Words from the Buddha's Heart: Identifying Our Personality Traits

Namo Amituofo’s discourse begins with a gentle yet piercing question: What are the personality traits that define you? To walk the path of the Buddha, one must first be willing to look into the mirror of one's own heart. We often carry burdens of character that we do not even recognise, yet these very traits act as obstacles to our spiritual growth.

The Shadows Within Our Character

To assist you in this vital self-reflection, Namo Amituofo has outlined several common personality traits that often cloud our original nature:

• Arrogance and Anger:
• When someone speaks in a way you dislike, or when their actions do not align with your expectations or pace, your heart immediately becomes agitated. Your complexion changes, and you may lash out with angry words or a raised tone. This is the manifestation of an arrogant and irritable nature.Greed and Dissatisfaction:
• This is the belief that one can never have enough wealth. You feel a constant, gnawing need for more, driven by a deep-seated lack of security. This is a personality defined by greed and an inability to feel content.Lack of Gratitude:
• This trait is revealed through constant complaining, dissatisfaction, and a sour expression. It manifests as arguing, being unreasonable, and facing others with a hostile demeanour.Self-Protection:
• When others offer their perspective, you immediately assume they are wrong. You feel a compulsive need to refute their words and explain yourself, driven by a fragile ego that seeks only to protect its own image.Doubt: This is the tendency to suspect the words and actions of others, questioning their sincerity. Doubt is a form of confusion and a significant affliction that prevents trust and harmony.

The Hidden Cost of Unchecked Traits

After we see or hear something that triggers these reactions, we often fail to notice the subtle ripples of mental notes that arise within our hearts. We might dismiss these moments, thinking that nothing has happened. However, these small, unexamined reactions have already invited beings to manifest before us. As these habits accumulate day after day, we fail to stop them because we do not recognise them as the source of our suffering.

Eventually, this leads to the manifestation of old age, sickness, and suffering, yet we remain unaware that the root cause lies within our own character. We develop a habit of seeing the bad, thinking the bad, and speaking the bad. We become impatient, unable to wait, and prone to negative speech. When these traits are difficult to change, and we ignore the laws of karma and cause and effect, we eventually suffer the consequences when the results of our actions manifest.

The Path to Transformation

If you recognise these traits within yourself, you must change them immediately. If you do not, you risk falling into a state of drowsy confusion, becoming trapped in this space, and losing the ability to govern your own mind. When this happens, it becomes difficult to improve, and your practice will stagnate or even regress, leaving you far from the goal of see your true nature and be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. You must understand that only by changing can your practice truly advance.

How, then, can you change your personality? Namo Amituofo provides the following guidance:

• Continuous Chanting:
• Chant Buddha's name without interruption. Use the Buddha-name to replace your delusions and messy thoughts.Turning Your Thoughts:
• Consciously choose to see the good, think the good, chant the good, speak the good, and act with Goodness. Replace all negative tendencies with positive actions.Listen to the Dharma:
• Listen to sutras and hear the Dharma. By hearing the teachings, you will understand the nature of suffering and develop the sincere wish to leave suffering behind.Resolve Conflicts:
• Engage in Chao Du to invite spirits and resolve the conflict. By helping to save other beings and relieving their suffering, you are simultaneously relieving your own.Accumulate Merit: Dedicate yourself to Generosity (Giving) and serve the community. This is how you cultivate both wisdom and blessings.

By following these steps, you will give rise to all roots of goodness and achieve the fruit of Bodhi. Through diligent practice and by truly changing your ways according to the Buddha’s words—which encompass the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way—you will eventually reach the state of awakened being and successfully attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is the ultimate way to change your character and fulfil the Buddha's path.

Namo Amituofo