The Buddha says:
If a roof is poorly built, the rain will leak in.
If a mind is poorly disciplined, desires will leak in.
Idleness is a dead-end road.
Only perseverance is the road to salvation.
Wise people always persevere in cultivating their minds.
The “heart” and “buddha-nature” are different terms that mean the same thing. The difference is that “the heart” often forgets to express its pure wisdom.
People often allow desires to cover up their wisdom and pollute their pure nature. This “pure nature” is called the “heart” by common people, and “buddha-nature” by Buddhists.
I have always taken care of everything for my children, but they don’t appreciate it. I really don’t know what they expect.
Dharma Master Cheng Yen: “Parents only have a responsibility to provide quality education and strong support for their children. Parents have no right to control their children’s free will and independent thinking. Parents and children are brought together by fate, but their individual destinies are only determined by their own efforts. Parents may bless and support their children, but they cannot shoulder the karma that their children brought from their previous lives.”
Translated by E. E. Ho and W. L. Rathje; drawings by Tsai Chih-chung; coloring by May E. Gu
