Campbell Meditation column: Realizing that the average person is the greatest.
The Ordinary
Truth is not something that is within
The grandiose and beautiful;
It is not within the things people envy.
It is in the ordinary and commonplace.
Truth is something that is right next to us;
People do not know Truth exists in one’s mind
And in the same way,
They seek Truth ignorant of the face
That the extraordinary exists in the ordinary.
*From Teacher Woo Myung’s Book <Mind> Page 99
We tend to look up to extraordinary people. When we studied for our future during school in our youth, most of us wanted to have good jobs, become a politician, judge, lawyer, doctor, celebrity, etc., earn good money, and become an extraordinary person with some social status.
I, too, was like this when I was young, and I wanted to be praised by others, to stand in a position where others envied me. Everyone has, somewhere in their heart, a yearning to be an extraordinary person, more capable than others. This appears to be the human psychology.
Before I practiced this meditation developed by master Woo Myung, I was one of those people who wanted to be the more successful and extraordinary person among those around me, and I envied those who I viewed to be extraordinary. I wanted to succeed like others, study hard, go to a good college, and the goal of life was to live a life better than others, a life that others would envy.
However, the more I practiced teacher Woo Myung’s meditation method, I knew that the time would come when extraordinary people would envy the ordinary. One who has practiced teacher Woo Myung’s method would eventually be able to surrender his false mind and get rid of the self, whereas the more superiority a person possesses, the harder it is to discard the self.
One who typically thinks of himself to be unworthy, does not possess much nor have much to show for himself can take the path to completion without hesitation or exerting so much effort to get rid of his self.
On the other hand, people who think highly of themselves find it difficult to deny and discard their selves. Because they think of themselves as being good and righteous, they often find it difficult to deny themselves due to their self-righteousness.
I have seen a lot of people who started doing this study at the same time as me who gave up midway. It’s a pity, and I’ve learned just how thankful I am that I wasn’t well-born or particularly had anything to show for myself. In the end, the completion of this meditation is a study of becoming one with the world because ‘me’ no longer exists. I can now be a man of the world and live according to the will of the world.
I’ve come to realize that ultimately, the ordinary person is the one who can willingly overcome himself to eventually become truth. All this time, I had wanted to beat and defeat others, envied others’ successes, and I had always lamented my lot in life with a negative attitude.
As I eagerly abandoned and discarded these things, I wanted to remain in the true world and work in the world as an ordinary person in the world of truth.
I am so thankful and fortunate to have encountered this study. It is so eye opening to know that the ordinary person is the one who is closest to the truth and can become truth, and I am so grateful to teacher Woo Myung, who founded this study. I look forward to meeting many people through this practice and hope they realize that the ordinary is the greatest and to go together on this path of truth.