No 800 of Living Life Series 1
If indeed life is suffering why go for more of suffering? We should go for less and suffer less.
But men of the world are attached to the ways of the world. They would rather suffer for whatever worldly gains they can lay hold on, knowing full well, these would not last and would lead men to go for more and in the long run loose them all.
But to live without worldly ends is to deny life and to live away from society and perhaps to be empty and to suffer more.
But men of the world are attached to the ways of the world. They would rather suffer for whatever worldly gains they can lay hold on, knowing full well, these would not last and would lead men to go for more and in the long run loose them all.
But to live without worldly ends is to deny life and to live away from society and perhaps to be empty and to suffer more.
The premise that men need not forgo worldly life and must go for less so that they will suffer less may be the middle ground of sorts. But it may still not be the ideal.
Why can't we suffer not at all right now and be happy and at peace truly and ever more. That is to ask everyone to be a saint overnight but this is not the case. We cannot just wish to be a saint overnight not even if we surrender our souls to a saint.
No saint would want to be deceptive and give us false hope in just believing and be saved. We have to work our way and arrive at it under guidance but not be given sainthood or salvation just by belief.
So while we cannot wish away suffering in worldly life, we have the practical choice to want to suffer less - a bit less at a time till one day we arrive.
If indeed life is suffering disguised as pleasures which are transient and give way to wants, why go for more of pleasures. If indeed, we don't like suffering of life, why go for more, when we can do with less. Live less and have more of life...
Live a simple life but this is just too dull and boring to those so used to worldliness and its trappings, never mind that these are not substantial, are imperfect and not satisfactory in the long run. In short, these are the ultimate suffering disguised as pleasures of the world.
Many will try to lead a simpler life but find life just wee bit dull and boring. Yet they are not willing to go back to more suffering of more worldly life. Some end up looking for excitement in a temple, a house of God and turning it upside down and inside out by sticking to their foolhardy worldly ways.
But they still do some good to a temple but is this what is their destiny or karma when the problem lies in that they know not enough of the Word.
They are far and yet near. They are near and yet far. Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) says that the far may be near and the near far, didn't he?
The spiritual path is not as simple as we think. We cannot be saints over night. We cannot do way with suffering or worldly desires over night.
We have to be with the world but be less attached and suffer less. But we are still worldly and do suffer ever the same. This can be disconcerting.
But we are progressing and that matters. We are still far from sainthood but yet a bit nearer though far off. What matters is that we are making it, coming to terms with life and having more peace and less restlessness by having and living less of the worldly life, by simplifying our life and humbling ourselves through simple life. We have less pride and swallow our pride.
The humble will be exalted in the end. Didn't saints like Jesus say so in many ways, spoken and unspoken?
Siddhartha descended from royal princely life to a man on the street before he attained sainthood. Jesus was of humble background but has the stature of Son of God - higher than King Herod of Roman Judea in his day as man.
Siddhartha descended from royal princely life to a man on the street before he attained sainthood. Jesus was of humble background but has the stature of Son of God - higher than King Herod of Roman Judea in his day as man.
