Sharing & Caring: Untie the knots

Knot in our heart

We are able to untie it,

What we need is a little bit of courage .

The purpose of practicing Dhamma ( lead a Dhamma way of life) is to gain happiness in life

(this life and life after this).

In order to live a happy life we need to find out what is the CAUSE of our unhappiness.

In the Sutra of Wu Liang Shou Jing(Chapter 33/48), Buddha had said,

”The rich and the poor are the same, fill with endless worries”.

The rich one are not happy in life and the poor even unhappier.

Till the day we have found the very reason(why we are not happy),otherwise we will be tying

down by this rope of unhappiness (worries,hatred,attachment,jealousy,greed etc,).

Unless we can untie the knots, other wise we will be moving round and round in a circle of unhappiness (depression) without ending like a cow tying under the tree.

It wanted to eat the grass that it can see but cannot reach. The rope is too short! It can only moves round and round the tree.

There was a young man who always visited a Zen Monk (Monk who practice Zen meditation) in a temple. Every time they met each other,the young man will post a question to the monk.

Usually the monk was managed to answer the young man’s questions and the young man was very satisfied with the answers.

One fine morning,this young man

went to see the monk again.

He was thinking of a more difficult question to test the monk.

While he was walking, he saw a cow was tying by a short rope to a tree.

The cow was going round and round the tree, trying to free itself in order to eat the nearby grass. But no matter how many rounds it went, it still cannot reach the juicy grass that was just infront of it.

(can see but cannot reach!)

Suddenly the young man got an idea. He decided to test the

monk by asking him how to define the meaning of “turning round and round”? (In mandarin is tuan tuan zhuan )

The monk answered the young man “ tuan tuan zhuan” just because the rope hasn’t untie.

The young man was shocked that the monk’s ability is really fantastic. He thought that the monk could see the cow even he was sitting in the shrine hall without going out.

The monk then smile and told the young man, the cow that he meant was the cow in fact(reasoning) but the cow the young man meant was the real cow which tie under the tree.

You think and see, isn’t it everyone of us also has a rope behind us ? Most of us has not only a rope but many ropes!

Our worries, attachment, inflexsible are the ropes that tie us down all this while.

We has all sort of worries about our family members, our work,our financial stage, our country, and the most important one is our destination in the end of the day (VISA due time).

Thinking of all of these isn’t it make us going round and round

(tuan tuan zhuan)?

Round until at night also cannot sleep well.

When our children were small we worried whether they will grow well or not, when they have grown up, we had to rush them to school, now they have finished schooling, we have to slot hard to find money to sent them to university, worries will not end yet, we then worry whether they are safely surviving or not as the world is becoming chaotic nowadays.

This is a kind of ropes which is tying us down tightly.

A businessman left his office for holiday with his family also cannot off his hand phone as he was worry whether his staffs will handle the business well or not.

He must call the office staffs every now and then to check and make sure every matters is in order then only he will feel ease.

This is another kind of ropes!

We always hear that people are giving excuses of not free to come to listen to Dhamma talk.

Actually it is not really they are not free but they are tying down by their invisible ropes (children or husband)

We think and see is it true?

When you are away from home for half an hour, you handphone will ring, your spouse or your children will call and ask,

“Where are you?”

“What time you will come back?”

“What are you doing out there?”

“Who is with you out there?”

This is another kind of rope!

Look at the picture on top.

Many ropes will make a net (with sharp hooks around!).

Most of us are caught in the net.

We lost our freedom.

Anyway responsibilties must be carry out. This is no choice but we

can free ourselves spiritually.

But how?

Master Chin Kung said,

“ Duo yi shi bu ru shao yi shi,

Shao yi shi bu ru wu shi,

Wu shi zui hao!”

Means the least matters (shi)

will be the best, keep life very simple, don’t create obstacles for ourselves。

Letting go is the answer.

Don’t carry the unnecessary thoughts with us ( hatred, grumble, jealous, worry, anger)

going round and round.

This will make our days very unhappy and tired. Just let go!

A kite cannot fly up very high because it has a string.

Just like us, life after life we are still round and round in this circle

(living and death), we could not gain enlightenment.

(eternal life~ means no death)

It doesn’t matter we have how much responsibilities we need to be bear( now). It will not affect us in practicing Dhamma.

Responsibilities is just like ropes, tying us tight physically (we need to work) but we can free ourselves spiritually.

Remember, no one can “jail” our mind unless we “ jail ”ourselves.

You may say you have no time to go for Dhamma talks because you have a lot of work to do, have to cook, have to fetch children to school or even your spouse doesn’t allow you to go out.

All these are not a problem as today Master Chin Kung’s Dhamma preaching DVD, books are available for us to bring home.

We can listen the Dhamma talk at home anytime we like.

Now a day with the internet service available, we even can listen to Dhamma Talk directly from You Tube.

Modern technology make Dhamma Talk conveniently can be reach with just a computer and a modem at home. Even a

Smart phone can serve this purpose.

Use your smart phone for listening to Dhamma Talk is more beneficial and meaningful than sending unnecessary SMS or chitchat for “passing time” purpose.