Respect Yourself

Of late, I have been following a school of meditation from India and one of the many goodness that is generated by meditation is the realisation of the Self. By understanding our self, we may understand life some what better.

It is not the actions of other people that trouble us, but our own nature, our own attitude, and our own actions. That is why it is important for our self to cultivate virtuous qualities.

It is said that if a person is virtuous, there is no plane where he will not find happiness, no object from which he will not derive joy, and no person who will not appear loving to him.

In India, the word "Karnabhumi" means the land of action, because this is the plane where we perform actions, good or bad and for which we receive good or bad fruits.

For this reason, we should always keep an account of ourselves. We should not try to keep track of others, of how many wrong others have committed, how many mistakes they have made, or how much more advanced they are than we. Instead, we should always remember what we have done and what we have to do in the future.

We should check to see how much self-control we have developed, how much equanimity there is in our minds, how much steadfastness we have achieved. We should check to see how much we have been able to rid ourselves of our inappropriate desires, our anger, our jealousy, and our tendency to hate other people, to rejoice at their misfortune, to feel sad when we see them advance.

We should always be aware of our faults and always try to increase our virtuous qualities. Above all, we should check our attitude. It is our inner attitude and feeling that determine our behaviour. Not only that, it is these that determine our experience of the world.

"The world is as you see it" Whatever feeling you have within you is the feeling you will project onto the world. Therefore, according to your vision, the world becomes good or bad, pleasurable or painful, a storehouse of happiness or a mine of sorrow. It is your own attitude that bears fruits for you and makes you who you are.

In India, there was a saint who always used to say the same thing...."that is why you are what you are". In this world, there are always two types of people. One type will give something to another person, while the other type will snatch something away.

No matter what happened, this saint would always say, "That's why you are what you are." If there is somebody who praises you, there is also somebody who blames you. That is why the saint always said, "That's why you are what you are."

One day the saint entered the palace of a great king. At the first gate stood two guards holding spears. They seized him rudely by his neck and asked him where he thought he was going. He said, "That's why you are what you are, " slipped past them, and went inside.

The King's prime minister happened to be standing nearby and interested by what he said, so he began to follow the saint. At the second gate a guard stopped the saint with a pistol to his head. The saint said, "That's why you are what you are."

He went farther and come across another guard, who held a higher position. The only thing that this guard said was, "Stop! Do not enter!" The saint replied, that's why you are what you are."

He went farther inside and there he was met by a senior officer of the guard, who said, " O Great Saint, come here. Where are you going?"

"I want to meet the king."
"Fine," said the officer, " but take care of yourself."
"That's why you are what you are," said the saint. He went farther until he met the chief of police. The chief come forward and asked him politely, "Where are you going?"
"Inside"
"All right, you may go inside."
"That is why you are what you are."

Then the saint went farther. The next person he met was the prime minister, who had hurried to arrive ahead of him. The prime minister asked, where do you want to go?"
"To the king"
"Come with me. I will take you"
"That's why you are what you are," said the saint.

When the king saw the saint, he immediately stepped down from his throne and brought a chair for him to sit on. At this moment the saint said, "That's why you are what you are."

Will you please explain to me the meaning of this statement said the King.

"It is very simple," said the saint. "That's why you are what you are."
"But what is the mystery?"
"The mystery is this. The value a person gives to others depends on his own worthiness. Whatever attitude he has, that is how he sees, and that is how he behaves."

People become what they are according to the attitude they hold in their mind, and that attitude is what they project onto the world. Whatever worth you yourself have, you project that around you and that is what you see.

The truth is that the worst sin, the root of all sins is to insult or belittle your own self while the greatest of all virtues is to respect yourself regardless of your standing in society or the material wealth you have or have not.

To our graduates, instead of offering you my usual best wishes etc. which are no more then polite empty words on my part this year, I will ask you to go home and contemplate what it takes for you to be worthy of yourself. This will be your first important step towards realisation that " You are NOT what you think you are". Change is possible. Look how much you have changed since the first day you set foot into this school.

Our teachers know that education is the soul of a society¡Kthat is why you are what you are...We pay tribute to your great services to our school.

Every worthy member of the Ning Po Residents Association is acknowledged for his or her generosity and support. Your worthiness is echoed in every corner of this establishment...That is why you are what you are.........

An educated society without the rule of law is liken to a thick shroud of dark cloud segregating us from the clear blue sky. Decomposition and disintegration prevail.

Audrey, a brilliant lawyer who listened to her Self when duty calls...that is why she is what she is..."up holding the clear blue sky" where every one is free to enjoy the day. This is what makes Hong Kong tolerable and durable to the challenges ahead.