If your thoughts on the Tao are as strong as your thoughts on desire, then you have already become a Buddha a long time ago

Taught by Venerable Master Xuyun

It is only because you and I have been obsessed with greed and attachment since time immemorial, wandering in the cycle of life and death, and unable to let go of the eighty-four thousand worldly desires and various habits and faults, that we cannot attain enlightenment, unlike the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who are always aware and not confused.

Therefore, the Master Yunqi Zhuhong said: "It is easy to be attached to the defiled conditions, but it is difficult to achieve the Tao. If you do not understand the present, all kinds of differences will arise from the myriad conditions. You only see the vast wind of the state, withering the forest of merit; the blazing fire of the heart, burning the seeds of Bodhi.

If your thoughts on the Tao are as strong as your thoughts on desire, then you have already become a Buddha a long time ago. If you can be willing to work for sentient beings as hard as you work for yourself, then things will be done well.

If you do not see the faults of others and your own rightness, you will naturally respect others. The Dharma will appear at all times, and all the troubles will be freed." These dozen sentences are so clear and true!

The word "tainted" means polluted. The realm of ordinary people is always greedy for wealth, sex, fame and fortune, angry and fighting, and regards the word "morality" as a stumbling block. All day long, they are happy, angry, sad, and happy, greedy for wealth and splendor, and all kinds of worldly affairs are endless, and there is no thought of Tao at all. Therefore, the forest of merit is withered and the Bodhi seeds are burned.

If you look at worldly affairs lightly, and regard all relatives, friends, and enemies as equals. Do not kill, steal, commit adultery, lie, or drink alcohol, and regard all living beings as equals. Treat others' hunger as if they were your own, and treat others' drowning as if they were your own. If you always cultivate the Bodhi mind, you will be able to correspond with the Tao and become a Buddha right away.

Therefore, it is said: "If your thoughts on the Tao are as strong as your thoughts on desire, then you have already become a Buddha a long time ago."

道念若同情念，則成佛已多時

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