Everything in Moderation: The Secret to Peaceful Living Amid Life's Hustle

Have you ever wondered why some people are deeply affectionate, loving their families immensely, yet ultimately spoil their loved ones? Or why some who eat sparingly and exercise vigorously, expecting good health, still fall ill? The answer lies in a simple yet profound principle: everything in moderation. In his first Dharma talk of the year, Venerable Thich Chan Quang shared very ordinary stories to help us understand that moderation is the key to opening the door to peace amidst life's chaos.

Food: Stop When It Tastes Pleasant

The matter of eating seems simple yet is where we most easily fall into extremes. Some advocate auster eating for spiritual practice, while others believe one must eat nutritiously for good health. Venerable Chan Quang recounted his time practicing a brown rice and sesame salt diet, a very popular trend at one time. Initially it seemed straightforward, but after a while, his health deteriorated severely, leaving him unable to perform heavy tasks. He realized that all extreme theories are mistaken.

"If something still tastes pleasant when you first eat it, stop. That's it. Because it aligns with your level of activity... But if you find it delicious and try to enjoy too much, diabetes comes immediately."

The Master's advice is truly simple: eat according to your body's needs, neither forcing yourself excessively nor succumbing to cravings. A little "moderation" in eating will give us enduring health for work and practice.

Love: Love Just Enough to Love All

Love is the most wonderful thing, yet also a double-edged sword. Parents who love their children excessively, pampering them too much, inadvertently spoil them and make them dependent. Lovers, when newly acquainted, make grand vows, worshipping each other like idols, but this very excessive adoration distorts the other person's soul.

"Hearing that you are loved too much makes the ego rise immediately. And when the ego increases? The soul is distorted and becomes demonic instantly. So love just moderately."

The Master teaches that love practiced with moderation is truly vast love. When we love calmly, without excessive attachment, we can open our hearts to love all beings. The love of heaven and earth is similar; it seems to love no one in particular, yet in truth, it loves everyone.

Filial Piety: Respect with Serenity

Being filial to parents and respectful to teachers and masters is a beautiful virtue, but if taken to an extreme, we may harm ourselves and those we revere. The Master told of a disciple so moved by his teachings that he severed his own arm as an offering. This act stemmed from intense emotion, but it was not the right course.

"Therefore, going to such an extreme of respecting the teacher by cutting off an arm to offer—that is another extreme. It is not moderation. So we should respect our teacher moderately, to still have the mind to care for the Dharma."

True respect does not lie in impulsive emotions, but in a serene, peaceful attitude and the diligent effort in practice and good deeds to continue the ideals of the master. Maintain your reverence in tranquility, so you can contribute more to the world.

Work and Rest: Balance for Endurance

Many believe they must work tirelessly to accumulate merit. But the Master reminds us that greed for work is also a form of greed. If we overwork ourselves, our bodies break down, and we can no longer contribute anything. Conversely, if we only seek enjoyment and become lazy, life becomes meaningless.

"Someone who only likes resting and recuperating is indeed a lazy person who will not create any merit for the world. Someone who constantly grinds and trains excessively, spending all their time in training, their body will deteriorate."

Balance work and rest, training and recuperation. Like great martial arts masters, they train as if not training, lightly and serenely, allowing their energy to flow, achieving peak power. We too should live in harmony and regularity, to have enduring health for doing good in the world.

Planting Seeds and Reaping Fruit: Don't Forget to Enjoy the Present

In Buddhism, planting seeds and reaping fruit is the truth. But if we only think of planting seeds for the future while forgetting to enjoy the present, we will exhaust ourselves. Like a farmer with rice: if he uses all of it as seed for the next harvest without eating any, he will starve. He must eat a portion and keep a portion for seed.

"Therefore, you must hull some rice to eat a bit. And whatever portion is sufficient for you to eat until the next harvest season, that portion can be saved as rice seed for the future life. If you absolutely do not eat anything at all, you yourself will starve and have no strength to plant rice again."

Spiritual life is the same. We need to know how to moderately enjoy the blessings from merit of the present, to have the health and joy to continue practicing and doing good deeds. Do not force yourself into an excessively harsh framework, for that is not the Middle Way.

"Everything in moderation" is not mediocrity, but wisdom and insight. It helps us avoid mistakes and excesses in life. Start applying this principle to every meal, every sleep, the way we love, work, and practice. Then, we will experience serenity and sustainable happiness right in the present moment. Practice it starting today, won't you?