In Chapter 32 - Infinite Bliss of the Infinite Life Sutra, the Buddha pointed out the excellent, supreme, pure, and peaceful points of the Pure Land, with the purpose of making living beings develop a liking, admiration, and vow to be born in the Pure Land. Immediately following that, the Buddha pointed out the evils of the Saha world in Chapter 33 - The Many Exhortations (Many Exhortations).

What the Buddha said is recorded in the Chapter of The Exhortations: Living beings have deep karma, heavy obstacles, and the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance are rampant, raging like a great fire burning the human body and mind. The main cause of these deep and heavy karmic obstacles is "ignorance," so they must endure endless suffering, sinking in a sea of suffering, and suffering beyond description. Therefore, the Buddha compassionately advises sentient beings to be weary of this Saha world, to stop doing evil and do good, to diligently practice the path, and to seek rebirth in the Land of Peace.

Greed Poison

In the Book of Jin's Admonition, the sutra first talks about "greed poison." The Buddha clearly points out that all sentient beings in this world are troubled and suffering by "greed poison." The Buddha advises sentient beings to be weary of it and leave it. The scriptures say: “People in this world compete with each other, doing useless things, in a place of evil karma, with many sufferings, diligently doing business, supporting themselves. High and low, male and female, big and small, thoughts pile up, due to the mind's mischief, no fields to worry about fields, no house to worry about house, relatives and property, having or not worrying, getting one thing and lacking one thing, worrying about being equal to others. As soon as they get a little, they worry even more, water, fire, bandits, enemies and creditors, arson, robbery, destruction and dissipation, greed and attachment, unable to let go, when life ends, they can't bring anything. Poor and rich are the same, suffering and worrying about many things.”

Living beings in this Saha world, because of only being greedy for fame and profit, have brought upon themselves many sorrows and sufferings, not knowing when they will escape. People in this world compete with each other over unimportant, unimportant worldly matters, not taking seriously the urgent great matters within themselves, not knowing that impermanence passes very quickly, birth and death are the big things. The Buddha lamented that: “The great matter of life and death” is the first and most urgent task; yet people are indifferent and negligent towards this urgent matter like a burning fire. On the contrary, they are in a hurry to worry about things that are not urgent. When a person’s life is about to end, even if they regret, it is too late; why not try to cultivate goodness when they are still healthy, and only regret and worry when they are about to die. What is the use of doing so?

The ancients often said: “Things have roots and branches; things have urgency and delay.” Therefore, the Buddha advised that one should only consider life and death as the great matter, the first and most urgent task. For example, when a person enters a large city, he must first find a safe place to stay, so that when the evening is dark, he will have a place to rest for the night, and then he can start working. “First find a safe place to stay” is practicing Pure Land. “When the evening is dark” refers to the moment when death is near. “Having a safe place to rest at night” means being born in a lotus flower in a pond of seven treasures, not falling into evil paths.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha compared this world to a house on fire, which is naturally not a safe place to live; therefore, the Buddha advised all living beings to quickly run away from this burning house. If anyone follows the Buddha’s teachings, abandons everything in that burning house and runs away, the Buddha will, according to their wishes, give them a goat cart, a donkey cart, or a large white ox cart. The goat cart represents the small fruit of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha, the donkey cart represents the great fruit of Bodhisattva, and the large white ox cart represents the ultimate Buddhahood.

In this sutra, the Buddha also said: “In the place of evil karma, with so much suffering,” which means the Buddha has determined for us that this world is the Evil Suffering of the World, and this world is the Evil Suffering of the Five Evils. In the Sutra of the Evil and Suffering of the World, it says: “The five evils, five sufferings, five fires, are like a great fire that burns the human body.” Evil is the cause, suffering is the result! Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and addiction are all very evil things. Whoever commits one of these five evils will surely receive the evil consequences, so these five things are called the five pains, five great fires that burn the body and mind of people, causing them to suffer to the utmost.

All types of people in this world, from those of high status to those of low status, old or young, male or female, etc. All of these different types of people, all of them harbor the same foolish and greedy hearts, to the point of causing their bodies to suffer and their minds to suffer on all sides. Every day, we ordinary people are burdened with worries, busy and tired, struggling to calculate and work to nourish our bodies, to have enough to live comfortably through this life. As this Sutra says: “Diligently doing business, self-supporting, noble or poor, big or small, male or female, thoughts and memories pile up, all because of the mind.” People are often controlled and pulled by their desires, causing them to always be restless, busy and worried about things that have passed, constantly worrying about things that have not yet come. With that mindset, they never have a moment of peace. Whenever our mind has something that we desire or long for, this body must endure all kinds of hardships and difficulties, just to satisfy our mind. For example, when we want to buy something we love, we do not mind the hardships, carrying, carrying, and preparing. Even if you don't have enough money to buy the things you like, you have to borrow money, and then you have to work hard all your life to pay off the debt. Not to mention that there are times when you work very hard and hard, but still can't pay off the debt you borrowed, so the things you bought are taken away by the creditor to pay off the debt, making you suffer even more.

The things that people want in life that they can't let go of, and are always constantly in their minds, are all just wealth, fame, reputation, etc., so the mind must always think and think about them. Because of that "greedy mind", you always have to focus on getting what you want, so you are controlled by that mind, making your body never at ease. What things do people often think and think about every day? The Buddha pointed out these things in a long passage of scripture as follows: “Without fields, worry about fields; without a home, worry about home; with relatives and wealth, worry about whether you have it or not; if you get one thing and lack one thing, worry about being equal to others. As soon as you get a little, worry even more; with water, fire, bandits, thieves, creditors, arson, robbery, destruction, and dissipation, the mind is greedy and attached, unable to let go; when life ends, you can’t take anything with you. Rich and poor are the same, suffering and worrying about a thousand things.” These are just a few specific examples that the Buddha gave so that living beings can clearly see the reason why living beings always have to “think and think about it.”

“Relatives” refers in general to people in the house, relatives, servants, relatives, neighbors, etc. “Wealth” refers to assets, property, and items used for living. These are all things that make us think and worry. If we don’t have it, we want it, and worry about how to have it; But once you have it, you are afraid of losing it, so once you have it, you worry even more, worry about getting it, worry about losing it, worry about having it or not having it. Furthermore, because human desires have no bottom, the sea of greed is hard to fill. Once you have one, you still feel like you lack one, worrying about how to be equal to others. For example, someone who has a million dong in his account, sees someone else with two million, and immediately thinks of ways to get at least one more million dong to be equal to or better than others. Someone who has a TV, sees someone else with two TVs, and immediately wants to have one more to be equal to them. Wanting but not getting it gives rise to anxiety and sadness. Even when satisfied, the worries are not gone; because desire is endless, greed is bottomless, and cannot be filled, so forever, forever, there is worry without a moment of rest. Furthermore, when we have just obtained a little wealth, we immediately try to hold on to it, afraid of losing it due to an accident, so the sutra says: “The more we get, the more we worry.”

What do we often worry about? Worry about sudden disasters, such as fire that can burn everything, water that can wash everything away, robbers that can rob, thieves that can steal, enemies that can take revenge, creditors that can collect debts, etc. Even in a moment, there will be nothing left that is ours anymore. The wealth of the past suddenly has nothing left, so the sutra says: “water, fire, thieves, enemies that can burn, rob, destroy, and disappear.” Furthermore, people are so stubborn because of their greed, attachment, and stinginess that even though they have lost all their possessions, they cannot let go of them. They keep thinking about and regretting the things they have lost, making their anger, sadness, resentment, and grief increase, as if a great fire were burning their bodies, causing indescribable pain.

People know very well that losing their lives means losing everything, but they still stubbornly refuse to let go. Let us wake up and see: At the time of death, even if we do not want to let go, we cannot bring all our possessions, beloved relatives, regrets, etc., not even a little bit. We come alone, and we will go alone, no one can come or go with us to keep us company. Even if the person we love the most is willing to die with us, we still cannot be together with them. Because of different karmic causes, each person's retribution is a thousand times different, so each person will have to be reborn in a different place, not born in the same place as they wish. That's why the sutra says: "When life ends, we can't bring anything with us." The ancients also often said: "When we die, everything is abandoned, only karma follows the body." Regardless of rich or poor, no one is different, everyone is worried and suffers endlessly; that's why the sutra says: "Poor and rich are the same, suffering and worrying about a thousand things."

Next, the Infinite Life Sutra talks about "Anger Poison." The Buddha advised people to be respectful towards their relatives and others, because if they are not in harmony with each other, that cause will become the karma of hatred in the future. The scriptures say: “People in the world, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, relatives, love and respect each other, do not envy each other, have or do not understand each other, do not be greedy, facial expressions and words, should always be gentle, should not be contrary. If there is a quarrel, there is a place of anger, in the next life it will turn into great resentment. Worldly affairs, eventually cause harm to each other, although the time has not come, should quickly think of breaking up.”

“Love and respect” means kindness and respect. “Envy” means hatred and jealousy. Buddha taught us to always use “peaceful and loving words” to treat everyone. “peaceful and loving words” means a harmonious facial expression, not frowning or fierce, a cheerful and gentle voice, not angry, words not contrary, harsh, gentle, humble, etc. Such expressions will definitely be able to create a peaceful and harmonious world. If we continue to cause discord between each other, then later that cause will form into a great grudge.

In normal times, people do not resent each other, but when they suddenly encounter a situation of contradiction and injustice, they start to quarrel with each other. Even when they are quarreling, they suddenly have the mind to fight, sue, and even kill each other. That is why Buddha reminds us not to have a mind that opposes each other and becomes angry, hot-tempered, and indignant, and from such a small matter, it becomes a great grudge. Anger is one of the three poisons. Once anger arises, it immediately creates hatred and revenge in this life and forever in the next life, without ever stopping. In the six realms, those we hate often meet each other, meet each other to rob, rape, kill each other, etc. Things like this become more and more intense, without ever decreasing, so how can they stop?

The Buddha advised us that in worldly matters, if we have caused harm to each other, then of course there will come a time when we will meet again to take revenge, creating harm. Although the retribution has not yet been established in the present, cause and effect are not false, there will definitely be retribution in the next life. If we have mistakenly created the cause of conflict, dispute, and resentment with others now, we must urgently think of a way to break it, we must think of a way to resolve this conflict, otherwise in the next life this small karmic consciousness of resentment will turn into great hatred, enemies will meet and kill each other in an extremely brutal and terrible way. The Buddha also said: "Living beings fear the result, Bodhisattvas fear the cause" is exactly the case!

Bodhisattvas do not sow the cause, so they do not receive the retribution, far away from afflictions, karmic obstacles, free and unhindered. Living beings fear the bitter retribution but keep creating evil causes, so the Buddha called it "ignorance." When the time comes, it will be too late to regret! At that time, Buddha wanted to help, but he could not, because supernatural powers could not overcome karma. Therefore, next, Buddha advised people to abandon evil and practice good. The scriptures say: “People infected with love and desire, are born alone and die alone, come and go alone, accept their own suffering and happiness, no one can bear it for them. Good and evil change, karma follows them, the path of the path is different, and they will never meet again. Why, when you are still healthy, do you not try to practice good, when will you wait?”

“Love and desire” is love and greed. The ancients said: “If love is not heavy, you will not fall into Saha.” If we are not heavy with love and desire, we are already saints, or at worst, we are an Arhat who has completely eliminated Views and Thoughts and has escaped the six paths of reincarnation. This has shown us that love and desire is the root of reincarnation and death. All people in the world are immersed in love and desire, so they die here and are born there, circulating endlessly. Even though the house is full of relatives, when it comes to life and death, “when you are born, you come alone, when you die, you go alone”, no one follows you, and no one dies in your place. Where you go after death, the results of happiness or suffering are all created, enjoyed, and borne by yourself, no one else can replace you.

If it is good karma, the results will be in the good paths of heaven and humans. If it is bad karma, the results will be in the three evil paths. Although this life has good results, if you create bad karma, the next life will attract it and turn into disaster. On the contrary, although this life has bad results, if you know how to do good, the next life will enjoy glory and blessings. The power of karma is ever-changing and cannot be fully explained; if you sow bad causes, you will suffer, if you sow good causes, you will enjoy happy results. Because retribution changes very quickly depending on each person's karma, the sutra says, "karma follows, the path is not the same."

Karma follows us like a shadow follows a figure. Wherever we are born, retribution follows right there, never leaving. In the Eka Samyutta Nikaya, there is a story of immediate retribution between King Virudhaka and the Sakya clan of Sakyamuni Buddha. The sutra says that in a distant past life, the Sakya clan was a fishing clan that made a living. Every day they went to the pond together to catch fish to make a living. At that time, King Virudhaka was a king fish living in that pond. This king fish saw fishermen coming every day to catch its offspring to eat, so it was very angry and made a poisonous oath that if one day it had enough blessings and power to take revenge, it would kill the entire Sakya clan. So that poisonous oath happened during the time when the Buddha was still alive. That fish lord had practiced for many lifetimes, was reborn as King Liu Li and had killed the entire Shakya clan. Before this event happened, Buddha knew in advance and had advised King Liu Li twice, but it was impossible. On the third occasion, Venerable Maha Maudgalyayana expressed his intention to use supernatural powers to save the Shakya clan, but was stopped by Buddha. Buddha told Venerable Maha Maudgalyayana: “Can you take their karma to another world? Can you put the Sakya clan’s karma in the void? How about Maudgalyayana, can you cover their karma with an iron cage?” After thinking for a while, Venerable Maha Maudgalyayana told Buddha: “It is truly impossible to do so.” Why is it impossible to do so? Because each person must receive good or evil retribution according to their own karma, supernatural powers cannot overcome karma. Each person's karma is different, so they will die and be reborn in different places far away from each other. If they do good, the retribution will be waiting in heaven. If they do evil, the mountains of knives and forests of swords in Avici hell will await them. Therefore, when they die, they will part ways forever! Even though the Buddha Sakyamuni had such great supernatural powers, he could not save his Shakya clan, so how could the Venerable Maha Maudgalyayana save them?

Suffering retribution in the three evil realms is a whole five thousand lifetimes, drifting in the six paths, who knows when we will meet again. Even if we meet again, if we cannot recognize each other, it will be considered as "no chance to meet again." Because of that, the World-Honored One felt pity and wholeheartedly warned and advised people, "Why don't you try to practice good deeds while you are still healthy? When will you wait?" The physical body of the elderly is weak, making it difficult to practice diligently, as the Nirvana Sutra says: “Hey Kasyapa! It is like a sugarcane that has been pressed, the sugarcane residue has no taste. Youth and beauty are also like that, when pressed by old age, they no longer have three tastes: one is the taste of renunciation, two is the taste of recitation, three is the taste of meditation.” Old age loses all three tastes like this, so while still healthy, one must urgently make an effort, diligently practice, and not hesitate.

Anger Poison

The Buddha clearly pointed out that the three poisons that are rampant in this impure land, creating terrible evils, are all caused by the “poison of ignorance”. The Buddha said: “People in this world, good and evil, cannot see for themselves, good and evil, misfortune and happiness, compete to create, the mind is confused and dark, constantly creating karma, confusion and confusion, impermanence is the root, vague and dark, do not believe in the Dharma, the mind does not worry about the future, desires are satisfied. Ignorance and anger, greed for money and lust, in the end never end, truly pitiful! People in the past were not good, did not know morality, no one encouraged them to improve, nothing is strange! The path of birth and death, the principles of good and evil, do not have the slightest faith, think they do not exist, together observe, clearly before the eyes. Or father crying for son, or son crying for father, brothers and husbands and wives, together mourn and cry.”

In the first passage of the sutra, the Buddha said that living beings, due to greed and poison, “are equally poor and rich, suffering and worrying about a thousand things.” In the next passage of the sutra, the Buddha said that due to anger and poison, “they become great resentment.” Now, in this passage, the Buddha teaches about ignorance, with sentences like: “not seeing for oneself,” “mind is confused and blind,” “not believing in the Dharma,” “ignorant,” “not knowing morality,” “the path of life and death, the principles of good and evil, without any faith.” These are all common ignorances of people in this world!

The Buddha once said: “There is no suffering greater than the suffering of ignorance.” Why? Because ignorance is the root of countless sufferings. Indeed, ignorance is the root of all three poisons. Because of ignorance, greed and anger arise. The disaster of ignorance is very harmful, damaging people’s wisdom and life. The Buddha said, people in this world are ignorant, so they do not know what is good and what is evil, they just follow their own will to distinguish between self and others, right and wrong, and do not believe in the eternal law of “good and evil cause and effect in the three lives.” Buddha also said, people in this world are ignorant and stubborn, do not know cause and effect, do not fear consequences, only want to satisfy, happy for a moment, do not fear the endless future, just indulge in recklessness, compete to do evil, do not care about the future disaster.

Good and evil are causes; disaster and blessing are effects. For example: killing, cheating, forcing, robbing other people's property, land, money, selling out the country, harming people to seek fame and profit for themselves and their families, causing all people to suffer, losing their country, breaking up their homes, suffering in all ways are extremely evil things, of course will receive retribution in the three evil realms (hell, hungry ghosts, animals) in the future. People in this world are deluded and do not understand that, whether good or evil, will receive retribution, so they take turns creating, burning, robbing, unjustly harming people, destroying honest people, without ever stopping, so when they die they fall into the three evil realms, suffering Sorrow and pain, life after life, unable to escape.

“A mind that is deluded and darkened by the gods” means that the mind is blocked, unable to see the good and evil of life and death, so it continues to create karma. “A mind that is deluded and darkened by the gods, continuously creating karma” is also understood as “a body that is ignorant, a mind that is dark.” Because the body creates evil, it is called an ignorant body. Because the mind does not believe in cause and effect, it is called a mind that is dark. Thus, “a mind that is deluded and darkened by the gods” is ignorance, darkness, and also delusion. Because of ignorance, the mind is blocked, unable to believe in cause and effect correctly, causing countless dangers in the world. Because of ignorance, one cannot believe in the Dharma in order to penetrate the true path of Buddha. Also, because of ignorance, one easily falls into believing in heretical theories and other teachings that are different from Buddha Dharma, so the sutras say that these living beings are “continually deluded.” We ordinary people, due to ignorance, continuously perceive and know in such a crazy way, without end, so we must forever sink into birth and death. The origin of these wrong views is ignorance and karma. The impermanence of birth and death is due to “ignorance”, so the sutra says “impermanence is the root.” Ignorance is truly the root that gives birth to all suffering!

Due to ignorance, blindness, darkness, and arrogance, even though we have two eyes, we are still dim and confused, unable to see anything. Living beings are blind, and become even more blind, why? Because they are covered by delusions, discrimination, and attachments, so they are not clear-sighted. Darkness is due to obscurity, so they do not understand anything. The darker we are, the more we do not understand the matter of cause and effect, the more wrong things we do, and the more wrong things we do, the more “dim and confused we become.” The Buddha said, sentient beings are ignorant so they do not understand anything, when they come across something they do whatever they want, like a horned animal that goes after whatever it sees, like a child walking at night, like a mad dog running around, there is nothing it does not do, and everything it does is wrong. Because of such ignorance and darkness, they do not understand the meaning of the sutras, and are accustomed to being aggressive, arrogant, and fond of fighting and conflict, so they cannot believe in the Buddha's teachings.

Because people do not think about the future, everything they do is for the sake of momentary pleasure, they do not care about the afterlife, only seek present happiness, so everything they do is for the sake of satisfying their desires. Ignorant people often harbor anger, are greedy for money, and are lustful without rest, so the Buddha lamented: "A mind that does not think about the future, and desires to satisfy its desires, is truly pitiful!"

Buddha reprimanded sentient beings: “The previous generation was not good, did not know morality, no one encouraged them,” meaning: The fathers and grandfathers did not understand cause and effect, did not know how to cultivate morality, and did not know how to do good. Not only did they not understand, but they also did immoral and unvirtuous things, which was extremely stupid. From generation to generation, the words fathers taught their children were all heretical teachings, without discussing the consequences of good and evil. If the fathers and grandfathers were stupid and stubborn, then the children and grandchildren would be ignorant, which is natural, nothing to be surprised about!

Not being able to see the “path of life and death” means not knowing the consequences. Not being able to see the “principles of good and evil” means not understanding cause. The mind itself has no understanding of both cause and effect, and no one has taught it, so all its life it does not understand anything, it just lives like a wild animal relying on its strong horns to gore whatever it encounters, like a child walking at night not knowing the way back, like a mad dog running around not knowing what it is doing. Whatever one does, one dares to do anything, but whatever one does is contrary to the “principles of good and evil,” creating bad karma. This is all due to ignorance and lack of faith in Buddhism, and the belief that there is no “path of birth and death,” no “principles of good and evil.” The atheists of today, not understanding the cause and effect of good and evil, dare to rob land, destroy temples, destroy statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva, and gods; even beat and imprison monks who practice true Buddhism, causing the Buddha's body to bleed. What is that sin? It is the sin of the five heinous crimes, slandering the Three Jewels, the retribution of which is the unceasing hell, with no day of release.

If you do not know about birth and death, then just see for yourself: fathers and children, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives are separated by death, mourning each other, who can avoid it? Buddha told sentient beings to open their eyes wide, together observe these events clearly appearing right before their eyes, not far away! If you cannot see the things that are clearly appearing before your eyes, then how can you see the retribution far in the future?

People are ignorant and greedy, not knowing that all things in life are just like illusions, like flowers in the sky, mistakenly thinking that these things are real; not knowing about impermanence. quickly, cannot be kept forever. The more love at birth, the more sorrow at death. At birth and death, those who stay behind pity their loved ones who have now said goodbye; those who die pity themselves who have gone forever, they are attached to each other and cannot let go, the attachment at the time of separation is like a knife piercing the heart. The former happiness and love suddenly turn into sorrow. The two things “One death, one life” and “taking turns to be attached” forever bind the body and mind of people like a tight rope, unable to escape. “Binding” is endless affliction. Affliction, darkness binds us, binds our mind, it is the cause that gathers all birth and death. Once entangled in love, one is bound by birth and death, and there is no time to escape.

Examining the root cause, the things that people love are all driven by desire, but they do not know that “desire is the root of suffering, pure love will surely lead to fall,” so the sutra says: “Thoughts of kindness and goodness cannot be separated from desire.” If we cannot think deeply about these things and wholeheartedly cultivate the path to seek liberation, then in the blink of an eye impermanence will strike, life will end, and at that time, how can we struggle or cry out! Human life is in the breath, if we breathe out but cannot breathe in, then in the blink of an eye, this life will end. So, when our life is over, how can we deal with it?

The Buddha taught that this disaster is caused by ignorance that gives rise to anger. Buddha said: “Many are deluded, few are enlightened, harboring murderous poisons, evil spirits are everywhere, delusional thoughts arise, going against heaven and earth, being careless and committing sins, quickly taking away lives, falling straight into the path of evil, with no day of release.”

The ancients said: “A spark of anger burns down the forest of merit.” Even if we have done a lot of meritorious deeds, once anger arises, all that forest of meritorious deeds will be burned down. We must know that among the three evil deeds of greed, anger, and ignorance, anger is the cause of hell. Buddha said, in the world there are many deluded people, few are enlightened to the right path, so they always harbor hatred, nurture evil thoughts, want to kill others, create evil spirits that are everywhere, raging, so from this darkness, they go into an even darker place.; That is to say, you have burned down all the forest of merit that you have created for so long.

Venerable Master Chin Kung taught: “Killing the wisdom life of one person is equal to killing a thousand lives.” This has made us clearly understand that killing is not only killing the body of a living being, but also killing the wisdom life of others with heretical teachings and wrong views. Therefore, this sutra states: “When a deluded mind arises, it goes against heaven and earth, and one indulges in creating sins.”

Because of the deluded mind arising, one thinks everything is wrong, says everything is nonsense, and does everything wrong, and thus “goes against heaven and earth.” “Going against heaven and earth” means above not following the will of heaven, below going against the will of King Yama. The Buddha said, we ordinary people indulge in sin all day long, filling heaven and earth with sins, but still go against heaven and earth. Because of that, being dragged by karma, they did not wait until their lifespan ended but were quickly robbed of their lives by King Yama, meaning that before their time to die, King Yama suddenly and unjustly took their lives so that they would not have the opportunity to create new sins; that was also because King Yama had compassion for that person! But people in the world, due to ignorance, did not know the truth, so they became angry, resentful of King Yama for taking away their loved ones.

Furthermore, people in the world, due to ignorance, gave rise to anger and hatred, killing and harming each other, doing evil and doing wrong things at will. Those who commit such sins will attract more karmic force from their previous lives, so they can do even more evil deeds. When evil is overwhelming, the retribution will be evident, so suddenly one dies, falls straight into the three evil paths, and suffers the ultimate retribution, not knowing when one can escape.

Finally, the Buddha advised us to stop doing evil and do good, and pray to be born in the Pure Land. The Buddha said, “Everyone should think carefully, stay away from evil, choose the path of goodness, and practice diligently. The desire for wealth and honor, which cannot be sustained, must be avoided, and cannot be at peace. One should be diligent, and be born in the Land of Peace, with clear wisdom and excellent merit. One should not be distracted, and enter into the place of desire, and abandon the precepts, and must stand behind others.”

The Buddha told us to think carefully: “The desire for wealth and honor, which cannot be sustained, must be avoided, and cannot be at peace.” Why? Because the glory and wealth of the world are impermanent, and cannot be maintained. There will be times when they flourish and there will be times when they decline. Desires in the world are not permanent, so there will be times when they come together and there will definitely be times when they separate. People in the world are crazy and mistaken about glory, wealth, and love as happiness, but in reality, those things are not worth liking. Why are they not worth liking? Because the things that sentient beings think are happy, but in reality, they are the cause of suffering. From that cause of suffering, suffering must be born.

Layman Peng Ji Qing said: “All people in the world consider desire as happiness, not knowing that it is suffering. Wise people see only suffering, not any happiness. Why is that? They always consider “having” as happiness, “not” as suffering, not knowing that “having” is the cause of “not.” They consider “gaining” as happiness, and “losing” as suffering, not knowing that “gaining” is the cause of “losing.” They consider “gathering” as happiness, and “separating” as suffering, not knowing that “gathering” is the cause of “separating.” Seeing “birth” as happiness, seeing “extinction” as suffering, not knowing that “birth” is the cause of “extinction.”

Because all the glory, wealth, and love in this world are not permanent, and are the cause of suffering, the Buddha advises sentient beings to stay away from them and to be diligent and industrious in seeking rebirth in the Pure Land to enjoy true and eternal happiness. Why? Because whoever is born in that land will have “penetrating wisdom and supreme merit,” meaning they will have both ultimate wisdom and blessings, unmatched by anyone. “Penetrating wisdom and supreme merit” are the true and eternal happiness!

In the Admonition Chapter of the Mahayana Sutra of the Infinite Life, the Buddha also admonished sentient beings that: If you want to be born in the Pure Land, “do not let your mind wander, enter into desires, abandon the sutras and precepts, and stand behind others.” The sutras are the main teachings spoken from the golden mouth of Shakyamuni Buddha. Precepts are the virtues that the Buddha taught. Here, the Buddha especially advises us to always uphold the sutras and precepts, because the sutras are the path that leads us to enter the Buddha's path, and precepts are the foundation of all good deeds.

How is it that “do not let your mind wander”? The Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters says: “Be careful not to believe your own mind, your mind cannot be trusted!” The Nirvana Sutra also teaches: “Be the master of your mind, do not let your mind be your master.” Why do the sutras tell us not to believe and not to follow our own minds? Because the minds of all living beings are illusory, and this illusory mind is the root of birth and death. If we let this illusory mind control us, we will make a big mistake. The ancients also said, if we follow our own illusory mind, it is like accepting an enemy as our child and trying to cook sand into rice. How can we eat it? Knowing that the minds of ordinary people are illusory, how can we wander and follow that mind to do outrageous things? Because the minds of ordinary people cannot be trusted, the Buddha taught everyone to take the Sutras and Precepts as their teachers and follow them. Do not let your own illusory mind be your teacher and stand behind others.