..续本文上一页constant efforts and never give up, I believe you will be able to help them change eventually. It might take ten years for your parents to become truly devoted Buddhists. You must keep trying. Come on, you can do it!
Question: I found out that a company I worked for had posted some pornographic pictures on our web server for the Japanese site. I raised my concerns with my colleagues that this would negatively affect Japanese teenagers. They disagreed with me, saying that the Japanese would never be affected by such pictures, that they would actually attract more traffic to the site, and hence the company would make more money from it. I am not sure how to deal with this issue.
Answer: Everyone values things differently. There may not be a fixed rule to determine this. However, from the Mahayana Buddhist point of view, whether they are Japanese or Chinese, they are all sentient beings, and we should not treat one better than the other. During the 1960s and 70s, many Chinese people hated the Japanese and Americans because of the war between China and these countries, and had this kind of mentality. We are now in an era of international cooperation. Whatever country, ethnicity, or color, we should treat everyone equally with the mind of bodhicitta.
Bodhicitta is great love. The love of worldly people is a small love, limited to “my” family, “my” friends, and so on. Only by expanding this love so that it pervades all human beings in the world, and all living beings, can it really make people happy.
Through observing the human brain, modern scientists discovered that altruistic thought is very beneficial to the structure of the brain. Conversely, when selfish thoughts were transmitted, suffering followed. For the happiness of human beings, there is nothing better than helping to care for and love others. With this kind of mentality, you will always be joyful and happy whatever you do. Whether you succeed or fail, you will be happy. You will have tried your best and will have a clear conscience. On the other hand, if you only love and care for yourself, and often feel that others are unfair to you or have done something to wrong you, happiness will elude you. To love is to dedicate yourself to others, but not to demand that others love you. When you are at work, try your best to help others. Whether we are Japanese or Chinese, nobody wants to suffer.
(6) Question: I am a PhD student in Religious Studies, in the Department of Philosophy, Peking University. Can you briefly introduce to us the development of Tibetan Buddhism in the Han region and also share your outlook about its current state of development
Answer: The spread of Tibetan Buddhism in the Han region is probably going to develop significantly. This is because Tibetan Buddhism is not a superficial religion, and thus it can develop. Tibetan Buddhism has another excellent quality to support its development: the unique methods of studying, contemplating, and meditating which are available in this system. It is because of these things that many Buddhist masters and intellectuals from the Han region are increasingly showing serious interest in it.
Just now, while I was chatting with some students, I mentioned to them that when His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok visited Beijing in 1987, most people basically knew nothing about Tibetan Buddhism. When we went to department stores, the shop workers were surprised and curious to see us wearing robes. They put their work down and watched us closely, as if we were “aliens.” They were no longer surprised to see foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes. Beijing was already open to foreigners, so they were quite common already, but when they saw us, they were so surprised and curious. They thought that they had seen a “rare species,” su…
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