Requirement
one
You
must want to do it
In
chapter two, I showed my confidence to be your guide. Now, it is time for you
to show your commitment if you are ready to set off on this mind journey with
me. There are certain requirements that you need to have for this journey. It
is like any other journey that you want to take. If you want to climb a
mountain, you have to be well equipped with mountain gear. If you want to sail
around the world, you have to have the water equipment. You have to have the
right tool for the right job. You must find out what you need along with all
the dos and don'ts and stick with those requirements. This is to guarantee that
you can achieve your journey and to make sure of your own safety. Setting out
on a mind journey is very much the same procedure as a physical journey. In the
same way that you cannot walk into a jungle without a knife and a survival kit,
you cannot set out on a mind journey without the following requirements.
The
most supporting feeling that you must have at this initial stage is the strong
will to reach enlightenment. It is obvious that this ambition is certainly not
for everyone. It can only be for a certain few people in the world whose kamma
is about to be ripened. Indeed, I do realise that my effort in writing this
book is to help just a very small group of people in the world. As far as I am
concerned, if this book can make just one person reach the place of
destination, it is worth every bit of effort I put in. The path that you are
going to take is not an easy one; it is full of hard work and extremely
difficult, but they can be reduced by fractions if you have faith in the
Buddha's enlightenment and myself as your immediate guide. You must have strong
passion, a powerful drive and a compelling wish to be free from suffering.
Always remember the Buddha's word:
It
is far better to live one night in the light than live a million years in the
dark.
Wise
people have also said: it is better to die with an enlightened one than live a
hundred years with an ignorant one.
One
day, my beloved mother and I, 23 years of age at the time, had an argument. She
was very concerned that I didn't know what I was doing when I was getting
deeply involved in Buddhism. At one point, she asked me what I wanted to do and
to be. She obviously referred to my future when I was about to graduate from
university. Out of the blue, without seeing a trace of thought in my head, I
answered my mom: 'I want to be like the Buddha.' My mom was shocked as much as
myself. To my mother, I talked about the impossible because she thought no one
could be like the Buddha and that I should be ashamed of myself in saying so. I
was shocked by my own words because I didn't realise how ambitious I was
towards this path until that moment when I obviously spoke out from my
subconscious mind. Although I had to agree with my mom that I aimed at the
impossible, I still wanted to cling on to the thought that one day I would be
free from all suffering like the Buddha. However, it was indeed that intense
feeling and passionate drive which boosted me to where I am today when I can
reach my hand out for others.
Although
human beings are the perfect life form to understand the dhamma, this unique
ambition cannot happen to just anyone. People who are at both extremes cannot
understand this noble structure of life let alone pursue the difficult path. At
the one extreme are those who are taken over by negative feelings such as
greed, anger, hatred, vengeance, jealousy and so on. People in war-torn
countries who know nothing but hatred and vengeance are very unlikely to
understand this path. People who are deeply into mental turmoil, having nervous
breakdowns or feeling suicidal, might be a bit too late unless they find
someone who can convince them about this path. At the other extreme are those
who are surrounded by wealth and have a very comfortable and cosseted lifestyle and rarely experience
hardship. They too are unlikely to understand the ambition to end suffering.
Some
of you might disagree because the Buddha has helped those types of people
before. You must understand that I am talking on the ground that I am not a
Buddha and I am nowhere near the quality of the Buddha. I am also taking about
the dhamma 2543 years after the Buddha has passed away. Even the Buddha had the
inclination not to teach after his enlightenment because he could see that
people were so wrapped up with defilement and the dhamma was far too refined
for people who had too rough a mind to understand. So who am I and what chance
do I have in trying to help people? I just want you to know that I have very
limited ability to help you. That's why you must meet me halfway by having this
unique ambition. It will help to make things easier.
As
far as I am concerned, people who are likely to understand this structure of
life are those who are in between the two extremes I mentioned above. People
who have experienced the ups and downs in life, and are disillusioned by
material wealth in society and begin to feel really fed up with life in general
are probably the best candidates to pursue this noble path. These are the
people who want to have a better answer to life and might be drawn into this kind
of knowledge I am offering.
Once
you have such a strong will, you will have no fear of hardship when you set off
on your mind journey. You will not be lazy and will be happy to work hard. This
is a one-way ticket journey. Once you set off, there is no return until you
reach the end of the tunnel. You will take all the hard work like a pinch of
salt. You will not give up despite repeated failure.
If
the answer is No, there is no need to pursue further, put this book down and
pretend that you have never read it. You don't want to know what you have to do
next and you won't understand either. On the day that you think that life is
very unkind to you and that you need to find a better answer, it is not too
late to come back and pursue this book. I wish you all the best of luck in your
life. Bye for now.
If
the answer is Yes, well done, congratulations, welcome on board to this journey
of a life time. Please move on to the next chapter with great courage and joy.