CARRY HEAVY BAGGAGE AS IF IT WERE LIGHT
There is a proverb that says 'we should
carry heavy baggage as if it were light and light baggage as if it were heavy.' Baggage in this context refers to
hardship. This is a teaching about how
to meet the hardships that we may incur in our lives. Hardship will always be a strain on our minds
and a worry for us to some extent. It
will sometimes weigh on our minds so heavily as to deprive us of our thinking
power and fighting vigor, without which we cannot overcome the problems.
"Carry heavy baggage as if it were light." This means to cherish an optimistic view that
there is no hardship that we cannot bring to an end by exerting our efforts
slowly and steadily.
"Carry light baggage as if it were heavy." This means to not be too overconfident and
think too lightly of any hardship, since it may bring unexpected
misfortunes. The King of beasts, a lion,
will attack even a rat with all its might in order not to fail catching it.
You must have heard that Buddhist ascetic
practice is very severe, heavy baggage.
Some Buddhist priests often border on being frustration because they
felt their 'baggage' to be heavier than it really was, while others expected it
to be lighter than it really was. His proverb
could be effective in dealing with their frustration.
Things are related to us differently
depending on our subjective points of view.
See things in such a way that they will be serviceable in your lives.
