Emotion

Modern communication being so rapid causes people much anxiety and nightmares; they cannot feel relaxed as long as there is social disorder throughout the world. This is true whether one experiences this directly or indirectly, whether it concerns the self, family, society, country, political/economic life, or religious belief. As long as the situation affects one’s personal safety or peril, gain or loss, success or failure, people cannot sit back and relax For Emotional Problems, Ethics is the Best Way I frequently encounter people who seem to be trapped in a fire, and who come for help. Generally, I listen to their  problems, know what their anxieties are, but I don't let their problems become my own nightmares. The advice I give them is: for emotional problems, ethics is the best solution. Even if something major happens, you should take time to resolve and mitigate it. If it is a truly unavoidable misfortune, then you can only face it and accept it; by facing and accepting it, you are dealing with it. Since it is already dealt with, then there is no reason to worry about it, so let go of it. Don't constantly think, “ What should I do?” Just sleep as before, eat as before, and live as you ought to live.   If one deals with sentimental problems emotionally, and tries to use rationality with family problems, that would be like putting out a fire with gasoline, or using arguments to solve an argument. It can only make the situation worse. One should have compassion and be thoughtful of the other party when dealing with relationships; otherwise, not only does one offend the other party, one would have out for oneself. When dealing with matters, apply wisdom and handle the problems from an objective view. Once the problems are made objective, one can see clearly the best way to deal with them. If one has to choose one of two options, then first clarify their relative importance and urgency, then decide which one can

  Greedy people are usually unaware of their own greed. The same is true of people filled with anger, arrogance and pride. But sooner or later, practitioners will recognize that they have been greedy, angry or arrogant. At the time they should generate a sense of humility and practice repentance. If you can do this every time you recognize these feelings, these non-virtuous mental states, you will find they arise less and less frequently.     Resources: Dharma Drum- The life and heart of Ch'an practice, The Reality of Ch'an Practice, p.139 Book Store