When an old lady was reciting the Buddha’s name, she was disturbed by her grandson for an unknown reason. "Granny, granny, granny!” She got angry and said to him, "I am reciting Buddha’s name. Keep quiet.” She then continued reciting Buddha’s name, leaving the grandson looking confused. The boy could not figure out the logic, he asked his grandma, “Granny, you kept reciting Buddha’s name thousands of times, and Amitabha Buddha did not lose his temper. I only called you three times, yet you started losing your temper.” So, we need to combine Buddhism with life. Buddha dharma would be useless if we can’t implement Buddhism teachings in life.  

We are the ones who define the good or bad of every matter. David Liu, Deputy CEO of Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation in Taiwan, came to Singapore to talk about happiness in life. Quoting daily life stories and presenting them in a funny way, participants were left laughing while they learn the power of changing one’s thoughts.

There is no such thing as a good life or bad life. Who is differentiating the good and bad? Our minds.

Participant, Yak King Chuan: There is no good or bad destiny, so there is no need to beg for one. What matters is how we want to shape our destiny.   

Participant, Loh Jwee Poh: Letting go is what we strive to achieve in our cultivation, but how to achieve it is our biggest challenge. That is why we should persist in practising and doing good deeds. We witness suffering and realise how blessed we are.

Where is our cultivation hall? It's not in the temple, not in the Buddhist temple. It's in the crowd, it's in the work we do. Fortunes and misfortunes are all blessings if we are able to change our thoughts.  

Participant, Liz Chen: Not everything in life happens the way we want them to, it is about how we do our best. Then switch our thoughts to the right direction. I think this is a great inspiration.

Ladies and gentlemen, blessings must be accumulated and sustained, and love must be translated into action.

Participant, Loh Jwee Poh: Be grateful for what we have, so we need to have the mentality of giving back to society and do what we can for others.

Participant, Liz Chen: We still need to take time out of our busy schedules to help others.

A change in our thoughts allows us to face life with a positive mindset. May everyone live a happy life while creating values in life.