..续本文上一页nk of the Atlantis described by Plato as a story in Arabian nights, while others have no doubts in Plato”s accounts, but are bothered by the lack of evidence. For centuries, many archeologists have been trying to prove its existence, but in vain. Until February 2009, the British media announced that the England aeronautical engineer Bernie Bamford found a piece of seabed resembling a city ruin at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, when browsing the 3D map of the ocean floor using Google Ocean. This shocking discovery cheered up archeologists all over the world. If it is a real city ruin, it is very likely to be the sunken Atlantis.
The reason I mentioned the Atlantis story today is not to make you believe its existence, but let you know that, if our human beings collect more and more bad karma, we will also walk toward extinction. Another example is the ancient Rome Empire. Initially the people worshiped simplism and nobleness, however, with the increase of economic power, they gradually turned to luxury and carnalism, which became the mainstream of the whole society. At last, the social morality sank, marking the beginning of the fall of the ancient Roman Empire.
There are countless incidents like this in the history, and should cause our reflection. If we continue this way, then sooner or later, the fairyland on earth as moonlight in its groves of pine and stones of crystal in its brooks will turn into the miserable scene of hundred mountains without a bird and thousand paths without a footprint. It absolutely deserves our attention!
III. Two Serious Issues Mankind Faces Today
We discussed spiritual and ecological environmental protections in recent seminars. These two topics are fundamentally connected to people”s attitude and behavior. Without realizing this, it will not work regardless how strongly we advocate.
If one wants to perform good deeds and abstain from bad ones, to me there are two fundamental things. What are they
One is to believe rebirth, i.e., the existence of previous and next life; second is to stop killing. Today, many people do not believe rebirth and not recognize the consequences of killing animals, which are two urgent issues to be addressed.
1
Ignorance of Rebirth
Nowadays, it is regretful that most people have no idea about the existence of previous and next life. Yesterday when I was on the ship and passed by the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, many people explained to me its advanced technology. Also from the ship I saw those magnificent buildings on campus, just like the Chinese University. However, at that time a thought occurred to me, “Regardless the education received by the people there, unless they accept the idea of rebirth, the advanced technology is still meaningless.” Of course, I don”t have any hostility toward the University of Science & Technology, but just my natural thoughts.
Actually not only the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, almost every university in the world, so is the Chinese University of Hong Kong. When I first stepped on the campus, I was impressed by the energy of young students. But when I got into their minds, pity and compassion immediately arose. Why
That is because they will not accept their previous and after lives, although they clearly exist. They blindly believe there is only one life, which lasts for nearly one hundred years. Such an outlook on life is very superficial. With it, they certainly will not have the right values. Many people think they can only live for a few decades, then the value of life is nothing but enjoyment. They believe money is happiness, and will spend the whole life running after it, which is completely wrong. It is a big regret to have these values in your life, regardless if you are a schol…
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