"I have the power to heal myself. You have the power to heal yourself. Together we have the power to heal the world."
Master Sha
"Music in the soul is heard by the universe."
Lao Tzu
Forgiveness Practice
Forgiveness is a vital and necessary action for the soul journey to further bloom. Master Zhi Gang Sha and other spiritual teachers through the ages have taught this truth, that if you do not forgive, you cannot expect to go forward on the path to enlightenment. A lot of humans have difficulty with the concept of forgiveness, thinking that it says the harm and pain that has happened to them is acceptable, that it is ok that they were hurt. We might believe that it means that the perpetrators of our suffering go free if we forgive. I believe that it is more true to say that forgiveness means releasing our clutching hold on that suffering, and thereby releasing ourselves from the darkness, pain and ongoing negative karma that comes from the refusal to forgive.
Let's do a simple forgiveness practice. Master Sha also says "The big way is very simple."
Find a quiet place where you can be meditative, light a candle, light some incense, say hello to any of the Divine ones that walk with you, or whatever you need to do to quiet your mind and heart.
Say in your heart and mind, with sincerity,
"dear (speak the name of the person or situation that you feel has harmed you, or that you have harmed)
I love you, bless you, honor you.
I am truly sorry for any pain, harm or suffering that I have caused you in this or any lifetime. I apologize with all
my heart and soul. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.
I forgive you for any harm, pain or suffering that you have caused me in this or any lifetime. Please accept my heartfelt forgiveness. Thank you. I love you.
Then you might sing one of Master Sha's forgiveness soul songs, or any song that has spiritual meaning to you.
Be sure to close the practice by saying "hao hao hao" (Chinese for get well, be well) or amen, or whatever works for you to bring closure to the practice. Pay attention to how your heart feels, and also how your outer experience changes when you do forgiveness practices often.
What is karma?
Karma - fear based Karma - Love based
You reap what you sow. Karma Karma is a gift that brings you
is the consequences, both good lessons for your soul's personal
and bad, that are brought to you growth, and will continue to bring
based on your actions, good and those lessons back around until
bad. You are judged for your you have learned them.
actions.
Karma (Sanskrit, also karman, Pāli: kamma) is a Sanskrit term that literally means "action" or "doing". Some version or discussion of karma can be found in almost all sacred writings, and simply means do good things, generate good karma, do bad things generate bad karma.
We can do effective forgiveness practices whether or not we believe in karma and reincarnation, but it expands our understanding of the scope of karma if we do. We humans want to believe that we were Mary Queen of Scots or Genghis Khan, but we were much more likely to have spent at least a couple of hundred lifetimes as Chinese peasants or Egyptian slaves. Just stop and think for a moment what is meant by ancestors; that is ALL the beings that came before you. They all had hundreds or thousands of lifetimes too! That's a vast, unfathomable amount of karma both good and bad, and there's really no way to understand or embrace the scope of it. What we can do now is try to not create new karma through our thoughts, words, and actions, (and make no mistake, they all count...) and to forgive what is on the plate before us. One forgiveness at a time.
A more comprehensive forgiveness practice
It is the human way, probably one of self protection, to fail to grasp the countless ways that there are to hurt and harm others, and that we have done those things. It is humbling and heartbreaking to contemplate.
This is my daily forgiveness practice.
"Dear Master Sha, the soul of the Divine Mission, beloved Ah Mi Tuo Fo, Guan Yin Ling Hue Sheng Shi, Dear all Divine beings, Holy ones and beings of Light anywhere and anywhere, all beloved ones who walk with me and bless my journey. Dear my Yuan Shen, my Shi Shen and all souls that make up the entirety of my being.
Dear all souls in all universes, all lifetimes, all souls in Heaven, all souls in Hell, all souls in all infinity and all eternity,
I love you, bless you and honor you all, and bow down before you. Beloved, I am sorry with all my heart and soul for all harm, pain, suffering and unhappiness and negative service that I have caused you or offered you in this and all lifetimes, or that my ancestors and descendants have caused you.
I apologize with all my being for all loss, tears, grief and anguish, for all oppression and injustice, impoverishment and want, for all cold, dark, hunger, rage, fear, violence, hopelessness and despair, depression and anxiety that I have caused you, that we have caused you. I am deeply sorry for ever having turned to the dark side to serve it.
I am sorry for all physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, psychic, material, financial, institutional, governmental, religious, educational, relationship, sexual and soul journey harm that I have caused you, that we have caused you in all lifetimes, and I ask your forgiveness.
Dear all Divine beings, I am sorry most sincerely for all disavowal, disrespect, disobedience, unconsciousness, sleepingness, spiritual laziness, blame, hatred, doubt, lack of faith, accusation, falsehood and betrayal that I have ever offered you or caused you, that we have caused you.
Dear all souls, I am sorry with my heart for all torture, agony, bondage, use of handcuffs, manacles, ropes, wires, whips and chains, iron bars, cells, pens or cages with which we have caused you pain and suffering. I am deeply sorry for all suffering that I have caused any animal in this and all lifetimes.
I am sorry for causing the death of any soul in any lifetime.
With my heart I ask your forgiveness, not because what we did to you is forgivable or excusable, but that you might be free and have peace. I bless that you might be released from the harm, darkness and ongoing negative karma that comes when we do not forgive that original harm. That suffering is bound tightly to us until we forgive and release it. Please forgive and release us so that your souls might soar free to their highest possibility of love and liberty, joy and beauty and Divine potentiality, oneness, Light.
I ask the Divine to please fill all those spaces created by forgiveness with it's perfect love, light and living presence, to prevent the return of those darknesses, and prevent new ones.
I offer myself in unconditional Divine Service, to The Tao, to Master Sha, to the Mother Earth planet and her inhabitants.
We have learned our lessons and will do everything in our power to not repeat those mistakes.
Beloved, I forgive all souls that have hurt or harmed me and my ancestors and descendants (on their behalf) in this and all lifetimes, unconditionally, with joy and deep relief. Please accept our heartfelt forgiveness, and let us all go forth together on this great journey of Light.
Hao Hao Hao, thank you thank you thank you all, love you love you love you all.
Gong song, gong song, gong song. Respectfully return.