The Wisdom of Levelness: Finding Equality in All Beings

Words of Namo Amituofo, recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable Fa Hui.

On the seventh of December, 2025, during the midday offering, Namo Amituofo provided these essential teachings on the nature of equality and the state of a balanced mind.

The Essence of True Balance

What is meant by the state of levelness? It is the ability to maintain a perfect equilibrium between two sides, ensuring that there is no sense of high or low. In our daily lives, we often find our minds swaying, leaning towards one preference or another. However, if you find that your current actions or thoughts are tilting towards a particular side, you must be able to adjust yourself with skill and grace. You must bring your mind back to a state of levelness, maintaining a condition where there is no distinction of high or low. This is the true heart and action of those who have realised their true nature.

Seeing the Buddha in Every Being

If you are a practitioner, you should strive to see every being as a Buddha. You must recognise that they possess the exact same true self as you do. Why, then, do they appear so different? It is because of the following factors:

• The presence of deep-seated confusion that obscures their original nature.
• The varying degrees of awakening or delusion they have experienced across lifetimes.
• The manifestation of different states within the six realms of existence, which are merely reflections of their past hearts and actions.

Through this recognition, and by grounding yourself in actual practice, you will begin to see the true reality of existence. This is how one breaks through delusion and attains enlightenment.

The Path of Compassionate Teaching

Those who have reached Awakening possess the ability to teach and guide others, establishing them firmly on the path. When you interact with others, you must do so with deep respect for the Buddha-nature that resides within them. By understanding their unique potential, you can help them in the following ways:

• Assisting them to remove defilements and attain purity.
• Helping them to open their wisdom and realise their true self.
• Guiding them to leave suffering behind and find the path to liberation.

Those who have realised their true nature understand clearly that all beings share the same true self. We are all, in essence, on the same level. When a practitioner’s own practice reaches a state of purity, and they view all beings as equal and one with themselves, that is the very moment they enter the state of Awakening.

The Fundamental Attitude of Equality

In our interactions with others, and indeed with all beings, we must learn to place ourselves on the same level as them. If you can achieve this, your physical actions, your speech, and your responses will naturally manifest a profound respect for the other person. This is the fundamental attitude that one must adopt, based on the understanding that all beings possess the same true self and are inherently equal.

Furthermore, you must understand the practical differences in the hearts and actions of those around you. By balancing both compassion and wisdom, you will be able to save all boundless suffering sentient beings, helping them to leave suffering behind and find rebirth in the Western Pure Land. This is the noble mission of the practitioner.

Namo Amituofo