During my annual trip to Scotland it is not unusual for me to go to a church service.
Today it took place in a small village in the north-east of my homeland. My first impressions differed little from previous ones in other churches in that I find the whole exoteric Christian trip, for the most part, uninspiring, the singing of hymns lack lustre, the music dreadful and…well, I am sure you catch my drift. I enjoyed the actual building and its beautiful stained-glass windows. I could not help thinking what a great meditation centre it would make. The minister’s theme for the day was projected on an overhead screen: BEYOND KARMA. This, quite naturally, tweaked my curiosity. Little did I know that by the end of the sermon I would be deeply touched and moved by an incredible story narrated by the minister
The minister was South African. He seemed approachable, humorous, humble with a good speaking voice that held confidence but was in no way overbearing. A couple of hymns and prayers down the line he gets into his karma rap. Perhaps he has never heard that Buddha described karma as one of the imponderables. He did his best at explaining what goes around comes around and lost the thread slightly for a short period. He kept it contemporary by mentioning John Lennon’s instant karma, which kind of summed it up. The minister’s understanding of karma was a product of pop culture. I was disappointed to hear him speaking about heaven and hell, the latter being the destination of sinners…. nothing new there. To tie his sermon together he told a story, used in the context, as I understood it, of how faith can transcend karma. Make what you will of that. (In general I find the Christian concept of faith to be based in reinforced belief, something which I find suspect.) I will leave you with the story. It is truly remarkable and unforgettable. This is not verbatim but I reckon I caught the essence of it.
After the fall of the apartheid era in South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was formed in an effort to bring about racial harmony and heal a fractured society. The Commission was chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a man widely regarded as the embodiment of the country’s moral conscience. The reconciliations took place in court-like surrounds. The general idea being that people who had committed crimes during apartheid would confess their wrong-doings face to face with their victims, without fear of prosecution.
In this instance the perpetrator was a policeman. His victim was an elderly black lady.
The policeman had visited the woman’s house one evening and taken away her only child, a young man. Thereupon the cop and his cronies tortured the lad and when the party was over finished him off with a bullet in the head. The body was disposed of in an unmarked grave. Two years later, the same cop and his comrades returned to the woman’s house. They proceeded to blindfold the women and took her and her husband to an unknown location. Her blindfold was removed and she was then forced to watch as her husband was tortured to death in front of her eyes. His corpse was then thrown onto a bonfire.
The TRC asked the old lady what she would like to see done to the man, who had just confessed to murdering her husband and son. She looked across the room at the policeman, considered the question for a few moments, and then said, ‘I want two things. Firstly I want him to take me to the place where they burnt my beloved husband’s body, so that I can gather some sand and give him a decent burial. Secondly, I want this man to visit me twice a month at my home. When he enters my home I will treat him as a family member because, thanks to his actions, I no longer have a family. I want to cook meals for him and talk with him, for he is my new family.’
The old woman’s fragility was evident as she walked across the room, but she still held her aged head in a dignified manner. She stood in front of the disgraced cop for a moment looking into his eyes, and then beckoned for him to come closer. He did as she requested. She then stretched out her arms and gave the man a heartfelt hug. It was too much for the man. He fell to the old lady’s feet, blubbering like a forlorn child.
So touched were the people present that they were moved to spontaneous song. They joined together in one voice, singing,
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
Amen. ”
Lokesh
How many men will enjoy the marriage ceremony of their ex-wife if because of cordial relations, they get invited?
Surely, they can write a good commentary, most probably they will watch the walls and surroundings of the church more than the guests and the newly-married couple.
This is similar to what Lokesh has felt in the church or will feel in White Robe Brotherhood.
Brought a tear to my eye too!
Have heard other stories like this and am always amazed by the spiritual strength of the individuals involved to forgive murderers, torturers, rapists etc. and not stoop to the same level. Maybe, this is enlightenment?
You made me blub, El Loko.
Namaste and Amen.
)
Good man, Arpana. Must admit I felt pretty choked up upon hearing the story myself.
Lokesh, seems you mostly take the best & leave the rest, but my question is why did that lady invite the murderer only twice a week?!
Kavita, it was twice a month. The woman in question, I can only guess, probably lived in a township and perhaps took it in to consideration that her home was a bit out of the way, so to speak.
I think the point of the story is that it highlights the power of forgiveness. Recently, I have read a couple of books that focused on people whose lives were host to great personal injustice. One of those books is titled ‘Unbroken’. A true story about an American airman in World War Two, who is subjected to inhuman treatment in a Japanese POW camp. One Japanese officer saw it as his vocation to mistreat the American airman in order to break his spirit. He failed.. The war ends and the Japanese officer and the American airman meet. To cut a long story short, the American forgives his tormentor. If you read the story you will understand what an amazing occurence this was.
Transferring that to our own lives it raises the question of how difficult we can find it to forgive someone we feel has wronged us. I don’t mean being tortured by someone, I mean anything from what we took as an insult to someone who just did something really shitty to us.
I have in my own life an instance of one man in particular. Because of his actions I had to undergo an extremely difficult sojourn through very tough territory. He does not, to this day, know that I know that he caused this to happen, but I am sure he regrets what he did. I meet him from time to time. I harbour no desire to discuss what happened, having taken the responsibility upon myself. More importantly, I have forgiven him. It did not happen overnight. It took many years for me to process what happened. Somehow the power to forgive heals personal wounds irrespective of the other.
Lokesh , from my own experience, I am not too sure about this forgiveness business, but yes, to go forward / sometimes overlook has been the only option, in case there has been something that has wronged me / us.
Thanx for sharing your stories & also correcting my weakness.
Lokesh,
Immensely grateful, that you put up this thread .
More than easily , I can relate to it.
Me – Personally , as also in the way of how i see so much of the called worldly stuff in broader dimensions. Or Sannyas collective measures , issues and so on so forth .
Even after three decades , not that advanced to embody or to express it like you Lokesh, does , in the ´peace-processing´.
An existential peace allowing state of Being. What Is to be embodied.
A PEACE, deserving capital letters, not like the stuff we are all in , some more, some less, surrounded by (inside-outside) and so good described by : “”peace – as just another way to continue war and attitudes of war”.
So, besides that I feel a climate of support, I also feel it as a possibility to uplift the SN discussions here on many issues of the past (or – of combined with that – fantasies about some future).
Being poisoned by hanging on collectively as individually to a past which has heavy, very heavy digestible traits too, as well as – going with that – not surprisingly hanging on to some glorifications of the ecstastic (past) moments (hindering to experience new ones so often..).
Yes, I can relate to that all.
And am related to the commitment to face all my trials and errors too in processing a peace-making attitude during the life in this body.
It’s deeper than mind, its deeper than ´will`, and sometimes like now , I feel , it is connected with that I call ´Sannyas´. (But may be it all has no name)
I also, like Ashok, have been reading and also seeing docs about the Truth and Peace committees, not only about Africa but also the Khmer Rouge, Vietnam and all this – not to forget about the many testimonials which are available after the Holocaust, from meanwhile many generations to go…
Still the work is not done, is it?
I also, like Kavita, ever so often lose trust that this – an unconditional turn around, a one hundred and eighty degree ‘turn’, the only way to FINISH with a repetitious wheel – can happen.
(And wasn ´t that one of the famous Satasang titles in 1983 (?) with the Master? Arpana knows…).
Uuuuhhh, this is a long one…
Wish I could see you.
In Gratitude –
Madhu
You might enjoy this, Madhu.
http://en.textsave.org/mErb