Humble Table, Wise Fare
A moment of loving kindness: all things are good;
A moment of anger: a thousand situations turn evil.
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Find out what happen to them in this podcast episode: https://bit.ly/2YBcuCv
Once upon a time, there lived three people in a house, each with a disability. One was deaf, another was blind, and the third crippled. They met in a hospital, later became good friends and then lived together. Their house was designed to suit their individual needs so they could easily carry out their daily routines.
One day, the deaf person was cooking lunch. While busy with the stove, a kitchen towel caught fire. He panicked and tried to put it out with water but, before he knew it, the fire spread, and it quickly raged out of control.
He ran to warn his two friends. In a panic, they had to rapidly resolve issues: What can they do first? How do they respond? More importantly, how do they escape the fire safely despite their disabilities?
The blind person thought of a plan. He told his crippled friend to get on his back so he could carry him. He then grabbed his deaf friend’s arm and signaled for him to follow. All three of them were to be guided outside to safety by the instructions of their crippled friend.
Quickly, the three of them managed to evacuate the house. Outside, the firemen had just arrived. Amazed at their teamwork and cooperation, they had safely escaped the fire.
The moral of the story is that in this world, we rely on one another and coexist together. All things are made possible from causes and conditions. Nothing exists on its own, no person is an island, this is the unchanging truth of the universe.
Take a flower for example. Planting the seed is the cause. But it cannot bloom without conditions such as soil, water, sunlight, and air. All these conditions come together to make it possible for this flower to blossom. Likewise, the house we live in requires more than just bricks and cement. We need other materials such as slates, steel, wood, nails, glass, and so on. Also, we need builders, designers, plumbers, architects, and other professionals. This ensures a house has solid foundations, preventing damage and other issues.
Buddhism explains that the human body is made up of the four great elements, consisting of earth, water, fire, and air, as well as the five skandhas. Skandhas mean “aggregates.” The Five Skandhas are: form, feeling, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness. Form includes everything we can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste. Feelings occur when the mind responds to the outside world, and our perception refers to how we conceptualize or connect with external phenomena. Once we are aware of what is happening around us, that’s when mental formations are formed. They refer to activities that are produced from the awareness of mental objects. Last but not least, our consciousness, which is our awareness of ourselves and the world around us. For example, by using the same sense of smell, our awareness differentiates between pleasant and unpleasant smells.
As the human body is made up of the four great elements and five skandhas, if any element is absent, the body cannot exist. If any of these conditions that make up a human body is unbalanced, that is when we fall sick.
Buddhism speaks of the principle of causes and conditions. It means that all things come to fruition from causes and conditions. All existence follows this reciprocal relationship, hence the law of causes and conditions is the Truth.
If one can contemplate causes and conditions, we know how to appreciate all people and things we encounter in our lives. Furthermore, we must cultivate causes and conditions by making affinities with others. This will pave the way to ensuring that everything runs smoothly. It is often said, “in unity is strength,” meaning if we come together as one, we can survive. Just like in this story, the deaf, the blind, and the crippled needed to help one another and cooperate harmoniously to escape the fire. In other words, the right causes and conditions were there for the three of them to overcome the disaster.
Just as Venerable Master Hsing Yun says,
“Things arise out of causes and conditions.
Things disappear due to causes and conditions.
With causes and conditions, all goes well.
Without good causes and conditions, success is impossible.”
Once upon a time, there lived three people in a house, each with a disability. One was deaf, another was blind, and the third crippled. They met in a hospital, later became good friends and then lived together. Their house was designed to suit their individual needs so they could easily carry out their daily routines.
One day, the deaf person was cooking lunch. While busy with the stove, a kitchen towel caught fire. He panicked and tried to put it out with water but, before he knew it, the fire spread, and it quickly raged out of control.
He ran to warn his two friends. In a panic, they had to rapidly resolve issues: What can they do first? How do they respond? More importantly, how do they escape the fire safely despite their disabilities?
The blind person thought of a plan. He told his crippled friend to get on his back so he could carry him. He then grabbed his deaf friend’s arm and signaled for him to follow. All three of them were to be guided outside to safety by the instructions of their crippled friend.
Quickly, the three of them managed to evacuate the house. Outside, the firemen had just arrived. Amazed at their teamwork and cooperation, they had safely escaped the fire.
The moral of the story is that in this world, we rely on one another and coexist together. All things are made possible from causes and conditions. Nothing exists on its own, no person is an island, this is the unchanging truth of the universe.
Take a flower for example. Planting the seed is the cause. But it cannot bloom without conditions such as soil, water, sunlight, and air. All these conditions come together to make it possible for this flower to blossom. Likewise, the house we live in requires more than just bricks and cement. We need other materials such as slates, steel, wood, nails, glass, and so on. Also, we need builders, designers, plumbers, architects, and other professionals. This ensures a house has solid foundations, preventing damage and other issues.
Buddhism explains that the human body is made up of the four great elements, consisting of earth, water, fire, and air, as well as the five skandhas. Skandhas mean “aggregates.” The Five Skandhas are: form, feeling, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness. Form includes everything we can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste. Feelings occur when the mind responds to the outside world, and our perception refers to how we conceptualize or connect with external phenomena. Once we are aware of what is happening around us, that’s when mental formations are formed. They refer to activities that are produced from the awareness of mental objects. Last but not least, our consciousness, which is our awareness of ourselves and the world around us. For example, by using the same sense of smell, our awareness differentiates between pleasant and unpleasant smells.
As the human body is made up of the four great elements and five skandhas, if any element is absent, the body cannot exist. If any of these conditions that make up a human body is unbalanced, that is when we fall sick.
Buddhism speaks of the principle of causes and conditions. It means that all things come to fruition from causes and conditions. All existence follows this reciprocal relationship, hence the law of causes and conditions is the Truth.
If one can contemplate causes and conditions, we know how to appreciate all people and things we encounter in our lives. Furthermore, we must cultivate causes and conditions by making affinities with others. This will pave the way to ensuring that everything runs smoothly. It is often said, “in unity is strength,” meaning if we come together as one, we can survive. Just like in this story, the deaf, the blind, and the crippled needed to help one another and cooperate harmoniously to escape the fire. In other words, the right causes and conditions were there for the three of them to overcome the disaster.
Just as Venerable Master Hsing Yun says,
“Things arise out of causes and conditions.
Things disappear due to causes and conditions.
With causes and conditions, all goes well.
Without good causes and conditions, success is impossible.”
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