金山聖寺 Gold Mountain Monastery

Gold Mountain Monastery

首  頁
►Homepage

成立因緣
►History

每月活動
►Events

金山通訊
►Newsletter

學子園地
►Student Area

活動剪影
►Gallery

DRBA 法界佛教總會

法界佛教總會中文網站
DRBA English
DRBA Vietnamese

金山通訊 GMM Newsletter2005年六月份目錄 Contents - June 2005

Cherish Our Lives – Don't Commit Suicide

By Anne Wong

 

In recent few months, I have received phone calls from my two old schoolmates, and they both happened to inform me that their younger brother and younger sister had committed suicide. Upon hearing such news, my heart was broken, and I felt very sorry for their losses of precious lives. From newspapers and other media reporting, we know that the number of cases of suicide has been increasing. At times, when I read or hear about such news, I would ask myself why such things happen, and feel deeply sorry and sad. When my old schoolmates' brother and sister had lost their lives through suicide, I empathized with their pain, and was at a loss to offer them the appropriate words to express my sympathy.

When one contemplates of committing suicide, one must believe that one has reached a hopeless situation, or that one has come across a problem which cannot be solved. Is there any problem in the world which cannot be solved? When one wants to commit suicide, does one need courage to do so? After death, is the problem really got solved? When one commits suicide and dies, does it mean that one's life is really finished? These few questions must be seriously considered. By going through a serious contemplation of these few questions, one may alleviate some internal conflicts and become courageous in accepting and overcoming challenges in life, rather than setting out to commit suicide.

From the Buddha's teaching of “Dependent Arising Conditions”, we know that everything in the universe exists because of all necessary conditions for their existence come together. When different kinds of problems in our lives appear, this is because all necessary conditions for their existence come together. The problem can be unsatisfactory test results, or poor working conditions, or discrimination or rejection, or a dead-end job, or poor health, or chronic diseases which cause one to become worried and anxious about the future.

It is a hard reality that most of the times we encounter undesirable events in our lives, therefore for whichever problems we encounter, they are not different from others'. We must never think that we are the most unfortunate ones to encounter such problem or bound by such affliction, and get attached and focus our attention completely on our misfortunes. In this way, we enlarge the problem and can become overwhelmed.

We must truly understand the fact that each person's affliction resulting from different problem is more or less the same. We can seek help from people with experience or any advice on how to deal with it. If we can consider all aspects and possibilities of consequences, and implement appropriate remedies, we can help remove certain causes and conditions leading to the formation of the problem, and gradually the problem can be solved. For example, when one is diagnosed to have cancer, one can immediately consult the doctor, family, relatives and friends on different treatments for alleviating pain and get cured. If the problem is unsatisfactory examination results, one can consult the teacher or classmates on the effective way of studying, and work hard at it; there will be a day one can attain satisfactory results. Alternatively the problem may be one has lost one's job, in this case one can inform relatives and friends, and request for their help in finding another appropriate job.
Sometimes the problem is not as serious as one may think, but because we do not consult others, we get attached and focus our attention completely on our misfortunes and conclude that there is no solution other than to commit suicide. There is a well-known Chinese saying, “Three ordinary folks' minds make up the brilliant mind of Zhu Quo Liang (a famous wise man in ancient China).” When we consult with others, sometimes it may not necessarily result in solving the problem, but it can help us untie the knots in our minds, and eliminate our internal affliction, which is worth doing.

We have to continuously face with different obstacles when we grow up. If everything is smooth and desirable, our minds will not mature. Therefore when obstacles arise, we must not get panic. We must know that other people also face with the same problems in their lives, and recognize that this is part of life in growing up and problems can make our lives more challenging. This way, we can be brave and don't get panic, and naturally we can have the courage to accept the obstacles, and overcome them.

Even though sometimes we may not be able to solve the problem, still we should not feel depressed. Throughout history there are many great men who had encountered numerous failures before they became successful. When we fail, we must reflect upon the reasons for our failure, and we should not regard it as permanent failure. Since failure is the mother of success, when failure comes after failure, as long as we can learn from our failure and persist, we will definitely succeed in the end.

( to be continued... )

▲Top

金山聖寺

Gold Mountain Monastery

800 Sacramento Street. San Francisco, CA 94108 U.S.A.
Tel: (415) 421-6117