Of course! Therefore the Buddha said, 'Human life is hard to
attain, and it is difficult to encounter the dharma'.
Most people in Singapore and many other parts of the world are too
busily engrossed in material pursuits and seeking in life. Their
whole life is seeking, seeking and seeking... always looking for
something at the external world, maybe satisfied for a while but
not too long. It is very difficult for such people to be convinced
that true joy and bliss can be found if we look within. Therefore,
they are like the frog in the well, or perhaps its the other way
round, 'they don't look at the box they are sitting on'. Now I'm
not saying there is anything wrong with working to get a more
decent living on the material level, but many people are totally
attached to that story and completely engrossed in seeking a better
material life, not knowing about any spiritual aspects. Most
people's life are also far from blissful, often stormy and
painful... if one were to know the Buddhadharma, then one would be
able to transcend all this. Buddhism is a way of blissful
living.
What is Buddhadharma all about? It is to discover our innate
blissful, pure, indestructible nature... as opposed seeking things
that are illusory and temporary. I can tell you, many people's life
are truly a waste of time because what they attained will not last
and is never satisfactory.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
My shi fu spent plenty of years wandering with no
possessions, broken shelter, bad clothes and no good food
As was said above, one becomes truly wealthy only by finding one's
'jewel' - the all pervading dharma nature/buddha nature that is
always present all long, can be found if we look within.
[b]One day a stranger walked by.
"Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar, "I have nothing to give
you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What's that you're sitting
on?" "Nothing, " replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I've been
sitting on it for as long as I can remember. "Ever look inside?,"
asked the stranger. "No," said the beggar. "What's the point,
there's nothing in there." "Have a look inside," insisted the
stranger. The beggar, reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid.
With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was
filled with gold.
I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling
you to look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but
somewhere even closer: inside yourself.
Eckhart Tolle, from The Power of NOW
