Recorded and transcribed by ’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.
On the thirty-first of March, 2024, during the midday offering, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju provided the following guidance regarding the nature of pursuit and being pursued.
The Endless Cycle of Pursuit
In this world, there is a constant dynamic of chasing and being chased. The chaser is impermanence itself, while the one being chased is every being trapped within the six realms of rebirth. In another sense, the chaser is our , and the one being chased is the debtor. This relationship of pursuer and pursued creates a state of active versus passive existence. If you are an ordinary person, you often find yourself in the position of the one being chased. Because you do not yet understand the true reality of your situation, you have no way to resist. You do not know how to change your direction, nor do you know how to effectively defend yourself. Consequently, you remain trapped as the one being pursued, unable to alter your current circumstances, and you continue to drift aimlessly within the vast ocean of the cycle of rebirth.
Recognising the Reality of Samsara
When you enter into the path of practice, you begin to truly recognise the facts of existence. You start to understand the cold, unyielding nature of impermanence, as well as the inevitable reality of birth, aging, sickness, and death. You come to realise that all beings within the six realms of rebirth are powerless to escape their fate. They are tossed about endlessly, unable to take charge of their own lives, acting like puppets controlled by the strings of impermanence. Furthermore, your karmic creditors are those to whom you have caused harm in the past, creating negative causes. You have become the debtor, and at any moment, these creditors may find you. When this manifests, you are forced to endure the suffering that follows.
The Path to Resolution and Liberation
Practice begins when you understand these truths. You must strive with diligent practice to change your personality traits. You must face, overcome, and break through the arrival of impermanence, the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and the demands of your karmic creditors. You should remain humble and modest, even to the point of remaining anonymous, so as not to disturb your karmic creditors. By adopting a positive and proactive attitude in your diligent practice, you can transform impurity into purity. By acknowledging your past mistakes and changing your personality, you can effectively stop the manifestation of karma and the interference of karmic creditors.
When you encounter the arrival of karmic creditors and the manifestation of karma, you must face them with a heart of shame and a sincere desire to repent of sins. At the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre, you can receive the assistance of the Buddha and Practitioner Su to resolve these karmic conflicts. Through this process, your karmic creditors may also have the opportunity to receive , allowing them to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss or to ascend to the realms of humans and gods.
The Synergy of and
Within the Pure Land school, we rely on the Two-Power Gate. You must first initiate your own self-power; only then can the Buddha’s be fully received. You must chant Namo Amituofo with diligent practice, allowing the Buddha’s power to permeate your life. It is only through this combination—your own efforts supported by the Buddha’s grace—that you will have the opportunity to transform your karma and remove the obstacles that stand in your way. Namo Amituofo.
