Difficulties and dangerous situations are constantly orbiting around you, my children. This is because, on the path of practice, the process of purification often encounters obstacles. When you hold onto the concept of 'I' or 'self,' when you dwell on the past, or when you focus on the negative rather than the positive, you create conditions that are contrary to the path of purification. These transgressions are precisely why difficulties and dangerous situations manifest before you.
You must learn to rely on your own keen awareness to perceive the existence of these traps. By doing so, you can heighten your vigilance and prevent yourself from being oppressed by suffering. When you are truly alert, you can navigate these challenges with the clarity of a practitioner who understands the nature of the heart.
Three Levels of Spiritual Awareness
There are different levels of awareness among practitioners when it comes to these obstacles:
The Highly Awakened:
By listening to the sutras and hearing the , these practitioners understand the nature of these traps beforehand. They are able to repent and stop their mistakes before they occur, thus avoiding these difficulties entirely. Even if a situation begins to manifest, they stop it immediately, ensuring they remain on the Buddha's path.The Conscious Practitioner:
These individuals may encounter difficulties and experience the resulting pain, but they possess the awareness to repent and change their ways immediately after the fact. This allows them to continue their progress on the Buddha's path.The Unaware: Those who are lost in ignorance face these difficulties repeatedly. They suffer again and again, yet they fail to repent or change their ways. For them, it is very difficult to avoid regressing, and their progress on the path becomes stalled.
When you fail to perceive these difficulties as they arise, you trap yourself in a dangerous situation from which it is hard to escape. You drift further and further away from purification and awakened being. Eventually, your will manifest one by one, and you will be forced to face the harsh realities of aging, sickness, and death.
Identifying the Traps of the Mind
What exactly are these difficulties and dangerous situations? They are the manifestations of our own internal imbalances and past . They include:
Confusion and Stagnation:
Being lost without , or feeling a heavy, drowsy state that is difficult to shake off.Unresolved Personality Flaws:
Knowing your own faults and negative personality traits but failing to change them.The Fire of Anger:
Allowing the fire of anger to burn within your heart, which harms both yourself and others.Unbridled Greed:
Being unable to let go of the attachments of desire.Ignorance and Arrogance:
Continuing to create negative causes through ignorance, or allowing arrogance to become a habit that hurts others without your even realising it.Past Shadows:
The sudden emergence of long-forgotten figures, scenes, or memories that stir up old emotions.Spiritual Obstacles: Entering a space that is difficult to break through, or experiencing the reappearance of karmic creditors, attached spirits, or demon crowds.
The Path to True Liberation
How can you walk out of these difficulties? and Wisdom (Prajna) are the most effective remedies for healing your own heart and the hearts of all beings. Listening to the sutras and hearing the Dharma allows you and the beings around you to understand the laws of karma and cause and effect. Knowing the root cause of these difficulties is a great help in your willingness to resolve the conflict with other beings.
Repenting, changing your ways, and actively working to change personality traits are the best methods of self-rescue to prevent the reappearance of karmic creditors. While and other methods of spiritual deliverance can help alleviate these situations, they are only temporary measures. To truly resolve the issue at its root, you must change from within your heart.
The Compassionate Support of the Buddha
Once you have walked out of these difficulties, you will realise that everything within those traps was merely a part of a dream or an illusion. You will wonder why you were so foolish as to cling to those painful places, trapping yourself in danger. Fortunately, you are not alone.
, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, and Practitioner Su are always by your side. They never leave you, never abandon you, and never give up on you. They are there to:
Pull you forward or give you a gentle push when you are stuck.Offer teachings to help you understand the principles of cause and effect.Provide constant, earnest reminders to keep you on the right path.Assist you through the power of Buddha-light and the Buddha-name.Use the to resolve the conflict and perform Chao Du for your karmic creditors and demon crowds.
Some of you have not yet awakened and continue to fall back into these traps, watching your life and your practice slip away day by day. Others are currently struggling against the forces of aging, sickness, and death. But there are also those who are successfully walking out of these difficulties, refusing to fall into the traps again, and continuing their journey forward. Namo Amituofo.
