The Wisdom of Letting Go and Gaining

The Inevitability of Impermanence

Teachings from Namo Amituofo, recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe. On this day of the noon offering, Namo Amituofo provides this essential guidance: to truly progress in your practice, you must learn the art of letting go and gaining. When you arrive in this human world and obtain a human body, your heart is often stirred by external circumstances. This fluctuation of the heart directly impacts your Body, Speech, and Mind, leading to the manifestation of karmic connections and the emergence of past karma. How can one truly learn to let go and gain what is meaningful, when life itself is so fleeting and filled with inevitable partings?

When you encounter the cycle of Aging, sickness, and death, the reality of separation becomes unavoidable. Even if you do not wish to let go, you are forced to do so. Even if you do not desire separation, you must eventually part ways. Even if you are unwilling to relinquish your life, you must eventually let it go. Once the spirit has departed from the physical form, leaving only the empty shell behind, where does that spirit go? You do not know. Whether the body is buried in the earth or cremated, once this physical form is destroyed, what remains? When the spirit is no longer present, all things become empty. The events of the past become mere memories, leaving behind only sorrow in the human world.

Breaking the Cycle of Accumulated Lifetimes

Throughout your accumulated lifetimes, you have experienced these scenes and emotions countless times. You have simply forgotten your original nature. Do you truly wish to repeat this cycle once more in this lifetime? Having encountered Namo Amituofo at this very moment, the Buddha hopes that you, as his child, will finally leave this suffering behind. Do not continue to harm your body, mind, and spirit with unnecessary attachments.

The Daily Path of Purification

You must engage in the following practices to purify your body, mind, and spirit:

• Buddha-name chanting: Let every sound of the Buddha-name resonate clearly within you.
• Prostrations: With every bow and every rise, maintain a focused and sincere heart.
• Reciting the Sutras: Ensure that every word and every sentence is understood clearly, keeping the recitation continuous and steady.

These practices are the foundation for purifying your body, mind, and spirit, with the ultimate goal of rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. You must be vigilant and aware, ensuring that you do not become stained by worldly dust again. To be stained is to invite the presence of karmic creditors, leading to suffering upon suffering. Both you and your karmic creditors will be harmed, and such a state is unbearable. You must learn to "see through" and "let go" of all that is illusory.

Returning to the Western Pure Land

Do not be attached to anything, for all things in this world are merely passing through the cycle of karma. They are like illusions that vanish after they appear. If you can understand this true meaning, you will realise that these things are illusory and not real; do not take them as truth. By engaging in diligent practice, your heart will become steady and grounded. When you achieve spiritual success and reach the state of an awakened being, you will first save yourself, and then you will be able to save all other beings.

Your family members are also among these beings. You will all be saved together and enter the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, becoming inhabitants of the lotus kingdom. If you can practise well while you are in this world, your spirit will not be subject to aging or sickness, and it will not die. You will successfully enter the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Namo Amituofo.