Modern people are always multitasking: focusing their minds on many activities, believing that they can get more things done in the same amount of time. Some examples include using the computer while talking on a cell phone, or listening to music while eating a snack. With the mind dispersed between various activitiesin this way, we end up feeling very busy, and rather lost.

When we compiled all our forms of media including radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and now the internet, it seems like everyone is portraying themselves as some kind of expert. Everyone has advice on how to make more money than others, how to become successful before you tum thirty, how to keep up with the popular trends, or how to keep your finger on the pulse of the times and be on the leading edge. It seems like our mouths never stop, even for a moment, and just keep pouring out predictions, news of reconciliation and falling out, hearsay, and other rumors. There really is no need for each of us to add our own two cents, nor should we let such unexamined reports provoke quarrels and debate because off their wrongheaded ideas, words, and judgments.

There are many people who bury themselves in their work every day, and pressure others every second. They may pressure themselves, or let other people put pressure on them. People only turn to religion when they face disappointment and failure. This is treating religion like a cold remedy: once the cold is better, people go right back to their old ways and attitudes. Once again they become the same old person with all their bad habits. People can waste much of their lives repeating this cycle.

Once there was a man named Mr. Yin who devoted all his attention to becoming rich. Every day he would send his servants out on errands from morning until night and would never give them a moment’s rest. One of his servants was an old man who was so tired from his labors that he would groan in pain. By evening he was drooping with exhaustion and each night he would sleep like a log.

In his sleep he would dream of being a king who enjoyed banquets and other amusements at the royal palace. In his dreams he could do as he pleased, for no one dared disobey him. But when he awoke the next morning he would be ordered about by the rich man as always.

Sometimes people would see the old servant work so hard and try to comfort him. The old servant would tell them, “A human life is no more than a hundred years; half of that is the day, and half of that is the night. During the day I am a servant and my work gives me a lot of hardship. But during the night I become a king and enjoy unequalled happiness. So why should I be concerned?”

Mr. Yin, the old servant’s master, spent all his time thinking and scheming how to manage his family estate. All this effort left his body and mind completely exhausted, and he would collapse into bed each night dazed and weary. And as he slept he would dream that he was someone else’s servant. He would run about here and there, carrying out endless labors. His master would scold, revile, beat, and humiliate him. Every night Mr. Yin would moan and groan in his sleep until morning.

The rich Mr. Yin was quite upset about this, so he asked a friend of his if there was anything he could do about it. His friend told him, “Your position ensures that you are honored by others. You are so wealthy that you could never spend all of your money, even given several lifetimes. During the day you’re the boss, but at night you dream of being a servant. That sounds fair to me.”

The world has always been a mixture of different parts. The Treatise on Awakening of Faith in Mahayana divides the mind into two aspects: the deluded mind that arises and ceases from moment to moment, and the true mind of emptiness, tranquility, and spiritual brightness that the deluded mind can gradually become. Vimalakirti, the great Buddhist layperson mentioned in the eponymous sutra, was said to frequent wine shops and gambling houses, though he would spend his time there employing skillful means to guide living beings. During the course of his many lifetimes of practice, the Buddha once saved the lives of five hundred merchants from the perils of piracy by not hesitating to break the precept against killing.

I sometimes call this world a “half and half world,” because it is always part this and part that. Part of this world is the Buddha’s world, and part of this world is Mara’s world. Some teachings are right teachings, and some teachings are wrong teachings. That being said, there is an old saying in Buddhism that, “When the right person practices the wrong teachings, they become right teachings, and when the wrong person practices the right teachings, they become wrong teachings:’ We must choose what is wholesome and hold fast to it, planting ourselves firmly in the Buddha’s world, and in the right teachings. We should not become bewildered and lead astray by Mara’s part of the world, or by wrong teachings. Even Buddhism is made up of different parts. Part of Buddhism is the “southern transmission,” which is made up of countries of the Theravada tradition, while the other part is the “northern transmisson” which includes countries that practice Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhism is also made up of part “exoteric Buddhism” and part “esoteric Buddhism.” One part of Buddhist practitioners are monastics, and another part are laypeople. I personally advocate drawing from both the northern and southern traditions, and fusing exoteric Buddhism with esoteric Buddhism. With the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order I have created a monastic order with a mature system, and with the Buddha’s Light International Association I have organized a sound religious order for the laity.

Over the course of my life I have faced death many times. I have once had a medical operation where I experienced deep insight into the pain of illness at the point of life and death. Some people, even if their bodies are strong, may not recover when they fall ill. Other people may be in poor health and can suffer from many illnesses, but though their lives hang by a thread, they can live long, fruitful lives. There are some people who may have physical disabilities in one area, but function above average in another. Then again there are some people who may have a fair appearance and well-formed bodies, yet they look but cannot see, and listen but cannot hear; they are immoderate in their motions and askew in their demeanor. The world is always like this: nothing is ever entirely good or beautiful. Because of this we should not seek perfection, but instead see past such things and let them go. Then we can be free and joyous in any situation.

Every now and again I hear someone criticize Buddhism and say, “You Buddhists don’t care about fine clothes and good food; you don’t understand how to enjoy things and have fun. Isn’t your life pessimistic and dull?”

But if that kind of happiness were real, why do so many people who live to enjoy such things feel that life is empty, and are left not knowing what to do? Why are there so many people who do not understand the meaning of this life?

In Buddhist writing we often use the expression, “I have Dharma joy and take no joy in worldly pleasures.” Joy in the Dharma is the kind of joy that brings peace of mind and freedom, and harmony and serenity to our relationships. Look at all the people in society who only focus on obtaining fame and fortune. The only thing they know is the mad dash to be number one. They anxiously try and secure some personal gain from the material side of the world, while ignoring the spiritual side of the world. The more people jostle and try to squeeze through this one path, the narrower that path becomes; they end up getting battered and trampled into pulp. Life does not demand perfection. In everything, just do what you can do and you will not feel regret, wherever you may be.

Source: Hsing Yun, Four Insights for Finding Fulfillment: A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Diamond Sutra, Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2012.