The Art of Picking Up and Letting Go

Recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.

On the fourth of July, 2025, during the noon offering, Namo Amituofo provided the following teachings:

The Responsibility of the Great Vehicle Practitioner

For those who walk the path of the Great Vehicle, the practice of picking up and letting go is essential. When you encounter matters that are beneficial to all beings, you must pick them up; this is your responsibility and your commitment to the path. However, when it comes to worldly affairs that concern only your personal interests, you must learn to view them with detachment. You must let go and release these attachments so that you may engage in diligent practice. Only by doing so will you have the opportunity to achieve spiritual success.

Aligning with the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way

Those who truly understand the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way possess the wisdom to know what to pick up and what to let go. They understand clearly which actions are permissible and which are not. If an action is beneficial to all beings, you should proceed with it directly and without hesitation. Conversely, if an action benefits you personally but causes harm to other beings, it is a path you must not take. You must stop immediately.

Within the laws of karma and cause and effect, if you perform actions that harm others, the consequences will inevitably return to you. This is the suffering of karmic retribution. As a practitioner, you must develop the ability to see the true reality of all things. You must be able to remain within the myriad phenomena of this world without becoming confused or lost.

The Wisdom of Discernment

When you encounter situations that seem right but are actually wrong, you must be able to understand the underlying principles. Do not be swayed by the superficial appearance of events, which can lead to emotional fluctuations and cause you to deviate into deviant paths. Therefore, the ability to pick up what is necessary and let go of what is not is the hallmark of a wise person.

Transforming the Personality

To truly change personality traits, you must consciously choose what to cultivate and what to abandon:

• Pick up: Goodness, compassion, Wisdom, joy, and gratitude.
• Let go of: Selfishness and the ego—including your physical body, your personal feelings, your perceptions, your thoughts, your actions, your consciousness, and all your delusions, discriminations, and attachments.

This process of letting go is the very essence of changing your personality. You must pick up the vow to save yourself and all beings, while letting go of the people and matters that cause you to feel hindered or trapped.

Living in the Present

You must pick up the present moment and let go of the past. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by what has already occurred; instead, grasp the present. Once you have let go, these past attachments will naturally fade, move further away, and eventually be severed entirely. When you finally reach Awakening and realise your true self, you will be able to act from a state of no-self. In that state, there is only the existence of other beings. Seeing them suffer and working to help them leave suffering behind becomes your natural, spontaneous way of life.

Namo Amituofo