The leisure industry will develop and grow in the future. This is because
exciting kinds of recreation are necessary to relieve stress for those who
live in urban areas. How should they relieve their stress? The three best ways
are through hunting, horseback riding, and fishing. However, there are many
restrictions in hunting and horseback riding: for instance, only those people in a specific class can ride horses. It does cost a lot of money, after all, so
not everyone can enjoy it. Also, only those people around forty years old
can go hunting. Once they get over fifty, hunting becomes too strenuous for
them, so only a specific group of people can enjoy hunting. However, fishing is
something that people can practice from their youth until the day they die. So, I
envision the fishing industry becoming a worldwide industry in the future.
(207-122, 1990.11.1)
Why was I brought into this world? Why do I have to live? Where am I heading? You should never allow yourself to think that you were born by your own will. You were born into this world, yet you do not know the source and purpose behind your birth. You are ignorant of the motivation and purpose of your being. In other words, we were born in
spite of our wishes. We live notwithstanding our wishes, and we die notwithstanding our wishes. Then what is there to be proud of? We have no control over our birth; we are merely custodians in this life, and we cannot avoid the path of death. Thus, any attempt to take pride in ourselves is pitiable. Once born, we are destined to live and destined to die.
(7-178, 1959.9.6)
2. Compassion and Benevolence
‘Benevolence (仁)’ means ‘man (人).’ When these two are conjoined, the result is ‘the Way.’
Mencius VII.B.16 (Confucianism)
Benevolence (仁) is simple undifferentiated gentleness. Its energy is the springtime of the universe, and its principle is the mind of living things in the universe.
Chu Hsi (Confucianism)
Compassion is a mind that savors only
mercy and love for all sentient beings.
Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 437 (Buddhism)
Anas and ‘Abdullah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “All [human] creatures are God’s children, and those dearest to God are those who treat His children kindly.”
Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam)
Those immersed in the love of God feel love for all things.
Adi Granth, Wadhans, M.1, p. 557 (Sikhism)
He who is skilled in welfare, who wishes to attain that calm state (Nibbana), should act thus: He should be able, upright, perfectly upright, of noble speech, gentle, and humble. Contented, easily supported, with few wants and simple tastes, with senses calmed, discreet, not impudent, not greedily attached to families…
[He should always hold this thought,] “May all beings be happy and secure, may their hearts be wholesome! Whatever living beings there be: feeble or strong, tall, stout or medium, short, small or large, without exception; seen or unseen, those dwelling far or near, those who are born or those yet unborn—may all beings be happy!”
Let none deceive another, nor despise any person whatsoever in any place. Let him not wish any harm to another out of anger or ill-will. Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, let him cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. Let his thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world: above, below, and across without any obstruction, without any hatred, without any enmity. Whether he stands, walks, sits or lies down, as long as he is awake, he should develop this mindfulness. This, they say, is the noblest living here.
Sutta Nipata 143-151, Metta Sutta (Buddhism)
Now, I am jealous of no one,
Now that I have attained unto the Society of
the Saints:
I am estranged with no one: nor is anyone a
stranger to me,
Indeed, I am the friend of all.
All that God does, with that I am pleased;
This is the wisdom I have received from the
saints.
Yea, the One God pervades all: and, seeing Him,
I am wholly in bloom.
Adi Granth, Kanara, M.5, p. 129 (Sikhism)
If you step on a stranger’s foot in the marketplace, you apologize at length for your carelessness. If you step on your older brother’s foot, you give him an affectionate pat, and if you step on your parent’s foot, you know you are already forgiven. So it is said, “Perfect ritual makes no distinction of persons; perfect righteousness takes no account of things [wealth]; perfect knowledge does not scheme; perfect benevolence knows no [partiality in] affection; perfect trust dispenses with gold.”
