The True Purpose of Our Spiritual Practice

Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju offers these profound teachings:

What is the true purpose of a Pure Land practitioner? Many ask this question as they embark on their journey. The most critical task, the very foundation upon which all spiritual success rests, is the transformation of your personality. This is the area where you must apply the most diligent practice and effort.

The Transformation of the Self

If you can refine your personality until it is entirely dissolved, leaving behind only a compassionate and selfless heart, then your practice will surely bear fruit, and the prospect of realising your true nature becomes a reality. However, if you still cling to your old personality traits, these will inevitably become obstacles to your spiritual achievement. They will cloud your vision and make it difficult to realise your true nature.

To facilitate this transformation, you must rely on the Buddha's blessings. Your daily practice is the essential method for receiving this vital support. Your daily practice should include:

• Prostrations: Bowing to the Buddha to humble the ego and cultivate reverence.
• Chanting the Buddha-name: Invoking Namo Amituofo to align your heart with the infinite light of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
• Recite the Sutras: Studying the sacred texts to deepen your understanding of the Truth.

These are the fundamental exercises for any practitioner. When you engage in these practices, you are simultaneously cultivating the Precepts (Discipline), Concentration and Wisdom, as well as the Six Perfections. This is the natural path of diligent practice, which helps you rediscover your true self / self-nature.

The Boat to the Other Shore

Your daily practice is merely a tool and method to reach your destination. Once you have realised your true nature, many things will become crystal clear. Think of it like taking a boat across a vast river. When you reach the destination on the other shore and step onto the land, you no longer need the boat; you can simply leave it behind because its purpose has been fulfilled.

Even so, those who have realised their true nature will continue to perform prostrations, chant the Buddha-name, and recite the Sutras. They do this to demonstrate the path to others. They show that these methods are essential tools for purification—they are the means by which one can return to their true self / self-nature. Just as you need a boat to cross the river, you need these methods to reach the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Compassion of Spiritual Deliverance

At Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, Chao Du, or spiritual deliverance, is a vital part of our practice. You should learn how to perform this through the guidance of Buddha or Bodhisattva, ancestral masters, those who have realised their true nature, or true spiritual friends. The most important requirement for performing spiritual deliverance that transcends time and space is meditative concentration.

Without strong meditative concentration, your thoughts will be scattered and unable to focus. If your mind is not unified, you cannot harness the power of your visualisation, and you certainly cannot hope to deliver beings from their suffering. Your ability to perform spiritual deliverance must be rooted in this deep, unwavering concentration. Furthermore, you must rely on the Buddha's blessings. This is of the utmost importance. Only by entering the Buddha-heart and receiving the Buddha's blessings can you truly manifest the power and majesty of the Buddha-name.

Above all, a practitioner performing spiritual deliverance must possess a heart of compassion. You must see the suffering of beings and vow to help them leave suffering behind. This compassion cannot be bought with money or exchanged for wealth; it is attained only through the process of purification. Compassion is naturally present within your true self / self-nature; it is a quality possessed by those who have realised their true nature. As you continue your purification, you move closer to that realisation, and your compassion will naturally manifest.

The Clarity of Space Visitation

Visiting beings in other spaces is another core practice at Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. If you wish to open up space, you must rely heavily on the Buddha's blessings. These spaces are filled with many forms of interference. If you are prone to being drowsy or having a clouded mind, you must be especially careful to gather your spirit and maintain absolute clarity when visiting these realms.

You must approach these encounters without bringing even a single drop of your own opinions or biases. Your own knowledge is limited, and you cannot know in advance what the beings you encounter will say. The more you can maintain a state of emptiness—a state of being completely open and receptive—the more you will be able to receive true and accurate information. This is a crucial point that every practitioner of space visitation must observe.

The Path of Hsiang Kuang

The practices we have discussed—daily practice, spiritual deliverance, and space visitation—are designed to help you save yourself while simultaneously saving others. This is the unique characteristic of the practice at Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre:

• You learn through everything you see and hear during your visualisations and visitations.
• You face your problems and achieve breakthroughs through the diligence of your daily practice.
• You witness the profound suffering of beings through your work in spiritual deliverance and space visitation.
• You cultivate and grow your compassion by actively working to relieve the suffering of others.

Namo Amituofo