é™æ€è¯ Readings For Silent Reflection
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Extracted from Buddhist newsletter.
NOT NECESSARY TO HOPE
Hope is already a way of life, some literally survive on hope. When hope fails, the higher it is, the greater the disappointments and blow.
"Seeking" is a psychologically inclined and can come from the heart. But "receiving" is endowed with multiple causes and effects. Many are external and those that are within control are even lesser. Even if it is possible to take control, there is the presence of change.
When discover that the true nature of hope is emptiness, there is no need to hope. Simply follow the flow and put our best in everything we do.
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ONE MINUTE
How long is one minute? A short time, though not too short; a long time, indeed 60 seconds too long. Take for instance life and death, fame and reputation, gain and loss; they could all vanish within a minute.
Some people do not value 1 minute, or for that matter 1 hour, 1 day, 1 year or 1 lifetime. They stumble through life, oblivious to everything else.
In a minute, you could miss a train or a light and jeopardise an important schedule or task. Similarly, a minute can make a difference between life and death in major catastrophes like earthquakes, sinking ships, etc. Can you thus brush away a minute as insignificant?
Save a minute and one could accomplish great things; ironically, saving a minute could also ruin one's life. For example, some drivers tried to beat the red light junction but instead of saving a minute, they ended up losing their lives and the lives of others. -
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To understand Buddhism one must begin with the Dharma (Dhamma).
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ä¸è‹±æ³•å�¥ç»�/Bilingual Dhammapada
世间�/Lokavagga: The World (Dhp 167-178)
æ‚è´ªä¸�生天，愚ä¸�å�¹å¸ƒæ–½ï¼Œæ™ºè€…éš�喜施，å�Žä¸–得安ä¹�。
Truly, misers fare not to heavenly realms; nor, indeed, do fools praise generosity. But the wise man rejoices in giving, and by that alone does he become happy hereafter.
Explanation: The extreme misers do not reach the heavenly worlds. The evil ignorant ones do not approve acts of charity. But those noble ones approve and partake of charity. In consequence, they are happy in the next birth.
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Is karma really so hard to see in operation? Don’t we only have to look back at our own lives to see clearly the consequences of some of our actions? When we upset or hurt someone, didn’t it rebound on us? Were we not left with a bitter and dark memory, and the shadows of self-disgust? That memory and those shadows are karma. Our habits and our fears too are also due to karma, the results of our past actions, words, and thoughts. If we examine our actions, and become really mindful of them, we will see that there is a pattern that repeats itself. Whenever we act negatively, it leads to pain and suffering; whenever we act positively, it eventually results in happiness.
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Practise Buddhism till it’s no longer practice but natural. Then, in a crisis, there’s a sort of inner calm, a sort of coolness inside.
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"Live your daily life in a way that you never lose yourself. When you are carried away with your worries, fears, cravings, anger, and desire, you run away from yourself and you lose yourself. The practice is always to go back to oneself". -
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�缘�是�便
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Suffering = Pain X Resistance (Pain multiplied by resistance)
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