Proper Values for Dharma Practice

Buddhadharma is a way of living. We learn to be joyful and at ease in daily life. How though? We must establish proper values. We are constantly colliding with different ideas and habits of others. Hence, we must respect and be inclusive of different opinions and ways of working. With the collective effort, we can interact with others compassionately and love all beings. That way, our lives would be happy and at ease. Having to work in an interfaith setting for years, I can't stress the importance of "mutual respect" enough. It is to respect all sentient beings and the people we work with. Respect is the fundamental principle in Buddhism too. How do we apply it? We should regard sentient beings as the field of merit for cultivation. We can see every being as the bank to save up virtuous cause and effect for our future. 

With all the money we make in one life, how much can we actually spend? To maintain a decent living, we don't need that much. Yet, we work so hard for our bank balance. When we pass away, we couldn't enjoy the wealth but to leave it to our children. If the children don't use it up, the money is wasted for not applying to better use. How helpful is money for our future lives? No help at all. The best saving is to engage in virtues. With our limited life span, we should serve and dedicate little by little for optimal merit. Be sure to sow the positive karmic seed of memory in the consciousness field of the sentient beings we cross path with. They are our field of merit which we must be very careful when cultivating. Do not sow complicated and negative seeds carelessly. Instead, we should initiate kind and pure intents and interaction with them. That way, the effects that we reap in the future would be positive and fruitful. 

In fact, the lives of mankind are closely knitted with one another. Without the karmic memory, we wouldn't have the opportunity to expand or to thrive again. Take plants as an example, they have the genetic memory to bloom in every spring year by year. Yet, the seed of orchid would not generate into plum blossom. Whatever karmic seed we sow will ripe into its respective fruit. There wouldn't be any confusion on the karmic memory. So, we must cultivate, manage, and create virtuous karma in life. Dharma is all about optimizing the management of life. This lifetime is simply the result of past deeds. Past causes mature into current effects. With the understanding of karmic principle, we can create further merits for the future. This is Dharma, the management of life.