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Roving Over The World
- Book 111: Roving Over The World
- Chapter 18:
The Bahamas Lifeboat
- Written by Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated by Janny Chow
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It is a strange occasion that I went to the Bahamas.
After graduation from high school, Lu Fuo Qing my daughter went to the Bahamas for a tour. That was the first time I heard of the Bahamas.
\`Where is the Bahamas?\` I wasn`t quite sure.
\`Is it Panama, where a famous canal is situated?\` Guru Lian Xiang asked.
\` No it is not, it is the Bahamas!\` Fuo Qing corrected us.
\`Where is it ?\`
\`An international passport is required!\`
\`You mean going abroad.\`
\`You take a flight from Miami.\`
\`Then it must be a small country in the Central America.\` I tried to be smart.
In my mind, the countries in central America have tropical weather with lots of sunlight. People are relatively poor and success is hard to come by. They indulge in singing and dancing; and adopt a happy go lucky attitude towards life. They rely on foreign power to maintain peace in the region. Life there is about finding adequate food to eat.
To me, the characteristics of people in countries come naturally:
Bahamas: happy go lucky
Japan: elegant
Hong Kong : practical
America: Childlike
Germany: very subjective
China: insincere
France: romantic
South America: warm
Returned from the Bahamas, Fuo Qing had a tan. When she smiled, her teeth was sparkling white. Her face looked even more lovely.
She told me: the Bahamas is full of sunlight, beaches and coconut trees.
I did not fly to the Bahamas, instead I went there by ship from New Jersey. Dharma sister Su Ming and other disciples accompanied me after the initiation ceremony and the homa ritual at the Guan Zhao Rei Zhang temple.
We departed from Orlando, the space development center of the US. The journey to Lhasa, the capital of the Bahamas took 48 hours. A round trip will take at least 5 days. Most of the time, we remained on the ship. We went for sightseeing upon arrival.
The ship is called \`The Red Ship\`. As the words implied, its really a big ship (if you have watched the TV serial \`The Love Boat\`, you will know what I mean).
The ship has all kinds of facilities. Among them are swimming pool, shopping arcades, fitness center, casino, dance floor, meeting hall, cinema, entertainment center, dining hall and bars. The decor of the dining hall is very impressive, all kinds of cuisines such as French, Italian, Mexico are served in Western and European styles. The variety of food and wines served can be comparable to any five star hotel.
There are also cafes selling all kinds of sandwiches and hot dogs on a 24 hour basis.
When we arrived at the ship, the first program of the journey i.e. \`Survival drill\` already started.
The distress siren together with the tumultuous noise of the crowd made us nervous. We were out of our wits end, especially when we were in the small cabin, not knowing our direction in the big ship.
My wife Lian Xiang picked up the life vest and wore it hurriedly . She wanted to follow the instruction and went to the assembly point. On seeing I did nothing , she told me :
\`We must hurry !\` She was very nervous.
I told her:
\`The first rule in survival is to remain calm, and not otherwise.\`
\` I don`t care, I am leaving now.\`
Opening the cabin door, She rushed out with Fuo Qing and disappeared in the crowd.
Sitting on the bed, I was thinking about something:
Why don`t I take part in the survival drill? It is because that I have too much knowledge on this area. When we go to a new place, we must know where we are first, then the surrounding area. If we have no knowledge of the escape route, by putting on the life vest and running around will make a mockery of the survival drill.
I also know the rules to board the life boat:
1. Ladies first.
2. Children first.
3. Injured and elderly first.
People of my age, will be one of the last to board the life boat.
When I was young, I learned the survival skills from being a member of \`The Youth Patriot Brigade.\`
I know how to open and lower down the life boat. Therefore, the first thing I do on board a ship is to understand the surrounding of the ship, the escape routes, and locations of the life boats.
I had to remain calm if I had no such knowledge. I will not follow the crowd blindly. I do not like to scream and be excited , nor do I like to do a merry go round happily. To me, this amounts to staging a show on survival. The madding crowds were just venting their frustration.
Soon, my wife and Fuo Qing returned.
I asked : \`How do you escape to safety?\`
\`Assemble at the deck.\`
\`Then?\`
\`We were taught how to put on the life jacket.\`
\`And then ?\`
\`When boarding the life boat - ladies, children, the injured and the elders must go first, that is all.\`
I laughed as it turned out to be what I had expected.
My wife said: \`You were right not to take part. We could be stampeded to death, as everything was so disorderly.\`
Suddenly I remembered a Buddhist story on \`Sudden death.\`
A cultivator once asked the Buddha:
\`After daily cultivation and chanting, I am able to concentrate fully. What if I am suddenly hit by lighting, will I be able to be reborn in the Western Pure Land? As you know, when we meet with sudden death, we have no time to chant nor concentrate wholeheartedly.\`
Buddha gave a very unique answer:
\`For instance, there is a tree that grows westward, the trunk is slanting towards the west. If suddenly there is a thunder and the tree was split into two, may I ask you will the trunk will fall to the east or the west?\`
The cultivator understood the message. And happily he continued his chanting.
Nowadays, accidents happen quite often. We heard the news of airplanes crashed, ships wrecked, car accidents, earthquakes, fires, floods, and typhoons.....
There will be victims. Although these accidents are frightening, human beings must cultivate self response to deal with such calamities. Otherwise when the misfortune strikes, we will feel a sense of hopelessness and helplessness.
A true cultivator will have mystic powers in his inner world. In exigency, he will be able to use his potential spiritual power, he will be able to treat life and death equally. His mind will be fulfilled and he can transcend the death.
My firm belief is :
We may have to fight for our survival, but if we have to die, we must face death with dignity.
Since we have prepared for our demise by means of daily cultivation, it does not matter what may come.
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