..續本文上一頁psing, you might think that we would be playing the same role here, but, after looking around, surprisingly, we cannot find anyone needing comfort from us. They were not too overwhelmed by the suffering, so we are not really needed here.”

　　Excessive attachment to love and wealth makes the suicide rate go up considerably. I have heard that there is a lake here at your university named Wei Ming Lake. Many university students commit suicide by jumping in the lake, including Lao She and others who committed suicide there before. The cause of these suicides is too much attachment to worldly matters. Had these people known the teaching of emptiness, they would learn that we come to this world naked, bringing nothing with us, and we will not take anything with us when we die. What more is there to say about love, fame, and wealth

　　 They are nothing for us to attach to.

　　However, for many people, it is very difficult to understand this quickly or immediately. Sometimes when I see the unfortunate condition of some people, I also feel pessimistic. Perhaps if we try our best to help them with kindness, their situation may gradually change. But if this still does not work, then we have no other way. After all, despite Buddha being great and having already perfectly eliminated all obstacles as well as perfected his realizations, he has not been able to tame those sentient beings that don”t have faith in Buddhism. What more is there to say about the ordinary person

　　 I often come across this kind of situation, in which I really don”t have any way to help. The only thing I can do is to recite some verses and quietly make my vow: “Although I don”t have any other means to help now, in this life, I pray that I can help you in my future life….”

　　 (11) Question: I am a PhD student of Chinese Philosophy, in Peking University. Several science and engineering students and students of the Department of German Language and Literature registered to participate in this seminar earlier, but due to an emergency they cannot attend the seminar, and so they asked me to pass on a few questions to you.

　　1. After studying Buddhism or traditional culture, they feel that their profession is not very meaningful and constructive for their life any more. Instead, it seems quite dry or boring. How can we resolve these contradictions

　　Answer: Many people may have this feeling. From kindergarten until university, I have studied for nearly two decades now. I have made tremendous efforts to learn a wide range of knowledge, but I cannot use much of it in society. Knowledge such as geometry and maths equations, physics, chemistry, etc. are essentially not needed and not used generally at work. With this in mind, students become very confused, and feel that they have wasted their time.

　　We can analyze this in two ways. On the one hand, although the knowledge you have gained during your education may not necessarily come in handy at work, it can improve the quality of your life overall and enhance your ability to learn and acquire new skills. With this higher wisdom and intelligence as your basis, in the future, whatever knowledge you are exposed to will be somewhat easier for you to absorb. For example, when highly educated university students and professors listen to the Madhyamika teachings, their ability to understand them is very different to someone who has not been in higher education. Another example is, if you previously studied science and then transfer to the liberal arts field, even if you are not able to use what you have learned previously, due to the overall quality of your knowledge, you will be able to adapt easily without significant difficulties.

　　On the other hand, as we all know, China has been going through a very successful economic reform, from the 1980s u…

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