The Transcendent and the Mundane

Teachings by the Teacher, recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe

4 July 2026

Teachings by Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju:

The Transcendent refers to one who is detached and beyond the mundane.

The Mundane refers to one who is deluded and vulgar.

The difference between the Transcendent and the Mundane does not lie in physical appearance, the possession of wealth, the height of fame and status, or whether one holds a superior or inferior role; rather, it lies in one's hearts and actions.

The hearts and actions of the Transcendent:

Sincerity, goodness, and no-self;

Compassion, wisdom, joy, and the ability to let go;

Tolerance for the faults of others, and being selfless and altruistic for the sake of all beings;

Distancing oneself from, or even severing, "greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt" and "wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep";

The three studies of Discipline (Precepts), Meditation (Concentration), and Wisdom (Prajna);

Practising the Six Perfections: Generosity (Giving), Discipline (Precepts), Patience (Endurance), Diligent practice, Meditation (Concentration), and Wisdom (Prajna).

Achieving self-realisation to alleviate the suffering of beings, this is one whose true self can be the master.

This heart spends a lifetime in stability and stillness,

and thus can, not grow old, not get sick, and the spirit does not die, to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss,

or naturally enter the heavenly realm within the twenty-eight heavenly realms that corresponds to one's spiritual quality,

that is, according to the elevation of one's spiritual quality, ascending layer by layer within the heavenly realms.

The hearts and actions of the Mundane:

A heart of evil, thinking of bad, seeing bad, and speaking of bad;

Seeing only one's own suffering, and not the suffering of other beings;

Selfish, self-centred, strong-willed, and highly possessive;

Easily angered, clinging tightly to the faults of others, narrow-minded, and deluded by emotion;

Indulging in wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep, living a life of greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt.

This is allowing the karmic creditors within one's body to be the master.

This heart spends a lifetime in turbulence and fluctuation,

and thus the body, mind, and spirit experience the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and the true self enters the six realms of rebirth again,

according to the negative karma created by this body, entering the evil paths of hells, hungry ghosts, and animal realms to suffer.

Practice is for the Mundane to transform into the Transcendent,

turning from the dust of desire to the purity of being free from desire.

Buddhist education can teach beings to recognise Universal Principles, Truth, and the Right Path,

elevating hearts, actions, and spiritual quality, helping the Mundane enter the state of the Transcendent,

and further entering a state of no desire and no seeking.

Chant one Buddha's name to the end,

which is the supreme grace and blessing of Namo Amituofo to all beings in the ten directions,

may all beings be able to receive this, make progress in their practice, and realise supreme Bodhi (Enlightenment).

Namo Amituofo