7. COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THE "WISDOM" ASPECT OF BUDDHISM - ESPECIALLY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "THE NATURE OF                 EXISTENCE"?

     We are dealing with the very heart of the      BUDDHIST EXPERIENCE, that is, the experience of the TRUE NATURE OF THINGS ( or things as they really are and not what they appear to be ).

     In the rush and confusion of our daily lives, our minds are always clouded up with various NEGATIVE EMOTIONS (such as greed, hate, and ignorance). We tend to see things through "COLORED GLASSES".
     Very often, we know that there is something GOOD within ourselves, but we find it very difficult to experience or express this INNER GOODNESS. We fear that other people will ridicule or exploit or even dare to reveal misunderstand us. As such we rarely dare to reveal OUR TRUE SELVES. Unfortunately, we have to content ourselves by wearing "SOCIAL MASKS" -our false selves !

8. HOW DO I GET OUT OF SUCH NEGATIVE STATE OF AFFAIRS?
     THE FIRST STEP is to recognize the fact that ALL EXISTENCE IS IMPERMANENT. As such, do not have a false sense of security in "collecting" things, but rather in living a rich and full live of "doing" things. LIVE NOW!

     THE SECOND STEP is to understand that the   UNIVERSAL CONFLICT we see and experience arise form our own CRAVING - that is, the insatiable          "collecting" of experiences which bring false promises of pleasure, power and security, and the        unthinking "rejection" of that which is ugly and    unpleasurable. This means that we have to learn to accept things AS THEY ARE, at least initially. If we want to improve ourselves we have to start off by ACKNOWLEDGING OUR OWN WEAKNESSES FIRST, and deal with them. Then we should go on to LOOK FOR OUR STRENGTHS and cultivate them. In this quest, you will discover that ALL THINGS ARE MIND-MADE.