what is buddhist practice?

hi there

kevin had a letter sent to our home address.  it was inadvertently opened by andrew.  i emailed kevin, told him about this and asked him to collect this letter.  last night, he came to get his letter but afterwards, he called me and asked: did u open my letter?

i must say that i was very disturbed because this means that he doubted in my integrity, though  this could just be his natural instinct.

what i had learned from my 16 yrs of buddhist practice from SGI is:

RESPECT and give, and this is the basis of  buddhist practice.

Which is sometimes mistaken as mysterious, superstitious, far-fetched,

so what is buddhist practice?  it starts from our daily lives, it is  just 'how we live our daily lives' to respect and give.

 

• respect  for our own life: it could be as simple as eat and dress sensibly, have enough rest, do the best in our jobs and at home, be happy in whatever we do, keeping ourselves clean,  try to improve our skills, etc....

 

• respect for others and our environment: simple things like not wasting food, water and all resources; turning off the lights when we leave a room; dont let the water run when we wash our hands; recycle whatever is recycleable.

 

i remember my mother used to remove banana skin when she saw one in the streets because she said: this will make people fall, and this, is Buddhist practice indeed.

 

give: Buddhism is giving.  it does not have to be monetary, sometimes a smile or kind words or a pat on the shoulder would be a great gift. 

 

consistently doing the above will bring forth our higher self (buddhahood) creating happiness for ourselve and other people, but sometimes though simple as it may seem, we may not be able to do so due to our emotions, situations, etc. 

 

 this is why we chant nam myo ho renge kyo everyday to keep us in a higher life condition. 

 

i apologize for this long email, but i sincerely hope that this will clarify some doubts and questions in our minds.

 

cheers

 

lydia

 

Kevin有一封信寄到我們的住址的信, 而Andrew無意中打開了。我通過電子郵件告訴Kevin，並請他來收這封信。昨晚他來到收他的信，後來他打電話給我，問：是不是你打開我的信？   我必須說，我非常不安，因為這意味著他對我的誠信表示懷疑，雖然這可能僅僅是他的自然反應。

從我16年從SGI教導的佛教實踐裹, 我學會了尊重和給予，這是佛法修行的基礎。那麼，什麼是修行? 很多時佛法修行會被誤認為是神秘的，迷信及牽強附會的. 其實佛法修行根本存在我們的日常生活中，佛法即生活, 它是要'我們學會尊重和布施.  

• 尊重我們自己的生命：這可以是非常簡單, 例如我們適當健康的飲食和穿衣; 有足夠的休息; 在我們的工作和家庭將自己的責任做到最好; 無論我們做什麼都能快樂及感恩; 保持自己清潔, 家居乾淨; 努力提高我們的技能; 等....

• 尊重他人及我們的環境：這也可以做簡單的事情比如不浪費食物, 水和所有資源; 當我們離開房間時耍掉燈; 我們洗手不要讓水不停的開着; 盡量用環保紙及放適當的紙, 膠樽, 玻璃入環保筒內等.....   我記得母親生前看到了街上的香蕉皮時，她一定會適當的處理，因為她說：這會使人跌倒，與人方便就確實是佛法修行。  布施：佛教教我們布施。而布施不一定是指金錢，有時一個微笑，–句好話或拍拍肩膀也可是一個偉大的布施。堅持做以上的行為將會令我們提高境涯（也是成佛之道）可以為自己和他人創造幸福. 但有時看起來雖然簡單，但由於種種因素, 我們可能不能時時做到.

這就是為什麼我們每天唸'南無妙法蓮華經'讓我們提高自己的生命狀態.   
我真心希望以上能澄清及解答一些對佛法上的疑問和誤會，令我們更喜悅的去做佛法修行, 令自他得到幸福! 

you are not alone

last night i saw on TV a group of hong kong artists, about 40+ in number, singing a japanese song called "you are not alone".  they say 'dont be afraid of the rain, the wind, the snow, the fierce sun, i want to be this person'.  everyone was trying their best to pronounce accurate japanese, singing with their hearts and at the end they all stretched out their helping hands.

i was moved.  i could see 40+ buddhas, singing and opening their hearts to support and encourage the japanese people.  this is buddhist practice indeed.

in my next email, maybe we can share some thoughts as to "what is buddhist practice?"

cheers

lydia

昨晚我在電視上看到一組香港藝術家，數量約 40+，一齊唱一首名為“你並不孤單"的日本歌曲。“他們說'不要怕雨，風，雪，激烈的太陽，我想成為這樣的人"。他們每個人都用心的, 盡力的去用準確的日文去唱出歌詞, 並在最後，他們都伸出了援助之手。

我真被他們感動。我可以看到40 多位佛，齊心的唱歌，並開放他們的心, 伸出他們的手去支持和鼓勵日本人民。的確，這就是佛道修行了。

在我的下一個電子郵件，也許我們可以分享一下，以“什麼是佛道修行？“

my little toyota

today i took my little toyota corolla for servicing.  the whole procedure took less than one hour.  during this time i sat in a very nice lounge drinking cuppacino, eating cookies, and reading a travel magazine (all compliments of toyota).  before i finished the magazine, the work was done.

everything was done to perfection, and they even cleaned the inside and outside of the car.  my car looks sparkling new.  i am very happy and impressed with toyota.  to me, this process is pleasurable and enjoyable.

as i was driving, i felt very very happy.  one year ago,  i said : due to vanity, i used to have branded cars (mercedes, BMWs, jacquars before) but its this little car that i like and enjoy best.  one year later, my feeling has not changed.

in my 16 years of buddhist practice, day in and day out,  chanting nam myo ho renge kyo helps me  purify myself, cleanse my bad thoughts and impurities, thus enabling me to find joy in little and simple things.

sometime ago, a senior SGI member said: the biggest benefit in budhhist practice is the 'purification'  of our six senses (六根清淨) , which helps us to think, see, hear, smell, taste and feel better, and this is the basis for happiness.

glad to share.

lydia

今天我把我的小豐田事進行維修。整個過程用了不到一小時。在此期間，我坐在豐田車行裹一個很不錯的休息室喝cuppacino，吃餅乾，和閱讀一本旅遊雜誌（所有是豐田免費供應）。在我未看完雜誌維修的工作已完成。
一切維修的工作都做得很完美，他們甚至把汽車的內外都抹得乾乾淨淨令我的車看起來閃閃發光。我感到非常高興。對我來說，這個維修的過程是令人愉快的。
當我開車時，我感到非常非常高興。一年以前，我說：以前因為虛名, 我擁有名牌汽車（benz，寶馬和jacquars等），但其實，我真正喜歡和享受的是這小小的豐田車。一年後，我的感覺沒有改變。
在我16年持續的佛法修行，天天唱誦南無妙法蓮華經幫助我淨化自己，淨化我的壞想法和生命的污濁，使我能夠開始懂得從很小的事和簡單生活裹得到樂趣。
很久以前，一位SGI的資深成員說：修行佛法最大的功德是六根清淨, (淨化我們的六個感官)，使我們能思考，看，聽，嗅覺，味覺，感覺得更清楚，這是幸福的基礎。

andrew and tissue

hi there

shaing something very funny with u about andrew.

yesterday after lunch i started chanting.  soon andrew came to join me.  i saw that he had a bit of white stuff at the corner of his mouth and thought it was food, so i asked him to wipe it off.

he touched it and said it was just a scrap of tissue he used to wipe his mouth. he took the scrap with his two fingers, wanting to throw on the floor.  i stared at him and said: pls dont throw onto the floor.    then he rolled the scrap with his fingers into a smaller pc and looked at the coffee table.

i said: dont put on the coffee table.  i dont want to clean again.  i continue to stare at him,  and in a couple of seconds, he put the little scrap in his mouth and swallowed it. 

so he'd rather swallow instead of getting up to the kitchen and throw!!!  the expressions on his face (like a naughty child caught by his parent) made me laugh and laugh throughout my chanting.

life can be fun.  he is sooo cute!!!  sometimes men are just like children.

lydia

ps i did not send this email to him la.


昨天午飯後，我開始唸經。andrew 來到和我一起唸。我看到了他他的嘴角有點白色的東西，以為是食物，所以我叫他擦掉。

其實這是他用來擦他嘴的紙巾。他想扔在地上。我看著他，說：請不要扔在地上。然後，他把紙巾用他的手指猜小，想掉在咖啡桌上。

我說：不要放在咖啡桌上。我不想再清潔。我繼續盯著他，幾秒鐘復，他把它放進嘴裡吞了下去。

他寧願吞而不想起來扔到廚房！他臉上的表情（像一個頑皮的孩子被他的父母捉个正音）讓我大笑，一住唸經一住笑。

生活其實是可以很有趣。andrew 有時很可愛！有時候男人就像孩子一樣。

a leisurely 4 hour

Today andrew works in the morning and plays mahjong in the afternoon and evening.  I have a WHOLE DAY to myself, without having to worry about cooking dinner, how nice. 

I drove downtown, got a 50% discount voucher for 4 hour parking and spent a leisurely afternoon downtown.  I went to a food court for a bowl of BBQ and wonton noodle soup 义燒云吞湯麵 for $9.30.  I even had one wonton with a shrimp inside!!! this is totally unheard of because wontons in sydney are only made of pork.  I thoroughly enjoyed my noodles, oblivious of the noise.

Afterwards i strolled around, window shopping and looking at passers by, like a tourist.  Then I went for a Thai massage because my back is still sore.  The massage was real good.  How I enjoyed this 4 hours.

A long time ago I read an article naming the 10 Greatest things in life, and one of them is:

The Greatest Enjoyment in Life is "LEISURE".
人生 最大的享受是悠閑!

its true.

lydia

andrew 在今天早要返診所開工, 下午和晚上打麻。我有一整天自己的時間，而不必擔心要煮飯，真開心。

我開車到市中心，買了一張有50％的折扣券4小時停車，花了一个悠閒的下午.我去了一個美食廣場, 吃了和一碗$9.30的义燒雲吞面湯麵。我什至發現有一個雲吞裡面有蝦！這完全是聞所未聞的，因為在悉尼所有餛飩是豬肉做的。我徹底享受我的麵，無視周圍的噪音。

後來我周圍散步，逛街，欣賞著路人，好像遊客一樣。然後因為我的背部仍然疼痛, 所以我去了做泰式按摩，。按摩司的技術是真正的好。我多麼的享受這4個小時啊。

很久以前我看過一篇文章，命名為: 人生10樣最偉大的東西，其中之一是：

人生最大的享受是悠閒！

這是真的。

the sun and the moon (太陽和月亮)

Last night as soon as i lied down in bed, thru my window, i saw the moon again (see photo1) , this morning when i woke up (see photo2) , i could see the sun shining brightly into my room.

I have taken photos to share my vision with you.

Interesting, these much hated window have now become my favorite.  the windows have not changed, and it was me who have changed.  My back injury has made me change.

Buddhist theory teaches that we can only attain happiness by changing ourselves, because the cause of our suffering always lies within us.

glad to share

lydia

昨晚當我躺在床上，從我的窗戶，我又看見月亮了（見附圖1），今天早上我醒來時（見附圖2），我能看到明媚的陽光透進了我的房間。

我將這些景像拍攝了照片，可以和你在一起分享我的視野。

有趣的是，這些非常討厭窗口現在已成為我的最愛。窗戶都沒有改變，是我的一念變了。是我的背傷令我改變。

佛教的理論教導我們，我們只能通過改變自己而獲得幸福，因為我們的痛苦的原因在於始終在我們自己。

see photo/ 見附圖 -1

see photo/ 見附圖 -2

 

My life is an open book!

Now that I have my own blog, i can share my life, my joy and my stories with all my friends and family, with the hope that they can be encouraged and be inspired.