Please self-examine whether you are truly practicing? Millions of people are learning Buddhism, Taoism, and practicing, so why is there still life and death? Aside from not yet realizing one’s true nature, most are merely engaging in superficial practices (surface-level … (Continue Reading)
Reflecting on Inner Reflection and Spiritual Elevation As the saying goes: “Heaven’s calamity can still be avoided, but self-inflicted calamity cannot be survived.” It is important to understand that the main reason humanity often overlooks its own faults lies in … (Continue Reading)
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)
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)
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.
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)
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? 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 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 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)
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 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 In the practice of awareness, some people believe that the practice of “concentration” is unimportant.
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.
The Modern Perspective on Cultivation 1. Lack of Clarity in Understanding Many people mistakenly believe that by learning Buddhist teachings and the classic writings of great masters, they can attain enlightenment and Buddhahood solely through studying scriptures and cultivating their … (Continue Reading)
Chanting Sutras and Meditation Knowledge comes from books, while wisdom arises from deep contemplation and tranquility. Chanting sutras is a method to inspire wisdom, to transform habitual tendencies and innate nature; only the wisdom of the mind can be subdued.
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 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)
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 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)
How to Cultivate Yourself Discreetly *Cultivating Yourself Discreetly: Being low-key is a strategy that allows for both offense and defense in the realms of government, business, and political or military struggles. It may seem plain, but it is actually a … (Continue Reading)
The Path of Cultivation and Enlightenment of Body, Mind, and Spirit It is said that cultivation and enlightenment are neither too difficult nor too easy; it entirely depends on the individual’s level of understanding and the degree of attachment to … (Continue Reading)
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? 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 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? 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 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 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.
Here and Now
Please carry the Four Noble Truths on your journey.
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?
As long as it is “true cultivation,” one can attain enlightenment regardless of the religion they believe in. Currently, there are said to be 84,000 religious paths and 3,600 doors in the world, but those numbers are merely adjectives. In … (Continue Reading)
True practitioners do not have these problems. The main purpose of practice is to change one’s past erroneous concepts and behaviors, leading towards a mindset and actions aligned with the Middle Way. This allows one to cultivate a “heart of … (Continue Reading)
The Unfathomable Use of Life Practice begins with intention, and the goal is to eliminate this intention,
One day while watching television, a lesson was being taught on how to pronounce the beautiful tones of Taiwanese poetry. Mr. Ma Rulong recited a passage that left me in awe; this piece is the “Ode to Destiny” written by … (Continue Reading)
Ten Things Not to Believe 2500 years ago, the Buddha said to the Kalama people:
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.
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 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 In the process of cultivating awareness, we often fall into the illusion of identifying awareness as the self and the self as awareness.