Question and Answer Session at Peking University Academy of Religious Study

　　(June 24, 2010 PM)

　　 (1) Question: I am a graduate student in the School of Electronics, Engineering and Computer Science, at Peking University. It is my honor to listen to your teaching and to be accepted as a student. I have a question: I feel that I am always indecisive. However, if I try to be brave about making decisions, then I worry about becoming recklessly impulsive, and bringing about a negative impact on myself and others. How do I use wisdom to make a reasonable decision

　　Answer: Whatever we do, we must always first observe it carefully by asking ourselves questions, such as: “What are the consequences of this action

　　 Are we going to face unexpected obstacles when we carry out the task

　　 If so, what are they

　　.…” At present, many people do not have this kind of concept. Whether it is a matter of doing business, or anything, they only look at the positive side of it. The negative side is never considered, and people are not prepared to face it. Some people do not even dare to think about questions such as: “What happens after my death

　　”, “What if I suddenly fall ill

　　”, and so on. Although these questions seem morbid, everyone needs to face these things. It is impossible to escape this, and so we ought to think about it.

　　As Buddhists, usually, when we are dealing with issues, not only do we evaluate the positive aspects of them, but we also put effort into evaluating the negative side in considerable detail. By doing this, since we are prepared to face the worst, if something unfavorable happens in the future, at that time we will then have the courage and ability to deal with it due to our earlier preparations.

　　Whatever you do, detailed observation at the start is crucial. The well-known Tibetan scholar Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen also said: “The difference between the wise person and the fool is that the fool only observes things after they have already happened.” A wise person, on the other hand, will carefully observe and evaluate a matter before anything happens. He or she will ask: “What are the consequences of doing this

　　 What are the possibilities of it turning out unfavorably

　　 What method should I use to make it successful

　　 How will it benefit society

　　” Such questions must be clearly considered at the beginning. With this in mind, you will be neither indecisive nor reckless in making a decision. Instead, you take the middle way.

　　 (2) Question: I am a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University. Listening to your teachings today, I feel that they are very useful. I have a question: Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism all emphasize the seeking of inner mental peace, and the reduction of an excessive desire for material belongings. During the process of globalization, if China is the only country to give up and renounce material aspirations, and other countries use aircraft or artillery to loot our country, what are we going to do

　　 Are we just going to surrender and obey them

　　Answer: It is neither possible nor necessary for all Chinese to renounce the worldly life and follow a monastic life. The point that I am stressing here is that in this era of highly developed material civilization we must not ignore ethics and traditional culture. In particular, your traditional culture, such as philosophies from Lao Tzu, Confucius, and Mencius, at the moment, is not well understood by many Chinese people. In contrast, people in South Korea, Singapore, the United States, Canada, and other countries have been using these philosophies extremely successfully, and countless numbers of people have benefited greatly. It is very sad to see this happen in China, because these philosophies originate from China. A similar case…

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