On the occasion of Wesak Day this week, and seeing that there a number of politicians who follow my facebook page, I would like to honour this confluence of occasion, by leaving one of my favorite quotes from Buddhism, to the politicIans and political aspirants who might read this, with the hope that it will benefit you and the country.
The saying goes like this:
"It is better to be alone than keep the company of fools."
Actually, that was not the direct quote - the direct quote is as in the attached in the picture - but this is just how I remembered it off the cuff, before I fact checked it on Google.
I don't believe in this quote as a matter of faith, by the way, I know it is true by direct experience.
When you first interact with a fool, you will know that you are interacting with a fool.
But if you keep interacting with the fool, the fool will stop looking like a fool.
When the fool stops looking like a fool, you should know that it is not the fool that has become wise, but it is you that has become a fool.
How will you know that you have become a fool?
Well, you will know that you have become a fool because you will be miserable. The more you do anything to relieve your misery, the more miserable you will become, but the more miserable you become, the more you will convince yourself that you are happy.
If you have become a fool, the first thing you have to do to stop being a fool, is look around you and see if you are surrounded by fools.
If you are surrounded by fools, they will convince you that you are actually happy, the more miserable that you are.
If you are not with fools, your misery will lessen, or at least, not worsen. It is only with fools that you misery will worsen.
So if you feel that you are getting more miserable over time, then the first thing you should check is the people you are with, for there is a strong likelihood that you are with fools.
****
In every organisation, you must explain yourself to those above you.
If those above you are more capable than you, the more you try to explain yourself to them, the more capable will you become.
But if those above you are fools, the more you explain yourself to them, not only will they not become more capable, you will also gradually lose your ability and turn into a fool.
As fellow Malaysians, I am sure that all of you must have noticed, that many of our youngsters, who showed so much talent and potential when they were young, will disappoint themselves and their country as they grow older.
A big reason for this is because as they grow older, they will join organisations that are headed by fools, and the more they try to make those above them understand them, the more they will lose their ability and potential, and turn into fools. The more they turn into fools, the more will they waste their talent and potentials, and disappoint themselves and their country.
***
So dear politicians, if you truly wish for your well being, the well being of your country and the well being of your people, the next time you interact with the people around you, including your superiors, take a good look at them and ask yourself whether they are fools.
Do they tell themselves they are happy the more miserable they are?
Do they become more convinced that they know the way the more lost they are ?
Do they look like they see the light when they feel the heat ?
If they are, you need to stop being with them - you consorting with fools, enabling fools and cooperating with fools, is only going to make you, the fools themselves and the country become more and more miserable.
Our country is declining, and non-cooperation with fools is the first step that needs to be taken to turn things around .
As people with power, politicians are amongst most important segment of the population that decide the decline and progress of the nation.
So dear politicians, you not cooperating and engaging with fools might very well be the most important service that you can perform for yourself, the fools you are with your country and your people.
HAPPY WESAK DAY EVERYONE ! MAY YOU BE HEALTHY, MAY YOU BE AT EASE, MAY YOU BE WELL AND MAY YOU BE HAPPY ! 🙏
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.