The Best Gift

Why "Middle Path seeker" ?

Well, today I am not going to answer why.  I am going to tell you another thing I learned at my last visit to the temple.

Have you ever wonder what is the best gift from you to your parents?

Recently, there was a big news about Atlanta City Hall bribery scandal. Imagine you were the parent of the contractor who bribed your clients to win the contract. You knew your kid had been such a darling to all family members, had been a successful business man, paid for your house, and had a great family of his own. But once you discovered what he had done behind everyone's back, how would you feel?

Now imagine you were the parent of the City Hall official accepting the bribe. You knew your kid had been such a darling to all family members, had been a successful government official, paid for your house, and had a great family of his own. But once you discovered what he had done behind everyone's back, how would you feel?

Here are 5 simple daily training rules Buddhists call the Five Precepts that we all can practice to become a better person.  
1, Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not engage in sexual misconduct
4. Do not lie
5. Do not drink alcohol (until you get drunk)
(simplified from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Precepts)

What the contractor and the City Hall official have done probably could be called breaking the rule#4 Do not lie. 

Practicing the 5 simple rules daily goes hand in hand with practicing self awareness. When you have awareness of what you are doing,  your conscience will tell you the differences between right and wrong contributing to the Five Precepts you are being trained daily. 

With this, now, imagine you were a parent of an ordinary guy. He might not be rich but he had always been a good guy being trusted by everyone. No record of taking bribe, giving false statements, or any kind of misconduct. He had a happy family. He loved you and always supported you. You knew he always followed the 5 rules and he tried to have his conscience to guide him what was right and what was wrong.

Now, do you know the answer to the question "Have you ever wonder what is the best gift from you to your parents?" ?   The monk actually asked me during the temple visit.

"Being a good person.", simple as it sounds but that is the answer, right?