A couple of days ago, I watched a Dharma video on Youtube and the Vajra Master Samantha was sharing her experience with a cancer-stricken man. The man came to consult her on how he can prolong his life. The catch is he didn't want to do any of the usual homework that the Vajra Master gives, nor does he wish to make any donation to anywhere to accumulate merits.He said he didn't have the time or knowledge about this. He wanted to leave his money behind for his wife & children.
I wonder why he came to a Buddhist master seeking advice, when he didn't subscribe to the beliefs & ways of doing things.
Then the experienced and smart Vajra Master Samantha said alright, then make it a point to look into the mirror and laugh hard every morning. On top of that, he was to laugh heartily 3 times a day and countless smiles. Not the grin kind of laugh, but the laugh-very-hard kind.
No matter what he experienced, regardless of how people treat him. he had to be able to laugh about it. Laugh heartily about whatever that happens in life.
The man went home and thought about how to laugh so hard, when he was so frightened about having only 3 more months to live.
3 years later, he came to look for the Vajra Master Samantha and upon seeing her, he laughed very heartily, infecting everyone present with his contagious laughter. And the first thing Master Samantha said, "你好！你還在啊！" (You're still around!)
He made it through.
The subsequent days after the consultation, he went out to rent all kind of comedies in both English & Chinese. Everyday he would spent many hours watching the shows and read all kinds of funny things and laughed and laughed and laughed. And as the days started ticking by, his heart started opening up, he started to realise how silly and superficial humans can be chasing after things that didn't really matter in the face of death. He found it laughable and started laughing about life. He gained a new insight about himself and somehow managed to laugh his cancerous cells away.
That got me thinking abit. 對於人生的得失，我要多久才不會那麽計較？ 還有多少時間給我學？
I dread to think that I might just die unhappy and unfulfilled. And I probably would if I die now.
I am not a optimistic person by nature. And it shows, I think. People don't gravitate towards me as readily. 我人不坏啊。 I find myself very closed up when being around with people, especially people I am not familiar with. I fret about what they think of me. My pessimistic thinking has hindered much of my life, aspirations and interactions with people. I hope to be a person who is able to give out positive energy. Life is short, why should we spend too much energy being negative?
It's an irony that we spent the first 10-20 years preparing ourselves for working life & learning the best possible way to make money. But how come on the MRT, I still don't see many happy people, do you?
I woke up the next day, trying to laugh into the mirror. Oh man, it was hard. Strange leh, why is laughing with no one around still so hard? Something inside my brain and the way I behave need to be rewired.
“人生能夠向彌勒佛一樣笑口長開，這是值得去學習, 也是我們追求的。
每天，什麽事情都能夠淡化，都能夠看開，都能夠放下，都能夠大笑，不是微笑，是嘴巴張開大笑。 這樣子的笑，一生當中有幾次，一個禮拜有幾次，一天有幾次?
我們不敢講一個禮拜，幾個月有一次這樣子哈哈哈笑出來從内心笑出來，笑不停的，開懷的。 要什麽事情能夠讓你笑開懷。能這樣子大笑的有幾次？”
~ 蓮花麗惠上師
So today, I went on Youtube to find something to laugh about & I remembered Ellen Degeneres. I like her sense of humour.
One of the videos that crack me up and I hope it does for you too. If it doesn't, alright let's try this. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Metta, 欣雨 Xinyu
