Guru's Talk

(By Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu)
(Translated by Cheng Yew Chung. Edited by TBN)

During my retreat days at Leaf Lake

I start worrying for the old man

Where is his audience

Where are his listeners

The old man can complete his art creations only in his heart

But they are nothing that look like art

Because they have only

Loneliness

And suffering

Never-ending, forever repeating the history of the past

Outside, in the public place

The lights are brightly lit

A happy, joyful party with dancing and singing of songs

The stage is there

But there is no room for the old man

The world of the inner heart

And the world of the outside

How can we bridge them

This age-old question relies on the wisdom of man

During my days of seclusion, I often reflect upon the instructions given to my disciples prior to my retreat to build a home for the aged, a hospice, and a True Buddha cemetery.

I feel the terrible pain that loneliness brings to the aged, and know how miserable it is for them to suffer from lingering illnesses. I also know how dreadful it is when the elderly people lose their connection with the outside world.

When the Buddha was still in his youth, he once traveled to the Four Gates and saw an old man who was blind and deaf. He observed that the man was barely breathing; his weak composure revealed his ill condition, rendering him thin and pale. When the Buddha saw this, his heart was troubled.

I realize that it is important to love other elders as our own. If the old folks can share their lives by living as a community, taking care of each other and offering comfort to each other, discussing the Buddhadharma and chanting the Buddha's name or mantra together, and spending their old age happily and comfortably, I feel nothing is more important than this.

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