Crystal Tan
Age: 29
Nationality: Singaporean
Occupation: Still searching
Bali Usada 1 Tapa Brata student, 24th to 31st January 2010

Peace and Happiness needs to be found from within and not always from external environment.

I guess I can say that life is not going to be the same again after going for 7 day 6 nights Tapa Brata. It is so clear to me now that Tapa Brata is so essential to life, The learnings from it, I truly believe is as important as how a child needs to learn how to read and write. In fact, if it were up to me it should be introduced to all school curriculums.

Let me tell you a bit of my life background. I’m 29 years old, and my husband Bjorn and I were working in the advertising industry for seven years when we decided that what were not on the right path. The job was life-draining. It was hard work and stressful during the day, sometimes the challenges were so impossible, deadlines so tight that we used to say “I’m losing the will to live” quite regularly to each other in the office. The salary was good though, and the parties were abundant. So our lives were basically work work work, then drink party party. On the weekends, we had no energy left for anything and usually slept through it or watched mindless TV just to ‘rest’ our minds and body. Life was essentially just flashing right by us. We were depressed and spiritually sick, knew we had to get out before our bodies give in too sooner or later.

So we quit our jobs and with our savings went travelling around the UK (we were working in London at that time so it was convenient) through WWOOF – Willing Workers on Organic Farms where we went to 10 different little organic farms around the country to help in exchange for food and lodging. The experience was indeed very healing to our souls. Working with plants, the earth, the outdoors filled our hearts with life. But then, we had to go back to Singapore and face life in the city again.

Singapore, as you may know, is a thriving dynamic city, as much as I love it and call it home, it is very competitive, intense and filled with modern technology, skyscrapers, crowds rather than peace and nature. Soon, my husband and I became unpeaceful again. We constantly got agitated over the littlest things and we were constantly distracted by tv, internet, people that we weren’t mindful about things. I became extremely forgetful, and most of all, we were confused about what to do in life. It was then, we met new friends who urged us to try meditation. They both meditate regularly and we could see that even though we all shared the same self-sufficiency/organic food ideals, they both seemed a lot more calmer, more peaceful and more accepting of life, even in Singapore.

So Bjorn and I travelled to Bali and chanced upon a positive news feature on Bali Usada. We decided to sign up for it, not knowing what to expect, especially since we’ve never done any meditation at all before.

What we got from the 7 days 6 nights Tapa Brata (Usada 1) was incredible. We were all not allowed to talk, read or write for the next 5 days. As a result of this ‘quietness’, I was able to get my ‘harmonious mind’ by Day 2 afternoon after a few sessions of constant mind drifting and aching back. My body felt light, my spirits and senses heightened. In beautiful garden of Saranam Eco Resorts, it was as if I was seeing nature for the first time. Every leaf, caterpillar, bird, flower was more beautiful and filled me with so much happiness and bliss. I was much more in the present than I have ever been in my life. It’s so sad that for most people in everyday life, this beauty passes us by because we are never in the present, always somewhere else.

In the following days, there were sessions where I was distracted and filled with pain in my legs or back, but there were sessions where I felt calm and bliss which was wonderful. It was “Anicca” – the state of constant change, where everything is impermanent – what Pak Merta Ada was teaching us the whole time. Further to the meditation sessions, the day was interspersed with lovely talks given by Pak Merta. He shared with us many many stories, some of his patients and students, plenty from the teachings of Buddha, Islam, Christianity and especially Balinese Folk stories. They were beautiful stories and some moved me to tears.

What really impressed me about meditation and tapa brata is that the learnings are all essentially logic and science. We were healing our bodies and memories, not by some supernatural way, but merely with the power of our own mind and how its connected throughout our body. This was not magic, it was science.

The climax of this experience for me was on Day 7 when we went to visit Forest Island, Bali Usada’s future centre. A really special place where the energy from the earth is very powerful. It was there, Pak Merta told us the story of how only very few times in his life, he’s asked for something from the universe and it came true and that while we meditate there, it is ok to ask for something. At this point, I had been obsessed for the past few days about this family problem that have been on for almost 8 years now. It is not resolved and it brings me pain to think of it. During our “love and kindness” meditation sessions in the past few days, I sent love tediously to my aunt who I know needs help and also refuses to speak to my mother for the last 8 years. My mother pined for her, but my aunt was not moved. But I came to terms with it on Day 5 as I had to accept the ‘Anicca’ in this matter. But at Forest Island, I knew it was my chance to ask for it once more. Right after the session, I received an sms from my mother that my aunt had reached out and sent her a text. I could not believe it. I could not believe it. For 8 years, my aunt had not communicated with my mother despite my mother constantly asking for her. But that very day, on Day 7, it happened. This was amazing. Of course, I burst into tears as I was so completely emotional and ecstatic because it was what I wished for.

Pak Merta said to me – congratulations and was happy for me. My fellow students showered me with hugs and shared my happiness with me. Although we had spent 5 days in silence and only 1.5 days communicating and speaking with each other, we had unconsciously created a strong bond amongst ourselves. I think simply by being in the same room, meditating day in day out together, our energies merged and we all ‘felt’ each other more than we thought we would.

As an atheist, I used to believe that life is just filled with random things happening to random people. But since Tapa Brata, it seems like everything was falling into place in my life. Even if it was just little things during the day. Possibly, it was that my outlook changed and if I remembered that everything was ‘Anicca’, I’m facing life positively anyway, that’s why everything seems fine!

In our lives, we are all really seeking for one thing at the end of the day. And it’s to find that inner peace inside ourselves. So if you keep putting off the things that you know will equip you to face life in a more happy and peaceful way, you are just putting off life as a whole. So do yourself a favour, take one week off and sign up for Bali Usada 1 right away!

By Michele Cempaka

Merta Ada, a man of gentle demeanor with an ever present smile, has been teaching meditation on the island of Bali since 1993. Today there are 86,000 people who have jumped on board the Bali Usada Meditasi wagon. What’s the secret to Merta Ada’s successful meditation practice? Perhaps it lies in the fact that most people are seeking more profound healing methods which address a great deal more than just our gross bodies, but incorporate the belief that our emotions and state of mind can also have powerful effects on our overall well being. Merta Ada shares his ideas about how a harmonious mind and wise body awareness can greatly assist in our healing process.

“For five thousand years we’ve had the culture of healing in Bali. After that time, we were influenced by Indian and Chinese cultures. All of these cultures are mixed together at Bali Usada Meditasi,” says Merta Ada.

Merta Ada was greatly inspired by one of Bali’s eminent teachers – Mbu Kuturaan, who believed in the four elements which exist in our bodies: earth, water, fire and air. He asserts that if these elements are not balanced, we will get sick. Mbu Kuturaan’s power reaches back to 1,000 years ago when he was able to choose particular herbs and discern their character in order to heal people.

There are approximately 105 different herbs which are on hand at Bali Usada Meditasi Center to administer to those who are sick. Merta Ada draws information from the old book which he combines with his own knowledge as a Buddhist, which incorporates the benefits of practicing meditation for healing. He has combined all of this knowledge to create what is known today as Usada meditation.

“I chose Bali Usada, because Bali in our own language means ‘offering’ and ‘Usada’ means healthiness and we want to offer people healthiness. Healthiness is based on a good mind, so what you do first is train your good mind to appear. When your good mind appears, you train deeper with wisdom to attain a harmonious mind. Many people have a good mind, but this isn’t enough to heal sickness. When you have a harmonious mind and when your wisdom appears, you feel your body and the impermanence in your body, and then your mind becomes more flexible. When this happens, it affects your body like your hypothalamus, neurons, etc, which becomes like medicine. So…I’m teaching people to make good mind first and after that harmonious mind. When the harmonious mind appears, use it to feel the body precisely. For example, feel the gross body, and after that the meridian body, then the Chakra body and finally the mental body. If you can feel your body precisely, you can heal your sickness precisely. I’ve learned from my teacher and through my own knowledge that you must feel you’re body part by part. When you do this, you’re touching yourself in your body and the membrane. The membrane will then give new information to the DNA, which will then produce a new cell. Thus, your body will become fresh and you will look healthier and happier, so you won’t get old quickly. This is all occurring in the gross body. In the same way, you can feel your body part by part, whatever physical sensation or vibration that is happening in your body is connected with your memory. So, if you feel the sensation in your body, at the same time you are feeling the reaction in your memory. If you feel it with wisdom by putting lightness and love, then you can weaken the bad reactions in your memory. Thus, all traumas, sickness, unhappiness, panic attacks and all of these types of sickness that people have in every day life will become less and less, “ says Merta Ada.

He claims to have received thousands of testimonies from people who have been practicing this meditation and have healed themselves as a result. While he admits that not everyone has been cured, many people who have been blind or who’ve had cancer have made a full recovery.

“A lot of sickness … I don’t say 100% for all, but a lot of sickness originates from the mental body, chakra body and meridian body you can heal through your mind. Of course if you have sickness in your gross body and you need an operation, you should get it. Or if you have a bacteria infection you should take antibiotics, because one sickness can cause many many problems. So what I’m trying to say is that with meditation and the cultivation of a good mind, you can heal 70% of your sicknesses. 100% you can help yourself with a harmonious mind. Maybe you can decrease your sickness in combination with doctors, herbs or acupuncture.

“Many people I’ve met who have been doing meditation for 20 years still have health problems. For example, why does their herpes still appear?  If they learn how to meditate with a harmonious mind it will go away. I have a friend who learned this meditation and for five years the herpes hasn’t returned. We can tell people precisely how to do this meditation. The person should start by trying to feel their sexual organs and sex chakra, as well as the virus in the back of their body where the nerve system is. This virus is worry; it is hot from alcohol and nicotine. If you reduce the alcohol and nicotine and worry less, and replace all of these with self love and wisdom, the herpes will become dormant,” says Merta Ada.

Truly devoted to his path, Merta Ada has been caring for more than 15 people with HIV for the past 15 years. He asserts that their health is still good because of the flexibility of their minds. This is very important if one wants to totally heal oneself.

“For beginners, I make sure that they have a pure and harmonious mind, so they have to train with 30% mindfulness, 30% concentration, 30% wisdom and 30% love, so that they can use this for every day life. After that it’s their choice. If they want to get high concentration also known as ‘Samadhi’, then they only focus on concentration. If they want to be humble and feel good wherever they go and have a good relationship with their friends, then I can teach them 100% ‘Loving Kindness’. Or, if they want to learn how to be totally present, I can teach them only mindfulness. Finally, if they want to improve their life and believe that behind all of these changes in our lives there is something absolute that we call ‘Moksa’ or God, I can teach them 100% wisdom so they can get enlightenment. I can teach them, but this means that I’m not there yet, but I’ve received it from my teacher and I practice it now, so we can do it together,” says Merta Ada smiling.

Some people come to Bali Usada Meditasi because they want to heal a physical ailment, while others join Usada practice in search of enlightenment. Merta Ada enjoys teaching all of his students ways they can improve their lives and attain enlightenment. He theorizes that our minds contain 52 doors which consist of anger, worry, attachment, ego, doubt, fear, hatred, jealousy, greed, etc. These doors create suffering in our lives. Behind the good doors we can find our loving kindness, equanimity, wisdom, faith, etc, which are qualities that we need to train our minds to embody. Eventually these qualities will become our primary thoughts which can ultimately reduce our chances of becoming ill. In order for this to become a habit, we need to meditate ever day for 30 – 45 minutes.

Every Monday 6pm – 8pm, Merta Ada gives instruction on meditation and yoga for all students. During this time alumni students are guided through Usada daily practice which has been known to greatly assist many people with making their minds stronger and their bodies healthier. The Usada practice also helps to purify one’s reactions to one’s memories. In addition to weekly practice, Bali Usada Meditasi often runs eight week courses at the center or seven day intensive retreats at various locations throughout Bali, Jakarta and Australia. Some retreats are taught in English by Merta Ada, while many are taught in Bahasa Indonesian. For more information please call Bali Usada Meditasi on: 0361-289209 or SMS: 0816571253 or visit: www.baliusada.com

May all beings be happy.

Memories from the Past - My Meditation Journey
By Inge Santoso

From August 2nd to 8th, I was attending Bali Usada’s Usada Tapa Brata 1 for one full week. It was a health meditation program. For more information about the program:

A seven-day intensive course where participants are requested to leave all the daily routine to stay isolated from outside world under the Tri-Tapa rules: no talking, no reading, and no writing.

A training to build up concentration, an exercise to develop awareness and mindfulness to strengthen harmonious mind and loving kindness....