Buddha is very significant in my daily life because he makes me happy every second of the day. I am happy because Buddha loves me and everybody else by sharing the Dhamma which he has acquired through deep meditation. It is truly the greatest gift to the world; I am happy to share this gift along with everybody. By learning the Dhamma (without having to go through the same kind of severe sufferings which Buddha went through in the struggle to discover the Dhamma all by himself), understanding it correctly, practice and live according to the Dhamma, one will be able to cease all mental sufferings. I am happy not because of any euphoric effects (like how drugs or sensual pleasures do) but simply because I have very little suffering (nothing unbearable) now and I personally know I will not feel much suffering anymore in the future. I have very little suffering because I have very little greed, hatred, and delusion. The total abandonment of greed, hatred, and delusion is the state of Nirvana. Yes, Nirvana can be achieved in this very life. I can measure my distance from Nirvana (i.e. the island of perpetual happiness at the other side of the bitter sea) by evaluating the level of fear, obligation, and guilt (FOG) in my mind. Why wouldn’t one feels happy when he has no more FOG? The lack of FOG can only be achieved when one has no greed, hatred, and delusion; when one has no passion and attachment to anything including his own body because he has transcended the so-called “real world” when he really sees that the body is not the real self, and the self is not inside the body. The “real world” which we see is a giant Neural Network; everything is an illusion although it looks real. Don’t take your life too seriously. Stop thinking too much and start living happily and skillfully. Nothing really belong to us, therefore we can’t really lose anything; whatever we “gain” is really like a book we borrow from the library and we must return it even if we love to keep it. When one is shot by an arrow, he may feel bodily pain and also mental pain (due to grief or anger) if he is an ordinary person; he is effective shot by two arrows, one at the body and another at the mind. An extraordinary person who has awaken from this illusory world will only feel bodily pain but no mental pain.
I actually learnt similar things from Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi, and Confucius; of course they are not exactly the same but they can complement each others if one chooses to integrate them. I was already near Nirvana when I relearn the Dhamma of Buddha (which I learnt in my childhood). However, Chinese philosophies are very difficult to truly understand, hence many people have a lot of misunderstandings about the philosophies. On the other hand, Buddha’s Dhamma is very clear and easy to follow if one abandons his doubt about the efficacy. The Dhamma is beautiful at the beginning, beautiful at the middle, and beautiful at the end. It really gives us the step-by-step guides on how to attain Nirvana; and make it possible for everybody to learn it even if he is illiterate (like Hui-neng, the famous Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism). Although I am not a pure Buddhist, I would always recommend Buddhism (instead of Chinese philosophies) to everybody who seeks for happiness. Sadly, due to doubt, one may still find it difficult to follow and misunderstand it (like I did when I was a child). I regularly pay homage to Buddhist monasteries to make Dana for the Sangha; I want to contribute in the continuation of Buddha’s Dhamma and teaching to as long as possible.
I am not a monk. I love my wife and two children very much. However, love does not have to be tied to attachment. We can love a book at yet return it to the library on the due date. Chinese philosophies and Buddha’s Dhamma all of them teach us to walk the middle path; i.e. live moderately. Only extremists take extreme measures; only ascetics deliberately cause bodily sufferings to themselves; only hedonists pursue unlimited sensual pleasures to the extend of addiction which lead to extreme suffering when they can’t get what they want or lose what they have.
Ability to see the moon does not mean one has good eyesight. If one can’t see that life (of human, deva, ghost, animal, and hell being) is suffering, it is probably due to defilement of his mind. If one is satisfied with the ability to see the moon, he will never seek to learn from someone who can see the stars. He will remain an ordinary person, which is not necessarily bad but definitely not good for him that he couldn’t maximize his full potential. If one can’t see that life is suffering, he will never learn how to cease his suffering but simply endure it as and when it arises and then forget about the experience, ignorant of the potential recurrences again and again in the future. He doesn’t believe Nirvana and perpetual happiness (lack of FOG) is achievable. He only lives in the present moment (which is also recommended by Buddha) but he doesn’t live skillfully in the sense that his present karma will lead to future suffering. It is like Wile E. coyote feeling total freedom of free-fall out of a cliff but the impending suffering is awaiting.
An ordinary person has a lot of wants and passions which he thought would bring him happiness if he gets them. Little did he knows that those impermanent things will only bring him suffering. Sadly, he suffers in the process of striving, not satisfied when finally getting the success he long for, greedy for more, striving again, grief when not achieving success, angry at others for not cooperating, devastated when losing the precious things he owns. It is like a dog chasing his own tail thinking that it would give him happiness if he manages to catch it; he is ignorant of the fact that the tail (aka happiness) is always following him everywhere he goes. Happiness is always there if he just let it be and stop chasing it. The way he strives is not the right way; he should strive in the right way, following the Noble Eightfold Path, to find greater and perpetual happiness.
Buddhism is not about purification of virtue. It is about attainment of Nirvana for the happiness of oneself much more than compassion for others. Buddha doesn’t want anything from us; he only gives and gives us the best thing which he has which is the Dhamma. He only wants us to be happy and nothing more; that is how selflessness supposed to be. The moral conducts or Five Precepts are guides for us to attain Nirvana which entails self-cultivation for the right (which is like not-too-much and not-too-little) virtue, equanimity, and wisdom. One will have no fear if he has nothing to lose (no self, therefore selfless); one will have no obligation if he doesn’t have the delusion of putting on the responsibility of the world on his “superhero” shoulder; one will have no guilt if he has good moral conducts and done nothing wrong. Things can go wrong due to condition and conditioners which are beyond us; there is no need to feel guilty if one has no evil volition. Buddha said there are two kinds of fools; one who takes responsibility when it is not for him to take responsibility, another is one who don’t take responsibility when it is for him to take responsibility. Each one of us is responsible to oneself. When one has no greed, hatred, and delusion, he will have perfect virtue, equanimity, and wisdom. Find refuge in yourself with no other refuge.
RESILIENT KID 