Life is not only a birth, a living and a death; it is an opportunity as well. When you have a life, you have an opportunity to do what you want to
do and to be what you want to be, but you should know what should be done and what should be avoided. What you should do is more important than what you want to do. Life is to practise what is good and to refrain from what is evil. To practise what is good means to do the right things such as: doing public services and public responsibilities, helping those who need your helps and doing for the social welfares and so on. These are golden chances for you while you live. Don't miss them.
To refrain from what is bad means to avoid doing the wrong things such as; Thefts, robberies, kidnapping and murders, etc. Doing good things bring you happiness. Peace and harmony. In contrast, doing bad things give you pain and suffering. Think twice before something wrong is done. We have a question of why there are heaven and hell and of who create them. In a Buddhist sense, we truely see that no God creates our own heaven and hell.We ourselves create them. We are the creaters of our own heaven and hell and the masters of our own fates. Eighter you like heaven or you like hell. Life gives you a chance to choose it.
Life is a duty to fullfil in the places which are badly in needs of everything a duty to lift up human morals and also a duty to do noble deeds: doing for one' own welfare as well as for the other' welfare. Buddha himself performed the three noble duties; there are:1 Doing for the world (Lokattha cariya), 2 Doing for relatives and nation (Nyatatthacariya), 3 Doing for himelf (Buddhatthacariya) in the Buddha Numerous Past lives, He never used the world for himself; he always used himself for the world. This is a good example to the world`s citizens. The great things and dedicate their lives in the great works. Remember that we have two hands, two eyes and two ears, it is better to use one for ourselves and share the another with others.
Let our hearts and minds be a home for kindness, compassion and love; don't let them be a house for anger, greed, selfishness and illusion. Anger, greed and illusion blind us in order not to see the truth. War, terrorism, discrimination, misunderstanding and hatred are being brought into our world because of our anger, greed, selfishness and delusion. A mind without a wisdom and a heart without a compassion are just like a garden full of weeds without flowers. To live a life meaningfully and beautifully, we need wisdom, compassion, love in kindness just like fish to water and roses to rain.
Think carefully that how many lives, cities and centuries have been destroyed and ruined, but our anger, greed, selfishness and hatred can never be lessened. Instead they become bigger and bigger. It is true that we can not escape from death, aging and ailment but we can get free from anger, greed and illusion if we practise enough. If our anger, greed, selfishness and delusion can be driven away. War terrorism and discrimination will be automatically disappeared. At that time, our world would be bloomed with justice, peace and equality.
If we know what the essence of life is, we can gain and benefit a lot from it. If we live our lives carelessly without a deep thinking, we have nothing, we will lose it. Death is not the greatest loss in life; the greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live. Don't let wisdom, compassion and love die inside us, let them flower in our hearts and minds. Life give us a golden opportunity to meet, love and help one another. We are not to hate, despise and oppress one another. To be in harmony with our neighbors and society, our action, words and thoughts should be adapted to them. Always keep in mind that "we can not change the direction of the wind but we can adjust our sails".
In order not hurt others, we must be careful of what we say and do. Words should be soft and gentle. The Japanese proverb says that "a kind word can warm the three months winter." My saying goes that "your kind smile can keep my heart warm for seven days and seven years". Action should be righteous. Those who are worthy of respect should be respected and the people who are worthy of honour should be honoured; these are blessings. If we live in law and order (the Dhamma), the law (the Dhamma) rules and protects us. You don't have to worry about being hated, criticized and gossiped. What is important is that you must try to be kind to people and accept them and love them. Always bear in mind that "Love begets love" and "kindness begets kindness". You will be reciprocated.
Sometimes you have to lose and fail, sometimes life doesn't happen as you expect. Anyway don't give up your goal, never turn back half way. Remember that we can not see the stars without the darkness. "Failure is only the another opportunity to try again more intelligently and more carefully". "Don't see a glass of water as a half empty, see it as a half full", by seeing so, you will be inspired and encouraged. You need strength and courage to achieve your goal. You also need a patience to be able to over come all the hardships, obstacles and hindrances on the way you go.
"Patience is a bitter plant but it produces sweet fruits". It is completely 100% important in every action. Patience is a key to success. Patience, symphaty, forgiveness and understanding bring us the atmosphere of peace in our society. Rain falls on all the field, but crops, fruits and flowers blossom only in the soils where the seeds are sown. If we want to have peace, justice and equality everywhere on our earth, the seeds of love and compassion, the seeds of forgiveness and understanding should be planted in the hearts and minds of every universal citizen.
Life is too precious, value it. Human life is very rare and difficult to obtain. Therefore cherish your life. Don't spend your life meaning lessly and foolishly. As life give us happiness, peace and rapture, It can give us pain and suffering as well. If we don't know how to live, life is full of sadness and sorrow. Because of our anger, selfishness and hatred, our friends turned to our enemies white turned to black and nectar turned to poison and vice versa. We are all born here on this world only for a short visit. Don't forget to practise noble deeds which can create heaven on our earth. Don't worry and don't hurry, remember to smell the flowers on the way we walk. Life is a great opportunity for us, let's benefit from it.
May love and peace prevail all over the world!
Hong Nohn
(Pine Ka Mar)
February 12, 2005
Read More...
Collapse...
