To the fourfold assembly of disciples, I ask you today: what was your original intention when you first entered the Buddha’s gate to begin your practice? As you reflect upon your journey, what is the state of your heart now? Life is a river of constant change, and the people, events, and circumstances around you are always shifting. Has your heart changed along with these external conditions? Have your vows to realise your true nature and achieve rebirth in the of Ultimate Bliss grown weak or faded over time?
Recall the days when you first sought the path. It was often because you were suffering deeply in body and mind that you first resolved to learn the Buddha’s teachings and leave suffering behind. You felt a profound sense of gratitude for the guidance and salvation provided by the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and your true spiritual friends. Think back to those moments of intense suffering, the gratitude you felt, and the fierce, diligent practice you once maintained to overcome every obstacle. Have these experiences become mere memories? Have you forgotten the initial spark that set you on this path?
The Erosion of Faith
There is a saying among the ancestral masters: If you do not forget your original intention, you will have more than enough merit to become a Buddha. Yet, there is a sobering proverb in the Buddha’s gate that describes the common decline of a practitioner's spirit:
In the first year of learning the Buddha’s teachings, the Buddha is right before your eyes.
In the second year, the Buddha seems to be far away in the heavens.
In the third year, the Buddha becomes nothing more than drifting smoke.
Have you ever truly contemplated how difficult it is to be able to chant the holy name of ? Even while you serve the community at the bodhimanda, have you truly changed your personality traits? When your manifests, do you lose faith in the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and your true spiritual friends? If you fail to realise that it is your own unchanged personality that invites the manifestation of old illnesses and the demands of your , you may fall into the traps of resentment, retreating from the path, and even slander. To create such negative karma is a profound tragedy.
The Preciousness of This Path
The fourfold assembly must remember this clearly: Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is a place where Namo Amituofo truly abides. This is an opportunity that is difficult to encounter in millions of years. You have witnessed many events and have come to know the truth of reality. You have participated in the of countless beings, a number that is impossible to count. Consider how much of your own negative karma has been reduced, and how many of your own connected sentient beings have been helped to leave suffering behind.
These experiences should be the fuel that makes you even more fiercely diligent than you were when you first began. Yet, I must ask: are you still struggling to overcome your emotional entanglements? Are you still unable to transcend your personality, your need for face, your ego-attachment, your personal views, and your desires? Are you still too attached to the existence of things and the false illusion of this physical body?
A Choice Between Two Worlds
My children, you stand at a crossroads. Do you wish to enter the six realms of rebirth once more, or do you still desire to return to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss? If you did not have the salvation provided by Practitioner Su, would you truly be able to return to the Western Pure Land by your own power? Or are you destined to enter the cycle of rebirth again, continuing the cycle of karmic suffering? Please, act with the utmost caution and wisdom. Do not forget your original intention. Reclaim that fierce, diligent practice you once held, for that is the only way forward. Namo Amituofo.
