..续本文上一页ings and free ourselves from their torture to a certain extent. However, they can only relieve the symptoms, but cannot eradicate the root cause. If we want to uproot sufferings completely, the best way is to follow dharma teaching.

　　3. The Best Methods in Buddhism

　　So today, I want to share with you what I know about Buddhism. Through these methods, it”s very easy to get rid of our inner sufferings. We may not eradicate all of them at once because some habitual inertia can be very strong. However, with continuous practice in dharma, suffering will leave eventually.

　　What are these methods

　　 Here are a few.

　　1) Benefiting Sentient Beings Instead of Oneself

　　When you are suffering badly, you need to first recognize the cause of suffering, which is our ego, or self-interest. As we all know, in a difficult situation, most people feel bad about themselves, but very few people worry about others. Therefore, to eradicate all sufferings, we need to cut off their root cause. To achieve this goal, we need learn sutras of Buddhism to change our self-interested mind with the spirits of Mahayana.

　　There are many people, who are frustrated by all kinds of things before, after they learned Mahayana teaching and engaged in many activities of benefiting others, such as charity work and volunteer service, their earlier sufferings gradually disappeared as a result. Therefore, the first method of getting rid of suffering is to help others. The best situation is that you cultivate Mahayana”s compassion and Bodhichitta in your mind. Even without them, you should at least follow the normal tradition and have a kind heart, which is also a good medicine for healing people”s sufferings.

　　In 1988, a historic conference attended by more than 75 Nobel Laureates was held in Paris, discussing the advancement of the science in the 21st century and the problems human beings are facing. They suggested that if we are to survive, we must travel back 2,500 years in time to tap the wisdom of the Confucius.

　　Regrettably, while the Chinese culture was regarded as a hope abroad, the teachings of Confucius and Mencius were interrupted unprecedentedly in China. I remember when I was young, perhaps in the year of 1974, the revolution of “Condemnation of Lin Biao and Confucius” was held throughout China. In order to prevent people from using Confucianism to thwart the Cultural Revolution, the Gang of Four criticized the Confucianism. This movement lasted less than half a year, but its influence continued to be very strong. Since then, the traditional Chinese culture has been waning till today. Although many insightful people try to revitalize the national culture, it is just like a dying sick man, too difficult to completely recover.

　　During a seminar yesterday at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, I found many young people are not only interested in Buddhism, but also are active in propagating the traditional Chinese culture. Why”s that

　　 Although it is highly valued by foreign countries, the traditional culture is largely neglected in its home country. We can hardly find such virtues as being filial to parents and respectful to teachers in our society. Many teachers themselves never receive such education, and certainly it is impossible for them to teach their students. In turn, the bad cycle continues.

　　Therefore, we need to continue to improve what we teach in the current education. We should not just go after high scores. Nowadays, every university regards the test score as the single criterion for college admission. In fact, the score is not so important, and instead one”s character determines everything. A very smart person without a good character, will do more harm than good to our society. Therefore, virtue should be the primary concern in our education curriculum…

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