Overcoming Depression Through the Wisdom of Master Xuanzang

Depression is a challenge that can be seen everywhere in the modern world. Regardless of gender, age, or stage of life—whether one is a child, a young adult, in the prime of life, or in one's senior years—each person faces unique needs. When these needs remain unmet, or when one encounters obstacles that feel impossible to overcome, depression and a cascade of subsequent problems often arise. Depression is a form of negative energy. It has the power to extend and expand into other negative states, causing one's will to wither, draining one's vitality, leading to a loss of appetite, and causing one to lose confidence in life and in oneself. It brings despair, and in the most tragic cases, it may lead one to feel that there is no way out, driving them toward a path of no return.

The Great Physician's Remedies

The Buddha is compassionate. For those who study the Buddha's teachings and engage in practice, the Buddha acts as the Great Physician, skilled in regulating the heart, which naturally leads to the regulation of the body. Below are several effective remedies to help you combat depression.

First, you must learn to pause your continuous thinking. Constantly dwelling on the past, worrying about the present, and obsessively planning for the future has become a habit for modern people. Many believe that without such planning, they will feel anxious, uneasy, and insecure, as if their lives are losing their track. However, how much of what happens in life actually goes according to plan? Often, the things we obsess over do not come to pass, yet they burden our hearts with unnecessary worry. The cost of such constant mental planning, and the subsequent adjustments required, far exceeds the value of simply letting go of such thoughts and making decisions based on the clarity of the present moment.

The Power of Positive Intent

You should focus on strengthening your ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Trust your own judgment and reactions; every moment is an opportunity for transformation. Always look at things from a positive perspective. By using the power of positive thinking based on the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, you can effectively counteract negative thoughts. If you put this into practice, you will receive positive feedback and results.

As the saying goes, "Grow roots of goodness; attain the fruit of Bodhi." When you genuinely and sincerely look at situations from a positive perspective, this positive energy can often transform the surrounding magnetic field, leading to positive changes in your circumstances. This is the power of mental intent. You must never underestimate this power. By maintaining this mindset in every thought and every moment, you are cultivating wisdom. This becomes an important practice for attaining Buddhahood and is also highly effective in combating depression.

Resolving the Root Cause

In truth, within the laws of karma, many impermanent events are beyond our planning or imagination. The saying, "If it is in your destiny, you will eventually have it; if it is not, do not force it," reflects the common view of fate, often tinged with a sense of helplessness. Before one transforms their destiny, this is simply the reality of reincarnation. If you can follow the Causal Conditions and regulate your own heart—like water that flows around obstacles such as stones and riverbanks without engaging in direct conflict—you are a wise person. The proactive nature of the Buddha's teachings can often transform the destiny of reincarnation. However, you must also understand that there is no such thing as gaining something for nothing. It requires diligent practice, changing your personality traits and habits, and making sincere vows to act. Only then will you have the opportunity to transform your karma.

From another perspective, many times our thoughts are not under our own control. Instead, they are influenced by the laws of karma and cause and effect, with karmic creditors manifesting to take control of our thoughts, physical actions, and behaviours. This can lead to a cycle of endless rumination, causing one to repeatedly give up on themselves or even inflict self-harm. In such cases, the solution is to invite these karmic creditors to come forward, resolve the grievances, and perform Chao Du during a Dharma assembly to help them be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Many people mistakenly believe this is superstition. If you are willing to set aside your preconceived notions and listen to the sutras and hear the Dharma, you will come to understand that human life is not limited to this single existence. The harmful deeds committed in past lives—even if you are not aware of them or did not commit them in this current life—can manifest when the conditions mature. When the karmic creditors you harmed in the past come to seek revenge, this is also a matter of cause and effect. Everyone is equal before this law; it is a truth of the universe and a fact that everyone must face. Unless you use the power of your vows to transform your karma, it is difficult to avoid the consequences of karmic retribution. You must address the root cause to resolve the suffering.

The Preciousness of Human Life

Seeking medical treatment often involves using medication or other methods to temporarily suppress emotional and physical reactions. This treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. Because the karmic creditors are still in control, it is difficult to solve the problem fundamentally. Studying the Buddha's teachings and listening to the sutras allows you to understand the relationship between reincarnation, karmic creditors, and karma. It also gives your karmic creditors an opportunity to listen to the Dharma alongside you, which increases their willingness to resolve the grievances. Even so, if your own positive conviction is firm, you can reduce much of the harm. Life is precious, a human body is hard to obtain, the Buddha's teachings are hard to hear, and the Pure Land is hard to encounter. Do not take your own life or look down upon yourself, ending your precious existence. Everyone possesses Buddha-nature; if you turn a corner, you will find a new horizon.

A Path Toward Liberation

• Repenting for karmic obstacles: Every effect has a cause. Since your karmic obstacles have manifested, it means your karmic creditors have arrived. Do not ignore this. Sincerely repent for the harm caused by your past ignorance, and be willing to invite these beings to resolve the conflict and perform Chao Du.
• Resolving grievances: Seek the guidance of a true spiritual friend to help you resolve conflicts with karmic creditors and perform Chao Du to help them be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This prevents unnecessary waste of time and resources.
• Changing personality traits and habits: This is the primary purpose of practice. Beings remain trapped in the cycle of the six realms because of habits accumulated over countless eons. These habits constantly attract karmic creditors to seek revenge, leading to the creation of new karma. Without the Buddha's teachings to lead us out of samsara, when would it ever end?
• Daily lessons: Engage in chanting Buddha's name, reciting the sutras, performing prostrations, and copying sutras. When done with a sincere heart, you receive the Buddha's blessings, which stabilize an anxious heart, dissolve karma, purify your concentration, and increase wisdom.
• Creating space for purification: Give yourself flexible time to purify and cultivate your character. Allow your body, mind, and spirit to rest and receive spiritual nourishment. Participating in the purification practices of a Pure Land temple is an appropriate method, provided you choose a place of correct faith, correct thoughts, and correct practice.
• Strengthening your energy: For Pure Land practitioners, chanting Namo Amituofo and performing prostrations are essential ways to elevate your energy.
• The Three Learnings: Focus on the Three Learnings of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom. When your meditative concentration is achieved, you will not be influenced by external environments, people, or things, and your heart will remain stable and undistracted.
• Cultivating compassion and wisdom: As you practice and realise your true nature, you will possess a heart of compassion and wisdom. You will understand that the world is an illusion, allowing you to be at ease everywhere without clinging. You will gain the ability to transform your environment rather than being turned by it.
• Generosity and service: Engage in giving, serve the public, cultivate fields of blessings, and form broad Dharma affinities. This accumulates merit and virtue, helping to resolve grievances with karmic creditors and purifying your body, mind, and spirit as provisions for rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
• Expanding your vision: Open your mind and broaden your perspective. Surround yourself with kind, beautiful, and positive people, things, and environments. Do not get stuck in a narrow mindset, focusing only on the negative, or becoming addicted to an illusory world, as this will only attract suffering and karmic creditors.
• Seeking the Pure Land: Recognise the suffering of the world—the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Desire to leave this suffering behind, understand the magnificence of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and make the vow to be reborn there.

This message was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Venerable HaiZe.

Namo Amituofo