Walking the Path of the Buddha: A Discourse from Namo Amituofo

My children, have you ever truly experienced what it means to follow the Buddha’s path? When the Buddha moves through this world, do the people of this world truly perceive it? They may know, or they may remain unaware; they may believe, or they may remain sceptical. Regardless of how the world perceives these movements, for those of you who are Buddhist practitioners, the most vital foundation is your unwavering faith in the Buddha.

The Foundation of Faith in a Changing World

Following the conduct and practice of the ancestral masters is often the most reliable and secure method for ensuring that the Buddha’s teachings are passed down through the generations and that one achieves spiritual success. However, as the era shifts and the environment around us undergoes profound changes, we find ourselves in a precarious time:

• Human hearts are constantly changing, often driven by fleeting emotions rather than wisdom.
• Material desires flow like a torrential river, overwhelming the senses.
• Our body, mind, and spirit are being polluted, yet we remain largely unaware of this subtle decay.
• The rise of demon crowds has led to significant mutations in the physical and mental states of humanity.

In the face of this vast environment and these emerging challenges, the education provided by the Buddha’s teachings must be delivered with even more effective methods. Our goal remains constant: to save beings and to help them leave suffering behind so that they may be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Navigating the Shadows of the Modern Age

We are currently living in the age of the Dharma’s decline. In this period, demon crowds are using human hearts, advanced technology, and the internet to interfere with the human world with unprecedented intensity. This has clearly impacted the health, longevity, and daily lives of people everywhere, causing immense disruption to families and society at large. While these demon crowds are beings of the spiritual realms, the physical eyes of ordinary people cannot perceive their existence. Because they remain invisible, their influence often goes unchecked.

The Compassionate Power of the Twelve Lights

Today, at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, Practitioner Su has opened his spiritual eyes and is able to perceive the spiritual realms and the presence of these demon crowds. With his own awakened Dharma Body, and under the compassionate assistance of Namo Amituofo, he is able to utilise the Twelve Lights to subdue demon crowds. This work significantly reduces the interference and obstacles that these beings impose upon humanity. These various phenomena were never seen or heard of in the teachings of the ancestral masters of the past, yet they are occurring in the spiritual realms at this very moment.

Walking the Path of the Awakened

The nature of these demon crowds is rigid and difficult to subdue; their hearts are not easily transformed. This task can only be accomplished through the combined efforts of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, ancestral masters, those who have realised their true nature, and the community of monastics. Walking the path of the Buddha is one of the most important methods for a practitioner to be diligent and to achieve success in their practice, even reaching the state of an awakened being. To walk this path, you must:

• Follow in the footsteps of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, ancestral masters, and those who have realised their true nature.
• Study their experiences and emulate their diligence.
• Observe their spirit and methods when facing and overcoming the various trials and tribulations that arise during the process of practice.

A Call to Diligent Practice

In this current age, these demon crowds have also become objects of salvation for those who teach and save beings. Therefore, a practitioner walking in this world must also possess the necessary conditions to subdue these demon crowds. In reality, the virtue, capability, and meditative skills possessed by one who has realised their true nature are already sufficient to subdue these demon crowds. This capability was also evident in the conduct of the ancestral masters of the past. However, because these demon crowds are now so rampant, it requires even greater wisdom, courage, and strength to subdue them, to propagate the Buddha’s teachings, and to walk through this world. Only then will beings have a genuine opportunity to leave suffering and gain happiness, and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. While beings in the spiritual realms are often easier to save because they know their own suffering, beings in the human world are often hindered by deep-seated ego-attachment and fixed views, making them more difficult to reach. Nevertheless, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas continue to save beings according to conditions, and their heart and actions in saving beings remain constant and active. They know that in this age of the Dharma’s decline, it is rare for beings to receive the Buddha’s salvation. By receiving this help, beings can alleviate or move away from the helplessness of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and finally gain the opportunity to achieve liberation and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Walking the path of the Buddha is the path that all students of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre can, should, and must follow.

Namo Amituofo