May 2008

I sometimes judge a book by its cover, and it was one of the cases. But this time, I judged this one by its title. Interesting enough, my initial thought was why would a monk, or if not a monk, why would somebody sell his ferrari?

The Monk who Sold his ferrari is a story of very brilliant lawyer, Julian Mantle, who seemed to have everything in life, but had lived an almost empty life. While he was at court room, he had a heart attack and that changed his life.  After he recovered, he sold all his prized possessions including his red ferrari and went to the mountains of Himalayas and lived with the monks, and eventually became one of them. After a few years, he returned to the city and paid a visit to his only friend, John, who was once his junior at the law firm and is now at the apex of his career.

Truly enlightened people never seek to be like others.  Rather, they seek to be superior to their former selves.  Don’t race against others.  Race against yourself.

In this tale, he shared the wisdom and the reasons for the total transformation that he had – the drastic change in his physique, the way he sees the world, and many other eastern views coupled by western principles, which were mentored by the head monk in Himalayas. If you have read the book or watch the film, The Secret, you would notice similarities in some school of thoughts. What makes this book different from that one and other self-help books is the way it was presented. It appeared not authorly narrated but as told by the other person (the friend of the lawyer who turned monk).

Maybe it is because of my too much familiarization with some realizations that I already encountered in other books or articles, that made me felt bored in few pages. But in general, this book would make you feel as if you are realizing those words of wisdom for the first time. The turning point for me was the mention of improving one’s health and attaining better longevity by being a vegetarian. I never had to be influenced by this but admittedly, as I relate all the points in each chapter, I am psychologically in love with idea of being vegetarian since then. For the past two days I almost can’t choke on the meat I used to enjoy taking in.

Live foods are the answer.  Those that are created through the natural interaction of the sun, air, soil and water.  So if you like meat, you can certainly keep eating it.  Just remember that you are ingesting dead food.

What about friendships?  This is so striking:

And speaking of friendships, make sure you keep them in constant repair.  A person with three solid friends is very wealthy indeed.

Another important mention that I liked is about time management. This book has superbly explained (and let me instilled) how to see, get away and accept the time that we have.

I once heard my father say that it was the busiest people who have time to spare.  Busy, productive people are highly efficient with their time – they must be in order to survive.  Being an excellent time manager doesn’t mean that you must be workaholic.  On the contrary, time mastery allows you more time to do the things you love to do, the things that are truly meaningful to you.  Time mastery leads to life mystery.  Guard time well.  Guard time well.  Remember it is a non-renewable resource.

And what about the time thieves?  I think some of us are thieves or otherwise:

Don’t let others steal your time.  Be wary of time thieves.  These are the people who always call on the telephone just as you have to put the kids to sleep and have settled into your favorite chair to read that thrilling novel you have heard so much about.  These are the people who have a knack of dropping by your office just as you have found a few minutes in the midst of a hectic day to catch your breath and collect your thoughts.

Therefore, we must be ruthless of our time.  We must learn to say “no”.  It is there for your convenience, not of the convenience of the others. Also, the mention about reading books was simply written but greatly affected me.

But remember, some books are meant to be tasted, some books are meant to be chewed and, finally, some books are meant to be swallowed whole.

Futher,

It’s not what you will get out of the books that is so enriching – it is what the books will get out of you that will ultimately change your life.  You see, John, books do not actually teach you anything new.  Books simply help you to see what is already within yourself.  That’s what enlightenment is all about.

Those are among the new/ strong points that I greatly appreciated from this book. But if you haven’t read The Secret and other self-help books yet, this is a book that will surely bless your life. The timeless wisdom on abundance and joy, greater courage and balance are intelligently shared in this story.

I am glad that when I chanced on this book on March 8, 2008, I did not judge the book only by its cover, but by its title.

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