Teachings of Reverend Tan

Looking back at the years, I realise that I haven't in anyway, achieve true happiness. I was sad, lost and I do not know how my life should go on. Sitting beside the Teban reservoir, I sat and pondered over my purpose in life.

It was this moment the Great Reverend Tan, who was on his way to the WEST, saw me and decided to enlighten me in my quest for true happiness. Reverend Tan sat beside me, and begin to talk to me. I spent a few hours listening to the great Reverend Tan. Although he occasionally make funny noises and he is really long winded, I can sense that he has great wisdoms. As he speaks, I begin to understand what Happiness, to the Buddhists are....

In buddhism, to understand wat is happiness, we must first understand wat is sufferings. Buddhism catergorised sufferings into 8 main types.

1. Human. As long as you're human, you will have feelings. Feelings of hatred, jealousy or sexual desires etc. When u have feelings, you will suffer. (if you hate someone, u urself don't feel good right? That's suffering)

2. Birth. when giving birth, you are giving a new life and that is human. So when u give birth to a baby, u're imbuing feelings into him as well...that's suffering

3. Old aged. When u get old, u suffer...no explanation required

4. Sickness. No need to explain too

5. Death. Idiot-proof

6. Separation. Separation from your love ones makes u suffere

7. Unwanted happenings. Things u do not want to happen, happened will make u suffer. for eg, you do not want to argue with ppl over how u manage ur stuffs, yet you did. Ahhhh...sufferings

8. Unfufilled desires. Can't get wat u desire, sufferings too. For eg. u want her love...but u don't get it...u suffered and start writing in ur diary how u suffered.

So once u understand wat is suffering, u will understand wat is happiness. And buddhism believes it's the end of these sufferings. Meaning to say, Once u destroy all ur sufferings, you'll get true happiness. So how to destroy ur sufferings? We must look at the cause of sufferings first. The causes are mainly 2 kinds....Our body and our heart. Without a body, we won't die, we won't get sick, we won't give birth etc. And without our heart, we won't have desires or feelings that will cause us to suffer. So, in order to gain happiness, we must destroy our body and heart!!!! Yeah it sounds stupid but the destroy is actually not wat we meant literally. Reverend Tan offer 3 ways to destroy your body and heart...

1) Looking at the sky. Find a place, where u can look at the sky without any obstructions. then spent abt 15 mins looking at the clear sky. Ignore watever birds aeroplanes or clouds that fly past. if ur eyes are tired, u can close it but ur mind still 'looks' at the sky. While u are looking at it, U must think that the sky is so big. The sky is infinite...wat are u compare to the sky. If the sky is 1, you must be 0.00000000000000~001. and where u round off, you are zero. So u doesn't really exist in this world cos u are so small and puny. When u think this way or u are enlightened, you will realise that ur body and ur heart are actually the nature...and nature is ur body and ur heart. In this way, you lost your body and your heart.

2) Sitting. Spent 15 mins to sit down in a quiet environment. While sitting, your mind must be thinking. Think of wat? think of ur body. First, think of skin. Your skin is matter...and according to Albert Einistern, Energy = Mass X square of speed of light. So in other words, your skin which possess mass, is energy. Then, think of wat is beneath ur skin...ur flesh is made of matter too...meaning to say, they are energy as well. Then ur bones...heart..liver...u'll realise that your whole body is made of energy. Then think outside....The floor that you're sitting on is also matter...also energy...then use the power of ur mind and think of everything that u know of...they are all matter...and they are all energy...So when u're enlightened, you will realise that everything is energy which is nature. Nature is u...and u are nature. So ur body and ur heart doesn't really exist...it's all part of nature....

3) The art of giving In buddhism, it divide 'giving' into 3 kinds

a) Material needs. Giving money, shelter, food and other material needs.

b) Knowledge. Passing down knowledge or showing a person the correct path is the gift of knowledge.

c) Security. To take away ppl's fear. For eg. a dying patient is afraid..cos he's dying. A nurse comfort him, that's the gift of security.

The perfection of the art of giving requires u to fufilled 4 requirements

a) Giving without any attached conditions

b) Giving not bcos of selfish reasons.

c) Giving without asking for any returns

d) Do not discriminate when u give.

Once u perfect the art of giving, it shows that u don't care for urself. u care for everyone bcos everyone is equal, everyone is nature, and nature is everyone...ahh, you're enlightened and u'll find that ur body and heart are not urs...and therefore it's the end of ur sufferings and u get ur happiness. That's abt all. When it's quite hard to understand perhaps but this is based on the buddhism theory of emptiness. " KONG JI SI SE...SE JI SI KONG". Yeah that KONG is the emptiness i am talking abt. Hope everyone can be enlightened by the Great WC Reverend Tan....

Regards