Returning to Stillness: Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju

The Original Face of the Practitioner

My dear children, you must understand that stillness, purity, light, stability, and freedom are not qualities you need to acquire from the outside world. Rather, they are your original face—the true state of your being before it was clouded by the dust of the world. When you can realise your true nature, you will attain Buddhahood and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Obstacles of the Mind

However, many of you are currently lost in the turbulence of your own minds. You are often caught in:

• Emotional fluctuations that disturb your inner peace.
• Mental agitation that prevents you from seeing clearly.
• A sense of darkness and heaviness that weighs upon your spirit.
• Selfishness that separates you from the oneness of all beings.

These are the dust and defilements that cover your original face. When you allow these to dominate your life, you remain far from becoming an awakened being and continue to wander within the six realms of rebirth.

The Path Inward

You must realise that your true self cannot be found by searching outward. It is not something you can grasp in the material world. Instead, you must turn your attention inward. You must hold yourself to a higher standard through rigorous self-reflection. It is essential that you repent and turn towards goodness, ensuring that you do not dwell upon evil thoughts.

The Three Learnings

To return to this state of stillness, you must commit yourself to the path of the Three Learnings of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom. You must observe the Precepts and ensure you do not violate them. Through the stability of these Precepts, you will naturally attain meditative concentration. This concentration is, in itself, a manifestation of your original face. From this deep meditative concentration, wisdom will arise, for wisdom is inherent to your true self.

The depth of your progress in the Three Learnings of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom depends entirely on the sincerity of your practice. If you truly practise and verify these teachings, you will find that the Three Learnings are complete within you. That is the very moment of becoming an awakened being. Namo Amituofo.