..续本文上一页ey flourish

　　" I replied, "The flourishing of a religion is not due to its teaching only. They may have done a good job in terms of giving. For instance, they may build schools or hospitals. There are thousands who have benefitted. With gratitude, regardless of whether there is a heaven or not, or whether the pinity will help them, these people will believe in what they say."

　　For Buddhism to prosper, Buddhists should start with the practice of giving by organizing welfare activities such as education and helping those in need. Mahayana Buddhism followers who want to help all sentient beings must practise giving.

　　Bodhisattvas should take the perfection (s. paramita) of Giving (s. Dana) very seriously. Sometimes one may not believe in what is said by person A but believes in the same words spoken to him by person B. What is the reason

　　 This is because he has a very special karmic relationship with person B. Whenever we give, we will establish a karmic relationship with the receiver. This makes the transmission of the Dharma easier. Therefore, giving is an essential virtue in the spreading of Dharma.

　　2) Loving Speech

　　Loving speech means to communicate and discuss with pleasant speech. There are three types of loving speech:

　　a. Comforting speech: We should communicate in a warm manner when seeing one another. When we meet people who are sick, or suffering from major disaster or live in fear, we should encourage and provide them with psychological support. Even though we might not give them great help through gentle speech and compassionate attitude, they will appreciate our efforts.

　　b. Rejoicing speech: Every inpidual has his own strength. Even a bad person might have his good aspects. Whenever there is good point, we should rejoice, encourage and inspire him to do more, so as to encourage him to do more good. For example, there was once a European philosopher who was very ordinary initially, but with the encouragement from his wife, he strove diligently and eventually became a well-known philosopher. If we want to teach others, we should start praising them in order to give them confidence in their strength and virtues. They will not only be appreciative towards us but will soon be walking on the path of goodness.

　　c. Inspiring speech: This helps others to progress one step ahead. For example, for a person who is practising giving, we should guide him to observe the precepts. We should not restrict the usage of our speech to those of pleasant and gentle words. Sometimes we may have to use firm and wrathful words to urge someone to progress. With a sincere attitude and honesty, we will be accepted by others.

　　3) Beneficial Acts

　　Parents who look after and guide their children will have the respect of their children. A teacher who cares and teaches his students whole-heartedly will have the confidence of his students. A superior who cares about the welfare of those who work under him will have the support from them. Therefore, for those people that we would like to teach and help, we should carry out actions that will benefit them so that they will listen to our advice and follow our guidance willingly.

　　In Europe, there was an animal trainer who was with the tigers and lions all the time. Some people asked him as why the animals did not harm him. He replied by saying if the animals knew that he wouldn”t harm them, they would follow his instructions. If that is the response from the animals, what about human beings

　　 If one always perform beneficial acts and consider the welfare of the others, the one who benefitted will trust us, and follow our guidance.

　　4) Working Together

　　Working together is to share responsibilities, especially to share hardships with friends and those who work under us. Even though our inpidual ability is ve…

《Dharma About Lay People for Lay People》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…