Born Alone, Die Alone

We are born alone and die alone. We cannot worry about others, as we cannot even save ourselves. When we ourselves cannot save ourselves and do not have any firm refuge, it means that we are not truly certain. We may be defeated by Mara at any time.

We have already been born, already encountered Buddhism, and already found the most important and useful knowledge. But we still do not hurry to strive when we are still young. What are we waiting for? When we are old, we can no longer do anything. We do not know for sure when we will die. If we suddenly die, will we fall into hell? Are we not afraid that this life will be in vain? Are we not wasting time?

This life is born to create merit and good deeds that increase. We must keep them well. Only merit can help us. Subtle merit is very important, but we are still doing little subtle merit. What can we hope for in life if we were born to be in vain? Seeing only talk, seeing only play, wasting time – what have we gained? Think about it and you will know whether we are at a loss or profit. Be careful, merit must be well kept. If we do not keep it well, do not think of it, do not care for it, merit will be little, and merit will not flow continuously. If we think of it constantly, merit will continue on continuously.

What else do we hope for in the future – beauty in form, sound, smell, taste, touch? Think about it well before doing anything. If it’s wrong, it will be too late to fix, except to start over.

February 9, 2518