his worst situation when he was so poor that he had no place to stay, such that not even a single needle can set in. Poverty can be so frustrating and discouraging, particularly when one was falling from extreme wealth to extreme poverty, that it can eat up one's ideal and can make a person bend down his knees in order to survive. However, for Guru Lau, poverty did not win out.
With his perseverence and strong will-power, he worked hard from early morning till late at night, in order to bear his responsibility as a father of two children. In this way, he worked hard and at the same time diligently practised and studied the Dharma, building a firm foundation for his future "career" in the spread of the Dharma. All these conditions have created in him an air and temperament of "not easily defeated or conquered", and he was always confident in, and proud of, himself for what he had done.
Mrs. Lau, though looked rather weak from outside, was in fact very strong inside. A dress of Chinese gown showed her air of elegance. Guru Lau and his wife came from a big family where it was no easy matter to work well in all kinds of family relationships. As Guru Lau had to be away from home all the time in the army, Mrs. Lau would have to shoulder all the responsibilities within the family. Hence, Guru Lau had always praised her in front of us saying that she was, indeed, a good wife and a great mother. Very often, I saw Guru Lau playing with a ring on his finger, sometimes staring at it for quite a while. So I was curious and, by looking at it, found that it contained the picture of Mrs. Lau. In this alone, I can see the deep feeling and affection that Guru Lau had for his wife.
While Guru Lau was back to Hong Kong in early 1996, I remembered at one time during our conversation that he held my hands and did not let go. I could see tears in his eyes, when he was telling us how sad he was after Mrs. Lau had passed away, and how guilty he was of using up all his time in spreading the Dharma but did not have time to be with her. We are, after all, flesh and blood human beings, and his deep feeling for Mrs. Lau was, indeed, very moving. Later, I was not surprised to learn that Guru Lau had asked to be buried together with his wife after his death. Of course, as his students, we definitely would like to have him enshrined in the chorten to show our respect.
The road for propagating the Dharma is long and hard, especially for a poor person like Guru Lau - in order to make offerings when receiving teachings, the materials and places needed for the propagating of Dharma - all these need money. Every step that Guru Lau took had the word "hard" stamped on it. Yet, it really depends on how firm one's Bodhicitta and determination is and whether one has enough courage and perseverence to carry through one's vision and ideal to the very end. Where there is a will, there is a way. After all these years, it was no easy matter at all for Guru Lau to have erected so many Dharma centres which have flourished. Inside the story, one can find a lot of learning, wisdom, labours and miseries.
Again, remembering the time when some disciples asked Guru Lau to erect a Dharma centre in Macau, I had tried hard to convince him not to do so due to the lack of resources, energy and manpower, but Guru Lau did not respond. Then, during an early morning walk, Guru Lau said: "Mei Ling, I know the reasons why you oppose to the opening of a Dharma centre in Macau. You must know, when there is a cause which is arising, which seems to be good and you cannot prove that it will be harmful to sentient beings, if you insist to stop it from arising, the result can be unbearable for you. If I insist to stop it, it will still be unbearable even for me. What I can do, as a Guru, is to follow the cause and conditions. The arising and disappearing of circumstances have their own causes and effects. If the conditions are arising, I will support it as the responsibility of a Guru; and if the conditions are disappearing, I will also help to clear up the things." These words of wisdom have enlightened me. Since then, I would not say anything about the issue of the Macau Dharma centre, but instead, I encouraged my husband to go there and delivered a talk on Buddhism so as to show our support. To this Guru Lau had shown his appreciation.
After the passing away of Guru Lau, there were talks about whether the construction of the "Guru's Temple" should continue or not, and there are pressures to stop it. I remembered the incident when Guru Lau was back in Hong Kong in early 1996, and the "Small Perfection Temple" (as named by Guru Lau then) was just started to be planned. I believed that, as the other "Great Perfection Monastery" has yet to be finished ..CONTINUE ..