Winners and Losers

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It’s the hope of the draw.  Every week, every month, a spin of the number balls.  A chance to make it big.

Even if it does pan out, winning the lottery will not solve all of life’s problems.

In fact, many people’s lives became notably worse after they got super rich, and they managed to lose it all quite quickly.

http://www.businessinsider.com/lottery-winners-who-lost-everything-2016-1/

However, lottery winners often lose everything within a short time.  Managing one’s money is a life skill that is crucial and can be summed up with  入不敷出 Spending more than what one earns.

In the Sigalovada sutta, the Buddha advised Sigalaka

With wealth acquired this way,
a layman fit for household life,
in portions four divides his wealth:
thus will he friendship win.

One portion for his wants he uses,
two portions on his business spends,
the fourth for times of need he keeps.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.nara.html

If one spends everything one earns, any emergency expenses would eat into one’s savings if any.

If one spends more than one earns, then one’s savings is gradually reduced.

 

Be a winner … … Earn rightly, spend wisely, live stress free!

Of catch-ups, past, future … and present?

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When we meet up with friends, we would catch up and talk.

Talking about where we’ve been, what we’ve been doing … talking about the past.

Talking about where we are going, what we would be doing … talking about the future.

Nobody ever meet up to talk about their meetup … … the present!

And even when we talk about the present, like the food we are eating, it is what we have just seen or tasted. Or the scene of the movie we’ve just watched.

 

Because the present … there’s no words to describe it. No thoughts. No labels. No concepts.

A Dharma Vessel 法器

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When we get upset, and as a result, start skipping Dharma classes or doing Dharma work.
 
That is not how a 法器 Dharma Vessel is. A 法器 has no preferences, has no good day or bad day to transmit Dharma.
 
Whenever there are sentient beings ready to learn Dharma, the Dharma Vessel springs to action.
 
Whenever there are sentient beings suffering, the Dharma Vessel respond with compassion.
 
阿弥陀佛 ?

Of Free Lunches and Offerings

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Just had a counselling session with a mother and daughter.  At the end of the session, the daughter awkwardly offered an angbao to me.  I asked what it was for, and she managed to repeat what her mom had taught her, that it was an offering, a dana.

I told her that she can do dana after she has done the exercises I gave her for a month (offering a cup of water to her parents daily, wash her own plates, doing some house chores at home etc).

Her mom took out hers and offered to me.

This is what I shared with the daughter and her mom (paraphrased somewhat ‘cos we were conversing in Mandarin haha).

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