Rising from the Ground: The Foundations of True Practice

The Foundation of True Practice

In the journey of spiritual practice, one must always keep their feet firmly planted on the ground. We must begin by rising from the earth itself, ensuring that our foundations are solid and stable. When you can build such a firm base for your practice, you will begin to see a version of yourself that is entirely different from the one you have known before. This transformation is not a sudden miracle, but the result of consistent, diligent effort in your daily life.

The Anchors of Daily Lessons

Your daily lessons are the pillars that support your spiritual growth. When you engage in these practices, you must be fully present, allowing your heart and mind to settle into the rhythm of the Buddha-name. Consider the following essential practices:

• Prostrations: When you bow to the Buddha, ensure that your heart and ears are truly anchored in the name of Namo Amituofo. Let your body follow the rhythm of the Buddha-name, ensuring that your body, mind, and spirit remain focused and undistracted.
• Chanting Namo Amituofo: When you chant, guard against drowsiness. Every single syllable of the Buddha-name should be articulated clearly and understood with absolute clarity. You may also incorporate spiritual deliverance through visualisation during this time.
• Reciting the Sutras: As you recite the sacred texts, every word and sentence must be clear and distinct. Do not allow yourself to become drowsy or lost in idle thoughts. Simply recite the words directly and continuously; this is a profound method for cultivating meditative concentration.

Cultivating Virtue and Patience

Beyond your formal lessons, how you interact with others is a reflection of your inner cultivation. You must learn to be gentle, kind, and harmonious in your dealings with everyone you meet. By nurturing your virtue and learning to accommodate others, you are, in truth, accommodating yourself. Do not allow yourself to be drawn into arguments or outbursts of anger. If both parties can take a step back, the horizon will open up, and you will find the space to grow your compassion.

When you see work that needs to be done, do not wait for others; take the initiative yourself. This is a wonderful opportunity to cultivate merit. If you do not seize these moments, where will you find the merit and virtue necessary to resolve your conflicts with other beings? If you allow the fire of anger to burn, you risk destroying the forest of merit you have worked so hard to cultivate. A single moment of rage can incinerate your hard-earned progress and, worse, invite your karmic creditors to return and seek revenge. This is a path of great suffering.

The Inner Transformation

Why not choose, in that very moment, to practise compassion and patience? When faced with difficulty, learn to smile and let it pass. Accept the situation, endure it, and use it as a way to cultivate merit. Use these challenging circumstances to dissolve your karma and train your heart. Do not let the fire of anger stain your mind or add to your karmic burden. This is the essence of practice: it is a constant process of adjusting the heart and changing one's personality traits.

Remember, the goal is to change yourself, not to change others. You must transform your own heart, rather than demanding that the hearts of others change to suit you. Everything begins by rising from the ground, and everything manifests from the state of your own heart. Recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.

Namo Amituofo