Jing Shi Yu 静思语

 

“要期许自己是能救人的人， 而非一味地求佛感应”
~静思语~
“lebih baik memohon agar diri kita dapat menolong orang lain dibanding memohon kepada Buddha agar permintaan kita dikabulkan“
~108 kata perenungan~
“It is better for us to pray that may contribute to help others than to ask Buddha to fulfill our desires”
~jing shi yu~

The truth of suffering

The world is full of suffering.

Birth is suffering,

Old age is suffering,

Sickness is suffering,

Death are sufferings.

To meet a person whom one hates is suffering,

To be separated from beloved ones is suffering,

To be vainly struggling to satisfy one’s needs is suffering,

In fact, life that is not free from desire and passion is always involved with distress.

And this is called the TRUTH OF SUFFERING.

The cause of human suffering is undoubtedly found in the thirsts of the physical body and the illusions of worldly passion. If this thirst and illusion is traced to their source, they Are found to be rooted in the intense desire of physical instincts. Thus, desire, having strong will-to-live as its basis, seeks that which it feels desirable, even if sometimes death.

If desire, which lies at the root of all human passion, can be removed, then passion will die out and human suffering will be ended.

“A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ”

                                                ~ John Steinbeck~

A Beggar’s Chant

“My ten fingers down

with my head on the ground

at your passing feet

give me some coins please

pity me too weak to rise

pity me lost in misery

wife and children sickly weary

starving on tears

give me and old rag

    even that will do

          even that will do

 

me a stray bird

come to town from Suphan

my accent’s funny

but don’t spurn me

oh you who dress so pretty

keep this beggar alive

give half a cup of rice

half a hand of bananas

make merit for once

and win my thanks forever

        now and forever

              now and forever

 

lazy we were not

servile we were not

we tilled and ploughed

we farmed the land

and reaped the debts

the rich are big brothers

we owe money we the dogs

our tongues hang out

our bellies rumble

rice farmers begging rice from others

         can anyone understand

               can anyone understand

 

we beg we lose honor

become rubbish stricken despised

we beg we pant we pine

while the pain stabs our bellies

our children amoaning

asobbing agroaning

we look for coins, our tears blind our eyes

we fall we die

         the beggars’ caravan moving

from rice fields to streets

the dead are buried the living go hungry

every hair of the body cries aloud

         they no not of hunger

 

their wide world’s all smiles

their heads are high their bellies bloated their feet frail

their children in money aplenty

their skin very thick

they toil very hard

they plough and press and pluck

and spread all over the town

          they mow you down who dare to rise

they tame you into pets

they make turns coming on top

they have fame and craving for more

they beg and threat and squeeze

they take and grab and rant and lust

they talk low think low and act low

my friends you very well know

           who they are

                 who they are”

 

By: KHOMTHUAN KHANTHANU