Praise the Kind Mentor
Author: Fafu
Translator : Lotus
Once, a fellow practitioner sent me the same greetings every day, and I asked my mentor, “Do I need to reply? He replied, “If you make sentient beings happy, then all Buddhas will be happy. I also asked, “I don’t know how to make them happy, because they say the same greetings every day, and I don’t know how to reply, I just reply with the same pictures. I don’t know how to reply to them.” My mentor also replied, “If you meet someone who confesses or makes a vow, you can reply with a handshake expression; if you meet someone else, you can reply with a smile expression.
It is because we are all ignorant and confused that we make such a creation. The true establishment of good cause should be a matter of pleasure and convenience, but if we make the other person resent us, we are breaking the cause. When we meet sentient beings like this, we have the opportunity to subdue vexation and build merit. Like a loving mother teaching a babbling child, my mentor taught me and guided me little by little.
19. Again, I woke up in a nightmare: “I was sweating so much during the exam, the time to turn in the paper was almost up, and I still hadn’t finished …” Similar situation, I encountered in my dream countless times. The reality is the same. My academic scores were never good, but I grew up with the pressure of my father’s strong desire for me to get ahead in school, and it was a real struggle for me. At that time, I often thought, “If this continues, I may go crazy.
I am grateful to my mentor for rescuing me and giving me the privilege of becoming a monk, at least I am no longer under pressure and at least the Dharma is enjoyable for me to learn.
