To Jocelyn, Nikos, Dorothy: Thanks for the sms! Merry Christmas to you guys too! my sms's just could not get through to you guys. Probably because many people are sending too many messages to each other. its overloaded!
To all my sunday school students: Merry Christmas to you all! May you find happiness and share the joy of finding happiness with everyone! May all be well and happy! May we never falter in the teachings and always question 'why' instead of blindly following. See you guys real soon!
To Jin Jin: Thanks for leaving a tag behind! Merry Christmas to you too! Let's all meet up real soon!
To Jing Xiang and Ming Li: Merry Christmas to you guys! Appreciate you all for being there.
To the rest of the people who i have forgotten: MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
anyway, this is a little Buddhist teachings that i want to tell my sunday school students, if you are non-buddhist and don't mind reading it, then please read on!
The Mangala Sutra has stated that: [i'll just point out a few, this really teaches you things in real life experiences]
This is the highest protection."
Not consorting with fools tells you that:
Fools hold wrong views, that is why they do immoral deeds, and neglect to do wholesome deeds.
In the ultimate sense, not to associate with fools means to remain aloof from foolishness. Whenever one meets others, one should focus on and encourage wise conduct, and overlook or discourage foolish conduct.
To Associate with the Wise tells you that:
Unlike fools, the wise are those who observe basic morality carefully. The wise cultivate wholesome deeds such as charity, morality, meditation, reverence, service, learning the Dhamma, etc., and they hold right views. Wise friends restrain us from evil and urge us to do good.
To Honour Those Worthy of Honour tells you that:
People are worthy of honour for many reasons. One should respect those who provide material and spiritual benefits: parents, teachers, employers, monks, public servants, etc. One should also respect those with more refined morality, greater learning, or greater age. Respect may be shown in various ways, by service, homage, etc.
"Living in a civilized land,
having made merit in the past,
directing oneself rightly:
This is the highest protection."
Living in a Suitable Locality tells you that:
To fulfil the three blessings stated above, we need to live in the right place. In some places it is difficult to meet wise and good teachers who can point out the meaning of Dhamma. [in the case for non-buddhist: it could mean good morals and conduct] Someone who meets only fools, must suffer a lot, even if they are wise and good.
Setting Oneself in the Right Course tells you that:
It takes wisdom and patience to build good character. One who fulfils all of the preceding blessings, will be naturally inclined to cultivate virtue, but most people will have to make special efforts to avoid wrong doing and correct their defects. Knowing one’s faults is a good start, but we need great humility, honesty, and patience to correct ourselves.
I won't be stating all of the sutra down, but just snippets here and there. This here, is the second last verse:
"When affected by worldly conditions,
If one’s mind remains unshaken;
Sorrowless, Stainless and secure,
This is the most auspicious sign. "
When Affected by Worldly Conditions, if One’s Mind Remains Unshaken tells you that:
When the highest path has been attained, the Arahant is unaffected by gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and defame, happiness and sorrow.
Here's a Zen Story to help you explain further: A young girl got pregnant, but did not want to reveal the father. When pressed by her parents, she said it was a monk living in the local monastery. The parents scolded the monk, but he just smiled without protesting. When a boy was born, they took him to the monk and left him. The monk devotedly cared for the boy for seven years. When the girl married, she wanted her boy back, so went and took him. The monk smiled and blessed her and the boy, wishing them every happiness. He did not sorrow over the loss of his novice.
Sorrowless tells you this:
An Arahant is completely free from sorrow, grief, and despair. “From affection springs grief, from affection springs fear. If there is no affection, whence grief, whence fear?” (From the Dhammapada, verse 212) A truly mindful meditator can enjoy similar bliss through keen awareness.
To non-buddhist: this could just mean that if you are ATTACHED to something, there will always come an end to the attachment. It's cause and effect. They come as a pair, without a cause, there won't be a effect. Similarly, with no effect, it would not have a cause nor lead to another cause. Thus, without feeling attached to something will free you from sorrow, grief and despair.
To end this whole post off, i wish everyone a merry christmas and a 2009 year!
cheers!
weihan
