One afternoon, Head Nun called us together and read to us from a book entitled "The Golden Words of the Buddha". The book was a compilation of Buddha's quotations on various topics such as Peace, Desire, Attachment, etc. Again I had never heard such words of wisdom before and I asked Head Nun whether I could reproduce a few lines here. She agreed without hesitation, so here they are:
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it from without.
Leave the past alone, do not worry about the future, do not cling to the present and you will achieve calm.
Desire causes suffering because it cannot be completely gratified.
Let one's thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world - above, below and across - without any hatred, without any enmity.
The wise man builds no hopes for the future, entertains no regrets for the past.
You must be patient, full of compassion, willing to serve.
There are actually 192 quotations in that book and I felt the need to share them with others but who? The nuns already know them.
As I walked out of the prayer hall, I caught sight of "Bao", the name I had given to the old dog resident at the temple. I'm not quite sure to whom he belongs but the poor creature is always chained to a bench. He isn't fierce or violent and sleeps through most of the day. So why he has to be tied up, I cannot fathom. I made a note to ask Head Nun about it later.
I walked up to him and said "Hello." He greeted me with a short "woof" and that is about all the conversation we have when we meet. Nobody teaches language classes at the temple, otherwise I might have learnt how to speak "Dog". So most of the time we sit together watching the cars go by or looking at the sunset. We don't have to speak. We have established some kind of bond between us and I must say he's not too bad for a dog.
So I asked him whether he would like to hear some of Buddha's teachings. He answered with a "woof, woof" which I took to be a "yes, yes" and started reading. I didn't know whether he understood what I was reading but by the time I reached the 50th quote, he had fallen asleep. Poor old Bao.
I shall end with a quote from the book:
"Look at everyone equally, irrespective of rich or poor, noble or of low caste" ... and may I add, cat or dog.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it from without.
Leave the past alone, do not worry about the future, do not cling to the present and you will achieve calm.
Desire causes suffering because it cannot be completely gratified.
Let one's thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world - above, below and across - without any hatred, without any enmity.
The wise man builds no hopes for the future, entertains no regrets for the past.
You must be patient, full of compassion, willing to serve.
There are actually 192 quotations in that book and I felt the need to share them with others but who? The nuns already know them.
As I walked out of the prayer hall, I caught sight of "Bao", the name I had given to the old dog resident at the temple. I'm not quite sure to whom he belongs but the poor creature is always chained to a bench. He isn't fierce or violent and sleeps through most of the day. So why he has to be tied up, I cannot fathom. I made a note to ask Head Nun about it later.
I walked up to him and said "Hello." He greeted me with a short "woof" and that is about all the conversation we have when we meet. Nobody teaches language classes at the temple, otherwise I might have learnt how to speak "Dog". So most of the time we sit together watching the cars go by or looking at the sunset. We don't have to speak. We have established some kind of bond between us and I must say he's not too bad for a dog.
So I asked him whether he would like to hear some of Buddha's teachings. He answered with a "woof, woof" which I took to be a "yes, yes" and started reading. I didn't know whether he understood what I was reading but by the time I reached the 50th quote, he had fallen asleep. Poor old Bao.
I shall end with a quote from the book:
"Look at everyone equally, irrespective of rich or poor, noble or of low caste" ... and may I add, cat or dog.
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