..续本文上一页 as an excuse to fend off others” advice. In reality, when he is an unconscious drunkard, what remains in his mind is definitely not the “Buddha,” but “wine and meat.” Hence, both monastics and laypeople had better not indulge in big talk, and never use these words as excuses for evil doings unless one reaches the stage of monk Ji Gong.
Q: I feel quite inspired after listening to your talk just now, but some confusion still remains. For instance, you said psychology is a discipline that teachers people to attain happiness; I myself am a psychology major, yet very unfortunately I do not feel happy.
Over the past 20 years, my life has been a bumpy ride. My family suffered an accident while I was little; at that time I felt nothing special, but looking back now, it had a heavy impact on me. I graduated from junior high and senior high and it was with considerable difficulty that I managed to get into college. I have dreamed of romantic love on the campus, but as a junior now I have not been given a nod, at least not from the five classmates I have courted.
I wonder if my life story deserves the label of “trials,” but I have endured them all and have not contemplated or tried to kill myself when facing these ordeals. Deep in my heart, I have never felt happy. What perplexes me most is the question: Why did I come to this world—is it just to go through all these ordeals
Is suffering the purpose of arriving here in the world
According to the Dharma, all my experiences are the effects of my past actions; all the hardships I have to go through are but retribution for past wrong deeds. How, then, can I dispel the negative effects of my troubles and be awarded something nice in this very life
A: You stated that psychology studies did not bring you any closer to happiness, but I believe if you invest yourself in the study of the propositions of Carl Jung—and especially the Buddhist science of mind exploration, the Havipitaka—you will come to know happiness. From your perspective your life has been rife with many unfortunate events, but from what I heard I think it hasn”t been so bad. It”s just that you have chosen to ignore the good parts.
Nonetheless, as you have just mentioned, all your experiences in this life are related to your actions in previous lives, and this is a point all of you here should bear in mind. After all, under the influence of past karma, one”s efforts in this life may be futile. For instance, someone has upheld excellent academic records all along, but fails to do well in critical exams; someone has high integrity, but is frequently wronged by others; still one is well connected in society, yet achieves nothing in his enterprise, and so on. Karma, like a huge net, exerts its force throughout past, present, and future lives; it is all-pervasive. If you acknowledge the reality of cause and effect, you will repent anytime you encounter obstacles and make amends for the wrongdoings of past lives.
The ups and downs in life, of course, will not remain static. With a positive attitude, misfortune becomes a favorable condition, while with a negative mindset, even nice situations may turn sour. For instance, for a person who has experienced all kinds of harsh conditions when growing up, his life may seem tough, yet his mind is trained to become tenacious and strong. In contrast, some people, pampered like a little emperor or a little prince at home since an early age and having always had all their wishes met, will have extremely fragile minds and cannot sustain any setbacks when they are out in the world.
The point is, adversities in our life are not necessarily bad. If you take them as opportunities to improve yourself, your life will become more meaningful and you will be successful in your endeavors.
Q: I do und…
《Question-and-Answer Session at Nanyang Normal University》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…