PAIN STEMS FROM OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO FACE REALITY
Master Jun Hong Lu: One of the humans’ greatest pains is living with regret. We should never regret things that have happened. After all, it is said in the Buddhist scriptures that even the Buddha cannot change the past. The Buddha will accept whatever happens and He would tell Himself, “I cannot change the law of cause and effect”. Conversely, humans refuse to accept reality, and will question, “How could this happen? That’s not possible!”.
This tendency in humans has nothing to do with their reluctance to think and change, but stems from their inner sense of attachment and having character that simply refuses to accept things as they are. This can be likened to a child playing in the courtyard, accidentally breaks his toy, bursts into tears and protests, “I don’t want it broken! This is not what I want!” Looking on, the adults know well that it is over.
The same goes to marriages. Marital breakdown causes many people to wallow in sorrow, crying, “I don’t want him to go. He should not leave me”. While others might hurt them once, they end up hurting themselves countless times.
It is inevitable that life will throw all sorts of curveballs at us, leaving us broken-hearted. As and when a relationship breaks down or a financial crisis hits us, the majority of the adults will react like a child saying, “I don’t want it to be like this. It should not be like this”. Such a reaction is merely a manifestation of our inner fear and a soul that is in a state of denial.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, Vancouver, Canada, 3 September 2016
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