There isn't a peaceful place in this world. In every corner of the world, there's some kind of problem, some trouble or other. There isn't a single person who is peaceful every day. If it isn't this kind of affliction, it's that kind. There's not a single person who is really happy in this world. Things have reached such a critical state that even kings and presidents shed tears and their hearts are filled with grief.

What's the reason for this? In the past, we didn't know to cultivate. We made many mistakes in cause and effect. We committed a lot of offenses and amassed bad karma. Because of this karma, we have to undergo all kinds of retributions. Some people must undergo one kind of retribution, some another. Light offenses bring a light retribution; with heavy offenses the retribution is severe. This process of planting a cause and reaping a result is not off by a hair's-breadth. But in terms of what our ordinary eyes can see, without the penetration of past lives, we feel things are wrong. Actually, we get just what we deserve. Similar causes bring similar results. In the past we didn't cultivate, so now we undergo painful retributions for our mistakes. Now that we understand this principle, we should resolve to start anew and not make any more mistakes in cause and effect. We should be determined not to be muddled and casually create bad karma. If we go on amassing bad karma, then in the future it's hard to say what our retribution will be. Maybe we'll be blown to smithereens by an atomic bomb. Or maybe we'll be poisoned by the hydrogen bomb or killed by laser beams. One can't say for sure.

Therefore, be cautious, as if you were approaching a deep abyss or treading on thin ice. We should start afresh and change our lives in order to shape our future. Meanwhile we must bear the suffering due us, be patient with toil, and truly cultivate in accord with the Dharma spoken by the Buddha.

All the myriad events of the world speak the DharmaLife has a limit, but worldly knowledge has no boundary. Using a limited lifespan to seek endless, fathomless knowledge is futile. You will arrive at your death, but you won't be done studying. In Jwang-dz's day there were many good scholars, and he was one of the most famous. Not only was his scholarship good, in addition, he had virtue in the Way, so many students wanted to study with him. They learned how to be good people. One day he went home and said to his wife, "Today I saw something really strange."His wife asked, "Can you tell me about it?"

"Of course," he said. "I saw a woman on the side of the road, beside a grave, fanning the grave with a big fan. The grave was newly dug, and the soil was damp. I thought, 'How strange! Would a corpse be afraid of the heat and need someone to fan it?' So I asked the woman what she was doing. The woman said, 'Why do you ask? This grave holds my husband. I must say, I loved him more than anything in the world. My dearly beloved husband! But he passed away after a sudden illness. So I buried him. Then I thought that although I loved him dearly, he's dead and it's obviously not productive to continue to love him. The best thing would be to remarry. But I couldn't bear to remarry before the dirt on his grave was dry, could I? Yet, to wait would cause a delay of several days, so I thought I would expedite the process by fanning the grave. That way I can hurry up and get a new husband. When the grave is dry, I will have fulfilled my responsibilities to my dear deceased husband. Now do you understand why I am fanning this grave?' "

Jwang-dz's wife listened and then said, "That woman is really cheap! How could she not even wait a few days? She had to fan the grave! When you die, dear, I am never going to remarry!" Jwang-dz said, "Really?" His wife said, "Why would I try to deceive you about something like that?"

Strangely enough, after this conversation with his wife, Jwang-dz became sick and a few days later he died. His wife bought a coffin and put him in it. Just as she was laying him in the box, a grandson of the King of Chyu passed by, riding in his priceless, elaborately ornate carriage. Obviously he was an important person in the King's court. He was looking for Jwang-dz. Jwang-dz's wife said, "Why?"
"I have heard of his famous scholarship and I want to study under him."

"Too bad," said Jwang-dz's wife. "If you had come a few years earlier, you could have studied under him, but he's dead now."
The King's grandson said, "But he must have left some manuscripts. May I stay here and study them?"
Now, when Jwang-dz's wife took another look at the royal grandson, she was duly impressed. He wasn't bad looking, and her heart beat faster as she said, "Fine, you can stay here and study."

So, that's what the young man did. From the outset, Jwang-dz's wife couldn't handle the situation and fell in love with him. She was so overwhelmed with emotion that she propositioned him, saying, "Your teacher, Jwang-dz, is dead. I am still very young and quite suitable for you. Why don't we just get married?"

He said, "That sounds fine to me, but I don't know for sure whether you are being honest and true. You may just be trying to cheat me. If you are serious, then go open Jwang-dz's grave so that I can at least have one look at my teacher's face. Then I will marry you."
Jwang-dz's wife said, "Easy enough!" She took an axe and hacked open the coffin. Now, remember that the other woman was fanning the grave. Jwang-dz didn't even make it into the grave! His wife couldn't even wait that long! She hacked open the coffin, but what do you suppose she found? Jwang-dz sat straight up and said, "Oh? You were going to remain a widow all your life? Now you are hacking open my coffin before you've even given me a proper burial." Whereupon, he emerged from the coffin, very much alive. His wife turned around and the Emperor Chyu's grandson had disappeared. Jwang-jou then spoke a verse:

The venom of the Queen Snake,
The sting of the yellow hornet,
Cannot be counted poisonous at all,
When compared to the ultimate poison of a wife's heart.

Then he grabbed a pot and started hitting it, singing, "See through it and put it down." He walked off into the sun set singing and banging on the pot, and no one knows where he went. Thus, the verse says,

See through it and put it down; climb aboard the boat of compassion!

Put everything down; see through it.
For those who feel that Jwang-dz's verse may be unfair, we can change the last lines to read, "cannot be counted as poisonous at all when compared to the ultimate poison of an evil person's heart." "An evil person" may be male or female. If you do evil, you have the most poison. Is that better? When Jwang-dz's wife turned around, the grandson of the King of Chyu was gone-he had vanished into thin air! How did this happen? Does anybody know?

(Somebody answers: "Actually the grandson of the King of Chyu was a transformation of Jwang-dz who came to test his wife.")
That's right! You see, Jwang-dz was endowed with spiritual penetrations, being such a great scholar and one of the Way. He had devised this method, hoping to liberate his wife. But she missed the opportunity right before her eyes. It wasn't the right time. Thereupon, Jwang-dz broke out in song:

Fame and riches are a Spring dream at dawn;
Glory and honor a cloud in the sky.
This very flesh and bones you see are not true,
And love in time turns to hate.
Don't yoke your neck with golden chains;
Don't shackle your body with fine jade.
Cleanse your mind, extinguish desire, leap out of the red dust-Carefree and happy with the wind and light of your original home.

We all have a share in true happiness, which all living beings are originally endowed with.