Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbour.Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?' 'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies. 'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'
Moral of the story:If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.
Lesson 2:
A priest offered a Nun a lift.She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.The priest nearly had an accident.After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'
Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.
Lesson 3:
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.They rub it and a Genie comes out.The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.' 'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.'Puff! She's gone.'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.'Puff! He's gone.'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'
Moral of the story:Always let your boss have the first say.
Lesson 4:
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?'The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.'So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Moral of the story:To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.
Lesson 5:
A turkey was chatting with a bull.'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.''Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.
Moral of the story:Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..
Lesson 6:
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.The dung was actually thawing him out!He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.
Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Forgive
Someone once hurt me very deeply and badly. Probably not once, not twice, not thrice... I was very furious and devastated. Screaming and shouting like a mad man in my room. Crying and crying like a baby.. But did that help in anything? I felt even worse... I came to realise that...
Hatred can never be ceased by hatred, but only love...
All these pain didn't manage to defeat me... It only mould me into a stronger person.. To bear what others cannot bear.. To forgive what others cannot forgive...
Forgive and be free....
Forget that you have forgiven and be freer...
Hatred can never be ceased by hatred, but only love...
All these pain didn't manage to defeat me... It only mould me into a stronger person.. To bear what others cannot bear.. To forgive what others cannot forgive...
Forgive and be free....
Forget that you have forgiven and be freer...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Happy Chinese New Year
Finally this dreadful year of mine has arrived.... Few years back i already knew that this particular 2009 year will be very bad for me but luckily its just only one year! No matter where i went, those monks and priests will tell me about this year. So guess it must be something quite serious. Anyway i will just lead my life as normal and take things as it comes. When things happened, it must happen for a reason. It must be due to my own mistakes and faults in the past so i should be responsible for my own actions.
Anyway today i'm going to share with you guys the difference between goodness. In accumulating merits, there are differences between genuine and fake goodness, upright and crooked goodness, hidden and visible goodness, goodness which brings on negative effects, one sided and proper goodness, half and full goodness, big and small goodness, difficult and easy goodness. So we must have a thorough understanding of these different types of goodness before we can really cultivate goodness correctly. At times, we may think that we are practising good deeds but actually we are creating bad karma and wasting our effort.. Haha.. You didn't know that there are so many types right? Let me explain them now... ^_^
For example, we often hear people say, "So and so has practised good deeds but his descendants are not prosperous. So and so has created all bad deeds but his descendants flourish and are very wealthy." So, they regard the common saying, which stated that, "Rewards and retributions will follow one just like the shadow which follows the body" as nonsense.
In fact, these are the confused ones who cannot differentiate between true and false goodness and evil as they do not understand the genuine principle and hold on to wrong concepts. So, we should disregard the teaching of rewards and retribution in the working of cause and effect and treat it as some misleading talks to deceive people.
Let us take a look at genuine and fake goodness. Most people regard hitting people, scolding people and being greedy for wealth as bad. They say that we must be respectful and courteous to people and conduct ourselves with integrity. But such conduct is not necessary good or bad.
We must go further to investigate the motives and aims before we can come to a conclusion to differentiate the bad conduct from the good one. In other words, "As long as we wish to benefit other, then hitting and scolding people are considered as good. If we wish to pursure self benefit, the even respecting and being courteous to others are considered as evil."
In dealing with people in the world, if we can truly benefit others, this is genuine goodness. But if we only pursue self benefit, this is fake goodness. To help poeple with a kind heart is genuine goodness while showing off to other is fake goodness. To practise good deeds without demanding personal gain is genuine goodness while to plan and scheme for self benefit by doing good deeds is known as fake goodness.
Then what is it meant by upright goodness and crooked goodness? Most people say that a good man is one who is cautious and easy going. But sages believe that a good man is one who is brave to shoulder responsibilities, who is diffferent from commoners as he is bold, unpretentious and natural in temperament.
Very often, a man who is overly cautious, weak in nature is considered a good man. But such man is often weak and unsteady as he is easily influenced by others. He lacks the strong sense of will power, morality, righteousness and courage. Thus, from this point of view, we can see that there are many confused and nonsensical phenomena in the world. Overall, the spirits and ghosts between the Heaven and Earth hold the same view as the sages. They are different in point of views from the worldly people.
The difference between hidden virtues and visible goodness. Visible goodness refers to good deeds which are known by others while hidden virtues refer to good deeds which are not known by others. Visible goodness will bring us fame and praise while people who cultivate hidden virtues will greatly be blessed by the Heavens.
When the fame enjoyed by a man is more than his true worth, disaster will follow as fame is not a form of blessing. It should be avoided. Many famous people do not live up to their reputation because they have not accumulated enough merits and virtues. That is why, we often see unforeseen calamities befall upon their families.
So the ancients advised us, "We should not aim to have fame which surpasses our true worth. We must be humble always and maintain a low profile. A humble man is praised by sages." If a man, who has not committed any evil, were accused by others and could endure it, he must be a greatly virtuous man with lofty cultivation. His sons and descendants will often be wealthy and be highly respected by others.
So we must further investigate the statement of the commoners that evil people are often prosperous. On the whole, the difference between visible goodness and hidden virtues, is that the former is clearly seen by others while the latter is not known by others.
What is meant by cultivating goodness which has a negative effect? For example, according to the law in the state of Lu, a man who could pay a ransom in exchange for the captives held by the neighbouring country, would be rewarded by the government as an encouragement.
Zi gong, a student of Confucius did not take the reward after paying the ransom. Upon hearing that, Confucius reprimanded him, "You are wrong! The conduct of a virtuous man is able to bring about a change towards goodness on the culture and way of life of the multitude. He is a model for everyone. How could you act in accord with your temperament and just to get some false reputation?"
"In the state of Lu, we have very few rich people as most of them are very poor. You have shown them a bad example! Next time who will be willing to pay a ransom for the release of captives? People would be ashamed of themselves if they were to take the rewards! The tradition to exchange a captive with a ransom will gradually disappear."
Here is another example. Once Zi Lu who had saved a drowning man, accepted a cow as a token of gratitude from his master. On hearing that, Confucius commented,"In the future, Lu's citizens will surely be glad to help drowning people." This is because one is willing to save while another man is willing to show gratitude. Such conduct will gradually develop into a common practice in the society.
From the above two examples, most commoners would say that Zi Gong was a man of integrity as he was not greedy for the reward, while Zi Lu was wrong in accepting the cow as a reward. But Confucius looked at them from a different point of view. From here, we can come to a conclusion: Do not judge a man from his conduct, we must also consider the effect of such conduct on the society. Do not judge his present conduct, we must study the outcome of such behaviour. We should not judge a man from this gain or less. Instead we must see his impact on the multitude.
If the present conduct seems to be good but has a negative effect on others, it is goodness which only appears to be good but is not truly so. If his present conduct doesn't not appear to be good but can benefit others, it is the actual goodness which has a negative appearance.
Here are other examples. We must not be too lenient and forgive those who could only change their conduct by punishing them. We must truly teach them a good lesson. We must not over praise a man until he loses his senses. We should not for the sake of keeping a minor promises and bring on a greater disaster.
We must not spoil a child and face more trouble later. In fact, there are many more examples. We should calm down and investigate so as to change for the better. Or else it will benefit the saying of the commoners who after witnessing some bad examples, say that those who are kind hearted are struck to death by lightning.
What is meant by improper goodness and proper goodness? For example, once there was a Prime Minister Lu Wen Yi who after his retirement went back to his hometown. The villagers still honoured him. They had a high regard for him just as if he was the Tai Mountain.
One day a drunken villager gave him a good scolding but Mr Lu just kept quiet as he thought those were words of a drunkard. In the following year, the man's conduct deteriorated as he changed from bad to worse. Finally he was sentenced to death after committing a grave offence.
Mr Lu felt extremely regretful. He said, "Earlier on, if i had taken action against his bad conduct by sending him to the court, he would at least have learnt a lesson. Maybe he would not dared to commit such a severe offence which he had done now. "I was wrong in being too lenient with him. I was afraid that people would say that i was using my power to oppress others. And now, i have truly harmed him!" This is an example on how a kind hearted man has committed evil by being too good.
Here is another example of how a man has practised good deeds by being unkind. Once there was a famine and the hungry victims became so violent that they even robbed from others in broad daylight. A rich man reported to the government but no action was taken. And so the people's discipline became worse as they continued to rob without a care in their mind. The wealthy man was forced to punish the rioters and finally, he managed to restore peace in the village.
Most people know that it is proper to do good deeds and improper to commit evil deeds. But we must also understand another point that is if a man were to act with a kind heart but the outcome is bad, it is known as improper goodness. If a man were to act with a unkind mind but the outcome is good, it is then known as the proper goodness.
Morever what is meant by half goodness and full goodness? In Yi Jing(The Book of Change), it was thus stated, "A man who has not accumulated enough goodness will not become famous while a man who has not committed enough evil will not have to face destuction." Just like keeping things in a container, if we are diligent in gathering them, it will soon be full. But if we are lazy and heedless, it will not be full.
For example, formerly there was a woman who went to the pray at a temple. She wished to donate some money to the temple but she could only afford to give two cents as she came from a poor family. The Abbot will come out personally to bless her by reciting the Sutra and bowing in repentance on her behalf. Later when the woman became an honourable lady in the palace and brought a few thousand pieces of gold to donate to the temple. However the Abbot only asked his disciple to recite the Sutra for her on that occasion.
So she asked,"Formerly, i only donated two cents and you came personally to bless me. Today i have donated a few thousand pieces of gold, why didnt you offer your services?" The Abbot answered," Formerly even though the donation was small, you were very sincere. If i did not come to bless you personally, it would have been difficult to repay your kindness. Today your donation is quite alot but you are not as sincere as previously. Therefore, it is good enough to ask someone else to bless you." Taking this as an example, the donation of thousands of gold peices is half goodness and donation of two cents is full goodness.
There was an immortal Zhong Li, who wanted to teach Lu Dong Bin the magical art of transforming iron into gold so as to benefit the world. Mr Lu asked,"Will this type of gold return to its original form?"The immortal Zhong Li replied,"Yes! After five hundred years, it will change back to its iron form." Mr Lu said,"Then isn't it harmful act to the people after five hundred years? This type of magical isn't worth learning."
The immortal Zhong Li answered,"A man who wishes to practise the path of Immortality must first accumulate three thousand merits and virtues. You have fully accumulated the merits and virtues in your speech just now. You are qualified to practise the Immortal Path." That is why we must practise good deeds sincerely and naturally. We should not even keep it in our mind after we have done it. By doing so, even a small goodness will reap abundant merits and blessings but if we were to do goodness with a purpose or hope for a reward, it is still considered half goodness even if we have practised it our whole lives.
For example in donating money to help others, we must give as if not giving. We should not even feel that we are helping others or someone is getting the help. Then one will not be attached to the money, oneself and others. This is the state of a pure mind. Thus even with the donation of one cent, it can eradicate thousands of kalpas of offences. Even a decalitre of rice will reap abundant blessings. But if after giving, we are always thinking of the good deed or hoping to get a reward, or our mind undergoes agony in parting with it. These are only half goodness even if we have given tens of thousands of gold pieces.
In addition, there are great of small goodness, difficult and easy goodness. In the past, there was a man whose name was Wei Zhong Da. He was a government officer. Once his spirit left his body and was brought to the Dark Realm. The King Yama asked his follower to present him the record of good and evil deeds. He saw that the record of evil deeds have fully covered the whole courtyard while there were only a few pieces of good records.
King Yama asked his follower to weigh the good and bad deeds. It was found that the record of bad deeds weighed lighter than the good ones. Mr Wei was very surprised and enquired,"I am only twenty years old. How come there are so many pieces of bad record?" King Yama answered,"It is not necessary to commit an offence. Just by giving rise to an evil thought is an offence itself."
He asked again,"Why does the good record weigh heavier than the bad one?" KIng Yama answered,"The government often carried out big projects of construction. When the bridge in Shan Zhi was being repaired, you had sent in your suggestion. Mr Wei said,"Yes, i did hand in the proposal but it was not accepted. So how could it be so heavy?" King Yama answered,"Although the government did not accept your proposal, it was your kind thought to benefit the people that counted. If the government were to accept it, your merit would have been even greater."
From here we can see that if we wish to benefit millions of people in the world, a small goodness will reap abundant merits and virtues. But if we only think of our benefit or to benefit only one man, a great amount of giving only brings little merits and virtues. And talking about diffcult and easy goodness, it is like nurturing and restraining one's conduct. We must first study our faults and try to subdue the worst of evil habits. If we could do so, other minor faults would naturally be subdued.
For example in Jiang Xi, there was a teacher, Mr Shu, who used up the savings of his two years' salary to pay the fine of an offender so that the latter could reunite with his wife. In He Nan, Mr Zhang took out his ten years' savings to pay the debts of a debtor so as to save the latter's wife and daughter. Mr Zhang, an old man in Zhen Jiang, was without a son. Despite this, he could not bear to marry a young girl as his wife. The above are examples of good men who could give up all they had to help people who were kind and considerate and who only thought of others' benefit. These are difficult goodness as they are able to do what others cannot do, tolerate what others cannot tolerate.
The difficult goodness is genuine goodness. They will surely receive abundant blessings from the Heavens. People who are poor and without status find it very diffuclt to help others. But if they could try to practise goodness while facing all adversities then this is most invaluable. They will reap greater blessings. It is easy for the rich and powerful people to practise goodness and accumulate virtues. But if they do not care to do so, they are just being heedless by giving themselves up. As the common saying goes,"To be rich and yet unkind is not much different from a fat pig!"
Think of the last time you were happy...
Think of the last time you were angry...
Which will you choose the next time?
Anyway today i'm going to share with you guys the difference between goodness. In accumulating merits, there are differences between genuine and fake goodness, upright and crooked goodness, hidden and visible goodness, goodness which brings on negative effects, one sided and proper goodness, half and full goodness, big and small goodness, difficult and easy goodness. So we must have a thorough understanding of these different types of goodness before we can really cultivate goodness correctly. At times, we may think that we are practising good deeds but actually we are creating bad karma and wasting our effort.. Haha.. You didn't know that there are so many types right? Let me explain them now... ^_^
For example, we often hear people say, "So and so has practised good deeds but his descendants are not prosperous. So and so has created all bad deeds but his descendants flourish and are very wealthy." So, they regard the common saying, which stated that, "Rewards and retributions will follow one just like the shadow which follows the body" as nonsense.
In fact, these are the confused ones who cannot differentiate between true and false goodness and evil as they do not understand the genuine principle and hold on to wrong concepts. So, we should disregard the teaching of rewards and retribution in the working of cause and effect and treat it as some misleading talks to deceive people.
Let us take a look at genuine and fake goodness. Most people regard hitting people, scolding people and being greedy for wealth as bad. They say that we must be respectful and courteous to people and conduct ourselves with integrity. But such conduct is not necessary good or bad.
We must go further to investigate the motives and aims before we can come to a conclusion to differentiate the bad conduct from the good one. In other words, "As long as we wish to benefit other, then hitting and scolding people are considered as good. If we wish to pursure self benefit, the even respecting and being courteous to others are considered as evil."
In dealing with people in the world, if we can truly benefit others, this is genuine goodness. But if we only pursue self benefit, this is fake goodness. To help poeple with a kind heart is genuine goodness while showing off to other is fake goodness. To practise good deeds without demanding personal gain is genuine goodness while to plan and scheme for self benefit by doing good deeds is known as fake goodness.
Then what is it meant by upright goodness and crooked goodness? Most people say that a good man is one who is cautious and easy going. But sages believe that a good man is one who is brave to shoulder responsibilities, who is diffferent from commoners as he is bold, unpretentious and natural in temperament.
Very often, a man who is overly cautious, weak in nature is considered a good man. But such man is often weak and unsteady as he is easily influenced by others. He lacks the strong sense of will power, morality, righteousness and courage. Thus, from this point of view, we can see that there are many confused and nonsensical phenomena in the world. Overall, the spirits and ghosts between the Heaven and Earth hold the same view as the sages. They are different in point of views from the worldly people.
The difference between hidden virtues and visible goodness. Visible goodness refers to good deeds which are known by others while hidden virtues refer to good deeds which are not known by others. Visible goodness will bring us fame and praise while people who cultivate hidden virtues will greatly be blessed by the Heavens.
When the fame enjoyed by a man is more than his true worth, disaster will follow as fame is not a form of blessing. It should be avoided. Many famous people do not live up to their reputation because they have not accumulated enough merits and virtues. That is why, we often see unforeseen calamities befall upon their families.
So the ancients advised us, "We should not aim to have fame which surpasses our true worth. We must be humble always and maintain a low profile. A humble man is praised by sages." If a man, who has not committed any evil, were accused by others and could endure it, he must be a greatly virtuous man with lofty cultivation. His sons and descendants will often be wealthy and be highly respected by others.
So we must further investigate the statement of the commoners that evil people are often prosperous. On the whole, the difference between visible goodness and hidden virtues, is that the former is clearly seen by others while the latter is not known by others.
What is meant by cultivating goodness which has a negative effect? For example, according to the law in the state of Lu, a man who could pay a ransom in exchange for the captives held by the neighbouring country, would be rewarded by the government as an encouragement.
Zi gong, a student of Confucius did not take the reward after paying the ransom. Upon hearing that, Confucius reprimanded him, "You are wrong! The conduct of a virtuous man is able to bring about a change towards goodness on the culture and way of life of the multitude. He is a model for everyone. How could you act in accord with your temperament and just to get some false reputation?"
"In the state of Lu, we have very few rich people as most of them are very poor. You have shown them a bad example! Next time who will be willing to pay a ransom for the release of captives? People would be ashamed of themselves if they were to take the rewards! The tradition to exchange a captive with a ransom will gradually disappear."
Here is another example. Once Zi Lu who had saved a drowning man, accepted a cow as a token of gratitude from his master. On hearing that, Confucius commented,"In the future, Lu's citizens will surely be glad to help drowning people." This is because one is willing to save while another man is willing to show gratitude. Such conduct will gradually develop into a common practice in the society.
From the above two examples, most commoners would say that Zi Gong was a man of integrity as he was not greedy for the reward, while Zi Lu was wrong in accepting the cow as a reward. But Confucius looked at them from a different point of view. From here, we can come to a conclusion: Do not judge a man from his conduct, we must also consider the effect of such conduct on the society. Do not judge his present conduct, we must study the outcome of such behaviour. We should not judge a man from this gain or less. Instead we must see his impact on the multitude.
If the present conduct seems to be good but has a negative effect on others, it is goodness which only appears to be good but is not truly so. If his present conduct doesn't not appear to be good but can benefit others, it is the actual goodness which has a negative appearance.
Here are other examples. We must not be too lenient and forgive those who could only change their conduct by punishing them. We must truly teach them a good lesson. We must not over praise a man until he loses his senses. We should not for the sake of keeping a minor promises and bring on a greater disaster.
We must not spoil a child and face more trouble later. In fact, there are many more examples. We should calm down and investigate so as to change for the better. Or else it will benefit the saying of the commoners who after witnessing some bad examples, say that those who are kind hearted are struck to death by lightning.
What is meant by improper goodness and proper goodness? For example, once there was a Prime Minister Lu Wen Yi who after his retirement went back to his hometown. The villagers still honoured him. They had a high regard for him just as if he was the Tai Mountain.
One day a drunken villager gave him a good scolding but Mr Lu just kept quiet as he thought those were words of a drunkard. In the following year, the man's conduct deteriorated as he changed from bad to worse. Finally he was sentenced to death after committing a grave offence.
Mr Lu felt extremely regretful. He said, "Earlier on, if i had taken action against his bad conduct by sending him to the court, he would at least have learnt a lesson. Maybe he would not dared to commit such a severe offence which he had done now. "I was wrong in being too lenient with him. I was afraid that people would say that i was using my power to oppress others. And now, i have truly harmed him!" This is an example on how a kind hearted man has committed evil by being too good.
Here is another example of how a man has practised good deeds by being unkind. Once there was a famine and the hungry victims became so violent that they even robbed from others in broad daylight. A rich man reported to the government but no action was taken. And so the people's discipline became worse as they continued to rob without a care in their mind. The wealthy man was forced to punish the rioters and finally, he managed to restore peace in the village.
Most people know that it is proper to do good deeds and improper to commit evil deeds. But we must also understand another point that is if a man were to act with a kind heart but the outcome is bad, it is known as improper goodness. If a man were to act with a unkind mind but the outcome is good, it is then known as the proper goodness.
Morever what is meant by half goodness and full goodness? In Yi Jing(The Book of Change), it was thus stated, "A man who has not accumulated enough goodness will not become famous while a man who has not committed enough evil will not have to face destuction." Just like keeping things in a container, if we are diligent in gathering them, it will soon be full. But if we are lazy and heedless, it will not be full.
For example, formerly there was a woman who went to the pray at a temple. She wished to donate some money to the temple but she could only afford to give two cents as she came from a poor family. The Abbot will come out personally to bless her by reciting the Sutra and bowing in repentance on her behalf. Later when the woman became an honourable lady in the palace and brought a few thousand pieces of gold to donate to the temple. However the Abbot only asked his disciple to recite the Sutra for her on that occasion.
So she asked,"Formerly, i only donated two cents and you came personally to bless me. Today i have donated a few thousand pieces of gold, why didnt you offer your services?" The Abbot answered," Formerly even though the donation was small, you were very sincere. If i did not come to bless you personally, it would have been difficult to repay your kindness. Today your donation is quite alot but you are not as sincere as previously. Therefore, it is good enough to ask someone else to bless you." Taking this as an example, the donation of thousands of gold peices is half goodness and donation of two cents is full goodness.
There was an immortal Zhong Li, who wanted to teach Lu Dong Bin the magical art of transforming iron into gold so as to benefit the world. Mr Lu asked,"Will this type of gold return to its original form?"The immortal Zhong Li replied,"Yes! After five hundred years, it will change back to its iron form." Mr Lu said,"Then isn't it harmful act to the people after five hundred years? This type of magical isn't worth learning."
The immortal Zhong Li answered,"A man who wishes to practise the path of Immortality must first accumulate three thousand merits and virtues. You have fully accumulated the merits and virtues in your speech just now. You are qualified to practise the Immortal Path." That is why we must practise good deeds sincerely and naturally. We should not even keep it in our mind after we have done it. By doing so, even a small goodness will reap abundant merits and blessings but if we were to do goodness with a purpose or hope for a reward, it is still considered half goodness even if we have practised it our whole lives.
For example in donating money to help others, we must give as if not giving. We should not even feel that we are helping others or someone is getting the help. Then one will not be attached to the money, oneself and others. This is the state of a pure mind. Thus even with the donation of one cent, it can eradicate thousands of kalpas of offences. Even a decalitre of rice will reap abundant blessings. But if after giving, we are always thinking of the good deed or hoping to get a reward, or our mind undergoes agony in parting with it. These are only half goodness even if we have given tens of thousands of gold pieces.
In addition, there are great of small goodness, difficult and easy goodness. In the past, there was a man whose name was Wei Zhong Da. He was a government officer. Once his spirit left his body and was brought to the Dark Realm. The King Yama asked his follower to present him the record of good and evil deeds. He saw that the record of evil deeds have fully covered the whole courtyard while there were only a few pieces of good records.
King Yama asked his follower to weigh the good and bad deeds. It was found that the record of bad deeds weighed lighter than the good ones. Mr Wei was very surprised and enquired,"I am only twenty years old. How come there are so many pieces of bad record?" King Yama answered,"It is not necessary to commit an offence. Just by giving rise to an evil thought is an offence itself."
He asked again,"Why does the good record weigh heavier than the bad one?" KIng Yama answered,"The government often carried out big projects of construction. When the bridge in Shan Zhi was being repaired, you had sent in your suggestion. Mr Wei said,"Yes, i did hand in the proposal but it was not accepted. So how could it be so heavy?" King Yama answered,"Although the government did not accept your proposal, it was your kind thought to benefit the people that counted. If the government were to accept it, your merit would have been even greater."
From here we can see that if we wish to benefit millions of people in the world, a small goodness will reap abundant merits and virtues. But if we only think of our benefit or to benefit only one man, a great amount of giving only brings little merits and virtues. And talking about diffcult and easy goodness, it is like nurturing and restraining one's conduct. We must first study our faults and try to subdue the worst of evil habits. If we could do so, other minor faults would naturally be subdued.
For example in Jiang Xi, there was a teacher, Mr Shu, who used up the savings of his two years' salary to pay the fine of an offender so that the latter could reunite with his wife. In He Nan, Mr Zhang took out his ten years' savings to pay the debts of a debtor so as to save the latter's wife and daughter. Mr Zhang, an old man in Zhen Jiang, was without a son. Despite this, he could not bear to marry a young girl as his wife. The above are examples of good men who could give up all they had to help people who were kind and considerate and who only thought of others' benefit. These are difficult goodness as they are able to do what others cannot do, tolerate what others cannot tolerate.
The difficult goodness is genuine goodness. They will surely receive abundant blessings from the Heavens. People who are poor and without status find it very diffuclt to help others. But if they could try to practise goodness while facing all adversities then this is most invaluable. They will reap greater blessings. It is easy for the rich and powerful people to practise goodness and accumulate virtues. But if they do not care to do so, they are just being heedless by giving themselves up. As the common saying goes,"To be rich and yet unkind is not much different from a fat pig!"
Think of the last time you were happy...
Think of the last time you were angry...
Which will you choose the next time?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I'm Back
I'm back for quite some time already. But i'm just too busy to blog.. Too many things to handle and i don't have time for it.
Indeed many things happened during this month and especially when i'm in thailand and when i came back. Plenty of tests but i'm glad that its all over now. Huge thanks to my best friend who always try to make me feel better whenever i'm sad or down.
I think i need to take a little break from my spiritual life and probably start searching for a girlfriend soon! Time for some normal lifestyle.. haha. Time really flies.. Its more than a year since i broke up with her..
Its always so hard to find someone that you have chemistry with... Hopefully i will meet someone soon! Probably a kind and bubbly girl. hehe.
Over the last week, i'm so happy for my good friend adeline. Although she is single once more, but she found something more precious....
Kinship and sister's love. I'm glad to see her getting closer with her sister during this hard period for the both of them. This kind of love can't be bought with any amount of money and its always comforting to have someone beside you and supporting your decision. ^_^
To the two sisters:
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain...
Enjoy and cherish this bonding period and i'm sure someone much better will come along in a short while!
Indeed many things happened during this month and especially when i'm in thailand and when i came back. Plenty of tests but i'm glad that its all over now. Huge thanks to my best friend who always try to make me feel better whenever i'm sad or down.
I think i need to take a little break from my spiritual life and probably start searching for a girlfriend soon! Time for some normal lifestyle.. haha. Time really flies.. Its more than a year since i broke up with her..
Its always so hard to find someone that you have chemistry with... Hopefully i will meet someone soon! Probably a kind and bubbly girl. hehe.
Over the last week, i'm so happy for my good friend adeline. Although she is single once more, but she found something more precious....
Kinship and sister's love. I'm glad to see her getting closer with her sister during this hard period for the both of them. This kind of love can't be bought with any amount of money and its always comforting to have someone beside you and supporting your decision. ^_^
To the two sisters:
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain...
Enjoy and cherish this bonding period and i'm sure someone much better will come along in a short while!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Im going away....
Few hours later i will be boarding on a plane to the deep mountain forest of thailand to meditate. Probably to become a monk for a short perioud.. see you guys again next year...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Words of Wisdom
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.
Remember.... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.
Remember.... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Somdet Phra Buddhacharn Toh Phomarangsi
Somdet Toh — his formal title was Somdet Budhacariya (Toh Brahmaransi) — was probably the most famous and widely loved monk in nineteenth century Thailand. A skilled meditator closely associated with the royal family, he was famous for many reasons, but his wide popularity rests on two things: Despite his rank, he was easily approachable to people on all levels of society; and he made amulets that — because of his meditative prowess — were reputed to be very powerful. He was also famous for his wisdom and wit. Since his death, in 1872, a cult has grown up around his memory, with many mediums throughout Thailand claiming to channel his spirit.
This is his picture if you guys don't know who he is.
http://saengthai.org/?p=19
At the same time, many legends have grown up around his name. Here are a few of my favorites. I can't vouch for their accuracy, but they all carry a good lesson, which is why they merit passing on.
Somdet Toh was an illegitimate son of a nobleman who eventually became King Rama II. The story goes that one day in 1787 or 1788, when the nobleman was in northern Thailand cleaning up after the Burmese invasion, he happened to get separated from his troops. As he rode along on his horse, he came across a house with a young woman about sixteen years old standing in front. Thirsty, he asked her for some water. She went to the well, got a bowl of water — in Thailand in the old days, they would drink water out of a bowl, rather than out of a glass — and crushed a lotus flower over the bowl, sprinkling the stamens all over the surface of the water. Then she handed the bowl to him as he was sitting on his horse. He took one long look at the stamens on top of the water and then had to drink the water very carefully so as not to swallow them. As he handed the bowl back to her, he asked her, "Was that a trick?"
"No," she said. "I saw that you were so thirsty that you might gulp the water down and end up choking on it. So I figured this would be a good way to make sure that you drank slowly."
Well. He asked her, "Are your parents around?" So she fetched her parents. They didn't know who he was, but he was obviously a nobleman, so when he told them, "I'd like to have your daughter," they gave their consent. So she joined the king in the army camp, but as the campaign was ending he said to her, "I'm afraid I can't take you down to the palace with me, but in case you do have a child by me, here's my belt. Give the child my belt and I'll know that it's my child. I'll take care of him or her in the future." So he left her and went down to Bangkok.
Her whole family soon followed down to Bangkok when they discovered that she actually was pregnant. They moved onto a floating house moored on the bank of the Chao Phraya River in front of a monastery, Wat In. She gave birth to a son and named him Toh, which means "large." When he was old enough, he was ordained as a novice. A few years later, when the nobleman had become King Rama II, the family took Novice Toh to Wat Nibbanaram — currently Wat Mahathaad, a temple right across the road from the Grand Palace — and showed the belt to the abbot. The abbot took the belt to the king and the king said, "Yes, that's my son." So he later sponsored Novice Toh's ordination as a monk.
When Prince Mongkut — later Rama IV — was ordained as a monk, Phra Toh was his "older brother monk," the one who gave him his initial training in Dhamma and Vinaya. Soon after Prince Mongkut's ordination, his father died, and although by birth Prince Mongkut was next in line for the throne, the Privy Council chose one of his half-brothers to reign as Rama III instead. When this happened, Phra Toh decided it would be wise to leave Bangkok, so he went into the forest. Prince Mongkut stayed on as a monk for 28 years, until Rama III passed away. He was then offered the throne, so he disrobed and was crowned King Rama IV.
Soon after his coronation he sent out word to fetch Phra Toh back to Bangkok. Officials went into the forest, dragging back any monk they could find, and asking, "Is this the monk?" "No." "Is this the monk?" "No." Finally word got to Phra Toh, and he came out voluntarily. The king gave him the title of Somdet — which, next to the Supreme Patriarch, is the highest title a monk can hold — and put him in charge of Wat Rakhang, the monastery across the river from the palace.
Rama IV is remembered as a wise and humane king. Somdet Toh's own epithet for him — in a brief poem he wrote summarizing the history and prophesizing the future of the Chakri (Bangkok) dynasty — was that he maintained or embodied the Dhamma. And Rama IV's desire to have Somdet Toh near the palace is an indication of his wisdom. He knew that, as king, he would have trouble finding people fearless and selfless enough to tell him frankly when he was wrong, and so he wanted his former teacher nearby to perform this function.
But even as the king's former teacher, Somdet Toh had to exercise tact and skill in criticizing the king.
One story tells that one day early in his reign, the king — and remember, he had been a monk for twenty-eight years — was sitting out on the boat landing in front of the palace drinking with his courtiers. So Somdet Toh came paddling across the river in a small boat. The king, displeased, said to him, "Here I've made you a Somdet. Don't you have any respect for your title? How can you paddle your own boat?" The Somdet replied, "When the king of the country is drinking in public, Somdets can paddle their own boats." Turning around, he paddled back to Wat Rakhang. That was the last time the king drank in public.
Another time, Rama IV felt that since Thailand had been laid waste by the Burmese, many ancient Thai customs had disappeared, so new customs should be developed to replace them. So he decided, "Wouldn't it be nice if we had a boat parade at the end of the rains retreat? Every monastery in Bangkok will be responsible for decorating a boat, and we'll have a contest to reward the best-looking boat." So the royal decree went out that every monastery in Bangkok had to decorate a boat for the parade.
When the day for the parade came, a long line of beautifully decorated boats floated past the royal reviewing stand — except for one, a little canoe carrying a monkey tied to a leash with a sign on its back. The king's immediate reaction was anger: "Somebody's making fun of me." He had his officials check the roster to see which monastery was responsible for the boat, and it was Wat Rakhang, Somdet Toh's monastery.
So they took the sign off the monkey to see what it said. It said, "Willing to lose face in order to save cloth," which rhymed in Thai, but didn't make any more sense in Thai than it does in English. A few days later, the king invited Somdet Toh into the palace for a meal and a Dhamma talk, after which he asked him, "Suppose someone sponsored a boat with a sign like this on the back of a monkey. What do you think it might mean?" And the Somdet said, "Well, it might mean that monks don't have any resources of their own to decorate boats and it's certainly not appropriate for them to ask for donations from laypeople to decorate boats, so the only course left open to them would to have been to put their robes in the pawn shop. So they were willing to lose face in order to save their robes." That was the last time the parade was ever held.
Another story concerns a funeral in the royal palace. Funerals in the palace could go on for a hundred days before the cremation. Every night they'd invite four monks to chant. The famous, high-ranking monks would chant toward the beginning of the hundred days, and by the end of the period they were getting down into the ranks of the junior monks. One night toward the end of this particular funeral they invited four young monks who had never seen the king before in their lives. And this was back in the days when if the king said, "Off with your head!" it was off with your head. So they were nervous about their performance. After all, the king had been a monk for 28 years. He would know if they made any mistakes in their chanting.
Finally the king entered the room, followed by his entourage. Now, Rama IV had a rather stern and fearsome appearance, and as soon as the monks took one look at him they went running behind a curtain. This infuriated the king. "What is this? Am I a monster? An ogre? What is this? Disrobe them immediately!" So a royal decree was written up and sent over the river for Somdet Toh to disrobe the monks. He happened to be sitting at a writing table, next to a small altar where incense was burning. Taking one look at the royal decree, he placed it over a stick of incense, burned three holes in it, and sent it back across the river to the palace. The king, of course, had studied Buddhist doctrine; he knew what the three fires were: the fire of passion, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. The Somdet's message was, "Put them out." So the monks didn't have to disrobe. That's how you criticize a king.
Once, however, Somdet Toh didn't get away with criticizing the king. There is a tradition recorded in the Apadanas that the Buddha's clan, the Sakyan clan, started from a time when the sons and daughters of a particular king had to leave their country. They took up residence in Kapilavastu, the area that eventually became the Buddha's home. After building their city and settling in, they looked around the area for spouses but couldn't find anyone who was high-born enough for them to marry. So the brothers ended up marrying their own sisters. That's the tradition recorded in the Apadanas to explain the name of the Sakyan — "One's Own" — clan.
One day Somdet Toh was giving a talk on this topic in the royal palace, and after discussing this point he continued, "Ever since then it's become a custom among royal families. Uncles go running after their nieces, cousins go running after their cousins..." Now, Rama IV's major queen was his niece, so again he was furious. "You cannot stay in this country!" he said. So Somdet Toh was banished from Thailand. Now, in Thailand the civil law does not extend into the sima, the territory immediately around ordination halls. For instance, if a thief goes running into a sima, the police have to get the abbot's permission before they can go into the sima after him. So the Somdet returned to Wat Rakhang and moved into the ordination hall. For about three months he didn't set foot outside the sima.
Meanwhile, the king had forgotten all about the banishment order, and one day he said, "We haven't had Somdet Toh over for a talk in a long time. Let's invite him over." So the invitation went across the river to the monastery, but word came back, saying "I cannot set foot in this country, remember?" "Oh," the king said, "I forgot." And he lifted the banishment order.
So it wasn't an easy thing to criticize kings in those days. Even if you were his personal teacher, you had to be careful.
Of course, not all of Somdet Toh's comments about the king were critical. After all, the respect he felt for the king was what had inspired him to leave the forest to be of help in the first place.
One of the most famous stories about their relationship concerns a Dhamma talk Somdet Toh gave in the palace. Palace Dhamma talks were highly ritualized affairs. The talk was expected to be long and literary, preceded with and followed by many elaborate chants and other formalities. Once Rama IV invited Somdet to present such a talk and had prepared an especially large pile of offerings to be presented to the Somdet after the talk — a sign that he was looking forward to an especially long and learned disquisition, to test the Somdet's knowledge of the Dhamma. After the beginning formalities, however, Somdet Toh said only one sentence: "The king already knows everything there is to know." Then he chanted the ritual passages to conclude the talk and returned to his seat on the dais, quiet and composed. Immensely pleased, the king presented him with the offerings, commenting that that was the best Dhamma talk he had ever heard. (Ajaan Lee tells the story that later another monk tried the same trick, but with different results: The king was so offended that he had the monk stripped of his ecclesiastical titles.)
At another, similar event at the palace, Somdet Toh began the closing blessing with the standard chant:
Yatha varivaha puraParipurenti sagaramEvameva ito dinnamPetanam upakappati...
Just as rivers full of water fill the ocean full,Even so does that given here benefit the hungry ghosts...
As he reached this point in the chant, the king in a very unusual breach of Buddhist etiquette called out, "Why are you giving all the merit to the hungry ghosts? What did they do to deserve it?"
Somdet Toh, without missing a beat, backed up to change the last line:
Evameva ito dinnamSabbam rañño upakappati...
Even so does everything given here benefit the king...
The king, who was fluent in Pali himself, was delighted with the Somdet's ability to think on his feet.
There are many other legends concerning Somdet Toh that don't deal with the king. Ajaan Fuang, my teacher, especially liked to tell a story of how Somdet Toh dealt with high-ranking lay people who would visit monasteries and waste the monks' time in idle conversation.
Somdet Toh ate his meals in a small open pavilion in front of his dwelling. If a stray dog wandered past, he would toss a little food to the dog — which meant that, over time, a whole pack of dogs would regularly come to sit around him at his meal time, waiting for food. This meant that if any high-ranking lay people wanted to come pay their respects and chat with him while he was eating, they'd have to bow down to the dogs as well. As a result, only the people who weren't too proud to bow down to the dogs got to talk to him during his mealtime.
Another story concerns a wealthy layman who wanted to invite Somdet Toh to his house for a meal and a Dhamma talk. Events like this would often be fairly public, with the donor inviting many friends and relatives to participate in the meal offering and to hear the talk. So the layman sent his servant to convey the invitation to Somdet Toh, saying that he wanted Somdet Toh to give a talk on a lofty topic, the four noble truths. Now, it so happened that the servant wasn't familiar with the term, "four noble truths" — which in Thai is ariyasat. To him, it sounded like naksat, or zodiac. So he told Somdet Toh that his master wanted to hear a Dhamma talk on the zodiac. The Somdet knew that this couldn't possibly be right, but the servant's mistake amused him, and he decided to use it as an opportunity to make a Dhamma point — and have a little fun at the same time.
When the day for the talk arrived, he went to the layman's house and, after the meal, got up on the sermon seat and began the talk by saying, "Today our esteemed host has invited me to deliver a Dhamma talk on the zodiac." He then proceeded to describe the twelve houses of the zodiac in a fair amount of detail. Meanwhile, the master was staring daggers at the servant. After finishing his description of the zodiac, the Somdet then added, "But, regardless of what house of the zodiac people are born into, they are all subject to suffering." With that, he switched to the four noble truths — and probably saved the servant's job.
Another time some Christian missionaries came to visit the Somdet. One of the missionary strategies in those days was to show off their knowledge of science so as to dazzle the heathens, win their respect, and possibly win converts. With Somdet Toh so closely associated with the king, perhaps they thought that if they could convert him, the king might be converted as well. So they discussed various scientific topics with him, and finally touched on the fact that they had proof that the world was round. The Somdet, instead of being surprised, said, "I know. In fact, I can show you where the center of the world is." This surprised the missionaries, so they asked him to show them. He got up, took his staff, went out in front of his hut, and planted the staff firmly on the ground, saying, "Right here."
"But how could that be?" they asked him.
He answered, "If the world is round, it's a sphere, right? And any point on the surface of the sphere is as central as any other point on the surface."
After that, the missionaries left him alone.
On the final day of the Rains retreat in 1868, Rama IV passed away. His eldest son, Prince Chulalongkorn, who was now Rama V, was only fifteen years old. As a result, the running of the government was placed in the hands of a Regent — Chao Phraya Sri Suriyawong (Chuang Bunnag) — who was to hold this office until Rama V reached maturity. (In a later reminiscence, Rama V stated that during this period he lived in constant fear of being assassinated.) Shortly after the Regency was instituted, Somdet Toh — who was now 80 — appeared at the Regent's palace in the middle of a sunny day, carrying a lit torch that he held aloft with one hand, and a long, narrow palm-leaf Dhamma text that he carried at a backward-sloping angle under his other arm. After he had walked through the palace halls in this way, word reached the Regent. The Regent respectfully approached Somdet Toh and asked him to take a seat, after which he assured him that he understood the Somdet's message: He would not allow his deliberations to be overcome with the darkness of defilement, and he would hold to the Dhamma as a rudder while steering the ship of state.
Four years later Somdet Toh passed away.
This is his picture if you guys don't know who he is.
http://saengthai.org/?p=19
At the same time, many legends have grown up around his name. Here are a few of my favorites. I can't vouch for their accuracy, but they all carry a good lesson, which is why they merit passing on.
Somdet Toh was an illegitimate son of a nobleman who eventually became King Rama II. The story goes that one day in 1787 or 1788, when the nobleman was in northern Thailand cleaning up after the Burmese invasion, he happened to get separated from his troops. As he rode along on his horse, he came across a house with a young woman about sixteen years old standing in front. Thirsty, he asked her for some water. She went to the well, got a bowl of water — in Thailand in the old days, they would drink water out of a bowl, rather than out of a glass — and crushed a lotus flower over the bowl, sprinkling the stamens all over the surface of the water. Then she handed the bowl to him as he was sitting on his horse. He took one long look at the stamens on top of the water and then had to drink the water very carefully so as not to swallow them. As he handed the bowl back to her, he asked her, "Was that a trick?"
"No," she said. "I saw that you were so thirsty that you might gulp the water down and end up choking on it. So I figured this would be a good way to make sure that you drank slowly."
Well. He asked her, "Are your parents around?" So she fetched her parents. They didn't know who he was, but he was obviously a nobleman, so when he told them, "I'd like to have your daughter," they gave their consent. So she joined the king in the army camp, but as the campaign was ending he said to her, "I'm afraid I can't take you down to the palace with me, but in case you do have a child by me, here's my belt. Give the child my belt and I'll know that it's my child. I'll take care of him or her in the future." So he left her and went down to Bangkok.
Her whole family soon followed down to Bangkok when they discovered that she actually was pregnant. They moved onto a floating house moored on the bank of the Chao Phraya River in front of a monastery, Wat In. She gave birth to a son and named him Toh, which means "large." When he was old enough, he was ordained as a novice. A few years later, when the nobleman had become King Rama II, the family took Novice Toh to Wat Nibbanaram — currently Wat Mahathaad, a temple right across the road from the Grand Palace — and showed the belt to the abbot. The abbot took the belt to the king and the king said, "Yes, that's my son." So he later sponsored Novice Toh's ordination as a monk.
When Prince Mongkut — later Rama IV — was ordained as a monk, Phra Toh was his "older brother monk," the one who gave him his initial training in Dhamma and Vinaya. Soon after Prince Mongkut's ordination, his father died, and although by birth Prince Mongkut was next in line for the throne, the Privy Council chose one of his half-brothers to reign as Rama III instead. When this happened, Phra Toh decided it would be wise to leave Bangkok, so he went into the forest. Prince Mongkut stayed on as a monk for 28 years, until Rama III passed away. He was then offered the throne, so he disrobed and was crowned King Rama IV.
Soon after his coronation he sent out word to fetch Phra Toh back to Bangkok. Officials went into the forest, dragging back any monk they could find, and asking, "Is this the monk?" "No." "Is this the monk?" "No." Finally word got to Phra Toh, and he came out voluntarily. The king gave him the title of Somdet — which, next to the Supreme Patriarch, is the highest title a monk can hold — and put him in charge of Wat Rakhang, the monastery across the river from the palace.
Rama IV is remembered as a wise and humane king. Somdet Toh's own epithet for him — in a brief poem he wrote summarizing the history and prophesizing the future of the Chakri (Bangkok) dynasty — was that he maintained or embodied the Dhamma. And Rama IV's desire to have Somdet Toh near the palace is an indication of his wisdom. He knew that, as king, he would have trouble finding people fearless and selfless enough to tell him frankly when he was wrong, and so he wanted his former teacher nearby to perform this function.
But even as the king's former teacher, Somdet Toh had to exercise tact and skill in criticizing the king.
One story tells that one day early in his reign, the king — and remember, he had been a monk for twenty-eight years — was sitting out on the boat landing in front of the palace drinking with his courtiers. So Somdet Toh came paddling across the river in a small boat. The king, displeased, said to him, "Here I've made you a Somdet. Don't you have any respect for your title? How can you paddle your own boat?" The Somdet replied, "When the king of the country is drinking in public, Somdets can paddle their own boats." Turning around, he paddled back to Wat Rakhang. That was the last time the king drank in public.
Another time, Rama IV felt that since Thailand had been laid waste by the Burmese, many ancient Thai customs had disappeared, so new customs should be developed to replace them. So he decided, "Wouldn't it be nice if we had a boat parade at the end of the rains retreat? Every monastery in Bangkok will be responsible for decorating a boat, and we'll have a contest to reward the best-looking boat." So the royal decree went out that every monastery in Bangkok had to decorate a boat for the parade.
When the day for the parade came, a long line of beautifully decorated boats floated past the royal reviewing stand — except for one, a little canoe carrying a monkey tied to a leash with a sign on its back. The king's immediate reaction was anger: "Somebody's making fun of me." He had his officials check the roster to see which monastery was responsible for the boat, and it was Wat Rakhang, Somdet Toh's monastery.
So they took the sign off the monkey to see what it said. It said, "Willing to lose face in order to save cloth," which rhymed in Thai, but didn't make any more sense in Thai than it does in English. A few days later, the king invited Somdet Toh into the palace for a meal and a Dhamma talk, after which he asked him, "Suppose someone sponsored a boat with a sign like this on the back of a monkey. What do you think it might mean?" And the Somdet said, "Well, it might mean that monks don't have any resources of their own to decorate boats and it's certainly not appropriate for them to ask for donations from laypeople to decorate boats, so the only course left open to them would to have been to put their robes in the pawn shop. So they were willing to lose face in order to save their robes." That was the last time the parade was ever held.
Another story concerns a funeral in the royal palace. Funerals in the palace could go on for a hundred days before the cremation. Every night they'd invite four monks to chant. The famous, high-ranking monks would chant toward the beginning of the hundred days, and by the end of the period they were getting down into the ranks of the junior monks. One night toward the end of this particular funeral they invited four young monks who had never seen the king before in their lives. And this was back in the days when if the king said, "Off with your head!" it was off with your head. So they were nervous about their performance. After all, the king had been a monk for 28 years. He would know if they made any mistakes in their chanting.
Finally the king entered the room, followed by his entourage. Now, Rama IV had a rather stern and fearsome appearance, and as soon as the monks took one look at him they went running behind a curtain. This infuriated the king. "What is this? Am I a monster? An ogre? What is this? Disrobe them immediately!" So a royal decree was written up and sent over the river for Somdet Toh to disrobe the monks. He happened to be sitting at a writing table, next to a small altar where incense was burning. Taking one look at the royal decree, he placed it over a stick of incense, burned three holes in it, and sent it back across the river to the palace. The king, of course, had studied Buddhist doctrine; he knew what the three fires were: the fire of passion, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. The Somdet's message was, "Put them out." So the monks didn't have to disrobe. That's how you criticize a king.
Once, however, Somdet Toh didn't get away with criticizing the king. There is a tradition recorded in the Apadanas that the Buddha's clan, the Sakyan clan, started from a time when the sons and daughters of a particular king had to leave their country. They took up residence in Kapilavastu, the area that eventually became the Buddha's home. After building their city and settling in, they looked around the area for spouses but couldn't find anyone who was high-born enough for them to marry. So the brothers ended up marrying their own sisters. That's the tradition recorded in the Apadanas to explain the name of the Sakyan — "One's Own" — clan.
One day Somdet Toh was giving a talk on this topic in the royal palace, and after discussing this point he continued, "Ever since then it's become a custom among royal families. Uncles go running after their nieces, cousins go running after their cousins..." Now, Rama IV's major queen was his niece, so again he was furious. "You cannot stay in this country!" he said. So Somdet Toh was banished from Thailand. Now, in Thailand the civil law does not extend into the sima, the territory immediately around ordination halls. For instance, if a thief goes running into a sima, the police have to get the abbot's permission before they can go into the sima after him. So the Somdet returned to Wat Rakhang and moved into the ordination hall. For about three months he didn't set foot outside the sima.
Meanwhile, the king had forgotten all about the banishment order, and one day he said, "We haven't had Somdet Toh over for a talk in a long time. Let's invite him over." So the invitation went across the river to the monastery, but word came back, saying "I cannot set foot in this country, remember?" "Oh," the king said, "I forgot." And he lifted the banishment order.
So it wasn't an easy thing to criticize kings in those days. Even if you were his personal teacher, you had to be careful.
Of course, not all of Somdet Toh's comments about the king were critical. After all, the respect he felt for the king was what had inspired him to leave the forest to be of help in the first place.
One of the most famous stories about their relationship concerns a Dhamma talk Somdet Toh gave in the palace. Palace Dhamma talks were highly ritualized affairs. The talk was expected to be long and literary, preceded with and followed by many elaborate chants and other formalities. Once Rama IV invited Somdet to present such a talk and had prepared an especially large pile of offerings to be presented to the Somdet after the talk — a sign that he was looking forward to an especially long and learned disquisition, to test the Somdet's knowledge of the Dhamma. After the beginning formalities, however, Somdet Toh said only one sentence: "The king already knows everything there is to know." Then he chanted the ritual passages to conclude the talk and returned to his seat on the dais, quiet and composed. Immensely pleased, the king presented him with the offerings, commenting that that was the best Dhamma talk he had ever heard. (Ajaan Lee tells the story that later another monk tried the same trick, but with different results: The king was so offended that he had the monk stripped of his ecclesiastical titles.)
At another, similar event at the palace, Somdet Toh began the closing blessing with the standard chant:
Yatha varivaha puraParipurenti sagaramEvameva ito dinnamPetanam upakappati...
Just as rivers full of water fill the ocean full,Even so does that given here benefit the hungry ghosts...
As he reached this point in the chant, the king in a very unusual breach of Buddhist etiquette called out, "Why are you giving all the merit to the hungry ghosts? What did they do to deserve it?"
Somdet Toh, without missing a beat, backed up to change the last line:
Evameva ito dinnamSabbam rañño upakappati...
Even so does everything given here benefit the king...
The king, who was fluent in Pali himself, was delighted with the Somdet's ability to think on his feet.
There are many other legends concerning Somdet Toh that don't deal with the king. Ajaan Fuang, my teacher, especially liked to tell a story of how Somdet Toh dealt with high-ranking lay people who would visit monasteries and waste the monks' time in idle conversation.
Somdet Toh ate his meals in a small open pavilion in front of his dwelling. If a stray dog wandered past, he would toss a little food to the dog — which meant that, over time, a whole pack of dogs would regularly come to sit around him at his meal time, waiting for food. This meant that if any high-ranking lay people wanted to come pay their respects and chat with him while he was eating, they'd have to bow down to the dogs as well. As a result, only the people who weren't too proud to bow down to the dogs got to talk to him during his mealtime.
Another story concerns a wealthy layman who wanted to invite Somdet Toh to his house for a meal and a Dhamma talk. Events like this would often be fairly public, with the donor inviting many friends and relatives to participate in the meal offering and to hear the talk. So the layman sent his servant to convey the invitation to Somdet Toh, saying that he wanted Somdet Toh to give a talk on a lofty topic, the four noble truths. Now, it so happened that the servant wasn't familiar with the term, "four noble truths" — which in Thai is ariyasat. To him, it sounded like naksat, or zodiac. So he told Somdet Toh that his master wanted to hear a Dhamma talk on the zodiac. The Somdet knew that this couldn't possibly be right, but the servant's mistake amused him, and he decided to use it as an opportunity to make a Dhamma point — and have a little fun at the same time.
When the day for the talk arrived, he went to the layman's house and, after the meal, got up on the sermon seat and began the talk by saying, "Today our esteemed host has invited me to deliver a Dhamma talk on the zodiac." He then proceeded to describe the twelve houses of the zodiac in a fair amount of detail. Meanwhile, the master was staring daggers at the servant. After finishing his description of the zodiac, the Somdet then added, "But, regardless of what house of the zodiac people are born into, they are all subject to suffering." With that, he switched to the four noble truths — and probably saved the servant's job.
Another time some Christian missionaries came to visit the Somdet. One of the missionary strategies in those days was to show off their knowledge of science so as to dazzle the heathens, win their respect, and possibly win converts. With Somdet Toh so closely associated with the king, perhaps they thought that if they could convert him, the king might be converted as well. So they discussed various scientific topics with him, and finally touched on the fact that they had proof that the world was round. The Somdet, instead of being surprised, said, "I know. In fact, I can show you where the center of the world is." This surprised the missionaries, so they asked him to show them. He got up, took his staff, went out in front of his hut, and planted the staff firmly on the ground, saying, "Right here."
"But how could that be?" they asked him.
He answered, "If the world is round, it's a sphere, right? And any point on the surface of the sphere is as central as any other point on the surface."
After that, the missionaries left him alone.
On the final day of the Rains retreat in 1868, Rama IV passed away. His eldest son, Prince Chulalongkorn, who was now Rama V, was only fifteen years old. As a result, the running of the government was placed in the hands of a Regent — Chao Phraya Sri Suriyawong (Chuang Bunnag) — who was to hold this office until Rama V reached maturity. (In a later reminiscence, Rama V stated that during this period he lived in constant fear of being assassinated.) Shortly after the Regency was instituted, Somdet Toh — who was now 80 — appeared at the Regent's palace in the middle of a sunny day, carrying a lit torch that he held aloft with one hand, and a long, narrow palm-leaf Dhamma text that he carried at a backward-sloping angle under his other arm. After he had walked through the palace halls in this way, word reached the Regent. The Regent respectfully approached Somdet Toh and asked him to take a seat, after which he assured him that he understood the Somdet's message: He would not allow his deliberations to be overcome with the darkness of defilement, and he would hold to the Dhamma as a rudder while steering the ship of state.
Four years later Somdet Toh passed away.
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