Becoming One with the Buddha: Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju

The Call to Faith and Vows

To the assembly, I ask you: do you truly believe in the Buddha? If the world were to be engulfed in a great fire, would you be able to rely on the majestic power of the Buddha to transcend it? Do you truly wish to be one with the Buddha? Do you desire to fulfil the Forty-eight Great Vows and attain the Buddha's path? Do you wish to walk with the Buddha, acting as the Buddha does to save countless suffering beings?

If you can accept and uphold the Infinite Life Sutra and the Forty-eight Great Vows of Namo Amituofo, you will have the opportunity to reach Awakening and realise one's true nature and attain Buddhahood. Awakening is the ultimate purpose of your practice. However, the obstacles that prevent this Awakening must be faced and overcome one by one during your daily practice. Only then will you have the possibility of achieving this state.

The Internal Work of the Wise

A wise person works from within the heart. They strive to subdue the wandering mind and bring an end to false thoughts. This is a rigorous process that requires you to:

• Remove greed and attachment to worldly things.
• Sever the roots of your afflictions.
• Cultivate deep compassion for all sentient beings.
• Develop true Wisdom.
• Practice tolerance and patience in all circumstances.
• Expand your mind-capacity to embrace the world.
• Change personality traits.
• Purify your Body-Mind-Spirit so that it remains untainted.

These are the essential courses of study for every practitioner. Afflictions are a form of pollution. The more you hold onto them, the darker and more turbid your heart becomes. Furthermore, these afflictions grow stronger with each passing day, creating thick barriers that prevent your purification and Awakening.

Transforming Personality into Wisdom

If you can make good use of the various difficult situations that manifest in your life—especially those problems triggered by your own personality—you will be able to move steadily toward Awakening. This is a lesson that almost every practitioner must face. You must start from the most difficult areas of your character, such as:

• The refusal to admit defeat or accept that you are wrong.
• The attachment to gain and loss, which causes constant mental fluctuation.
• The difficulty in accepting direct criticism, blame, or having your faults pointed out to your face.

When you encounter these situations, you may experience emotional ups and downs. If you are not careful, these reactions can even attract karma, karmic creditors, or attached spirits to manifest before you, which will cause you great suffering. However, if you can remain calm regardless of whether the other person is right or wrong, and if you can even accept instruction with a humble heart, you will overcome these personality problems.

By doing so, you will purify and elevate your spiritual quality. This process is of immense help to your practice, your purification, and your eventual Awakening. Namo Amituofo.

Recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable Fa Hui