In the opening scene of the ‘Forrest Gump’ movie,
a feather flutters down from the sky,
blown hither and thither, twisting and turning,
before landing between his shoes.
Hence the story from before ‘begins’,
but really carrying on…
At Jenny’s grave, he says,
‘I don’t know if we each have a destiny,
or if we’re all just floating around accidental –
like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it’s both.’
But there are no accidents.
Even the way the wind blows is based on cause and effect.
Even the way the feather is structured and moves is so.
We are no random feathers in random winds.
But there are no fixed destinies.
Even the way life seems hopeless is based on cause and effect.
Even the way life seems hopeful or uncertain is so.
We are no predestined feathers in predestined winds.
There is hidden order amidst apparent chaos,
or it would be absolute chaos.
May we take charge of the causes and effects of our lives
with our thoughts, words and deeds of compassion and wisdom.
In the closing scene of the ‘Forrest Gump’ movie,
a feather between his shoes,
flutters up to the sky,
blown hither and thither, twisting and turning.
Hence the story from before ‘ends’,
but really carrying on…
Even blessings from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come too slow,
The pains and sufferings still remain after sincere prayers to them.
The discouragement to follow the Dharma is fast approaching.
Is there no instant way to cure these ignorant karma from the past.
Everything depends on cause and effect. Blessings from the enlightened always come in time, as according to our diligence in connecting to them. They are never too slow. It is us who are too slow. They are always on standby to help. This should be seen as great encouragement.
The instant way to tune to our Buddha-nature, to rise above the three poisons (greed, hatred, delusion) is by mindfulness of Buddha. However, as the poisons might be strong, the effect is not always instant. We have to be more diligent in regular practice, and not hope for instant results. Again, everything depends on cause and effect. An amount of effort leads to an amount of results.
Related course:
Understanding Amituofo Via The Amitabha Sutra
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2015/05/understanding-amituofo-via-the-amitabha-sutra-16th-run/