Life is like a train journey.

Life is like a train journey.  

At countless junctions, it halts again and again.  

Those who travel with us board midway and disembark midway.  

Only a few journey with us till the very end!  

We cannot control who boards or leaves the train of life.  

But we can shape the meaning of the moments they travel with us.  

Some pass by like shadows; some leave deep tracks upon our hearts.  

Those tracks become the silent teachers who shape who we are.

So there is no use grieving over those who step off midway because the journey bored them.  

Not all who are born with us are true kin, and not all who were not born with us are strangers those who join us through love are our true family.  

There were times when I lived by word and deed.  

But in the workshop called life, the experiences given by Nature the divine craftsman have hammered and polished me bit by bit,  until I began to see my own mistakes clearly.  

Experience is not always a sweet teacher.  

Sometimes it wounds; sometimes it draws tears.  

Yet behind those tears, true clarity is born.  

That clarity slowly leads us toward our inner light.

That awareness poured a flood of light into my heart,  gently driving away the darkness.  

I believe it is my duty to share the truths I have learned through experience  

with the younger generation.  

I hold an unshakable faith that truth in writing becomes a mirror of the present  

and carries its reflection into the future.  

Among Zen monks, we have heard of the “Laughing Buddhas.”  

One such monk always wandered about laughing,  carrying a dirty sack slung over his shoulder.  

His daily work was to amuse children and make them laugh,  

and to tell funny stories to the townsfolk.  

In the same town lived another Zen monk who ran a monastery.  

He was deeply devoted to meditation,  

gave spiritual discourses,  and managed the monastery with strict spiritual discipline.  

Whenever he saw the Laughing Buddha, anger welled up within him.  

“How can this clown be called a monk among true ascetics like me  

who meditate deeply and spread profound spiritual truths?” he fumed inwardly.  

One day, by the riverside, he met the Laughing Buddha alone.  

Unable to contain his anger, he shouted,  

“Hey fool! Do you know how hard it is to become a monk?  

Among true ascetics like us, how can a jester like you call yourself a monk?”  

The Laughing Buddha replied only with a smile.  

“Fool! Do you know the meaning of life?  

Do you even know how a human being should live?” he asked gently.  

Still smiling, he took the dirty sack off his shoulder and placed it on the ground.  

The angry monk shouted again,  

“Fool! You laugh even now? What do you know of monkhood?”  

The Laughing Buddha picked up the sack again,  

slung it over his shoulder,  and walked away laughing.  

The monk was furious.  

That night he lay restless, unable to sleep,  tomented by the Laughing Buddha’s actions.  

He rose and sat in meditation.  

In deep contemplation, the meaning of the Laughing Buddha’s actions dawned upon him.  

Tears welled in his eyes.  

“Yes, he is the true monk,” he whispered to himself.  

Through his actions, the Laughing Buddha had answered his own question:  

“Do you know the meaning of life? Do you know how to live?”  

We all carry many burdens in life; that cannot be avoided.  

A life without burdens is like a sea without wind calm, yet without progress.  

Burdens move us forward; burdens make us grow.  

But when we become slaves to those burdens, that is the real problem.  

To carry a burden is duty; to be crushed by it is our choice.

We must learn to set down our burdens for a while and live with laughter.  

Then, with the same calm mind, take them up again and continue.  

To live without attachment to the burdens we carry that is true monkhood.

Dear friends, I have shared what touched my heart.  

Everyone has burdens in life.  

We must learn to set them down occasionally and rest.  

Not all burdens are chosen; some are thrust upon us.  

But when the heart understands that the soul was born  

to experience what those burdens teach,  

setting them down becomes easier.  

Resting is not weakness.  

It is the pause that gathers inner strength to rise again.  

Like a tree that bends in the wind but never lets go of its roots because it holds fast, it flourishes again.  

Likewise, if we hold on to our inner peace,  no storm can break us.  

Peace is not merely a feeling; it is inner strength.

Young ones!  

With the weapons of self-confidence, self-reflection, compassion, and peace,  

walk the path of serenity and conquer the future.  

You can do it.  

With love,  

Sakthi Sakthithasan