"We
have to learn to be independent because who is going to accompany
us at the moment of death? There was no one with us when we were
born, so of course, there will also be no one else with us when
we die. Therefore, we have to learn right now to be independent.
The more independent we are, the more worthy we feel, and then we
will not be defeated or shaken. At that time we will know who we
are, and know our own abilities and what we can accomplish.
After
we are put to the test, drilled and polished, we will have experienced
everything. After that we will not be easily cheated or oppressed.
Also, our hearts will not be easily swayed. Therefore, every situation
is meant for us to learn, and the more we learn, the better we become.
This is the reason I do not want to spoil you.
I
can feel that you are progressing, becoming more and more confident,
more independent, and gaining more of a sense of responsibility.
You are becoming responsible for yourself and are able to take care
of yourself. When we are not being spoiled, we feel great! Perhaps
when we newly arrive at the center, we have a sense of strangeness,
feeling that no one is taking care of us. The fellow practitioners
all seem very cold. No one greets us. We have to set up our own
tents, and fill our own bowls with rice. (Master and audience laugh.)
Nevertheless, after we endure it for a while, we feel, "Yeah!
It's great! I can bear it, and it's nothing." At that time
we know we can take care of ourselves. What we were unable to do
before, now we can do; whatever situation we were unable to endure
before, now we can. Before we would care about this little 'I,'
but now we care no more."
From "Learning the Spirit of Independence"
News 136, Pearls of Wisdom
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Seven-day Retreat in Hsihu Center, Formosa • February
13-18, 1989
(originally in Chinese) MP3-4
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