The Path to Realising One's True Nature and Attaining Buddhahood
Teachings from Namo Amituofo
Recorded by Venerable HaiZe on March 7, 2025
Teachings from Namo Amituofo, recorded by Venerable HaiZe on the seventh of March, 2025.
My children, here at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre, the concept of realising one's true nature should not be unfamiliar to you. You have heard it mentioned frequently in the teachings of Namo Amituofo and Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, as well as in the detailed explanations provided by Practitioner Su. Furthermore, you have the living example of Practitioner Su, who has realised their true nature, to guide you through both their words and their actions, showing you exactly what it means to be an awakened being.
The Essence of Realising One's True Nature
What, then, is realising one's true nature? In its ultimate sense, it is the attainment of Buddhahood. And what is a Buddha? A Buddha is one who has achieved three levels of perfection:
- Self-awareness: One has fully understood their own original nature.
- Awareness of others: One has extended this understanding to help all other beings.
- Perfect awareness: One's practice of wisdom and is complete and flawless.
My children, if you have the aspiration to realise your true nature, you are essentially expressing a desire to become someone who puts aside for the sake of all beings. You are expressing a desire to become a Buddha, to save yourself, to save others, and to help all beings leave suffering behind.
The Journey Toward Buddhahood
You must never forget that you are also a being among beings. Moreover, the countless beings within your own body are also beings who require your compassion and guidance. Therefore, a Buddha is one who has no self-interest and acts entirely for the benefit of others. One must first be capable of saving oneself and achieving self-awareness before one can have the capacity to awaken others and enter into the state of perfect awareness.
To become a Buddha, you must understand that the path is a process of transformation:
- The Process: Saving yourself, saving others, and acting selflessly for the sake of all beings.
- The Result: Achieving self-awareness, others, and reaching the perfection of awareness.
To be awakened is to be a practitioner who has not only achieved for oneself but who also possesses the complete ability to help all other beings achieve that same enlightenment.
A Sanctuary for the Soul
The Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre is a precious land. Today, Namo Amituofo truly abides here, and Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju and Practitioner Su are here together in this Buddha-land to teach and transform the masses. This is a sanctuary for those who wish to realise their true nature and attain Buddhahood. It is a Pure Land where you can save yourself, save others, and permanently escape the cycle of rebirth to find rebirth in the Western Pure Land.
The number of beings is immeasurable and boundless. For every additional person who realises their true nature, there is one less being suffering in the cycle of rebirth. For every additional person who begins to chant Buddha's name to save the world and help others, there is a greater capacity to rescue countless suffering beings and contribute to the purification of this world.
The Vital Role of Faith
At this moment, the ability of beings to save themselves is insufficient; they are in dire need of the Buddha's salvation. However, within the Pure Land path, you must initiate the effort to save yourself first, and then the Buddha's power can be added to your own. The first step is to have faith in the Buddha.
If you have faith in the Buddha without a single doubt, the Buddha's power will be able to encompass you completely. Your progress will be swift, and your realisation of your true nature will be rapid. The degree of your faith determines the degree to which you can be embraced by the Buddha's light. The Buddha-heart is equal and impartial, and the Buddha-light shines upon all beings. Yet, it is according to the depth of your own faith that you receive the blessing of that Buddha-light. You must all understand this clearly.
Namo Amituofo.
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About the Author
Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre
Contributed to Pure Land Buddhism knowledge library