Mere Talks

Yutang Lin

Celebrities met at forum would praise one another;
To outsiders they arbitrarily criticized and evaluated.
A transient life is thus spent in socializing and talking;
In the face of crises they ended up with no recourses.

Comment:

For a Buddhist practitioner the worst scenario would be to have become one full of theoretical ideas and yet could not apply teachings to speech and behaviors so as to practice disentanglement and no attachment but instead would just arbitrarily evaluate or criticize everything in speech or in writings. Such persons would lead a life no different from those of ordinary worldlings, except that they are fond of talking about Buddhism. How could emancipation be realized through such approach? Not to mention enlightenment and salvation of sentient beings!

Written in Chinese on September 4, 2004
Translated on September 10, 2004
El Cerrito, California

---

[Home][Back to list][Back to Chinese versions]