Sentient Beings in the Dharma Realm

The Tapestry of Sentient Beings and the Dharma Realm

Sentient beings are defined as those who arise from the convergence of various conditions. The Dharma Realm is the world of Dharma affinity. You and I are both among these sentient beings, and our affinities permeate the vastness of the Dharma Realm. These affinities are governed by the laws of cause and effect, which are impermanent and illusory. Therefore, if we wish to speak of the ultimate truth, the entire Dharma Realm is a world of illusory phenomena arising from causal conditions. This applies to everything, from the smallest scale—such as a single hair follicle—to the vast, boundless expanse of the Dharma Realm itself.

Recognising whether the world is illusory or real is the first step toward finding your true self. Once you find your true self, you will no longer be deluded by this illusory world. You will not follow the wrong paths, you will not be tainted by impurity, and you will not cling to appearances. By doing so, you can leave suffering behind and find happiness, living a life that is free, cool, and healthy. How important this is! How many people are lost in this illusion, unable to find an exit for their hearts? Originally, we were born simple and pure. However, as we grow, we become stained by a life of complexity and darkness. We find it impossible to wash away these stains or recover our original simplicity. Only within the world of the Buddha’s teachings can we find our initial truth and original nature. That is the radiance of the true self, which can illuminate the darkness within your entire being, revealing your original purity and simplicity.

The Inner Journey to the True Self

Your true self-nature is not found by looking outward; it must be sought within, from your own heart. You must understand what actions are beneficial and what actions are harmful. Actions that benefit others are worth doing. When you act for the benefit of others, you transcend the self—there is no longer a sense of 'I,' 'my,' or 'mine.' Everything becomes much easier. After helping others, a natural joy arises in your heart. In particular, the joy of the Dharma that arises after practising Generosity and offering the Dharma is a natural energy that cannot be concealed. Furthermore, the selfless offering of the Dharma is a high-quality energy; it is the cultivation of the understanding that the other person and I are one. It has become a part of your internalised practice. Sentient beings are me, and I am sentient beings. Whether these beings are human or spirits without physical bodies, all can be called true spiritual friends and true teachers. They are worthy of our closeness and study, allowing us the opportunity to rediscover our true self-nature.

Actions that benefit oneself while harming others must be avoided. Sentient beings are often unable to master themselves; they are controlled by the arrangements of karma and fate, drifting with the tide of external circumstances. In doing so, they create negative causes and taste the bitter fruits of their actions. Only those who have found their true self-nature have the true ability to master their own lives. They are no longer controlled by external circumstances, their karma, their karmic creditors, or attached spirits.

Unveiling the Mysteries of the Vast Dharma Realm

Various types of sentient beings fill this endless space of the Dharma Realm, and the Milky Way is also a part of this realm. The Milky Way is part of the reality of the Truth, part of the illusory phenomena of the laws of cause and effect, and a link in the cycle of rebirth. There are no exceptions; it is a world composed of both reality and illusion. This is the fact of the truth. From ancient times to the present, why have the ancestral masters and venerable masters rarely mentioned the Milky Way? It is not because they lacked the ability to do so, but because that world is too far removed from what people perceive. It is difficult for people to accept or identify with it. Before people can have an insight into the Buddha’s teachings right before their eyes, mentioning such things would only increase suspicion and slander, thereby blocking their opportunity to learn the Buddha’s teachings. Therefore, the ancestral masters internalised this knowledge as part of their own inner being. What they manifested outwardly was a natural sense of detachment and freedom. They were not bound by trivialities, radiating a natural spiritual aura that inspired people to respect them and willingly approach them to learn. This is also a natural quality used to lead people to the Buddha’s teachings.

The Buddha’s teachings are immeasurable and boundless. Once you explore them, you will continuously discover their profound mysteries. Therefore, those who have realised their true nature can teach the Dharma anywhere in this vast Dharma Realm. They teach according to the individual’s capacity, taking methods suitable for their nature to break through their delusions and obstacles, giving them the opportunity to break through delusion and attain enlightenment and realise their true nature. This is one of the natural abilities of those who have realised their true nature. This is something that can be learned, and it is not something that beings trapped in the cycle of rebirth can replace.

The Universal Call to Awakening

From ancient times to the present, every person who has manifested the realisation of their true nature has had a unique teaching style, depending on the time, place, and person, in order to capture people's hearts and make them believe, thereby achieving the goal of propagating the Buddha’s teachings. Regardless of the method used or the target audience—whether they are in the six realms of existence, the four sacred realms, other Dharma realms, or the spirits of the Milky Way—because they are all part of the cycle of rebirth or the reality of the Truth, they all experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. They all face suffering, worry, sadness, and joy. There is light and darkness, wealth and poverty, good and bad, kindness and evil, truth and falsehood, health and sickness, birth, aging, sickness, and death, as well as birth and destruction. Therefore, there is also the difference between delusion and enlightenment, and between realising one's true nature and not. There will be differences in the strength of spiritual or physical energy due to the different quality of individual purification.

Therefore, every place in the Dharma Realm and every sentient being in the Dharma Realm needs the teaching and practice of the Buddha’s teachings. They all need the guidance of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the ancestral masters. Practice is one of the methods, and the goal is to help everyone realise the reality of the Truth, leave suffering behind and find happiness, and attain ultimate liberation. However, due to the different Dharma affinities of sentient beings, there are differences in whether they can accept the teachings of the Buddha.

The Magnificent Path of the Pure Land Dharma Gate

The Pure Land Dharma Gate is a dual-power path relying on both self-power and the Buddha’s power. Among all the methods in the Buddha’s teachings, it is the most suitable for the capacity of sentient beings in this Dharma-ending age. Today, my disciple, Practitioner Su, has realised his true nature through this method and is vigorously using his limited life to carry out the infinite mission of saving sentient beings. Wherever he goes, sentient beings can receive the magnificent benefits of the Dharma, including physical health, the immortality of the spirit, and the ability to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The disciples at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre follow by his side, learning and receiving teachings. In truth, the greatest beneficiary is oneself; you must follow closely! In the temple, Namo Amituofo is residing here, along with the true spiritual friend Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju and the awakened disciple Practitioner Su. Everyone serves in the temple, which not only allows you to cultivate and accumulate blessings for yourself but also allows you to do your best—contributing money if you have money, and effort if you have strength—to accumulate merit and virtue, change your destiny, build the temple, and lead more aspiring people to work together to propagate the Pure Land teachings, break through delusion and attain enlightenment, realise their true nature, save themselves and others, leave suffering behind and find happiness, and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and ensure the transmission of the Dharma lineage.

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