Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Advancing Diligently in the Bodhisattva-Practice (修菩薩行 當勤精進)
Date: November.29.2018
“In cultivating the Bodhisattva-practice, we must advance diligently in our quest for liberation. Thus, we can attain the Bodhi-fruit. If we wallow in the Five Desires, we will create negative karma and our minds will never renounce samsara. A mind that upholds Bodhi will never harbor thoughts of retreating.”
We must mindfully understand that “in cultivating the Bodhisattva-practice,” we must be diligent. Diligence is the most fundamental [practice] for spiritual practitioners. When it comes to diligence, we must remain focused without being distracted and advance forward without retreating. So, we should all accept and uphold the teachings by putting them into practice. Our goal is the “quest for liberation,” liberating [ourselves and others] from suffering, ignorance, afflictions, delusions and so on. Throughout countless years, months, lifetimes and kalpas, we all suffer from ignorance, afflictions and delusions which lead us to create karma in endless cycles. We are constantly doing this. We clearly understand suffering, and we know that it is beyond our control; based on the causes and conditions we created in the past, we clearly understand that we will have the corresponding effects and retributions. Yet we cannot liberate [ourselves] from them. We are still continuously entangled in our environment.
This is why we cannot liberate ourselves. Though we understand the Dharma, we do not put effort into being focused and diligent, so we advance and then regress, going back and forth. As we listen to the Dharma, we know to be diligent. But as we leave the environment where we listen to the Dharma, our minds become entangled with our surroundings. This is why ordinary beings find it difficult to liberate themselves. So, we must commit to being diligent in order to seek liberation.
If we can do so, “We can attain the Bodhi-fruit.” When we sow seeds that are essential and pure, we are sowing the seeds of goodness. If we then cultivate them diligently, those seeds will definitely bear fruit. Thus, we will attain the Bodhi-fruit.
“If we wallow in the Five Desires,” we are still “creating negative karma.” We already understand this, but we still create karma in this way. We still have the same ignorance, the same habitual tendencies and the same afflictions as we live our lives like this every day. If we live like this, we continue to wallow in the Five Desires. We continue to be entangled in karma, ignorance and afflictions. We continue to have negative karma, and we remain entangled by it. So, we are still in cyclic existence, “Our minds will never renounce samsara”. We have not understood that we must renounce it. We must understand suffering and become determined to leave it. Since we understand how causes and conditions are tangled together, we must quickly push them aside. We should not crave this entanglement in love, hate, passion and animosity.
Otherwise, we will always be entangled. We should know, before we even become entangled in them, that we must not draw near to them. If we are entangled in them, we must consider how to repay them. People say, [we meet] because there is still grace or resentment between each other. Some of us come to repay the grace of others, so they are very joyful to be with those people. “I must repay your grace. No matter how you treat me, I will still be nice to you and repay this grace!” In some cases, when we are among some people, [we think,] “Why is it that anything you say just displeases me when I hear it?” This is resentment. If we already know that there is resentment, we must seek to resolve it by correcting ourselves. From what we heard, be it resentment or things that displease us, we must learn to resolve them through kind understanding and forgiveness.
Like this, when we face each other, we can still ensure joyful interactions. In this way, we can temporarily hold back. As for those who resent us, we must quickly repay them with grace. We must remember to personally resolve the bonds of resentment and animosity. If we treat resentment by seeking to get even or seeking revenge, the bonds [of resentment] will become deeper. If others have shown us grace, we must quickly repay them. After repaying them, we will not have affections that will entangle us in future lifetimes. What remains will be pure, awakened love. This is what it means to form good affinities. We must resolve all negative affinities; [As for] good affinities, we must transform attachments and defilements into affinities with awakened love.
So, being among sentient beings, we must not wallow in the Five Desires. In the past, when we interacted with people, we got along very well because we have formed good affinities with them. [Having formed] those good affinities, we must not become entangled in deluded love, instead we must transform it into awakened love. we must not become entangled in deluded love instead we must transform it into awakened love. If we have resentment, we must change our perspectives and our mindset to truly improve ourselves. Through kind understanding and forgiveness, we can transform evil into virtue. There is a saying, “repay resentment with virtue”. In doing so, we form good affinities for future lifetimes, so we will not be entangled by negative karma again. If we can do this, our bodies and minds can be free and at ease. We will be able to come and go freely. There will be no affection or resentment to entangle us. In this way, we can easily be liberated from the cyclic existence of entangling karmic forces.
What we have instead is the power of vows [on which we journey] to return to the world, rather than the pull of karmic forces. Circumstantial and direct retributions are beyond our control. We do not know where we will be born, but we should earnestly seize the direction of our future. So, we must remember not to crave or be attached to the Five Desires which lead us to create more negative karma. If we still continue like this, we will definitely remain in cyclic existence without any control. In this [process of] cyclic existence, we are not vigilant at all. [Thus,] we are still stuck in cyclic existence. We are said to “never renounce samara”.
Because we are not vigilant, we are still transmigrating through cyclic existence. It is very important for us to return to the original source, to our nature of True Suchness. We must return to it so that we will not follow cyclic existence and our karmic forces [that make us] transmigrate in the Five Realms without any control of our own. Now we have listened to the Dharma, so we must be very mindful and constantly remind ourselves to be vigilant. We should not remain in the evil realms and because entangled in negative karma. We should not remain in cyclic existence, [transmigrating] beyond our control. We must not repeatedly come and go in cyclic existence, so we must be earnestly vigilant.
So, regarding “a mind that upholds Bodhi,” we should clearly understand that this should be out direction. We must persist in heading toward the Bodhi-path and persevere in this aspiration. With such an aspiration, we “will never harbor thoughts of retreating”. We must constantly maintain this in every thought. We cannot have any thoughts of retreating. So, we must truly be mindful.
We should “often practice skillful contemplation” in our practice of Right Dharma. We must often contemplate how to head to the right direction. We must put the teachings into practice and walk the path of Right Dharma to “correct” our minds in this way. Our minds must not deviate, and they must be upright. This means that if our actions are upright, our minds will be upright. So, we should always remember this and never misunderstand it. As we determine our mindset, we must not let our minds deviate or go astray. So, we must be very mindful.
The previous sutra passage says, “These Bodhisattvas all abide below this Saha World, in the empty space of this realm. They read, recite and keenly comprehend all sutras, contemplating, analyzing and correctly remembering them.”
This is a passage we talked about previously. These Bodhisattvas were introduced by Sakyamuni Buddha. He introduced many of these Bodhisattvas who had arrived at the Dharma-assembly. Speaking about the causes and conditions of these Bodhisattvas, where did they come from? He wanted to tell them, “These Bodhisattvas all abided below this Saha World, in the empty space of this realm.” They abided in the empty space below this Saha World. “They read, recite and keenly comprehend all sutras, contemplating, analyzing and correctly remembering them.” These Bodhisattvas are all very diligent. [Because of] their diligence, they have the right thinking and correctly remember [the sutras] in their minds. Speaking of their minds, they do not let any minute or second pass in vain. They constantly “contemplate right conduct,” every minute and every second. Their physical conduct and their minds always remember the right direction without deviation. These Bodhisattvas read and recite the sutra with right mindfulness.
They study every sutra without missing any of the Great Vehicle sutras. This is how they read and recite them. “They read, recite and keenly comprehend, contemplating, analyzing…”. Their minds are correct without any deviation. These Bodhisattvas abide “below this Saha World, in the empty space of this realm”. This means that these Bodhisattvas abide neither in emptiness nor existence; they abide in the Middle Way. They do not crave heavenly pleasures, nor do they fear cyclic existence. This is because their minds clearly understand what they should do, which is to learn from Sakyamuni Buddha. For lifetime after lifetime, His only wish is to go among people and transform sentient begins time and again. This is how they repeatedly return, with right mindfulness and right contemplation, without any deviation in their minds as they go among people. These Bodhisattvas [journey on] their vows to repeatedly return without abiding at any place. They practice the Middle Way.
So, the next sutra passage continues with, “Ajita, these good men take no joy in speaking among the multitudes. They always take joy in tranquil places, where they practice earnestly and advance diligently without ever resting.”
These Bodhisattvas are very diligent. As they repeatedly return, they abide in the Middle Way without attachment to emptiness nor existence. Abiding in the Middle Way, they repeatedly return to the world. “Ajita” refers to Maitreya Bodhisattva. “These good men” refer to these Bodhisattvas who are all like this. “[They] take no joy in “speaking among the multitudes”. They do not favor speaking at places with mass assemblies. They keep their feet firmly on the ground and repeatedly return to go among people. This is how these Bodhisattvas practice. So, these Bodhisattvas are referred to as. “Bodhisattvas [who] emerged from the ground. They emerged from the ground, from the empty space below this realm. They did not descend from the sky. This is where they [emerged]. This is because these Bodhisattvas “abide in the empty space of this realm”. They abide below the world. This means these Bodhisattvas did not abide here, but they abided in the Middle Way without bias toward emptiness or existence.
Ajita, these good men take no joy in speaking among the multitudes: The Buddha answered Maitreya’s question. “These good men” refers to the Bodhisattvas who emerged from the ground. They take no joy in being in places with many people, speaking empty words without benefit. So, they do not take joy in this.
So, “They take no joy in being in places with many people”. They do not love to just talk among many people. Since being among people is very complicated, if they simply teach the Dharma without putting it into practice, this is “empty words without benefit”. When it is time to practice, they will put [the Dharma] into practice. They do not just say, “Come, come. I will teach these to you”. If we only call people to come and listen, but we do not lead them to practice, this is also not right! We must not merely speak empty words, “empty words without benefit”. If we gather people just to talk, if we are merely talking without walking on the path, without practicing but just talking about it, this is of no benefit.
So, Bodhisattvas “take no joy in being, in places with many people”. They do not simply stay with a group of people and talk to them there. Simply talking is useless. If a group people stands there with nothing to do, this is useless as well. They do not want to be like this. They take no joy in gathering the assembly and just speaking empty words there. This creates no benefit; it is useless.
“So, they do not take joy in this”. This is because just talking among people is not the practice they want to engage in. When going among people, they want to eliminate sentient beings’ suffering. They do not want to be there leisurely talking. They must devote themselves to go among people, give and relieve sentient beings from suffering. They must seize time and not let any minute or second pass in vain. This is what Bodhisattvas must progress in. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. So, “All phenomena have only illusory names and no true substance or nature”.
All phenomena have only illusory names and no true substance or nature. They value what they personally attain, not other people’s recognition. So, they take no joy in being among the multitudes. They value the attainments of the heart, not eloquence. So they do not take joy in talking much.
We often say that the Dharma has no substance or appearance. True principles are spiritual ideals. If we are attached [to appearances], [we say], “I understand many things. When I speak about them to you, you must listen”. If we do not practice after listening to them, then we are truly wasting our time. We have only listened joyfully to them without comprehending or experiencing the feeling. What we listen to joyfully is easily forgotten. It is like the water flowing through the pipe. I often use this as an analogy. For instance, when water flows across the land, if the water is not retained [by the ground], it does not benefit the soil. This is like what is happening presently (in 2017). Have the flood waters receded in Texas? Houston has been flooded with water. At this time, the [impacted areas] are expanding. Throughout the United States, we have seen that wherever there are Tzu Chi volunteers, they are all mobilizing. Unfortunately, our numbers are small. Still, despite the large geographical distances, all of us are very concerned.
Dallas, Texas, is more than 500 kilometers from Houston. Over 500 kilometers away, they too had to be on alert. When the people in Houston were warned about [Hurricane Harvey], [some] began to heighten their vigilance and quickly evacuated. There are already thousands of people who have evacuated to Dallas, more than 500 kilometers away. As they got there, our volunteer Mr. Ling in Dallas had arranged for our branch office to serve as a shelter. Look at Houston this time. There were thousands of people who were prepared. They had made early preparations by packing up their valuables. So, once they were safe in other places, they would not worry day and night; [their belongings] would not get soaked. Things are extraneous; [most important is that] the people are safe. As we listen to the Dharma, we must likewise have faith. According to the Dharma being taught, how can we be self-disciplined and reverent? We must quickly show discipline and reverence. How have all sentient beings created this collective karma? How have we created the collective karma which affects the entire climate pattern? How have things developed to create such an abnormal environment? Why is this?
For example, regarding Texas they say that for more than 50 years, they had never experienced such a great disaster. We must not say, “We have no disasters here”. There are principles [by which] this has happened before. Though principles have no visible appearances, they still exist. These principles are a form of strength. If we believe in them and practice according to them, [we find] the strength to be saved. People of the past said, “Those who follow natural principles prosper”. This is [speaking of] the principles. They is why we must not go against them. We must believe in and follow the principles, faithfully accepting and practicing them. If we are among an assembly, if we only want be famous, [we can say] “I understand many things, so I will teach you. But this is only empty talk that does not benefit people. We must truly listen to and transmit the Dharma before we can teach the Dharma. Only then can we truly make use of the True Dharma.
What does it mean to make use of it? We practice it, and we gain realizations. Through our practice, we gain understanding and experience. We can then pass it on to others and teach it to them. So, such people are called those who listen to the Dharma, transmit the Dharma and teach the Dharma. We are not just learning it for the sake of teaching among people, it is not like that. We must put it into practice. If we do not put it into practice, it is only “empty talk which is of no benefit”. These Bodhisattvas put it into practice, so they take no joy in teaching without practice. They take no joy in teaching without practicing. They take no joy in teaching without practicing. So, “They take no joy in being among the multitudes. They do not want to be among many people. They “value what they personally attain”, because “all phenomena have only illusory names”. These teachings are all one; we can use a single name to teach this Dharma.
In fact, we continuously talk about this. Principles have no substance or appearance. To teach a principle, we use an object to explain it. “As we analyze this thing, we [discover] that these are its biological and physical principle.” This is how we explain it. In fact, principles explain its development. The development has a visible appearance, but we cannot see the principles.
So, “All phenomena have only illusory names. As its appearance develops, we can see it. But what king of force is there that drives its constant growth? We cannot see this force. So, we can feel it, but we cannot see it. This is what the principles are like. All phenomena [demonstrate] all principles, which can only be explained through various illusory names and appearances. If words are true, then what more us there to say? As I am speaking now, many people want to listen, but they may not understand [my words]. So we need people to translate. Is it enough just to translate [the words] once? It is enough. Different countries need different translations. We may need multiple translations. Sometimes, when people come [to visit], one phrase requires four to five people to translate. This also happens sometimes. So, if words are true, when I speak and people listen, they can take it to heart. Why do they have to be translated from one language to another? Whose voice and which language is true? Even when I speak, I utter the words, then instantaneously, that sound is gone as successive words continue to follow. As the words follow each other, which phrase remains? There is no phrase that remains.
So, [words] are illusory names and appearances. Those who understand Taiwanese can understand [the words] and take them to heart. In their minds, they keep them in their memory and apply them in their daily living. That is what makes them true. After listening, we keep [the teachings in our minds. After practicing them ourselves, with our understanding and others’ understanding, we can get along with each other. Only this is real. Speaking of the resulting “consciousness,” as I have been telling everyone recently, only when [these teachings] enter our “mind-consciousness” do they become true. This is because “the only thing we take with us when we die is karma”. This seeds of karma are [in] our consciousness. Our positive and negative actions are stored are stored within these karmic seeds.
So, we do not just learn for the sake of teaching; that would be useless, illusory and false. That is not it. We use the illusory to teach the true. We use illusory appearance to teach the True Dharma. In the hope that everyone can listen to it and take it to heart. So, according to its nature, to the principles, nothing has a true substance. From what we listen to, “We value what we personally attain, meaning we listen and engrave it in our hearts. What is in our hearts is what we attain.
In our memory, we keep what we experience when we put the teachings into practice. This experience is what we attain ourselves. When we experience something and others also experience it, the result that we achieve together is what we attain. So, “They do not value other people’s recognition”. We must not learn just to teach to others for everyone to see how knowledgeable we are. This is not the case. It is not our goal to be among people to show off how much we have listened, how much we understand, how eloguent we are or how much we can say. This is not [our goal]. “So, [we] take no joy in being among the multitudes. [We should] value the attainments of the heart.” The most precious thing is this Dharma. Whether we have attained it and taken it to heart is the most important thing.
So, “[They do not value] eloquence “. [We must not] waste time on [thinking of eloquent phrases]; to be eloquent in speech and mannerisms is not what we should seek! Such people may be very eloquent, but they may not be sincere. They do not want to devote themselves to others or be willing to put [the teachings] into practice. They only want to show off their eloquence. They have clever words and mannerisms but they lack sincerity and true diligence. They only want to show off their talents. This is called “eloquence”. People with great eloquence always want to show off. They will always show off, but their hearts are not honest. They speak differently depending on who they are speaking to. People like this are not truly sincere. So, “[Bodhisattvas do not value] eloquence”. The most important thing is. Our hearts must truly receive the Dharma. We need not place value on the greatness of our eloquence. Eloquence in debate and superficial talents are not important. Those who know how to express [the teachings] but do not understand how to apply them with true sincerity and virtue to guide people are just showing off their talents. These are not talents of true caliber.
In summary, Bodhisattvas must not be like this. “So, they do not take joy in talking much.” Of there are people like this, it will be of no use to talk much with them. In addition, these Bodhisattvas do not want to have such an appearance. So, “they take no joy in being among the multitudes”. They want to carry on steadfastly, doing what they should do and saying the things they should speak about. As we listen to the Dharma, we gain realizations. So, we must pass them down and speak the truth. We must not use false speech or tell lies. We must speak true words. This is why we must be very careful and remind ourselves to be vigilant. We should not just teach with our mouths. We must practice what we preach and cultivate this kind of virtue.
The Bodhisattvas who came to Vulture Peak had all cultivated this virtue. They listened to the Dharma and transmitted it. They quietly practiced it and guided people to practice by being among them. This is what these Bodhisattvas were like. So, “They always take joy in tranquil places, where they practice earnestly and advance diligently without ever resting.
They always take joy in tranquil places, where they practice earnestly and advance diligently without ever resting: They only ever take joy in tranquil, silent and peaceful places where they earnestly practice and advance diligently upon the noble path. They advance diligently day and night, never stopping for even a moment’s rest.
For countless kalpas, a very long time, they have always done this. Since the era of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha all the way to this moment, they have done this for many lifetimes. They have continuously accompanied and transformed each other. These Bodhisattvas quietly and continuously practice like this. Throughout many lifetimes, over this long time, they have never rested. “They only take joy in tranquil, silent and peaceful places”. They quietly and continuously practice like this. “They earnestly practice and advance diligently upon the noble path”. They earnestly practice and advance diligently. They practice according to the teachings and walk on the right path. “They advance diligently day and night, never stopping for even a moment’s rest”. These are the virtues of these Bodhisattvas.
“In peace and silence, they dwell in secluded places to avoid troubles. They single-mindedly cultivate and uphold virtuous practices, thus they always take joy in tranquil places”.
If they are in a chaotic world, they quietly go among people. This is how they guide people. They take no pleasure in going outside because [they are in] a chaotic world. Wise people must protect themselves. They must understand how to devote themselves among people and still remain safe. To not be defiled or harmed by others, these wise people must earnestly protect themselves, and they must be vigilant of themselves. Through this spiritual practice, they know to avoid interpersonal conflicts. They will never draw near to what is not right. They will never enter or become mixed up in places where they should not speak.
So, this is how they avoid troubles. So, “They single-mindedly cultivate and uphold virtuous practices, thus they always take joy in tranquil places.” We single-mindedly give of ourselves for the sake of sentient beings in suffering. No matter what happens in this organization, we just do [what is right]. We often hear [people say], “Since there are many people, things get complicated, so I will avoid them”. This is not right. [We must not] avoid sentient beings but should abide peacefully among them. How do we avoid interpersonal conflicts? Instead of avoiding people, we should avoid interpersonal conflict. By knowing how to guide people without abandoning them or resting, though we are in the midst of complications and interpersonal conflicts, we avoid these conflicts and earnestly uphold our aspiration. “We single-mindedly cultivate and uphold virtuous practices”. We must do what we should do and advance forward. “Thus, they always take joy in tranquil places”. They “always take joy” in tranquil places. They guide people without loud noises. This is how they earnestly and steadily engage in spiritual practice. This is just like one of our volunteers. I saw him and said, “I have not seen you for a long time. Yes, I am always working. What are you doing? Now, I help bathe people who are in a vegetative state.” “That is wonderful! In this way, I spend less time among people. Why is that?” “Ah! There are so many conflicts among people” Is this correct? It is great for him to help shower people who are in a vegetative state, and he is willing to give of himself. But avoiding people [prevents] him from doing many things that he needs to quickly do. He mentioned interpersonal conflicts; many conflicts are what cause suffering for sentient beings! If we can use our physical conduct to guide them out of the interpersonal conflicts and bring peace to their minds, then this world can also find peace. Speaking of good deeds, we must do things in all kinds of surroundings. As long as it is good, we must do it.
Still, we must adjust our minds properly. We must not, because of one person, embroil an entire group in conflict. In this case, innocent people are wronged. This is not right. People in the past had a saying, “With a single bamboo pole, you can hit all passengers on a boat”. [Sweeping generalization] is not right. So, we must correct ourselves. Otherwise, we will go astray. A slight deviation takes us far off course.
Therefore, we must always be joyful. To “always be joyful” means to be very happy. To be in tranquil places is to avoid interpersonal conflicts while we still remain among people.
It is said that true knowledge arises out of tranquility. Delusion arises out of worldly affairs. If we desire to cultivate right wisdom, we need to be in a tranquil place.
So, “It is said that true knowledge arises out of tranquility”. Only if we truly and thoroughly understand true knowledge can we allow our hearts to become tranquil. If we only understand this superficially, then there will be many interpersonal conflicts. “This or this person did this”. Having said this, the whole group comes into conflict. This is not right. This is not thoroughly understanding true knowledge. We did not thoroughly understand it, so we only understood it superficially. The water is originally still, but if even a grain of sand [falls in], the water will stir. Does the water move by itself or does the sand move [the water]? After this grain of sand [falls], it will sink. It is not the whole pool nor the water that moves, it is this grain of sand that moves.
In short, after the water moves, it will [come to rest]. The grain of sand will sink to the bottom. In fact, there is nothing to this. People with true knowledge will think that this [issue is] nothing. So, “True knowledge arises out of tranquility”. No matter how many interpersonal conflicts there are in the world, if our mind thoroughly understands this principle, the principle of “true knowledge,” our mind will naturally not be affected. So, “Delusion arises out of worldly affairs”. This delusion arises because we have many things [in mind]. Our true knowledge is not thorough enough, and our goal and essence has not entered our hearts. So, our hearts are affected by worldly matters. Thus, we must make corrections. We must quickly correct our mindset with wisdom. How do we use our wisdom, “the wisdom of all Dharma”? How do we clearly differentiate people, matters and things in the world? With “all-accomplishing wisdom,” we must discern things clearly. We must exercise “profound discerning wisdom,” so that we can employ “the wisdom of all paths.” Only then can we walk on this path. As we walk on this path, we can comprehend and attain “all-encompassing wisdom.” This is what we are seeking.
So, we should not be affected by superficial “knowledge” and superficial “wisdom.” Our knowledge must be profound and our wisdom must be broad. Only then can we understand the Buddha-Dharma clearly and have accomplishments in our spiritual practice. So, we must be in a tranquil place in our hearts in order to calm our minds. Thus, “The key to cultivating the path is to not allow ourselves to grow indolent.”
The key to cultivating the path is to not allow ourselves to grow indolent. Thus, it says they practice earnestly and advance diligently. They are so earnest and diligent that they neglect sleep and forget to eat, without knowing their own exhaustion. So, it says “without ever resting.”
The key to cultivating the path is to not allow ourselves to grow indolent again. We must not allow ourselves to do that. We must quickly seize the time. Being in interpersonal conflicts and giving rise to discursive thoughts is not worth it. In cultivating the path, the key is to not allow ourselves to grow indolent. We should not remain there and waste our time. The time we have is very precious. We must not let time pass in vain. We must quickly “practice earnestly and advance diligently.” “They are so earnest and diligent that they neglect sleep and forget to eat.” We can give up sleep and food, but we cannot give up on being diligent.
Of course we must keep our bodies healthy to engage in spiritual practice. “They neglect sleep and forget to eat, without knowing their own exhaustion.” To those diligent people, eating is not very important. The key thing for us to do is to seize time, because time slips by in a flash. Once it passes, it will never return. So, we must seize our time and always be mindful in the present moment.
Everyone, time truly passes by very quickly. The Buddha constantly mentioned that this is a turbid world. It continuously appears before us. There are severe turbidities and abnormal weather patterns. People have many afflictions in this world. Seeing such a scene is something very rare. We have now verified the impermanence of life that the Buddha spoke about. There is suffering, emptiness and no self. This is truly how it is.
Look at the disaster area in Texa. Over such a large area, we could see nothing but water. We did not see anything else. We saw panicked people suffering, [struggling] in the flood waters. Where is their joy? Where is their fame? Where is their power? Now, however powerful they may have been, they cannot help themselves anymore.
Truly, everything is illusory, like a dream, an illusion, a bubble or a shadow. How can we quickly eliminate our karma? To eliminate karma, we must repent for what we did wrong in the past. We must quickly correct our faults. If our mindset was not right in the past, we must now quickly change our way of life from the bottom of our hearts. We must use our reverent hearts to pray and wish blessings upon the world in the hope that everyone can be safe.
Regardless of religion, when we see such calamities occur, we must all be very vigilant. We must be truly reverent and keep the precepts. Being “vigilant and reverent” means being vigilant in our actions. Speaking of upholding a vegetarian [diet], we need discipline and we must exercise love. How do we help? We must not harm living beings. This is the goal of adopting a vegetarian diet.
Therefore, we must all quickly correct our mindset. So, those with blessings must quickly exercise them and people in peaceful places must quickly give rise to reverence. We must truly put effort into forming aspirations and being self-disciplined and reverent. As we earnestly and reverently pray, we must not underestimate [the importance of] a mindset of wishing others blessings.
Everyone, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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