Most of the things in the world turn in circular mode, the minute hand then the hour hand and then the whole globe. In Buddhism, this deeper concept or “phenomena” is call Samsara – “continuous pursuit of life ". It means the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth like endless cycle of existence.
I remember when I was traveling in Yang Shou, with Matt and Chris from Switzerland and Germany respectively, they taught me that exploring the town always comes in full circle. You don’t stop half way and return back to where you started, you continue walking towards the unexplored path like a circle. In this way, you see more of the scenery and will be surprise along the way.
As I’m the oldest among them and the sky is getting dark, I tend to be the cautious “mother” asking them to turn back instead of moving forward as the path onwards doesn’t seem “inviting”. However, two against one old man, I toss my reservations away and move towards the forestry narrow path. That’s where we discover a beautiful countryside guesthouse with a bright full moon as the background. That’s not all. We pass by a bridge with beautifully lighted stroll way beside the lake where Matt and Christopher enthusiastically snapping non-stop with their discovery.
As we continue our journey, we reached the main town and are not too far away from our guest house. I soon realize my worries are redundant. Tourist are infesting in the night market, drinking, eating and getting merry! I now understand the meaning of coming full circle. Everything in this visible world is a manifestation of the invisible world, of what is going on in our hearts – and getting rid of our anxiety and doubts allow us to live life and fathom ourselves better.
I may not be the expert of showing the way out of Samara. I do know from my traveling that we do not necessary need to take the usual path to get to where we are. It’s not the destination that matters but the journey as the old saying keeps reminding us. Even if we are going around in circle, we can take chances and choose to make changes on this unknown path call life and of course wonderful companions like Matt and Chris helps : )
