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 persevere 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 no 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 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 bounded 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 ole 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 is 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 habit 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 Buddhism 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 practice in Bodhi Realm will be truly successful and advancing without any obstruct.
Compiled by Chen Nanzheng