The Source of Fortune

This world that we live in is multicultural and multireligious. Although everyone holds different ideas and opinions, we must rely on one another for interdependency. That’s why respect and inclusivity are essential to creating harmony and warmth. Without harmony, there won’t be peace. If our minds are at peace, our family, society, and the world will also be at peace.

How do we attain a peaceful mind? Chan practice is the way. Chan practice brings us back to the origin of peace or spirituality. Everyone has a spiritual essence of life. Unfortunately, we've been too materialized and lost our happiness. How do we find true happiness? By enhancing our spiritual quality and mitigating the three poisons (greed, aversion, and ignorance). Our minds would be free from burdens and become relaxed. As our spirituality elevates, we’d become very adjustable and happy. For our minds to be freshening, we must live a life with belief.  

Having a belief brings happiness to life. Dharma practice helps us to stay away from superstition lead a rational living. Rationality is to see everything clearly and religion serves this purpose. With belief, not only can we live happily, but we can also leave this world with a peaceful state of mind. That's why we must have a belief, guidance, and a sense of security.  

The function of monasteries and religious services is to strengthen our morality. That way, the essence of Confucianism and the respective social roles of parents, children, siblings, and more. Yet, Buddhism teaches the karmic principle which helps people with self-management. As long as we can live according to the principle, we can optimize the value and happiness of life in our karmic memory drive. With faith, one learns to self-discipline. The more people are mindful of their values and behavior, the more positive our society would be. Positive impacts and cycles to society are inspired.

Therefore, religion serves the purpose to propagate and educate. Religion teaches the proper way to work with interpersonal relations and self-management. Most people have the belief in accumulating merits for favorable results in this and many lifetimes to come. That's also why many people visit temples to pray or get involved in religious services. If we don't optimize this life, what can we get out of it? Even if we have acquired a great fortune, we can't take a single penny with us by the time of death. The only things that get carried forward to the next lives are our karma and karmic genes.

Whatever we do, say, and think in this life would are the karmic genes for future lives. Every being we come across in the field of merit. Likewise, we are the field of merits for others. As we cultivate a network of loving-kindness, we can work with others harmoniously. That's how we could extend our beautiful life to the future.