Do what you want

Today I read in one monk's fb comment....do what you want as you have only one life to do. And this life does not last forever....anytime we will be call back. Haizz....there are many things I would like to do but unseen chains posed hurdles in my path. We cannot just leave things and go where our heart tell us to. There are ties that bind. Of course who does not want to be free............free to do whatever one wants to do.
A couple of days ago, one of my spiritual friend tried to persuade me to go for a retreat. But I cant....my mind and heart is not at peace. I would be worrying about things at home. She is lucky that she is able to leave and go for a retreat anytime she want. And she is also going to Australia for a two weeks retreat. So lucky.
 It is so nice to have a supportive partner to encourage one another on the path of cultivation. She said that her husband is more diligent when it comes to morning chanting....half an hour every morning. Said that her husband said after chanting, he finds that people are more friendly with him. She said we dont know it, but because of our sincere chanting, we are surrounded by good spirits who will help us. There is a good aura surrounding us....I think that is what she meant.
I think I also start to get to be hard working. :D

Start of a New Day

Woke up very early as usual....maybe I slept too early so that is why I woke up even before the cock crows. Body is tired but the mind refuse to rest and sleep. Insomnia, I think. I dont sleep in the afternoon ...no naps even. Last night I was sleeping when I was awaken with ngeh...ngeh ...ngeh again from my other half about the high consumption of electricity. After that, it was difficult for me to sleep again. So instead of wasting time looking at the ceiling and trying my hard to sleep, better for me to come downstairs to do something fruitful. As usual check the mail, the fb and etc on my laptop. Then I decided why not start today to chant Amituofo, even if only for a few minutes. So facing west, I managed to chant for about 15 minutes. Not the best of effort but at least a good start.
As usual have to think of what to do. Already thought of the vegetables to cook, but the meat one is the one giving me the headache. I have to cook at least one meat dish to cater to the two elders at home who cannot survive for long without meat. At least one I have managed to convince the detrimental effects of eating too much meat, but the other one is too old to change. Haizzzzz.....
The holiday is coming soon....how am I going to survive 6 weeks of staying at home with nothing much to do. Haizz..........Maybe I just start on some craft activities..... baking doesn't interest me anymore. Who is there to bake for? Craft....what type?
Maybe I should write? I have been thinking of the topics to write on? At present I am still suffering from writer's block although I am no writer yet. Just that cannot think of any interesting topic to write about. I am praying hard that inspiration will strike me soon. :D

To be born in a lotus

I dont know why but I feel morbid nowadays, thinking of death and dying. To say that I am not afraid of death would be bluffing. But I am not sad to get out of this world. In fact I am feeling tired and depressed with this world. So much suffering in this world. I dont want to be reincarnated into this world again.
I have never had an easy life. I have always to look after myself. I take care of others. But no one really think of my feelings. I dont think anyone knows what I really want-what I like, what I want to do, what I like to eat even. No one remembers my anniversary or how many years I have been married. I dont blame it on any one. I blame on myself. My past bad karma. I owe too many people debts that I have to repay in this life.

To be born in a lotus

That is why I want to get out of this saha world as fast as possible. I am like a candle.........burning myself out. I am waiting for my candle to extinguish........then I am out of this world. So nice, so happy. Of course, I have a backup plan. I want to be born in a lotus...........in Pureland. The place is so beautiful  and the wonderful thing is there is no suffering in Pureland. So I am putting my whole heart into following the way to board the boat to get there. One must have a ticket to get there.....and the ticket is not for sale. It comes only from practice ........as written in The Taming of the Monkey Mind. Reading and trying my hardest to follow. I must get there in this lifetime.

End of Year

The end of every academic year is usually a boring time. There is not much to do except tie up all the lose ends. Meaning update all the files. Clean up the cupboards. Throw away old circulars and notices. Clean the various rooms that one is in charge of.
Attendance is very low. The classes are almost empty of students who having been taking their own study leave or who feel it is already holiday. Many of the teachers are out for meetings or for invigilation. So even the staffroom is quiet and empty of teachers.
It is also the time when teachers get news of their request for transfer..........and farewell lunch/ dinner would be held in the last week of the academic year. There is rumors going around that more teachers will be getting their transfer letter in early December. Heard that it is now the policy of JPN to transfer long serving teachers out of the school to another. Hopefully the rumors is not true .......if not I will have less friends in school. Most of my buddies are those who have served more than 10 years or more in the school.
Another problem that most of us seniors have to think about is whether to extend our service to 60 years. The younger ones have no problems but for those of us who are nearing retirement we have think deeply. Do we want to extend our service by another 2 years? If we don't extend, then after retirement, what is there to do to pass time? For those who have grandchildren, no problem. Help to babysit. But for those whose children are still enjoying singlehood, there is nothing much to do to pass time. How many tours can one go to? Read? So boring to read all the time. Gardening .....tiring la. Do charity work? Don't know if the organisation need our help.  There is also the possibility that we will not get upgrading if we don't accept the extension.
Whatever it is, most of us are taking the wait and see attitude. We wait and see the conditions and then decide. But I know of a few who have already decided not to take up the offer of extension whatever the carrot that is dangle in front of them. They have already made up their mind. As for me, I am in the wait and see category!

Sharing and Encouraging

It is nice to have spiritual friends to encourage one another in our practice and to share knowledge and dhamma materials. I found a Pureland website where there are chants which one can downland in MP3 version. The chants are in U tube which I couldn't download into my handphone. So it was like striking gold when I have found the Amitofo chants ..........and the ones that I was looking for. There are many to chose from and to download. Different people prefer different types of chants.......so each to his/her own.
I told one of my colleagues, Pn Tang, and let her listen to the chants I downloaded into my handphone. When she heard one of the chants, she told me she had been looking for that particular type of chanting after hearing it being played in her friend's car but couldn't find it. So I offered to copy it for her into her pendrive. It is a good feeling to be able to share the chants that I find soothing with someone who also likes it. She told me that she can played it with her MP3.
Sometimes we discuss about our practice and that we should avoid saying bad things about others. We remind one another that we should refrain from bad speech...........and avoid frivolous talk. But it is difficult to find spiritual friends of the same practice. I am lucky to be able to find a few in the place where I work and one in my schoolmate.

Use your wisdom

What was written thousands or hundreds of years ago may not be appropriate for modern society. We have to use our wisdom and select .
The book by Liao-fan was written as a guide for his son  in a Chinese feudal society of yesteryears. Although it was written thousands of years ago it serve as a good guide to those who want to change their destiny and attain their desires.It is not easy to follow the ways suggested to accumulate merits . It takes a lot of effort to succeed.

The scoring sheet on Merits need to be revamped...because what is considered good act may not be wise for today's modern society. We are no more in a feudal society where there are slaves and where man reign supreme. We dont go around drowning kids...if we do we will be charged for murder! And because of trying to continue the linage, many aborted their female foetus in China.

Nowadays we cannot take in homeless people into our house....he may be a criminal. Instead of donating cemetery land, instead we can buy land for the deceased. We cannot take in orphan unless we adopt the kid. We have to turn beggars away because there are many bogus ones around. And we cannot give money to them in public because it would encourage more bogus ones out to make easy money.
We have to act according to the situation. Books can only serve as a guide.

Pureland materials in English

For those who are purely English educated like me and am  interested in practicing the Pureland Buddhism, it is difficult but not impossible to get materials to read. It is easier for those schooled in English to practise Tibetan or Thevarada Buddhism. The monks usually speak English unlike Mahayana and Pureland sect where the monks/nuns/sifu are usually Chinese educated and from Taiwan. But fortunately for the internet. One can browse through the various sites to get reading materials in English about Pureland Buddhism.
I found one website on Pureland which I would like to share=== http://www.amitabha-gallery.org/index.htm
There are Amitabha chants in MP3 version that one can download from the site. Blessings to those who make it possible for us. I managed to download Amitabha chants into my handphone so that I can listen to them whenever I like. There are also Pureland chants one can download to practise chanting.
And last Sunday, my schoolmate gave me a book on the English version of Infinite Life Buddha. It is very nice of her always to think of getting materials for me in English. 

Book Review 2

The Incredible Phenomenon of Karma written by Professor Wun Ho

The book is on why one should perform good and pursue wisdom. Part one of the book consists of true stories of karma.  Many of the stories are on how people are able to change their destiny by their charitable deeds.
The first story is about how blessings come to a person who rescue a pregnant dog from being eaten by his colleagues. Another tells of how she saved her shaky marriage by being patient, filial and charitable.
One of the woman in the story told of how after reading a little book she decided to change from believing in fortune tellers and praying for blessing to making contributions to charity organization. Her life changed for the better. A professor helped his son by donating a lot of money in his name. An elementary school teacher became a certified teacher because he was very kind and helped a family in need. There are many stories of the blessing that comes from being kind and generous

The second chapter deals with why man should perform good and pursue wisdom.
This is because every cause has an effect, and every effect arises from a cause. There are many lessons by Buddha. One is that the first merit among hundreds of them is being devoted to parents. If he is not filial to his parents, he cant make up his sin even if he has been making a lot of contributions by all means. It also gives the 3 ways of making contributions:

1. contributing material goods to help people.
2. almsgiving of the Buddha-truth ie its preaching or explanation in order to urge people to do good things and purify people's mind as well
3. bestowing confidence to people ie showing sympathy to people and keeping people away from fear

From this book we have evidence of people who are able to turn their life around by being charitable.Contribute however little amount you can afford. The amount doesn't matter. It is the sincerity of the thought that counts. Contribute your time and effort to help others. Rejoice when others perform good deeds.

Sometimes it takes time  before one  get effective results. This is because this depends on how big our negative karma is. If the karma it big, then it will take sometime before we see a change in our destiny. The thing is we must have confidence and are sincere in our effort. We must strive on accumulating merits if we want to see a difference in our life.

I quote  Master Shing Wun: "The best merit is urge people to do good things and to be good. If we can have a gracious, joyful and respectful heart and make contributions through language, facial expression, physical assistance, we are giving our best effort." So to conclude, make contributions from today if you want to see a change in your destiny. Do not wait for tomorrow because tomorrow may never come.

Demerit

100 Demerits

1. cause one death
2. violate a woman's chastity
3. praise another for drowning his or her chld
4. stop the family lineage

50 demerits

1. induce one abortion
2. break up one marriage
3. abandon another's remains
4. cause another to be homeless
5. cause another to commit a serious crime
6. teach another to do great evil
7. make a speech that harms many people 
8. steal another's wife or daughter

30 demerits

1. create slander to dishonour another
2. reveal private secrets of another
3. encourage another to sue
4. break another's religious vow
5. go against an elder
6. offend father or older brother
7. cause the separation of family
8. in times of famine to save grains without sharing

10 demerits

1. dishonour a virtuous person
2. recommend an evil person
3. flatten a grave
4. mistreat an orphan or vidow
5. take in an unchaste woman
6. keep a murder weapon in the household
7. speak harshly towards parents, teachers and wise person
8. prepare poison
9. punish a criminal improperly
10. destroy writing on the truth
11. have evil thoughts while reciting the sutras
12. teach false knowledge
13. take non-virtuously
14. kill an animal that cans serve man

5 demerits

1. sneer and slander spiritual teachings
2. not clear an injustice when given an opportunity
3.  turn away a sick person seeking help
4. block a road or bridge
5. write lewd artilces
6. write a lewd song
7. speak harshly with others
8. kill one animal that cannot serve man

3 demerits

1. get angry over words not to one's liking
2. scold one who does not deserve it
3. break up relations through double talk
4. cheat an ignorant person
5. destroy another's success
6. rejoice in another's worry
7. rejoice in another's loss of wealth and name
8. wish a rich person to be poor
9. blame heaven and others for one's own misfortune
10. to be greedy in making money

1 demerit

1. cover another's merit
2. urge another to fight 
3. generate thought to harm another
4. help another to do evil
5. not stop another from stealing small items
6. not comfort another in fright or worry
7. not care about the hardship of human or animal
8. steal one small needle or grass
9. throw away paper with words
10. waste food
11. break promise 
12. cause another to be druk
13. not help another who is hungry or cold
14. miss one word in reciting sutra
15. turn away a monk begging for food
16. turn away a beggar
17. recite sutras or go to the temples while eating food with five pungent spices or drinking alcohol
18. eat the meat of an animal that works for man
19. kill a minute life form
20. spill bird's nest and break the eggs
21. misuse funds
22. to be in debt
23. damage temples and statues
24. use false weights
25. sell a butcher's knife, fish net etc
26. use one's position to take bribes and other's money 
27. keep lost articles
28. take goods while safe keeping them for others

The end of Liao-fan's 4 lessons

Way to Practise

 How to practise:

1.       Begin by repenting all past wrongdoings sincerely, whether large or small, in front of the Buddha image.

2.       Write down wish and vow to complete a certain number of meritorious deeds to show gratitude towards ancestors, earth and heaven.

3.       Keep a daily record of all the kind and unkind acts. Bad deeds would neutralize the good ones. Prepare a small book to record merits and faults and called it the Book of Cultivating the Mind. Record every deed, good or bad, no matter how small. At night burned incense and report all deeds to the heavens.

4.       Recite the Zhun Ti Mantra.

namaḥ saptānāṁ samyak-saṁbuddha koṭināṁ
tad-yathā oṁ cale cule cundi svāhā

 Only with a pure and concentrated mind could what one wish for come true. Practice reciting the Zhun Ti Mantra continuously without counting the number of recitations and without interruption. When there is no wandering thought, the mantra will become effective and successful

5.       When one prays for and seeks for something or tries to change one’s fate, it is important that one does so without giving rise to a single thought. In this way, one will easily receive a response.

6.       Our cultivation has to reach a certain level before our destiny changes. This change depends on the accumulation of merits.

7.       Be very cautious and careful in thought and deed. Maintain this attitude even when alone, as there are spirits and heavenly beings everywhere who know every action and thought. Take insults and slander with a patient and peaceful mind.

8.       We need to be able to find one’s faults everyday and to correct them everyday. If we are unable to detect any faults in ourselves then we will think that everything we do is all right. Then, we will be unable to correct our faults and improvement will be out of the question.

Quoted from Mr Yuan:

 Those who have their hearts set on attaining success and fame, will surely attain success and fame. Those who have their hearts set on attaining wealth and position, will surely attain wealth and position. I am the creator of my own prosperity; if I truly want to create it, I will certainly succeed. I think it is the same for those who are seeking to improve their lives by changing their destiny. If people can expand the heart to diligently do kind deeds, accumulate merits, and put forth their best efforts into character improvement, then both destiny and prosperity will be theirs to create.

Scoring sheet on Merits as taught to Liao-fan by Zen Master Yun Gu

100 merits

1.       Save one life

2.       Save a woman’s chastity

3.       Prevent the drowning

4.       Help continue the family lineage

50 merits

1.       Prevent one abortion

2.       Resist temptation

3.       Provide for one homeless person

4.       Bury the remains of a homeless person

5.       Prevent one person from becoming homeless

6.       Prevent one person from committing a serious crime

7.       Clear one person of an injustice

8.       Give speech that benefits many

30 merits

1.       Donate cemetery land for a family without land

2.       Convert another to the virtuous way

3.       Facilitate a marriage

4.       Facilitate another in taking the religious vows

5.       Take in an orphan

6.       Help another accomplish a virtuous act

10 merits

1.       Recommend a virtuous persons

2.       Remove a source of trouble for another

3.       Cure a serious illness with one remedy

4.       Speak with virtue

5.       Treat servants properly

6.       Save the life of an animal that serves man

7.       Refrain from using power and wealth for one’s own self-interest

8.       Publish or edit the teachings of Buddha

5 merits

1.       Prevent one litigation

2.       Communicate over a lifesaving method

3.       Edit a book on lifesaving methods

4.       Cure one minor illness with a remedy

5.       Urge another to stop the spreading of ill words about others

6.       Make offering to one saintly person

7.       Pray for others

8.       Make a vow not to kill

9.       Save the life of an animal that does not serve man

3 merits

1.       Endure a mistreatment without ill-will

2.       Take slander without reaction

3.       Accept words that are not to one’s liking

4.       Urge silkworm growers, fishermen, hunters and butchers to change to another profession

5.       Bury an animal that died on its own

1 merit

1.       Praise another’s merit

2.       Hide another’s demerit

3.       Peacefully resolve an argument

4.       Stop another from making a mistake

5.       Feed one who is hungry

6.       Provide one night’s lodging for a homeless person

7.       Help another in the cold

8.       Offer one medication

9.       Give one article on helping others

10.    Chant one chapter of sutra

11.    Do one hundred prostration for repentance

12.    Chant Buddha’s name for one thousand times

13.    Speak on the truth to ten people

14.    Organize projects that help ten people

15.    Offer one meal to a monk

16.    Provide for one monk

17.    Do not turn away a beggar

18.    Provide relief for tired animals and people

19.    Comfort others when they are worried

20.    For meat eaters to be vegetarians for one day

21.    Do not eat meat from the animal one has seen heard it being killed or killed specially for oneself

22.    Bury a bid that has died on its own

23.    Release one life

24.    Save a minute life

25.    Help departed spirits to move on

26.    Give money and clothing to people

27.    Forgive a debt

28.    Return a lost article

29.    Do not take improper wealth

30.    Help other pay debt

31.    Offer land

32.    Encourage others to donate to charity

33.    Do not take goods stored for others

34.    Build grain storage facilities, bridges, roads, clear rivers, dig well, build and repair temples and statues of enlightened beings

35.    Make offerings of incense, lamp oil, tea

36.    Give away a coffin

37.    Save spiritual writings

Book Review

I have been reading “The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan”by Liao-fan Yuan. The lessons in this book can serve as a guide who those who want to change their original destiny.
This book was written by the author to teach his son how to recognize the true face of destiny, how to tell good from evil, and the method for correcting one's faults and practicing kind deeds.
It also provided proofs of the rewards and outcomes of people who had practiced kind deeds and cultivated virtue and humility. Relating from his own experience at changing destiny, Mr. Yuan himself was a living embodiment of his teachings.
At first Mr Yuan like any ordinary humans thought that everything in life was predestined as events in his life occurred accurately as predicted by Mr Kung, a fortune teller. So he thought that promotion, wealth, life and death are all predestined. However a meeting with Master Yun Ku-hui, a Zen master at Ch’i-hsia mountain changed him.
 According to Master Yun, fate cannot control a person who has done extremely great deeds. Destiny is not set but is created and determined by man himself. Both good fortune and misfortune are created by his actions.
Mr Yuan was able to change his destiny by following the teachings of Mater Yun. Mr Kung had predicted that the highest position he would reach was as a magistrate and he would retire after holding that post for three years. He would die when he was 53. He would have no son which is something very important in a traditional Chinese family.
However by following Master Yun’s teachings, he changed his destiny. He had a son, passed various imperial examinations and became a mayor of Pao-ti prefecture. He lived until 74 years old.
The 4 lessons to change one’s destiny:

Lesson 1: Principles of Destiny

We need to develop our virtue, diligently try to practice kind deeds and work to accumulate as many hidden merits and virtues as possible. These are our own transactions to create and improve upon our good fortune and avoid adversity.

Lesson 2: The Method of Repentance

To invite good fortune one should first repent even before performing good deeds.

There are 3 conditions for to reform and to repent.

1. One must have a conscience or shamefulness
2. One must have respectfulness
3. One must have determination and courage to stop wrong behavior or to change

There are 3 stages in repentance.

1. Changing one’s behavior.
2. Changing through understanding from a mental level.
3. Changing from the heart

Lesson 3: The Ways of Accumulating Merits

It is easier for those who have money and power to accumulate merits and virtues than for those who are poor. For those who are poor and without prestige, doing kind things for others is very difficult. However, if in this difficulty one can still manage to help others then it would be even more valuable

The ways of helping others can be simplified into ten important categories.

        I.            Supporting the practice of kindness

In today’s era of low morality, social breakdown and loss of proper thinking, it is most difficult to find a good standard of behavior. Therefore, when those around us have shortcomings, we do not use our good points to highlight their deficiencies. When others are unkind, we do not use our kindness and compare ourselves to them. When others are not as capable as we are, we do not purposely surpass them with our abilities. We should not boast our intelligence and competence. Instead, we need to behave even more modestly. When someone makes mistakes, we tolerate them, providing them the opportunity to reform without the loss of self-respect. When we see strengths or small kindnesses in others, we can learn from them and praise them to others. In daily life, we should refrain from speaking and acting with selfish intention.

      II.            Revering love and respect for others

Sometimes it is hard to tell from appearance whether one is an honorable person or a fraud. The difference lies in their intentions. The heart of a genuinely honorable person is filled with loving-kindness and respect for others. There are thousands of different types of people in this world. We should neither hate nor disrespect anyone. When our hearts are filled with loving-kindness and respect for others, it is the same as if our hearts were filled with loving-kindness and respect for virtuous people. When we understand and agree with others, it is the same as if we understand and agree with the virtuous people. All virtuous people want the people on this earth to obtain what they wish for. Therefore, if we can have loving-kindness and respect for people and help them to achieve in their endeavors, we are doing the job of a virtuous person.

   III.            Helping others to succeed in doing good

When we see people whom we feel have good potential for doing a good deed or working towards a proper goal, we can guide, support, praise and encourage them, helping them to succeed in their endeavors. If others wrongly accuse them, we can try to clear their name and share their burden of slander. Only when we have helped them stand on their feet and become a part of society will we have fulfilled our responsibility in helping others to do good.

There are always more bad people around than good people. Therefore, those who are good often have difficulty standing on their own. Good people have good abilities and virtues, which allow them to achieve fame. They can easily be wrongly accused, so striving to do good can be a challenge. When this happens, it is entirely up to virtuous people to protect and help those who are good and need to stand on their own. They can provide what the good people need to practice goodness. The merits of these virtuous people who do this will be great.

    IV.            Persuading others to practice kindness

Although we want to do good, the necessity of surviving in a world filled with hardships can result in our forgetting to do good. When a friend is about to ignore his or her conscience to do something unworthy, we can remind and warn this friend, hoping to wake him or her from delusion. We can persuade others by word of mouth as well as by writing books to promote virtue. Compared with teaching others through behavior this is much more direct and obvious. Sometime, we do not have time to teach others through behavior. Then verbal or written education will be more effective.

      V.            Helping those in desperate need

If we meet people who suffer from serious difficulties, we can help that person as if we were the one who was suffering. We immediately come to this person’s aid. It does not matter whether a favor is big or small. What is important is that it is done at a time when others need it most.

    VI.            Developing public projects for the greater benefit of people

Small construction works are needed for villages and big construction jobs are needed for cities. As long as it is beneficial to the people, it should be built. Public projects can be the construction of systems to irrigate farmlands, dams to prevent flooding or bridges to facilitate travel. Also, we can give food or water to those who are hungry or thirsty. Whenever we have the opportunity, we need to encourage others to do their share as well to help accomplish the project, either through the sharing of wealth or of labor.

 VII.            Practicing merits by giving wealth

In Buddhism, giving is considered the foremost practice among all the methods. Giving is to let go. A wise person who understands this principle would be willing to give away everything. There is nothing we cannot give away. When we find ourselves unable to do so, we can start with the giving of wealth. When we practice giving without hesitation, we can cure stinginess and at the same time, help others in dire need. This is very difficult to do, at first. But, gradually it will become more natural the more we give. This is the best way to cure selfishness and to rid ourselves of attachments and stinginess.

VIII.            Protecting and maintaining the proper teachings

For millions of years, proper teachings have been a standard of truth and provided spiritual guidance for all living beings. Therefore, whenever we see way places, memorials of past virtuous people or sages, pictures of sages, or Buddhist texts, we should be respectful. If they are in need of repair, we should repair and put them back in order. We can propagate and carry forward the proper teachings and help others to learn their value. In this way, we can repay our gratitude to the Buddha. We should encourage others to do so as well.

    IX.            Respecting elders

It is making an extra effort in being attentive to and respecting parents, elder siblings, leaders, superiors or elders or those of high virtue, prestige and learning. When taking care of our parents at home, we are to do so with loving hearts and a gentle, accommodating appearance. We should not raise our voice but maintain a peaceful bearing. As we cultivate these virtues, they will become a part of us and we will change into a gentle-hearted person.

Families which practiced loyalty and filial piety have descendants who prospered for a long time and had bright futures.

      X.            Loving and cherishing all living things

A person who wants to accumulate merits should also cultivate a compassionate heart. Therefore, we should not eat meat under four circumstances. First was if we heard the killing, second was if we saw the killing, third was if we raised the animal themselves and fourth was if we had the animal killed for our consumption. Even if we cannot stop eating meat immediately, we can still try to start by following these four guidelines. In this way, we are gradually increasing our compassion. We would not only refrain from killing any living creature.  

Lesson 4: The Benefits of Humility

Humility receives benefit and arrogance invites trouble. Only those who are humble can receive the teaching of others and that is how one can receive wisdom and fortune and benefit a great deal.