Contemplate the Future and Reflect on the Past
by Master Lee Feng San Shifu
Translated by Sophia Lui
Edited by Ric Meyers
There is a saying: “Birds of the same feathers flock together.” What that means is that we attract people and events that reflect who we are. Another example of “like attracts like” is that certain people with weird habits often encounter weird events. I’ve found that sometimes people who like to steal other people’s things often get their things stolen as well.
Confucius said, “Our physical condition reflects our state of mind.” This saying was very thought-provoking to me. It means certain types of personalities are prone to certain health disorders.
A host once told me that a friend got on the train with his wife at the train station. A half hour later after they have gotten off, the wife realized she had forgotten her handbag in the train wagon. She started to panic, but the husband pointed out that it was useless to panic.
“If we are generally upright and honest,” he told her, “never taking what is not ours, then even if the object left behind is a valuable one, it will not be conspicuous.” Sure enough, when they returned several hours later, they saw the handbag was still where she had left it.
Similar things often happen. For example, if someone harbors covetous thoughts, then he might encounter people who are even more covetous. On the other hand, doing the right thing will bring the right people and circumstances into your own life.
Some people routinely misplace things due to carelessness. I often say to students that we should have the habit of “looking back.” In other words, we should learn to pay more attention. Then it will be more likely that we do not leave things behind.
“Looking back” is to “make sure.” Not only should we cultivate the “looking back” habit, but also that of “looking forward” in order to prepare ourselves. Cultivating the habit of “looking backwards” and “looking forwards” means that we will not misplace things easily, but also we will be more confident — like links in a chain; one securely fastened to another.
Therefore, in addition to being vigilant, we should also look backwards and forwards in our daily affairs so that we have all our links securely fastened.
“Looking forward is to prepare ourselves, looking backwards is to consolidate ourselves.”— Lee Feng San Shifu
