_/\_
When the Buddha left his wife and child and
set off to sit at the feet of the great religious teachers of the
day and to learn from them, he was 29. He was a
Prince who had wealth and luxury but eventually found that worldly
comforts and security do not guarantee
happiness. Buddha had a choice, dedicating
himself to his family or dedicating himself to the
world. In the end, his great compassion made him
give himself to the whole world and the whole world still benefits
from his sacrifice. The Buddha was not
irresponsible. This is the most significant
sacrifice ever made.
Wisdom will not unfold for those who do not
eradicate their greed, anger and ignorance. In
order to attain true comprehension of the Dharma, one must first
practice yourself, and then may you have genuine
attainment. Emulate the good and ignore the
bad. Keep your senses of right and wrong to
yourself. Unpleasant circumstances are
propitious for the practice of forbearance.
Practice is not about judging who is right and who is wrong or who
has more reason. Rather the strength of practice
lies on whether you can remain undisturbed under
challenge.
I grew up in a family of atheists. My soul
mate’s families are all Christians. When I
started to practice, there were so many criticisms from others that
I almost give up. Then, there were spiritual
obstacles, spiritual burnouts and spiritual standstills, to name a
few of the poison arrows!! However, there was
one single thing that did not change in me, determination to find
the truth. I found the
truth.
Before one attain Buddhahood and deliver
all sentient beings, we must work on our own salvation first so
that we may acquire the ability to deliver
others. This is what the Buddha
realised.
The first step is to forgo our desire to
eat, dress, and live lavishly, and to forsake our secular
affections, attachments and our incessant pursuit of wealth and
fame. Only when our mind and bodies become pure and free of
hindrance can we begin to talk about preaching Buddhadharma for the
benefit of all sentient beings. Otherwise, with
our own minds enslaved by secular attachments, how can we help to
free others from such bondage? This is what the
Buddha has achieved. This is what we are still
struggling to achieve.
The reason why we need to know about the
life and nature of the Buddha is to learn how a unique human being
was self-enlightened. The Buddha laboured to
find the truth. He renounced His position ,
wealth, promise of prestige and power, and a life filled with love
in exchange for the difficult search for Truth which no one had
found although many in India for thousands of years.
With Metta, _/\_
Yeah, I admire your determination to find the truth and stand by
the truth. There are many Buddhists who are in the same situation
as you (including me) but we do not give up because it is not easy
to be born as humans. Since we are "lucky" to be born as humans in
this life, we should cherish and practice hard not to be reborn
again. Don't be like others, 来人间白走一趟。
人身难得今已得，
佛法难闻今已闻，
此身不向今生度，
更待何生度此身。
