The Essence of Maintaining a Pure Heart

The Foundation of Spiritual Purification

When you enter the path of practice, you begin a journey of purifying the body, heart, and spirit. The essential core of this practice is to maintain a state of purity that is free from all defilements. This state of being allows you to become purer with each passing day, fostering the growth of goodness within your heart. If your lifespan in this world has not yet reached its end, this purity will enable you to see your true nature. Therefore, you must never allow your practice to falter, not even for a single moment.

Walking the Path with the Buddha

This is especially true for those who follow the Pure Land path. You must ensure that every thought is inseparable from the Buddha. In every moment, the Buddha is present; in every thought, the Buddha resides. When your heart becomes the Buddha-heart, your actions become Buddha-actions, and your vows become Buddha-vows, you will naturally maintain this state of purity. You must strive to keep your heart filled with compassion, wisdom, tolerance, vast mind-capacity, joy, and the spirit of giving. These qualities are the hallmarks of a practitioner who is truly walking the right path.

Guarding the Six Roots

To protect your practice, you must diligently guard your Six Roots so that they do not become stained by the dust of the world. This means you must be mindful of how you interact with your environment:

• Eyes: Keep your vision pure; do not look upon that which causes desire or defilement.
• Ears: Keep your hearing pure; do not listen to sounds that stir up greed or anger.
• Nose: Keep your sense of smell pure; do not be enticed by scents that lead to attachment.
• Tongue: Keep your sense of taste pure; do not crave flavours that stimulate the Five Desires.
• Body: Keep your sense of touch pure; do not seek physical sensations that lead to indulgence.
• Mind: Keep your consciousness pure; do not allow false teachings or negative thoughts to enter your mind.

What we call defilement is anything that causes your heart to fluctuate, triggering the delusion, discrimination, and attachment that lead to afflictions. These stains often manifest as the Five Desires—wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep—which can lead one to commit grave offences.

The Virtuous Path to Enlightenment

You must distance yourself from the Ten Evil Deeds, which include killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, harsh speech, divisive speech, and frivolous talk, as well as greed, anger, and delusion. Instead, you should actively practise the Ten Good Deeds:

• Refrain from killing and cherish all life.
• Refrain from stealing and respect the property of others.
• Refrain from sexual misconduct and maintain moral integrity.
• Refrain from lying and speak only the truth.
• Refrain from harsh speech and use gentle, kind words.
• Refrain from divisive speech and promote harmony.
• Refrain from frivolous talk and speak with purpose.
• Replace greed with generosity.
• Replace anger with compassion.
• Replace delusion with wisdom.

When you ensure that your thoughts are not evil, that your intentions are good, and that you see, speak, and act with goodness, you will grow roots of goodness and attain the fruit of Bodhi. This is the wonderful method for maintaining a pure and undefiled heart, which is necessary for making progress in your practice and eventually seeing your true nature.

The Eternal Light of the Western Pure Land

The Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is a realm of absolute purity and goodness, entirely free from even the slightest trace of defilement. Those who are reborn there will dwell in the presence of Infinite Life and Infinite Light, continuing their practice until they attain Buddhahood. It is a world where one can achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a Buddha in a single lifetime. Namo Amituofo.