Finally things look more or less back to normal. Blessed to be back to simple life. Last night went recycling with Sean and Ye as Tong was fast asleep at home. Earlier on the way back home, she was excited when I told her that I would be visiting the recycling station that night. She informed me in a most adult voice “ Mum, it has been quite some time since you last brought me to recycle. Must go recycling, ok”. Haha, good reminder from little Tong.
This morning, went to Kepong orphanage with Tong. There were 6 newcomers, in fact I thought I saw them before my Kinabalu climb. They came from a family. The eldest was in Form 2 whilst the youngest was only few months old. Apparently the parents have to earn a living, leaving the kids at the orphanage. The kids are all good looking. When I gave them Maths quiz, other kids complained that the Form 2 boy used calculator to do it. I’m not too pleased and intended to find a good moment to have a talk with the boy. My other students though are not all genius have always been upright and honest. I dread to think what kind of influence this boy will give to them. Luck is by my side when I managed to have a one to one talk with him. His ambition is to be an engineer. Managed to slowly explained to him that the only way out of poverty is through education. He seemed to be wise enough to know that. Though eventually not all will end up being doctor, lawyers, engineers or professionals, more important is not to be one who is useless to society. Must be someone useful and not to stick around with bad hats.
Lastly before I left the orphanage, I asked him can his belongings be stolen ? he said yes, I told him in fact most physical assets can be taken away from us except education/knowledge, I thought I saw see a blink in his eyes. My recent plan is to provide tuition once alternate week but upon leaving, the kids waved and said they hope to see me next Saturday. Alas, my heart rules over my head. I’ll be there next Saturday.
Sean helped to wash my car when I reached home whilst Tong washed her shoes and mine. I have to remind myself to do another wash on the shoes , haha. Mum reached our place at 12 noon, giving us a fright as normally she won’t be so late. Later she told us that she visited Tai Kiu. After outside lunch with mum and the kids, mum and I chatted at the dining place. Ye came in with a plate with cut apple. While munching a slice, I asked mum to eat some. Mum has a surprised look. “Oh, Mum, Ye has learnt how to cut fruit for quite some time. No worry, just help yourself to one”. Mum said “oh, dear, let Ye finish it, not easy for him to cut it by himself”. I said “it’s ok, he can cut again if not enough, anyway , don’t be shy, he is used to this. Last night, he even served me drink. He does that if I’m busy, a thoughtful and loving small man”. After finishing that sentence, I felt ashamed of myself. When was the last night I served my mum drink. Lesson learnt from the young man. That night I cooked no meat meal except for the soup. Am glad that this round, mum didn’t bring any food to cook haha, must be my nagging that mum has to trust me once with my cooking. I have been a good student. There are 2 things that cannot wait in life. 1. Filial piety. 2. Doing good. Am walking the path and still learning. Good reminder is to keep going for classes and learnt from the wise one.
Story shared with mum this afternoon
As usual, mum will complain about how certain people actions will made her unhappy. Normally, I would brush her stories aside and told her not get overly sensitive . Mum would later reprimanded me saying I don’t understand how old people think.
Today after listening, I shared with her a story. One that I have just read recently.
A story about Buddha and Ananda.
They came across an old man who wept and complained as he sold fish in the market place. The Buddha stopped and listened to the old man’s lament. The old man cried “Why has fate been so unfair to me? Now at this old age, I still have to go out to catch and sell fish. I am so unfortunate”.
After the man stopped speaking, the Buddha gave a slight, sad smile. Then, He looked down into the fish stall and saw the fish struggling to stay alive in the tank. Again, He shook his head and gave a slight smile.
While the Buddha and Ananda left the market, they came across a smelly pig covered in its own excrement. It saw the Buddha and came toward Him. The Buddha gave it a slight, sad smile yet again, and then kept on walking.
Annada had always been very observant of the Buddha’s every action. When he saw this, he quickly approached the Buddha and asked “Venerable Buddha! I’m puzzled. When you saw he crying old man, the struggling fish, and the pig on the road, you gave them each a slight, helpless smile. What caused and conditions did you see? Can you please tell me?.
The Buddha said “Indeed, each of these matters has its causes and conditions. The old man suffers so much because when he used to fish, he never thought about the circumstances of the fish. When he caught the fish with his net, he separated many loved ones from each other. Because he created that karma, now he must endure the suffering from the loss of his son. This shows the ignorance of people in this world!”
“Then I looked at the fish struggling to stay alive. In the past, one of them was a heavenly being. I once saw him flying around freely, but now he is confined in a fish tank.”
“How terrifying!” Ananda said “ How could a heavenly being with great freedom and ease become a fish trapped in a tank of water, waiting to be sold for the right price?”
The Buddha replied, “One who does good deeds will attain blessings and be reborn in Heaven. But when those heavenly blessings are depleted, one cannot escape negative karmic retributions. This heavenly being degenerated into the form of a fish, was captured and is now being sold. This is the only the beginnings of the time he will spend in the evil realms. Much more suffering waits!”
“Venerable Buddha, when you saw the pig come near us, you gave it a slight smile, too. Why is that?”
“ It is a long story” replied the Buddha.”Innumerable kalpas ago, 2 young men in a small village were very good friends. One of them walked the evil path, performing hexes and casting evil spells for others, while the other took joy in the Dharma, doing good deeds and giving to others. The one who did good deeds often tried counseling his friends by saying “ We need to have right beliefs. Come with me to listen to a monk expound the Dharma, then you will understand the principles of lie” But his friends always replied “I’m busy. You go ahead!”
“So , of the 2 friends, one pursued the Right Path, and the other veered away. The one who diligently practiced, listened to the Dharma, behaved cautiously, and abided by the precepts of purity was actually I, Sakyamuni Buddha. The one who continued on the deviant path became even more entrenched in evil thin king, evil views and evil practices. He is now the pig we saw today. This is not his first time in the Animal Realm, je has long been cycling thorough the 3 evil realms and still has not been able to escape. Today, we met again, by chance. Even though he wanted to follow me, the great distance between Buddhahood and the Animal Realm is not easy to cross. We were once separated by just one though, and now our paths are completely different. Seeing these 3 brings, I felt helpless; that is why I gave these 3 slight , sad smiles’..
“ I was smiling at the ignorance of sentient beings. They do not realize that there is no permanence in the 6 Realms,. When blessings are depleted, even a heavenly being will fall and be reborn into a place of suffering. Some have only begun to suffer, some have long resided in the 3 evil realms and some have continuously committed evil deeds. But when they encounter just a slight bit of retribution, they complain and blame others. This is the ignorance of sentient beings!”.
Mum is a wise lady. Hope she finds wisdom and finds peace from the story. Gan En.
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