From His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,
‘Compassion is not a luxury,
it is a necessity for human beings to survive.’*
Compassion in all its expressions surely, for spiritual survival too!
From ‘Ceriph’ of 17th September 2010 (issue one),**
‘Poetry is a luxury we cannot afford.’
Lee Kuan Yew famously declared in 1969,
explaining Singapore’s focus on economic growth.
From ‘The Star’ of 4th October 2010,**
‘In the last two years [of his wife’s life],
Lee had spent many hours by her bedside,
reading from her well-thumbed copies of English poetry…’
All the money [read: ‘economic growth’] in the world
cannot reverse ageing,
cure all sicknesses,
or avert death.
All the money [read: ‘material stuff’] in the world
cannot be brought over,
no, not even a cent,
to the hereafter.
All the money [read: ‘not “Gross International Happiness”‘] in the world
cannot create beautiful poetry,
or buy its heartfelt insights,
for they are invaluable, priceless.
All the money [read: ‘merely resources for something greater’] in the world
is only good for arriving at the times,
when we can sit back and relax with one another,
to read, write and savour the poetry of life [in all its forms, including this]!
Poetry, with its compassion and wisdom
penned in the words that sing them,
is surely no luxury,
but a necessity.
We must afford poetry more,
before it is too late,
before we lose our focus on spiritual growth [instead of ‘economic growth’],
before we lose this life.
Related Links:
* http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/517-day-three-of-the-mind-and-life-xx-conference-in-zurich
** http://www.ceriph.net/store.htm
** http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/4/nation/7155815&sec=nation
actually, back in 1969,
everything, besides breathing, was a luxury.
Now, back to 2010,
breathing has become a luxury.
We have gone so far out,
we have gone so far back.
From what I understand,
in Life, we gain some, we lose some,
the question is,
was what we gained worthy of what we lost?
The Economics of Life
is harder to learn/see… :sadd:
Methinks the poetry of life should be savoured from moment to moment, with its ironies, paradoxes, rhymes and mis-rhymes… as a means to greater enlightenment… lest to run out of time too soon.
(O)
Amituofo
(F)
Life itself is Poetry
and like poetry,
some enjoy it, some loathe it,
some have no idea what it is all about
😉