The Wisdom of Diligent Cultivation

The Seeds of Sincerity and the Harvest of Truth

Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju offers this profound guidance: one part of cultivation yields one part of harvest. Whether you are engaged in a professional career, a trade, or the pursuit of spiritual knowledge, this principle remains an essential truth. It is a teaching that should be deeply etched into your heart. When you are able to work with genuine sincerity and a grounded spirit, you will naturally find the opportunity to reap a bountiful harvest. This process of honest labour naturally gives rise to feelings of contentment and gratitude within the heart, which in turn nurtures a gentle, steady, and virtuous character.

In our modern society, there is an overwhelming emphasis on efficiency. People are constantly seeking ways to see results in the shortest possible time. Consequently, they exhaust their mental energy, researching and developing new functions and products to help every industry achieve maximum profit with minimal delay. People are perpetually thinking, planning, brainstorming, reflecting, reviewing, and refining their methods to better suit the demands of the world. This is especially evident in the realm of technology, where innovations appear and are replaced with startling speed.

The Mirage of Speed in a Fleeting World

However, this obsession with rapid results and immediate benefits has caused people to forget the fundamental law that one part of cultivation yields one part of harvest. We have forgotten the importance of being grounded and honest. Gradually, a mindset of seeking speed, novelty, and constant change has taken root in our hearts. This shift in mindset has manifested in our behaviour as well:

• We have forgotten how to live in harmony with the natural changes of the world.Instead, we attempt to force nature to conform to our desires.By creating such causes, we inevitably face the backlash of natural forces, resulting in the suffering and loss of life that we see today.

The Shadow of Arrogance and the Weight of Karma

This relentless pursuit of speed and change has fostered greed and a sense of entitlement within the human heart. We have lost our capacity for contentment and gratitude. When we achieve a temporary success, we mistakenly believe it is entirely due to our own cleverness, which leads to arrogance and self-importance. More importantly, these negative states of mind and conduct become the very reasons that we fall under the control of demon crowds and face the manifestation of karma. We must realise that these problems are not merely technical issues; they are spiritual ones.

The Sacred Duty of Nurturing the Heart

Our educational systems must also take responsibility for this decline. Education has failed to teach children the importance of cultivating gratitude and contentment from a young age. It has neglected to help them understand the laws of karma and cause and effect. By failing to develop the inherently kind and compassionate nature within each child, we have left them vulnerable to the pressures of a world that values profit over virtue. When these children grow up and begin their own spiritual practice, these ingrained habits become significant obstacles.

Returning to the Clarity of the Original Nature

To overcome these barriers, we must diligently wash away the dust of worldly defilements. We must return to the steady, grounded path where one part of cultivation truly yields one part of harvest. By practising with sincerity, we can rediscover our original nature and align ourselves with the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way. Let us commit ourselves to this path, leaving behind the distractions of the world to focus on the clarity of our own hearts.

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

Namo Amituofo