‘THE NINE REFRAINMENTS IN LIFE’ WHEN DEALING WITH PEOPLE, MATTERS AND IN TAKING CARE OF OUR HEALTH
9. Refrain from leading a life of extreme leisure and comfort
Ninth, this last one is refrain from leading a life of extreme leisure and comfort. Those who always stay at home, not wanting to venture beyond the comfort of their home and do not have anything to do in life will lose a sense of responsibility in life and get downhearted.
If you stay at home everyday, thinking, “I don’t want to go out today, not tomorrow too. In fact, I don’t feel like going out at all. It feels good to be staying at home,” let me tell you, over time, you will become more and more lazy and you will not get enough social interaction. You may perceive yourself as someone whose heart is pure and free from desires but, in actual sense, as time goes by, it will alter your way of thinking. You may give it a try to see if this is true.
In the past, a clinical experiment was carried out by confining a normal-speaking person in a room, all by himself, without any music, telephone, whatsoever. This person went on with his life in the room and a month later, he lost his ability to communicate with others. This is because language is the tool for communication. You are able to speak because you are spoken to, am I right? Think about those who are deaf-mute. Why is it that people who are hard of hearing are mute? When you can’t hear, you will not be able to speak. If you can’t hear anything at all, how is it that you are able to speak to someone? What can you talk about? This is why if a person is deaf, chances are he is a mute.
It is the same for us humans, we must be more sociable with others, cast the seeds of positive karmic affinity far and wide, stop and smell the roses. In the context of a Buddhist practitioner, we must participate in dharma propagation activities, establish positive karmic affinity with all, help sentient beings, make great vows and perform life liberation. There is so much joy when everyone comes together. Look at how joyous you all are. You have never thought that you could have the opportunity to travel around the world, have you?
In this modern era of living, we should make sure our body gets the right amount of nutrition. Many people suffer from malnutrition and are undernourished, while some people overindulge and are over-nourished. Regardless of what you do, be it physical exercises, etc, you must do it in moderation. If you overdo it, it will never be good because this is when negative energy is produced, which could inflict harm on you. When it comes to worldly matters, you must know how to manage your mindset, that is, in the midst of your happiness, anger, sorrow or joy, you must hold the Buddha in your heart. This sums up the “Nine Refrainments of Life” that I just walked you through.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting, Paris, France, 5 September 2019