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What Is My Deepest Desire
During the past 21-day retreat, Ms. Emily Tang (40 years old, a businesswoman with 18 years of experience in Europe and America) developed a strong aspiration to bring the Dharma door of mindfulness to China. Although she had already achieved success in terms of wealth, position, and fame, she realized that these did not bring true happiness. She has now requested a leave of absence from the European Institute of Applied Buddhism, and plans to come to Plum Village as a novice for six months next February, before returning to China to help young people. At the same time, a film crew from Hong Kong wishes to make a documentary about Plum Village, which is expected to be shown to about 100 million people in China, and has suggested that Sister Ro collaborate with Ms. Emily to water the seeds of bodhi.
Steve Jobs began in poverty: sleeping on dormitory floors, earning meals by collecting Coca-Cola bottles, and walking 7 kilometers to an Indian temple on weekends for a meal. In ten years, he built the Macintosh company with:
- 4,000 employees
-
2 billion dollars in capital
Then he was betrayed, expelled from his own company, but it was precisely this challenge that led him to found NeXT, which was later acquired by Macintosh, and he was invited back as a symbol of rebirth. In 2005, at the Stanford graduation ceremony, he concluded: “As long as we still have desire, we have everything; when desire is lost, we lose everything.”
True aspiration—bodhicitta—is the motivation for living and practicing the path. When sitting in meditation, we need to reflect on the reason we ordained, our deepest aspirations, and what we love, so that life has meaning. Each person in the community—from cooking, cleaning, to office work—contributes according to their strengths, and only then can we achieve collective success. Writing down our original reasons and present aspirations helps us stay firm on the path of practice, bring joy, and reduce suffering for others.