Between the father and son, it is said that, Feeding your son but not teaching him, you do not really love your son. Teaching your son but not strict enough, you are putting him in danger and bringing him harm. Be attentive to small things and be cautious with minor mistakes, there wont be any loss in the end in loving your son. In seeking good-fortunes for the children by collecting gold for them, it is not certain that they can keep the wealth. In creating good-fortunes for the children by collecting virtues for them, boundless blessings will they receive. In teaching how to live in peace and love, it is said, There is no one who does not love his son; why not take the same loving heart for the son to serve the father? There is no one who does not love his wife; why not take the same loving heart for the wife to serve the mother? How can people be so agreeable with their children? How can people be so disrespectful and irresponsible to their parents? May the sons and daughters of the world, take ten percent of the love for their sons to please their parents! How can people love their daughters so much? How can one ill-treat the daughters-in-law? May the fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law, use thirty percent of the love for their daughters to love their daughters-in-law! The ancient Sages advised us that for the love of life, time is not in our favor and we must quickly practise and love our lives in order to save them. They said, Time flies like the flow of water. We have been in this world for a long time and there is no end to it. We have indulged ourselves in this world for many lives and when can we be transcended from the six realms of existence? So those who have awakened must cultivate immediately. Those who are ignorant are not aware of the preciousness of time. We must realize that the coming catastrophe is disastrous. So, prepare beforehand and be saved or else we shall bear the consequence. There are two paths, the Heaven or the Hell that we sentient beings can choose. It is still not too late to turn over a new leaf now. There is no end to wealth and fame, hence everybody is being advised to cultivate early while we can, because once we lose our lives, it will be too late. According to the Zi Jie Wen (Self Admonition Text) on health and how to use it to love our lives before death, it is said, Dont think that we still have a lot of time and are still healthy and strong. We must understand that it is difficult to predict when we will leave this world. Once we die, we will not know in what physical form we will assume in the next life. Now that we are still healthy, we must treasure everyday that we have and put in effort in performing wholesome deeds. Tonight, we might be healthy and well when we go to bed, but there is no guarantee that we will be able to wake up tomorrow. By cultivating virtue and accumulating merits, our lives will be more meaningful and worthy so that there is no regret upon death. We cannot live in this world eternally and life is like a dream. It is temporary and illusory. We might have hundreds of descendants but they cannot take over our aging, sickness and death. We cannot control when to leave this world and we do not know what will happen tomorrow. We must start to cultivate before it is too late! It is really sad to see people die because of love, especially sexual love. What is love? It is only temporary. Once the teeth loosen, hair turned gray, skin became wrinkled and shape gone; where is the beauty? How long can sexual love last? Some last only a day and then divorce. Some last a few years. Some last a lifetime! Whats next after the last breath, nobody knows. There is no eternal love on Earth but there is eternal love in Heaven. There is no eternal love from human but there is eternal love from God. Love from human is conditional but love from God is unconditional. My Heavenly Teacher JiGong said the greatest love and filial piety for the parents is to save them from this suffering world and he asked and said, Do you have a mind to carry (save) the parents across the sea of suffering? Do you know how to start? We must start with correcting oneself and cultivating our inner Being and our moral character. Then, we can impress and touch the hearts of the elders of our family, our relatives and good friends. All these words are very easy to say. However, it is very strange that many sons and daughters cannot show a pleasant face before their parents. Even if parents are not sensible and reasonable, you cannot throw them aside! You say he is a stubborn old man and then you dont bother any more! No, this doesnt work. You must touch their hearts slowly and let them feel your good intent. If you touch their hearts and let them feel your good intent, they would sense it and say to themselves: Eh, not bad! Then slowly, they will be willing to come and cultivate together with you to seek for Tao! Author: T.A Chew |
