The Stillness of the Heart: Teachings on the Unmoved Mind

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

During the first session of the Thrice Yearning Ceremony held on the 21st of September, 2024, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju offered these vital teachings on the nature of the heart and the essence of spiritual cultivation.

The Heart as the Root of Practice

As a practitioner, you must possess meditative concentration. Maintaining a stable heart is an exceptionally important matter in your daily life. The heart is the fundamental root of all spiritual practice; the state of your heart at any given moment serves as a clear reflection of your achievements in cultivation. If you can protect your heart and keep it in a stable, tranquil state, you are truly a practitioner who possesses both compassion and wisdom. This is why the Three Learnings of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom are the essential conditions for success in your practice.

The Ripple Effect of Every Thought

You must strive to keep your heart unmoved. If your heart moves, you are creating karma, and you will inevitably attract the manifestation of karma. In Mahayana Buddhism, it is understood that every thought and intention you hold creates karma. Consider the nature of these actions:

• Good thoughts and intentions create good karma, which leads to good fruit.
• Evil thoughts and intentions create negative karma, which leads to evil consequences.
• Both good karma and negative karma are still karma, which keeps you bound within the cycle of rebirth.

However, chanting Namo Amituofo is considered pure karma. This is because, while chanting involves the act of thinking, it is a state of mind that is free from defilement. Therefore, it is classified as pure karma.

Mastering the Mind

If your heart is easily moved, it will follow the external environment, and you will lose the ability to be the master of your own life. Conversely, if you keep your heart unmoved, the external environment will follow your heart, and you will be able to maintain true autonomy. Chanting Namo Amituofo is a practice that simultaneously cultivates the Three Learnings of Precepts, Samadhi, and Wisdom. When you achieve meditative concentration through chanting, you are effectively cultivating discipline and the habit of maintaining an unmoved heart.

The Path to Awakening

When your heart is moved by external changes, you become confused and led astray. You may then create various forms of negative karma, which makes it difficult to walk the righteous path and may lead you into the Three Evil Realms. However, if you keep your heart unmoved, you will be able to see the truth of reality clearly. You will not be deceived by illusions, and you will not create negative karma. By doing so, your practice will progress, your heart will become purified, and you will eventually see your true nature. Namo Amituofo.