The Difficulty of Changing One's Personality

The Endless Cycle of Reincarnation

My children, do you truly wish to enter the cycle of reincarnation once again? Do you desire to walk the same path of confusion, repeating the same mistakes and enduring the same suffering? Many of you find yourselves trapped in a cycle where old illnesses return, where you seem to recover only to fall back into the same patterns of pain. You may wish to change your personality traits, yet you remain unaware of where your problems truly lie. Because of this ignorance, these issues continue to arise, and you continue to create karma. Even when you are aware of your flaws, you find them so difficult to change that they persist, leading you back into the same cycle of creating negative karma.

The Courage to Accept Guidance

Do you truly know where your own personality flaws and problems reside? If you are aware of them, have you made a sincere effort to change your ways? When Practitioner Su or others clearly point out your shortcomings, are you able to accept this feedback with an open heart without arguing? Can you reflect upon your own faults instead of instinctively protecting yourself or offering excuses? If you find that you cannot identify your own personality flaws, you should humbly ask those around you, those with whom you interact daily. Their perspective can be a mirror for your own true self.

Transforming Anger into Compassion

When you feel dissatisfied with others and anger arises within you, know that this is your personality manifesting. If you wish to change, you must allow your awareness to arise in that very moment. Use the power of compassion to extinguish the fire in your heart and the anger in your eyes. During the chanting of sutras or during a Dharma assembly, if you find yourself struggling, you must understand what is happening. From the perspective of the Buddha, the fourfold assembly often finds it difficult to be the master of their own bodies in such moments. It is not your true self that is in control; rather, it is other spirits residing within your body, or perhaps your own soul has been pulled out, leaving you unable to maintain control, leading to situations of drowsiness or drifting into other spaces.

Overcoming Drowsiness and Spiritual Interference

When you are awakened by the stern, compassionate guidance of Practitioner Su, you must strive to overcome this drowsiness and prevent it from recurring. You must take immediate action to regain your clarity:

• Rise immediately or kneel to show your sincerity.Splash cold water on your face and head to shock your senses into alertness.Walk around, moving your body to restore your physical and mental focus.

At such times, you must summon your boldness, your perseverance, and your firm determination. You must hold the vow to save the countless karmic creditors and demon crowds within your body, rather than being selfish and thinking only of your own physical sensations. If you can regain your clarity, that is excellent; return immediately to your practice. If you become drowsy again, you must strive to wake up again. If you drift off once more, you must strive to wake up once more! Without your own self-power arises, the power of the Buddha is difficult to apply. Without the strength of your vows to save all beings, how can you resolve the conflict with them?

The Power of Vows Over Karma

Your vow must be greater than your karma. Only then can you withstand the demands of the karmic creditors when the manifestation of karma occurs. When your awareness arises, it becomes easy to discover your problems and make improvements, which in turn helps your practice progress. Namo Amituofo.