The Stillness of the Heart: Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju

The Foundation of Meditative Concentration

When your heart does not fluctuate, you possess the power of meditative concentration. This state allows you to remain entirely unaffected by external environments. You will no longer be turned by the world around you; instead, you will gain the profound ability to transform the environment itself. By clearly recognising the truth of reality—that all phenomena are illusory—you will no longer be deceived or led astray by the external world.

The Purpose of Skillful Means

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas employ various skillful means to guide us. Their compassionate actions are designed for several vital purposes:

• To save beings and resolve their karmic grievances.To lead beings into the Dharma, helping them find liberation from the cycle of birth and death and attain Buddhahood
• .To assist beings in chanting the Buddha's name, making vows, and entering the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss
• .To ensure that the Precepts, meditative concentration, and Wisdom
• can be successfully cultivated.To remove the various obstacles that hinder this physical body.

While their bodies may move within the world, their hearts remain unmoved. This is the true practice of teaching and transforming all beings.

The Power of Unwavering Faith

A heart that does not fluctuate is the result of true achievement in one's practice. This state arises because you have faith in the Buddha and faith in your own ability to stabilise your heart. Because your faith in the Buddha is firm and unmoving, you are able to face all circumstances with peace and stability. In contrast, the ordinary heart fluctuates and rises and falls within the cycle of reincarnation, suffering endlessly.

The Magnificent Opportunity at Hsiang Kuang

Now, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, you have encountered Namo Amituofo. Namo Amituofo came specifically to save beings from suffering and to resolve their difficulties. Furthermore, we have the presence of Practitioner Su in this world. Through this magnificent Dharma affinity, the sacred name of Namo Amituofo and the twelve rays of Buddha-light are utilised to perform the work of saving the world. This is truly the greatest fortune for all beings.

Elevating the Spirit

For those who are practitioners at this Buddha-land, you must seize this opportunity. You must work diligently to cultivate the skill of a heart that does not fluctuate. Within this practice, you must integrate compassion and Wisdom to elevate your spirits. By doing so, you will eventually reach the state of an awakened being, gaining the ability to freely travel to and from the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Method of Stopping Suffering

A heart that does not fluctuate is a form of deep meditative concentration. It is a wonderful method for stopping suffering after one has seen through the various miseries of the world. When you feel a thought arise or your heart begin to move, you must have the awareness to stop that thought immediately. Replace every single thought with the sacred name of Namo Amituofo. Let all thoughts be transformed and absorbed into the name of Namo Amituofo.

At this moment, you can lead the beings within your body and your very cells to chant the Buddha's name together. Do not let the Buddha-name be interrupted; maintain the continuous chanting of Buddha's name. Continue until you reach the state of chanting without chanting, and not chanting while chanting. This means that the cells within your body and the spirits residing within have already begun to automatically invoke the sacred name of Namo Amituofo. This is the state of a heart that does not fluctuate, the moment when you stop the manifestation of karmic reincarnation and begin to transform karma.

Namo Amituofo