2 Oct 07 Tuesday Sunny

I went to listen to a talk by Prof Cheng Chen Huang last nite. He is a famous buddhist scholar and also a practitioner. He is the translator of the book "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche. The topic of Prof Cheng's talk is about self development and self value. He mentioned that one has to try to be VIP as in very important person, then slowly become very interesting person and very integrated practitioner. He also pointed out the importance of HUMOUR in life. And also how to get our mind out from a bad situation in which it lies in the will power of freeing oneself from such situation. He shared a poem which i read long long ago from 'the tibetan book of living and dying'. And here I shared with all. It's the will of changing, to improve, to become better and to purify oneself that is the most precious of all. The poem reads:

Life in Five Short Chapters (by Portia Nelson)

CHAPTER 1
I walk down the street.
There's a deep hole in the sidewalk.
And I fall in.
I am lost.
I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

CHAPTER 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It takes a long time to get out.

CHAPTER 3
I walk down the same street and there is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there, and still I fall in.
It's a habit.
But my eyes are open and I know where I am.
It is my fault and I get out immediately.

CHAPTER 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

CHAPTER 5
I walk down a different street.

And Prof. Cheng mentioned that one of his students once told him that there should be a sixth chapter, that reads: I patch up the deep hole in the sidewalk.

Woe, one who thinks not only about improving oneself but also helping others to do so is really a great man. Compassionate of all living beings. I wish that one day I could be one too. But for the present I must start with improving myself, purifying my own mind, speech and deeds. Holding too tight on things is not good. I must learn to let go. Letting go doesn't mean to give up or give away, but it is a sense of 'non-attachness'. Anyway, there's nothing that truly 'belongs' to us, we are only temporarily 'utilising' them. When the conditions and causes that form something change, nothing lasts. Not our wealth, not our beloved ones, not even our own bodies.