External Things (1)

1 The objective condition is changeable. You better not hold it stiffly that the objective condition is certain to be what you think. Let’s take an example of mosquito. The mosquitoes at home are very patient. They always hide in the corner out of your sight, waiting silently. When you go into sleep and the surrounding gets silent, then, they come out to bite you. However, the mosquitoes in mountain or park are different. They go all out to approach your body dauntlessly, biting and flying away. So, as mosquito, they are same and have common purpose of sucking blood but their ways are entirely different.

2 Also, people’s fortunes are as the same as mosquito, varying with different environments. Not all kind people receive good return; not all evil people receive punishment.

3 Longfeng, Bigan and Qizi were good men and officials, they were loyal to their sovereigns; but Longfeng was killed; Bigan was heart-ripped; Qizi was forced to disguise as a madman by their sovereigns respectively. Of course, some evil men could not escape punishment also, such as Elai who was killed, and Jie and Zhou who lost their countries.

4 In this world, if you hold firmly some ideas, unwilling to change, then you are certain to confront troubles. Since our childhood, we have been educated to be loyal to our nation, society, family and employer. But will you certainly have good result because you are loyal? There are many unemployed middle age workers who are firmly loyal to work in a position for a company. But in considering the cost, the boss may have a different thinking. The boss deems that, to do the same work, the older worker in forties or fifties, has higher salary compare to a young newcomer, may be only half of it. Under this consideration, some boss may find a pretext to fire the older one. If you work in a position for a company all your live, what skills you have are limit in one field. Once you are lay off, it is difficult for you to find a new job again.

5 In the past Wu Zixu was loyal to Fuchai, the King of Wu, but once the king distrusted him, he was forced to commit suicide by throwing himself into the river. Changhong was loyal to The King Ling of Zhou but once the king turned hostile suddenly, he was banished to Sichuan and at last was killed by hollowing out belly. Sichuanese regarded the loyal staff’s blood must be very precious. They collected and stored it, after three years, the blood converted into a piece of green jade. Did this valuable jade has any meaning to Changhong? When Changhong was killed, could you imaging what the definition of loyal in Changhong’s mind?

6 The worldly moral standards require us to have filial piety to parents, but is dutiful son certain to receive parents’ love? Xiaosi, the son of Emperor Gao of Yin had much filial piety to his parents but his stepmother often abused him. Finally, he died for sadness. Zengcan, one of Confucius’s disciples, also was a well-known dutiful son. He often suffered since his parents whipped him.

7 The objective environment is what we call the “external thing”, which we must know it clearly. We should not confer and arrange totally by our own view. If you insist on your own views, and firmly think it will have certain result, you may be in pain eventually for disappointment. Avalokite Bodhisattva said, “Five aggregates are empty, so that all suffering and pain can be eliminated.” In the other side, five aggregates, the external things, -- form, sensation, conception, action, and consciousness, are the sources of our pain, which we should be discreet to.

8 In the objective environment, wood friction makes fire. When metal is heated, if fire is strong enough and time is long enough, it melts. If Yin and Yang lose balance, there are calamities happening in this world, such as typhoon, tsunami, earthquake, flood and drought.

9 Thunder, lightning and storm result from unbalance of Yin and Yang. In storm, lightning hits down pagoda tree though it is in rain and wind.

10 The interest is what we pursue and the harm is what we avoid. However, is there no harm in the interest? Zhuge Liang led a life of leisure in Nan Yang. Liu Bei invited him as minister. The minister was second to emperor, which was the interest and position that people sought for. Since the day when he was inaugurated, he was obsessed by state affairs until the day when he died in the army camp. Isn’t it bitter for him to moil in all life? Isn’t the bitter in the interest?

11 To be honest, if we reach out to operate in the objective environment and stay with form, sensation, conception, action, and consciousness, then the conflict of interest is inevitable to take place so as to make us anxiety-ridden, scary and nervous.

12 When heart is so stirring, sound, tranquility and peace become impossible and “Tao” is buried and dismissed.