Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 33 Cultivate the Transcendence Mind with the Buddha’s Mind——Through insight and letting go, Nirvana and rebirth (3)
The author quoted a fable from "Zhuangzi" at the beginning, and called it "the snail's name is false, and the profit is meager" with contempt, and then revealed the illusion of fame and fortune with "it's too busy to calculate", while "things It is all pre-determined, and whoever is weak will be strong", explaining that the gain and loss of fame and fortune have their own reasons and cannot be contested; but the winners are not necessarily strong, and the losers are not necessarily weak, so there is no need to worry too much.This poem tells people that only by getting rid of the bitter sea of ​​secular fame can one obtain spiritual detachment and liberation.

Gain and loss are safe, Yunjuanyunshu

Suffering and happiness are two opposite concepts.Pleasure does not equal pain, and pain does not equal happiness.However, the two are also interdependent. Without the concept of suffering, how do we know what happiness is?Conversely, without the concept of happiness, how can we know what suffering is?Therefore, suffering and happiness are both opposite and complementary.Suffering and happiness appear to be opposites on the surface, but in fact they are external and internal.Happiness is based on pain, and the relief of pain is happiness; conversely, pain is also based on happiness, and the loss of happiness is pain.

So, what is suffering and happiness?Generally speaking, the feeling of physical and mental comfort is called happiness, and the feeling of physical and mental oppression is called suffering.But happiness and suffering are just a subjective feeling, and there is no objective standard.Some people think that education is not important, so he will not be troubled by lack of education; some people think that he must have education to feel happy and at ease, so he has no choice but to pursue education.This is not necessarily directly related to the objective environment, just as a woman who does not love jewelry will not hurt her self-esteem even if she is placed in an environment where vanity is extremely important.Because rich and poor, high and low, everyone has different standards and definitions.Poor scholars with thousands of volumes of books do not want to exchange diamonds or stocks with millionaires, and people who are content with rural life do not envy any honorary titles of scholars, or any high officials and generous salaries.Children in disaster-stricken areas in Africa feel happy when they eat a bowl of rice; children from rich families in Taiwan feel bitter when their table is full of dishes.Workers who build roads work under the sun like a fire umbrella, and are happy to drink a glass of water in the shade of a tree; but rich ladies in an air-conditioned room feel bitter because they can't find a card and are bored.It can be seen from this that, just as the master said, suffering and happiness all lie in one's own feelings, which vary from person to person, time, place, and environment.

Your hobbies are your direction, your interests are your capital, and your temperament is your destiny.

A tired poet went on a journey, and not long after he set off, he heard a melodious singing from the side of the road.

It was the voice of a happy man.

His singing is so happy, as clear as the clear autumn sky, as sweet as the spring water in summer.Anyone who hears such a singing voice will be immediately infected, and let the happiness wrap themselves tightly.

The poet stops and listens.

The singing stopped.A man stepped out, and his smile came out even earlier than himself.

The poet has never seen a person smile so brightly.Only a person who has never experienced any hardships and hardships can smile so brightly and purely.

The poet came forward to greet: "Hello, sir, you can see from your smile that you are an innate optimist, your life is spotless, you have neither tasted the wind and frost, nor suffered failure. No blows, troubles, and sorrows have knocked at your door."

The man shook his head: "No, you are wrong, in fact, just this morning, I lost a horse, and that was my only horse.

"The most beloved horse is lost, can you still sing?"

"Of course I'm going to sing. I've already lost a good horse. If I lose another good mood, wouldn't I suffer a double loss?"

"Life is unsatisfactory nine out of ten."In many cases, success or failure is not as optional as we expect.but.The joys and sorrows in life are all about how we feel.Treat everything that happens with a more frank attitude!

We usually regard favor or disgrace as a high-profile, high-level state.It is relatively easy to put on such a high posture, but it is still somewhat difficult to really reach such a high level.Therefore, when you are "favored", you will be pleasantly surprised; once you are out of favor or humiliated, you will be terrified.

Master Jingxin told a story about being "favored" and being surprised and gaffe:

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a scholar who failed every time he took the county examination.At that time, those who were selected as scholars were called "old students", while those who were not selected were called "tongsheng".This scholar has passed middle age and is still a child, so it is inevitable that he feels uncomfortable.One year, he happened to take the same exam as his son.On the day when the rankings were released, my son came back from reading the rankings and knew that he had been admitted, so he hurried home to announce the good news.His father happened to be locked in the room to take a shower.The son knocked on the door and yelled, "Father, what place have I got in the exam!"

As soon as Lao Tzu heard it in the room, he yelled loudly: "What's the point of being a scholar? You can't hold your breath and scream!"

When the son heard it, he was too frightened to scream, so he said softly, "Father, which one did you pass the exam?"

As soon as Lao Tzu heard this, he opened the door, rushed out, and shouted loudly, "Why didn't you tell me first?" He forgot that he was naked, and he didn't even put on his clothes!

The old gentleman was probably flattered and humiliated, but this shock was no small matter, almost to the point of self-forgetfulness, and a little special.

As for being humiliated and frightened, it is even more difficult to restrain yourself.In the movie, the minister was reprimanded by the emperor, and then kowtowed like garlic, even bleeding from the head.

Why do people feel flattered?Because favor and disgrace have too much impact on career and life.Once you fall out of favor, not only your career will be frustrated, but people's eyes will also change, which makes you really feel the coldness of the world.However, Master Ye believes that "snobbery is the normal state of communication between people and things", which is a normal phenomenon in the first place.

Master Ye told a story of Lian Po, a famous general in the Warring States Period, who fell out of favor and was favored: Lian Po was dismissed because of some incident, and those diners who followed him all left.Later, Lian Po was reused, and those diners came to him again.Lian Po was very angry and said to them: Get out of here!A diner said: "Why are you so ignorant? Everything in the world is handled according to the rules of market transactions. When you gain power, I will follow you; when you lose power, I will leave. This is a matter of course, you Why complain?"

What the diner said was not without reason.It’s like an employee going to a company to work. If the company is prosperous, he will continue to work in the company; if the company closes down and the boss can’t pay wages, the employee will of course leave.

The same thing happened to Meng Changjun Tianwen, one of the four sons of the Warring States Period.When Tian Wen was prime minister, there were 3000 diners under his door.Later, the king became suspicious of him and removed him. As a result, almost all the diners ran away, except for a man named Feng Xuan who still followed him.Later, with Feng Chen's help, Tian Wen became prime minister again, with even more honor than before.Those diners who abandoned him at the beginning expressed regret to him and wanted to continue to follow him.Tian Wen was very angry, and said bitterly to Feng Chen: "They abandoned me back then, and now they have the face to come back? Whoever has the nerve to walk in front of me, I will definitely spit on his face!"

Feng Chen said disapprovingly: "Things have their own laws, and things have their own reasons. Why are you angry?"

Tian Wen said, "I'm rather stupid and don't understand what you mean."

Feng Xuan said: "The living must die. This is the inevitable law of things. If you are rich, you will naturally have more guests; if you are poor, you will naturally have fewer guests. This is the original principle of things. You must have seen the scene of the vegetable market, right? In the morning, people scramble to get in because it has what they need; in the evening, people stride past without taking a second look because there is nothing in it. This is a normal thing. It used to be Well, people rush to you because you have what they need; then they leave you because you don't have what they need, so what can you complain about?"

Tian Wen suddenly realized, and the resentment in his heart disappeared.Later, those diners came to join him one after another, and he received them as usual without any grudges.

Gains and losses of honor and disgrace are often controlled by external factors, which cannot be changed by human power.That being the case, what we can do well is to adjust our mood so that we are not surprised by honor or disgrace, and calm about gains and losses.

Trouble is self-inflicted, it's up to you
People who seek fame, wealth and ability in life, and those who want fame and wealth are not willing to live a good life.Live a busy life, work hard for fame and wealth, and finally become famous, and he disappears, falling like an apple.Therefore, Zhuangzi's concept believes that if one's own value has not been realized, and if one does not live well in this world, it is all caused by one's own troubles.

When I get together with friends, I often talk about many emotions, such as the impermanence of life, the emptiness of the soul, etc., and finally talk about a common confusion, that is, we have enough food and clothing, what else can we pursue in life?
I believe most people's answers are mostly about safety, health, success, success in marriage, happiness in life, etc. as their goals.

If you ask further: How will you feel after these goals have been achieved?Be content; what does it feel like after being content?

In fact, many things seem very complicated at first glance, but if you peel it off layer by layer, you will find that it is so simple.

Governing the country and the world is such a great cause, and it can be achieved through consistent practice; Rome is so far away, and it will eventually be reached step by step; the thousand-year-old tree is undoubtedly a wonder of the world, but it does not start from a single seed... …

We pursue this and that, we have wealth, fame, and a happy life. What is the feeling deep in our hearts at this time?To answer seriously, simply and honestly, I am afraid it is the word "happiness". In this way, isn't the pursuit of life "happiness"?

A group of psychologists in the UK tried to find a formula to make people happy, and finally decided to use "Don't Look for Trouble" as the title of their research report.

If this sentence is extended to explain, then "don't make trouble" actually includes two meanings, one is not to make trouble for others, such an explanation is easily accepted and agreed;

Another explanation is not to make trouble for yourself. This layer is often ignored, or there is no recognition at all, so the culprit that finally leads to our unhappiness is "making trouble for ourselves".

Professional women take on too much housework, which often makes them feel aggrieved, and even psychologically unbalanced. Little things add up, ranging from complaints to anger, which inevitably affects life emotions;

In order to show their abilities in society, men make too many commitments to people and things, and the pressure becomes more and more serious. If it reaches the level of unbearable, don't say that you can't feel relaxed and happy at this time, and if it is serious, you will get sick.

These are all caused by "making trouble for yourself".

There is such a Zen story:
Once upon a time, there was a monk named Minghui who lived in a temple deep in the mountains and devoted himself to practice.

Every time Minghui sat in meditation, there would be a big spider in front of Minghui's eyes, barking its teeth and claws to make trouble for him. Although he was not afraid, he couldn't calm down and practice.

Therefore, Minghui was very distressed and went to ask the patriarch for advice: "Master! Every time I enter meditation, a big spider appears. No matter how I chase it away, it will not go away. Please guide me to the maze."

The patriarch said in amazement: "Ah, is there such a thing? How about it, the next time you meditate, take a pen and draw a circle on the spider's stomach when it appears to see what kind of monster it is. Cut it off for you."

The next time Monk Minghui entered meditation, he really prepared a pen in advance, and when the spider appeared, he quickly drew a big red circle on its stomach.The spider didn't take any precautions and ran away in a hurry. Monk Minghui quickly settled down safely.

However, when he got out of meditation, he suddenly found a big red circle on his stomach!Monk Minghui suddenly realized that it was him who hindered his practice!

Do you understand homosexuality, can you understand it?There was a woman who met another woman and actually had feelings for her.The woman who suspected that she was gay found out that another woman, who turned out to be her lover, had come back as a transgender...

Do you understand the Oedipus complex?There is a son who loves his mother so much that he even regards his mother as his girlfriend. He is afraid that others will take it away. He hopes that his girlfriend will have plastic surgery to look like his mother. I made a recording of my phone call, and sometimes I listened to it, and then said to others: "My mother asked me to go home for dinner..."

Do you understand the psychology of the husband when the wife is pregnant?There was a man who, during his wife's pregnancy, actually experienced the symptoms of a woman's pregnancy...

You know how a successful man feels when he is dumped by a woman?There was a rich man who was abandoned by his wife. The wife would rather marry a poor old man, and was willing to be an escort in order to pay off the old man's gambling debts. It just so happened that the guest was her ex-husband.This poor man has become numb in limbs since then, was stabbed by a knife glass and bled profusely, and didn't realize it...

Do you know the mood of a man whose wife died?A daughter found out that her father was pretending to be a singer in a nightclub. She thought her father was transsexual, and when she was about to break up with him, she found out that her father was pretending to be a woman because she missed her mother who had died for many years...

Do you know the mood of a wife who loves her husband deeply but cannot help cheating?There is a woman who loves her husband very much, but because of the boring marriage, she has no choice but to find a long-lost passion with a romantic man.But because of the guilt towards her husband, after she went home and saw the wedding photos, she had no memory of the day she cheated...

Do you know about schizophrenia?There is a woman who is a conservative white-collar worker during the day and a profligate flying girl at night.The dual personality in her heart made her have to fight against herself day and night...

There is nothing in the world, and nothing is disturbing.There are too many disturbances in the world, we should not have a psychological burden, although people are in the rivers and lakes, they can't help themselves.What we can do is to be open-minded, cheerful, and transparent, that's all.

The way to do it is to unload your mind and simplify your life.

However, once upon a time, "simplicity" became a luxury for modern urbanites.

(End of this chapter)