The Essential Path to Transforming Your Personality

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

January 5, 2024

Namo Amituofo’s discourse:

My children, you know that you must change your personality traits to progress on the path of cultivation. However, do you truly understand which aspects of your character require transformation? While you may be aware of your more obvious, coarse personality traits, the subtle, hidden aspects often remain unknown to you.

The Hidden Roots of Your Personality

It is precisely these subtle, deep-seated personality traits that often become the primary obstacles in your practice. Because you have not yet fully transformed these hidden tendencies, you remain vulnerable to various spiritual challenges. These unresolved traits are the reasons why:

• You are still easily found by your karmic creditors
• .You remain susceptible to spiritual attachment
• .You are easily influenced or controlled by demon crowds
• .You frequently fall into a drowsy
• state during your practice.You find yourself drifting into different space
• dimensions.You continue to suffer from the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Why Transformation Remains Elusive

You may find it difficult to perceive exactly which personality traits need to be changed. Even when you are aware of a specific flaw, you may find it incredibly hard to alter it. This difficulty arises because these personality traits have been with you for many lifetimes, spanning countless eons. They have become so deeply ingrained that they have effectively fused with your very being.

In this state, you might say that your personality is synonymous with your self. You believe that where there is a me, there must be a personality. If you were to remove the personality, you fear that the self would cease to exist. Because of this deep attachment to the ego, you struggle to identify which parts of your character are truly yours and which are merely conditioned habits that hinder your liberation.

The Illusion of the Self

When you look at yourself, what do you see? Beyond the obvious differences that distinguish you from others—such as your height, weight, gender, age, appearance, voice, facial expressions, or the clothes you wear—how do you behave when you are interacting with others? Are you gentle and courteous, or are you aggressive and rude? Do you have a tendency toward anger?

These are what we call coarse personality traits. Both you and those around you can clearly observe them. You can often see how these traits cause harm in your relationships with others. By observing the pain caused by these interactions, you can reflect upon whether you possess similar tendencies within your own heart.

Seeing Yourself Through Others

It is a common human failing to easily point out or identify the faults and personality flaws of others, while finding it incredibly difficult to see one's own shortcomings. This is the classic state of being lost in the situation, where the onlooker sees clearly, but the person involved remains blind to the truth. You must learn to use the mirror of your interactions with others to examine your own mind.

The Path to True Progress

The guidance provided by your teachers and Practitioner Su is intended to help you see what you cannot see yourself. When they offer advice or point out your mistakes, they are highlighting the very personality traits that you must change. Do not take these observations lightly. When you know what needs to be changed, you must act upon it immediately. Only by knowing and changing can your practice truly advance. Namo Amituofo.