My dear children, how are you faring on your spiritual journey at this moment? Have you truly made progress in your practice? Are you able to break through the obstacles that hinder your path, or are you learning to protect your heart with goodness? It is essential to learn the way of and to remain undisturbed by the external world. You must not allow the sounds, expressions, or words of others to pull your heart away from its centre.
The Path of Pure Awareness
You must learn to distance yourself from environments of impurity so that your heart does not become stained. By keeping your heart pure, you will naturally see your Wisdom grow. You must learn to embrace compassion, to be inclusive, and to open your mind-capacity, for it is only through this that the "self," personal ego, and selfishness can be transformed.
You must understand the importance of cherishing your time and using it for diligent practice. You must realise how precious it is to be in a place where the Buddha abides. By making good use of every minute and second, and by constantly raising the Buddha-name in your heart, you will find that your mind experiences many more moments of purity and the of the .
Identifying the Hidden Obstacles
Perhaps, in your reflection, you have discovered new problems that you have never encountered before. You may find yourself facing the realities of life that you previously ignored:
You may discover that you are becoming ill or that you are growing old.
You may even discover, to your surprise, that you are afraid of death.
You may find that you cannot bear the suggestions or reminders offered by others.
You may realise that your mind-capacity is not yet large enough, that you lack sufficient compassion, or that you are not yet truly inclusive.
You may see that your habits—arrogance, the tendency to divide "self" from "others," and the habit of looking down on some while looking up to others—still remain.
You may find that your emotional entanglements have not yet been released.
You may notice that your anger and irritability are still present.
When you see these things, you realise that you still have so many aspects of your personality that need to be changed and adjusted. If these traits remain unchanged, or if you have never truly attempted to change your ways, they will continue to bind you tightly. You will find yourself repeating the same mistakes over and over again. These are the very reasons that keep you standing still or even retreating on your path.
Facing the Truth with Courage
Do not be discouraged and do not retreat. These realisations are all a necessary part of the process of practice. There is a saying: "Do not fear the arising of thoughts, only fear the delay in awareness." Since you have already found the root causes—the hidden reasons that prevent your heart from being bright and prevent your progress—you must now face these problems directly.
Practice requires that you clearly recognise your own issues. In this Buddha-land, as long as you have the heart to change and are willing to summon the determination, perseverance, and diligent practice to make those changes, the Buddha, the teachers, and Practitioner Su are all very happy to lend you a helping hand.
The Call to
We do not fear that you will be fiercely diligent and strive to catch up; rather, we fear that you will be unwilling to practise, becoming lazy or scattered. We fear that you will be unwilling to change your ways, choosing instead to stand still or retreat. You must summon your boldness and strength. Only then will you be able to move forward and march steadily toward the goal of awakened being!
