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52 EASTERN HORIZON | PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
IT IS JUST A
TRAFFIC JAM
By Venerable Chang Zao
Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Once, I heard a practitioner proudly
Venerable Chang Zao was Malaysia, is known for its traffic telling a crowd: “There used to
ordained as a Buddhist nun in congestion. be two traffic jams a day; one in
the Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist the morning and the other in the
tradition, She is currently For people who live and work in afternoon. Now, it is different. There
Director of Dharma Drum this city, it is often the case that we is only one traffic jam a day.”
Mountain Buddhist Centre feel a sense of helplessness while
Malaysia. dealing with this unwelcome daily The audience was envious and
problem. All we can do is to sigh and asked him which part of the city he
Venerable Chang Zao graduated say: “Here we go again!” It seems lived for It had to be a safe haven
from the National University of that we don’t have any control over where he could avoid traffic jams.
Malaysia, KL Campus and later the traffic. If we are lucky, our cars
pursued her Buddhist studies at move slowly like a turtle; but if we He explained: “There is one traffic
Dharma Drum Sangha University, are unlucky, we are forced to remain jam daily because the traffic gets
Taiwan, in 2007. She was idle in traffic in a very long period jammed all day long.”
ordained by and learned Chan of time as if we are parked in a huge
meditation under Master Sheng parking lot. The truth was that he had nothing
for anyone to envy.
Yen, a key figure in the revival of I learned about the traffic problem
modern Chinese Chan Buddhism. the hard way when I was a student. Indeed, there is no one to envy in
Upon graduation from Dharma One day, I left home for school ten this world even though some are
Drum Sangha University, she minutes later than my usual time. genius and extremely fortunate.
was appointed as a lecturer and As a result, it took me two hours to If you are jealous or envious of
advisor for a number of faculties get to school instead of 15 minuets. someone, disappointment and
at Public Education Center Once I was there, I told the teacher sadness will await you.
of Dharma Drum Mountain my excuse with embarrassment and
Taiwan. She had supervised fear thinking I might not be forgiven Envy may present itself as a
the development of dharma for being late. To my surprise, as yearning for closeness; however,
syllabus and course planning. soon as the teacher knew that I envy is just another form of
She was also advisor for Dharma came from Jalan Klang Lama, she desperation. Being envious means
Drum Mountain Singapore let me off the hook and said: “Oh, having expectations. In this case,
and Dharma Drum Mountain the road is known for its infamous we expect a smooth ride to our
Thailand. Currently, she conducts traffic nightmare.” destination, a fast-paced lifestyle,
and a life within one’s prediction;
meditation classes, retreats, Congestion on the roads is not and of course, having control over
religious services, dharma classes always the same. Recently, there has our lives.
and inter-varsity Buddhist camps been some changes.
in Malaysia. Having expectations means that
