PDF《注意你的思想》

28 First of all, I wish everyone here a Happy New Year.

It is customary that people will give some good tidings in celebrating Chinese New Year such as: I wish you good health, lots of good luck and make lots of money. The reason that people wants those things is because they think those things can bring happiness. Hence, one single phrase of Happy New Year covers all auspicious words we say. What is happiness ? I remember when we were in old Gold Buddha Monastery, we had a chance to go a women'

s correctional facility to talk to inmates there. We sometimes recited Buddha'

s name together, and sometimes we just had a chat with them. Usually they would like to know more about our daily life. They were surprised that we got up at 3:30 in the morning and ate only one meal a day. Furthermore, when we mentioned about our living conditions such as not having a large personal space and not watching TV or any entertainment, they immediately thought that we lived a hard life. Then we visited their areas living and recreational activities. The place was just like a five-star hotel compared to our place. Every room was a suite equipped with a bathroom and a TV. When it'

s the 首先祝贺大家新年快乐.通常人们在过年 期间都有些吉祥话,比如:身体健康、吉祥如 意、一切顺遂、财源滚滚等.人们希望得到这 些,不外就是认为它们可以带来快乐!所以一 句「新年快乐」就已涵盖所有的吉祥语. 快乐是什麽?记得以前在旧的金佛寺时,我 们有机会到一个女子监狱和受刑人结缘,我们 有时一起念佛,有时聊聊天.通常她们会想知 道我们出家人的起居生活,尤其对我们三点半 起床和一天吃一餐很是惊不已.当我们提到 寺院里居住的条件,好比空间不大,也没有电 视娱乐等等,她们就觉得我们实在很苦.我们 参观了她们居住处所和活动围,真像五星级 饭店,每人的房间各有套卫浴设备和电视,吃 饭就到餐厅,有自助餐供应.虽然她们住的环 境条件比我们好,但是她们一点都不快乐,无 时不刻就想离开这里. 比丘尼恒懿讲於2013年2月11日 温哥华金佛圣寺 Talk by Bhishuni Heng Yi at Gold Buddha Monastery Vancouver on Feb. 11th

2013 How to Focus One'

s Thoughts 注意你的思想 菩提田BODHI FIELD

29 time for meals, they could just go to canteen and have their meals. Although their living conditions were far better than ours, they were not happy at all. They wanted to leave that place at any given moment. Thus, we know when we are not happy in a place, that place becomes our prison. Therefore, if one feels unhappy at home or in some place, he or she will want to leave the scene and is under the belief that he or she can be liberated and happy once he or she leaves that place. Consequently, we constantly hear people say: I want to shake off the yoke of home. My husband, my wife, or my children make me so angry. Or I want to leave this company because my boss or colleague treats me like … so, I cannot continue to work in this company. Little do people know that happiness does not come from an external environment. I have a friend who knows a loving couple of which the wife always has a big smile whenever people see her. One time, they went to a party, my friend pulled that happy wife aside and asked her: It seems to me that you are always happy, is it because your husband treats you very well? She replied: No! My happiness has nothing to do with my husband. Why is that people think my happiness has to be given to me by others? I can make myself be happy. But I sometimes try to make him happy when I found him depressed. So anyone who can stand on his or her own and yet be considerate of others is certainly a happy person. Last year, the tumor in my right lung got so big that it pressured my heart and caused pulmonary edema. My body was lack in oxygen and the carbon dioxide level was also too high. As a result, I went into a coma and was rushed to a hospital. In the hospital, I had to put on an oxygen mask at all times except meal times. The mask strongly forced the oxygen into my lungs through my nostrils and it was fitted onto my face really tightly so that the air couldn'