subjects such as
mass communications or engineering. Instead they are applying to
study biology and agriculture, subjects based on the real basic
needs of the community - not the emphemeral creations of
fashion.
When you know what your real needs are and you
are in tune with your own balance, you will not act in a way
that will harm yourself or others. Thailand is a Buddhist county
and most people are familiar with the Five Precepts. The Five
Precepts not only tell us what not to do. They also show us how
to live harmoniously with others. They are built upon the
universal principles of harmlessness and loving kindness.
When keeping the Five Precepts we not steal and we also give
Dana. Not only do we not tell lies, but we also speak out in a
way that is inspiring, supportive and helpful.
We do not
simply avoid committing adultery, we show our love and caring
through our most intimate relations with our partners. This
enables us to grow together in the wondrous expression of
reciprocal sharing in sexual communion. Through this deep
sharing many energy blockages can be released, enabling us to
develop emotionally and spiritually. It can only happen in a
situation of mutual trust.
Not only do we not take drink
and drugs that cloud the mind, but we live in a way that
promotes our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well
being. In the same way as we avoid food that contain carcinogens
and toxins, we also avoid mental input that can disturb the
mind.
The mass media may be controlling how you think
and feel, by simply filling your awareness space. How many
people do you know who turn on the TV almost as soon as they
arrive home? Their attention is continuously filled with
broadcasted sights and sounds.
Generally, the mass media
are controlled by those who have money (eg. big businesses) or
power (eg. government agencies). It is in their interests to
create desire for their products or services via the media.
Now with development of user-based communications
technology, people have greater control over where they access
information and are able to verify that information from many
sources. Some examples of user-based communications systems are
mobile phones, the Internet, and faxes. Central control limits
opportunity: we can only receive what someone else has decided
we should receive. When we use systems such as mobile phones or
the Internet, we can bypass central control.
Even if
controls are imposed, there are other ways to communicate and
the Thai people with their long tradition of Bhavana or mental
development are uniquely placed to make use of these. There are
mind links between people and a group vision is emerging that is
to be felt in the heart centres of the Earth first. Thailand is
one of the heart centres. And here and simultaneously all over
the world, individuals and groups, some religious, others
environmental or concerned with healing in many forms, are
pooling their mental and spiritual energy to promote peace on
Earth.
Stated in Buddhist terms, they seek to bring the
essence of the Lord Buddha alive in the hearts of all people.
They wish to manifest the great qualities of the Lord Buddha,
wisdom, purity and compassion in their daily lives. Stated in
Christian terms, they wish to provide suitable conditions for
the arising of the Christ consciousness in the hearts of all
people.
Some scientists are beginning to realize that
observation cannot be completely objective. The mind which
observes has an effect on the object being observed and the
quality of that mind colours the observation. In Vipassana
meditation both the observer and the observed are seen in their
ongoing constantly changing interrelationship. The practitioner
observes the body and mind in the dynamic ever-changing vitality
of present experience. He comes to see how experiences,
sensations, feelings and thoughts, together with their reactions
within the sense of self, arise and pass away. He sees how every
fleeting moment of consciousness is dependent upon others and
how all is interrelated and interdependent.
The doctrine
of Paticcasamupada (Dependent Origination) details the process
of the arising of each moment of consciousness dependent upon
conditions. It also shows how the process can be cut so that
freedom from ignorance can be attained. It is ignorance that
causes unsatisfactoriness in its myriad forms to arise in our
experience.
In the Avatamsaka Sutra, the image if
Indrai's jewelled net is used to show "the infinite variety of
interactions and intersections of all things. The net is woven
of an infinite variety of brilliant gems, each with countless
facets. Each gem reflects in itself every other gem in the net,
and its image is reflected in each other gem." In each moment of
consciousness all the other mind moments are reflected.
Within each moment of consciousness we affect the consciousness
of others. In the same way that the resonance of a pure high
note can set glasses singing, so our thoughts and actions set up
waves of conditioned reactions within our environment. Each
inner transformation affects the wholeness of being.
People who live in contact with Buddhism grow up with an
understanding of the laws of cause and effect. A good action
will eventually produce a beneficial result and vice versa.
It is a principle of physics that energy can neither be
created nor destroyed. Energy can only be transformed from one
form into another. Everything we think, everything we feel,
everything we say and do constitutes a form of energy. "Each of
us is a powerful energy emitter in every waking or sleeping
moment". The way in which we emit that energy attracts people
and experiences that are resonating on the same frequency. Like
attracts like. When we are in a state of vibrant balance and
vital peace, we will attract to ourselves more of the same.
Many groups are working together for personal transformation
and world healing. Many of those groups synchronise world
healing sessions to magnify the effect. This is not new. Since
1945 groups worldwide have synchronised their meditations with
the exact time of the full moon. They use the "Great Invocation"
that focuses on the reemergence of love, light and divine will
on Earth. What is different now, is that the coordination
network of groups has expanded tremendously in the speed of
communication, the breadth of contact and the urgency of the
task.
Through Internet links, fax links and satellite
technology, healers in Australia coordinate with native
Americans in Rochester New York, psychologists in Bali and monks
in Bangkok. Whenever peace is threatened or there is a disaster,
energy is sychronously directed to that place. Each positive
thought resonates through the jewelled net of world
consciousness.
Each time you listen with openness to
those around you and you dare speak out about how you feel in
the "wake up" situation of financial instability you find
yourself in, there is the potential for the beginning of a new
"group". Each action done to help or support others as well
as yourself constitutes the first stirrings of a new way of
life.
Those actions need not relate directly to
improving the financial situation or creating employment. Each
action which arises from an impulse of caring and openness will
have a positive effect, eg. smiling at fellow travellers;
letting another person who is obviously in a hurry go ahead of
you in a queue; carrying something heavy for a person who needs
help; spending time listening to your friends and neighbours or
starting a car pool with other parents at your child�s school.
The overall effect of the good intentions and simple caring
actions can set a wave of positivity that can transform the
country and set an example for the world.
When groups of
like-minded people come together to meditate for improved
conditions on the earth, the effect is magnified. How does it
feel to be part of such a group? Here a member of a world
healing group attempts to convey something of the vastness of
the interaction being effected on a world scale.
"After
the initial calming and alignment of attention within the group,
we consciously connected with the centre of the Earth and the
energy fields surrounding the Earth. I become simultaneously
aware of the microcosm of personal being and the macrocosm of
the interconnections within a universal oneness. I was observing
the alignment of the planets of the solar system, the galaxy and
even our universe from a place beyond yet within those..... yet
I was also rooted in the body - and the whole permeated with
love. That love was self arising from the little girl's heart
within me, and within the hearts and awareness of all those who
participated. It is our separation which defined and gave
consciousness to the oneness. We sent the light of Loving
Kindness (Metta) to areas currently under great stress. Together
we focussed our awareness and directed loving kindness to all
the sentient beings of the Earth."
Which newborn child
does not feel love for his mother. And which mother would not
willingly and joyfully undergo the labour of birth for a loved
child? What we are experiencing here and now in South-east Asia
are the birth pangs of an enhanced consciousness that is born
from the love and wisdom of awakening humanity.
From one
coalescent point in the wholeness/holiness I greet you,
Rev.
Sadharma (Helen Jandamit)
About The Author
Rev.
Sadharma (Helen Jandamit) is a Vipassana (Insight) meditation
master, the Director of the House of Dhamma and a special
lecturer at Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University. She is also
one of the founder members of the International Buddhist
Meditation Centre, which is based in Mahadhatu Temple, Bangkok.
She has written several books related to Buddhism, The Path to
Peace Within, The Way to Vipassana, and In the world but not of
the world. Born in Britain, she has lived in Thailand for 24
years as an ordained Field Reverend (Buddhist Priest) In
addition she a mother, an artist, the Editor of Bangkok Post
Student Weekly, and teaches Insight meditation at the House of
Dhamma, YBAT, IBMC and on invitation in Los Angeles and Vienna.