To Pick Up and To Let Go

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

June 14, 2026

Teachings by Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju:

To pick up means one has the boldness to take on heavy responsibilities;

to let go means to see through the illusory and the truth,

knowing not to grasp at the illusory, but to reclaim the real,

knowing life is limited, and cherishing every second without wasting it.

People in the world are deceived by the false appearance of the body, and amidst the constant changes of impermanence,

their hearts fluctuate, leading them back into being reincarnated.

Not knowing their true, unchanging self-nature,

they have spent accumulated lifetimes this way, and their suffering has not ceased.

In this life, having encountered Amitabha and heard the Great Dharma, cherish it immensely; this is the opportune time for rebirth in the Western Pure Land,

do not be careless and fall back into being reincarnated.

Be cautious and careful, and do not be oppressed by the suffering of death and illness again.

Knowing the Great Dharma of not grow old, not get sick, and the spirit does not die,

you must pick up the heart of Precepts and let go of the heart of greed and defilement,

pick up the heart of meditative concentration and let go of anger,

pick up Wisdom (Prajna) and let go of delusion,

this is to have awakening and realisation.

Pick up boldness and determination to overcome the karma that has remained unresolved and the new karma created over accumulated lifetimes.

Let go of physical sensations and feelings,

for this can stop the manifestation of karma and physical suffering, sever emotional entanglements and calm the anger of beings, and eliminate old karma to make progress in practice.

Be fiercely diligent in purifying the spirit, serve beings, and cultivate extensive merit;

this is the most important aspect of practice.

Pick up those connected by karmic affinity, let go of emotional entanglements,

to pick up and to let go, and thereafter, do not cling to either those connected by karmic affinity or emotional entanglements,

for they are originally non-existent; where would there be any attachment?

Pick up the compassion to save beings, and let go of the feelings of one's own body.

To pick up and to let go, and thereafter, let go of both one's body and feelings,

for they are originally non-existent; where would there be any feelings?

Clinging to existence is defilement; one should let it go.

Since it is originally non-existent, why suffer by clinging to existence and grasping tightly?

Buddha or Bodhisattva and those who have realised their true nature know of existence but do not cling to it;

they skilfully use existence to save all beings and demons, yet their hearts remain completely unmoved,

this is the true meaning of picking up and letting go.

Namo Amituofo