I want to share a dharma about how we can help others

I want to share a dharma about how we can help others

Most people want things for themselves
it's human nature to desire things

The Buddha said the cause of suffering is desire
Even our prayers are full of me me me and the things we desire
Heath wealth and happiness

A great man once said
If you want to be happy for an hour
Have a massage
If you want to be happy for a day
Go for a picnic
If you want to be happy for a week
Go to Bali
If you want to be happy for a month
Get married
If you want to be happy for a year
Win the lottery
But if you want to be happy for a lifetime
Help others

It is so much better to give than to receive

The Reverend Joel Osteen tells the following

A child from a poor family comes into Jacks grocer shop and looks at the fruit and veggies
Jack asks him what he wants but the child tells him he is only looking

Jack notices that the boy is holding some marbles
and tells the boy he will swap a bag of fruit for the marbles
The marbles are the boys pride and joy but his family was hungry so he offered them to Jack for the large bag of fruit

Jack told the boy that he only wanted red marbles and didn't like the blue ones the boy had
He told the boy to come back next week and bring red ones

The following week Jack handed the boy a large bag of vegetables and told the boy he wanted blue marbles not the red ones the boy had

This went on for months with Jack never accepting the boys marbles

Some fifteen years later Jack passed away and at his funeral there were three well dressed young men standing by the open casket
Each one in turn held Jacks hand

After the funeral the minister asked Jacks wife about the three red marbles he found in Jacks hand
She told him that jack had fed three families with fruit and vegetables for years in return for red marbles that he never took

It is so much better to give than to receive

A young man about fifteen years old was going door to door selling plastic containers that he had recycled
He explained that he did this after school to feed himself as he had no family

Some people felt sorry for him and gave him a dollar most just slammed the door in his face

At one house a girl answered the door and he stood speechless
She was so beautiful
The girl saw he was so thin and obviously starving and she offered him a glass of milk
He drank it down in one go so cold so delicious

It actually saved his life

Some twenty five years later the same girl had a life threatening growth in her brain
Unfortunately she could not afford the operation and there was only one doctor who specialized in the delicate area of her disease

The doctor stopped in to see her and the moment he saw her he said he would operate

The operation was successful and she was worried about the cost and how she could pay

On the bottom of the bill she received was a hand written note from the doctor

"paid in full with a glass of milk"

It is so much better to give than to receive

I heard about a poor family with five children
It was a struggle just for the food each week

The eldest boy wanted to go to Lunar Park for his birthday and the father had saved a dollar each week for a year just for this treat

They were so excited as they stood in line to get in
When it was the fathers time to pay he got such a shock at the price just to get in and he didn't have enough for the entrance fee

The man behind him tapped him on the shoulder and said in a quiet voice
"excuse me but $40 just dropped out of your pocket"

The father looked at him with tears in his eyes and said
"thank you so much
you are a saint
God will shine on you"

It is so much better to give than to receive

Nathan




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With love

I love Osho

I love Osho and my friend John sent me a wonderful
set of quotes and photos of this great man.

Thanks John

Osho is one of my heroes
He is so out spoken about everything, love, laughter and all the things a spiritual person wants to hear.
All things that are missing from our lives, Osho reminds us how to cure our ills by letting go with laughter and love.

In a book about Zen Osho talks about how archery and swordplay can be as meditative as sitting.

A great king who became a master archer searched his kingdom for a better archery teacher as sometimes he missed the target.
As he entered a village he saw many trees with circles and arrows in the exact middle of the circles.
He said "only the best archer can be this accurate, so perfect,
I must meet this man."
So he called the people and asked where is this great archer.
They all laughed.
"You must forget this man, he is the village idiot." They told the king.
The king told them that his archery was perfect and that he must see him.
The villages said;
"You don't understand his archery.
First he shoots the arrow and then he draws a circle around it.
Of course it is perfect.
Always perfect.
We told him this is not right, but he said his way is simple,you never miss.

Thank you John
Thank you Osho
Nathan


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To my dear friend Carlo;

To my dear friend Carlo;

You asked me to report on my recent trip to Vietnam, with a thought of maybe going there next year.

From the moment I got there, I found a cacophony in total madness of movement and sound, as if this is the last moment of life.

It is, as if there is so much to do and so little time to do whatever has to be done.

The Buddha said to treat every moment as our last, but this is extreme.

All in such a hurry to get somewhere.
It seems that everyone in the city,
the entire population,
is on the move at once,
all a blur of people,
color and noise.
In the city of Ho chi Min there are eight million people and there are some six million motor scooters and its a fight just to get across the street.
I had to half close my eyes and just walk.
The scooters go around,
sometimes.

Vietnam has other benefits apart from the crush.

There are the smiles from the loverly people,
the food, the shopping, bargaining.
The friendliest will try to get an extra cent or two from you.
It's endemic, it's the culture and we would not have it any other way.

The Buddha advised not to be attached to anything.
The Buddha hadn't seen Ratchavadee resort.
Still we shouldn't be attached.
So my advice is to go to Thailand in March not February next year and we will not be attached to the month.

Vietnam is great for a visit but for me, not for a stay.

Love you and look forward to seeing both in Thailand next year.

Nathan



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