Time Travellers

While in Hong Kong, when I saw the LED light show outside ICC 100, this phrase reminded me of the preface written by my Grandmaster Living Buddha Lian-Sheng for Living this Moment in Purity

A traveller encountered a bear chasing him.

Terrified, he fled for his life, only to fall off a cliff.

By sheer luck, he grabbed hold of a tree branch, narrowly escaping death. Yet below him was a hungry tiger, pacing in circles, waiting for him to fall.

Next to the branch, however, grew an abundance of strawberries.

A bear above, a tiger below.

The Zen masters teach us that this traveller should pluck the strawberries and enjoy their sweetness, rather than worrying about the bear above or the tiger below.

The masters said:
The bear above is the past.
The tiger below is the future, which still holds possibilities for change.
Why not focus on the present and savor the purity of the moment?
The past is gone and need not be dwelled upon.
The future is uncertain, so why worry prematurely? Fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and blessings often emerge from adversity. The righteous are always protected.
So, eat the strawberries!

At this stage of my life, I deeply resonate with the prajna wisdom of the Tathagata. I live in the present, and I live in purity.

I know that the most valuable treasure in life is prajna. In this present moment, all we need to remember is:
– Do not create bad karma in the present.
– Be mindful of cause and effect in the present.
– Do not be bound by Samsara in the present.

By doing so, we will naturally attain a pure heart in the present moment.

To all my readers living in the past
or in the future,

Stop being time travellers!

Do not let your emotions
reincarnate through all four seasons every day
When afflictive thoughts arise,
The mind becomes tainted.

Pull back your soul that wanders through time and space.
Focus on what needs to be done right now.
Do your best, then leave the rest to fate.
Savour the strawberries in the present.
In this moment, there are no worries.