Sunday, August 27, 2006 @ 4:06 pm
i'm so glad i went to vihara today =) the lesson today is very good and inspirational =)
yang dian chuan shi was talking about the reasons why we are unhappy. okay i'm translating again.... so there may be errors. anyway, the main reasons are:
1) greed
2) hatred
3) stupidity (in other words, inability to accept the truth)
he was saying that it isn't fear, nor pain, or aging that makes us suffer. if u think hard enough, all of the suffering and unhappiness can be categorised into the three mentioned groups.
and he was saying that to be happy we should firstly, communicate lots and lots with Laomu. Secondly, be benevolent and kind, and always always live up to your conscience. When you give more than you receive, the greed will slowly recede. Thirdly, always reflect on what you have done correctly, and what you have done wrong, then repent. In addition to these,I must add, appreciate the finer things in life and be grateful for what you have. I think he said some more but kind of slipped my mind.
Sounds like I'm preaching, but hey, these are the stuff that really do matter in our daily life. He was telling us a story, about a man whose angel brought him to Heaven. They walked through a tunnel and entered an enormous room. It was even bigger than any other room or hall the man had ever seen. The man asked the angel, "What is this room for?". The angel replied, "Oh, this room is where we receive all of the demands and the wants that humans asked for."
The man and the angel continued further, and they entered and EVEN BIGGER room, where the angels there were frantically running to and fro. The man asked again, "What's this room for?" The angel replied and said,"This is where we package all of the demands and wants from the other room. It's hard work..."
They then continued further, into a room, where it's much much smaller than the previous ones, and the lone angel there was doing nothing but sitting down and well, 'stoning'. Without waiting for the man to ask, his angel replied, "This is where the 'thank you's from humans come from." The man then asked, "Why do humans have to thank God?". The angel said kindly, "When you are experiencing peace, you're luckier than hundreds of thousands of people. When you're physically able, you have more reason to be grateful than many out there. When you open the fridge and see food, you are better off than millions of others. Don't you think we have many things to give thanks for?" The man was silent and then asked quietly, "How do we given thanks?" The angel replied gently, "Just by simply saying, 'Thank you, God.'" =D