Moving Forward

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

13 June 2026

Teachings by Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju:

Practice is a process that unfolds in stages, or one could say, it is a continuous, uninterrupted journey.

If, in each stage, one has not thoroughly severed wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep; greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt; the "self," personal ego, and selfishness; physical sensations, thoughts, behaviours, and various consciousness-based concepts, these will not fade away with the passing of time. Instead, they will persist and continue, even being carried from this life into the next, unless they are completely and utterly dissolved.

The method to resolve this is to put in the work within the heart.

The purification of the heart requires diligent practice to remove defilements; the method of purification is to seek within, not without.

One must learn from Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, patriarchs, venerable masters, and true spiritual friends. If one learns from fellow practitioners, there is still insufficiency, because the other person has not yet attained Awakening; their actions, words, and thoughts still contain the existence of a "self."

Even if that "self" is very faint, as long as a "self" exists, it is a defilement; it is neither pure nor Good.

What is called pure and Good is the absence of even a single trace of defilement, a single evil thought, a single iota of "self," a single iota of bias, or a single iota of selfishness; only then can it be called pure and Good.

As long as there is even a trace of "self" or selfishness, it is defilement. It is like a drop of ink falling into a cup of pure water; the pure water becomes ink, meaning it is defiled and no longer pure.

If there is even a trace of "self" and selfishness, then even if one's actions, words, and thoughts appear pure, they are in reality already defiled by that trace of "self" and are not pure.

This faint "self" and selfishness are often difficult for a practitioner to notice, which means that karma has not been thoroughly transformed; there are still areas that remain untransformed, and one still carries the habits of the "self," personal ego, and selfishness of reincarnation.

When one encounters the manifestation of karma at the end of life, and karmic creditors appear at the end of life, they seize upon that faint "self" that was not noticed or let go of in daily life. When the thoughts that arise in the dying person are in sync with that faint "self," the Buddha-name will suddenly stop.

At this moment, even if Amitabha Buddha appears, He will vanish in an instant, and the opportunity for rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in this life will be lost, wasting the efforts of diligent daily chanting of the Buddha-name, with every thought following the next without interruption.

This is why one must chant the Buddha-name to the state of one-pointedness of mind to have certainty at the end of life, and it is also the reason why, although there are many who chant the Buddha-name, those who can truly achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land are rare.

In summary, if one's chanting of the Buddha-name has not yet become effective, the foundation of one's practice is not stable.

If the foundation of practice is laid firmly, one does not fear tremors.

If the foundation is laid firmly but still contains a crack or a gap, when a tremor occurs, this point will be unable to withstand it, subsequently causing the entire building to collapse.

The value of practice lies in being down-to-earth, taking it step by step, and having keen awareness; being able to notice the arising of subtle thoughts and immediately stopping and severing them, not allowing them to arise again.

Those who can do this are the truly diligent; those who have not yet been able to awaken and perceive must still put in the effort.

Practice is not a hardship, but a way to allow oneself to move forward toward coolness, purity, and beauty.

Those who can have this understanding and act accordingly are wise persons.

Namo Amituofo