Wishing you all a truly happy and prosperous New Year!
There are many things in life that give us happiness: delicious food, money, health, relationships, success in exams and in our working life, and all the pleasures we derive through our five senses. But all these sources of happiness are fleeting in nature; they come and go.
True happiness is something more lasting. You can only gain true happiness through wisdom and insight into the true nature of your own mind and the true nature of life. With insight and wisdom you will be able to meet the ups and downs of life – profit, loss, praise, blame, fame, ill-fame, happiness and sorrow – with a sense of harmonious equanimity.
In a similar manner, prosperity is not just about wealth, fame and material success. These are also fleeting in nature. True prosperity is the accumulation of a wealth of virtues and merits through leading a righteous way of life, by practising DĀNA SĪLA BHĀVANĀ. Good luck does not simply fall from heaven. It is the ripening of all your meritorious deeds.
That is why it is so important to visit the temple and to make meaningful connections on the occasion of the New Year – not only to pray for peace and prosperity, but also to cultivate merits and virtue, and make the aspiration to develop wisdom and insight into the true nature of life.
Wisdom is the knowledge that enables us to overcome suffering. The knowledge we acquire through education and the information learnt through social media and AI may provide us with a means of livelihood or a source of entertainment, but such knowledge alone does not produce wisdom and insight. Without practise and realisation, intellectual knowledge tends to make us feel proud and arrogant, as if we know everything. It actually distracts us from the true purpose of our life: to put an end to suffering.
While we are still strong and healthy, we must take the opportunity to convert our intellectual understanding into experiential knowledge and realisation. All the mundane knowledge we have gained in the world will eventually be forgotten as we age. But the wisdom and compassion that we gain through the cultivation of Metta and mindfulness is something that will effectively transform our lives and truly benefit ourselves and others – now and in the future.
As such, we truly rejoice with all those who have made sincere effort in the cultivation of Samatha Vipassana and attended retreats over the past year. Please keep it up in the coming year, so that you will be better equipped to face the challenges of our time.
Living in these troubled times – amidst wars, natural disasters and climate change – we need to strengthen our minds with wisdom and compassion to meet the challenges of life and remain calm and resilient in times of crises.
We also need to support one other to make positive transformation in our lives. As we connect with our loved ones, relatives and friends over the new year season and beyond, we should find ways and means to encourage and support one another to cultivate moral and spiritual values (rather than just coming together to have a good time). In particular, we should pave the way for all our elder members and Dhamma friends to age with wisdom and with joy.
May the lunar year of the wood snake bring you all greater opportunities for growth and transformation. Wishing you a truly happy and prosperous New Year.
May the blessings of the Buddha Dhamma Sangha be with you all always.
