Practice / Sādhanā
The duty of a Buddhist
Lecture by Venerable Master Hsuan-Hua
Why did the Dharma decline, because we don't practice, not really strictly observing the precepts, failure to achieve physical and mental purity genuinely.
The Dharma is a formless, shapeless, and incorporeal thing. Only because of human behavior that it can express its goodness, evil, beauty and ugliness. When sentient beings' hearts and deeds are towards goodness, and everyone abides by the five precepts and ten virtues, the world presents a peaceful atmosphere, and this is the spirit of the True-Dharma.
宣化上人：佛教徒的本份
https://www.fodizi.tw/qt/xuanhuashangren/2276.html
The perception that "the quality of monks in the Dharma-ending Age is too low" is a prophetic phenomenon within Buddhist doctrine and historical perspective, but it also has different interpretations. The following analysis is based on Buddhist viewpoints:
Buddhism believes that the replacement for emotions is aspiration. Aspiration is like setting a goal. "Emotions" are the main triggers for action; similarly, "setting goals" is also a trigger for action. Different emotions determine different rebirth destinations; similarly, different aspirations (such as the aspiration to go to the realm of...
The Five Contemplations before Eating
Cultivation must be contrary to secular trends. People in the world think that if I keep working hard for myself, I will get something. But to practice Taoism, the principle is just the opposite. When you learn to do things for others, and you don't want anything for yourself, at this time, you have achieved Taoism.
