Originally posted by Weychin:Compassion naturally arises when "I" disappears as root cause suffering, the belief that "I" is solid and permanent disappears!
We or "I" is the cause of our own suffering and very often the cause of suffering of others. When "I" disappears, phenomena of selflessness emerges. Because I am at ease with myself and others, loving kindness and compassion naturally arises, only it does not have a name!
Put it this way, I am kind because I an naturally kind and not because I am trying to be kind. Or to reap karmic benefits.
The beautiful things about developing loving kindness and compassion is the ordinariness of it, not "I" doing compassion !
Just an ordinary state of occurrence!
I share the same view as you. My understandings is what you have said above and you have confirmed that my understandings is correct.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:1) I actually see 'goal oriented' in a positive light. In fact that is one of the good things of making enlightenment less obscure: so that people know its possible, that people have done it, that ordinary people like me can do it too. Competitiveness can also become a positive force - that is, if it is a friendly healthy competition, and not one that turns relationship sour. I actually see this as good - we must use whatever emotions we have to steer us to enlightenment. Nothing wrong. If let's say my wife is becoming more enlightened than me, I will want to buck up in my practice and realise what my wife has realised! lol.. Incidentally, Daniel Ingram and others have in fact encouraged "competitive team sport" dharma friendship.
2) If one wants to be proud, he will be proud regardless of whether he announces his attainment.
3) I am not aware of any obstacles, apart from possible controversies it may cause (especially when there are all kinds of people, not everyone may be that spiritually mature, some may even be doubtful that enlightenment exists)
Shamatha involves a lot of discipline. Lamas often advise us to do meditation in a group, because when we are doing meditation in a group, we want to be the best, the fastest; we have so much pride and ego, and we’re so competitive—why not use this competitiveness as a tool on the path? It’s like working out—if you buy the machines and bring them home, you do three or four days and the machines end up in the garage. But if you go to a gym, you see the other people who are diligently doing it, and all the other beautiful bodies, and it gives you inspiration. What a wrong motivation! But at least it will lead you somewhere.
~ Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Shamatha involves a lot of discipline. Lamas often advise us to do meditation in a group, because when we are doing meditation in a group, we want to be the best, the fastest; we have so much pride and ego, and we’re so competitive—why not use this competitiveness as a tool on the path? It’s like working out—if you buy the machines and bring them home, you do three or four days and the machines end up in the garage. But if you go to a gym, you see the other people who are diligently doing it, and all the other beautiful bodies, and it gives you inspiration. What a wrong motivation! But at least it will lead you somewhere.
~ Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
heh i noted this paragraph when i read it as well :)
Originally posted by Weychin:Compassion naturally arises when "I" disappears as root cause suffering, the belief that "I" is solid and permanent disappears!
We or "I" is the cause of our own suffering and very often the cause of suffering of others. When "I" disappears, phenomena of selflessness emerges. Because I am at ease with myself and others, loving kindness and compassion naturally arises, only it does not have a name!
Put it this way, I am kind because I an naturally kind and not because I am trying to be kind. Or to reap karmic benefits.
The beautiful things about developing loving kindness and compassion is the ordinariness of it, not "I" doing compassion !
Just an ordinary state of occurrence!
Faking compassion/kindness as a kind of mental reminder and training is very good and creates alot of merit on the path which leads one to Buddhahood... Buddha's path itself is based on altruism if u read the Jakata tales, dun need wait for realisation.
Many great masters have written treatises on how to develop compassion by mental training... our mind is not a static thing, it can degenerate to be selfish, it can also be developed to be altruistic, and this development can be carried out limitlessly... for eg. before we learnt English, we trained our mind more and more to recognise the patterns of english words, that's how it became more n more of a habit and require less effort... same way for compassion.
It is said that when one has anger, the best antidote is compassion. Prior to realising non-self to the point whereby anger can be dissolved by the realisation completely, dun u think it is good to antidote it with compassion? When compassion exists in the mind, the opposite mental factor, anger, cannot exist at same time.
Compassion aids practice very much... it has many other beneficial aspects... Buddhist practice is always a twin approach of compassion and wisdom.
As an aside, once an Indian master, Atisha was at Bodhgaya, and he was pondering on the fastest path to Buddhahood, at that time, a statue of Tara (which is still at Bodhgaya now and is said to be very blessed) came alive and said that the fastest path to Buddhahood is through the practice of Bodhichitta. Then he also had a vision of some deities in the sky and they repeated what Tara had said.
It is also said that realising emptiness is not as difficult as realising Bodhichitta.
From some of real life experiences of others , it can also be seen that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would not be pleased if one neglects the practice of compassion for all beings... believe or not is up to you. Compassion and bodhichitta is the very very very important foundation for doing all whatever practices you are doing... esp. if you are walking on the Bodhisattva path.
p/s: please dun tell me Buddhas/Bodhisattvas etc are beyond pleased and not-pleased and so on... we are in relative world now. And there are things beyond one's theory.
Originally posted by wisdomeye:As an aside, once an Indian master, Atisha was at Bodhgaya, and he was pondering on the fastest path to Buddhahood, at that time, a statue of Tara (which is still at Bodhgaya now and is said to be very blessed) came alive and said that the fastest path to Buddhahood is through the practice of Bodhichitta. Then he also had a vision of some deities in the sky and they repeated what Tara had said.
It is also said that realising emptiness is not as difficult as realising Bodhichitta.
From some of real life experiences of others , it can also be seen that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would not be pleased if one neglects the practice of compassion for all beings... believe or not is up to you. Compassion and bodhichitta is the very very very important foundation for doing all whatever practices you are doing... esp. if you are walking on the Bodhisattva path.
p/s: please dun tell me Buddhas/Bodhisattvas etc are beyond pleased and not-pleased and so on... we are in relative world now. And there are things beyond one's theory.
hi wisdomeye,
Personally feel you'll be a good teacher one day. You have a clear mind, and a good heart. Hope you're already guiding people along. :)
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Originally posted by wisdomeye:Faking compassion/kindness as a kind of mental reminder and training is very good and creates alot of merit on the path which leads one to Buddhahood... Buddha's path itself is based on altruism if u read the Jakata tales, dun need wait for realisation.
Many great masters have written treatises on how to develop compassion by mental training... our mind is not a static thing, it can degenerate to be selfish, it can also be developed to be altruistic, and this development can be carried out limitlessly... for eg. before we learnt English, we trained our mind more and more to recognise the patterns of english words, that's how it became more n more of a habit and require less effort... same way for compassion.
It is said that when one has anger, the best antidote is compassion. Prior to realising non-self to the point whereby anger can be dissolved by the realisation completely, dun u think it is good to antidote it with compassion? When compassion exists in the mind, the opposite mental factor, anger, cannot exist at same time.
Compassion aids practice very much... it has many other beneficial aspects... Buddhist practice is always a twin approach of compassion and wisdom.
Fake "compassion" is action without sincerity, it reifies "meness" or self, exactly the opposite of selflessness, do we really want to go down that road?
Where do compassion arise? From within with lovingkindness, not out obligation or some protocol.
Do you feel true love from you teachers or is it all a facade, fake compassion? Surely, one can sense sincerity or rather lack of it over time, it is not?
Originally posted by Weychin:Fake "compassion" is action without sincerity, it reifies "meness" or self, exactly the opposite of selflessness, do we really want to go down that road?
Where do compassion arise? From within with lovingkindness, not out obligation or some protocol.
Do you feel true love from you teachers or is it all a facade, fake compassion? Surely, one can sense sincerity or rather lack of it over time, it is not?
true to some extent, but in some situations can also help one develop compassion. most of the people in this society are conditioned to be result oriented, thus it may not be easy for one to truly understand and be compassion. so in order to help some of us experience compassion, we may need to use some 'force' in a sense. along the way hopefully one can be triggered to experience the happiness in giving and grow from there.
for eg my partners and i have been organizing one day events with special schools and old folks home every year since 2005 for our consultants to go spend a day with the children and old folks. im very sure some of the consultants will feel 'forced' and in a way will 'fake compassion' initially. however it is observed that everyone will end up enjoying ourselves with our wards after a few hours of interaction. although such experiences may be short, but nontheless i believe they will slowly develop one's compassion.
Originally posted by geis:true to some extent, but in some situations can also help one develop compassion. most of the people in this society are conditioned to be result oriented, thus it may not be easy for one to truly understand and be compassion. so in order to help some of us experience compassion, we may need to use some 'force' in a sense. along the way hopefully one can be triggered to experience the happiness in giving and grow from there.
for eg my partners and i have been organizing one day events with special schools and old folks home every year since 2005 for our consultants to go spend a day with the children and old folks. im very sure some of the consultants will feel 'forced' and in a way will 'fake compassion' initially. however it is observed that everyone will end up enjoying ourselves with our wards after a few hours of interaction. although such experiences may be short, but nontheless i believe they will slowly develop one's compassion.
I have no issue with interaction and raising awareness and compassion. Such activities is inherently conceptualized with noble intentions. It draws the individual from his own coccoon, and interact with others and raising empathy, slowly changing his world. Hopefully,from irrevelance, nonchalance to a compassionate person.
It is the word "fake" I take exception with, implying cynicism at original intentions. For example ,you spread or "infect" your enthusiasm and compassion, hoping you will rub off to others!
FAKE OR SINCERE COMPASSION
Interesting, is there or are there. In my 2 cents opinion, there is ..... Sometime you can look at those charities drive where the millionaire or their tai tai donate a huge sum in order to get them on the front page of tabloid. Are they sincere in their giving? Are they giving out of a motive of fame? Have the "good karma" generate a good effect like become famous overnite? Perhaps ...perhaps.... perhaps
I remember a Chinese story, when a poor woman went to a temple to make an offering with the little she could gather. The abbot of the temple out of compassion decided to personally delicate the merits for her.
Years later, when the poor woman become the emperor concubine, she decided to go back to the temple to make an elaborate offerings. Upon her arrival in the temple, she expected the abbot to welcome her in a grand way. However, the abbot send his disciple to her, in a fit of anger she demand for the reason for being so. The disciple relay his master message, " In the past, you give what you have out of sincere although it was small. Now you give out of abundant although the offering is huge, but with pride and insincerity."
I think at the end of the day, it is the sincerity and simplity of hearts that counts even it is the 1%. I believe the little acts we do, Buddha do rejoices over it. As we have made this world a better place.
Of course, there will be a nagging thought wanting to gain merits through the acts. Well, it is because we are still practising for ourself. However, we should still continue to work to serve and give so that the seed of Buddhahood will mature into a tree. Someday it will provide shelter for the weary heart. Each act in our life will become a reflection of Buddha.
In Lotus Sutra Chapter 2, it said,
Even if little boys in play
should use a piece of grass or wood or a brush,
or perhaps a fingernail
to draw an image of the Buddha,
such persons as these
bit by bit will pile up merit
and will become fully endowed with a mind of
great compassion;
they all have attained the Buddha way.
åŠ æ²¹!
Gassho
Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo!!!!
Originally posted by reborn76:FAKE OR SINCERE COMPASSION
Interesting, is there or are there. In my 2 cents opinion, there is ..... Sometime you can look at those charities drive where the millionaire or their tai tai donate a huge sum in order to get them on the front page of tabloid. Are they sincere in their giving? Are they giving out of a motive of fame? Have the "good karma" generate a good effect like become famous overnite? Perhaps ...perhaps.... perhaps
I remember a Chinese story, when a poor woman went to a temple to make an offering with the little she could gather. The abbot of the temple out of compassion decided to personally delicate the merits for her.
Years later, when the poor woman become the emperor concubine, she decided to go back to the temple to make an elaborate offerings. Upon her arrival in the temple, she expected the abbot to welcome her in a grand way. However, the abbot send his disciple to her, in a fit of anger she demand for the reason for being so. The disciple relay his master message, " In the past, you give what you have out of sincere although it was small. Now you give out of abundant although the offering is huge, but with pride and insincerity."
I think at the end of the day, it is the sincerity and simplity of hearts that counts even it is the 1%. I believe the little acts we do, Buddha do rejoices over it. As we have made this world a better place.
Of course, there will be a nagging thought wanting to gain merits through the acts. Well, it is because we are still practising for ourself. However, we should still continue to work to serve and give so that the seed of Buddhahood will mature into a tree. Someday it will provide shelter for the weary heart. Each act in our life will become a reflection of Buddha.
In Lotus Sutra Chapter 2, it said,
Even if little boys in play
should use a piece of grass or wood or a brush,
or perhaps a fingernail
to draw an image of the Buddha,
such persons as these
bit by bit will pile up merit
and will become fully endowed with a mind of
great compassion;
they all have attained the Buddha way.åŠ æ²¹!
Gassho
Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo!!!!
Very true!
There is a story from the sutras of a poor beggar who saw one of the top disciples of Buddha, I believe he was Mahakashyapa.
Mahakashyapa gave rise to compassion for the beggar and wanted to help her accumulate merits. So he went to the beggar for alms. But the beggar does not have anything at all to give, she wanted to, and she asked what can I give you? Mahakashyapa simply pointed at the three drops of gruel left in her bowl. She was so happy and immediately gave Mahakashyapa what's left in her bowl. Soon, she died and was reborn in the heaven of the 33 gods for 90 kalpas.
Merits accumulated through sincerity is immense and unfathomable, even if the gift is small. Merits accumulated through giving immensely but without sincerity, is not true merits, and the fruits will be small.
Originally posted by Weychin:I have no issue with interaction and raising awareness and compassion. Such activities is inherently conceptualized with noble intentions. It draws the individual from his own coccoon, and interact with others and raising empathy, slowly changing his world. Hopefully,from irrevelance, nonchalance to a compassionate person.
It is the word "fake" I take exception with, implying cynicism at original intentions. For example ,you spread or "infect" your enthusiasm and compassion, hoping you will rub off to others!
I'm going off tangent slightly:-
I'm worried about the subtle negativity and defeatism in "fake". Why should you fake compassion? Either it has been aroused or it has not. Leave no and cast no self doubt, leading to guilt, and subsequently the suppression of guilt and compassion.
Buddhism is an optimistic religion in that everybody have inherent goodness, Buddha nature. It is just that it have not risen above our delusional mindset yet.
It is due to separate components, the lack of awareness, also of skillful means and helpful ability that we do not act in a compassionate manner. Some people often burn out when they lump these two together .And when they fail, to assuage their guilt,they suppress their awareness altogether!
even if someone is acting kind just to accomplish some personal gains, wouldnt it be better if hopefully the deeds make the person feel good enough about himself so that he will continue to give? at the same time those who are on the receiving end can also share the joy and hopefully ignite true compassion in him? (sorry about the gender bias heh)
Originally posted by geis:even if someone is acting kind just to accomplish some personal gains, wouldnt it be better if hopefully the deeds make the person feel good enough about himself so that he will continue to give? at the same time those who are on the receiving end can also share the joy and hopefully ignite true compassion in him? (sorry about the gender bias heh)
for compassion is the ability to give kindness to everyone, even and especially to one who is severely deluded, without condoning any harmful actions.
Originally posted by geis:even if someone is acting kind just to accomplish some personal gains, wouldnt it be better if hopefully the deeds make the person feel good enough about himself so that he will continue to give? at the same time those who are on the receiving end can also share the joy and hopefully ignite true compassion in him? (sorry about the gender bias heh)
Isn't it "wrong view, right action"? Wrong view arises from ignorance, from the attachment to "I". According to the Noble Eightfold Path, understanding the right view is the preliminary, one should make an effort to abandon the wrong view and to enter into right view. And with right mindfulness to constantly remain in right view.
By continuing doing the right action in the long run, will he one day come up with the right view? Hopefully, otherwise he will still develop greed, hatred, and delusion.
As at that moment when he is acting kind, for his personal gains, can he really be at peace within him?
Hi Weychin,
When i said 'fake', i mean to transform one's mind with intentional mental reminders and contemplation of the benefits of compassion/bodhichitta. Because our mind is malleable, so it can change in a positive way easily... precisely because mind is emptiness, that's why it can change positively...
Because altruism does not come to us naturally, selfishness is more the natural tendency... so i used the word 'fake'... by training yourself in loving-kindness & compassion, one slowly changes in one's tendencies. So then later on, 'fake' will become real, do u understand what i'm saying?
In our world nowadays, we are generally training in 'selfishness' . this is because of the competition, stress etc. so our minds are becoming more and more hard... whether we like it or not, one is always training in one direction or other... the Buddha's way is for you to make the conscious choice to train in the direction of deeper spirituality - love and compassion.
when u put all your effort into 'faking', i think sincerity will arise.
Originally posted by Rainbow Jigsaw:hi wisdomeye,
Personally feel you'll be a good teacher one day. You have a clear mind, and a good heart. Hope you're already guiding people along. :)
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
hi RJ of Life,
Thanks. I am not qualified to guide others. The main quality required to guide others stated in the teachings is bodhichitta or the utmost wish to bring others to full Buddhahood. But unfortunately i fall far short.
Originally posted by Jiexi2007:Isn't it "wrong view, right action"? Wrong view arises from ignorance, from the attachment to "I". According to the Noble Eightfold Path, understanding the right view is the preliminary, one should make an effort to abandon the wrong view and to enter into right view. And with right mindfulness to constantly remain in right view.
By continuing doing the right action in the long run, will he one day come up with the right view? Hopefully, otherwise he will still develop greed, hatred, and delusion.
As at that moment when he is acting kind, for his personal gains, can he really be at peace within him?
yes u r right :) and it is precisely because of this delusion that one will not be able to break free unless the conditions are right for one to come into contact with the dhamma. wisdomeye's reply to weychin in the post after urs examines the same point nicely.
for someone who is not ready yet to receive the dhamma, we can use a thousand and one right views and it will be futile. yet this doesnt mean that we should not encourage him to continue to do good even though his intentions are skewed.
consider the following imaginative exchange:
kind man:
wow im so glad i donated this time!! look at all the reporters who have interviewed me, im gonna be in the headlines tomorrow!! now everyone will get to see my kind deeds. im gonna do it again next year!
buddhist friend:
Answer A: No no no my friend, it's not right for u to think this way. compassion and kindness must be felt from within, only then will u be truly happy. come let me share with u what the Buddha taught.
Answer B: I'm so glad u felt good about it. in fact not only did u get the publicity u wanted, look at the recipients over there, they are beeming with joy. u surely did make their lives better.
of cos this is a simplistic example. but which answer will more likely resonate with the kind man?
Answer A is directly chiding one for not having the right sincereity and serves as a discouragement.
Answer B is directly praising one for just the kind deed despite insincereity and encourages one to continue to act kindly.
once the kind man continue to do more and more of these kind deeds, even though its not out of real kindness, sooner or later the dhamma will reveal itself nicely to him. a wet matchstick will sooner or later become dry and be ripe for igniting a fire :)
Originally posted by geis:yes u r right :) and it is precisely because of this delusion that one will not be able to break free unless the conditions are right for one to come into contact with the dhamma. wisdomeye's reply to weychin in the post after urs examines the same point nicely.
for someone who is not ready yet to receive the dhamma, we can use a thousand and one right views and it will be futile. yet this doesnt mean that we should not encourage him to continue to do good even though his intentions are skewed.
consider the following imaginative exchange:
kind man:
wow im so glad i donated this time!! look at all the reporters who have interviewed me, im gonna be in the headlines tomorrow!! now everyone will get to see my kind deeds. im gonna do it again next year!
buddhist friend:
Answer A: No no no my friend, it's not right for u to think this way. compassion and kindness must be felt from within, only then will u be truly happy. come let me share with u what the Buddha taught.
Answer B: I'm so glad u felt good about it. in fact not only did u get the publicity u wanted, look at the recipients over there, they are beeming with joy. u surely did make their lives better.
of cos this is a simplistic example. but which answer will more likely resonate with the kind man?
Answer A is directly chiding one for not having the right sincereity and serves as a discouragement.
Answer B is directly praising one for just the kind deed despite insincereity and encourages one to continue to act kindly.
once the kind man continue to do more and more of these kind deeds, even though its not out of real kindness, sooner or later the dhamma will reveal itself nicely to him. a wet matchstick will sooner or later become dry and be ripe for igniting a fire :)
Yes, get your point, and agree too. It'll be a good sign to see increasing number of people showing compassion and doing kind deeds. The comments are merely for me as reminders, i'm not in any position to comment on others' sincerity of their compassion or kind deeds.
The Star Online > North
Tuesday January 26, 2010
The power of laughter
By K. KASTURI DEWI Photos by K. E. OOI
CENTENARIAN Teresa Hsu kept some 200 people in stitches during her talk on ‘Love All Serve All’ at the Malaysian Buddhist Association hall in Penang last Friday.
For the bubbly Chinese-born Singaporean, who is affectionately known as Singapore’s Mother Teresa, laughter is definitely the best medicine.
Born in 1898, the 112-year-old social worker extraordinaire keeps young and active by happily doing charity work.
Kicking off the question and answer session, Hsu, who was accompanied by her friend Sharana Rao, said she was born “very, very poor” and the toughest part of her life was when she had to pick grass to eat as she was “very, very hungry”.
Pearls of wisdom: Hsu (third left) answering a question from the audience. With her are Rao (second right) and Loh (second left).
“It was at that moment I thought to myself that no one should ever go through what I went through,” she said.
When asked the secret to her longevity and good health, Hsu responded, “Ha, ha, ha! Make sure your heart is always happy”.
She also said eating one raw egg every day for breakfast could be another reason for her good health.
“Once someone told me that raw egg is poisonous to which I replied ‘never mind, I thrive on poison’,” she said.
Hsu, who was born in Swatow, Guangdong Province, China, attended school only at 27. She ran away to Hong Kong when she was 16 to escape an arranged marriage.
Having witnessed the suffering of the wounded during World War II, she recognised a calling to serve and at the age of 47, managed to convince the London Nursing College to accept her as a mature student.
She subsequently travelled around Europe to help the sick and needy and was even invited by German Jewish refugees to work in a hospital in Paraguay.
In 1961, Hsu arrived in Singapore to care for her ailing mother and founded the Home for the Aged Sick in Singapore. She has since made the republic her home.
In 2005, Hsu received the Special Recognition Award from the Singapore Government in recognition of her contribution to the country.
Hsu had the audience laughing with her sharp and witty answers to questions. When asked how much rice she ate every day, she replied, “I don’t eat rice, I have no teeth and therefore, I cannot chew”.
To another question on whether she had ever fallen sick, she quipped, “The sick demons forgot to visit me.”
Hsu also imparted words of wisdom to the audience by telling them that when somebody says anything unpleasant, just don’t listen.
“If someone also says they are not happy, go all out to make them happy because if you love everybody with all the love in your heart, then you’ll be happy, ha, ha, ha,” she laughed.
On death, Hsu said she normally does not console the relatives of the deceased but instead makes them laugh.
She told the audience how she got a lady whose uncle had died to laugh and sing along to a Cantonese kindergarten song.
Tickled pink: The audience enjoying the question and answer session.
Hsu also said whenever she was faced with a problem, she would try to solve it but if she could not, then she just accepted it.
To another question, she said she wasn’t born naturally caring but shared an incident that deeply affected and changed her. Her late mother once dug up potatoes to feed the family but gave away the entire pot to a starving beggar who arrived at their doorstep with a child.
“That was the day I learnt that to give what you have in your hand to others is a great blessing,” she said.
When asked how important religion was to her, Hsu said, “Nobody ever told me what a religion was”.
She cited an incident when a Buddhist man and a Christian lady were arguing and singing praises about their respective religions.
She told them, “Brother and sister, there’s just one door”.
Originally posted by Jiexi2007:The Star Online > North
Tuesday January 26, 2010
The power of laughterBy K. KASTURI DEWI Photos by K. E. OOI
CENTENARIAN Teresa Hsu kept some 200 people in stitches during her talk on ‘Love All Serve All’ at the Malaysian Buddhist Association hall in Penang last Friday.
For the bubbly Chinese-born Singaporean, who is affectionately known as Singapore’s Mother Teresa, laughter is definitely the best medicine.
Born in 1898, the 112-year-old social worker extraordinaire keeps young and active by happily doing charity work.
Kicking off the question and answer session, Hsu, who was accompanied by her friend Sharana Rao, said she was born “very, very poor” and the toughest part of her life was when she had to pick grass to eat as she was “very, very hungry”.
Pearls of wisdom: Hsu (third left) answering a question from the audience. With her are Rao (second right) and Loh (second left).
“It was at that moment I thought to myself that no one should ever go through what I went through,” she said.When asked the secret to her longevity and good health, Hsu responded, “Ha, ha, ha! Make sure your heart is always happy”.
She also said eating one raw egg every day for breakfast could be another reason for her good health.
“Once someone told me that raw egg is poisonous to which I replied ‘never mind, I thrive on poison’,” she said.
Hsu, who was born in Swatow, Guangdong Province, China, attended school only at 27. She ran away to Hong Kong when she was 16 to escape an arranged marriage.
Having witnessed the suffering of the wounded during World War II, she recognised a calling to serve and at the age of 47, managed to convince the London Nursing College to accept her as a mature student.
She subsequently travelled around Europe to help the sick and needy and was even invited by German Jewish refugees to work in a hospital in Paraguay.
In 1961, Hsu arrived in Singapore to care for her ailing mother and founded the Home for the Aged Sick in Singapore. She has since made the republic her home.
In 2005, Hsu received the Special Recognition Award from the Singapore Government in recognition of her contribution to the country.
Hsu had the audience laughing with her sharp and witty answers to questions. When asked how much rice she ate every day, she replied, “I don’t eat rice, I have no teeth and therefore, I cannot chew”.
To another question on whether she had ever fallen sick, she quipped, “The sick demons forgot to visit me.”
Hsu also imparted words of wisdom to the audience by telling them that when somebody says anything unpleasant, just don’t listen.
“If someone also says they are not happy, go all out to make them happy because if you love everybody with all the love in your heart, then you’ll be happy, ha, ha, ha,” she laughed.
On death, Hsu said she normally does not console the relatives of the deceased but instead makes them laugh.
She told the audience how she got a lady whose uncle had died to laugh and sing along to a Cantonese kindergarten song.
Tickled pink: The audience enjoying the question and answer session.
Hsu also said whenever she was faced with a problem, she would try to solve it but if she could not, then she just accepted it.To another question, she said she wasn’t born naturally caring but shared an incident that deeply affected and changed her. Her late mother once dug up potatoes to feed the family but gave away the entire pot to a starving beggar who arrived at their doorstep with a child.
“That was the day I learnt that to give what you have in your hand to others is a great blessing,” she said.
When asked how important religion was to her, Hsu said, “Nobody ever told me what a religion was”.
She cited an incident when a Buddhist man and a Christian lady were arguing and singing praises about their respective religions.
She told them, “Brother and sister, there’s just one door”.
wonderful sharing, thank you :)
Teresa Hsu, founder of Heart to Heart Service:
Originally posted by Jiexi2007:Isn't it "wrong view, right action"? Wrong view arises from ignorance, from the attachment to "I". According to the Noble Eightfold Path, understanding the right view is the preliminary, one should make an effort to abandon the wrong view and to enter into right view. And with right mindfulness to constantly remain in right view.
By continuing doing the right action in the long run, will he one day come up with the right view? Hopefully, otherwise he will still develop greed, hatred, and delusion.
As at that moment when he is acting kind, for his personal gains, can he really be at peace within him?
when trying to decide whether it is good to practice compassion / kindness etc, one can come up with all kinds of contortions of logic to decide the pros and cons...
to my view, it is not necessary to consider if you are being 'really' kind or 'sincere' or 'for personal gains' or 'for merits' or because 'buddha said', i mean, juz do it, cos the other person will benefit and be happier about it. Put yourself in his/her shoes. Who cares about what we feel right? Strangely though, when this is done, some sincerity may juz creep in unexpectedly :)
The actual practice of compassion/kindness brings one away from a centredness about 'me' while all the logics is based on the 'me' and feels suspiciously like an ego-trick...
when one has done the act of kindness and so forth.... give away the merit to all sentient beings while resting in the view of emptiness, recognising that the merit is really not existing independently, that i am not existing independently and the sentient beings that i dedicate it to are not existing independently... and all your worries about having no view, doing good deeds for the sake of hoarding merit etc... are all dissolved in one fell swoop.
Originally posted by geis:yes u r right :) and it is precisely because of this delusion that one will not be able to break free unless the conditions are right for one to come into contact with the dhamma. wisdomeye's reply to weychin in the post after urs examines the same point nicely.
for someone who is not ready yet to receive the dhamma, we can use a thousand and one right views and it will be futile. yet this doesnt mean that we should not encourage him to continue to do good even though his intentions are skewed.
consider the following imaginative exchange:
kind man:
wow im so glad i donated this time!! look at all the reporters who have interviewed me, im gonna be in the headlines tomorrow!! now everyone will get to see my kind deeds. im gonna do it again next year!
buddhist friend:
Answer A: No no no my friend, it's not right for u to think this way. compassion and kindness must be felt from within, only then will u be truly happy. come let me share with u what the Buddha taught.
Answer B: I'm so glad u felt good about it. in fact not only did u get the publicity u wanted, look at the recipients over there, they are beeming with joy. u surely did make their lives better.
of cos this is a simplistic example. but which answer will more likely resonate with the kind man?
Answer A is directly chiding one for not having the right sincereity and serves as a discouragement.
Answer B is directly praising one for just the kind deed despite insincereity and encourages one to continue to act kindly.
once the kind man continue to do more and more of these kind deeds, even though its not out of real kindness, sooner or later the dhamma will reveal itself nicely to him. a wet matchstick will sooner or later become dry and be ripe for igniting a fire :)
You are right! Just the answer A is inappropriate in this context, when the recipient (donor) is ready, same answer is appropriate, raising awareness to the next level.
Answer B reinforces the justification of the kind deed initially, if let at that, will only stay at that, leaving the donor spiritually stagnant.
It all depend of skillfullness! And also,what of the facilitator ? And the receiver?
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Very true!
There is a story from the sutras of a poor beggar who saw one of the top disciples of Buddha, I believe he was Mahakashyapa.
Mahakashyapa gave rise to compassion for the beggar and wanted to help her accumulate merits. So he went to the beggar for alms. But the beggar does not have anything at all to give, she wanted to, and she asked what can I give you? Mahakashyapa simply pointed at the three drops of gruel left in her bowl. She was so happy and immediately gave Mahakashyapa what's left in her bowl. Soon, she died and was reborn in the heaven of the 33 gods for 90 kalpas.
Merits accumulated through sincerity is immense and unfathomable, even if the gift is small. Merits accumulated through giving immensely but without sincerity, is not true merits, and the fruits will be small.
So that is the merit of stupidity. Nothing to say except compassion is for the stupid.