What’s Your Retirement Plan?
Apart from raising family, retirement is one of the most important things that most people plan for. However, can we really be sure that the retirement we plan for will turn out as we expect it to? Can we be sure that the children and family we depend on will be alive and available to care for us when we are old? Nothing is ever certain; no matter how much planning we do, things may go wrong. The economy changes, natural disasters occur, death comes… The reality is, we are never in control of anything around us, much less our own lives.
While many things in life are uncertain, there is only one thing that will bring about positive results of happiness and that is Dharma. Why? Because throughout the centuries, Dharma practitioners, whether they are lay people or ordained, have shown the results of practicing Dharma that leads to a fulfilling life of happiness. While on the other hand, take a look around you: those who have no Dharma or have not practiced Dharma in their lives… How do they live their life before and after they have retired from secular jobs? In their old age, most people just pass the time in coffee shops, playing chess or mahjong, chatting with the same friends every day, not because they enjoy each other’s company but because there is nothing better to do. I am not putting them down or saying that the way they live their lives is wrong. I’m pointing it out and putting forward this question to you: “Is that all you’re looking forward to doing in your old age?”
Some people may think that they will do Dharma when they are older, and so they continue to indulge and disregard or defer their Dharma practice. But just think: if you are accustomed to living a life that continuously seeks fun, parties, games, money, etc. for the last 50 years, what makes you think that you can change your ways when you’re older? In fact, it will be even more difficult to let go of these attachments when we’re older because the habituation is just too strong… and by the time we are physically unable to have fun and parties, it would also mean we are too old to do much for Dharma… and then this precious human life is wasted.
I’m not writing this to target or hurt anyone. I am just sharing with you my observation of how things work in samsara according to Buddha. The truth always hurts and if you feel irked by what I have mentioned here, then deep down, you know your life is heading in that direction. The good thing is, change is possible and it is all up to us to make that change. You can change now. I hope that this article will help some to start engaging more intensively in Dharma practice for their future lives, and for a more meaningful current life. May many more people have a higher purpose in life such as entering long retreats in their later years, rather than hanging around coffee shops, waiting for death.
Tsem Rinpoche
Not All Smiles for Some Retirees in Chiang Mai
Foreigners who do not plan ahead could end up abandoned and alone, infirm and destitute
Mrs. Nancy Lindley
It is 2pm in Chiang Mai as Mrs Nancy Lindley wheels frail 74-year-old former stockbroker David Descault to the bank to close his accounts.
The American has lived 10 years in Chiang Mai. Thin as a rake and wheelchair-bound after a hip fracture around 19 months ago, he is due to travel home to Los Angeles, his passage funded by a loan under a United States Consulate programme.
As he collects his meagre few hundred baht, he banters with Mrs Lindley, saying with a short acerbic laugh: “I may get depressed, I may have some regrets, but I haven’t lost my sense of humour.”
He is an alcoholic who has no children. He was living alone in Chiang Mai and broke his hip but was “in denial and just lay in bed drinking until the neighbours became concerned and called us”, said Mrs Lindley. Now, out of money and with no family left, he is going directly to a nursing home in the US. His US Government pension cheque will be redirected to the home.
With several thousand foreign retirees in Chiang Mai, Mr Descault’s is not an unusual story, especially for British and American pensioners.
Mrs Lindley coordinates Lannacare Net, a voluntary network which helps retirees live “safe and healthy lives” and, especially, helps those in trouble. And there can be a lot of elderly foreigners in distress in Chiang Mai, long a retirement place for Thais especially from busy Bangkok, and lately a growing retirement destination for foreigners.
But it is also a place where those foreigners who do not plan ahead can disastrously run out of options and end up abandoned and alone, infirm and destitute, or any combination of the above, in a foreign country.
“There’s never any one situation,” Mrs Lindley told The Sunday Times. “The American and British cases tend to be very complex where you have issues of alcohol, orthopaedic fractures and, often, failed relationships with Thai people, financial problems, visa issues, and underlying diseases.”
Lately, there is a new worry: Senior retirees in Chiang Mai unsure of their visa status under the new, tight military regime. Some have stayed beyond their visa limit and, under the tighter regulations, may not be allowed into the country again. Several are leaving now and may never return.
Those on retirement visas are safe. Thailand grants retirement visas if you are over 50 and can show that you have 800,000 baht (S$31,320) in the bank. And while the government welcomes long-staying foreigners, the retirement visa comes with one iron rule – you cannot work.
There is no shortage of people extolling Chiang Mai as a retirement haven. Live And Invest Overseas, a US-based magazine specialising in evaluating overseas destinations, this year rated Chiang Mai among its top 10 retirement cities.
With a population of around 1.5 million, Chiang Mai is about one-fifth the size of Bangkok. It has a distinct character – ancient brick fortress walls, old wooden houses, many temples, changes of season and a cold but not freezing winter, seven international schools and a vibrant cosmopolitan community.
On the downside, it is getting crowded and risks choking on its own success; traffic jams are now common and, in the winter, pollution combines with smoke from open burning across northern Thailand and Myanmar to cast a pall over the city.
But the cost of living is still about half that of Bangkok’s, a third of Singapore’s and a fifth of western Europe’s. Good quality, 24/7 home health care costs roughly 40,000 baht a month – a fraction of what it is in the US or Europe.
In an experiment, Australian-born author and blogger Godfree Roberts, a Chiang Mai fan, spent two months in the city with his wife, mimicking retired life. They found that they lived comfortably on US$1,370 (S$1,744) per month, or US$685 per person. In 2012, he wrote that US$1,200 in Chiang Mai will give you a US$3,000 lifestyle.
Singaporean Jacob Loh, 64, who retired after 25 years in the advertising industry, compared the cost of living in Chiang Mai, Penang in Malaysia and other places in the region before choosing the northern Thai city.
Over coffee at a steak and ribs restaurant in the city’s newest, most glitzy mall, the Promenada, he said: “Food here is about 50 per cent to 60 per cent cheaper than in Singapore.”
Once married and now single with no children, he moved to Chiang Mai in 2009. “My main reason for moving to Chiang Mai is cost. And I need a roof over my head.
“In Singapore, I have one asset – the HDB flat. My CPF gives me just $400 a month. I can’t survive in Singapore,” he said.
In Chiang Mai, he rents a one-bedroom terrace house in a small leafy walled enclave for 8,500 baht a month. If he wanted to, he could get a two-room condo in a building with full amenities for 4 million baht, he said – half the price of a similar place in downtown Bangkok. Foreigners can buy condos, but cannot own land except through a Thai partner or company.
To support himself, Mr Loh rents out his three-room HDB flat back home for $1,600 a month.
That is what most foreigners do, said Mrs June Unland, 46, a Singaporean who lives in Chiang Mai with her husband and is active in the expat community. “You rent out your HDB flat and if you live modestly, you can live in Chiang Mai on $1,000 to $1,500 a month.”
But retirees need to plan ahead, she cautioned. The message was echoed by many expatriates, young and old, and of different nationalities, who spoke to The Sunday Times.
Mrs Lindley, 64, herself a retiree, has been in Chiang Mai with her husband for six years and is also the president of the Chiang Mai Expats Club.
She has seen the enthusiastic newcomers, those who thrive and also those who crash their lives here.
She has also seen foreigners never opening a local bank account and drawing cash from their overseas account through the ATM. She has seen some forget their PIN numbers and lose their cards to the machine. She has seen people incapacitated by an accident or a stroke and forgetting passwords and PINs. Worse, she has seen people trust others with their financial details and passwords.
Financial planning and a reliable social network are critical, she stresses. “You need a trusted friend who is not just a barstool buddy,” she warns.
Lannacare Net also recommends a detailed advance directive, specifying what is to be done in case of an accident or health crisis.
The demographics of the foreign retirees are slowly changing, from single men to couples. The presence of retirees has also spawned support industries, from residential developments to upscale hospitals with multi-lingual staff, said Mr Visut Buachum, Tourism Authority of Thailand regional director.
Assisted living is a new and booming industry, he noted, with at least two or three facilities coming up. Health-care professionals caution, though, that standards at these facilities may be an issue in future.
Currently, Lannacare Net’s website lists just two assisted living facilities. The first to offer such services, and using an Australian model for assisted living, is Dok Kaew Gardens, which opened in 2009.
Some 10km south of Chiang Mai, in the vast compound of the 106-year-old McKean Hospital under towering rain trees, Dok Kaew offers assisted living at 32,000 to 45,000 baht a month, according to the level of care needed.
It has 20 residents, one of whom is Mr Burnett Roberts, 80, a former geologist from the US who planned ahead and does not intend to leave Thailand. He retired in Thailand 15 years ago and lived in Pattaya. Facing failing health, he moved to Dok Kaew just over a year ago.
He rolls around the grounds, covering around 5km every day on his electric wheelchair, and is actively engaged with the world through the Internet in his room. “I have a choice, but I would not go back to the States,” he said. “I tell everyone the only way I’m leaving is through the chimney at the crematorium.”
Not all retirement stories end in misery, Mrs Lindley says.
“I have seen some excellent role models here of people in their 80s who are doing very well, but they have really gone out of their way to establish relationships and keep active,” she says. “Every day, there is something on the calendar, where they will be missed if they don’t show up.
“You have to keep those contacts going. Some people will swear by Thai families to take care of them, and if it is the right person, it can be good, but I think you do need to keep contacts with your own nationality.”
Singaporean Jacob Loh has no illusions. He has friends. He is active, playing badminton and going to the gym.
Like other Singaporeans settled here, he has one advantage over the European, American, Japanese and Australian retirees – Singapore is just three hours away on a plane.
“If you are a sociable person, you will find a lot of opportunities for social interaction here,” he says. “But as a foreigner living anywhere, you have to make sure you can take care of yourself financially. You do have to fend for yourself.”
nirmal@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Oct 12, 2014
Volunteer John Collins with a resident in the Dok Kaew assisted living facility, also known as Dok Kaew Gardens, which is located 10km south of Chiang Mai, in the vast compound of the 106-year-old McKean Hospital
American David Descault, 74, assisted by Lannacare Net coordinator Nancy Lindley, has lived in Chiang Mai for 10 years. Now, out of money and with no family left, he is due to travel home to Los Angeles
Singaporean Jacob Loh, 64, moved to Chiang Mai in 2009, and rents a one-bedroom terrace house there. To support himself, Mr Loh rents out his three-room HDB flat back home for $1,600 a month
[Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/not-all-smiles-some-retirees-chiang-mai-20141012#xtor=CS1-10]
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We all have our own retirement plan or you can be someone who may have many thoughts planned towards retirement. Each of us definitely has different ideas to spend for the golden days, however not many will take a look at Dharma and spiritual path.
Besides, most of them tend to choose Dharma practice towards retirement age however forgets that Dharma should be instilled at very beginning stage of life. This is important as it ensures that we have what we need to enjoy a comfortable and healthier retirement lifestyle. This article is a eye-opener for everyone to consider.
Thank you for the wonderful sharing.
https://bit.ly/3m06YpG
Talking about retirement usually brings to mind financial issues. As I grow, i wonder how much have I given to preparing my psychological portfolio. Also, I think it is important to understand that retirement does not have to occur at a certain age. It is dynamic.
i think i have a good retirement plan by choosing Kechara Forest Retreat, bentong, Malaysia, as my home for the rest of my life. Before I met the Dharma, what i was chasing after simply meaningless. When I think about it now, so much money wasted into those meaningless items and did not bring me any benefits. We work so hard everyday, until we forgot how to live. I was constantly in insecure state of mind. Many times i broke down and cried and cried and cried to those small small matters and i did not know why. I was anger some and gotten frustrated easily. Not knowing the stress and insecure inside me that i have been built up day in day out where i even i have take pills to sleep.
After started to study and practice Dharma bit by bit, this insecure state of mind slowly disappeared without me even knowing. One day I decided to down scaled what i want and i focus on what i really need and matters that really make me live. I want a life that i can feel self worth everyday. everyday, bit by bit i added Dharma value into my life. That made me feel fresh and happy everyday. That was my story by choosing Dharma for retirement. Many of us choose to retire in Kechara Forest Retreat where we can proceed our spiritual practice at the same time we are building a conscious community.
I retired at late 30s, because i have seen many regret because of “too late”. We may plan long and old retirement when we got enough money but deep down inside we know, it will never be enough money, until we transform our mind and our life.
I like Ming Wen”s comment and for someone so young to think of retirement plan as now and not when. “When” meaning at the time we can no longer conduct secular work normally at 60years old and older or when we are incapacitated and can no longer be in the work force.
In my point of view, retirement is a form of being out of my normal way of life and I may find idle time on my hands. So retirement plan must be formulated now and retirement must be practised before it happens.
As mentioned by H.E. Tsem Rinpoche, same applies when we practise the Dharma, it is not when we have time on our hands but rather constantly living the teaching of practising compassion and right view of all phenomena.
Let us prepare retirement NOW and not WHEN.
Nevertheless, the weight of planning for our retirement will start to loom heavier each year. Personal retirement planning is often an intense challenge for loving parents with young children. There’s never enough time to do all the nothing we want. Having a family , successful career is not all. Life is uncertain and nothing is permanent. We ought to think further than that , we should make use of our time meaningful . A happy retirement filled with fun, happiness and compassionate where we engage in dharma all the well through, to have it make some difference that we have lived and lived well. Being happy is accepting where we are in life and making the most out of it every day, minutes meaningfully. Choosing to learn and practice dharma , volunteering , helping those who needs help is my choice . And preparing for the next journey as time is running out .
Thank you Rinpoche for this profound teachings .
As a buddhist for 20 years, my retirement will be engage more spiritual retreat, find peace in mind and prepare for my next life. Most of people forget what meaningful. Just enjoy and relax did not plan for next life , is wasting our perfect human life. All the enjoyment are short after retirement. I would not bring peace and happiness when death come nearby.
Most of us would have a retirement plan, a plan we wish to take things easy after working for most of our adult life. The plan varies for each person but most plans did not materialize because of illness, tragedy, death. There could be emergencies where the money put side for the plan was used partially or in full for emergencies, thus dashing the hope for the retirement one envisaged. We may have a retirement plan but we don’t plan for our death of which is certain. When our plan did not materialize, we got disappointed, some of us become bitter and sink into depression because of our expectation that such calamities would happen to some other guy but not to us. We dismiss the thought that we would live forever and in some cultures, it could be taboo to think or speak about death. It would greatly help us to contemplate about death, the only thing in life that is certain.
A powerful message shared by Tsem Rinpoche.
If not now, WHEN?
– Tsem Rinpoche
Such a big alarm clock in life. This alarm wake us up from our comfort zone, make us move ourselves on from being procrastination, lazy & unmotivated.
If we don’t do it now, when will we do it? Tomorrow? The day after Tomorrow? Next week? Next month? Next year? Next decade? & we died & regret?
WHEN..?
We are being educated that success in life is we must have a retirement plan. If we achieved, we are successful persons. Some of us may have it but we give up or totally forgotten it due to life challenges. It is nothing wrong to have a successful retirement life, but are we happy when we get what we want with the death is certain and always waiting for us. As a Buddhist, most of us have no plan for next life which is more important than retirement plan.
The more you plan the more it will not go the way uou want it to be. I think best to apply Dharma to whatever situations we face and overcome it. Doing dharma work is beneficial as it prepares you for your future lives. For a person who is non-dharmic, I would suggest if they retire at the age of 55, best is to find something to do for example helping out at temple or doing something they like to do to keep their mind occupied and alert. People who retire and do nothing at home, their health and mind will deteriorate quicker.
Yes, everybody should plan for their retirement. It can be said a goal of life that everybody looking forward for. But in many situations and circumstances, things don’t turn out like what have planned. And, we don’t know whether we can live until retirement. It is true that everybody earn hard and save hard now for their retirement, what if we die tomorrow? there’ll be no retirement for us already. Practicing Dharma is the best way of planning. It works whether we live until tomorrow or we live until retire. Many of us would think to go travel around the world, do gardening, take care of grand children (if we have) after retirement. But how long we can live our life like that? Say we still have another 10 years of life? Even we have the money to travel around the world for 10 years, does our health allow us to do so? By the age we retire, we are actually stepping nearer to our coffin. By practicing Dharma, we are actually preparing for our death, do charity, so that we don’t live our life in vain.
I think this is an important subject that everybody needed to reconsider. As we start aging, all our ability, strength starts stringing. Our brain will start deteriorate. This is circle of life that all sentient beings had to go thru. Before, I start practicing Dharma, I will feel terrified and worried over the issue of being abandon, useless and old. 3 years in Dharma environment now, I realized Dharma is not a one day job. It is a consistency thing we need to practice no matter to our likes and dislikes. Most importantly, apply Dharma to help, lighten others burden and benefit others. Make good use of our life to make others happy and without feeling regret.
Life is impermanent and full of swings from one end to another making it particularly hard to really know what can go wrong for you with your planning. Well things we want might not end up be with ours and this is one basis where people don’t feel happy when this happens as depicted in the Four Noble Truths and then again there might be things you initially planned in the beginning to only do something when you reach certain level like for example; do charity when you are rich. When you are rich, you might have other priorities already by then. So for me, I don’t really plan but learned how to be flexible and change whenever we need to as life is ever changing.
Many people work very hard for now thinking that they can save for themselves, family or future. It’s not wrong. But wouldn’t it be better to couple it with Dharma along the way. What if one day, we don’t wake up anymore? What else can we bring after we die? All the riches in the world cannot stop death but with Dharma, it is something we can bring forward and continue because it is the most precious we can have. Learning Dharma is the best way to motivate ourselves to keep on absorbing and expanding. It is the best gift Buddha and our Guru given to us.
We can never be sure of how we will end up as we age. Even our best laid plans may prove to have holes in it. Nothing is sure in Samsara except suffering.
We can work for a good end and passage to the next life and hope that we have done enough. Some may yearn to get out of this hamster wheel, but then again many get discouraged along the way.
The younger ones are full of energy and cannot relate to old age and passing on, the older ones do not have the energy to do what is required on the Dharma path. Blessed are the ones who can connect with Dharma early in their lives.
Thank you, Rinpoche for reminding us always to connect with Dharma and to practice.
dharma practice – sure, to “feed your soul”, yet how can you feed your soul if you have no roof over your head, clothes on your back, money in your pocket or food on your table?
All the more colder without the dharma. Been there done that
OK, we need the dharma, I don’t disagree with that, at the same time – we all have physical and material needs – we don’t all need Rolls Royces, BMWs, Mercedes Benz, Rolex watches, we all need to be literate, numerate, fed, clothed, housed, cared for when sick, adequately medicated when sick, capable of acquiring an income for our own security as well as that of our families – Buddha Shakyamuni left his wife and child in silence without notification so that he could attain/discover/reaffirm the truth, HOWEVER, his wife and son weren’t left starving, homeless, hungry or isolated, so we all have to be extremely careful on entering any “spiritual” path – are we genuinely seeking salvation or escaping our responsibilities?
Agreed, we all have to make our way in this world, we have to survive it, this precious human life also means we have to live this life in this world, we need food, shelter and are subject to the vagaries of this human body. Agreed too that the Buddha was of royal birth and his family were not left in want when he left. We are not so lucky, so we have to work very hard to balance that. It may not be agreeable to many, but it is our family, our responsibility to bear and balance such that it does not disturb their minds and yet be able for them to not be averse but to maybe be able to walk the path too. If that is not appreciated by onlookers, it remains just that, they are on lookers and not in our shoes. It is their perception.
We must also practice compassion for the family not just for all others and leave the family in want. If we cannot have harmony within the family, if we cannot have compassion for those nearest and dearest to us in this life, how can we have compassion, genuine compassion for others? Who are we to disturb others’ minds? Do we want our children to swear off any religion because we abandoned them? Aren’t we supposed to calm their mind, and bring them to dharma?
It’s a very fine line to walk. I appreciate those who try to walk the path and yet try to bring their family to dharma. It’s a very exhausting walk. It may not seem that they are interested in the dharma because they care too for their family. Appreciate their striving for their middle way. Walk a mile in their shoes.
Many people like to delay Dharma or seeking the truth till they have completed their tasks at hand, no matter what it is. Or just enjoying life and party, but party has to stop at some point. I like what Rinpoche said and that is at some point the things we enjoyed before we cannot enjoy it forever. Then what? I suppose since many people our loved ones made so much preparation for us to come into this world,and that is a significant aspect of our lives, the same should also be extended to our departure of this earth as “John Doe” or whomever we have created an identity around. Even more so is to prepare for the next journey after this life. As those of us who believe this life ending is not the END, we should prepare for the countless lives ahead, not just this one life which will end soon enough. If we are not prepared and we still draw breath, NOW is the TIME.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this article. you wake me up… we should not waste our time…
Start it now…. The younger we change our habit and attitude…. The better we are..
WooiShen
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this article. Many people start to think about their retirement even when they are in the thirties. They need to plan ahead so that when they retire at the ripe age they will have enough resources to last them through the remaining of their lives and they will have activities to occupy all those free times. Most of the people will spend all their time working trying to make their dream retirement come true and they sacrificed other aspects of their life in persue of wealth to sustain the dream. Little did they know that the future is unpredictable. In the worst case scenario, they might not even live till that age to retire. Then, they will have regrets of not treasuring the NOW moment of their life.
In my hometown, most people there will have the mindset of having a relaxed and minimalistic life when they retire. They will laze their day away in coffee shops chatting away with their friends, or in front of a tv while waiting for their kids to come back from work. This is the ideal retirement plan for most of them. To me, it is very unproductive and they could had engage in more beneficial activities.
If they know dharma, things will be different. They will cherish their precious human rebirth and make full use of it. They will stop chasing after the retirement dream and work hard to escape from samsara. It is sad to see old people suffer in samsaric means with no way to escape but to endure and the worst part is they will enter into the same cycle over and over again due to their imprints.
Chris
“But just think: if you are accustomed to living a life that continuously seeks fun, parties, games, money, etc. for the last 50 years, what makes you think that you can change your ways when you’re older? In fact, it will be even more difficult to let go of these attachments when we’re older because the habituation is just too strong… and by the time we are physically unable to have fun and parties, it would also mean we are too old to do much for Dharma… and then this precious human life is wasted.”
The above message makes so much sense. There are so many things I find difficult to change now, let alone decades later when my habits become more ingrained. So if we don’t put in the effort now, then we will most likely not change for the better.
The article shows how “stuck” the retirees are in their situation and they are pretty much helpless because they didn’t plan for their retirement financially. Some end up depressed and turned to alcohol to numb their suffering. I have met many senior people who become angry and bitter as they age. I believe this is because they have become so fixated with their views and attachments that they become very upset when these views and attachments are not met.
If they had practiced the dharma teachings and put in the efforts to change these habits, they would be much happier as they age. For advanced practitioners, they can even prepare for their rebirth and not be terrified of their death.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article. Getting older is a process of life. We couldn’t choose our birth but we definitely can choose the way we go through our elderly days.
This article give me a window to plan on what kind of retirement life that i am looking forward to. Yes, dharma cannot wait, we have to start practice and do dharma work now, otherwise the attachment will get stronger and stronger until we have no room to ease it. Practice dharma plays a very important role because death is imminent.
Early this year, one my students pass ed away at her age of 21 years old due to cancer. In her last moments the words came out from her mouth is pain. She told her mother, “mummy I am so in pain, I couldn’t breath, I am so scare…”. I am so sad and her incident gave me a realization on impermanence. We have to overcome the fear of death.
There is one more story of my ex-classmate. He passed away in the mid of this year with his daughter in an accident. The sudden death of both brought a huge sadness to the family especially the wife who had just delivered a baby girl whom is two weeks old and his mother. I attended his wake with tears. Again his incident tells me that it is time to prepare before “it” comes.
Lastly, I would like to use Rinpoche’s quote “if not now, when?” We have to prepare our retirement plan not only in the sense of material but spirituality.
With hand folded,
Ng Jesvin
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article with us. I totally agreed with Mr Jacob Loh for investing in property, a Singaporean at his 64, moved to Chiang Mai in 2009, and rents a one-bedroom terrace house there. To support himself, Mr Loh rents out his three-room HDB flat back home for $1,600 a month. He is wise in his financial decision because property always align with inflation. By renting out his HDB flat, he would able to survived in Chiang Mai which is much cheaper the living cost there. I also agree with Rinpoche for not procrastinate further in our spiritual practice because we will never put priority in them, until we really need it. But when we really wanted to start, it’s always too late.
With Folded Hands
Eric Ho
These holy words of Wisdom say it all: “AGE DESTROYS YOUTH, SICKNESS DESTROYS HEALTH, DEGENERATION OF LIFE DESTROYS ALL EXCELLENT QUALITIES AND DEATH DESTROYS LIFE. EVEN IF YOU ARE A GREAT RUNNER, YOU CAN’T RUN AWAY FROM DEATH. YOU CANNOT STOP DEATH WITH YOUR WEALTH, THROUGH YOUR MAGIC PERFORMANCES OR RECITATION OF MANTRAS OR EVEN MEDICINES. THEREFORE, IT IS WISE TO PREPARE FOR YOUR DEATH.” They invite you to begin the journey with the great religious and spiritual masters of all time to save yourself after LIFE. PLEASE DO NOT PROCASTINATE! THANK YOU RINPOCHE FOR YOUR GREAT COMPASSION.
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this articles and what is happening around us. Some points I learned from this articles :
1) Nothing is certain so it is very important for us to plan for our retirement. It is not only about material but spiritual preparedness.
2) Don’t waste time thinking that we will only do dharma work only when we retire. We can start now. Most of the time we put others as priority and dharma as the last.
3) We can start planning for retirement and doing dharma work at the same time. It is how we plan our time.
4) We should plan to retire happy and not regret for not doing enough.
5) It is not too late to change now if we want to. Do it now.
Retirement is certainly on the top of our head for people in rat race like myself. Many lunch sessions were well spent discussing and exchanging notes on retirement plan or finding ways towards early retirement. By the time we retire, we are old and unproductive, there is little meaningful things we can do. By that time, should we decide to engage in Dharmic activities, there will be little or no effect. In a spiritual sense, it is like a whole life wasted.
In summary, if we are serious about Dharma, why wait until we retire. We can start doing something now. Thank you so much, Rinpoche, for sharing this thought provoking article with us.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this article.Nowadays , everyone is busy with work to earn money for daily expenses or for paying the so called retirement plan.When u talk about dharma, they sure tell u No Time to practice it. In my point of view, life can be short or long and is not control by us. Actually dharma can be practice in our daily life. Mind transform is the most important to become a good person. When we died, money and power all gone but only our great deeds will determine where we will be rebirth .Please do more dharma works now and help one person per day.
With Folded Hands
5 things I learned from the post:
– It may sound cliché, but when we are old, we are more vulnerable to illness and we are not as strong anymore
– If we keep delaying doing Dharma work to old age, the chance is we will not be doing it because either our habituation is much stronger or we have run out of time
– Even if we plan a perfect retirement, it may not be so perfect once we went through it. Accidents might happened, and we may lose our money if we are meant to lose it.
– Those people who does not know Dharma, once they retired, they tend to enjoy their time doing nothing waiting for death
– If we have spent our life in pursuit of fun and parties, by the time we are too old to have fun, we cannot do much for Dharma.