Transcending the Scars of Time: A Discourse from Namo Amituofo

The Echoes of Wounds Within the Heart

New wounds are the injuries sustained in recent times, while old wounds represent the scars or traces left behind by the past. Both share the commonality of being borne by the same physical body, yet whether these injuries were caused by the true self acting as the master remains unknown to most people. By putting in the work to cultivate the heart, one finds that the heart and the spirit are constant companions. Whether it is the heart of the true self acting as the master, or the heart of karmic creditors or attached spirits taking control, the sins and injuries created are always borne by this body and the true self.

Regardless of whether they are new or old, all wounds arise because the actions of Body, Speech, and Mind have not aligned with the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, thereby creating negative causes and suffering evil consequences. Karmic conditions and the causes and effects cause beings within the six realms of rebirth to endure the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, along with various hardships and pains.

The Cycle of Suffering and the Path to Awakening

For the fourfold assembly of disciples practising at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, the primary purpose of practice is to seek the awakening of one's true nature and to follow the Buddha in saving countless suffering beings. Throughout accumulated lifetimes and in this current life, the various injuries sustained by the Body-Mind-Spirit—whether new or old—must be released. One should let go of the past and chant one Buddha's name to the end, beginning anew in the present moment.

Awakening to the State of No Wounds

Living as if performing the Buddha's work within a dream, one understands that regardless of new or old wounds, or what has transpired before, these are merely the results of past karmic conditions and the causes and effects. Now that you have encountered Amitabha, you can, through the continuous recitation of the Buddha-name 24/7 without interruption, create pure causes and obtain pure fruits. Cease the creation of new wounds and the agitation of old ones, enter a state of Body-Mind-Spirit where there are no wounds, and continue to move forward within the Pure Land. Namo Amituofo.