Growing up in Vietnam where Buddhism is the predominant religion, meditation wasn’t a foreign concept, though one I had never personally practiced or fully understood. All I knew about it was it was an important daily ritual for monks to have a clear mind and a more compassionate heart to be there and help the people. However, my perceptions were deeply challenged through real-life encounters and anecdotes. I saw how corrupt, greedy, and hypocritical those monks could be, from the novice to the master—indulging in luxury, unethical behavior, and exploiting superstition for personal gain.
Perhaps, that’s why from a young age, religion held very little significance for me. If those who dedicated themselves to daily meditation could still perpetrate such egregious acts, then the value of meditation seemed dubious at best.
Additionally, within our culture and my family’s background, hard work is esteemed as a great virtue and has consistently been emphasized for its importance. I’ve been ingrained with the value of exerting my utmost effort in all endeavors and striving to become a useful person to any society.
After relocating to the Netherlands, over the years, I encountered numerous individuals who claimed to be spiritual and meditation practitioners, only to discover later that many of them lacked ambition in life, financial stability, and showed little to no desire to join the workforce and contribute to society. Among them, a significant portion struggled with mental health issues or traumas and often engaged in substance abuse in some form.
Those encounters and observations inadvertently strengthened my negative beliefs, experiences, and biases against meditation and the spiritual world. Merely hearing the word “spiritual” evoked a flood of negative emotions for me. Consequently, I kept my distance from it all for many years.
** This chapter is part of a TEN-chapter series— don’t miss any part of the story! Stay updated and read more chapters from this series here:
- Part 1: What the Heck is Meditation? Definitely Not for Me!
- Part 2: Attempts to Convert Me into a Believer—The Universe?! Good Luck with That!
- Part 3: God, Allah, Buddha, and the Universe—Help Me! I Beg for Mercy!
- Part 4: The Planted Seeds
- Part 5: My Surrender Experiment
- Part 6: Are These Signs from the Universe?
- Part 7: The Epiphanies
- Part 8: How Meditation Changed Me and My Life
- Part 9: The Most Phenomenal and Bizarre Experience of My Life
- Part 10 (Final): The Power of Going Within
