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Caring
for the Aged
•Guru's
Talk•
(By
Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu)
(Translated by Cheng Yew Chung.
Edited by TBN)
Leaf Lake, the location of my
retreat, is a spacious area with only a few neighbours living
in the vicinity. Among them are some old folks who live alone,
by themselves.
There is an old man who passes by
my house every morning, staggering with the aid of a walking
stick. He has graying white hair and a hunchback, and appears
to be gasping for breath as he inches forward. Walking is his
form of exercise.
A loner, he hardly greets anyone.
Shabbily dressed and appearing doddered, he seems to be
tormented by poverty and illness. Aging with white hair, his
face projects an air of aloofness and arrogance.
I waved to him from my window,
yet he took only a glance at me and did not even bother to nod
his head in acknowledgement. I felt dejected!
I am well aware that anyone who
enters into the twilight years faces a degeneration of his or
her physical health. This means that the body is unable to
regenerate itself, while it deteriorates further. Such is the
truth of an aging body.
I am well aware that this old man
was once a baby, a child, a teenager, a young man, a
middle─aged man──a testimony to time's unsparing hand in
the aging process. As a person passes his prime, his body gets
out of shape. As age catches up with him, his body loses its
healthy glow and his internal organs deteriorate in their
functions. Judging from the situation, I would say that the
old man is simply waiting for his life to finish.
I think of myself in his shoes!
My thoughts also extend to the aging monks, nuns, and lay
Buddhists in the True Buddha School!
The process of aging happens to
everyone, not exclusive to the old man mentioned here. This is
part of life itself, and no one can escape it. Not even the
physical body of the enlightened Buddha is exempt from aging!
Old age and sickness come hand in
hand. An elderly person experiences aches all over his body
and suffers a loss of strength. His appetite for food
diminishes, and he experiences sleeping disorders. The
suffering can be excruciating.
I feel a sense of urgency to
address this aging issue. I had voiced my concern prior to my
retreat, to build a home for the aged. We must show our care
and concern for the elderly. We must build a hospice to care
for the dying and build a True Buddha cemetery.
--->回目錄
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