THE NOTES OF SUTRA LECTURES GUIDE MY PRACTICE
For Reference Only
The Top Ten Benefits of Printing Sutra and Building Buddha Stature
Whenever there are birthdays, congratulations, business opening, ceremonies for eliminating calamities, evocation of divine blessings, confession or exaltation of the soul of the death, it is appropriate to give out Buddhism printings and make Buddha statues, thereby your wishes granted with auspicious effects.
The Notes of Sutra Lectures Guide My Practice
I have a notebook of Buddhist sutra lectures which I carry with me wherever I go.? I often open it and read a little, as I take it for something that guides my behavior. Eventually, I find that no matter what page I happen to turn to, those lines on it just right touch my heart, so that afterwards whenever I feel uncertain about something, big or small. I always refer to it to see if I have done the right thing, especially on the occasion of socializing with people, or at the beginning and at the end of things. Through this notebook I can trace along many of my faults. The yardstick of telling goodness from evil presents itself even clearer in my mind. This notebook is just a heavenly bridge leading my way along to the Western Pureland.
Businessmen in Hanzheng Street call this notebook ¡°book of heaven¡±. There is a reason for this. Every time when I go to the wholesale market to order the stock, I find myself was in a sea of children¡¯s clothes, all of dazzling colors and various designs. I lost my idea as to which sample would be better for selling. Then I consulted with Amitabha trying to figure out this. Under Amitabha¡¯s guidance I always got the best ones which proved my taste for fashion as those shopkeepers said, that I had an even sharper sense of fashion than those yang people, before long they discovered the secret of this book and eager to have a look, as they call it ¡°the book of heaven¡±. So whenever I go for the order, they would be sweet enough to call me ¡°Amitabha¡¯, and ask me to refer to the book of haven when I try to cheese samples. My customers appreciate the design of the clothes and the reasonable prices for them, and thus speak highly of me. Well, this credit should not belong to me; it should go to the guidance of Amitabha.
I play the tapes of Amitabha chanting everyday in my store which attract a lot of other Buddhists, among them are many young people, who ask me to be their tutor. They say that I was good at speech, but in fact I was not like this before I devoted to Buddhism, and on the contrary, I was rather dumb. I couldn¡¯t express myself properly even when my sisters or my mother came all the way from Shanghai to Wuhan to see me. It is Amitabha makes me become intelligent, eloquent and appropriate. I was taught how to find to good points of other people when getting along with people. Everyone has something worthy to be learned and we¡¯ve got to appreciate their merits, just a whisper of appreciation can shorten the distance between people. Here is what the book taught me, kindness is to forsake your own interests to others. When other people are benefited, you yourself are too. Admire people publically; and criticize people privately. You have to show your respect for other people¡¯s self-esteem. To really benefit other people is to put yourself always at a humble position so that your kind advices are acceptable to others.
When my pupils see me constantly read this book of heaven, they follow suit. And it turns out that each one of them feels enlightened and find out their own faults. Last year, 2003, before the Spring Festival, all my pupils unanimously came to the same page: do not miss any chance of benefaction, which is not available to everyone. They all came to ask me and I told them that as the Spring Festival was expected, we had to go to the Care Home to give out clothes for the orphans. Every one joined this. No one miss this good chance of benefaction through the guidance of Amitabha.
I have a pupil named Chen Hong who is a very pious Buddhist. Before the Spring Festival of 2001, she was still doubtful of Buddhism. With half suspicion and half tempting, she came to my store. On the way to the orphanage, Amitabha represents itself to us, and all the Buddhists saw the radiance of bright halos circled our bus. She and her daughter also saw this, and she was converted. She said she did not expect there really was divine. She told me that she had been ill and her daughter need medical treatment every month at the cost of 300 Yuan. She said she nearly dreamed every night and even dreamed her last father-in-law visited her, but she was so scared that she covered herself up. Today she really found the existence of Divine, and she hoped she could be salvaged. She asked me how she could find a way to get rid of her plight. I quoted to her the sayings of the Reverend Jingkong(it means ¡®emptiness and void¡±) ¡°constant benefaction and discipline and advanced level of meditation and intelligence in the six paramita¡± can make your appeals responded, even the appeal for becoming Buddha, let alone trifle things like this in daily life. I told her to enterprise herself, as I always did so and made my appeals responded through inductions. The Reverend Jingkong says, ¡°Sleeping is the evil which can be got over well; never lie down because of tiredness. Do fight and never surrender¡±. I instructed her to use a walkman with earplugs for daily chanting and do the job 24 hours a day. She was sweet enough to start what I told her the right evening (her husband being away on business trips for a long time). The next day she asked me how to do when getting sleepy in chanting? I told her that she could turn on the alarm clock, alarming every one hour, even if drop off during the period, for the next alarm would soon come and she had to jump up to resume the work. Sleepiness is just the vile creatures which can be got over. ?
I told her to find a job. I used to make little clothes for children when I did the overnight chanting, and send them to kindergartens to make bond with the children and thus plant the diamond seeds. It is really one stone for two birds, the chanting, and the offering. Thereafter, she did the cleaning of her household every day, arranged her wardrobe, and the changes brought by this exertion began to come over her. She became thinner, and she spewed blood. She came to tell me this, and I told her that there is no cause for fear since this was the course of redeeming the vile. It was the manifestation of the level. There was no need to go to hospital, she just had to insist on the night chanting work and all the vile creatures would disappear. Our sufferings brought our retributions. The more we suffer, the happier the creditors should be, because we are repaying the debts. The more intense the suffering, the quicker the debt will be paid back. And when everything is cleared, illness will take its heel. She told me that she was really scared. Every day she swallowed the blood lest somebody should know it. She was pious enough to be aided by Buddha. In only three days the blood disappeared without any applying any medicine. Her daughter, formerly was attended by doctors every month with the bill of 300 Yuan, ran some sort of fever and did not need any medical care anymore, just put the chanting walkman at her pillow and the fever would be gone. One month later her husband returned from his trips only to find a home tidy and clean, a wife fresh and beautiful, and a daughter safe and sound. All this delighted him so much that he wished he could do the chanting in his elder age.
Chen Hong came to my store to socialize with me every week. When she saw me refer to the ¡®book of heaven ¡°, she followed and was enlightened. Once she said on a day in the last year, that ¡°this book is really good, and it would be nice if it can be copied.¡± Sooner than she finished the words, the page she happened to turn to was all gold and glittering. It dawned to me that this was an implication of Amitabha that this book should be printed and be shared by every Buddhists, so that every one of them could be led to the heaven bridge. For some reason or other the printing of the book was deferred because of short budget. One day in 2004, one of my pupils Xiao Liu suddenly told me the same thing that: ¡°this book is excellent. It should be printed out.¡± This remained me again and I feel the time is about to come.
I was in the service of Buddhism for 11 years. The book of heaven has been guiding me from minor offerings to great benefactions, form the visible to the invisible, till three cycles of emptiness, the imperceptible offerings. All these are completed step by step under the instruction of His Leniency. The Reverend Jing Kong says:¡± in Buddhism, the effect for every cause presents itself in ten to fifteen years.
Considering that I have no money, the rent of my store costs 3400 Yuan monthly, and most of the time to store has to be closed for I have to leave for four days to chant in Huangshi Buddhist Chapel, it is a wonder that I am still able to pay the rent in time. Where does the money come from? It comes from the aid of Buddhism. On day on the way home it did concern me that with a four-day-out-of-week closing store in very competitive business surroundings how am I going to earn money enough to pay the rent? However, the next day, on e of my pupils from Qingshan came happily to me and handed me 700 Yuan in the hope of making a contribution for this month¡¯s rent as well as for every month thereafter. Fortune comes naturally from generous offerings, paying more, and you get repaid still more. The Reverend Jingkong says, when the effect presents itself, money flows in as if from nowhere. I wanted to give the Buddhism house an air conditioner, but I could only afford one with 5000 Yuan, which was not enough for the big house that at least 3 are needed. It happened again the next day that one of my most generous pupils came with bag to me, ¡°I won¡¯t count how much is in it, it all yours.¡±I opened the bag and found there was five thousand plus two hundred. It delighted me. I took the money with me and on the way to shopping for the air conditioner, I recounted it only to find two hundred more, which now amount to ten thousand and four hundred, enough for buying 3 air conditioners for the Chapel .
I converted to the Three Treasures in 1993. At the first time when I listened to the preaching tape of the Reverend Jingkong, I was attracted to it. At the time the leader of the chanting group was Mr. Zhang Yonglong, who helped me a lot. I write his real name here to express my gratitude to him. He was a lay Buddhist of real intelligence and great morale. He then advised us to note down the points when listen to the preaching. It was this piece of advice that gave birth to the book you are reading now.
At that time we listened to the Reverend Jingkong¡¯s tape of preaching on every Saturday night, and did the home work for the rest of the week. I would like to have a little reading of this notebook when I was free, taking it for a mirror to reflect my shortcomings.
I remember once I offered my master in Beijing 1000 Yuan for benefaction of free life through Brother Zhang, who took the message from my master when he came back, ¡° freeing life is the best way of eliminating vile. ¡° on hearing this I made up my mind that I shall distribute all my money in the future for freeing life. In the evening while I was doing the home work one casual page of the note book amazed me as on the first of which it read: offering by distribution is the best act, as distribution is the combination of giving alms, distributing and self-denying.? I suddenly realized that didn¡¯t this imply me? When I was tempting to give self-denying offers, the book simply reminded me of distribution.
Not long after that when it was time to donate the widowed and handicapped old people in the nursing home; I took all the money I had with me, that is, 4000 Yuan. At the nursing home I found it was full of such people. I asked myself that with so many people what if the money was not enough to go round? Anyway I gave 50 Yuan for each and still got 2000 Yuan left. I took this money home with a little calculation that distributing is after all the good one. When I came home and opened the notebook, the first came to me was ¡°offering while still saving¡±. I was horrified, wasn¡¯t I spied? Any little trick of mine just couldn¡¯t escape him? Who was Him? It must be the Venerable Amitabha only He could care for and help me like that. Gratefully, I turned to another page, it was, offering with three cycles of thoroughness¡¯. I rejoiced at this, for only the Amitabha was credited with such great wisdom, and I was thankful to Amitabha for the aid in my Buddhist practicing.
One morning I met a vendor who sold peaches. Among the fresh peaches, I found those are on top were really big ones, so naturally I bought them as sacrifice to Buddha in my home. After I the ritual was over I happily opened the notebook expecting some kind of approving. But stunningly as a blow on me, the page borne this line: ¡°give thoughts to others for everything------self-interesting does not go to the eternality¡¯¡¯. I withdraw the peaches in alarm and gave them back to the vendor, saying: ¡°I am in the service of Amitabha. I was disproved by picking big peaches. By doing so, I make the rest of your small peaches hard to be sold out. Would you please take them back and just pick for me something at random for one Jin. The old man thanked me a lot. Afterwards he said,¡¯ I shall learn from you. This made me feel grateful to Amitabha deep in my heart for guiding how to behave.
A Lay Buddhist had cancer, she asked us to do the chanting in her home, hoping this might help her on the way to the Western World. But after two days and nights of chanting, all she did was murmuring to herself:¡± please don¡¯t pull me, I won¡¯t go with you, go away¡¡¡± and she repeated and repeated. The Reverend Jingkong says, when a man is dying, all his death enemies and debtors will come and claim their debts. They will go to such a way as to prevent you from leaving for the west. Now the scene was really taking place before my eyes.
I felt so intimidated that I could not chant on. I kept thinking about myself, what I shall do if this happen to me when I die? Would I have to go through the six recycles again? No, I could not follow her path. I want to go to the West and I need the Buddha to help me.
On returning home I threw myself in front of the stature of Buddha, pleading;¡± my Amitabha of grace and mercy, I am deep in my sins, yet I must go to the West. I don¡¯t want the six recycles, and I vow to give up my body to Buddhism. May I know the unpredictable and go to the eternal. I shall set myself as the example of conversion and devotion. Please tell me how I should conduct myself so that I can go to the Paradise in the west without pain and suffering?¡±
I opened the book of heaven with great solemn, what revealed before me was:¡± merits and virtues shall aid you at the end of your life, no specter shall disturb you. Accumulated virtues shall turn to your aids when the last day of your life comes. Correct the wrong doings and the connection will come naturally. Your requests of dying without suffer shall be responded. Ask for nothing but this. Free spirit to the eternality, and enlighten the mass.¡±
The clouds in my mind cleared up, revealing a promising path for me to take in the days to come.
Modify the wrongs and correct the mischief. This is what we should pray in the chanting of Amitabha, in other words, it is to correct the wrong concepts. Then how the quicken the process of correction? There are thousands of fellow Buddhists of Buddhism, but none of them knows where their wrong acts lie in. they think they are doing the good, but in fact they are committing sins every day. That is way they cannot reach to the West. Then how shall I correct the wrongs and tell the good from the evil? There is one way. And that is this heavenly book. It is the Amitabha which guides my way to the bridge of heavy, with the instruction of heavenly book, I only need to follow strictly and I will success.
From that day on, I keep myself alone in my office whenever there is nothing to bother, carrying out to the full sense of ¡®less word, more praying.¡± I always refer to the heavenly book to see whether I do it well or not after the occasion of socializing with people.
One day I heard a three-year-old little girl was crying while her daddy came to ask me¡¯ I will be back home very late tonight because of some appointments. I want to send her to her grandma¡¯s, but she wouldn¡¯t like to.¡± I answered:¡± let her sleep in my place. There is no one in the home to disturb her.¡± Her daddy agreed and I took the little home. At my opening of the heavenly book, it read: ¡°the relationship between men are all about borrowing and repaying, revenging and rewarding. Therefore be magnanimous regarding every man on every occasion.¡± I saw what it meant promptly. Today was just an occasion to repay to the past debts.
So I gave the little girl all my hospitality and severed her all the delicacies I could found in my house. I gave her the syrup when she coughed. I cleaned the little rabbit of hers when she asked me, and I even dried the little rabbit with electric drier afterwards. The little girl felt satisfied and smiled with the snow white little rabbit in her arms. Before went to bed, I gave her a new towel for cleaning herself and a hot water bag to warm up the bed for her. In order to cheer her up, I slept beside her. Usually I fell sleepy on getting to bed, but that day I was not only somber but also very energetic when chanting. I realized that it was Buddha who was encouraging me. I hurried to open the heavenly book, and it turned out to be ¡°taking you to the West------¡±. The next morning I made soybean milk for the little girl and bought steam bun as her breakfast. I comforted her that, ¡°if your daddy is not coming to pick you up, I can stay here in granny¡¯s home, and no kindergarten.¡± The little girl smiled cheerfully at these words. Finally her daddy came. I gave him also steam buns. He thanked me a great deal, but I replied that I was in the service of Buddhism, so gave your thanks to Amitabha but not me.
A few years later I left Qingshan and ran a children¡¯s clothes store in Hankou. The little girl has now grown into a yang lady. She often came to visit me, always asking my old man that:¡± is granny Buddha in? I just drop by to see her.¡± On writing this, tears were rolling down my face. They have no belief in Buddhism, and ill lucks will turn them into poor creatures on day. I was so sad that I was unable to help them when they meet their destiny, such lovely people! All I could do was to chant desperately without rest, for the sake of the mass of nowhere, and the mass of everywhere. I wished them good life forever.
Three years have passed since I serve the Buddhism. My son asked me one day: ¡°mother, I want to go abroad.¡± ¡°Fine¡±, I said, ¡°as long as you give me support in Buddhism, the Buddha shall favor your wishes of going abroad.¡± It turned out that before long, a succession of chances fell upon my son favoring his wish. He told me that going abroad, your must have 200,000 Yuan¡¯s deposit in the bank; otherwise you would not be received by other countries. But where am I supposed to get 200,000 Yuan since all my money was donated out?? The only possible way was to loan on high interests. Strangely enough, the next day, happy and excited, my son came home to announce to me that:¡± mum, you don't have to borrow any money, my colleagues have promised to lend me 200,000 Yuan.¡± My heavenly god! Who could lend 200,000 Yuan to a yang man of barely 30 years old? It must be the aid of Amitabha.
While preparing the package he said that only 40 kilos of personal belongings were allowed to take on board the plane. For overweight, there was the penalty. Under this consideration, he was thinking of taking out something that was already packed. At this moment an idea occurred to me, as my son had no belief in Buddha, if he could take the entire luggage away with him by Buddha¡¯s aid, he would be convinced. So I opened the heavenly book, and it showed me that, ¡°with constant benefaction and principles, advancing with constancy and wisdom to six Paramita¡±. That can make your appeals responded, even the appeal for becoming Buddha, let alone trifle things like this. It was an implication of Buddha that offering alone was not enough, in order to be granted for every wish by Buddha, further advance was essential. I made a decision that, since there were still three days left for my son¡¯s departure, I shall pray without sleeping through these days for Buddha¡¯s favor so as to convince my son. The first night was a trial, in the long dark night, every minute seemed to be extended. I longed to rest myself a little, but no, I must reign over myself. For my son¡¯s advantage, I must persevere. The second night, then the third night, I seemed about to overcome successfully at last. But my son got up to me in the midnight, calling me:¡± mum, what are you doing? No one can do without sleep. Let me ask The Reverend Changming( chairing Guiyuan Temple) see if sleep is prohibited.¡±? I had to assure him to go back to bed. Opening the heavenly book with the line: ¡°the relationship between men is all about borrowing and repaying, revenging and rewarding.¡± I realized that my son was the creditor of my life. He tried to prevent me from completing my practice, but I shall do the contrary. To complete the practice was to pay him off. After three days and three nights¡¯ practice, although almost fainted for lack of sleep, however I fought back the evil of sleepiness. In the early morning my son came to tell me that one of his collages offered to help him with the luggage. I said to him that I had prayed three days and three nights to Buddha to aid you for the luggage, and this turned out to be Buddha¡¯s favors for you. Three suitcases passed the check without any interruption. After back at home I contemplate hat only advance of practice could make the difference for my life, and thus go to the west safe and sound.
This time I set my heart on advance of practice.
It was easy to say then to do. In the fourth night I nearly dozed off no matter I was sitting or walking. At such times the heavenly book remained me:¡± sleepiness is the vile which can be overcome. Do fight and never give up to fatigue.¡± After that whenever I felt like to coil back, I would turned to the page with this line. If the sunshine was too warm and cozy to cause sleepiness, I would go on street to dispel that feeling. Just at this period a little white rabbit came to my home; its owner was the little girl in the neighborhood who abandoned it in the lobby. I took it to the kitchen; the little thing peed at every corner. My husband complained:¡± what a smell! Let¡¯s throw it out¡±. As I was hesitating as what to do, I found it rushed into the kitchen and couched itself on the matt. I was startled, the floors were all covered with blankets, and if it peed on the blanket there would be no way to clean it out. Without knowing why I again opened the heavenly book and found:¡±let it be¡±. I understood that it was a hint from the Buddha that I should let it be. It turned out that the little rabbit was something of a magic which only eat but on discharge. I took it to the park to play, as soon as I chant ¡°Amitabha¡±, it would return to me.
One day I was taking a walk with the little rabbit. A tall woman approached to us and asked me curiously about how to train a rabbit to understand human language. Upon her question I only asked her to stay with me for the night chanting. She replied that she happened to have sleeping problems. From that night on she stayed with me every night for my advancement. During the time my husband changed his job, during out every night at nine o¡¯clock carrying wood material from Shennongjia and returning back the next morning. He never had any idea of what I was doing. One day he suddenly told me;¡± I don¡¯t want to go for tonight¡¯s shift, I¡¯ll have a good sleep and let other men do it.¡± Unfortunately, at eleven o¡¯clock in the night, the telephone rang and we were informed that the vehicles for carrying the woods was stopped by police at Wuchang, the police wouldn¡¯t let them go unless their boss show up. My husband was so frustrated,¡± do I really not deserve to have a moment¡¯s rest at home? Why I have to go out every day?¡± after he left, my peer, the tall women said;¡± it¡¯s really the aid of the Buddha¡±.
At the time it was raining all day. The streets were water pools everywhere but only the road we took for going to chanting was dry. When contemplating at this, nine of us old ladies who were doing night classes couldn¡¯t help but knelt down and prayed to the Amitabha in the west appreciating his aid to us.
Gradually I gave up the night chanting because my companies would not stay with me any longer. Being alone was too much for me. My past drive was to quicken the steps towards the west, but now that I had a comfortable family my drive disappeared. I thought that even if I did not advance perhaps I still had a chance of going west. why not chant in the day and sleep in the night¡±? I opened the heavenly book , it was ¡° a true Buddhist is to be like Lay Buddhist Huang Nianzu who chants 160,000 times in one day and one night.¡± And turned to the next page, it was: ¡°Amitabha is expecting us in the near future.¡± Strangely enough, only these pages appeared before me whenever I turned now, but the page of ¡°take you to the west¡± never reached me anymore. I realized that Buddha was criticizing me, but what should I do now that I don¡¯t have the drive?? Then it dawned on me that there were the peer Buddhists of the changing team, I should turned to them for help. I called them and asked the leader to arrange a peer Buddhist to help me.
The meeting started, I made the first address explaining the changes going on in me and the tough situations I was in. then I called for help. Hardly did I finish the words when a new peer responded. I did not know her but she attacked me with a tirade that how conceit I was , how I rattled on nothing but my good husband and good son, and how it was possible to the eternality without any suffer or pain, how could it be so easily? After the bombard that showered on me, it¡¯s strange to say that I was not offended at all, on the contrary, I replied cordially;¡¯ now I have the drive. Thank you.¡± My drive was that since she did not believe my go eternal without suffer or pain, she did not believe me at all. Then I shall set an example for her to testify the truth of Buddha, the truth of the Reverend Jingkong.
The next peer Buddhist made her speech criticizing me for being obsessed with emotions, that¡¯s why I gave up advancing. As soon as she finished I appreciated for what she said heartily, she made things clear and apprehensible, and she was so attentive as to listen to each tape twice. At last our leader addressed to me: ¡°you should have some approach in your benefaction. How could you offered the walkman so lavishly that you should save no money for the day when eternality comes? ¡° and he added that I shall not have only two meals a day with two tiny buns and a little vegetable now that I was already so thin,¡± ¡°you know what, your husband shall hold me responsible for his wife;¡± finally he said affirmatively that I was the true Buddhist in Qingshan District. What he said was full of concern and consideration. He was worrying about my healthy so that he asked me to take three meals a day ; he was afraid that my husband shall be let alone so he asked me to be with him constantly; he even asked to save money for the last days of my life. As a matter of fact, the way I offered walkman lavishly to people and made acquaintances everywhere was the invisible benefaction. A person who go for eternality without pain or suffer need not save money for himself. Amitabha shall arrange everything for him. But I did not say anything. He was so good, really merciful and kind. After the meeting, the Buddhist who first attacked me with her accuses came up to me unexpectedly and said:¡± you really did good job.¡±?
Back at home I opened the heavenly book and what revealed before me was¡± the third phase of excising patience with insulting is reached; offering with virtue, constant with the mass¡±. Two weeks later, my attacker at the chanting team visited me from long way off and extended her regards smilingly, like a good friend of mine who parted with me for a long time. I recited Amitabha for her. What a good fellow Buddhist she was, because of her criticizing, I was able to reflect and amend my mistakes. She has turned a good friend from an enemy to me, and I appreciated her deep down;¡± how great¡¯. On the way home, I thanked Amitabha deeply and also the Reverend Jingkong for leading me to the path of happiness. Since then I started the night chanting again in return for the grace of Buddha and the mass. I worked out a good way of doing this, that is, to take time to make clothes for my siblings. For this matter, I made clothes for my brothers and sisters all by my own hands. In addition to this, I also made little clothes for children in kindergartens in order to sow the diamond seed for them and to make the Buddhism tie. The Reverend Jingkong says, the reason why his audience is so ex-ordinary when he delivered the preaching is because wherever he goes, he is bound to make acquaintance with people there. I must learn this from him and make acquaintance with the mass to the utmost of my efforts.
In order to achieve this, by the help of one of the fellow Buddhists, I opened a children¡¯s clothes store at Hankou with the signboard ¡°namoamitabha¡±, and the loud speaker by the door delivering ¡°Amitabha¡±.
One day a Buddhist in Hankou came to my store. Hearing the music of Amitabha played at the doors and the picture of the three saints hanging on the wall, she began to strike a conversation with me. She said she did not believe there was ever such nice person in the world, that all the earnings from the business were spent on benefactions and not a dime was kept for own. I told her that it was all right if she had suspicions. Early the next morning she visited me again and told me about her dreams, in which the Buddha sent her a message that I was making a bridge for leading all my customers onto it except her. Since then she became a supporter of mine. Once a customer claimed refund for a pair of shoes that broke on the following day after she bought them. I could not do anything about it and had to return him money. Seen this she volunteered:¡± sell them to me, I can wear as slippers.¡± It was a strange thing that her size was 38, while the size of the shoes of 36 just fitted her well. I then got the idea that Buddha was aiding me again. On opening the heavenly book, it really showed:¡± take me to the West.¡±
Several months later came a 26 years old girl with the name of Zhang Fen. A Buddhist she was as I was told. She wanted to give me 2000 Yuan in support of the store, but I said:¡± I can accept this, because you don¡¯t know me yet. If someone spoke ill of me, you would feel regret about having done this. Your offering surely deserves good effects, but your regret will also be punished. I don't want you to be punished.¡± After considering for a while, the girl answered:¡± I am not sure whether I should be regret. Ok, I will take back the money.¡± But after that she often socialized with me.
At the end of the year, she told me that she had saved some money intending for benefaction, but had no idea how to carry her plans out. I suggested that she came with me before the Spring Festival as I was going to donate clothes to the orphans in the Care Home. It would be a meaningful deed to make the tie between the Buddha and the children and thus plant the diamond seed Donating clothes was a benefaction of fortune, while planting the diamond seed was the benefaction of promoting Buddhism. The orphans would be overjoyed at being cared about, and this rejoice was the benefaction of self-denying. It was good to have the three combined. Besides the orphans were to be clothed by the state, our denotation was in a way to share the burden of the state, which was in turn an act to requite the nation for our share. She happily agreed. Next I used all her money to buy more children¡¯s clothes for the Care Home.
The day before the Spring Festival, the Care Home sent two cars to pick us up, accompanied by many other fellow Buddhists. It was a long way from the Xunlimen Store to the Care Home at Yuemachang. As it was the morning rush hour. But strange enough, our bus passed every street with green lights all along the way. Zhang fen was moved to tears in the bus, so was I, because our wishes were about to come true. Just at the moment I suddenly found out by looking out of the window that our bus was illuminated by beams of sunlight like a halo of Heaven Bridge. I immediately pointed this out to everyone. All saw it and believe it was the aid of the Buddha. One of them still show doubted and said:¡± we can see it, but can people in other cars see it too?¡± barely had he finished his words when the halo disappeared. He was enlightened now that this was the induction between Buddha and us, that why we were lucky enough to see the halo. A couple of minutes later the halo reappeared. Bathed in the radiance, we drove along all the way smoothly to the Care Home.
The fellow Buddhist who was before doubtful also donated some of his overstocked clothes to the orphans. When he returned he came excitedly to me and told me that only that single day he earned a net profit of 600 Yuan, which never happened before, an encouragement from the Buddhism.
During this time whenever I referred to the heavenly book, it was ¡°take you to the west.¡±
One day at lunch time, after putting away the dished to be washed, I found a bowl of rice untouched. I felt a pang of conscientious and asking myself that how many people in the world that are still going hungry? So I took the rice home and ate it. When I opened the heavenly book it showed me thus¡± it is especially difficult to retain truth and wisdom, peace and merriness in a world full of foulness and vice. Only true virtues can -----¡±. I realized that this was an encouragement from the Buddha for me to keep on practicing. Thriftiness was the virtue of Buddhism and I shall learn it.
One day there were three foreigners in my store. They were all blacks. They offered very low prices for my goods and I was reluctant to sell at too cheap price, so I just said goodbye to them. But when they walked toward the door and about to leave, I suddenly felt sympathy toward them. They were black people who were discriminated. They did not have any bliss as yet, but now they set foot in this store of bliss, I decided to let them have what they wanted even if I made a profit of only 2 Yuan, I shall let them have the bliss. Thinking so, I called them back and sold the goods at their price.
After they left, Zhang Fen came. She announced something smelt sweet was around me. I wondered how possible that was since I had not bad a bath for this half year. But she just persisted on her finding. That night when I looked out of the window, a picturesque of night scene appeared before my eyes: the star-enlightened sky and the radiance at places whenever there was light, these lighted melted together to form the most beautiful night. My mind was clear that what I have done was approved by Buddha. Ever since then when I was in a car, there were circles of halos shone on the window, its degree of light and length varied with my behavior that day. If I have done well the day, the halo would be especially bright and strong, if I have done just so-so on the day, the halo would be dimmer. Buddha was guiding me all the time, at any place.
Almost every day I went out for purchasing the stock. I guessed I owned too much debt to the mass in the past lives; I shall take this opportunity of paying back those debts. Under this motivation, I worked merrily with outward quiet and inward peace. One day I was in a store the boss of which was absent. I waited in the store and noticed that the TV was showing a program about the Reverend Jingkong¡¯s delivering of sutra. He says, ¡°To help people with labor is benefaction of inner fortune.¡± I thought what I heard was Buddha¡¯s encouragement for me to keep on.
Gradually, more and more young people gathered around me and all got blessed greatly.
I remembered Zhang Fen donated more than ten thousand for the first year. I asked how much she was going to donate for the next year, she answered:¡± twenty thousand¡±. I asked out of curiosity:¡± you¡¯ve got a raise?¡± she said no, all was due to her self-denying savings. She said when she wanted the chestnut and hesitated to buy some for herself, there were people who would bought for her. She wanted some clothes but felt she could not afford it; she would got many by coupon at the end of the year. Whenever there was the lottery drawing in her company, she scarcely missed any prize. Only once she took this too much on herself, and before the results being pronounced she kept thinking about the prize which ended up by slipping away from her. This was a lesson from the Buddha that not to take on. Her wardrobe was not large, always altering between those few dresses. But she became more and more pretty and graceful. This was the natural revelation of virtue. Every time I got something delicious I would look forward to having the children come and have a taste of it, and every time she happened to be the one expected. So I always said she was the most blessed child. She not only donated her up each year, but also ¡°empty with three cycles¡¯, leaving the money to me and asked no more of the whereabouts. I was due to make the best arrangement for her offering. The signboard of my store with the golden characters ¡°Namoamita¡± for the purpose of benefiting passers-by was half paid by her .and her also undertook the half cost for donating three air-conditioners for Hunagshi Buddhist Chapel to bring cool air for fellow Buddhists coming from across the country and make good acquaintance. Every time when we went to the Care Home her share of donation was always the biggest. As she said:¡±Mother Chen never failed to recall me for participating in good doings.¡± I replied her that it was she had the blessings not to miss any opportunity of practicing blessings. It was fair to say that every cent of her money was the benefaction of wisdom.
All my yang men were practicing well. One of them was a girl called Xiao Xiao, who was kind and generous, being able to get along with everyone. Especially she was always ready to appreciate others and to take other¡¯s advices. I was severe on her hoping to lead her to quick success. Once I criticized her for her mistakes: ¡°I teach what is the best in the world and you never seem to appreciate it. If you are not capable of digging deep in one practice, you can never be able anything else. I don¡¯t think I shall keep you as my pupil if you go on like you.¡¯ she walked away, leaving a note to me: ¡°I shall be back when I think I am qualified to be you pupil again. You will be my tutor.¡± Before long, she really came back, her wrong doings being straightened out. That was her, not only to me, but to everyone she was able to put up with and endure. It can be said that her resignation already reached the third phase ¡°constant deference with the mass, occasional rejoice for the virtue¡±. As a matter of fact, a person who is willing to step back can never lose. She wined everyone by her generosity and everybody liked her. Every time when she came, I would stop in the middle of my things and cook something good for her to eat. After I went to Huangshi Buddhist Chapel I did not see her very often, she told other people behind me that: ¡°when granny was here I do not know how to appreciate her, but know it is even difficult to see her again.¡± I wished her good luck to grow up fast; I also told myself that I shall learn from her for her resignation and generosity.
Following are the abstract of the Reverend Jingkong¡¯s preaching that I have noted down. When the time came for you to call for help, please ask for Amitabha¡¯s aid respectfully in your heart, and Amitabha shall satisfy you and help you to success.
Abstracts from the Reverend Jingkong¡¯s Sutra Lectures
If you do not get along with someone in your life or despise anyone, you are up against Amitabha, because Amitabha is to rescue everyone, if you are up against anyone, you are up against Amitabha.
The real practicing is never to allow malice in any corner of your heart. Malice is the thought against the mass, and any act of harm against the mass is even prohibited. Be reverent to Amitabha in person, be praying Amitabha in oral, be dedicated to Amitabha in mind and be not to harbor any idea of vice, which disturbs the mind and damage the path to the eternality.
Despising others is the represent of vile. A real Buddhist never grudge toward others.
To offer with honesty, our health, longevity, fortune and wisdom all take good causes to produce good results. The fortune of this life was half caused by the practice of the past life and half by this life. The intangible blessings are immense. The first level of blessing is to open the door to wisdom. Send other people the tape of preach is equal to preach. Offering Buddhism is the first virtue.
Take the advantage of your health right now and devoted to chanting Amitabha and meditating Amitabha, this was the real practice of Buddha. Starts from donation, after a while you will be used to it, without frustration; finally you will reach the great freedom. The more the donation, the more freedom will come, and new fortune will be coming in all around as is from nowhere. The nature of virtue is revealing itself.
Fortune donation is the wisdom. With serene heart, practice vast offering.
To donate is to really put down. Reluctance is greedy, which is the source of frustration.
Just to think about the good points of others, wish blessings for the mass, so that you can do without any upset, to be qualified in the service of Buddha. If you only think about yourself, you will always be rejected outside Buddhism.
Firstly you have to open your heart fully, to be magnanimous as the Buddha, then you can be allowed into the service of Buddhism, especially in this service, to help others with sincerity and grace, only in way you can you be worthy enough to practice in the greatness of Buddha.
The first virtue for a man in the world is to know how to turn an enemy into friend, how to transform vice into kindness, ordinance into superior, and bewilderment into enlightenment, hence lays the happiness of serving the great saints.
And this must be constantly meditated in the heart without interruption, which is the metempsychosis of six cycles and which gives you strength. Grasp tightly at it and never let go of it, you are bound to go the West. It is the sea of wisdom which should be held fast.
To advance is to be continuous, to be dedicated without distraction. A Solemn and dignified helmet can be expected by this approach. Before long, peace would be attained in the mind. Invisible outwardly and tranquil inwardly, and just enjoy Buddhism. There is no need to know about things, the less the better. No newspaper, no TV, no radio. To be contemplating is not just folding your legs and sitting on them, but how them? It is just like the sixth saint who chopped wood, without mentally disturbing; only physically serving. Contemplation of mind never renders fatigue in body. Too much thought bring too much eating, whereas firm practice bring down the diet.
Knowing how to be honest, to be trustful, to be consistent, to be concentrated, then you will success in the three knowing.
To view others as the mirror of yourself, to refer to the outside world to guide yourself, think twice before you act, to retire your tongue from the tasty, the retire your nose from the sweet, to retire your eyes from the scene, to retire your ears from the sound. Just to retire, that is the only capability of a saint.
It could be difficult, it could be easy, and all depends on your own sight and decision. If you constantly lost yourself in adversities, then confess before the Buddha weeping your heart out, if you constantly lost yourself in fortunes, then complain before your plight, this represents you are too much in sins, which absolutely set obstructions on your way to the eternality, and shove you into the three vice passages. Be really enlightened, no more greed, hatred, obsession, to cast aside everything in the world, to serve Buddha honestly, only in this way strength shall come to you.
To be in the service of Buddha need you to be pure in mind without distractions in your mind. It is tough, but it can¡¯t be easy to become a Buddha from an ordinance.
To be away from fortune, desire, fame, food, sleeping, clench your teeth and overcome it, you will gain the eternal happiness.
Eating and clothing are the necessities, having them, but without obsessed in them.
Although you mean to benefit the mass, but never expect anything from it; do it without thinking it, without doing it but really it is done, to achieve the emptiness of three cycles, to forget after the completion.
Know what is the sin before erase it. Revere and obstinacy are sins.
To be swift and powerful with Buddha names, you have to turn it swiftly.¡± ¡°There is no need to be afraid of late starting, but of late enlightenment¡±.
Samantabhadra encourages us, ¡°chanting with consistency and regularity¡±. This is the tip for practicing. A Buddhist shall be stick to these lines. It will take three months to half a year to be firm at practice, to be absolutely successful in practicing.
To benefit the mass is the real kindness. The benefit of the mass will turn into benefit of yourself.
To help and help out, saving no a bit of yourself.
To be adhere to the outline but not to the details. Only continuous chanting and continuous practicing of walking, reposing, sitting shall never be interrupted.
A bit of respects can gain a bit of interest, quite respect gain quite of interests.
Induction is to take chanting as the favorite that cannot be replaced by anything.
One day the six organs shall reach to level, without yearning at heart you go to the eternality. No revere. See everything, human beings or surroundings, as equal without good or bad, knowing that they are only produced from the heart. Upon the flash of inspiration, a well practiced Buddhist will see the reflection of himself, noticing the wrongs of his. To be regretting for others¡¯ wrong doings is to bring the mistake on you.
To separate from images is to separate from the obstinacy in your mind. It is not to separate from the images of the environment. Whether kindness or vice is created from within, which needs to be stripped away.
Arguments aroused, discipline disappears.
¡°No dispute¡¯ means on conflicts.
For all people who are related with you, they are to you is the relation of debts to creditors. Therefore be resigned, and then it will be balanced.
Endurance is the key to success. Great endurance accounts for great causes.
With diligence and devotion, effects will take in 10-15 years. The mind of saint diverts surroundings, while surroundings divert the mind of ordinance. Angry you turn toward people who scold you, delighted you become with people who praise you, and you are diverted in mind. A vision of kindness brings you into the world of tenderness, there you take abode as a blessed one who always put himself in other¡¯s situations and gather blessings by devotion to kind acts.
Lay Buddhist Huang Nianju dreams about Buddha. 160,000times chanting of Buddha¡¯s name in his seclusion, which is service to Buddha in the real sense. A person who really has the belief can be daunted by nothing on the advance.
Specialize in one field, in five years you will grow a specialist and in ten years the top in the world. With ten years¡¯ time concentrated on one scripture, your will be powerful enough to overpower anybody.
It is of no use chanting with tongue but not with heart. The literal meaning of chanting in Chinese is related to the heart. If Buddha is deep down in your heart, no misfortunes shall befall on you. What to know the reason why? Amitabha is the most graceful and merciful, and your heart is so full of grace and mercy than no room is left for any misfortunes. Therefore when you chant, you chant with your heart, which is full of grace and mercy for those who are suffering in this world. Can you have any chance to turn evil towards the mass? No, because you are chanting Buddha.
We shall be admired by Buddha If we devote to our practices, which makes us above the ordinary. Especially in a world of filth and vice like this you can still be integrated and loyal to the truths, peaceful with mercies, this is the real virtue out of trying situations. Buddha allows no pretence.
All successes brought along by Buddha is aids from the three jewels. If you want to achieve something that is beyond your reach, the best way is to ask for Buddha¡¯s aid by chanting.
No self-interest is found in Buddha, if it is, then that is no Buddha, whose whole thoughts are tied to the interests of the mass.
When the final day comes, there is no difference whether you leave by foot. No persistence, not even persistence for the promotion of interests of the mass.
Old ladies, who keep chanting all her days, leave the world with a free heart. They keep to themselves at home all the time without bothering of other people or affairs, hence the easy completion.
The heart of a real Buddhist grows more merciful with each passing day. His appearance becomes brighter and he is nearer toward completion. Dull appearances and poor styles betray the bad practice against hard trying. Efficient effort brings rejoice day by day.
With self interests hided in heart, you are in a tumult which is an impediment on the way to eternality. Peace in mind brings peace in world. You have to have the insight. Only the integrated can accomplish this, who has the root of bless and virtue.
How to get to the central level of Buddhism? The approach is by renouncing self interests and aspiration for fames, giving up greed, hatred, obsession, only put your whole heart into the service of the mass, and go to their rescue whenever is needed.
Your virtues will turn to your aids in the last days; no demons shall be able to disturb you. When you are at home, always do something to eliminate your sins. If conditions come for you to elevate the mass, put yourself in the service for others. To eliminate sins is to remove the contamination from your heart, allowing no illusions to take place there. If the sins are not thoroughly removed they would leave sufferings for the eternity.
Saving virtues will bring aids in your last day, remember, no illusions. Only think about Amitabha and chant Amitabha, worship Amitabha. After the wrongs are straightened out, inductions will come along, and followed by response, to which your requests about standing up at the last moment of your life without sufferings shall be satisfied. Request nothing but this, freedom to the eternality, promoting benefit for the mass.
All our wishes are divined by Buddha, who will come to take you when the condition is ripe. If there is any reluctance on your part, you will not be taken.
Turning to this page, it signifies:
We shall cherish every opportunity of practicing goodness and never let it go, for such opportunities are rare and not accessible to everyone.
A blessed person is always blessed whatever situation he might be in. therefore an intelligent person practices for blessing and accumulates virtues.
It is essential to have the conviction in the correlation between cause and effect. As long as practice for goodness and throw away evilness, Buddha shall take care of you.
The more genuine the practice is, the more ordinary it seems like. The more you conceit, the more problems you actually have. The higher practice is the more modest and common it looks like.
Exaggeration is the extreme sin. The Venerable only claim themselves as lay Buddhists, and dare not assume Bhikhu, so how can we brag about? Anyway, do an inch while saying an inch. Exaggeration is no good.
Greedy, vexation, obsession and conceit are the drawbacks people born to have, which are the great sins. Everyone has his own merit and has points to be overcome when constantly entertain disillusions.
The general guideline is to be aware, to be integrated and to be pure, essentially, to be pure in mind. To have no dispute or desire with outside world, thus gain the peace in mind.
Only those who study to the core of Buddhism have their worldly troubles decreased and their wisdom increased.
Seeing others are stepping back or going astray, check if you are on the verge of it.
The sign of purging is that one becomes more and more modest, more humble and more willing to resign to others.
Hints for starting Buddhism studying: forgiveness of other¡¯s oversights is the first principle in Buddhism. If you fail in this you can get no further in other directions. Your mind will be disturbed at watching over other¡¯s errors and countless trifles. ¡°A real Buddhist forgives and forgets.¡±
Conduct yourself in good deeds at the nature goes, intentional thinking about good deeds is the conception again nature.
One day if your six faculties reach the high level of spiritual state, then you are ready to go to eternality without efforts.
The real Dharma offering is to take the initiative and follow the Buddhism principles. To do Dharma offering is to set the example for the mass and act upon principles for practicing.
A day is deemed unworthy if no amending is made for mistakes.
If a Buddhist advanced to a level where he begins to regard his enemy as his kin, he is about to accomplish his goal.
Renunciation and chanting are only the means, the most important is to turn away from vices, which should be regarded as the major issue to overcome, if not, one cannot reach the eternality even if chant for every day. The chanting of Buddha shall go down to the bottom of the heart, and you will achieve the virtue like tenderness, kindness, respectfulness, thriftiness and resignation as good as the Buddha. If you go against these virtues, sins will be committed and effects will be due.
Human beings are characteristic of jealousy. Buddha teaches us to be adoptable with nature. We can reach the level where others can reach, and to help them, admire them and care about them, these are equal achievements. The real practice is to have daily reflection and correction.
We have to reflect constantly upon our shortcomings, from which we have to be turned away and never get involved, that is the state of stability.
It is sin to doze off and give in. we have to fight back them desperately and never give up. It will be got over if we don¡¯t give way to tiredness.
A Buddhist shall be outwardly steady and gentle and inwardly advanced.
Make sure the mass shall have the benefit, the utmost generous benefit.
¡°Constant offering and endurance ensures stability and wisdom to the level of six Polo¡± is the prerequisite for realization of wishes and vows. If the request of becoming a Buddha can be granted, let alone other trifles of daily life.
Amitabha is looking forward to our spiritualizing.
If a Buddhist is possessed by demons and ghosts, it is because the god of protection abandoned him for his wickedness.
A real Buddhist follows the conception of Buddhism by heart but no by words. The peace in mind indicates the completion of courses. How to reach this state? Penetration and renunciation are demanded. If you still see right or wrong in things you don¡¯t get rid of concerns.
To study is not just to understand, it is to carry out. It takes the inner effort to identify one mistake a day, in this way, three years after you are unordinary.
Except the chanting of Buddha¡¯s name, all other things are nonsense.
The advantage of observing the eight passes of vegetarian principles.
Do not dwell on the past, and do not speculate on the future, bygone is by-gone, and future is yet to become. Then why think about them?
Endurance is the key that decides the success of the practice. A person of endurance never fails.
Dharma promoting is better than fortune offering. The Dharma promoting is to take the initiative and to practice by following principles of Dharma is the real practice in Buddhism.
Whatever Buddha arranges for you, no matter it is favor or adversity; it is for your good and for the purpose of completing restrictions, presence and wisdom. You serve the Three Treasures and you will be aided by it. A body scarifies for the mass is no longer a body belongs to you, it is the missionary of Buddhism vows.
Purity and frankness is beyond the physical weakness. As long as you vow with your heart for the transformation of sinful existence, you are the great Buddha and will be aided by Buddhism. Sincerity is the key to success.
The understanding of your own faults is a mental awareness. A day is deemed unworthy if no fault is identified and corrected.
Practice is actually to turn a new leaf. It is significant, though, but how to practice? To renounce everything, if you fail, that is because you are still not disillusioned. A true knowing of the dreamy nature of everything leads to renunciation.
Some persons have strict principles but cannot maintain a stable state. This is because he has too much concern in other person¡¯s defying of the rules or principles. However, to practice in Buddhism is to cultivate your presence of mind, never take worldly affair personal. No preference and persistence. Whether others observe the principle or not are none of my own business. I shall turn a blind eye to the worldly mischief and never take it personal. The minding of other¡¯s faults is the fault of your own.
If you are delighted at the praises and upset as the criticizing, then you will never reach the state of stability, which is the fundamental practice for going to eternality.
Endurance is the basic element, without endurance, nothing can be achieved.
The basic condition of success is real self-awareness. The process is, your troubles are lessened by day and you appearance is getting full and radiant by day. Your mercies and peace are from the heart. All your time is spent with Dharma. Sins born from illusions, discriminations and obstinacy need determination to be warded off. No result can be obtained by indecisive attempts. Determination means that in daily life when you get along with people, you are able to keep yourself away worldly images. No matter what situation you are in, just maintain the peace in mind, arousing no disturbing ideas, permitting no distractions, no discrimination and no obstinacy. a little peace brings out a little more wisdom and a little less troubles. If you seek practicing in conditions otherwise, that will be discrimination of ordinance. One day when you gain only wisdom but not troubles, it is a sure sign of maturity.
The completion of practice is reached when you are no longer unruffled by eye souring scenes or persons.
When a Buddhist in practice reaches to the state that he regards his enemies as his kin, he is almost successful, because of his renunciation.
For great achievement in this world, the first condition would be harmony among humans. It also entails humbleness and respectfulness, equality and admiration of other persons, appreciation for others and modesty for yourself. Only ordinance will consider himself superior, which is an impediment to eternality, for that is a worldly heart.
Practice refines oneself and perfects oneself. Perfection of oneself also is also perfection for others. One will become influential, and the wider the influence is, the more the people are helped. If is not apparent to humans, it is apparent to demons. Therefore one must be careful at every act. Failure only comes from laziness, vanity and self-centering, which represent wickedness and sins.
Selfishness and egoism account for the difficulties of ordinance¡¯s practice. There will be no hope if these difficulties are not broken through. For this purpose, think only about the benefit of the mass by setting good examples.
The fortunes of this life are resulted half from the practice of the past life and half from the practice of this life. We now have invisible images which bring about satisfactions. Great bliss shall be enjoyed by everyone, nothing is greater that invisible bliss. The first level of bliss is the opening of wisdom. Sending other persons the tape of sutra teaching is equal to sutra teaching, for Dharma offering is virtue of first glass.
Infinite treasures come from human hearts. Our surroundings are all associated with our moods.
The blessed takes residence of blessed place, which in turn is blessed by its blessed owner. An abode of blessing turns into an abode of misery if is occupied by people who is unwilling to practice in Buddhism.
Eating and clothing are essential but never get obsessive in them. Melt away the resentment in the heart and regain the peace. Benefit the mass but never intend it that way. To do it without doing it, without doing it but actual do it, that is three cycles of thoroughness, forget it after it over.
Inability to endure is the inability of stability. You are delighted at praises and upset and criticizing, so that you are unable to keep presence of mind and fail at the practice, which is the simplest step of stability coming from endurance. Endurance is important in situations of either good or evil.
Real stability represents in walking, living, sitting and lying. It is not just two hours of contemplation.
Achievement of virtue means stability and wisdom, which is endangered at tempers. The bliss may remain, but the achievement is hard to say. So we must watch out for this. In Bodhi realm it means the process of practice. Your enemies are very revengeful taking their ways so far to prevent you, with the purpose of ruffling you and thus ruining your virtue. All these things may often make you unhappy, they are the tricks made on you by your enemies. Any madness in your heart would ruin your merits as well as peace. It is essential to endure, to have the presence of mind. To go mad at slanders is the represent of vile creatures. A practicing Buddhist may often be bothered by outside world, which is a good thing, without such kind of trials how can you develop your stability? When time comes for you practice endurance, it is a opportunity to exercise your own strength.
A person who really studies Buddhism conducts himself at Buddha¡¯s instructions; he shall be aided by Buddha if he has any request. Sometimes when evil creatures appear to out-power the aid, confession is needed. After the correction of mistakes the aid will follow. The confession has to be genuine.
Do not have any sentiment of antagonism, which handicaps your exercise.
Endurance generates stability, which again generates genuine wisdom. No endurance, no stability.
It is not difficult studying the pure land realm. The only difficulty lies in the confusion. If constant chanting of Buddha can be ensured, success will come in three to five years.
Chanting of Buddha¡¯s name can be regular or irregular. The morning and night work is regular which must not be missed. The major activity is chanting Buddha¡¯s name instead of sutra, which is for calm of mind. Effective exercise lies in chanting of Buddha¡¯s name, compared with the impotence of irregular chanting.
The major job of this life is chanting Buddha, which absolutely should not be interrupted. Never think about of any achievement on a certain day, if any, for that will never come. All you should do is to keep on without any desire, and the achievement will appear before you.
Buddhist chanting should be your favorite for which nothing is replaceable. This is called induction.
Good practicing cut off troubles from the germ, without which nothing can grow. Greedy is the germ. When you are tempted by attractive objects in the street, your greedy is in activity. On realizing this, Amitabha must be called for to combat it and repress it. a person¡¯s vexation may often be aroused by dissatisfaction. Whereas good practice takes place amid the world rather than in the nook of mountain. Demons can do nothing with you if you are able to get rid of greed, hatred, stupidity and pride regarding worldly fames or desires. You will come fearless enough to cut off all inner troubles.
Presence of mind means peace in mind and even head leads to awareness. Therefore it is important to practice evenness, so that you will not take delight in one and degust in another. Chanting makes you see everything as equal to Amitabha whether it is a delight or not, thus gain equality in mind.
If you entertain genuine sincerity in your practice, demons shall cannot help but respecting you. You should have the self-esteem, if you don¡¯t, nobody, including the demons, will have it towards you.
A real Buddhist in practice saves merits that will profit his offspring. We should feel fluttered at admirations for our unworthiness. The key to practice is to be able to discover your own faults everyday and to be able to correct them. This will add to your superiority.
First correct your mistakes then you can wish for happiness, approach to this is the peace in mind, without greed, hatred, stupidity and conceit.
Being blessed takes intelligence, which comes from the real concern for the profit of the mass.
A person is doomed to reach eternality if he has any single idea about conviction, which means faith, without the least degree of doubtless. A belief be carried out to this extent is called conviction. To have belief only in this sutra and except Amitabha, there is nothing else. Incredible achievement can be gained for this kind of conviction.
Keep in mind that you should always be grateful for your teacher even he was only teaching for one day. Take care of the teacher¡¯s family if possible. None of the teacher¡¯s advice for you shall escape your gratitude, for his caring represents mercy.
If you fail to get along with a person, you fail to get along with Amitabha, because Amitabha is meant for the mass. To be the enemy of anyone is to be the enemy of Amitabha.
Never save a hand when help others. Your helping shall be complete and you should be as magnanimous as the Buddha. Wishing happiness for the mass can get you away from trouble and make you qualified in the service of Buddhism. A person who cannot get away from himself shall never be admitted into Buddhism.
It is not easy not to be bothered by the surroundings, as it is not easy for an ordinance to attain Buddhahood. All depends on your understanding and determination.
Later starting is less dreadful than late awareness. Do it upon thinking about it, which is an effective exercise.
The first stage: to endure, even if it is not endurable. Endure desperately but quietly.
The second stage: to believe. Have the belief in Buddha¡¯s teachings, which lead you to thorough understandings.
The third stage: resignation. Resign to the mass when it is the time for doing it. Merits are featured by resignation.
The fourth stage: spiritualization.
The fifth stage: expiration.
It takes to be constant patience, which proceeds concentration.
Awareness results from the consciousness of your faults. A day is deemed unworthy if no amending is made for mistakes.
Practice is actually to turn a new leaf. It is significant, though, but how to practice? To renounce everything, if you fail, that is because you are still not disillusioned. A true knowing of the dreamy nature of everything leads to renunciation.
Offering needs the laying down of every concerns and endurance for everything, hence the peace in mind and everywhere will be the place for you to practice. Possession of real practice brings out difference. The three happiness and six harmonies are the basic that account for success.
Thorough disappearance of greed for the world leads the way to eternality, hence the induction.
How the gain this state? Lay down all your concerns, all worldly concerns. It is too general a conception, though, to be grasped by novice. I then simply mention these characters to everyone, ¡°selfishness, vanity, desire, greed, hatred, stupidity and conceit.¡± These are all to be laid down, ensuring you get involved in none of them. It is all right for if you yearn for the Pureland when chant, only these vices are detrimental to our Buddhists, many of them are eliminated and degraded by them. Therefore we should keep watching over as they are the pit, the hell.
The premise of practicing is concern with the mass but not the least with you yourself. Give on consideration to the role of yourself and your surroundings, never to think about them. Buddha will arrange everything for you and take care of you.
The completion of practice is reached when you are no longer unruffled by eye souring scenes or persons.
When a Buddhist in practice reaches to the state that he regards his enemies as his kin, he is almost successful, because of his renunciation.
The image of all mass is created by the heart. Others are you, you are all the others, and you are the Dharma. The time when you are aware of this, you are the great master of Dharma.
Demons are designed to torture. Without self-consciousness, the demon can do nothing about the self for there is nowhere to apply the control. With self-consciousness there will be the control, without it , there will be freedom.
¡®Effect¡± refers to the old effects but not the new ones. The new ones are caused in present. They are the impediment on your way to the eternality.
The venerable Li Bing used to say that, of all the Buddhists, ten thousand of them, only three of five can reach the eternality, which is five in ten thousand, the rest of them all fail. Why is that? Most probably he keeps creating new sins while his old sins still exist, so that however hard he chants, he is doomed to fail.
What is Bohdi? It is the heart of genuine enlightenment, or the awareness of truth, which proceeds before the determination of conversion.
An idiot may pray for bliss after doing some kind deeds, and this usually happens. Can it be so easy? Your kindness is sure to win some bliss, but it may not befall on you immediately. Why so? Because you are still heavy with sins, all the petty kindness cannot offset your lifetime felony, and consequently there is no manifestation.
A flash of kind idea is bound to have kind rewards; a flash of evil is bound to have evil retributions, only it takes opportunities. Being fully aware of this, we will know how to behave ourselves conscientiously with respect to speeches and actions, as well as the appropriate attitude when getting along with people.
Any ideas that arouse within you for the Dharma, for the mass, are goodness, any idea that intend for the self-interests is evilness.
We promote the Dharma, introducing it to mass without any purpose for our own interests except providing guidance for the mass, and achieve the infinite merits.
The most precious quality for a person to live in this world is the possession of truth.
Donation of fortune shall be thorough and fast, in the event that the disasters of the mass may present themselves at any time.
When we see this, we should be alarmed. The sins have to be removed, but how? Practicing, and hard practicing.
Whether it is fortune, body or spirit, all shall be offered. Our teaching of sutra encourages inner treasure offering, which takes the form of intelligence offering, or spirit offering, or physical offering. By doing these we mean to ward off pains when we pass away from the world. There is still time enough for people who are aware of this, the biggest task of our life. All the things we are now enjoying are illusions; the real enjoyment comes at the end of our days, when the great and genuine bliss affords us painless and serene decease.
But why is the eternality not accessible to everyone? Why everyone doesn¡¯t get the chance? Frankly speaking, the chance is available to everyone, but only because the person who practices has no clear idea about the principles, methods as well as states that get the opportunity missed.
One may chants daily Amitabha just because he is told it is a good thing. But his heart, his ideas, his concepts and actions are not agreed with Amitabha, so that although he is also chanting, he has no access to the eternality.
What is induction then? When you chant the Infinite Longevity Sutra, every idea of yours, including your concept of the universe and the world, shall be in line with the content of the Sutra. If you fail, there is no such thing as induction. So there you need to pore over the Sutra and contemplate on it. If you are able to do all that mentioned here, frankly, you are the Amitabha.
A person with morality never takes the world affairs to heart, only makes sure that all he thinks and all he does are in conformity with the morality. He never has any idea of intention on others, or picking on others¡¯ faults, or criticizing others. He only does so when asked by others to correct their mistakes, which will be alright. Otherwise his mind is always serene and even.
Our life goes by with time. Through Buddhism we gain to the Nirvana, we are the most blessed ones. However resolution is entailed for that purpose. Resolution can be put aside only when chanting of Amitabha at special hours. Otherwise, the sutra is recommended lest any confusion arouses. In a word, understanding results in success.
Practice can be the conversion of vices. Real confession takes the bettering of old habits.
Never mention your merits by how many sutras you have read, how many confessions you have made or how many times of chanting you have done. Things are just not like this. the point is whether your troubles are lessened and your intelligence are increased by chanting.
From the history of three thousand years ago we can see plainly the nature of fighting and struggling. If you want to achieve anything in the age where we are now, we have to follow Buddha¡¯s instructions of no dispute by non-battle against battles, non-antagonism against antagonism, non-contradiction against contradiction, non-preference against preference.
Being greedy towards desires and affairs which make you insatiable, your recourse to the Pureland is hardly achievable by these obstructs. The eternality and induction only open to the least interesting heart for worldly affairs. From this point of view, Dharma lies only in one word ¡°renunciation¡±. Renounce one inch, the achievement will gain one inch. The more the renunciation, the higher the achievement will be. Excess of greedy and desire only lead to the three realms of infamy that allows no escape.
Less intention of wickedness brings out more resource of intelligence, which is represented by your appearance represents.
The more the troubles are rid of, the more wisdom will manifest from the virtuous appearance.
A person who has genuine tendencies toward goodness and self-respect shall be instructed and assisted.
How to proceed to have the access to the realm of gods? It starts from abandoning of self-interest, of ambition, of greed, hatred, stupidity and conceit. Serve the mass whole-heartedly, come to the aid of the mass whenever you are needed and do it with the attitude that the mass is the master and I am the servant. Serve the society, the people, the mass with due respect and obedience. This will make you the incarnation of Buddha. The key point is to be able to renounce, which results in breakthrough. Unique initiative comes after that, you will serve the people of the world with sincere mercy and utmost warmth.
Lay Buddhist Xia Lianju teaches people to concentrate and to persevere. He says that enlightenment comes after three years¡¯ reticence, which is one thousand days. Working hard in the practice for one thousand days without interruption will produce incredible results.
The results maybe amazing, but honestly who can realize it? It must take a greatly blessed person of honesty, for honest persons are more liable to success. Control in speech is essential which must be careful studies in daily life. Speech exhausts too much strength, which is not allowed by Confucius and Tao.
A cultivated person talks little, even if during his intercourses with others, he talks only sense. One of the persons that I knew talks the fewest is Master Zhangjia. At the beginning of my Buddism studying, I met him every week, during the two hours¡¯ consultation with him, he talked only when I had something to ask him, and the answer was simple enough, characteristic of briefness and concision, detailed but understandable. It was really instrumental. I sat in the drawing room with him face to face for two hours, and it seemed that he talked no more than ten sentences. I really like to be close to him, there seemed to be a good magnetic field. My mind was at peace with sitting with him, otherwise he would not talk with you or ask any of your questions. He was so unlike other learned masters.
Following is about the likelihood of reaching the eternality.
The likelihood of reaching the eternality is determined by the existence of conviction. Master Oyi has told us firmly that, the reaching of eternality relies on our conviction. Conviction means no wistfulness for anything in the world. The only care in this life is the yearning for the Pureland and the closeness with Amitabha.
The general concepts of the principles of the Infinite Longevity Sutra are, ¡°guarding the sins from careless speech, no speaking ill behind others¡¯ back. Guarding the sins from improper behaviors and never loosing controls; guarding the sins from unkind ideas, keeping purity without contamination.¡± Have we accomplished these? Have these principles ever occurred to us? The primary testimony is that illusions and distractions dwindle whereas the purity and wisdom develop. At the chance matured knowledge about the time of leaving for eternality is gained, normally one to three months in advance.
Why the likelihood of reaching eternality seems slim? That is because of too less listening to sutras and thus too weak the exercise will become. For this very reason, even if the opportunity comes, your conception can¡¯t be altered. Plainly, listening to sutras is of real significance. We have to keep on reviewing repeatedly, thereby melting our life scene into the Dharma, otherwise we ourselves will be melt into illusions.
How to apply the exercise of Buddhism chanting to our daily life?
Time is the treasure of life, the lapse of time is the lapse of life. ¡°All being the reflection in six faculties, tranquility shall proceed.¡± This is the chanting that we must continue when getting along with people in our daily life. The best way is by using diamond morality, moving the tongue but making no sound, so that self-exercise can always be kept on without interfering with others. When you are about to say something criticizing others, just chanting ¡°Amitabha¡±, the idea will be repressed. When worldly ideas aroused by contact with outside world, ¡°Amtabha¡± can be used to dissipate the thoughts. It works equally well in shooting of troubles, eliminating illusions, discrimination and obstinacy, gaining achievement as well as soliciting wisdom. Therefore, if you want to enjoy the result of practice in daily life, the exercise of chanting should never be interrupted. The true purpose of chanting is to reach the Pureland, if interrupted, the Pureland shall become inaccessible. When waking up during the regular time, except stopped by sleep, the chanting shall be resumed immediately. In this way, there is nothing that is unreachable. In this way it will not take three years to be enlightened, and I think six months are already enough. It may not be a grand enlightenment, but it can be minor enlightenments from time to time. The latter can be accumulated into the former, while the former can develop into thorough enlightenment which affords you the absolute freedom of reaching the eternality.
The relationship between the mass and us:
Buddha beholds the truth and imparts to us that all mass are our parents in the past life and will be the Gods in the future. To offer and provide for the mass is to support parents and serve the Gods. If we regard the mass in this respect, the time will be shortened for you to become a Buddha. To serve the mass is also to pursue the Nirvana. This life is meant to the eternality, then why can¡¯t you reach that end by being a Buddhist? It is because you belittle the mass and hold yourself aloof, therefore miss the chance of attaining Buddhahood. We need to reflect upon this. When the enlightenment comes following the reflection, our Bodhi Realm will be truly successful, with obstructs being nowhere to be found.
Note: all mass have illusions, all mass are perpetrating sins. The reason that accounts for the failure of infinite eon in our practice is that we are always self-centered and peculiar about others. Therefore, good practice lies in the heart not in the environment; this will ensure the tranquility that leads up to the completion of wisdom. Redemption is encouraged after awareness, for looking back there is still the bank. From now on regarding everyone as nice ones, considering everything as good things, the demons and ghosts as Buddha, thus assimilate the truth in Tathagatas.
The Epilogue
There is Buddhist Chapel in Huangshi, which was established by the lay Buddhists. There the chanting service goes on for twenty four hours a day. Next to it there is a simple hall for delivering sutra where the Reverend .Jingkong¡¯s Mahayana Infinite Longevity is delivered day and night. It is really wonderful. For such a place I have searched ten years.
The Buddhist Chanting Chapel is a magnificent and solemn place. Four wooden sculptures of Great Amitabha are situated for worship in the centre of room; one hundred and eight paintings of Amitabha are hanging on the walls. With wooden floor, the whole area measures 570 square meters in total and 19meters in height. The whole building is surrounded by lush trees which attracted me the first time when I came there. There are the fellow Buddhists who are chanting together around the bell with serene expressions on their faces. They lead the chanting for people day and night like the Buddha. Just because of the assistance of lay Buddhists from across the country that the Buddhist Chapel maintains the chanting for twenty four hours day by day. Their infinite merits make they are the models among people who study Buddhism. They are the Buddhists in true practice.
At the preparation stage, the setting up of the Buddhist Chapel encountered many difficulties. Being penniless and without bank loan, the lay Buddhists established this grand Buddhist Chapel. No donation box can be found in the whole Chapel of five hundred and seventy square meters. The building up of this Chapel never solicited any money from donations; it was built up by Buddha and the gods. Through the aid of Amitabha and the efforts of fellow Buddhists, the Chapel was finally established. It has now developed into a school of Buddhist education. There are the special rooms for sutra delivery class, with twenty four hours¡¯ show elaborating the Infinite Longevity of the Great Vehicle. There are special rooms for chanting Buddha, with twenty four hours¡¯ shifts to keep on the chanting of Amitabha. Any other distractions cannot be found here, just like the Buddha of Great Observance and Delicate Act says: ¡°chanting with sincerity, without doubt, distraction, interruption or alteration.¡± Keep the long for the west paradise as the sole end. As it is described in Amtabha Sutra, ¡°men of virtue and women of grace, holding on the chanting of Buddha¡¯s names for one to seven days, without any disturbance, at the last minute of their life, if their will never fail, they shall head for the land of Amitabha paradise.¡±
The Chapel provides a perfect environment for Buddhists in true practice. Great changed took place within me after I arrived here for just one month. My chanting grows powerful; my mistakes escape my eyes less. I chant the Buddha¡¯s name for twenty four hour a day without other distractions. As a result, I feel comfortable and free practicing here. Just in a few months I became younger and prettier. I often told my fellow Buddhists: ¡°I go to college here, I have three majors, health, beauty and wisdom.¡±
Every day I loss one hundred and thirty yuan as the store rent for staying here chanting Buddha, but I consider it worthwhile, it makes me getting closer to the Pureland. I am thankful to the four Buddhism disciples as well as all the kind men and women who support our Buddhist Chapel for their infinite merits. You are truly good pupils, good assistant of Amitabha. In this school of creating Buddhists, thousands of them will grow up. You shall be thanked by the mass, and by Buddha.
I have been an ordinance full of sins, but the eleven years¡¯ practice produce great changes to my body and soul. I am really grateful to Amitabha for the aid, to the Reverend Jingkong for his painstaking advices, and to my master the Reverend Haiyuan (who chaired the Buddha¡¯s Teeth Tower of the Lingguang Temple in Beijing), he has already gained to the Pureland. My gratitude also goes to my tutor, the Reverend Yandao in Lingguang Temple, it was he who gave me the book Four Morality for the World, which thorough turned over my fate.
Six years ago Master Yandao sent a message to me that I should have my own work published. Today, before the draft of this book was barely finished, donation from my fellow Buddhist kept steaming in, which better testified what the elder master has said, ¡°induction comes after the thorough offering of fortune. When the bliss befalls, fortune will be coming in all around as if from nowhere.¡±
As I acknowledge that Karmic obstacles may make me ignorant at some points, so that inevitably this book has drawbacks for which I humbly asked for forgiveness and corrections from my kind and learned readers. However, I shall be more than grateful if this book, sent by heaven, can be of any help and use for any one of the Buddhists in practice.?
Thanks again for the supports of my fellow Buddhists.
Namoamitabha
Disciple of the Three Treasures: Lay Buddhist Miaopu
2004.4.20
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Namoamitabha