Wisdom: Be Carefree; Benevolence; Propitiousness

We first met Venerable Bhikkhuni Shing Yi when she came to Tampa to conduct a series of Dharma Lecture for the local Buddhist followers last December.

In between, she has also graced the group’s release life activity. On this occasion, the activity was held at Madeira Beach, Pinellas County, after which the party adjourned to the Largo Botanical Garden and then a park just across from where this photo was taken.

It was the day after Christmas and the weather was on the chilly side as evidenced from the fact that everyone was appropriately bundled up.


After her return to the west coast, we have kept in contact through email where both my wife and I have been benefiting greatly from the email attachments from her. These attachments encapsulate the Buddha teaching in the form of images with laconic verses but of profound meaning.

The latest "instalment", with the overall theme being Wisdom, is no exception and I've taken the liberty to translate the sublime messages to appear on the left for the benefit of non-Chinese readers who would like to partake of the lessons to lead a meaningful life. For completeness, I'm also attaching the original images with the original messages in Chinese on the right so that readers too can judge whether I've done justice to the messages intended. At the same time, I've to apologize for not being able to credit the images but I think they originate from Taiwan. To the creator(s) of the images and the associated verses, I would like to say many thanks for sharing your artistic expressions that are best summed up in three phrases: forceful words; splended rendition; and sagacious verses. Judge for yourself.

Be Carefree
Do not rush your journey;
allow yourself the opportunity to reflect and regroup.
Do not overwork;
give yourself some time to acclimatize and adjust.


Benevolence
A loving heart; A compassionate heart;
To all the people it embraces; and to it flows the merits like gushing stream;
A spiteful disposition; A derogatory gesture;
A bane to all; and misfortunes befall.

Propitiousness
To honor the sanctity of life is like thirst quenching water and drought relieving rain, nurturing life and sustaining growth. If we truly embrace such benevolence, propitious shall be all occasions and long-lasting shall be our good merits.

Stay tuned for the next installment. Meanwhile. mull over them.