A Good Deed a Day Does Not Take Much

My Root Guru, His Holiness Living Buddha Lian Sheng, and my Shifu, Master Dai Hu, have had a profound impact on me. One lesson have learned from their example is to always give a little more to others than they originally ask for.

Firstly, this trains one’s mind in generosity, countering one’s innate greed.

Secondly, it helps in cultivating positive affinities, reducing obstacles on the path to enlightenment.

Selfishness does not need to be taught; everyone is born knowing it. Even a toddler who has not learned to speak will naturally compete with their siblings for toys and attention.

Thus, generosity is something that needs to be learned with effort, and it is a lifelong practice.

In the True Buddha School, the Four Preliminary practices involves cultivating the Four Immeasurable Minds, practicing the Great Mandala Offering, chanting the Rebirth Mantra, the Four Immeasurable Verses, and the

Bodhicitta Verse and mantra, etc. This comprehensive approach repeatedly trains us in the spirit and mindset of generosity until it becomes second nature, like muscle memory.

However, to achieve the unity of knowledge and action, one truly needs a role model in daily life to naturally practice the Perfection of Generosity.

After all, as the saying goes, “He who keeps company with the virtuous, will be improved by it; he who keeps company with the vicious will be corrupted by it.”

I count myself very fortunate that before I got to see my Root Guru at a close distance, I had already read over more than hundred of His books. I watched His weekly online Dharma discourses at the group cultivations and fire offerings. His vast and boundless Bodhicitta deeply moved me.

And under Master Dai Hu’s guidance over the past 18 years, I have learned up close what is good and what is evil.

Having been immersed in the teachings of my Root Guru and Shifu for 18 years, whenever I encounter situations or inexplicable clients, I naturally ask myself: What would Grandmaster do? What would Shifu teach?

And the answer usually comes quickly.

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Yesterday, I had a chat with a female client who had consulted me about her home’s Feng Shui about six years ago. She mentioned that my Feng Shui advice brought wealth to her family. I was very happy for her and congratulated her.

Doing Feng Shui requires my effort, but it is your willingness to make the changes that bring about the positive outcomes — you deserve it!

She then mentioned that her husband wanted to switch careers to the F&B industry. I paused for a moment and asked for her husband’s birthdate. I then advised her husband against engaging in a business that involves taking lives, as it could bring bad karma to their children. I also suggested to her husband the food business type that would be prosperous for him based on his birth chart, without causing harm to living beings.

If we can spare lives, we should.

That was just a casual chat, not a consultation.

But I understand both Buddhism and Chinese Metaphysics. Speaking out to guide others saves both people and animals. I often see my Shifu do this, and in Grandmaster’s books, He also wrote that He has always done this too.

So I follow their example; it does not take much effort.

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After parting with the client, my husband walked away to get something.

I was sitting alone in the shopping center, happily sipping my favorite peach gum honey drink like a child.

Suddenly, a security guard approached from my right.

“You the Feng Shui master?” he asked.

I looked up and replied, “Thank you for watching my videos.”

As I responded, I quickly assessed his physical appearance and facial features.

I could not help it. It is an occupational hazard!

We started chatting in Singlish.

Shifu once taught that when encountering different beings, as long as it does not break any laws or precepts, communicate with them in the way they are most accustomed to.

Bridging the gap makes it easier to connect with them.

Just as mentioned in the Universal Gate Chapter, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva manifest in 33 different forms to reach out to different sentient beings.

He asked, “Why all your videos in Chinese?”

I said, “Because filming videos in Chinese makes me more money.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes, besides Singaporeans, Chinese people in other countries all speak Chinese. If I only earn from Singaporeans, it is not enough. I need to earn more to make different kinds of videos for you! Plus, I have English subtitles for those who don’t understand Chinese.”

He then asked, “I see many Buddhist monks’ videos also in Chinese. Then people in USA who only understand English how?”

I replied, “There’s the Dalai Lama and many Tibetan lamas who teach in English. We all work together, doing the same work of propagating the Dharma in different places.”

At the end, I also gave him some advice on how to improve his facial features, to bring up his wealth luck and inter-personal relations.

I reminded him that even though we may have solitary personalities, but if we are still working in society, we should try to be more sociable and not turn our backs on wealth. Otherwise, we end up suffering the most.

Encouraging harmony among people and helping everyone live and work happily is also a virtuous way to cultivate positive affinities with others.

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I place great importance on the bilingual subtitles in my videos.

My Grandmaster vows not to forsake a single sentient being, so I believe my audience is also whom my Grandmaster wishes to save and teach Buddhism to.

As a disciple, I should help shoulder the Tathagata’s burden for my Root Guru.

When I speak in Chinese, it is one act of virtuous teachings. Adding Chinese subtitles is the second. And adding English subtitles is the third.

In this way, a single video of mine spreads virtuous knowledge three times.

To give up subtitles in one language is to give up an opportunity to practice generosity.

And that is not kindness.

However, this is not the main reason I value my subtitles.

There was once a hearing-impaired viewer who left a comment on my YouTube channel, saying that he loves watching my videos to learn about Buddhism. Since he cannot hear me speak, he relies on my subtitles to learn.

At that period of time, I was feeling exhausted, contemplating whether to drop the English subtitles. Why should a feared Feng Shui master by day turn into a night-owl panda-eyed translator? 😫

When I read that comment, I was teary-eyed, and knew it was a reminder from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the importance of bilingual subtitles in reaching sentient beings.

The fifth precept of the Fourteen Root Tantric Vows of Vajrayana also states: “If, out of fear of hardship, one fails to deliver sentient beings, one has lost the Bodhicitta mind.”

One must not fear difficulties and lose the right mindfulness of Bodhicitta

I was being greedy. I wanted to produce more videos quickly and gain more views and followers, but I forgot the profound impact of fully including bilingual subtitles in a single video.

Earlier this year, Shifu was teaching a group of new students Buddhism. He gave a peach-blossom-faced student the task of creating a short video to promote a Buddhist chanting player she wanted to give away. I was the assistant teacher, responsible for reviewing her script and final video. At the time, she found it troublesome and did not add all the subtitles. I encouraged and taught her how to do it.

Not many people are equally proficient in both languages. I must cherish this blessing and continue to sow good karmic seeds diligently. If I return in the next life to propagate the Dharma again, I hope I will still have the karmic conditions to teach sentient beings in both languages.

I am learning from my Grandmaster’s spirit of not forsaking even a single sentient being.

Not one shall be left behind.