The Wisdom of Knowing One's Faults and Changing

The Eternal Journey of the Spirit

Amitabha Buddha's discourse: Admitting one's own faults is never an easy task. It requires one to set aside pride and face one's own shortcomings with a humble heart. Only when you truly understand where you have gone wrong from the depths of your heart can you begin the process of genuine transformation.

Your spirit is eternal; it is neither born nor does it die. Beyond this current physical body, your spirit has traversed countless lifetimes. Throughout this long journey, you have experienced endless suffering, including the inevitable cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Within the records of the laws of karma and cause and effect, there are countless entries of both your virtues and your transgressions.

In the cycle of rebirth, you have worked to dissolve karma and enjoy the fruits of past goodness. Conversely, in that same cycle, you have also created endless karma and endured immeasurable suffering. There are many instances of cause and effect—both good and evil—that you have not yet had the chance to resolve or experience. Consequently, these seeds are carried forward into this life. When the Causal Conditions mature, the results inevitably manifest in your present reality.

The Path of the Practitioner

In this world, most people live their lives governed entirely by their past karma. However, as practitioners, we must be different. Because we study the Dharma, we must strive to maintain constant awareness. From the very moment a thought arises, you should be able to observe it clearly. Ideally, if one can reach a state of no-thought, then no faults can be created. This is the most fundamental method to avoid creating negative causes, yet it is incredibly difficult to achieve.

This difficulty exists because people have become accustomed to living in a state of constant thinking and planning. Because of this, causes and effects are constantly intersecting, and people are perpetually receiving the consequences of their actions.

The Difficulty of True Repentance

When you are given the opportunity to learn that your current suffering is the result of negative causes created in the past, or when you hear your karmic creditors reveal the process of the harm they suffered, you may initially find it hard to believe. Even as you move toward acceptance, you may still struggle to feel true repentance. This is often because you have not personally experienced those past events, nor have you witnessed the profound suffering of those beings at that time.

The Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and Practitioner Su understand this struggle. In order to help beings resolve their suffering—and you, as a child of the Buddha, are also one of these beings—Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su will do everything in their power to assist you.

Taking Responsibility for Your Growth

We will help you resolve the conflicts with your karmic creditors so that they may accept Chao Du and find peace. However, you must also take responsibility for your own path. You must do the following:

• Know your faults and change: Acknowledge where you have erred and commit to not repeating those mistakes.
• Be earnest and diligent: Apply yourself fully to your practice with a sincere heart.
• Be cautious: Maintain constant awareness so that you do not fall back into old patterns of creating negative karma.

This is the only true method to save yourself and to save other beings. You must act accordingly. Namo Amituofo.