Wisdom from Chinese Literary and Buddhist Classics
365 Days for Travelers
11/7: CONTENTMENT AND PEACE OF MIND
Venerable Master Hsing Yun (1927 - , Fo Guang Shan)English translation: Zhi Yue and Siew Hsiang Chow
Human desire can be likened to a bottomless pit that can never be filled. A person whose mind is driven by greed will never enjoy the happiness of wealth even if he has earned billions.
Who then is the wealthiest man? According to the fifth chapter of the Buddhacarita, “Wealth without contentment is poverty; poverty with contentment is the foremost wealth.”
A life of poverty but lived with righteousness is the same as spending every day in springtime. Millionaires who live in a mansion, but do not know to give back to society or benefit others, dwell in burning houses of greed and desire. How then, can they hear the melodious sounds of birds chirping or smell the fragrance of flowers?
── from Zhe Shijie Wuchu Bu Mei
(The Entire World is Beautiful)
What's New?
NOVEMBER
Humble Table, Wise Fare
INSPIRATION
Recorded by Leann Moore
Do not use only what you know
to feel everything around you;
be like the universe
to accept all things.
Dharma Instruments
Venerable Master Hsing Yun grants voices to the objects of daily monastic life to tell their stories in this collection of first-person narratives.
Sutra of the Month
The Heart Sutra is a short sutra, commonly chanted individually or in groups, that contains the core teachings on prajnaparamita, or the “perfection of wisdom.” The sutra is short, at only 260 Chinese characters. Included is an English translation of the sutra’s meaning, followed by the Chinese characters and their pronunciation
Newsletter
What is happening at Hsingyun.org this month? Send us your email, and we will make sure you never miss a thing!