The Old Teaching
Digging for the first bite of my soda, I made sure the spoon scooped a fair amount of whip cream and nuts. Not that I don't enjoy eating any of these ingredients by themselves or in various other combinations, but eating all parts together like this, a nice proportion in each bite, feels the best way to enjoy this delicious mix."How was the movie last Saturday?" asked Doc. "What do you think of Lost Horizon?""I liked it a lot...but I wish the ending would have showed him reuniting with the girl...that would have made for a joyous moment.""Yeah, I imagine it would have." said Doc, looking off in the distance."And too bad his brother didn't see the beauty of Shangri-la," I said. "That would have made things a lot easier.""I suppose," said Doc. "But it seems a part of life, though a more difficult way to journey, traveling up and down like the shadow of a plane on the ground, instead of straightaway though the sky like the plane itself.""Yeah, I liked Conway's description of that."Doc walked to the front of the store as the door slowly started opening. It was Mrs. Sylvia coming in for her medicine. She's pretty old, must be about 95 or so, but still gets around pretty well, just slow. Doc always gives her special attention, says there's a lot to be learned from people who've lived so many years. No teacher as good as experience Doc says. This gets me thinking a bit.I wonder what happens to people after they die. Some say you go to heaven, or hell, depending on how well you've lived, or not. Some say nothing happens, that's it, the end. I once read a book that says you come back again, only in another body. It's called reincarnation. That one makes the most sense to me. I mean, as difficult and uncertain as life is, I think everyone deserves another
chance, probably a lot of chances. Reincarnation seems like the only way for souls to learn and grow, to hold them accountable for misdeeds, and give them reward for living well, atonement and attainment offered to each accordingly.
"Hey genius," Doc shouts at me from across the store. "Would you come over here and walk Mrs. Sylvia to the door."I get up and go to the frail old woman, picking up her bag of goods as she grabs my free arm with her skinny, wrinkly hand, her ancient skin crepepaper-thin. Silently and ever so slowly we make our way to the door. I notice the hardwood floor creak like never before. The decay of old age feels so real walking with her in this manner...this slow deliberate exit, coupled with a simultaneous entrance, out of one world and into another...young and old, eternally together, somehow, helping each other.Once out the door, a warm bright sun springs upon our skin...and suddenly, there is life again. Mrs. Sylvia, takes in a long deep breath and lets it out with a short sigh of satisfaction. "That feels so good son," Mrs. Sylvia says as she takes another deep breath. "I've got it from here. Thank you young man, you're such a gentleman."I say goodbye to her and walk back into the store. Doc's busy at work, I continue eating my soda, now a melted mess, but still delicious"So whadda ya think genius?" Doc asks as he makes his way back to me."I wanna know more about what you meant a couple weeks ago, when you said not everything in the world is as it appears to be. What did you mean by that?""Anaxagoras," mused Doc. "And I think Galileo and Copernicus too.""What?""These are three men I think you should know," said Doc."I've heard of Galileo and Copernicus...they showed that the Earth revolves around the Sun.""And previous to that, people in Europe thought it was the other way around, that the Sun revolved around the Earth. But not everything was as it appeared to be...or maybe I should say, the whole universe didn't work the way people thought it did.""Doc, sometimes I think the universe works exactly the way people think it does." "Good point," said Doc. "After all, when people thought the world was flat, sailing 'around' the world would not have been a possibility for them...except for the few doubters and rebels, brave explorers that either knew better or were willing to take the risk.""Limited beliefs lead to limited possibilities.""Yeah wise-guy, that's pretty good.""Ok Doc, so who's Anaxagoras then?""He was a pre-Socratic philosopher from ancient Greece," said Doc, "A man 25 centuries ahead of his time.""Wow, 25 centuries! How so Doc?""Well, you see, he saw that everything begins with Mind..." Doc paused, as if searching for the right words, "Hey, don't you have something better to do than pick my brain all day?" "Yeah your right," I said. "I've got my new book to write.""Oh yeah," smiled Doc. "What's it about?""Well, I can't tell you that yet," I said. "But I can tell you the title."Doc raised an eyebrow as he leaned closer to me. I could tell he was especially intrigued. "What is it called?"
"At the Foot of Bodhisativa.""Ahh...Upanishad!" cried out Doc as he raised his hands into the air, then brought them together as if in prayer. Then he promptly reassumed his composure. "Now get the hell outta here! I've got work to do, and so do you!"Out the door before I knew it, I quickly turned around, remembering what I forgot to tell Doc. Ding."Hey Doc, I almost forgot, The Day the Earth Stood Still is playing at the Paradise tonight.""Great, I'll meet ya there!"Ding.
