# An analogy to help us when we are feeling lots of negativeness - 得了暇满人身, 不要因小失大

**URL:** <https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/t/an-analogy-to-help-us-when-we-are-feeling-lots-of-negativeness/805>\
**Category:** Lamrim Discussions | 广论研讨\
**Created:** [July 17, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/t/an-analogy-to-help-us-when-we-are-feeling-lots-of-negativeness/805 "2020-07-17T04:58:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adrian](https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/82dd89/32.png) [@adrian](https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/u/adrian)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/t/an-analogy-to-help-us-when-we-are-feeling-lots-of-negativeness/805/1 "2020-07-17T04:58:27Z")

</div>

Venerable Ru Jun shares this analogy:  
Someone gives you a huge mansion. However, you reject the gift as there is a big hole in the wall of the living room.  
(from 720min mark)

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4kUckqM1Tmw/hqdefault.jpg "你即使失敗 也是摔在舖滿黃金的地上．福智－真如老師講述《廣海明月》．如俊法師導讀") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kUckqM1Tmw)

My learning from here:

- my life (暇满人身) is precious but I am spending the bulk of it on trivial stuff
- I am even getting badly affected over the said trivial stuff when I should be hyped up over the opportunities that my life presents
- to be beware of this topsy-turvy thinking, see the positiveness and train myself to focus on my practice

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jereme](https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/user_avatar/forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/jereme/32/22_2.png) [@Jereme](https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/u/Jereme)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://forum.bwmonastery.org.sg/t/an-analogy-to-help-us-when-we-are-feeling-lots-of-negativeness/805/2 "2020-09-04T13:34:50Z")

</div>

**Taking Advantage of Our Precious Human Life and Opportunity**

**The eight freedoms or the eight conditions that lack leisure**  
Four are freedoms from non-human states where there’s no chance to practice the Dharma, and four are freedoms from human states where there’s no chance to practice Dharma.

1. Life forms experiencing continual pain and fear
2. Life forms experiencing continual frustration and clinging
3. Animals
4. Celestial beings
5. Barbarian among uncivilized savages or in a country where religion was outlawed
6. Where Buddha’s teachings are unavailable, where a buddha hasn’t appeared and taught
7. Mentally retarded, deaf, dumb, blind
8. Having instinctive wrong views

**The ten fortunes/advantages/opportunities of previous human rebirth**  
The 10 richnesses (of a precious human life) are similar to the eight freedoms, but it’s viewing them in another way. This meditation is done to get us to see the richness in our life, that we’re not just free from the bad circumstances, but also that we actually have very good conditions.

_(5 Personal)_

1. Born as a human
2. Living in central Buddhist region
3. Having complete and healthy sense and mental faculties
4. Haven’t committed any of the five heinous actions
5. Having instinctive belief in things worthy of respect

_(5 External)_

1. Living where and when a buddha has appeared
2. Living where and when the Dharma still exists
3. Living where and when there’s a sangha community following the Buddha’s teachings
4. Living where and when there are others with loving concern
5. How to do the meditation