The Appearance of Perfection

Chief writer: recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe

19 July 2026

Teachings by Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju:

The appearance of perfection refers to a perfect countenance.

This is an appearance that everyone delights in seeing, and one that everyone hopes to possess themselves.

May I ask, do you possess a complete heart?

A complete heart is one of dignity, purity, equality, and awakening.

Dignity

comes from pure goodness; those with a purified and kind heart naturally manifest an appearance of dignity.

Purity

comes from diligent practice, distancing oneself from or even severing the Five Desires and Six Dusts, and practising the purification of the Six Roots, naturally manifesting the appearance where the six roots are pure.

Equality

Equality means that, in principle, there are no differences in status, quality, wealth, or hierarchy.

In practice, when teaching beings of the six paths, one can observe their potential and adapt the depth and method of teaching accordingly.

This is not inequality, but rather teaching according to potential and acting according to capacity; it is a method of "skillful means".

Awakening

A heart of awakening is essential for attaining Buddhahood.

One who is awakened acts naturally, and it is just so.

One can prevent trouble before it arises, keep a good heart, be a good person, do good deeds, and speak good words.

Do not let evil hearts, evil people, evil deeds, or evil words manifest.

Do not let your pure and kind character be polluted.

This is to give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi.

This is to plant the cause of perfection and reap the fruit of perfection.

For example, diligently practising Precepts (Discipline), Concentration and Wisdom—cultivating Precepts, maintaining concentration, and opening wisdom—plants the cause of perfection;

and extinguishing greed, anger, and delusion—stopping greed, stopping anger, and severing delusion—is the resulting fruit.

For example, extensively practising the Six Paramitas,

when the Six Paramitas are perfectly accomplished, that is the time of attaining Buddhahood.

Therefore, if one attains dignity, purity, equality, and awakening,

one possesses a complete heart and attains the appearance of perfection.

Faithfully accepting and upholding the Infinite Life Sutra (The Buddha Speaks the Mahayana, Infinite Life, Adornment, Purity, Impartiality, and Enlightenment Sutra)

is to cultivate a complete heart and attain the appearance of perfection,

and furthermore, to attain the fruit of perfection, which is to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

And one very important matter among these is to chant one Buddha's name to the end.

The power of merit, majestic power of the Buddha-name are beyond words.

To what extent the Buddha-name can be exerted

depends on the heart of the one who chants, whether they have faith in the Buddha, and the depth of that faith.

Those who have faith in the Buddha and believe deeply will certainly receive the full blessing of the Buddha's power when chanting.

For those who single-mindedly chant the name of Namo Amituofo, the Buddha will also respond;

this is the principle of beings having a connection and Buddhas and Bodhisattvas responding.

The response of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can often allow beings to increase their faith and practise with fierce diligence.

The appearance of perfection manifests in those who have truly practised, truly realised, attained Awakening, and achieved Buddhahood.

Namo Amituofo