One day, a professor came to see the master and asked, “Can we change our past?” The master replied, “Yes and no.” The professor was very puzzled and asked for further clarification. The Master paused for a while, poured the professor a cup of hot tea, and said, “Let me explain.”
Our past, as the master explained, can be viewed in three distinct categories. The first category involves the development of our character and traits. From the day we are born, the teachings and influence from our parents, teachers and friends, as well as the environment in which we grow up, are the greatest contributions to the development of our character, personality and traits. They mould our emotional and mental makeup and cultivate our moral and ethical values, thinking and conduct. These properties are hardwired in us, but they are not set in stone. They can be shaped and refined, offering us the potential for personal growth and change. This is why parents normally take their kids’ upbringing very seriously and carefully.
Just after Mencius, the famous Confucian philosopher, was born, his father passed away, leaving his mother to bring him up. The Confucian ethics very much influenced the mother and took the upbringing of her son very seriously. They were then staying near a cemetery, and she noticed that the children in the neighbourhood were playing mourners and wailing in simulated funerals. To her, death was pollutive, and indeed, she did not want her son to be associated with death. So, they moved to another location, near a marketplace. After a short stay, she discovered that the children there were playing business people, buying and selling, bartering and hawking. In the eyes of the Confucian teaching, commerce was a very low-prestige occupation, incompatible with the becoming of a philosopher. So, they moved again, this time near a school. The children there, while too young for school, played like they were in classes. They practised etiquette and rituals and pretended to recite the classics. The mother decided that that was the right environment for Mencius to grow up. Such careful and serious consideration of the parents for their children is common. It is only a natural parental responsibility. As the Chinese saying goes: “If you are close to the vermilion, you become red. If you stay near the ink, you become black”.
The second category of the past is the knowledge, learning, experience and beliefs accumulated as we grow up. These form the database we rely on in our observation, interpretation and judgement of external objects and events. This has, therefore, a very close association with the present and the influence on how we live our daily lives. It affects how we see the world. This past can be changed and constantly updated to remove outdated and irrelevant data, knowledge, and beliefs. Nothing is permanent. The world and the circumstances and conditions are changing all the time. We experience these changes in the present, and the present can update and advance the past. If we fail to do this, the past will obstruct our progress in the present. Such past-present inter-link and mutual reinforcement cannot be over-emphasized.
This young monkey liked to collect colourful flowers and leaves, small beautiful articles, nuts and fruits as souvenirs. He kept them all in a small bag that he carried with him. Very soon, the bag became full, overloaded and heavy. Then he met this old tortoise, who asked him what he was carrying. He put down the heavy bag and explained his problem. The tortoise said: “Why don’t you remove some of the old stuff to make space for a new collection?” The monkey replied: “but I want to keep them.” Tortoise said: “You know, most of those old stuff that you collected are already rotten, contaminating the new things you put in. You better throw them away.” The monkey quickly poured out all the stuff from the bag, and true enough, most of those from the bottom of the bag were rotted and sending out a very foul odour. He threw away those rotten items, and his bag was less than half full. Now, he had so much space to put in his new finds.
The third category in the past is the memories we store, memories of our emotional and negative experiences, our failures, and traumatic encounters. Unfortunately, most of us carry this baggage of negative thoughts and feelings. They hinder our appreciation of the present and our cultivation of happiness and peace. We must let them go. Drop that baggage of misery and move on.
This mother bird had 4 beautiful young baby birds that she was very proud of. She fed and nursed them every day with great care. She found tremendous satisfaction and joy in doing her motherly duties. It was a pleasant family. Soon, the babies grew up and flew off one by one to live their own lives. Finally, the mother was left alone in her nest, feeling extremely lonely and sad. She missed the family joy and felt very miserable and depressed. Her friends encouraged her not to think too much about it, as nothing could last forever, and move on. She could not and kept ruminating about their good memories as a family. She soon felt sick and died in loneliness. Furthermore, she just could not let go of that baggage.
The Master told the professor: “The past is not real. It is just hard-wired dead data and memories. You cannot live in the past. Always appreciate and be mindful of the present because it is real. And that is where happiness is.”While talking, the Master poured some hot, freshly prepared tea into the professor’s cup, which was still full. The Master continued to pour even though the cup was overflowed. The professor asked why he continued even though the cup was already full. Master said: “Oh yes, I forgot to pour away the old cold tea to make space for the new tea.” The professor now fully understood the advice from the Master.
Cheong Quee Wah
Cheong Quee Wah, graduated in engineering and business administration, was in the government service for 24 years, and had held the appointment of permanent secretary in various ministries. He also studied traditional Chinese herbal medicine and is a trained qigong master.
