Transforming Personality and Habits for Spiritual Liberation

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

During the midday offering on July 27, 2024, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju offered these essential teachings on the path of practice.

The Cage of the Self

Changing your personality and your inappropriate habits is the most vital task for your own salvation. But what exactly is this personality that we cling to so tightly? It is the rigid insistence that things must be done exactly as you desire. It is the demand that your habits, your preferences, and your routines remain undisturbed. This is a form of deep-seated attachment, and it is the very essence of what we call personality. By clinging to these patterns, you effectively trap yourself within a narrow, self-constructed frame, limiting your potential for growth and blocking the light of your true nature.

Where Personality Manifests

Where can you observe these traits? They are not hidden; they are woven into the fabric of your daily life. You can see them clearly in several areas:

• In your habitual ways of reacting to the world.
• In the way you converse and interact with others.
• In your attitude toward your work and your conduct during collaborative tasks.
• In the subtle, persistent manifestations of selfishness.

These traits are the ripples that disturb the stillness of your mind, preventing you from seeing the Truth clearly.

The True Nature of Selfishness

What is selfishness? It is the tendency to prioritise your own affairs, your own needs, or your own schedule above all else. When you are selfish, you place your personal comfort before the needs of the Buddha, the Teacher, Practitioner Su, or the collective needs of the temple and all suffering beings. In the pure environment of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, the fourfold assembly must be especially mindful of this. You must uphold the temple rules and maintain your Precepts with sincerity.

Adjusting to the Path of Practice

You must be willing to adjust your daily routines to align with the path of practice. Consider your sleep, for example. In the past, living within the wider world, you developed specific perceptions and habits regarding how you should live. If you did not get enough sleep, you might have felt fatigued, or perhaps you allowed your attitude to sour, leading to harsh words or a poor demeanour. Now that you are a practitioner, you must let go of these worldly habits and the personality traits that accompanied them.

Letting Go to Find Freedom

To truly leave suffering behind and find happiness, you must be willing to discard these negative patterns. Compassion for others begins with compassion for yourself. You must be brave enough to let go of the following traits:

• The tendency to be easily angered or to take offence when others offer guidance.
• The arrogance of believing that while you may criticise others, they have no right to speak to you.
• The habit of focusing only on the faults of others while ignoring their virtues.
• The tendency to indulge in constant, aimless thinking and delusions.
• The stubborn insistence that your own opinions are absolute and cannot be questioned.

All such personality traits must be discarded and transformed. Do not hold onto them. To be free of these rigid personality traits is the only way to achieve true self-salvation. May you walk this path with a pure and open heart, chanting Namo Amituofo all the way.

Namo Amituofo