Friday Dhamma

29th May 2009

This is the regular Friday Dhamma talk by Dr Aaron Lim of the Bodhifellowship in Malacca, Malaysia.

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I had a terrible stomach ache and was not very attentive during the session. The notes are based on what I remember, as I didn't take notes that evening. The notes are written in first-person account, for readability. It is not an ad-verbatim record.

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For those of you who are new to this centre, you may find this place to be a little strange. It is not only strange to Muslims but also can be strange to others. Sometimes, we have the air-con servicing man here and he thought it is a church, as he saw the picture of Jesus Christ, but then later he saw also the picture of Buddha, Baba...etc.

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The Earth is said to be 4.5 billion years old, of which mankind exists for only 500,000 years. Before that, there were dinasaurs roaming around. There were no human beings then. What we watched on movies about dinasaurs chasing early primitive men are but the imagination of the movie maker.

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Then came an asteroid that hit Earth and then annihilated all the dinasaurs. So at that time, there were no dinasaurs and there were no human beings. So at that time, was there God?

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We know that we are living on the Earth's surface, which is really sitting on moving plate tectonics. That is, long ago the land mass of the Americas were connected to the land mass of Africa, but it has since drifted so far apart. So geological changes are constantly happening on Earth. After some time, the countries that we know of will not be there anymore. So there may be no more Singapore, Malaysia...etc. So, we have to drop our attachments to what we are fixed with.

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When we pray, it should not be a prayer of lack. If so, you will get more lack. Give prayers of gratitude that the money is already there. For those who have more will be added to you, for those who do not have, more will be taken away from you.

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About in-born talent.

What is it? Is there such thing as an inborn talent?

If you are good at something from very young, it means that you have done it before in your last incarnation. For instance my son - from a very young age, he has already exhibited an entreprenerial flair. Now he is meeting up with bigger players in business. Now at the time when he was little, his acumen and interest in business cannot have come from me. I didn't know how to impart such knowledge at that time.

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But be careful, for a blessing in one incarnation can be a burden in the next incarnation. For instance there is this little boy who was a Ripoche in his previous incarnation and refused to be touched by his mother. So, the mother ended up loving the other son more, as he likes to be hugged and cuddled by his mother.

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It is human of the mother to react more lovingly to the child that is more approachable. Likewise, if I am a hotel guest and if I leave everything the same way in the room after using it, I will be liked more by the inn-keeper. Then next time, I will be treated better. So be a breeze and leave things the same way they are everywhere we go. Everyone loves a breeze. Nobody likes a tornadoe.

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Put love first:

Put love first in whatever you do. Love supersedes any other reasons. When I was in Tonga, I was presented with a roasted suckling pig in one whole piece for my feasting. It was right there in front of me, the highest honour given to a guest by the Chief. I had to 'officiate' the dish, by cutting the roasted pigling up. It was hard, but I did it. I also ate a piece of it. Now does that matter? They are all but form.

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I am not against vegetarians, but it is important not to get to this vegetarian snobbery too. That means, showing up one's superiority because of the choice to be a vegetarian.

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