1-3-6. ADJUSTING VIEWS矫正观念

One misunderstanding should be dealt with, namely that when we make merit, we want to go to heaven. I've asked a woman once, who offered food to monks, whether she had ever seen heaven. She said no. So I asked her next : 'If you've never seen it, why do you want to go there and where is it anyway ?'. She said she didn't know. I've read about heaven in a book, it said that in heaven women outnumber men in the ratio of 500 to 1. Think about this for yourself, is it fun ? Even 2 people will argue and beat each other to death and how will 500 people fare ?! This is something that we don't yet understand, we haven't used wisdom and reflected on it thoroughly.

有一个误解必须澄清，也就是说，当我们做功德时都会想藉此而上天堂。有一次一位女士供养食物给僧侣，我问她：「你是否看过天堂？」她说：「没有。」于是我接着问她：「如果你不曾看过，为何你想去那儿呢？它究竟在哪儿呢？」她回答说：「不知道。」我看过一本书介绍到天堂，里头说：天堂里的女生人数和男生人数是500比1，你想想看，那好玩吗？只两个人就会争论甚至打架打到没命，那500个人要怎么相处呢？这就是我们没有搞清楚的地方，我们没有运用智慧深入地加以思惟透彻。

We have to study about heaven and really understand it, so that we don't go the wrong way. If we don't know, we'll go the wrong way ! That's why I said that Thai people are Buddhists but don't know what Buddhism teaches !

The time is up. Finally, having given some reflections and shake-ups, I'll take the opportunity to call the virtues of the Buddha, the teachings of the Buddha and the good qualities of the Arahant-disciples of the Buddha, to be the fruit and inspiration to all laypeople, may you meet with the mind that is clean, bright and peaceful, in this life.

我们必须研究天堂并且要真正地了解它，这样才不会走错路。如果我们不弄清楚，就一定会走错路！这也是为什么我说：「泰国人是佛教徒，但却不知道佛陀教导些什么！」的原因。好，时间到了，在谈了这么些反思与革新的话题之后，最后我要藉此机会来赞颂佛陀的功德、佛陀的教导及佛陀阿罗汉弟子们的美德，祂们是我们在家众的启发及追求的成果与目标，愿你们今生便能亲见到清净、光明、安祥的心。