his worst situation
when he was so poor that he had no place to stay, such that not even
a single needle can set in. Poverty can be so frustrating and discouraging,
particularly when one was falling from extreme wealth to extreme poverty,
that it can eat up one's ideal and can make a person bend down his knees
in order to survive. However, for Guru Lau, poverty did not win out.
With his perseverence and strong will-power, he worked hard from early
morning till late at night, in order to bear his responsibility as a
father of two children. In this way, he worked hard and at the same
time diligently practised and studied the Dharma, building a firm foundation
for his future "career" in the spread of the Dharma. All these conditions
have created in him an air and temperament of "not easily defeated or
conquered", and he was always confident in, and proud of, himself for
what he had done.
Mrs. Lau, though looked rather weak from outside, was in fact very strong
inside. A dress of Chinese gown showed her air of elegance. Guru Lau
and his wife came from a big family where it was no easy matter to work
well in all kinds of family relationships. As Guru Lau had to be away
from home all the time in the army, Mrs. Lau would have to shoulder
all the responsibilities within the family. Hence, Guru Lau had always
praised her in front of us saying that she was, indeed, a good wife
and a great mother. Very often, I saw Guru Lau playing with a ring on
his finger, sometimes staring at it for quite a while. So I was curious
and, by looking at it, found that it contained the picture of Mrs. Lau.
In this alone, I can see the deep feeling and affection that Guru Lau
had for his wife.
While Guru Lau was back to Hong Kong in early 1996, I remembered at
one time during our conversation that he held my hands and did not let
go. I could see tears in his eyes, when he was telling us how sad he
was after Mrs. Lau had passed away, and how guilty he was of using up
all his time in spreading the Dharma but did not have time to be with
her. We are, after all, flesh and blood human beings, and his deep feeling
for Mrs. Lau was, indeed, very moving. Later, I was not surprised to
learn that Guru Lau had asked to be buried together with his wife after
his death. Of course, as his students, we definitely would like to have
him enshrined in the chorten to show our respect.
The road for propagating the Dharma is long and hard, especially for
a poor person like Guru Lau - in order to make offerings when receiving
teachings, the materials and places needed for the propagating of Dharma
- all these need money. Every step that Guru Lau took had the word "hard"
stamped on it. Yet, it really depends on how firm one's Bodhicitta and
determination is and whether one has enough courage and perseverence
to carry through one's vision and ideal to the very end. Where there
is a will, there is a way. After all these years, it was no easy matter
at all for Guru Lau to have erected so many Dharma centres which have
flourished. Inside the story, one can find a lot of learning, wisdom,
labours and miseries.
Again, remembering the time when some disciples asked Guru Lau to erect
a Dharma centre in Macau, I had tried hard to convince him not to do
so due to the lack of resources, energy and manpower, but Guru Lau did
not respond. Then, during an early morning walk, Guru Lau said: "Mei
Ling, I know the reasons why you oppose to the opening of a Dharma centre
in Macau. You must know, when there is a cause which is arising, which
seems to be good and you cannot prove that it will be harmful to sentient
beings, if you insist to stop it from arising, the result can be unbearable
for you. If I insist to stop it, it will still be unbearable even for
me. What I can do, as a Guru, is to follow the cause and conditions.
The arising and disappearing of circumstances have their own causes
and effects. If the conditions are arising, I will support it as the
responsibility of a Guru; and if the conditions are disappearing, I
will also help to clear up the things." These words of wisdom have enlightened
me. Since then, I would not say anything about the issue of the Macau
Dharma centre, but instead, I encouraged my husband to go there and
delivered a talk on Buddhism so as to show our support. To this Guru
Lau had shown his appreciation.
After the passing away of Guru Lau, there were talks about whether the
construction of the "Guru's Temple" should continue or not, and there
are pressures to stop it. I remembered the incident when Guru Lau was
back in Hong Kong in early 1996, and the "Small Perfection Temple" (as
named by Guru Lau then) was just started to be planned. I believed that,
as the other "Great Perfection Monastery" has yet to be finished ..CONTINUE
..
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