The Power of Being the Master of Your Life

The Sovereign Heart

Words of Namo Amituofo:

To be the master of your life is to allow your existence, your body, your heart, and your spirit to be filled with true power. When your heart can truly take charge, your Body-Mind-Spirit will be able to coordinate with one another, supporting and utilising each other in harmony. This is how one lives a life of clarity, ease, and true autonomy.

The heart is the original master of your being. If you can truly be the master of your body, you will not be subject to the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death. You will be able to issue clear commands, informing your body exactly how it should function. When your physical actions and your mental note are in perfect coordination, your body will naturally remain healthy. However, when your actions, your thoughts, and the actual situations you face cannot be harmonised, the world calls this illness. In this context, it is a sign that you are unable to be the master of yourself; you are being controlled by other beings, which is a manifestation of your karma.

The Stability of the Spirit

The heart is also the master of your spirit. If you can be the master of your spirit, your three hun souls and seven po souls will remain stable. Your mental state will be steady, and your spirit will be clear and bright. If your souls are scattered, you will become drowsy, and you will frequently enter other spaces. Your mental state and your emotions will become unstable, making it difficult for you to be the master of your own life. You may even lose the ability to care for yourself, which is another manifestation of your karma.

Transcending the Cycle of Karma

A life where one is truly the master cannot be purchased with wealth, nor does it mean simply doing whatever one desires. Rather, it means being no longer dominated by the cycle of karma and no longer living a life defined by birth, aging, sickness, and death. For those of us currently in a body shaped by karmic retribution, this requires diligent practice and purification to rediscover our true self. A life where the Body-Mind-Spirit can truly be the master is the life of an awakened being.

The Path to Awakening

Before one reaches the state of an awakened being, the first step to becoming the master of your life is to change your personality traits—specifically the "self," personal ego, and selfishness. You must be humble and modest, and you must serve all beings. Your heart should not be agitated, and you should not be lost in idle thinking. You must let go of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. Furthermore, you must distance yourself from, or at least appropriately adjust, your attachment to wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep.

• Think good thoughts.
• Look at the world with goodness.
• Speak good words.
• Perform acts of Goodness and chant Buddha's name.

It is very important to give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi. This will assist in your purification and prevent you from attracting karmic creditors who might manifest to obstruct your practice. Those who have realised their true nature can face any person and handle any situation with absolute clarity. They are no longer dominated by karma or controlled by karmic creditors. Most importantly, they are able to save themselves and others, escape the cycle of birth and death, and chant Namo Amituofo with ease to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Namo Amituofo