Buddhism As Education

Ability means that, within the scope of your ability, you may work hard to obtain things you need, but if your ability is not sufficient, you should yield to those whose ability is and not insist. There are many things in life that lead people to feel strong envy and craving, including fame, fortune, power, status and love. When you wish to obtain them, however, you must think carefully. Are my abilities and contributions sufficient to make me deserving of them? Are the conditions such that it can be obtained readily or is it forced? If your contributions and abilities are insufficient and the conditions are not ripe, yet you still hope to gain it, this is craving things you do not deserve. This will only increase your pain and the harm done to you. Turning to propriety, if we look at it based on the phrase popular with young people today, if it feels good, do it!, then we will not be able to distinguish between what is and is not proper to desire. Most people's desires are endless...

What is need? It is the things that you cannot live without, such as sunlight, air, moisture, a minimum of food, cloths to fend off the cold, a house to shelter you from the wind and the rain. In our time, basic transportation, computers and telephones have become needs too. Having these necessities is not indulgence. What is indulgence? It is those luxuries and adornments beyond what is necessary. It is things that only serve to satisfy your vanity or to keep up appearances. Nevertheless, in certain situations and in accordance one's position, one must have a certain level of elegance in order to suit the occasion. That can be counted as a need, but one must have a sense of propriety. The things we truly need in life are really quite few. From subjective perspective, however, one might really feel that without a certain thing, his life will be empty, forlorn and meaningless. This is a personal value judgment. So, looking solely at need, we find that the definition is very hazy. Wh...

When most people think of cultivating peaceful activity, they probably think of their professional activity, their job and its stability and security. However, if we take purity and diligence of all three types of activity mental, verbal and physical as the scope of activity, then both personal and professional activity are included. We should pay attention to our behavior and be moderate in our deeds, words and thoughts. We should not act rashly or blindly be without standards, talk foolishly or say whatever comes to mind. We also should not be indecisive or change our mind constantly. This is a kind of cultivation we have to maintain in our daily lives. It is a platitude that one should work diligently and harmoniously, yet it is not easily done. Even if normally you do everything successfully and just as you would wish, one day when you encounter some setback, dilemma or difficult problems you may have doubts regarding your work, who is it you are working so hard for anyway? If thes...

Ven Hai Tao conducting the prayer ceremony Ven Chuen Hei joined Ven Hao Tao on the prayer ceremony Ven Chuen Hei gave his Dharma talk to the devotees Offerings on the prayer altar Fire Puja in the afternoon Fire Puja at night Ven Hai Tao and Ven Chuen Hei conduct the final prayer ceremony Venerables Hai Tao and Chuen Hei were invited by the Palme Gon Buddhist Society on 17 March 2011 to conduct a mass prayer ceremony in conjunction of upcoming Ching Ming Festival at Jalan Bagan Lallang, Butterworth. Numerous activities were organized in the programme on that day which includes Lighting and Offering of Long Life Lamps; Changchog Prayers for the deceased parents, ancestors, wondering spirits, Karmic debtors, Animal Liberation and Food Offerings. Hundreds of devotees from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Sungai Petani participated in the one day event. A word of thanks to both Venerable Hai Tao and Chuen Hei for their continuous meritorious service to our people and our departed relatives.

The family's warmth lies in loving and respecting one another. Its preciousness lies in helping one another. Helping one another means making sure those who need help receive it. When helping someone, you shouldn't become swollen with pride and think that you are some benefactor that the person you have helped should thank. Instead, you should feel grateful and thank the person you have helped for the opportunity to contribute and grow through serving others. The essence of a peaceful home is respecting one another, learning from one another and being understanding of one another. It is caring for each other, being grateful to each other and giving to each other. Simply making arrangements for your family on the material level does not count as cultivating a peaceful family. To truly cultivate a peaceful family is to enable each member of the family to reach his or her potential and play his or her part.