Other Paths Showing the Way From Hardship to Ease

The web journey of this blog has taken many paths and a recent one was agreeing to participate with fellow blogger hal786, an English Muslim girl who writes After Hardship Will Always Come Ease, in her BloggersUnite's event HARDSHIP2EASE DAY which takes place today 23 September 2009.

According to hal786:

The goal is to help bring ease to people who've suffered hardships in life, by sharing their stories and writing stories of how someones life went from bad to good/hardship2ease.

Being ignorant of such matters, I did not realize that the words come from the Qur'an. As is my habit, I did some web-searching to learn more. The blog Far From Home provided greater insight. My sense as an outsider is that this is a very important part of the Muslim tradition of which our Western culture has very little idea. It also strikes me as a very personal idea of finding ease within ones self. The underlining of the quote below is mine.

"With every hardship, comes ease. Verily, with hardship comes ease." (Chapter 94; verses 5-6)

This refrain, echoed twice, stress upon the sometimes "hidden" blessings within a given burden or hardship. In the ordinary words of mortals, "In every dark cloud, there is a silver lining." Sometimes, we are too weary, too burnt out, too depressed to see that "ease", that silver lining. After all, when surrounded by darkness, it is not easy to "see." Usually, we understand the "ease" afterwards and therefore make the mistake that the ease comes after hardship. But note the stress in the refrain of the word "with" which indicates that the ease comes hand-in-hand with the hardship. (Once again, the duality that I was discussing in an earlier note kicks in.)

Another source was Islam.Online.Net Thinking Over the Verses of the Qur'an
Many people read the Qur'an, but the important thing is, just as Allah states in His verses, to ponder on each verse of the Qur'an, to draw a lesson from that verse, and to improve one's conducts in compliance with these lessons.

Those who read the verse [For truly with hardship comes ease; truly with hardship comes ease] (Al-Inshirah 94:5-6), for example, reflect upon it. They understand that Allah creates ease with each hardship, and therefore, the only thing they have to do when they meet a hardship is to put their trust in Allah and find the ease that is with it. Allah's promise being so, we see that giving up hope or being stricken with panic in moments of difficulty is a sign of a weakness in our faith. After reading this verse and reflecting upon it, our conduct will go in line with the verse throughout our lives.

I can't help but find it interesting that my last post on this blog dealt with perception and this blog post deals with concepts arguably beyond perception. When BeyondPerception writes of dunya it brings to my mind the Buddhist concept of samsara. Similarly Far From Home above speaks about duality. The concept of "With every hardship, comes ease", also extends to others. This seems to me to be a concept common across all the major religions. It is not merely a matter of how we see the world, but how we take what we see and the shared story we create to make our world.

Verily, With Hardship Comes Ease (Surah al-Sharh,94) posted by BeyondPerception

In the end, love means wanting the best for that other person. But I truly think love shouldn't end with our family and friends, it should spread to everyone, even a stranger. As result, if you have this type of love for everyone, you should genuinely only want the best for them.

The dunya is ephemeral. Change is inevitable and nothing, including this world is permanent. Relationships will always change, feelings will continue to change and it is all because it is God's will. "Allahu Alam" (God knows best). He knows what's best for you even though it may not be in your favor. All we can do is love one another and pray that Allah will bless all of us with goodness in this life and the hereafter.

I thank Allah for making me stronger in times of tribulation, for removing anger from my heart, and turning my negative emotions into peace.

Here is a wonderful youtube video passed along from another xanga member for those going through hardship. JazakAllah Kairun :)

Getting Started With Let It Begin With Me

"Sometimes when I meditate, I don't use any particular method. I just allow my mind to rest, and find, especially when I am inspired, that I can bring my mind home and relax very quickly. I sit quietly and rest in the nature of mind; I don't question or doubt whether I am in the ‘correct’ state or not. There is no effort, only rich understanding, wakefulness, and unshakeable certainty. When I am in the nature of mind, the ordinary mind is no longer there. There is no need to sustain or confirm a sense of being: I simply am. A fundamental trust is present. There is nothing in particular to do.” Sogyal Rinpoche

From Let it begin with me - mind training and meditation briefings A rough guide to mind training and meditation

diigo tags: buddhism, meditation, mind, philosophy

Einstein The Dharma Of Science

A Buddhist Thought of the Day

The belief in an external world independent of the perceiving subject is the basis of all natural science. Since, however, sense perception only gives information of this external world or of "physical reality" indirectly, we can only grasp the latter by speculative means. It follows from this that our notions of physical reality can never be final. We must always be ready to change these notions - that is to say, the axiomatic basis of physics - in order to do justice to perceived facts in the most perfect way logically.

-Einstein ...

Thought for Sun, 06 Apr 2008

via Buddhist Thought of the Day

It is our earth, not yours or mine or his. We are meant to live on it, helping each other, not destroying each other.

J. Krishnamurti...

Seeds of Intention Fruit Of Action

Thought for Wed, 13 Feb 2008 via Buddhist Thought of the Day on 2/13/08


No matter what one does, whether one's deeds serve virtue or vice, nothing lacks importance. All actions bear a kind of fruit.

- Buddha...

Finding A Pathway From Earth To Heaven

Thought for Sun, 27 Jan 2008 via Buddhist Thought of the Day on 1/27/08

Let your love flow outward through the universe, To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity. Then as you stand or walk, Sit or lie down, As long as you are awake, Strive for this with a one-pointed mind; Your life will bring heaven to earth.

- Sutta Nipata ...

Four Qualities

Thought for Mon, 28 Jan 2008 via Buddhist Thought of the Day on 1/28/08

With four qualities the wise, intelligent, worthy person goes about not uprooted, not lifeless, not blameworthy, not censured by the wise. What four? With Good Conduct of body, speech and mind, and with gratitude....

NPR : Navigating Turbulent Waters From NPR This I Believe

• Navigating Turbulent Waters

  by Jimmy Liao Listen Now

  

  Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Liao

  "I can take the energy of my father's violence and move through it, to surge past that turbulence. I could let my father be himself without giving up on myself."
  
  
  

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Buddhist Thought of the Day on 12/14/07

Buddhist Thought of the Day on 12/14/07

You are now in control of your life. You see, the ego is never in
control. The ego is controlled by wishes for comfort and convenience
on the part of the body, by demands of the mind, and by outbursts of
the emotions. But the higher nature controls the body and the mind and
the emotions. I can say to my body, "Lie down there on that cement
floor and go to sleep," and it obeys. I can say to my mind, "Shut out
everything else and concentrate on this job before you," and it's
obedient. I can say to my emotions, "Be still, even in the face of
this terrible situation," and they are still. It's a different way of
living. The philosopher Thoreau wrote: If a man does not keep pace
with his companions, perhaps he hears a different drummer. And now you
are following a different drummer--the higher nature instead of the
lower. - Peace Pilgrim...

Social Networking Spiritual Networking Its All Connected

Provides a bit more importance to the concept of social networking.

Buddhist Thought

"One day Ananda, who had been thinking deeply about things for a while, turned to the Buddha and exclaimed: "Lord, I've been thinking- spiritual friendship is at least half of the spiritual life!" The Buddha replied: "Say not so, Ananda, say not so. Spiritual friendship is the whole of the spiritual life!" - Samyutta Nikaya, Verse 2..."

Thought for Fri, 26 Oct 2007

Buddhist Thought for Fri, 26 Oct 2007

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes...

Buddhist Thought for Fri, 19 Oct 2007

Buddhist Thought of the Day on 10/19/07

When you give a shilling to a beggar - do you realize that you are giving it to yourself? When you help a lame dog over a stile - do you realize that you yourself are being helped? When you kick a man when he is down - do you realize that you are kicking yourself? Give him another kick - if you deserve it! -

Why Lazurus Laughed by Wei Wu Wei...

--

Buddhist Thought for Thu, 18 Oct 2007

Buddhist Thought of the Day on 10/18/07

"Only the curious will learn, only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The Quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient." - Eugene S. Wilson..

Buddhist Thought for Fri, 12 Oct 2007

Something for me to keep in mind.

Buddhist Thought of the Day

"Wise men don't judge: they seek to understand". - Fingers Pointing Toward the Moon"

by Wei Wu Wei...

Buddhist Thought for Mon, 08 Oct 2007

If one believes this to be true then it must completely color any actions one takes in the world. It is not only a self-defining statement it also defines one's relationship with others recognizing their profound stillness and the impact that relationships have upon the world.

Buddhist Thought of the Day on 10/8/07

It is only with total humility, and in absolute stillness of mind that we can know what indeed we are. "The Tenth Man" by Wei Wu Wei...

Free Burma More Prayer and Prediction

A basic premise of this endeavor is the concept of condition, cause and effect. This applies fairly obviously to science and economics and also though perhaps less obviously to design, leadership and defining our own lives. Unfortunately the causes we may espouse or endeavor to support often do not lead us to the outcomes we wish for as we might hope.

This weblog partook in the Internet based Free Burma action. A recent check of the sphere.com site showed 123 blogs on Free Burma in the last 24 hours. That is a significant drop from recent days. This weblog recognized that this was only a symbolic gesture due to the limited outreach of this site. It seems that in fact 1 to 3 other persons did click on the same banner that they could have seen on 14,702 other sites (out of the millions out there) hopefully adding to any impact which would have been minuscule's on its own but added to the overall effort. Unfortunately all this together was not be able to prevail over the current tragedy. It did show what could be done but unfortunately both for the bad, the ruthlessness of the junta and the good.

This site also made the statement that regardless of what happens for the present because all things are dependent upon cause and conditions the days of the Myanmar junta are numbered. When I made the statement it seemed upon reading it a bit pretentious with so many factors working against the prediction but I left it in more as hope. I wish that cause and conditions were such that it were true as of today or the very near future. I still believe it but now it is a matter of faith or confident hope rather than any pretense at political insight but the realities of the last few days makes any proclamations about the future hollow. I need to keep in mind what somebody said, that these efforts are still worthwhile because we are planting seeds.

It does, however, make me think more about how the Internet is used sometimes far too much as a tool for mass communication, with more emphasis on the mass and far less on the communication. Its full potential in focusing more of its use at the local level have not been as fully explored it seems, especially as a means of educating ourselves.

Burma Burning

Originally, it was the picture from space that induced me to put the Burma crisis onto this weblog. Not the technology but the idea of a human event so catastrophic that it was if the planet were crying out. I also grabbed from the two major newspapers from which I generally get my news. It was a quick reaction but further impact seems minimal. This weblog has little impact and to be truthful was not really designed at this point to have much. Despite that I put up a few more connections dealing with the Burma crisis.

Anybody could do this but this is a list of articles from Sphere it!
This article U.N. Envoy Tries to Ease Tensions in Myanmar was printed today in the New York Times. The Los Angeles Times also ran a similar article on Burma . The reporter on the NY Times Story is SETH MYDANS here is a list of other stories by Mr. Mydans . Tricycle is a Buddhist blog/publication. Here is a list of articles and connections dealing with the Burma crisis.

Finally there is Free Burma! International Bloggers' Day for Burma on the 4th of October. For this weblog this is only a symbolic gesture. Perhaps only one other person will see this soon enough to have it make any impact on its own but it will add another number to the overall effort. Perhaps all this together will not be able to prevail over the current situation but it will show what can be done and regardless of what happens for the present because all things are dependent upon cause and conditions the days of the Myanmar junta are numbered.

How to Make Enduring Organizational and Life Changes

A new addition to Paradigm Pathways Business and Economic Development is

Be Excellent™: How to Make Organizational Change Enduring which rightly cites people as the basic avenue of change not institutions. This applies not only to businesses but all political and social change. For some, the idea of paradigm shift may apply only to unseen social forces to be realized only after they happen and are beyond the individual. My perspective is akin to the concept of Indra's Net.

Buddhist Thought for Tue, 25 Sep 2007

via Buddhist Thought of the Day on 9/25/07

All human activity is behaviour. Through the centuries we have developed codes of conduct, these become laid down by the society, by the culture, in which we live, and by the so-called saints and religious teachers; this code or pattern, this norm of behaviour, becomes traditional and automatic, that is, mechanical. - J. Krishnamurti...

Basically, the seed of assumed paradigms and the death of creativity and innovation.

Buddhist Thought for Sun, 16 Sep 2007

Buddhist Thought of the Day on 9/16/07

Is repetitive action virtuous action? If behaviour and conduct are merely repetitive processes then all human relationships actually cease. If I behave mechanically every day, - repeating a certain code of conduct which I have learnt, which I find profitable, or which is pleasant, repeating that over and over again, - my relationship with you ceases, completely - I have become a machine.

- J. Krishnamurti...

A paradigm in the worst sense of the word can be an unthinking behavior or set of behaviors as well as a set of rules or assumptions. See Paradigms Made Simple for an example of the effect of assumed paradigms.