【Description】
Behind misfortune may lie an opportunity to change one’s fate!
A child grew up overnight after their father was unexpectedly injured. Originally, they might have amounted to nothing in life, but this event ultimately led them to achieve a brighter future.
Sometimes what people ask for is not what is most suitable for them. Therefore, Bodhisattvas do not help blindly; instead, they provide opportunities for growth and transformation based on each person’s merits and capacity to endure. This is the compassion and wisdom of Bodhisattvas. To learn more, tune into ” The Bodhisattvas Bless Us in the Ways That Suit Us Best.”
【Timestamp】
00:00:00 What the Bodhisattvas Give You Is the Best
00:01:03 A Father’s Accident Prompts a Child to Grow Up Overnight
00:05:23 What Is Wise Love?
00:07:47 The Key to Happiness
00:09:21 The Importance of Merit
※ Malaysia: For non-Muslims only
【You will learn】
- Understanding the wise love of the Bodhisattva.
【Content】
People who pray to the buddhas and bodhisattvas are emperors and high officials ordinary farmers and even the homeless. What is it that you seek for your happiness, and want the bodhisattvas to help you with? Your prayers will be answered if they’re heard, but if the buddhas and bodhisattvas see that you are already in the best state, then they won’t help.
From a great philosopher’s perspective, this has been true throughout history. If you give a farmer a luxurious mansion and car, within three years, the family’s lives will be ruined. Sometimes, hardships can help people grow. When we were young in Qinghai, there was a family. The father was a very capable man, a sales representative in a company. He had a high income and a wide network. There was nothing he couldn’t solve. His child had the best food, clothes, everything.
Then, the child’s father was in a traffic accident. One of his legs was injured, and it was incurable. He limped when he walked. The boy was devastated and deeply affected; he felt like his life was doomed. But a month after his father’s injury, his grades improved from the bottom to the middle of the class. By the end of the semester, he was in the top 10 of the class. Top 10 out of 50 students, you know. What progress; and from then on, he never fell below the top 10.
The playful and carefree days were gone. He matured quickly and became serious at work. When he was free, he’d do his homework. After class, he would rush home to help his father out. His father’s mobility issues caused the family’s sudden poverty. He collected waste materials, selling cardboard boxes and wooden planks for money. He knew what he should do. Later, he got into a very good school. See, that’s misfortune turning into a blessing.
Sometimes, what’s given to you is the best, yet you might feel it’s not so good. They had a Bodhisattva statue at home; it was a White-Robed Guanyin Bodhisattva passed down from his grandmother. Their family had been worshiping it ever since the father’s injury. During festivals, they would make dumplings as offerings. The boy told me he was skeptical; if this statue was so powerful, why did his father still get injured? What’s the point of worshiping it?
He almost smashed it with a brick, but his grandmother saw this and stopped him. “Over my dead body,” that’s what his grandmother said. That’s how the statue survived. He joined his mother in worshiping the statue and passed his college entrance exam. That’s when he finally realized it, that he had been blessed all the while. Otherwise, things might not have ended up that way.
Once, I asked my fortuneteller friend to read the child’s fortune. He did as I said and told a sweet lie to earn a couple of bucks from the boy, telling him his fate was not bad, that he would get a good job. Everyone was happy to hear that. Then, behind the boy’s back, he told me the child was doomed and fated to fail in life; he’d grow up to be in a mob, either beaten to death or executed. But he’s still alive now and doing great. Look at his transformation. Maybe the Bodhisattva statue had been blessing him.
As mortals, what the buddhas do is beyond our interpretation. Misfortune befell him: his capable father was injured. He couldn’t work anymore because of his immobility. For this child, it was a life-changing opportunity that led to a bright future in his life. He was remarkable and diligent. Before I went abroad, he was already a senior technician in a state-owned factory. This is what I call fate transformation. He should have died young; that’s what my fortuneteller friend said.
When the buddhas help, we may not realize it because we don’t always receive what we ask for. Let me give you an example; as a parent, you’ve raised a child, right? When your child turned one, what did you give him? (A small bun.) Why not give meat? Meat is more expensive, right? When you give children meat, make sure they don’t choke on tiny bones. The same goes for candy; it can easily get stuck in the throat. And when it starts to melt, it can be hard to remove from the throat. Be careful when giving candy to small children. Be wise and don’t blindly love your children. Love is not enough; you need wisdom too. Know what to give to children of different ages. A compassionate mother should know that not everything can be fed to children.
When the gods, buddhas, and bodhisattvas give us their blessings, it’s done with the consideration of their great wisdom. How much food and clothing to give; the best job for you; they know with just one glance at you. The ability to see through a person is called the Divine-Eye. The buddhas are able to see through your past and your future. With just one glance, they know how resilient you are and what’s best for you. You’ll be blessed based on your fate, resilience, and capabilities. The great compassionate bodhisattvas give only the best. The best is what we are currently experiencing or enjoying.
Many of us live in happiness, but we’re not content. Our afflictions come from comparing our lives with those who do better than us. The more we compare, the more we suffer. You don’t realize that you are already living a wealthy and happy life. We Chinese have a saying: “Contentment brings happiness.” You are already doing well compared to those in some relatively poorer Asian countries, with less fortunate people earning less than 1% of what average Americans earn.
You could spend a month in those countries and when you come back and lie in your own yard, you would feel very happy. In those countries, you won’t even find a bathroom outside. How do people live there? You have to experience it to understand how tough it is. Are you happy with how blessed you are now? No, you are not, and that is why you are in pain.
Sometimes, a happy life is not about having a lot of money. When you have too much money, greed and lust will destroy you. Compliments and temptations can lead to separation, which ruins a family. Some people approach others for money. Most problems find you when you have too much money. Wealthy people don’t get more wealth from the bodhisattvas; they know when to stop.
Some people lack the composure to be blessed with great wealth. This has something to do with their merits; they haven’t done enough good deeds such as making offerings to the needy. They are still too weak. It’s like carrying plastic bags loaded with things. Some plastic bags are too thin and when they’re overloaded, they’ll tear and everything inside will fall apart. These bags are too weak for such heavy burdens. The Bodhisattva won’t give great wealth to those who can’t shoulder it. They don’t have the blessings to enjoy it.
The thing is, people never stop demanding. Should people get what they demand? The bodhisattvas won’t harm us; that’s why we don’t get super-wealthy all of a sudden. Receiving great wealth all of a sudden is like a huge stone slab suddenly falling from the sky. Is this good or bad? It’s bad, you know that, right? You need to possess merits to be able to withstand great blessings. If you lack merits, blessings could turn into disasters.
There are humble people who tart small and become wealthy later, why aren’t their lives destroyed? Because they take things slowly; their body and mind are slowly adapting to changes brought into their lives. They can withstand great blessings thanks to their slow adaptation. A pocket suddenly loaded with a heavy burden will expand and tear the next moment. Not everyone has the mental strength to cope with sudden great blessings.
The bodhisattvas won’t harm us; they won’t make us wealthy all of a sudden. To help you succeed, they help you get rich gradually. You’ll make $20 today, then another $20 tomorrow. This is the proper way. This won’t test your mental strength that much. The bodhisattvas bless us in the ways that suit us best.