Understanding the heart Refuge - The Rike

Relying on each other to always be aware of respect and need for each other is the most beautiful structure of the universe.

Never before has one felt life so monotonous, tedious and out of place as now. Perhaps it's because humans are losing more and more intimate contact with other individuals. Economic development, rapid increase in enjoyment, has made many people mistakenly believe that they can live safely and steadily with their own talents and bravery without anyone. They always limit "unrealistic" relationships, do not dare to trust anyone because they think anyone can be a dangerous competitor. Young people always want to get away from their families. They believe that it is an opportunity to move forward and also to satisfy their desire to live freely without being monitored, restrained or reprimanded. Then, when they are drawn into emotional or material passion, the idea of family home or neighborly love no longer touches their minds. Many young people even dare to declare that: "There are no two village languages in my dictionary", "Escaping from family is like escaping from prison". And since then they have lived like they have no home.

The times they return to their homeland are often times when they find themselves in a stalemate that they cannot cope with or resolve on their own. But they still believe in the love or value of peace of their families and loved ones, while many other young people, out of narcissism and prestige, do not want to publicize their failures. They would rather bite their teeth and endure, or accept to indulge in perverted passion in order to forget everything, rather than ask for help from their families. Other young people, although living in the family, always appear like ghosts. They had no idea what was going on in the family. They don't care about anyone, they don't take responsibility for anyone, they never share their difficulties with anyone. They have their own world. Video games, phones, and the internet are where they consider their world. In that place they feel more comfortable, more confident, and even more "real" than in real life.

Just a few decades ago, people were very intertwined and attuned to each other. Grandparents and parents always spend a lot of time shaping their children and grandchildren to be human. They are aware that their children and grandchildren are their continuation and also the future of society. It is the duty of children and grandchildren to always love and wholeheartedly learn from the experiences of their predecessors, from the training of manners and rituals, to the cultivation of the art of treating people. Family is their first school. If they live in harmony and happily with their family members, they can live easily anywhere. Because they are "rooted" on such a solid spiritual foundation, even if they have to settle down in the distance, they are always aware that they are living for their families, clans, villages and their homeland. Although they face many difficulties or temptations, they always tell themselves not to fall. Because then the trust of all relatives will also collapse. Therefore, the refuge point is also the place where they worship, helping them always have a sense of appreciation and try to improve themselves worthy.

The village is also a cradle to help young people grow. When they have difficulties with their families that they cannot express, they can run to Uncle Tu or Uncle Six's house next door to vent. And then they also received heartfelt counsel to return and make peace with their families. The adults always consider all the young people in the village as their children and grandchildren. When they see young people making mistakes, they are willing to spend a lot of time, even making a pot of tea or preparing an intimate meal to invite them to eat and then choose reminders. If the advice fails, they take the trouble to go directly to the adults in the family to discuss and find solutions. When there is an unfortunate situation, they even dare to spend the whole working day to enthusiastically help. Sometimes they put aside private parties to share difficulties with us. Thanks to that, people at that time rarely fell into depression, psychosis or sought death because of impasse like now. Therefore, whatever we do, we never dare to scandalize our families and villages. We have realized that we are the cell, and the family and the village are the body. The cell is required to rely tightly on the body. Otherwise, the cell will die.

Refuge is the mandatory principle of life. For in truth in this heaven and earth nothing can exist separately. Because someone is always watching, we are careful and try to improve ourselves. In the family call it the "eye of the family", outside the community call it the "eye of the community". That eye always promptly helps us detect clumsiness, weaknesses, or difficulties that we ourselves do not see. In addition, although collisions bring a little uncomfortable emotions at first, it is an opportunity for us to practice our stamina, the ability to cope, and understand our psychological niche and others. Let alone everyone has good and beautiful things, anyone can become an object for us to learn. Especially living with people who have experienced, they are a living dictionary that we can both learn and practice easily. What's even more important is that by living in a group, we are always inspired to strive, because our spontaneous habits and laziness easily cause us to change our stance and miss out on many valuable opportunities. The greatest value of the dependent life is the opportunity to see clearly the principle of interpersonal interaction, so that we can be less egoistic and cultivate the seeds of altruism.

Zen meditators often say the phrase: "Tiger painted tiger defeated; Increase their glasses." A tiger, when separated from the mountains and forests that are its familiar terrain, is defeated anyway. Although its opponent is only a wild ferret, thanks to the power of unity, those wild ferrets can still defeat it – "Tiger of the enemy of the lake". If a monk leaves a monastic group where there is a lot of refined energy and protective harmony, it will easily fall into the gravitational trap of life, and lose the purity of the soul. Because this infection takes place smoothly and delicately in every moment, without the observation of the "sangha eye", it is difficult to detect.

Of course, the admonition for the majority is always relative, because there are exceptions to everything. In fact, there are still those who have a high level of awareness and self-control, and even living outside the group does not change their quality. The reason they have to live away from the group is because they want to fulfill their high ideals, not because they want to seek freedom for themselves. However, they always keep in mind that they are living among the group, so from their food to their way of thinking they reflect the spirit of the group. Therefore, the "independent" lifestyle is only true when we want to strive for ourselves without relying on others. Even though we have built a business, we remember that we have never stopped receiving love and faith from our loved ones. Relying on each other to always have a sense of respect and need for each other is the most beautiful structure of the universe.

Swans always fly in a V-shape with their flocks during migrations south to avoid the cold and search for food. With such a formation, the flapping of the wings of the child flying first will help the child fly later save 70% of the effort compared to when flying alone. In fact, no swan has ever dared to fly from the north to the south alone, because the distance is sometimes tens of thousands of miles. It is very remarkable that when the leader is tired, he immediately backs away so that the next one flies in his place. They never dictate leadership. What's even more special is that when a swan is suddenly exhausted or injured, it will be supported by two other healthy swans and the whole flock will slow down to a minimum to wait for them to chase. They never neglect to uplift their fellow human beings.

When we see the swans sticking together, we may shed tears. Because we always consider ourselves civilized, but we worship individualism in service of our small selfishness. I don't want anyone to touch me and I don't care about the suffering of others. Even with the family members in whom we live very indifferently, let alone those two great "fellows". It's not a big deal. If we cannot love our fellow human beings, sustain our people, and share our suffering with our homeland, what qualification do we have to stand firm in the midst of heaven and earth? Living without knowing yourself alone makes no sense to live.

So, let's try to overcome the narrow gazes that clasp each other's hands, to raise the big sails for the ship of life to glide ahead. Don't rely on talent or luck and give yourself too big a place to make it difficult to fit in with the people around you. It is not necessary to become a captain to be able to take part in the journey across the ocean to reach the shore of happiness. Each sailor only needs to know his or her own responsibilities and be ready to swap positions with each other when necessary. As a result, we promptly regain our form to cope with the inadvertent waves ahead. Let's walk together for the chance to collide, to break down strongholds of obstinacy, to practice yielding and harmonizing with each other. Those are important factors that make human bravery and success.

Let us live the life of an informed and loving human being. Accept each other as swans who always accept their fellow human beings. Don't because the need for enjoyment is too great, don't because of the narrow egos that we always build up in the bosom of doubt, anxiety and fear to deal with each other. If we can walk the same path together, look at each other with our faces, and be willing to speak up for each other or support each other wholeheartedly, we still retain the qualities of a mysterious being. Without that quality, we cannot be happy. Because true happiness is only possible when we know how to share.

Go like a flock of birds
Cross the icy
sky Don't go out to sea alone The sea
of life is full of waves.

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