Wishing

Yutang Lin

To be prosperous, wealthy and fortunate in love,
All sorts of wishes are entertained by worldlings.
Have they ever deliberated possible subsequence?
What guarantee is there that luck would not turn?
Mindful of ups and downs there is lack of peace.
Impermanence is inevitable yet in mind avoided.
Not being prepared for senility, illness and death,
Just eagerly wishing to bite the bait at this instant.

Comment:

Now and then some people would ask me to pray for them. In accordance with Buddha teaching on compassion I usually obliged to such requests. However, due to the transient nature of all things, even if their wishes were fulfilled for a while, how could there be any guarantee that later things won change for the worse? I could only hope that those who got Buddha blessing to have their wishes fulfilled would reflect on Buddha great compassion, and therefore turn toward Buddhist practices so that they would attain some degree of awakening about fundamental problems of life and death, and delusion and awakening. Eventually, I hope they would then be able to live a peaceful and meaningful live.

Written in Chinese on July 24, 2001
Translated on August 5, 2001
El Cerrito, California

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