The Path of Wise Choices

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

Throughout your life, you will encounter countless choices, both large and small. They are too numerous to count. However, among all these, none is more significant than the choice between life and death.

The Inevitability of the Cycle

For ordinary people, birth is not a choice. It is a process dictated by the momentum of past karma. Similarly, death is not a choice for the ordinary person, as it is inextricably linked to the karmic debts accumulated over countless lifetimes. We are often pulled along by these forces without even realising it.

How, then, can we transform this situation? The answer lies in diligent practice. By working hard to transform your karma, you can face and overcome the various obstacles created by your past actions. When you eventually realise your true nature and attain Buddhahood, you will gain freedom over life and death. At that point, you will no longer be bound by the chains of karmic forces.

The Ultimate Choice for the Spirit

Since birth and death are not choices we can easily make, what about the processes of aging and sickness? If you wish to let go of the suffering of aging, sickness, and death, and instead seek a state of eternal youth, health, and a spirit that never dies, you must choose to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. To achieve this, you must:

• Arouse the Bodhi mind and single-mindedly recite Namo Amituofo.

This is the most direct and effective path to liberation.

The Path of Compassion and Saving Beings

On the path of practice, everything must be based on the premise of saving beings. We must strive to save countless suffering beings. Within your own body, there are immeasurable and boundless beings who are also suffering; they are among the countless beings you must help. Therefore, I urge you to be diligent in your practice and to change your personality traits for the better.

When Namo Amituofo, your teacher, and Practitioner Su help the fourfold assembly invite spirits to be heard, those spirits are often willing to resolve their conflicts. When they are invited out to receive Chao Du, it is a great blessing for them.

Choosing Wisdom Over Personal Gain

If you possess true compassion, you will see the suffering of others and naturally wish to help them leave suffering behind. In this, you should make wise choices:

• Be willing to let go of personal pleasure.
• Dedicate your merits and blessings to the suffering beings.
• Maintain a sincere vow that all beings may find relief from their pain.

In the process of making these choices, you must distinguish between the self and the collective. Those who are willing to let go of personal gain or loss, choosing instead to benefit and help others, are those who possess true compassion and Wisdom. When you demonstrate such sincerity in changing your personality and helping others, the beings within your body will feel it. This sincerity allows karmic knots to be untied, which is the very essence of the practice of self-liberation and saving beings.

Namo Amituofo.