Setting Out Again: The Path of Eternal Progress

The Endless Vow of Compassion

Words of Namo Amituofo: The number of sentient beings is infinite, and the suffering they endure is boundless. Consequently, the work of saving these beings has no end. Spiritual practice involves a continuous process of letting go and "see through" and "let go" of attachments.

Even if you grow weary along the way, rest, and then set out again. Even if you are wounded along the way, heal, and then set out again!

The Goal of Awakening

Human life is limited. Within this finite existence, make a vow to practise diligently, to purify yourself, and to break through obstacles. Purify again and again, cultivate Goodness again and again, and break through again and again, until not a single trace of pollution remains in your heart. When the heart is empty and unstained, you will naturally realise your true nature.

For many practitioners, realising one's true nature is the goal of practice, and seeking rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is for the purpose of attaining Buddhahood. Under this vow and these actions, chanting the Buddha's name to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is in sync with the Buddha’s heart, vows, and actions.

The Levels of the Pure Land

For those who enter the Pure Land Dharma Gate to chant the Buddha's name and seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and for those who seek to resolve the sufferings of old age and sickness, if you can regulate your heart and chant the Buddha's name diligently, or even make a vow at the end of life to chant the Buddha's name and enter the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, even if your faith is not yet firm, or you enter the borderlands of doubt, or you carry karma to be reborn in the Land where Sages and Ordinary Beings Dwell Together, regardless, the place you enter after rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss will naturally correspond to your heart and vows.

It can be said that the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss has different spatial layers. Beings of the Western Land enter corresponding spatial layers based on their spiritual quality and their skills in chanting the Buddha's name, which is what is commonly known as the Four Lands, the Three Grades, and the Nine Levels. After elevating the spiritual quality within each space, you will naturally be able to break through the space, enter a higher level, and ascend layer by layer. From the Land where Sages and Ordinary Beings Dwell Together, you enter the Land of Convenience with Residue, then advance to the Land of Real Reward, and finally enter the Land of Eternally Quiescent Light!

The Safety of the Western Path

For beings of the Western Land, this process is the result of naturally setting out again and again, continuously setting out again. The difference between the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and the human world is: in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, there is the blessing of Namo Amituofo’s vow power. Every being of the Western Land is an irreversible Bodhisattva. Even if you pause at a certain stage, you will not regress; you will remain in your original position and will not fall back to where you were before.

However, when practising in the Five Turbidities and Evil World of the human realm, under the influence of various external environments and the pull of karma, there will be situations of losing resolve or regressing. You may even reach the end of this life without having realised your true nature. In the next life, you are born into the human world, grow up, and enter the Buddha’s gate to practise again, forgetting your previous achievements and starting from the beginning. How many years have been wasted in this cycle of regression and progress! Whether you can realise your true nature and attain Buddhahood in this lifetime remains to be seen.

Seizing the Opportunity

This is also a process of constantly setting out again. Looking at it this way, the students of Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre are currently at a Buddha-land where one can realise one's true nature and attain Buddhahood. You must seize this opportunity, overcome all difficulties, and do not let time pass in vain. Because you are practising with a human body, you are bound by karma. Therefore, you must transform karma in your practice to have the opportunity to realise your true nature. Be fiercely diligent in this lifetime, set out again and again, encourage yourself, and you will be able to attain the Buddha's path!

Life has infinite possibilities. When your heart falls to the bottom, please set out again. Do not remain depressed; starting over is a new source of hope to move forward. For those who have realised their true nature, they go wherever there are beings. Everywhere there are beings to be saved. When one stage is completed, set out again and move to the next place. I hope all beings will join me in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss! Namo Amituofo