You Are Nothing Is Good!: It Gives You Peace and Joy

Epilogue

Prologue

A glass of wine,

A cube of cheese,

golden sunshine,

soft warm breeze.

Do I exist?

Not the least.

Paradisiacal joy and peace befell Nome that late afternoon. Unwinding on a lawn recliner in the midst of flagrant flowers around his garden, he had a moment of out-of-body experience—no pain, no desires, no stress, no chagrin, and no attachment. It was a feeling of total freedom, and his mind was completely clear of all thoughts; his eyes saw only the golden sunlight reflecting off the flowers and plants in the garden, his ears heard the tree leaves brushing in the soft breeze, his tongue tasted the Brie, his nose breathed the fresh air, and his body was completely relaxed. It was then he understood what peace, freedom and joy really meant. He was in the heavenly realm. Then he heard his wife’s summon and plunged into the human realm. Thoughts about household chores, work, world news, people, family, friends, desires, delusions, and aversions started to creep in; his eyes started to notice the untrimmed hedges, his ears heard the to-do requests, the tongue became dry, his nose started to itch from the allergic reaction to pollens, and his body started to tense up. The joy and peace enjoyed a moment ago was ravaged. Before the interruption he thought he was practicing BÀ’s teaching well, but it was not the case. If he were truly advanced in practicing BÀ’s teachings, he would have been protected by equanimity and stayed in the selfless state despite the suffering inducing summons. He realized at that point he still had a lot to learn and practice. That is why he has written this book.

The guidance provided in this book is an interpretation of BÀ’s teachings. As such, this book does not provide a complete account of all of BÀ’s teachings. It presents the core teachings that would induce a life of peace and joy. It explains what you need to know in plain language and how to use this knowledge in situations familiar to people in today’s world. This is a simplified syllabus that includes the essential part for attaining peace and joy in life. Starting with the easy practices and getting into the difficult parts as your wisdom improves. BÀ’s teachings offer emancipation for every suffering in life—ranging from the trivial to life-and-death situations.

Part I of this book provides a general overview of the path to a life of peace and joy. Part II explains the Eight Practices for Peace and Joy, which form the foundation for achieving enlightenment. Part III covers the Six Practices for Deliverance that will transform and capacitate the practitioner to transcend the suffering of aging, sickness and death. Part IV provides the Four Altruistic Endeavours that are instrumental in sharing the benefits of BÀ’s teachings with others.

Part V applies the teachings in various situations at different stage of life from cradle to grave. Part VI contains a summary of the curriculum covered in this book.

The eighteen practices covered in Parts II, III and IV are all that is needed by a layman to conquer all sufferings and live a peaceful and joyful life. Throughout the book, stories and anecdotes are employed to illustrate how the teachings can be applied in our daily lives. While the behaviours illustrated in some situations may seem improbable, they represent the apex that could be attained when enlightenment is achieved.

Plain language and examples are used to facilitate understanding. If readers question the meaning of a term, they may refer to Part VI for an explanation before proceeding further. Readers who have encountered a situation not covered in this book may describe it under #baquestion at http://www.plicpad.com and it will be considered for the next edition of this book. Note that this book is not about the history of BÀ and his teachings; it is about how BÀ’s teachings can bring peace and joy to your life.

As with any spiritual endeavour, there is no one-size-fits-all. There are many religion, beliefs and practices that work for different people. BÀ’s teachings have existed for many thousands of years and are still venerated by people around the world today. You will only know if it works by understanding and practicing the teachings. Many people have written to spread BÀ’s teachings to help others. The purpose of this work is to make another contribution to this noble effort.

Part I – The Path to Peace and Joy

It is said that the best way to learn is through teaching. By writing this book, I have gained the insight into acquiring the power to transcend all sufferings in life—both physical and mental. While life’s ultimate suffering is the inescapable torment of aging, sickness and death, there are plenty of other mundane miseries such as getting up for work each morning in a freezing cold windy Canadian winter, when the temperature outside is minus 30-40 degrees and the bus is late. The source of the power needed to transcend all sufferings comes from the teachings of a great man who lived thousands of years ago. According to his teachings, anyone can achieve this power by abjuring the calcified habits that cause sufferings.

No one knows for sure, but it is commonly believed that this great man lived around 400 to 563 BC. The guidance in this book is inspired by his teachings. He is the embodiment of wisdom. He was a husband, son, father and a prince; he had everything a person would want but he was disenchanted by the sufferings that sentient beings must endure in life. He gave up his luxurious life when he left everything behind at the young age of nineteen to live the life of an ascetic in search of liberation and salvation. The ascetic method did not provide him with the answer. He was searching for the origin of all sufferings including aging, sickness, and death. It took him eleven years to find the Balanced Way, the truth and attained enlightenment (this term is explained in the next paragraph). He was that young prince in the Himalayan foothills (modern day Nepal) who later became a godlike figure and influenced the lives of countless billions of people over thousands of years to this date.

The classical definition of enlightenment is too abstract. Consequently it has led to different interpretations, which are also difficult to understand and use as a guiding standard in practicing the teachings. To facilitate understanding, enlightenment is defined in this book as the attainment of spiritual peace and joy, regardless of the circumstances. In other words, when you are able to free yourself from all mental sufferings and feel peace and joy no matter what happens in your life, you will have attained enlightenment. This book will show you how to achieve this result.

By now some readers may have discerned this man’s identity. It can be revealed by deciphering the code: 2-1, 9-19, 2-21-4-4-8-1 using the twenty six English alphabets. I refer to this great man as BÀ (Chinese for father) out of my sincere respect for him.

Reading BÀ’s teachings for the first time, I am in awe of their simplicity and indisputability. Regarding religious stories and philosophical analysis, the former invariably raise doubts and the latter evoke more questions than answers. Blind faith is necessary for religious beliefs, and death will come before philosophical deliberation reaches an answer. BÀ’s teachings require only an open mind to distinguish the truth and the untruth. The difference among religion, philosophy and BÀ’s teachings can be illustrated in this anecdote about a priest, philosopher and an enlightened practitioner of BÀ’s teachings:

After having been stranded in a desert for days and near death, the three saw an oasis with sparkling blue water. They crawled to it with great anticipation only to see it disappeared into thin air as it was but a mirage. They were all extremely disappointed, exhausted and dying of thirst. To deal with the suffering, the priest prayed to god for mercy, the philosopher asked why is mirage a mirage? and the enlightened practitioner of BÀ’s teachings said to the other two If needed, you may drink my blood to stay alive.

This anecdote depicts the priest’s optimism through blind faith, the philosopher’s irrelevant desire for knowledge and wisdom, and the enlightened-one’s selfless commitment to help others. It highlights the core value of BÀ’s teachings—selflessness. This willingness to sacrifice oneself for others is the ultimate power of equanimity; this power can annihilate any sufferings—it is hard to imagine what on earth could possibly cause anguish to the enlightened-one described above.

BÀ’s teachings are all about attaining enlightenment—spiritual peace and joy. Different people believe in different ways of achieving the goal. Just as there are different ways to practice Christianity, there are also different ways to practice BÀ’s teachings. Thought the ways are different, the goal remains the same. There is no need to choose a particular way to practice BÀ’s teachings because the best fit will emerge as you progress through the teachings. To keep matters simple, it is suffice to explain the three general ways to achieve enlightenment without naming the numerous different denominations:

The most direct way is through meditation to become selfless. Being selfless will enable you to understanding and live by BÀ’s teachings naturally. This direct method forgoes the rigid curriculums and ritual practices. It works best for gifted individuals who are foreordained to BÀ’s teachings.

Another way is to learn and follow the classical curriculum and rituals step by step. This method is complex and time consuming, but anyone can follow this method.

The third way is chanting the nembutsu Or-Me-Tor-Fu faithfully to achieve enlightenment.

All methods of practicing BÀ’s teachings are good as long as they work for you. This book combines the essence of the three general ways described above to provide readers with an easy and effective way to attain enlightenment.

Without inspiration or guidance, everyone will learn to be self-centered and selfish in an environment where one must compete to survive. People strive hard for what is needed for a good, comfortable life—money, friends, love, and spiritual fulfillment. Yet people who possess all that they need may not be at peace or happy. Why should people who have everything not be happy? They are not happy because there is no end to their self-centered desires; because no matter what they already have, there is always something else that they want and may not be able to get—good health, a faithful spouse, true love for example. It is important to distinguish self-centered desires from altruistic desires—the former benefits only oneself, the latter benefits others.

It is irrelevant to compare the value or effectiveness of BÀ’s teachings to any other spiritual beliefs just as it is futile to compare one great religion to another. What matters is whether a particular belief will work for you—providing you with peace and joy. You have to find that out for yourself. The supreme power that governs peace and joy are revealed in BÀ’s teachings, which are often mistakenly viewed as philosophy. Our world will truly be heaven on earth if everyone follows BÀ’s teachings. BÀ’s teachings are not philosophy because its power can only be released through carrying out selfless good actions. On the contrary, philosophy is an academic debate that never ends and it requires no commitment to action. Applying Good Effort and Wisdom, students will find that BÀ’s teachings are apodictic truths that instil trust as opposed to blind faith.

I discovered the power of selflessness when I first read about BÀ’s teachings while travelling in Macau. I felt a big relief and found peace when I started practicing BÀ’s teachings. I knew immediately that was what I needed to alleviate whatever it was making me apprehensive, stressed, depressed and unhappy; and I wanted to help others by sharing what has worked for me.

Students of BÀ’s teachings often ask how being selfless and void of desires would make things better; without any desires, wouldn’t life be too passive and meaningless? It is well known that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and is worse than ignorance. Case in point, at first glance, the ultimate goal of BÀ’s teachings seems to be getting rid of all life’s sufferings by getting rid of all desires and attachments to worldly possessions. You might think that was kind of silly because if that view was correct, death would be the ultimate goal—you would have no more desires and sufferings of any kind after death. A less extreme interpretation would still mean an excessively passive existence where life resembles death. Once BÀ’s teachings are understood, you will see that this is the wrong view.

It is a common misconception that BÀ’s teachings advocate the elimination of all desires and active participations in normal life. Nothing is farther from the truth. There is no need to expunge all desires, only the self-centered desires. Getting rid of self-centered desires does not mean passivity and avoidance of endeavours; it means replacing the self-centered desires with compassion and love of others when pursuing any endeavours. You should retain and augment the altruistic desires and make that the underlying motivation for action. For example, the desire to become rich and powerful is not a self-centered and greedy desire if the underlying motivation is to gain resources to help others and improve social conditions; at work, instead of focusing on how you can take the most advantage of your employer in order to satisfy your greed, you should think more about doing your best to help the employer succeed in its mission. It should be clear that passiveness and resignation are not preached by BÀ’s teachings. BÀ taught us compassion, altruism and effort needed to excel in all of life’s endeavours and live an active and meaningful life that is full of joy and peace.

To summarize, giving up selfish desires and attachment to worldly possessions does not mean giving up living. What you need to do is replacing the selfish desires with love for others and the passion to make this world a better place for others, not just for yourself. This will provide you with a purpose in life and free you from the suffering caused by greed, hatred and ignorance.

The teachings contained in this book are not a fad concept that comes and goes with time. They have lasted many thousands of years. Same as the value of gold, its market value changes over time as they are used in different times and space. They were valued, learned and practiced by emperors and their subjects in ancient times throughout Asia. Today, the world also has access to this wisdom through the Internet. Many treated it as a religion while others view it as philosophy. It does not matter how it is classified, this wisdom will make you a better person and in turn, make the world we live in a better place. His teachings were revered by kings and he has since been worshiped as a god by billions of people around the world. Many world renowned political leaders and intellectual giants including Mao Tse-Tung and Albert Einstein have praised his teachings. Today, his teachings are being applied daily by many who may not even know the original source of the admonition. For example, during an extremely stressful annual high school entrance examination in China where an excessive number of students compete for limited admissions, a journalist asked a young participant How do you deal with the tremendous stress? The reply was I deal with it with equanimity, meaning that her focus is on doing her best and not on worrying about the result. Equanimity is one of BÀ’s teachings explained later in this book.

Willingness to accept new knowledge is the only prerequisite needed to study and practice BÀ’s teachings and reap the benefits. The title of this book, You Are Nothing is Good is not an insult. It refers to the mental state that frees oneself from all sufferings. What it is and how to attain this level of consciousness is the subject of this book; it explains the required behaviour that will bring you peace and joy no matter what dire situation you are in. This book explains the behaviour that will produce good karma in one’s life and to free oneself from all of life’s sufferings.

The sufferings of aging, sickness, and death are inevitable upon birth. This unalterable fate spares no one—from the most powerful, wealthiest, strongest, and smartest to the average sentient beings. The journey from birth to death takes different paths determined by one’s thoughts and actions. Immoral thoughts and actions bring bad karma and sufferings; kind thoughts and actions lead to good karma and peace and joy. Besides the three preordained sufferings (aging, sickness and death), other self-induced sufferings include stress, unhappiness, despair, anger, irritation, jealousy, disappointment, depression, boredom, emptiness, separation pains, anguish, loneliness, rejection, hatred, anxieties and others. Life is full of sufferings and the teachings in this book can stop them.

BA’s teachings explain the universal truth, nothing more and nothing less. Their interpretation and application vary amongst different people. Philosophers treat them as philosophical studies; believers venerate them as religious doctrines; while many simply worship the prince as one of the gods who answers to prayers. Regardless of one’s opinion about their characteristic, practicing the teachings will yield good karma, peace and joy. Though BÀ’s teachings are not religious doctrines, over the years they have been organized and spread as religious creed in many parts of the world.

BÀ is not a god and he taught that deity intervention is not necessary for attaining peace. BÀ’s teachings are not religious doctrines; however, one must practice them religiously to achieve the benefits. BÀ’s teachings are more than just philosophy as many people worship BÀ as a god who has infinite power to grant good fortunes and protect believers. The devotion to BÀ’s teachings are a devotion to the truth about life, it is not a devotion to BÀ. BÀ teachings are a body of knowledge that guides you in understanding the origin of life’s sufferings, and in acquiring the wisdom needed to liberate oneself from or avert the sufferings in life. BÀ saw and understood the truth about life and explained it to his disciples who then passed it on. The truth (the natural law that governs life) is universal and eternal; it is a person’s comprehension of this truth that changes and varies among different people. People are fond of saying perception is reality. The perceived reality is a delusion according to BÀ’s teachings. Perception differs among individuals and the truth and reality could be quite different. In our day and age with unprecedented advancement in scientific knowledge, consensus on the origin of mankind still has not been reached. The unknown truth has caused different beliefs, theories, and religions. The unknown truth is a source of great power. BÀ taught that focusing on the quest for the truth instead of delusional attachment to the worldly objects and desires is the way to enlightenment. BÀ’s teachings are all about opening one’s minds and eyes and see the truth. Only then will one be enlightened and achieve peace and joy in life.

BA’s teachings reveal the basic elements that make up life and how the elements are interdependent and influence each other. It is up to each individual to find peace and joy by practicing the teachings. Some succeed easily and others must exert much more effort to achieve the benefits depending on whether one’s destiny is compatible with BÀ’s teachings. The destiny of a kind, emphatic, considerate and easy-going person is compatible with BÀ’s teachings. Conversely, the destiny of a hateful, greedy, inconsiderate, mean, and selfish person is incompatible with BÀ’s teachings.

Since BÀ’s teachings are not a religious doctrine, it can be followed and practiced by anyone, religious or not. BÀ taught that a person should be kind to others and kindness includes tolerance and respect for others’ views and beliefs. You may disagree with others’ views and religious beliefs, but you should remain respectful and refrain from deriding them. Differences in beliefs and viewpoints cause delusional aversion that would lead to conflicts and sufferings. Tolerance, kindness, and respect for others would mitigate the effect of aversion.

BA’s trust instilling teachings are a safety net that offers comfort and peace to the despaired and it saves a person from the abyss of hopelessness. Trust sustains one’s inner strength that is needed in making the journey to the land of peace and joy. Though you may place faith in a great leader, an idol, or a god as when people turn to religion for salvation, such faith by nature is blind—it will cease to exist if you start to question and seek proof. Trust based on verifiable truths will stand the test of reason and time.

Unlike a preaching book which is often one-sided, the teachings in this book leave no room for any doubt because everything said is verifiable. BÀ’s teachings are not rigid doctrines to be followed blindly and rigidly; they are wise advices to be interpreted with wisdom. It is absolutely wonderful that they work immediately to reduce stress and calm worries when the teachings are understood and practiced.

BA’s teachings will lead to enlightenment. Enlightenment means one has attained peace, joy and total freedom from all sufferings and is no longer afraid of getting old, becoming sick and dying of old age. For the enlightened one, the despair about death no longer exists; at this point, one will truly understand the meaning of selflessness and equanimity in BÀ’s teaching. Attaining enlightenment (feeling of total peace, joy and freedom) before natural death at old age is truly a blessing—peace, joy and freedom are sealed forever in one’s mind regardless of what comes after death. Conversely, dying in unhappiness and misery is an eternal curse that we all dread.

By way of an analogy, BÀ’s teachings are the boats and life is the sea of sufferings into which we fall overboard when we violate the precepts and teachings. Enlightenment is the land of joy and peace with a beacon; you can reach this destination by getting onboard and