To Live in Hope

By Category: Harmonious LivingTags:

When there is hope, there is a future. 

The worst tragedy in life is to live without hope for the future. When there is hope, there is a future. One of the mottoes of the Buddha’s Light International Association is “to give others hope.” That is the highest act of benevolence. On the other hand, to disappoint and render others hopeless is the cruelest act.

People live in hope. Parents raise their children with hope for the future. They teach and educate their children so the children will have hope for their own futures. We get along with our neighbors so there is hope for everyone to live in harmony. We plant trees and grow flowers; we save up for a rainy day. There is endless hope in life. The Chinese place great emphasis on passing things down from generation to generation, a sentiment to sustain their lineage. Nowadays, organ transplants offer hope for the perpetuation of life.

For a country, people pay taxes in the hope that the nation will be better established; the government builds highways and bridges in the hope that transportation will improve. We conduct charity work in the hope of advancing social welfare; we elect capable leaders in the hope of promoting democracy; and we penalize offending officials in the hope of creating a more honest government. We hope for a mild climate, prosperity and world peace. All of these constitute our hopes for the future.

We need not fear darkness, for we know that dawn comes after the darkest hour and that there will be hope.

When we have hope, we have a future. We need not fear darkness, for we know that dawn comes after the darkest hour and that there will be hope. We need not dread the ice and snow of winter for soon enough spring will arrive with fresh hope. We need not worry when we are strapped for cash, for even with only a single dollar, there is hope for us to make a fortune.

Life is only meaningful when we have hope. People often give up on themselves because they lose hope. When faced with setbacks and misfortune, if we are willing to change the conditions and to take initiative in helping others, the light of hope can be re-lit. Those who are ready to give up their lives when all hope seems lost should bear in mind, “Upon the death of a life of selfishness is born the second life of benevolence.” They should be able to turn a new leaf and start a second life. Many cancer patients get involved in social service and rekindle their light of life in the process of their own healing. If people have self-confidence and pledge to serve others, the brightness of their lives will not only illuminate others but also ignite the light within their own hearts.

It is Chinese tradition to wish each other the best on birthdays, when moving to a new home, on anniversaries, and at the New Year, congratulating and blessing one another with hope for the future. In life we come and go; in time we have this year and the next. If we can have hope all the time, then we will enjoy endless opportunities, and we will truly live in hope every day.

From All in a Thought, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

Image from Pixabay.

More Featured Articles

Ridding Ourselves of Stress
In this modern world, people are constantly saying, "Life is too stressful!" Why are people so stressed out? How can we rid ourselves of stress? Students feel stressed because of heavy schoolwork; parents feel stressed because they have too many chores and family obligations; policemen feel stressed because they have too much work; and workers feel stressed and are unhappy because their work hours are Read more
The Web of Human Relationships
Human beings are social animals; we cannot live apart from community. As Buddhists, we are told to seek the Dharma among the people, for the Dharma does not exist in some other world or far away place; the Dharma is here among us, embodied in each and every being. When we understand that human society is nothing other than a web of human relationships, we Read more
Diminishing Mental Afflictions
We all have our share of headaches and heartaches. Physically, we all have to face aging, sickness and death. Mentally, we have to deal with problems arising from greed, hatred and ignorance. The Chinese have a saying that aptly describes our predicament: “Heaven and hell sometimes end; the threads of sorrow continue forever.” Our afflictions are as deep as the dark blue sea and are Read more
Adapting Oneself to Others
If we want to understand what the Dharma teaches us about building affinity and living in harmony with others, we must first understand the four great all-embracing virtues. The Buddha teaches that for us to realize our true capacity of connecting with and serving our fellow citizens, we have to first build a good rapport, and the four virtues are tools to that end. The four Read more
Love Encompasses All Human Beings
Love and affection are infinitely valuable. There are various levels of love and affection that we can aspire to. Some people describe how people love this way: Young people love with their words, middle-aged people love with their actions, and elder people love with their hearts.  Read more
To Reform Oneself
We need to change and transform ourselves continuously: In order to achieve eventual perfection, we need to work on correcting our bad habits. Read more
The Humanistic Buddhist Practice of Meditation
In the practice of meditation, once you have developed meditative concentration it does not matter if you are walking, standing, sitting, lying down, carrying firewood, or bringing water—every single action can suddenly lead to enlightenment and seeing intrinsic nature. For true Chan practitioners meditation is whatever they see in their daily lives; it is everywhere. Read more
The Strength of Commitment
To "commit" is to give assurance to others and to make a conscientious effort to deliver a promise. To instill credibility and trustworthiness, we must honor our words. Confucius once said, "One without credibility is like a large vehicle without a brake pedal, or a small carriage without axles. How can one go anywhere?"Living up to one's word is a basic courtesy. In past agricultural Read more
The Way to Help Others
Compassion is the father, the bodhi mind the mother. Good methods are like friends because they save all sentient beings. — Great Collection of True Dharmas Sutra Compassion Is the Father Compassion removes suffering and creates joy. The sutra says, “The power of the Dharma is beyond expression. Nothing can obstruct compassion.” Compassion is the root source of all good. Compassion is the heart of Read more
Be Satisfied with What You Have
Greed narrows our vision as it obscures the wealth of wisdom contained in our inherent Buddha nature. Read more
Friendship
In the Buddha's teachings, there are four kinds of friends: friends who treat you like a flower, friends who act like a balance, friends who are like the mountains, and friends who are like the earth.Friends who treat you like a flowerWe all enjoy flowers, especially when they are fresh. We put them in vases to decorate our homes, we give them to our loved Read more
I Am Not a Monk “Sponging Off” Buddhism (II)
It is enough for most monks to only have the ability to chant and teach the Dharma, and of course I too can chant sutras and teach the Dharma. But only being this kind of monk was not something I was willing to do. I wanted to become a monk who was able to engage in propagating the Dharma in a multifaceted way: There is Read more