The Dangers of Desire

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The Dangers of Desire Boiling a Frog in Warm Water The phrase “boiling a frog” illustrates the principle of gradual change leading to a qualitative transformation, explaining how one can lose vigilance and invite disaster due to adaptation and habituation … (Continue Reading)

When Heaven Created Me, I Also Created It

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When heaven gave birth to me, I also gave birth to it. 1 Not everything exists for me, nor do I exist for everything, but rather, there seems to be a “me,” and there seems to be an existence, and … (Continue Reading)

Understanding How to Amend the Law: Whether to Ordain or Not is Irrelevant

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Where there is delusion, there will be peace. Ajahn Chah When people encounter unfavorable situations, they often close themselves off. For example, when criticized, one might respond: “Don’t bother me! Why are you blaming me?” This is a reaction of … (Continue Reading)

Teachings of a Zen Master

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  The Teachings of Zen Masters § In one aspect, I appreciate the teaching methods of Zen masters because their teachings are the simplest and most direct.

Several Questions on the Path of Cultivation

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Questions on the Path of Practice 1. Making Aspirations In reality, you do not need to make aspirations. When you are in extreme pain, you have no choice but to make an aspiration: a determination to escape suffering and reach … (Continue Reading)

“Achieving Buddhahood Effortlessly with a Heart of No Desire”

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But with no mind, one can directly become a Buddha. All sentient beings originally have no mind. Within the no-mind, they mistakenly conceive of having a mind, leading to the cycle of birth and death, wandering through various existences, experiencing … (Continue Reading)

Who Can Take Away My Happiness?

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Who can take away my happiness? Life is noble or lowly, poor or rich, and whether we sink or float in the endless cycle of life and death is all arranged by our own karma. The ancients said, “Fortune and … (Continue Reading)

An Empty Chair

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An Empty Chair An empty chair is my teacher; it remains silent and still from beginning to end. It quietly waits there for someone to sit on it—whether a poor person or a rich person, a healthy person or a … (Continue Reading)

Directly Recognizing the Essence, Directly Reaching the Source

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Directly recognize the essence, directly reach the source. The issues one faces in life, when examined in essence, are fundamentally problems of the mind and the self. There are no problems between the mind and external objects because there is … (Continue Reading)

Key Points for a Day of Practice

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A Day’s Practice Essentials Before starting the day’s work in the morning, I remind myself that everything I do today with body, speech, and mind must not deviate from the right path. I aim to benefit others and continuously expand … (Continue Reading)

The First Matter of Zen Buddhism: Speaking of Practice After Enlightenment

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The first matter of Zen is to realize and then talk about practice. There are countless methods of practice, but when it comes to Zen, it does not concern reasoning or involve branches and leaves. The foremost matter in the … (Continue Reading)

The Merits of the Three Studies

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The Merits of the Three Studies In the practice of awareness, some people believe that the practice of “concentration” is unimportant.

Practical Cultivation

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Practical Cultivation It is precisely because we have been seeking fulfillment outside of ourselves that we suffer. What we need to seek is not perfection, but the ease of the mind.

There Are a Million Paths for the Body to Walk

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The body has a million paths to take. The body has a million paths to take; why must it walk the path we call “health”? In the journey of the body, some bodies head towards rheumatoid arthritis, some towards lupus, … (Continue Reading)

The Question of Life and Death

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The Question of Life and Death Based on the ancient belief that “life is better than death” and “life is good, death is bad,” people begin to cherish life and fear death, leading to an ultimate greed for life and … (Continue Reading)

Just Focus on Observing Your Breath

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Just Observe Your Breath Observing the breath is a simple yet profoundly meaningful and powerful practice that is both ordinary and miraculous.

Respect

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Respect Practitioners should start by respecting their own bodies, feelings, and thoughts, and extend that respect to everything in the world—a flower, a blade of grass, an ant, a cockroach, a homeless person, a murderer… all deserve your respect. You … (Continue Reading)

The Nature of Impermanence

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The Nature of Impermanence All beings are impermanent and must face death; all accumulations are impermanent and must come to an end; all gatherings are impermanent and must disperse; all heaps are impermanent and must collapse!Human life is impermanent. Day … (Continue Reading)

The Three Realms of Understanding, Awareness, and Enlightenment

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The Three Realms of Knowing, Feeling, and Enlightenment Do not mistake knowing for feeling, nor feeling for enlightenment. Practitioners of meditation should carefully discern the three realms of knowing, feeling, and enlightenment during their meditation practice. Knowing refers to understanding … (Continue Reading)

What is the Happiest Thing in the World?

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What is the happiest thing in the world? Many people pray for world peace, but I believe that the most important thing about praying for world peace is to start with ourselves. If each of us truly has compassion and … (Continue Reading)

The Importance of Detachment

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The Importance of Renunciation The main purpose of the Great Perfection’s common outer preliminary practices is to cultivate renunciation in us, and the practice of renunciation is extremely important. Renunciation is the key that unlocks all paths to liberation. It … (Continue Reading)

What Should Practitioners Pursue?

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What should practitioners pursue? If we are not accustomed to a pure environment and have not yet valued liberation, it indicates that we are still unable to let go of the worldly things we seek in our hearts.

What is Obsession?

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What is delusion? Delusion refers to ignorance, which can also be called unawareness. It can be understood on two levels: one is relative, referring to not understanding the truth and not wanting to understand it; the other is absolute, referring … (Continue Reading)

The Dangers of Arrogance and Methods to Counteract It

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The Dangers of Arrogance and Methods to Counteract It Arrogance is a form of pride and self-importance. It is one of the five poisons discussed in Buddhism and one of the seven deadly sins in Christianity.

Always Reflecting on the Five Aggregates

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Constantly reflecting on the five aggregates Question: If I want to learn Buddhism but cannot let go of my family, how can I release this thought about my family?

The Wonders of Life

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The Unfathomable Use of Life Practice begins with intention, and the goal is to eliminate this intention,

Top Ten Unbelievable Things

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Ten Things Not to Believe 2500 years ago, the Buddha said to the Kalama people:

Now Returning Home

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Now, returning home Question: I have been practicing in life—observing my actions and thoughts with awareness. Over the years, nothing has happened; I have never reached a state of enlightenment or joy.

Aim for the Cessation of Suffering

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Please aim for the cessation of suffering. Question: I am currently doing my best to maintain awareness every day, and I notice that my thoughts are becoming fewer. However, I must not become complacent in my awareness.

Cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to Eliminate the Fear of Birth and Death

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Cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to Cut Off the Fear of Birth and Death Question: I was diagnosed with hepatitis B when I was in college, and over the years, I have often been overshadowed by the fear of … (Continue Reading)

The Illusion of Awareness

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The Illusion of Awareness In the process of cultivating awareness, we often fall into the illusion of identifying awareness as the self and the self as awareness.

A Tree in the Forest

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A tree in the forest One A tree stands in the forest, It neither hides itself nor stands out,

I Have No Supernatural Powers

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I have no supernatural powers. I am a person without any supernatural powers because I do not need them. I do not need to know the past or the future; I do not have the ability to see fate. I … (Continue Reading)

The Matter of Pain

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The matter of suffering In Buddhism, regarding the matter of suffering, if the mind wants to ask why, be wary of it; if it tries to give you an answer, be wary of it.

Mental Maturity

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Mental Maturity 1 When you make a mistake or do something wrong in life, how do you wish others would treat you? With comfort, understanding, and tolerance, right?

Without Desire and Attachment, the Heart of Entering the Path

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No seeking, no attachment, the heart of entering the Way. Question: How can I recognize my true heart? Is it by reciting mantras, chanting scriptures, or meditating? The true heart is something everyone possesses; it is not cultivated by oneself … (Continue Reading)

Just Call You Unoccupied

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Just tell you to be untroubled. Whether it’s hitting or scolding, covering or revealing, speaking or saying, all Buddhas and ancestors, Zen masters and bodhisattvas, countless scriptures and discussions, a myriad of methods and words—what ultimately do they want us … (Continue Reading)

The Problem of Zhengding

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The Issue of Right Concentration Question: What is right concentration? Is there a distinction in right concentration? Are the Four Jhanas and Eight Concentrations considered right concentration?

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