The Path of True Practice

Venerable Yongning, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre and now resides there, shares his profound insights on the nature of practice and the path to liberation. This interview was recorded on July 1, 2019, by the chief writer, Shi Faxin.

Venerable Yongning speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Venerable Yongning. In this place, countless rays of golden light emerge. Wherever the Buddha is present, there is no place that is not bathed in this golden light. When sentient beings witness this radiance, they are finally able to let go of their immense suffering. Where does this suffering come from? It arises because we possess no true self, yet we crave a physical body. We have a body, yet we desire immortality. We wish to be the masters of our own fate, yet we find ourselves unable to achieve our desires. We flee in every direction, unaware that we have already descended into the cycle of rebirth, becoming insects, rodents, birds, and ants.

The Radiance of the Buddha's Golden Light

If you look closely at the essence within your own being, you can discern the traces of your past lives. This is the residue left behind by the spirit that has been stained by the cycle of rebirth. The spirit constantly shifts into different forms, and as suffering manifests, it is rare for one to remain clear-headed. It takes many lifetimes of cycling through the six realms of existence before one finally encounters the Buddha’s teachings. Depending on one's individual Causal Conditions, one may encounter different Dharma gates, and depending on the depth of one's faith, one will achieve different levels of attainment.

True Faith vs. Superstition

Those with shallow faith often do not take the practice seriously; they treat it merely as a form of spiritual comfort, like any other belief system. Conversely, those who are overly attached to the external forms of the Dharma often fall into superstition. They become obsessed with the appearance of the Buddha or the rituals of the practice, but this is not true faith. A person who truly believes in the Buddha possesses both unwavering faith and profound Wisdom. They are not easily swayed by the external world, and they possess the high level of Wisdom required to achieve harmony and to help others escape their difficulties.

The Art of Self-Correction

Friction exists between people, and indeed, between all species, as every living thing struggles for survival. So, what is true practice? It is to believe, accept, and act upon the teachings. In the process of acting, we must constantly adjust ourselves. We must realise that all our perceptions and feelings originate from the 'self.' Therefore, we must shrink this ego. We must understand that service to others comes first, and in that service, we find the joy of the Dharma. We must truly watch over ourselves, bit by bit, seeing no faults in others, only our own. We must thoroughly eradicate the habits brought forth from this cycle of rebirth.

The Path to No-Self

We must treat everything that comes to us with a heart of compassion and eyes of compassion. We may perceive things, but we choose not to be moved by them. Once the heart is pure, our vision gradually clears, and we can see the suffering within the six realms of existence. Even within the human world alone, looking at the various industries and social strata is enough to see clearly where suffering comes from. It comes from our various attachments—attachments to our own views, attachments to our own preferences. When we look at our past lives, we see that it is precisely because of these attachments that we continue to reincarnate.

Now that we understand these principles, we must have greater awareness whenever our personality or ego begins to manifest. Every time our ego arises, we must be willing to adjust it. Time and time again, we will become more flexible. Our personality often forces us to pay a heavy price and negatively impacts others; such a personality is not desirable. The joy of a selfless state is something everyone can experience once they have truly changed their ways. The Buddha’s teachings are here to teach us to be flexible, to understand how to be considerate, and to understand how to liberate ourselves while helping others to do the same. Everyone possesses the Wisdom of the Buddha, and once we truly reach a state of no-self, this Wisdom will manifest. This body is a vessel for practice; it is a tool for this lifetime, a tool for becoming a Buddha. Although the body is just a body, we can treat it as if it were no-self, and in doing so, we can be free. I hope that everyone can learn from and emulate the mind-capacity of the Buddha. Namo Amituofo."