The Smile of the Buddha

When God finds himself again

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Good morning.

I am happy that you are here.

In this video this morning, I wanted to talk about how the spiritual path actually works, because many people have a misunderstanding. Many people believe that there will be some event, some grand change, and when you experience this, your life will be different; then, your life will change; you will not encounter problems anymore, but you will be in Heaven.

And this is not true, and I would like to talk about how this really works. I would like to talk about the nature of Heaven. What is it? What makes you happy? How is life after you arrived?

It's this old question: "What is this life for? Why am I here?"

Many people ask: "Well, if this life is about rediscovering who I really am, why do I have to get lost in the first place?

Why can't I just stay where I was, happy and content? Why do I have to suffer? Why do I have to experience pain? Why do I have to experience problems, only to find a way out of this again?" And they don't understand. This, I would like to talk about from my own experience.

As I start, I would like to read out an email which addresses exactly these questions.

"Why does the pure soul have to pay the price of a life of suffering in order to recognize God or the light? Why can't we simply remain in the state of soul that existed before incarnation? Why do you have to take on a body and experience suffering to become what you were before incarnation?"

Yes, this is the question: "Why do we take on a body – which means suffering, which means agony, which means problems –, only to then return to where we came from? Why?"

You know, I change all the time. I am not the same after this video. I am being changed, right now. In every Satsang, I am different. I am different than the Mikael of last year. And during the last few months, I experienced the answer to this question.

Now I understand better, and I would like to tell you out of my own experience.

Maybe you know this: when your body is sick, you lay in bed with high fever for days, and you are completely incapable. You can't do anything. You can barely make it to the bathroom.

All you can do is lay in bed all day, eyes closed, and you experience pain and weakness.

The body is completely incapable.

You are just dead sick, and you suffer.

But then, after a few days, after a week, one morning, after waking up, you feel: "Oh, wow. Something is different this morning. I feel a new energy." You feel: "I think the body is starting to become well again". You are still totally sick, you are still in pain, you are still weak, you still can't get out of bed, but something changed. There is something new coming, and it feels delicious.

And although you are still sick and although you are still in pain, suddenly, you experience is different. It's like a light got switched on, and you enjoy.

And then, day by day, your body is getting better, and it's delicious. Every day, you experience a new delight. The next day, for the first time, you can get up. Maybe you are able to go to the kitchen and sit down at the table and eat a little bit, and you enjoy so much: this little strength you got back; you can walk, and you can even enjoy food a little bit.

And then you look out of the window, out into nature, and you just rejoice: "Oh, I am alive again. How beautiful." And then a few days later, for the first time in weeks, you take a short, slow walk out in the fresh air, and you just delight in every step. Every step suddenly is a joy and a gift.

All the normal activities of the body, which you usually don't appreciate and don't even notice, now you notice them, and now you enjoy them: being able to move again and to get up. And then, the pain leaves, and then, you notice the delight of being free of pain.

But you only experience this in this phase of becoming healthy again. Then, a week later, after your body got restored to health, you have forgotten all of this. Your body is healthy again. You don't notice the body anymore. The delight you just experienced a week before, during the days of regaining health, that joy is gone. You are back in normal life.

The old Greek word for health means "no body".

It means: when you are healthy, there is no body. You don't feel the body. You don't even notice that there is a body. It's all so normal for you that the body functions and you can do all the things you do, that you don't even notice. You don't even appreciate it. It's just normal.

When the body falls ill, then you notice the body. Illness is when there is a body. You notice it: some pain, some inability, something which is more difficult than usual. Then, you notice the body again.

And it's the same with the soul. It's the same with the spiritual path. You ask: "Why are we in this life? Why do we have to get a physical body and then identify with this body and suffer, only to discover who we really are?"

And it's the same.

When you are just God, one with God, when you are just soul without any distraction, without body, you don't notice. You don't know how it is to be God, just like when you are healthy, you don't know how it is to have a body.

When you are just God, one with God, when you are just soul without any distraction, without body, you don't notice. You don't know how it is to be God, just like when you are healthy, you don't know how it is to have a body.

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When you are not in a body, you don't know how it is to be God. You are just happy, but you don't know anything about it.

When you are not in a body, you don't know how it is to be God. You are just happy, but you don't know anything about it.

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But when you are ill and the body starts getting healthy, then you can appreciate health. And when you incarnate as a soul, you get lost, you forget who you are, you forget that there is no problem. You forget how to return. You are totally lost. And then, to slowly make your way back: that's the delight. That's where you begin to experience who you really are – through the coming back. Once you are completely returned, you cannot experience it anymore. That's why we are here.

When you are ill and the body starts getting healthy, then you appreciate health. And when you incarnate as a soul, you forget who you are. You forget how to return. And then, to slowly make your way back: that's the delight. That's why we are here.

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The misunderstanding of the spiritual path

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You know, it's something very interesting. When you live life as a normal person before you know who you really are, you believe that life is a problem, and the goal is to get rid of the problem. You believe: "If I would not have all these problems, if I would not have all these challenges, then I would be happy."

You believe that the solution to your problem is to get rid of the problems, to get rid of life, to get rid of this body, and just to be God again And then you learn to rediscover yourself. Maybe you start meditating. Maybe you meet a Guru. Maybe you meet a living Jesus.

Before you know who you really are, you believe that life is a problem, and the goal is to get rid of the problem. You believe: "If I would not have all these problems, if I would not have all these challenges, then I would be happy." You believe that the solution to your problem is to get rid of the problems, to get rid of life, to get rid of this body, and just to be God again.

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And for the first time, you remember who you really are, and this is so delicious.

And then you forget again. You are back into your problems, and you think: "Oh, this is a problem. I forgot again. I am back in my old mess." But then, a little bit later, you remember again– and again, you are happy. Again, you experience the delight of returning to yourself. But then, again, you forget. And, again, you believe this is a problem. Again, you believe: "I did something wrong. I lost it again."

But when you experience this for long enough, you discover something very interesting.

You know... It's like, in the beginning, you can't imagine to ever find it again. Maybe you have an enlightening experience. Maybe you just experienced this stillness in you for the first time. Maybe you have a profound experience with a Master or Guru or in nature, and then it's gone– and you believe: "I lost it, and I will never find it again." But then comes a time in your life where you learn how to return again. That's the meditation.

And then, you experience this rediscovering, this returning to yourself, again and again and again. And during the first few years, you always believe, it's a problem when you forget again. But after a few years, you notice: "Wow. This returning is so beautiful.

This discovering is so beautiful. That's where I experience myself – in the returning." And then, after you returned, you just rest in yourself.

If you would stay there, you would not notice anymore. But thankfully, you forget again. And then, you have the next opportunity to return, and the next opportunity to experience how it is to be a soul.

After a few years, you notice: "Wow. This returning is so beautiful. That's where I experience myself – in the returning." If you would stay there, you would not notice anymore. But thankfully, you forget again. And then, you have the next opportunity to return, and the next opportunity to experience how it is to be a soul.

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It's like only by getting sick can we feel and appreciate the body, and only by forgetting who we really are can we rediscover the path back to ourselves, back into Heaven, and experience it and enjoy it and experience the joy of this.

So, those things which you believe are problems, all the challenges in your life, all the difficulties, all this forgetting again and again, all this getting lost again and again, these are gifts. These are gifts which allow you to experience yourself again and to feel the joy again.

Only by getting sick can we feel and appreciate the body, and only by forgetting who we really are can we rediscover the path back to ourselves, back to Heaven, and experience the joy of this. All the challenges in your life, all this getting lost again, these are gifts which allow you to experience yourself again and to feel the joy again.

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When the fear of forgetting disappears

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But in the beginning, you cannot imagine this, because everything seems to be a problem for you.

It's like when you go to the fitness center because your body is weak and you don't have any muscle strength, and your doctor says: "Hey, you need to train your muscles. It's not good for your body if you are so weak." So, you go to the fitness center, and you take on a weight for the first time, and it's just difficult. You can hardly lift it. It's painful. It's not fun at all. All you feel is your weakness. You think: "Oh my God. I am so weak, and it's painful."

And the next day, you have muscle ache. That's how it is in the beginning, when you start on the spiritual path. It's painful, because all you notice is your inability, your weakness. But then you return to the fitness center, three, four times a week, and after a short time, after a few weeks, you developed some strength in your muscles. And then something curious happens: you begin to enjoy the process. You begin to enjoy going to the fitness center.

You notice: "Oh, I'm getting stronger". In the beginning you hated the weight. It was just painful, and you felt your weakness. But after a while, you start enjoying the challenge: "Wow. I wonder how much weight I can lift today." And you experience how your body gets stronger very slowly, very slowly, and you delight in it, and you enjoy this body. And you enjoy the weight, because through the weight, you can experience your strength, and that feels good.

And it's the same on the spiritual path. In the beginning, meditation is a pain for you, because you experience your weakness through it. But then you meditate, for weeks and months and years, and you begin to notice a new strength which has never been there before. Your soul becomes stronger. And that what scared you before, all these challenges which triggered you, which made you forget again who you are, they become a new opportunity for you to return once again, and you love it.

In the beginning, meditation is a pain, because you experience your weakness through it. But then you meditate for weeks and months and years, and you begin to notice a new strength which has never been there before. Your soul becomes stronger, and you are not scared anymore that you will get lost, because you know: "I can return anytime."

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You are not scared anymore that you will get lost, because you know: "I can return anytime." You are not scared of the thoughts anymore because, you know: "I can turn my attention to myself, to my inner, whenever I want." You are not scared of any difficulty anymore, because you know: "I can always return into my Heaven. It's always here." And with each challenge, with each difficulty, with each getting lost, you enjoy returning. You enjoy rediscovering the path, again and again And this is a profound change in life.

You are not scared of the thoughts anymore because, you know: "I can turn my attention to myself whenever I want." You are not scared of difficulty anymore, because you know: "I can always return into Heaven. It's always here." And with each challenge, with each difficulty, with each getting lost, you enjoy rediscovering the path, again and again.

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The delight of being a soul, the delight of Heaven, is not that in an instant, you are being transferred from your problem life into paradise.

This wouldn't be fun. You would be happy for one moment, and then, you would forget. You would just be in Heaven, not knowing what Heaven is. But you have another opportunity. You learn how to return to Heaven, and then you do this again and again and again. And in this process of returning, you can experience yourself again as God, as soul. This is the gift for you to enjoy Maybe you cannot imagine this right now, but this is... You know, I called this video "The Smile of the Buddha".

The delight of Heaven is not that you are being transferred from your problem life into paradise. This wouldn't be fun. You would be happy for one moment, and then, you would forget. But you learn how to return to Heaven, and in this returning, you can experience yourself again as God, as soul. This is the gift for you to enjoy.

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The happiness of a Buddha, the happiness of a Christ, is not that he got taken out of life, but that he transformed life into a constant opportunity to return to Heaven, constantly.

The Buddha has the same challenges like you, but he uses every one of them to return, and then again, to return. And each time, it's a delight. Each time, he smiles.

That's living this life and being in Heaven at the same time.

The happiness of a Buddha, of a Christ, is not that he got taken out of life, but that he transformed life into a constant opportunity to return to Heaven. He has the same challenges like you, but he uses every one of them to return, and each time, it's a delight. Each time, he smiles. That's living this life and being in Heaven at the same time.

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It's not static. It's not stale. It's alive, because you get lost, and you return, and you return again, and return again. Jesus showed us this. It happened to him all the time, even on the cross: there he got lost, and again he remembered, and again he returned to Heaven. And each time you experience this, it gets more normal for you that you are able to return, no matter what. Each time you experience this, your soul strength gets stronger. Each time you experience it, your joy gets more subtle, deeper, quieter.

That's why a Buddha smiles: not because he got rid of life, not because he got rid of problems, but because he got so strong, so here, that no matter what happens to him, he just returns. And through the returning, he can experience his Buddhahood once again.

Each time you experience this, it gets more normal for you that you are able to return. Your soul gets stronger. That's why a Buddha smiles: not because he got rid of problems, but because he got so strong that no matter what happens to him, he just returns. And through the returning, he can experience his Buddhahood once again.

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And when you are experiencing this, then, at some point, even this becomes uninteresting.

At some point, you experienced who you are so many times, it has become so matter of fact, that you are just returning and returning and experiencing yourself, and you just know yourself.

And then, at some point, even this you don't need to experience anymore. You don't even need this joy of feeling who you are anymore.

And then you return, for good.

You experience God and do not recognize him

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Now I would like to read a few emails. I love to do this, because by answering to emails, that what I talk about in the video gets more tangible; then, it's clear what it means practically in life.

So, let's start.

"Dear Mikael, I don't have this deep feeling connection to Swamiji that you and Soham and so many others have. I regularly listen to your and Soham's Satsangs, but I am not drawn to listen to Swamiji's discourses. I read his Madhuchaitanya magazine and his autobiography, but only perfunctorily. In your daily messages, you often speak of Jesus, but Swamiji so often refers to the importance of having a living teacher. This confuses me.

Thirty years ago, I saw Mother Meera, and when I looked into her eyes, the word God came to life for me. I literally thought that I saw God, and he has been with me ever since. In that moment, this spiritual experience Swamiji always speaks about took place, but it was she and not he who awakened it. Swamiji brought the Samarpan Meditation to me, and I practice it.

I don't have deep feelings or experiences when I do it, but I do it because it reminds me every moment that in truth, I am a Holy Soul, and it makes me aware of my constant desire to want to stray away from that into worldly thoughts. That I am a Holy and Pure Soul, that is what I have learned from Swamiji, and that is what I hold on to and what I am deeply grateful for. I rarely think of Mother Meera these days, but she truly was my first love who made God known to me.

I don't have a feeling connection to Swamiji even though I believe in the truth of him. It makes me feel disconnected, and doubt that I can love. I think I have come right now to the central conflict and guilt complex in my life that I can know something to be true, but I do not feel it or love it; that I cannot feel love. I don't see how you can read this muddle in a Satsang to answer it, and I am hesitant to bring this to you because I know that you have such a full life, but the writing of it happened anyway."

Thank you. Thank you for your letter.

I can't see a problem.

There is no problem, you know.

You know God.

What more do you need?

You know God.

What more do you need?

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Life is about experiencing this again and again and again.

You know, it's like this: you have an experience, like you had thirty years ago, but you don't really know what you got there.

You experienced God in you – and then, you are searching again; then you believe again that you need something or that you need to change or something with you is wrong or lacking.

Once you discovered God, once you experienced what you experienced, there is only one task left: to experience it again and again, to return to that place again and again where you experienced this. You meditate, and you say it yourself: you love the meditation because it reminds you every morning about the fact that you are a Holy and Pure Soul.

You have an experience, like you had thirty years ago, but you don't really know what you got. You experienced God in you – and then, you are searching again; you believe again that something with you is wrong or lacking. Once you discovered God, there is only one task left: to return to that place again and again where you experienced this.

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That's what life is about: to remember this again and again, to return to this every morning, every moment.

You love the meditation because it reminds you every morning about the fact that you are a Holy and Pure Soul. That's what life is about: to remember this again and again, to return to this every morning, every moment.

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You know, when I talk about love, when I share about how it is for me with Swamiji, I am talking about totally subtle things. I have to be totally quiet to feel this. And it's an inside feeling. It has nothing to do with a 'person Swamiji' out there. It's all in here. It's totally impersonal.

I don't feel Swamiji – I feel God. But by having Swamiji in my life, I can feel God inside of me. It has nothing to do with Swamiji.

When I talk about love, I am talking about totally subtle things. I have to be totally quiet to feel this. And it's an inside feeling. It has nothing to do with a 'person Swamiji' out there. It's all in here. It's impersonal. I don't feel Swamiji – I feel God. But by having Swamiji in my life, I can feel God inside of me. It has nothing to do with Swamiji.

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You experienced God. It has nothing to do with Mother Meera.

And by you returning to yourself again and again, every morning, every moment, this gets stronger, this experience of God, this experience of who you really are, this experience of your soul.

And you have to become very quiet for this. Nothing more is needed.

You experienced God. It has nothing to do with Mother Meera. And by you returning to yourself again and again, every morning, every moment, this gets stronger, this experience of God, this experience of who you really are, this experience of your soul. And you have to become very quiet for this. Nothing more is needed.

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And the mind will always find problems: why you need something you don't have; why you are in a way that prevents you from being happy; why you should be different. But all this time, you already know God. You already know your soul.

Now, it is only about you returning to yourself again and again and again. Stop looking on the outside. You have it all.

The mind will always find problems: why you need something you don't have; why the way you are prevents you from being happy; why you should be different. But all this time, you already know God. You already know your soul. Now, it is only about you returning to yourself again and again and again. Stop looking on the outside. You have it all.

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Swamiji says: the biggest problem for the disciple is that he doesn't know what he received. That's what you are experiencing.

You received it. You experienced it. And now it's about discovering what it is what you have there – the diamond you already got. And how do you do this? You just meditate every day, and you stop looking for anything. You are just here, and you stop looking for anything.

Swamiji says: the biggest problem for the disciple is that he doesn't know what he received. That's what you are experiencing. Now it's about discovering what it is what you have there. And how do you do this? You just meditate every day, and you stop looking for anything. Even stop looking for a Guru who is alive and whom you can love.

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Even stop looking for a Guru who is alive and whom you can love I cannot see any problem with you, no matter how close I look.

I cannot see any problem with you, no matter how close I look.

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A meditative life

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And I want to read another email.

"I have a great longing to be in contact with God during the day too, not just for half an hour in the morning. So, I also go to the crown chakra more often during the day for a few moments while working, while eating, while driving– with my eyes open, of course. It does me so much good. Sometimes, it saves me so that I don't get caught up in mental stories. And sometimes, it touches my heart and brings tears of joy. Is that okay?"

Yes. This is okay.

This is what meditation is about.

Meditation is not about you sitting for half an hour every morning for the rest of your life. I mean, you will do this for the rest of your life. I do this for the rest of my life. Swamiji does this. Jesus did this. He prayed every day. But, you know... In the beginning, meditation is a practice, an exercise you do in the morning, and then you go out into your life.

But then, after a while, what happens is what you experience: meditation starts spreading into your day, into your life – naturally, by itself. You just want to... Just like you experience and your how you describe it so beautifully: you don't only want to experience this for this half an hour in the morning.

In the beginning, meditation is a practice, an exercise you do in the morning, and then you go out into your life. But then, after a while, what happens is what you experience: meditation starts spreading into your day, into your life – naturally, by itself.

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You want this all day long and all night long, and that's what we are here for.

And then, you do all the normal things everybody does: you cook, you eat, you work, you talk, you drive the car – with the eyes open –, but you are in the crown chakra. You are resting in yourself. You don't do anything, and it all happens.

You don't only want to experience this for this half an hour in the morning. You want this all day long and all night long, and that's what we are here for. Then you cook, you eat, you work, you talk, you drive the car – with the eyes open –, but you are in the crown chakra. You are resting in yourself. You don't do anything, and it all happens.

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And then, you have a life like everybody else around you; you have a life which is exactly the way how it used to be – but you experience it completely different, because you experience it while meditating, while you rest in your crown chakra, while you are a soul.

And then the same things you do, the same things which happen in your life are all a joy, all a blessing, all a gift. For somebody else, it might be a strenuous life, a boring life, a difficult life, full of full of agony and full of fear. Maybe it was like this for you. And then, later, you have the same life, and each part of it is a gift and a joy.

And then, you have a life like everybody else around you; you have a life which is exactly the way how it used to be – but you experience it completely different, because you experience it while meditating, while you rest in your crown chakra, while you are a soul.

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That's why the Buddha smiles. Yeah. He has the same challenges he always had, the same illusions, the same thoughts, but each one of these things is an opportunity for delight. Isn't this magic?

There is a beautiful small Zen story, which I would like to share. There is this Zen Master, a simple man, a great Master, and his disciples want to know how it is to be enlightened. So, they ask him: "Master, how was your life before you got enlightened?" And he said: "Well... chopping wood; carrying water from the well".

That was his life. And then they ask him: "And how is it now, now that you are enlightened? How is your life?" And he says: "Chopping wood; carrying water from the well".

And I love this story. Life doesn't change, but the way you live completely changed, and everything you do, no matter how normal, no matter how mundane, no matter how difficult or beautiful, is a gem, is a diamond, is a new opportunity to experience: I am a soul. I'm here.

They ask him: "Master, how was your life before you got enlightened?" And he said: "Chopping wood; carrying water from the well". That was his life. And then they ask: "And how is it now that you are enlightened?" And he says: "Chopping wood; carrying water from the well". Life doesn't change, but the way you live completely changed.

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There's another story from a crazy Guru, a crazy Master, and this Master was totally crazy. He was known for forgetting his enlightenment on purpose. He discovered enlightenment, he discovered the truth, but then he noticed that he was scared to lose it again, so he threw it away. He forgot it and said: "I want to know whether I can find it again." So, he forgot his enlightenment and searched again and found it again, in a new way.

And then, he forgot this again, and he searched again, and he found it again, in a new way. And that's what he did, again and again. He forgot it, and he became enlightened again. This is a description of true spiritual life. That's how it is, this crazy story: this is your life. You turn everything which you think right now as a problem into the next opportunity to remember again: "Ah, I am a soul. Yes."

And instantly, it changes.

And that's why the Buddha smiles. He knows: "I can return any time". It's like a sport. You forget it, you get lost again – only to return again.

That's how it is, this crazy story: this is your life. You turn everything which you think right now as a problem into the next opportunity to remember again: "Ah, I am a soul. Yes." And instantly, it changes. And that's why the Buddha smiles. He knows: "I can return any time".

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That's Heaven.

You forget it, you get lost again – only to return again. That's Heaven.

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We have this childish imagination of Heaven, sitting on a cloud, harps playing, you having everything to eat and to drink what you desire. But when you imagine this, immediately, you notice: "Wait a moment. This would be boring." And you are right. It would be terribly boring. We love challenges. We love difficulties, because through the challenge, through the difficulty, we experience ourselves, and this is true for the spiritual path too.

And once you gain your strength, once your soul strength grows, then you know: "I can lift this weight. I can return any time." And then, you can experience who you are again and again and again, in every moment of normal life. That's a meditative life. That's a Heaven which is alive.

That's what you can do, and you can learn it. Just meditate.

That's what your life is for: so you become the Buddha; so you become the Christ.

Once your soul strength grows, you know: "I can return any time." You can experience who you are again and again, in every moment of normal life. That's a meditative life. That's a Heaven which is alive. That's what you can learn. Just meditate. That's what your life is for: so you become the Buddha; so you become the Christ.

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I am so happy that you are here.

I love you.