Fearlessness on the Path to Awakening

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

If you wish to achieve success in your practice, you must cultivate a heart of great fearlessness. Once you have clearly recognised the truth of reality, you must move forward with unwavering resolve, free from all fear. This fearlessness is not a product of arrogance, but a natural result of understanding the nature of the universe.

Cultivating the Fearless Heart

Practice is a process of nurturing your compassion and allowing your innate Wisdom to shine forth. When you possess meditative concentration, you will find that when external circumstances manifest, you are able to transform the environment rather than being swayed or controlled by it. This is the mark of a stable and awakened mind.

The Triumph of Truth at Hsiang Kuang

At the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, when external demons appeared, Practitioner Su demonstrated this profound fearlessness. Through the use of the twelve Buddha-lights and the great bell, he performed the act of subduing these demonic forces. As a result, he has successfully delivered immeasurable and boundless numbers of demonic beings into the Western Land of Dharma Nature. This event serves as a powerful testament that evil cannot overcome the truth; it is a clear manifestation of the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way.

The Power of Buddha's Blessings

Namo Amituofo is the ultimate practitioner of the Universal Principle and serves as the perfect model for all beings to follow. Practitioner Su’s act of subduing demons without fear is a necessary function for saving the world and delivering suffering beings. Because he possesses absolute faith in Namo Amituofo, the Buddha's blessings are able to assist him. Indeed, receiving the Buddha's blessings is a vital component of maintaining a heart of great fearlessness.

The Path of Obedience

At Hsiang Kuang, you must learn to be fearless when facing the various situations and states that arise during your practice. You are not alone in this journey, for you can receive the assistance of the Buddha and Practitioner Su. However, to truly benefit from this, you must be willing to let go of your ego. This includes:

• Letting go of the "self," personal ego, and selfishness.
• Releasing your subjective views and opinions.
• Abandoning your rigid attachments to how you think things should be.

By doing so, you will be able to place your full faith in the Buddha and in your own potential to reach awakening.

The Peril of Self-Will

Before you have reached the stage of being an awakened being, listening to the guidance of your teachers is one of the most important aspects of your practice. Because you do not yet know how to navigate the path forward on your own, you must rely on the guidance of the Buddha and Practitioner Su. If you are obedient, you will be able to see your true nature and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. However, you must be careful not to listen to your own ego. This includes the voices of your karmic creditors, spiritual attachments, or demonic influences. If you follow these, you will easily deviate from the path and drift further away from awakening. If you insist on practising according to your own personal ego and habits, you will not only fail to reach the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, but you will also easily fall into demonic states. You will achieve nothing, and worse, you may create the causes for the hells. It is difficult to recover from such a state, so you must be extremely cautious.

Namo Amituofo