new fortunes

diff --git a/infobase/fortunes.dat b/infobase/fortunes.dat
index 674d62894f3c6aa25a8ed48ad8906f47528f9c5d..f2a2cb64fd7dae8d2fdb9efb82c6b31552997f41 100644 (file)
--- a/infobase/fortunes.dat
+++ b/infobase/fortunes.dat
@@ -43121,4 +43121,47 @@ arise.
   -- Khenchen Thrangu, "Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashīla’s
      Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School", published by Shambhala
      Publications
+~
+    When they related this to Buddha, he poured water into a little vessel and
+asked, “Will this water remain without evaporating?” Because India is very
+hot, the Hearers thought, “In a few days the water will evaporate.  This
+must mean that our virtue will not remain at all.” They were extremely
+worried.  Then Buddha asked, “If this water is poured in the ocean, how long
+will it stay?  It will remain until the ocean itself evaporates.”
+    Therefore, if you do not just leave this virtue, but dedicate it, making a
+prayer petition that it become a cause of help and happiness for limitless
+sentient beings, then until that actually occurs, the virtue will not be lost.
+Like a small amount of water poured into the ocean, which will last until the
+ocean itself dries up, so the fruit of your virtue will remain until it has
+ripened.  The benefit of hearing, thinking, and meditating, in terms of
+causing all persons to possess happiness and the causes of happiness, is
+inconceivable, but if it is not dedicated, then when anger arises, it will be
+destroyed.  This benefit cannot be seen with the eye, but it is inconceivable.
+    -- Kensur Lekden, from "Meditations of a Tibetan Tantric Abbot: The Main
+       Practices of the Mahayana Buddhist Path", translated and edited by
+       Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Shambhala Publications
+~
+Because you need to obtain the happy effects and the causes producing them,
+and because it is necessary for yourself and others to attain them, you must
+meditate.  In this world there were nihilists who said that one should not
+meditate, doing only those activities that will bring about marvelous
+happiness, comfort, and prosperity in this lifetime.  The nihilists said that
+one should gather possessions and clothing, and if one’s body is sick, one
+should take medicine, that these activities were justified, but that nothing
+else was needed.  Such a philosophy appeared in the world and with respect to
+it there is this Buddhist teaching: You need a job for your livelihood, you
+need to work for the sake of your country, for the sake of yourself and
+others, to set up factories, to plant fields; still you should act mainly for
+the sake of your future life, because you will not always remain in this
+lifetime.  All persons will definitely die, and the time of death is
+indefinite.  At the time of death, nothing helps except religious practice.
+This is how it is.  Therefore, even though you need happiness and comfort in
+this life and even though it is necessary to strive for the sake of food and
+drink now, this lifetime is short.  Our longest condition of life is our
+countless future lives.  If you consider only this which you can see now and
+you do not consider all the future lives which you cannot see, you will incur
+immeasurable fault.  You will harm yourself.
+    -- Kensur Lekden, from "Meditations of a Tibetan Tantric Abbot: The Main
+       Practices of the Mahayana Buddhist Path", translated and edited by
+       Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Shambhala Publications