Self-Benefit and Benefiting Others to Attain Liberation
Teachings from National Master Xianshou
The Twenty-Fifth Interview
The Universal Path of Benefit
Every gate within the Buddha’s teachings is designed for both self-benefit and the benefit of others. Even the , which focuses primarily on personal liberation, is inherently connected to benefiting those with whom one shares karmic affinities. What does it truly mean to benefit oneself? It is the diligent practice of the Six Paramitas—the six perfections that lead to the other shore:
- Generosity: Since we arrive in this world with nothing, we can learn to let go of everything, offering our resources and spirit to others.
- : Maintaining discipline to ensure our body, mind, and spirit remain pure and untainted.
- Patience: Enduring adversity to tame the wandering mind, which is the practical application of .
- Diligence: Striving continuously to purify our actions and rediscover our original, true nature.
- Meditation: Cultivating concentration so that we are not swayed by external environments, allowing us to remain in sync with our true nature.
- Wisdom: Allowing the light of Prajna to manifest, enabling us to save all beings who have the affinity to be helped.
When you engage in these practices, you are already letting go of the ego. You are setting aside your delusion, discrimination, and attachment. In the very act of striving for the benefit of sentient beings, you are simultaneously benefiting yourself. This practice can be performed according to your capacity and circumstances—whether large or small, broad or narrow, frequent or rare. It all depends on the size of your mind-capacity.
The Interconnectedness of All Beings
Our Buddha is infinitely compassionate. Within the boundless ocean of virtuous conduct, He has gathered all these myriad practices into the Six Paramitas. The achievement of these perfections is the moment of an awakened being—the moment of complete fulfilment. This is why Bodhisattvas take these six practices as the primary direction for their path to Buddhahood. When you integrate study and practice, you are already manifesting the dual benefit of self and others. By the time you reach the state of an awakened being, these six perfections merge into one, functioning naturally and harmoniously. You act with true, authentic purpose, and you no longer create negative . This is the fundamental reason why practitioners must first purify and save themselves before they can effectively purify and save others.
People in this world often create karma at every moment without even realising it. This occurs because they do not understand the interactions between beings or the laws of karma and cause and effect. Practice is no different. When you purify yourself, you enable others to be purified; as they are purified, you are further refined. When you help save others, you are yourself being saved; as you are being saved, the other person is also receiving the benefits of the Dharma. When you allow others to receive the benefits of the Dharma, your own mind-capacity expands. This is the true meaning of self-benefit: to benefit others is to benefit oneself. When you receive the fruits of the Dharma, sharing them with others allows everyone to bathe in the same light of wisdom.
The Challenges of the Path
The Pure Land Dharma Gate, specifically the practice of chanting the Buddha’s name with a single-minded focus, may sound simple. Many believe it is easy, but in reality, it requires immense effort to overcome one’s own wandering thoughts. Only by subduing the scattered mind can one achieve success. Why do wandering thoughts and a scattered mind cause so many problems? It is because they are elusive. If your awareness is not sharp enough, if you cannot perceive these thoughts in the very moment they arise, you allow them to develop without limit. The result is inevitably affliction, discrimination, and anxiety. You drift further and further away from a single-minded focus, making it difficult to purify yourself or benefit others. If you add the interference of to this mix, the situation becomes even more precarious.
This is precisely why, in this Dharma-Ending Age, it is so rare for even one person out of ten thousand to successfully be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is the reason why many who hold prayer beads and chant the Buddha’s name believe they are certain of rebirth, yet falter at the final push. Their thoughts are turned at the last moment, and they are pulled toward the heavenly realms or other paths of rebirth. If they wish to become a practitioner again, who knows how many lifetimes it will take? It is truly a tragedy. Among these are many well-known practitioners and even those considered patriarchs and venerable masters. We have learned of many such cases here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. They believed they were certain of rebirth, yet they did not attain it. This is the sobering reality of the final judgment at the end of one’s life.
The Path to True Purification
What conditions must a practitioner possess to truly engage in self-benefit and benefiting others? One must first purify oneself before one can purify others. This is the most important requirement. What is this purity? It is a state of emptiness, free from all defilement. While this is a lofty goal, it is not impossible to achieve. As long as your direction and goals are clear, and you have the guidance of a true spiritual friend, you will one day reach your destination. However, human life is finite, and the ultimate purpose of our practice is to determine whether we can be reborn in the Western Pure Land.
Although I am a teacher of the Huayan school, being an awakened being does not distinguish between you and me, nor does it distinguish between sects. Differences only exist in terms of causal conditions, processes, and individual capacities. There is no hierarchy of high or low. As long as the method of practice is suitable for you and you can receive the benefits of the Dharma, it is the best path. In the current global environment, truly purifying the heart and chanting the Buddha’s name is not an easy task. Firstly, the temptations of modern technology make it difficult to settle the mind. Secondly, the complexities of human relationships and the lack of a sense of oneness make it difficult to purify the heart. Thirdly, karmic creditors can manifest at any time, and we often lack the capacity for tolerance, compassion, empathy, and the spirit of the Six Harmonies. It is no wonder that in this generation, even if the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were to return, they would sigh with deep concern.
The Pure Land at Hsiang Kuang
Regardless of these challenges, the students of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre are already within the Pure Land. The Pure Land is not located ten billion Buddha-lands away; it is right here at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. Because Practitioner Su has expanded the Pure Land to this place to save the world and help beings be reborn in the Western Pure Land, Namo Amituofo truly abides here. This place is the Western Pure Land. You, the fourfold assembly of disciples, are blessed to be here. You must engage in real practice and verification. Using this precious and rare human body, you must practise the great Dharma of purification—a path of pure goodness—to guide all beings, to resolve their confusion, and to save yourselves while saving others. Only then will you have the strength and the skills to continue the lifeblood of the great Dharma. Do not let your practice be merely a matter of superficial rituals and ceremonies without the actual substance of salvation. You must be able to help beings truly attain liberation and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Although rebirth requires that a being’s and causal conditions be fully mature, without the guidance of a true spiritual friend and the correct Dharma, one’s efforts will be in vain, and one will pass through this life empty-handed. That would be a great pity. You, the students of Hsiang Kuang, have already entered the mountain of treasures; do not return empty-handed. Carry no heavy baggage of worldly concerns, but let your heart be filled with the and benefits of the Dharma as you journey together toward the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Recorded by the Buddha’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.
Namo Amituofo
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About the Author
Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre
Contributed to Pure Land Buddhism knowledge library