100 practice quotes from the old monk Guang-Qin(釋廣欽) part 1
2024-07-11
Lecture by Master Guang-Qin(釋廣欽)
1. Our main practice is to concentrate on the Buddha's name and never leave the Buddha's name in our mind. All the work of the limbs is done with joy and approval, sweeping the floor is done with Amitabha, cooking is done with Amitabha, and thinking of Amitabha. Everything is done with joy and no worries, and the mind gradually enters the Sukhāvatī realm.
2. If you want to avoid worries, you should follow the opinions of the public or others in everything, and do not force your own opinions. Only your own affairs can be done according to your own wishes. This is the way to endure humiliation.
3. Those who are reborn in Sukhāvatī are those who recite the Buddha's name single-mindedly and can endure humiliation and suffering.
4. When we work, don't say that you are doing things for Buddha or Master in the temple, but you are doing it to eliminate your own karma. I have nothing here for you to learn. Just sweeping the floor and doing some austerities. But sweeping the floor is not a simple task. You must be able to sweep the floor and sweep happily. Otherwise, sweeping the floor will cause agony and the karma of ignorance will become entangled.
5. The Saha World is a place where we live as guests. Everything is illusory and unreal, like a play and a dream, and in the end, it is always empty. Don't be greedy for everything in the Saha World. Let go of all causes and conditions, and pray for rebirth in the Sukhāvatī. Amitābha is our ultimate refuge. It is our hometown.
6. Recite the Buddha's name wholeheartedly, endure hardships and practice asceticism, and do not decorate your appearance in the form of practice.
7. Although we have become monks now, we still carry the calamities of sins and karma we have created since beginningless time. Resentful enemies and creditors will come to claim debts. We must recite the Buddha's name and rely on the power of reciting the Buddha's name to break through every obstacle one by one.
8. Meditate (Dhyana) to let us not distinguish between all realms, avoid worries, and achieve a mind without worries and a mind without worries. This is mind meditation.
9. Don't be picky and disdainful of the bad things about others. It's not that others are bad, it's your own sense of ignorant karma that is causing trouble. Without wisdom, you can't overcome it.
10. What others have not practiced or cannot do, we must practice and do. Otherwise, if you criticize others, wouldn't you be in the same category as others?
11. Only seeing the faults of others and not examining our own faults is our biggest ignorance habit. Other people's right and wrong, good and evil, are other people's business, what does it have to do with you? Just examine your own faults and don't look at the faults of others.
12. Reciting the name of the Buddha is the simplest. It is not like reciting a mantra that requires a lot of thought. No matter what you do, recite the name of the Buddha silently in your heart, as if you are not reciting the name of the Buddha. Only if you do this constantly can you achieve success.
13. Only those who are stubborn and old-fashioned and unreasonable will use unreal and non-existent things to create delusions and worries. This is also a kind of delusion and ignorance.
14. If others behave well, we should not be happy or greedy. If others behave badly, we should not be disgusted. We should hold on to this heart and not be troubled. The bad things of others and other people's habits are their business. If we use them to cause worries, it is our own ignorance. In this way, no matter whether things are good or bad, if you can keep this mind still, you are enduring humiliation. If you can break through this level, you will be less troubled no matter what happens in the future. You must learn and practice these things well. In this way, your karma will naturally be eliminated and your health will naturally get better.
15. Our own light should be like the sun's light, treating all things equally and shining on everything. It also shines on good people and evil people. Good and bad are other people's business. We must always be equal and compassionate. If you fuss about with others, then you are pretty much the same as them.
16. Look at the books of the ancestors of the past. Those ancestors have not left. They are still teaching us the Dharma.
17. In the home of our natural parents, we are used to enjoying ourselves and being arrogant. We cannot tolerate any grievances. We are always stubborn about our own will, willful and self-willed, and cannot bear restraint. Now that you have become a monk, you need to replace the habitual seeds you have carried with you in the lay world and since time immemorial into Buddha seeds. Cultivating seeds is not a simple matter. We must use the power of our faith, wishes, and actions to slowly change, uproot the seeds of habit, and let the seeds of Buddha gradually sprout and grow.
18. No matter where we go, as long as we have the mentality of being willing to endure hardships, endure all humiliations, suffer all losses, and not be afraid of hardships, we will still make progress.
19. When we practice asceticism, we use various situations to temper ourselves against the troubles of ignorance, cleanse our habits, and exercise various abilities in life and work. It's not that you have to do hard work to be called ascetic. Breaking the distinction between good and bad situations is practicing asceticism. To become a monk means to endure hardship. Only in suffering can one develop wisdom.
20. People who have many delusion need to do some chores to give their thoughts some entrusted. Otherwise, delusional thoughts will fly around, and even if he is asked to recite the Buddha's name, he will not be able to continue reciting it. Only people with sharp roots of kindness can continue to recite the Buddha's name quietly while working, and they will gradually stop feeling like they are working and will naturally develop a sense of equality.
21. The temple is a dojo from all directions, and people from all directions gather together. Everyone has his own habits. We have to deal with this environment by ourselves. It is impossible for the environment to suit our wishes. Even at home, even our parents cannot completely If you follow your own will, how much more will you do it to people from all directions? Only by being able to tolerate and accept everything will your heart be at peace.
22. Those who are self-righteous and learn Buddhism from the words of Prajna without practicing it will eventually be bound by the words and cannot be liberated.
23. If you recite Buddha's name until you have only one single thought in your mind and no other distracting thoughts, you will be able to know exactly when you will be reborn.
24. Worldly people gain wealth from the merits of giving in the past life. If they enjoy blessings in this life, if there are no impermanent hardships and various setbacks to stimulate them, they will become addicted and do not know how to wake up. If they do not know how to give with blessings again, Planting the cause of human and heaven in the next life, when the blessings disappear and the lifespan is exhausted, they will fall, there will be disasters hidden in the blessings. Money is an inanimate thing, but people are the spirit of all things. Therefore, we must know how to use money and not be used by money. If you have money, you must be able to give, so that your mind will be clear and your thoughts will be clear, and your karma will be eliminated. Otherwise, if you worry about money all day long and rack up karma, you are being used by money.
25. If people insult me, bully me, or take advantage of me, if we can endure it and not care about how much advantage others take of me, or worry about it. In this way, not only will the karma in the past life be eliminated, but the present moment will be peaceful and uneventful. It will also increase our blessings and wisdom and extend our lifespan.
26. Reading scriptures is just a way to find a way to enter the Tao, while chanting Buddha's name is the practice that actually ends the cycle of life and death.
