The Path to a Pure Heart

This interview with Venerable Yongning was recorded on October 24, 2023, by the chief writer, Shi Fajing. Venerable Yongning, a dedicated practitioner, shares profound insights on the cultivation of a pure heart and the essential nature of the Pure Land Dharma Gate.

Venerable Yongning speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Venerable Yongning. The practice of a practitioner can reach varying depths and states, all of which are determined by the level of purity within one's own heart.

In the Pure Land Dharma Gate, we are essentially cultivating the Pure Land within our own hearts. This internal Pure Land will possess different levels of purity depending on how much one has purified oneself. For some, their internal Pure Land is still overgrown with weeds that have yet to be cleared; for others, it is cluttered with large, heavy stones. Some practitioners have managed to clear away the bulk of the debris, leaving only fine impurities, while others still have a chaotic mess of worldly remnants piled high upon their Pure Land. Ultimately, the degree of purity this internal land can achieve depends entirely on how much effort each individual is willing to invest.

The True Meaning of Effort

This effort is not merely a matter of how many sutras one reads each day, how many prostrations one performs, or how many times one chants the Buddha's name. Rather, it is measured by how much one is truly willing to let go of within the heart.

The purity or impurity of one's internal Pure Land is entirely dependent on the choices made by the heart—the choice to 'let go' or to 'hold on', the choice to 'want' or to 'not want'. In the realm of practice, one cannot 'gain' without 'letting go'. It is an absolute truth: only after one has truly relinquished can one truly receive.

The Necessity of Sacrifice

One cannot have both the fish and the bear's paw at the same time. When one chooses to embark upon this path of practice, one must inevitably make sacrifices regarding everything in the world. If one finds it difficult to let go of worldly objects, worldly emotions, and worldly thoughts, these will all become obstacles. They will obstruct the purity of one's practice, ensuring that the heart remains unable to settle, unable to find clarity, and unable to achieve true peace.

Among the many obstacles that must be relinquished, there is one that is the most profound and the most subtle: the 'selfishness' that resides within every person's heart. Selfishness can be large or small; it can be so great that one can easily perceive it, or it can be so minute that one is completely blind to its existence.

The Poison of the Self

Every person possesses some degree of selfishness. In the secular world, this is especially easy to observe, and because it is so common, people often become accustomed to it, failing to see anything unusual about it. However, they do not realise that even the most subtle selfishness can provoke one's own karma, awaken the karmic creditors within one's body, and accelerate their pursuit for retribution.

Once a practitioner harbours selfishness in their heart, that selfish mental note becomes like a toxic substance buried in the soil, eventually destroying the entire landscape. The Pure Land within the heart is no different; selfishness acts like a poison that will completely ruin the purity of that land.

The Illusion of the 'I'

What kind of behaviour is truly called selfish? In truth, as long as there is even the slightest trace of 'self' in the heart—what Practitioner Su often refers to in her Dharma talks as 'having an I'—that is the greatest form of selfishness.

A person who clings to an 'I' will inevitably have a selfish heart. Those who are selfish find it difficult to let go of this physical body; they are easily bound by the body's needs and desires, and thus they remain unable to realise their true nature. But how, then, does one let go of the self?

Before one can truly let go of the self, one requires a firm and resolute heart—a heart that is determined to walk this path of practice. Without such a firm heart, it is difficult to help oneself thoroughly relinquish the self.

Following this, one must gradually use one's practice to view all things in the world with detachment. This includes seeing clearly and understanding the nature of this false body, as well as the false play that this false body performs in the world. Through listening to the Dharma, and through constant awareness, awakening, and letting go, one can slowly remove the 'I' from the heart and eliminate the internal selfishness and attachments. Namo Amituofo."