Having thus given rise to the desire for enlightenment,
may every kind of spirit be reborn in a virtuous realm,
where they are able to practice and awaken.
While it’s true that we care with us all that we need to practice and awaken, it’s also true that until we have firmly found our footing, support and guidance are necessary.
If we are still unsure about what we have to do, then it’s a lot harder to get there if no one around us is practicing. Or if we are just too poor. There’s nothing wrong with being poor, but as the great practitioner Tevye said, it’s no great blessing either! Too much of anything, including poverty, can overwhelm us.
So to be born in a place surrounded by the virtuous and wise, with adequate food and shelter, is no bad thing.
Wake Up and Laugh! 