The Multitude Sleeps, I Alone Am Awake

The Dream of the Worldly

Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, recorded by Chief Writer Venerable HaiZe. On this day, the seventeenth of February, two thousand and twenty-three, we reflect upon a vital question: can you see whether you belong to those who are asleep or those who are awake?

For the people of this world, the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, death is viewed as an inevitable process. It is a path that everyone must walk, a journey that seems inescapable. Those who are lost in this world—those who do not seek to leave the cycle of being reincarnated, who do not strive for rebirth in the Western Pure Land, and who do not work toward liberation from the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, death—are the ones who are truly asleep. They are the ones who have turned away from the Truth, living in a state of passivity and confusion. While the multitude may appear to be awake in their daily affairs, they are, in the eyes of the Dharma, the ones who are soundly asleep.

The Awakening of the Practitioner

However, for the true practitioner, the perspective is entirely different. Within this world, the practitioner is one who knows to seek an exit from the cycle of being reincarnated. They understand the profound suffering inherent in birth, aging, sickness, death, and they actively seek the path to liberation and rebirth in the Western Pure Land.

Such a person possesses true awareness. They have come to understand the difference between the illusory and the real. While the rest of the world remains lost in the slumber of ignorance, the practitioner is the one who has awakened. They have chosen to step out of the dream, realising that the attachments of this world are but fleeting shadows.

A Measure for Your Heart

Looking at this, one must ask: who is truly asleep, and who is truly awake? Do you have a measure within your own heart to judge this? Are you able to see clearly and understand whether you are currently asleep or awake? Are you living as a worldly person, or are you living as a dedicated practitioner?

Consider these questions deeply:

• Are you wishing to remain asleep, entering a dream from which you do not wish to wake, continuing to taste the bitterness of the cycle of being reincarnated and the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, death?Or are you wishing to wake up, to stop dreaming altogether, and to no longer suffer the cycle of being reincarnated and the pains of birth, aging, sickness, death?

The Preciousness of Human Life

The true value of life does not lie in its length, nor in the number of years one spends in this world. Instead, the value of life is found in the quality of one's spirits. It is a rare and precious opportunity to have attained this human body. You must cherish this life, for it is the vessel through which you can achieve true awakening and realise your awakened being. Do not let this opportunity pass by in the slumber of ignorance. Instead, strive to be one who is truly awake, walking firmly on the path toward the Western Pure Land.

Namo Amituofo