【窮鬼纏身的因】

A proficient Chinese Metaphysics practitioner does not bet.

World Cup, horse racing etc...I can foretell the result when I want to.

And I already started doing so (though amateurishly) since UEFA Euro 2004.

But I never like to make money this way, because these winnings tend to come at a high price and aren't aligned with the Eightfold Path.

Only laymen risk their money on unknown outcomes and get all high and foolish over it.

Word of advice: NEVER be so greedy to get into a job where you encourage/lure/trick people to lose their hard-earned money, legally or illegally.

Don't be a bookie or a runner.

Leave before it's too late. You will form too many negative affinities in your this and future lifetimes.

Nobody wins when they bet against Karma.

我命非天排，一切自己來

FOR ALL SINGLE-PARENT CHILDREN OUT THERE

I have seen clients who are from single-parent families. They tend to have a very pessimistic view of the world and more suspicious of others.

They think they can never be happy for long. That happiness will forever eschew them. And they get very negative as soon as they have a taste of happiness.

I know that emotional yoyo like the back of my hand. For I share the same family background as them.

What makes it worse is people around them look down on my clients.

Say for my woman clients, their in-laws sometimes smirk at them for coming from single-parent backgrounds.

I find it ridiculous. For which child would want to grow up without one parent by his/her side? Why should my client be penalised for her parents having an unsuccessful marriage?

I had the good fortune never having to face such discrimination before in my life.

Maybe because I manage to complete my university education under very adverse circumstances and that gave me a head start in life.

But some of my clients:

1) Were juvenile deliquents
2) Never completed secondary school
3) Ran away from home during their teenage days
4) Mixed with bad company
5) Had occupations that can never be spoken aloud
6) Were badly abused and couldn't be healthy emotionally

They continued to have a very rough life because they couldn't break out from the cycle of poverty.

And on the end of the spectrum, I see some male clients being very irresponsible in their relationships. They have a hard time trying to stay faithful, despite craving for family stability.

One of them ask me, "How did you manage to break out from this self-destructive cycle of living and have such a normal and happier life than most of us?"

My answer:

I had never wanted to destroy myself, right from the start.

As a little girl, I couldn't wait to grow up. I have no fond memories of my childhood.

Too many times, I wanted to run away from home or commit suicide and end my wretched life. I had a diary where I analysed all possible ways of dying. I wasn't even 10.

But I pushed on and stayed. I knew it was the right thing to do, even though it was very torturous for me.

I just waited my time.

Some say I am lucky that I can study, compared to some of them. Yes, you're not wrong to say that. But studying got progressively harder for me since junior college, where I was failing Econs, Maths and GP like tumbling dominoes.

I was under a lot of stress. The family abuse never stop even as I grew older.

The only thing that pushed me back then, was I was die-hard determined to carve a future for myself.

I wanted to get a good job and start a business.

I wanted to marry a good man and set up a stable family.

I would not allow my children to grow up in a single-parent family nor go through the pain I had.

By hook or by crook, I will singlehandedly make it happen. I don't need anyone's sympathy or donations.

That was the vision I had when I was a kid.

The first time I really felt a stranger care was when my secondary school (I was from Henderson) sent us single-parent children to counselling.

The counsellor was a petite young lady with long permed hair, from Club Rainbow.

Every week, she would come to our school and spend one hour talking to us.

There were 3 of us, me and my 2 Indian girl classmates. We weren't the problematic kind. In fact, our academic work was above average.

I thought it was annoying for the school to send me to counselling. I didn't think I have any emotional problem that I can't handle. I was 14, for goodness sake.

The first time the counsellor asked us to draw a picture that represented ourselves, I drew a rooster caught in the thunderstorms. All drenched and miserable. I ended up blubbering during the session.

To my dismay, I gradually looked forward to the weekly sessions with my counsellor.

Once, she even brought all 3 of us to the Zoo.

I can't remember her name, but till now, more than 25 years on, I still have a soft spot towards Club Rainbow.

And that time, when my SAJC form teacher, Ms Yow, helped pay for my school fees first, because my mum couldn't give me the money.

...When HDB didn't take back our home, despite the inability to pay up...

...When our MP wrote a letter to plead for us...

...When PUB didn't throw us into court, when we reconnected our own utilities supply (many times) after being cut off. My first lesson in circuitry...

...When NUS grant me an extra bursary to help with my university expenses...and I use it to buy my very first computer for project work...

It is little moments like these in my life, that spurred me on when I felt like giving up.

Having received so much help from so many strangers, how could I turn astray and be a good-for-nothing?

How could I speak bad of the government, even when it had its shortcomings?

Gratitude, even though at times reluctantly, had a huge influence on me.

And my unwillingness to bow down to my fate.

At the end of the day, I still wanted to be filial to my parents.

That's how I fought till today.

The biggest game changer was of course learning the Dharma from Shifu and my Grandmaster, Living Buddha Lian Sheng. It gave me unprecedented clarity into the workings of karma and destiny. Instead of continuing to fight against my destiny, I learnt to accept it and improve from there, by walking the Eightfold Path.

I learnt to love everyone and hate no one.

I learnt to let the Light into my heart, casting out the darkness within.

I learnt to give before I take.

I learnt to forgive and repent, instead of asking "Why me?".

I slowly stopped thinking nobody loves me.

Sorry I don't have a one-size-fit-all motivation talk.

But no matter what age you are, where you are from, there are many single-parent children like us who have made it bigger than they thought possible.

There's nothing to be ashamed of, as long as we are earning money through the legitimate way. I was so Pikachu proud of myself when I sold green bean soups and char siew baos at 14, for my first holiday job. Still am.

Didn't thought I would end up like this now, after all I went through.

I have never once been embarrassed of my roots, for they have made me who I am today. And I will hammer anyone who belittles me for that. :D

In case you didn't know, Presidents Obama, Bill Clinton and George Washington were from single-parent families.

So were Confucius and Mencius.

Not forgetting Jay Chou and Vivian Hsu too.

This shows only one thing, it is never too late to create our own Destiny.

Not going to be easy, not going to be without tears, but it's tons better than staying put like a broken yoyo, that cries out its life story to everybody even at age 50.

Grow, Tree, GROW! Don't stump your own Destiny.

We are not victims of circumstances. Our parents' decisions and actions remain theirs, not ours.

We are masters of our own Life.

Don't let anyone or yourself take that power away from you.

The grit you show will never go unrewarded.

Your hand in my hand, let's do this.

【玳瑚師父佛學論】 《我佛慈悲》
The Compassionate Buddha and I (English version below)

在吾閱人無數的歲月裡，有著相當「驚人」的發現。這驚人的發現是很多很多人都認為祇要是佛菩薩，又或者是學佛的人，都得慈悲眾生。佛菩薩肯定是慈悲的，這點請君勿質疑。凡是真正實修佛法的三寶弟子，都明明白白要成就佛，要成就菩薩的果位，必然要覺行圓滿，而在覺行圓滿的當中，五根五力、六波羅密、七菩提分、八正道，都是必修的功課，慈悲也在其中。

吾曾經碰過一位阿姨，因女兒非常篤信佛法，且有出家之念頭，而辱罵佛陀。當時吾與一位師姐雙雙耐心地為她宣說如來的教義，但在極度憤慨的情況下，相信是很難稍安勿燥的，接受他人的勸解。更何況，她的佛緣並不深厚，也還沒到，故可以理解。事實還未查明之前，千萬不可人雲亦雲、道聽途說、批評及誹謗。那是很容易招來，不測之災的。

佛陀貴為王子，坐擁佳麗三千，有享不盡的榮華富貴，卻選擇放棄，出走皇宮尋找解脫生死之法。後再將幾經辛苦，證據之心法，教於吾等眾生，這就是最大的慈悲啊！所有得證的大成就者也都必須千垂百練，方能證得佛陀所證得的。離苦得樂的方法，早已傳下幾千年，妳你們好逸惡勞、認假為真、紙醉金迷，一直蹉跎歲月，不肯解脫，反怪佛菩薩不慈悲，那其實是謗佛。

我佛慈悲是指我等與佛慈悲，而不是常望佛或他人，慈悲於妳你。若是這樣，妳你其實是在佔佛及他人的便宜，來世的「債」就會更多。慈悲是包含著智慧與道德的。屢犯不改的人又怎麼可以說佛菩薩不慈悲呢？

------------------

In my many years of reading people, I made a shocking discovery in that a lot of people feel that the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, and even Buddhists, must show compassion to others. Make no mistake, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas definitely possess the noble quality of compassion. All true practitioners of the Dharma also agree that in order to attain the spiritual enlightenment of the Buddha and Bodhisattva, the practitioner must walk the complete path of spiritual practice. This includes the necessary practices of the Five Spiritual Faculties and Powers, the Six Paramitas, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, The Eightfold Noble Paths, etc. Compassion is part of the practice as well.

I once met a middle-aged lady who heaped venomous abuse on the Buddha because her daughter was a pious Buddhist and very keen in entering nunhood. At that time, together with another Dharma sister, we patiently tried to explain to her the teachings of the Buddha. But under such extreme agitation, it was hard for her to remain calm and accept our advice. Furthermore, her affinity with the Dharma is faint and untimely, so her rejection at that time was understandable. Before the truth is out, please do not depend on hearsay to criticize or slander. Such negative behaviour display is a magnet for unpredictable misfortunes to come your way easily.

Lord Buddha was born a prince, with 3000 concubines and unimaginable riches, but He chose to give it all up and escape from the Palace in search for the Way of Liberation from birth and death. The Truth that would release sentient beings from eternal sufferings. He went through great toils and suffering before realizing the Truth and spent the rest of His life imparting the Dharma to sentient beings. This is the greatest compassion of all! All enlightened sages went through immense hardship in their quest for the same Truth which Lord Buddha had realized. The Path to free yourself from sufferings and attain true happiness has been passed down for a few thousand years. You allow yourself to succumb to sloth, greed and ignorance, wasting precious time, refusing the Truth and yet have the audacity to accuse the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of not showing any compassion towards you! This is an grave act of slander.

The compassion of the Buddha exists in us too. We have the same ability to be compassionate to others and ourselves too. It is futile to expect the Buddha or anyone else to show compassion to us. If you harbour such a thought, you are taking advantage of the Buddha and others. Your karmic debt will increase in your future lifetimes. Compassion also encompasses wisdom and morals. How can one who keeps committing the same mistake but refuses to correct himself accuse the Buddha of not being compassionate?

Photography：Luis Chiang

ご視聴くださり、ありがとうございます^^
もう少し...コメントoffにさせてください！

暮らしのvlogです
ヤマブキと水仙
八重を眺める日
アウター作ったけど出かけられず...
いま、平和に暮らせていることに感謝して^^

＊よろしければチャンネル登録お願いします＊

instagram☞asako__kuma
https://www.instagram.com/asako__kuma/?hl=ja


掲載書籍
『自分の機嫌は「家事」でとる』
たくさんの方に見ていただけてうれしいです、ありがとうございます🙏💕
Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4074415666



Thank you for watching^^
I'm always happy with your warm comments!

Japanese rose and narcissus
a day of gazing at the eightfold
I made an outer, but I couldn't go out. ...
Thanks for living peacefully now ^^


Camera ☞ Canon M5
Camera stand ☞ Velbon EX-647
Editing program ☞ DaVinci Resolve (free)


music:

NirvanaVEVO
Chris Zabriskie
http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/
http://chriszabriskie.com/

Laserdisc
Chris Zabriskie
http://chriszabriskie.com/
http://chriszabriskie.com/honor/

That Kid in Fourth Grade Who Really Liked the Denver Broncos
Chris Zabriskie
http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/
http://chriszabriskie.com/


#vlog #暮らし #生活