One of my previous lives was spent as an impoverished beggar boy. Through 深层沟通 (Consciousness-Only Deep Communication therapy), I managed to understand what 缘分(or affinity) really means. Allow me to bring you back to the past…
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A cute little boy comes into sight. He is approximately seven years old and an orphan.
In order to survive, he has to rummage through the rubbish bins looking for food. Sometimes, he will also wait near the restaurants and inns, hoping that he can get his hands on the leftover food. He never blames anyone for the plight that he is in although deep within, he is still hoping for a miracle to happen.
[At an inn]
“What are you doing?! You little thief! How dare you!” bellowed the innkeeper, grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt which resembled rags more than clothing.
“N-no, I am not a thief”, explained the boy, shivering with fear.
“Yes, you are! I have seen you stealing food. Don’t tell me that my eyes are playing tricks on me. You are just a smelly, filthy thief!” exclaimed the innkeeper.
” Men, come here! Grab this boy who has the audacity to steal at my inn! Beat him to death!” the innkeeper called out to his men.
“No, I am innocent. P-please… let me… go. I am not a thief!” The little boy pleaded as the muscular waiters, at least 3 times taller than him, grabbed at his arms.
Suddenly, a young gentleman appears and, in a stern voice, demanded the release of the boy.
“Who are you to meddle in my business?! Do you know who I am?” The inn-keeper, with his nostrils flaring in indignation, glared at the young man.
“I do not care who you are. You do not have the permission to take the law in your own hands. Let the little boy go!” the young man told the inn-keeper.
“I can let him go if you are willing to pay for my loss. Give me 100 taels of silver and I will let him go,” the greedy inn-keeper answered.
“I will give you the 100 taels of silver. Let him go.”
Thus, the little boy was saved from certain death by the generosity and chivalry of the young man.
Still trembling in fear, the little boy was in such a state of shock that only after a moment or two did he realize that he had been saved. With tears welling up in his eyes, he thanked the young man for saving his life.
Although the little boy did not ask for the young man’s name, his hero’s face would forever be etched in his memory.
~
It suddenly dawned on me that I am the little boy and the young man is none other than G, a fellow university schoolmate.
I got to know G when I was a volunteer during the university orientation programme. At that time, I was attracted to his friendly and warm disposition. I ended up carrying a torch for him for many years.
Initially, I could not understand why I was attracted to G from the first moment I saw him on campus. I thought it was love at first sight. After the “communication therapy session”, I realized that it was because I had known him and benefited from his generous assistance a long time ago! Such is affinity, or what the Chinese call ‘缘分’.
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There is a popular Chinese saying which goes “十年修得同船渡,百年修得共枕眠”. This literally means that “it takes a decade of cultivation for two people to ride on the same boat and it takes a lifetime of cultivation for two people to share the same pillow. Nothing happens by chance, and the people who come into your life are there for a reason.
If it really takes so many years of “cultivation” to become a couple or someone’s family member, shouldn’t we be cherishing the relationships we have with our loved ones? This is especially so if we do not wish to live our life with regrets when our loved ones have either passed away or left us.
If you are wondering, I have lost touch with G. He did not know, upon meeting me, that I was the boy he had saved in the past. As the 深层沟通 (Consciousness-Only Deep Communication) therapy is not widely available now, and is privileged knowledge to only a few people, like me, G had no idea then that we had once been acquainted.
I am counting on our ‘affinity’, that one day, our paths will cross again.