Expanding the Heart-Ground: Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju

Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.

On the twenty-fourth of September, 2023, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju provided these essential teachings on the state of our hearts and the path to true liberation.

The Walls We Build Around Our Hearts

In our daily lives, we often find ourselves waiting for the reactions of others before we decide how much of our hearts we are willing to open. We hesitate, fearing that if we open our hearts fully and the other person does not reciprocate or appreciate our sincerity, we will be left vulnerable and hurt. This is a common defensive mechanism, a form of self-protection that we often mistake for our true identity. We live within the confines of these heart-defences, believing that this guarded state is who we really are.

However, we rarely stop to consider that our hearts are capable of so much more. We do not realise that we can open our hearts further, beyond the limitations of our fears. We remain trapped in this cycle of caution until we encounter a true spiritual friend—someone whose mind-capacity is vast and who has fully opened their heart.

The Vast Mind-Capacity of a True Spiritual Friend

A true spiritual friend is one who can accommodate both themselves and all other beings with complete openness. Regardless of how we change, or how the world around us shifts, a true spiritual friend remains steady. They can adapt to any change in the environment, in themselves, or in other beings, yet their heart remains completely unmoved by these external fluctuations.

It is only when we witness such a state that we begin to understand what it means to realise our true self. We see that this state of being is not just a possibility for others, but a potential within ourselves. We have a true self that can truly master our lives. If we can find our way back to this true self, we too can attain this same state of profound stability and openness.

The Clutter of the Mind

Originally, the world of our heart is empty, clear, and luminous. It is naturally bright and pure. However, because we have accumulated so much over countless lifetimes, this clarity has become obscured. Our hearts are currently filled with a heavy burden of mental formations, including:

• Delusions: False thoughts that cloud our perception of reality.
• Discriminations: The tendency to categorise and judge everything we encounter.
• Attachment: The deep-seated clinging to people, things, and ideas.
• Memories: The lingering echoes of our past actions and experiences.
• Karmic creditors: Beings from our past who are waiting for an opportunity to seek balance for past harms.
• Attached spirits: Other beings who reside within our field of consciousness, waiting for their chance to be heard or to seek retribution.

These elements cause our hearts to become stained and blocked, making it incredibly difficult for us to expand our heart-ground and return to our original, clear state.

Restoring the Original Clarity

To move forward, we must undertake the work of purification. We must cleanse these mental formations and memories that weigh us down. We must also resolve the conflict with our karmic creditors and attached spirits through compassion and the practice of Namo Amituofo. Only by doing this can we truly expand our heart-ground and restore the original, empty, and clear nature of our true self. This is the path to freedom, and it begins with the simple, sincere act of chanting Namo Amituofo.

Namo Amituofo